WWE Top 5 Matches Of The Week: Rhea Ripley Owns NXT UK

NXT: Candice LeRae vs. Nikki Cross

Candice LeRae and Nikki Cross didn’t even have a full 10 minutes to work with on NXT TV this week, but they sure as hell delivered. This match told the best story of the entire week, with the commentators making sure to reference the turn both she and Johnny Gargano have taken as characters. LeRae and Gargano are very much intertwined in this story that has focused on Gargano’s descent into darkness, but this was LeRae’s turn to show a new edge to her character.

There isn’t a better opponent for this than Nikki Cross, who has played a pivotal role in the story of Gargano (or was it truly Candice?) attacking Aleister Black. Cross and LeRae have major issues, and after Cross successfully pinned LeRae by hitting a “Purge” off the top rope, I wonder what happens next between these two.

LeRae couldn’t pick up a key victory, but she certainly made her mark. Not only did she kick out of the “Purge”, but she very nearly won with the “Gargano Escape”. She honestly out-classed Cross in this match, but this loss does put LeRae in the backseat in title contention. Clearly, Bianca Belair is in the driver’s seat in NXT with Shayna Baszler essentially holding the title hostage by getting help from Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir.

But while LeRae’s exact place in NXT is unclear, her character’s intentions and direction are now easier to understand following this short-but-intricate match.