WWE NXT on USA: Results, Highlights, and Grades for Oct. 2

After two weeks of airing just an hour on USA, WWE NXT makes the leap to cable for the entire two-hour runtime this week with three huge championship matches. It also just happens to be the first week of head to head competition with AEW.

It seems like tonight has been a long time coming. Months of anticipation are over. At 8 p.m. ET, the Wednesday Night Wars between WWE NXT and AEW Dynamite finally, truly, officially began. And for WWE NXT, the brand put on a huge show to come out swinging, including three tremendous title matches.

The show opened with an NXT Championship match. Adam Cole, the incumbent champion, defended against Matt Riddle, who earned this opportunity last week by defeating Killian Dain in a Street Fight. Cole was banged up right now — partially at the hands of Riddle — but was determined to continue on as champ. Did the Original Bro pick up a big victory?

Cole’s fellow Undisputed Era teammates Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly were also in action, defending the NXT Tag Team Championships. Their opponents? The Street Profits, Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins, who lost the titles to UE a few weeks ago. Did the Street Profits get the smoke, or did they fall short in their efforts to reclaim the gold?

The final championship match of the night was set in the first NXT match on the USA Network two weeks ago — Candice LeRae won a Fatal Four-Way match to become the number one contender to the NXT Women’s Championship. Unfortunately for LeRae, that meant she ran into two-time champion Shayna Baszler. How did that turn out for LeRae?

But those title bouts weren’t the only matches on tap for tonight’s WWE NXT. The true face of NXT returned to action — Johnny Gargano. He battled Shane Thorne, who tried to interrupt Johnny Wrestling while addressing the crowd a few weeks back. Gargano says he’s NXT 4 Life, and he finally made his first appearance on the super-sized episodes this week to prove it.

Also advertised was a former North American Champion, The Velveteen Dream. He dropped the title two weeks ago to Roderick Strong, which is sure to be on his mind. But all we knew heading into the broadcast is that “The Velveteen Dream Experience” is coming to USA — and we didn’t really know what that meant.

So how did the show turn out? Read on for our full review of this week’s episode of WWE NXT, live on the USA Network!

NXT Championship Match – Adam Cole (c) vs. Matt Riddle

When I found out this afternoon that this match would open the show, my initial thought was, “Oh, god, no!” I mean, how on earth do you open the show with your main event? It’s insanely counterproductive — especially if you’re trying to get people to tune in to your show, and not that other show a channel or so away. Why continue watching past the first match?

My second thought? “Well, there’s no way this is going to end cleanly.” I had visions of a Vince Russo-esque funky finish in the opener, leading to General Manager William Regal announcing a rematch LATER TONIGHT IN THE MAIN EVENT where we’d get a proper finish.

Once the action got started, though, those thoughts escaped my mind. Cole and Riddle went about 100 miles an hour from bell to bell — even the rest holds weren’t very restful. Neither man would give an inch, which is to be expected in a world title match. But still, this one was firing on all cylinders for the duration.

I have to give a special commendation to Riddle for his unbelievable agility. A few minutes into the match, he went for a Penalty Kick, but Cole ducked. No worries, as Riddle attempted a standing moonsault. That, too, was avoided by the champion, but Riddle managed to land on his feet and seamlessly transition into the Broton Drop. A truly ridiculous sequence — but one that paled in comparison to some of what came later.

Not to be outdone, Cole managed some slick moves of his own. His counter of the Bro to Sleep into a sort of Codebreaker to the back of the head looked purely effortless. And the Panama Sunrise is quite possibly one of my favorite moves in professional wrestling, so Cole will always be one of my favorites to watch.

The finishing sequence was so good it just HAS to be fattening. Cole’s greediness to continue going for his big moves and Riddle reversing. Riddle working Cole’s arm injury, but the champ wriggling free. And surprise, surprise — a clean finish via the Last Shot!

Winner: Adam Cole

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 Stars

But it was the post-match angle that had my jaw on the floor — former NXT Champion FINN BÁLOR returned to Full Sail University, declaring that he is once again NXT. On a family-friendly website, I can’t say what I was thinking at this moment, but if you check out the chant from the Full Sail crowd, you’ll figure it out.

LOTS of possibilities from here, like an NXT Bálor Club going up against the Undisputed Era at War Games, perhaps? Bálor vs. Cole for the NXT Championship? WHO KNOWS? But I’m definitley tuning in to NXT for the foreseeable future.

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Velveteen Dream Speaks

I love Velveteen Dream. I really do. But as he started his promo, my wife — who hasn’t been watching much NXT lately (though was proud she knew Adam Cole as “that baybay guy, right?”) — asked me, “Uh, what’s his deal?”

And that’s my fear — a more casual viewer might not appreciate the in-your-face appearance of Dream, and he’ll suffer longterm as a result. His promos are full of innuendo, his delivery crisp and clean, but he may rub people the wrong way if they don’t understand him.

At this point in his career, and at this point in WWE NXT’s run on USA, it might be best to keep Dream in matches, and save his promos for heavily-produced backstage segments. It’s a good way to ease him into the good graces of the new audience without coming on too strong, in my opinion.

Io Shirai vs. Mia Yim

While I appreciate the “limited commercial interruption of this week’s NXT, I wish this match would have been able to avoid the little box during the ad break. Too much of the good stuff in this match was tough to see because of the itty-bitty size over two sets of commercials.

But the bits that were visible? Exactly what you’d expect from two athletes as talented as Shirai and Yim. You had a very simple story being told — Shirai went after the leg as per Mia’s history of injury, as well as trying to counter Yim’s height advantage. Mia, the clear babyface, had to overcome the odds.

I think the match may have suffered a little bit from crowd fatigue — one of the drawbacks of opening the show with your main event and a possible Match of the Year contender. But given the adversity, I think it clicked nicely, especially when the crowd came around by the end of the match.

It may have gone a little long — this was a TakeOver level match on regular TV after a HUGE world title match. Still, I’ll never complain about getting to watch Shirai’s moonsault, so this one is ultimately A-OK by me.

Winner: Io Shirai

Rating: 2.75 out of 5 Stars

Curious to see if Shirai enters the Women’s Title picture moving forward here, since she seems to be slowly getting built back up. And I’m not sure what this means for Yim, who has been on a bit of a downward spiral in the record book lately.

Johnny Gargano vs. Shane Thorne

I’m still a little shocked that Gargano hadn’t appeared on an episode of WWE NXT on USA before tonight. After all, he’s the biggest cheerleader for the brand and has been since (his) day one. Putting him in the ring with a guy like Shane Thorne may seem like an odd pairing, but I like it – Thorne could use someone to work off him to prove himself as a singles competitor.

And the two have decent chemistry, going back to the tag team circuit. DIY and TM-61 may not have had a whole lot of matches together, but the few there were I seem to remember being pretty good. Why wouldn’t the singles version also be good?

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Again, though, the part of the match that people really would have needed to see was in the picture-in-picture. If this match was to show how good Thorne is on his own, no one could actually see it. Thankfully, there was a nice stretch post-ad break where Thorne also dominated. But it’s still frustrating that something so relatively simple seems to elude WWE production sometimes.

Why was it so essential for Thorne to look dominant? Because everyone watching WWE NXT (or Dynamite, let’s be real) knew that Gargano was going to win. John Cena wouldn’t have lost his first match on a new version of RAW, right? He’s the face of the brand! Johnny Wrestling had to win, so it was hugely important for Thorne to get everything in while he could.

Winner: Johnny Gargano

Rating: 2.25 out of 5 Stars

I like Gargano using the poisonrana, like Candice LeRae, but maaaaaaan, it looked like Thorne took that one rough. The superkick afterwards didn’t help, someone may want to talk to Shane Thorne about not letting his opponents murder him on a regular basis.

NXT Women’s Championship Match

Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Candice LeRae

Heading into the match, I tweeted, “I think LeRae/Baszler is the most likely title change of the night.” Cole had already retained, I doubted the Street Profits were going back on top of the tag division, and I truly think Io Shirai is a prime candidate to enter the championship fray.

Who does it make more sense for Shirai to face – Candice LeRae, her rival, or Shayna Baszler, another vicious and uncaring heel?

And speaking of vicious and uncaring, did you check out Shayna after that nasty boot against the ring steps? Just posted up on her elbow, leaning on the barricade, laughing towards the disgusted fans about how cool that idea was. Shayna is a once in a lifetime professional wrestler. In fact, Shayna Baszler is probably what most people think Brock Lesnar is, if you want to really get into it.

One little nitpick? Candice ignoring the “injury” to the left arm caused by that big boot and the subsequent attack from Baszler. Mauro tried to explain it away – “Screw the pain, screw the injury” isn’t really an explanation, though – but I didn’t really care for the complete 180 from screaming in agony to TRIPLE TOPÉ SUICIDAS MAMMA MIA.

All that said, this may have been my favorite Baszler match to date. Too often, her matches are booked like trash. They’re good for what they are, but they could be soooooo much more. I’ve seen more than one of her TakeOver matches live and in person, and they’re usually my least favorite of the night, even if I think they’re ultimately good.

What was different here? LeRae’s position as the ultimate underdog babyface. Kairi Sane never got to that level, especially with a victory over Baszler in the Mae Young Classic AND for the Women’s Championship. Bianca Belair is too good and confident to be an underdog babyface. The list goes on and on.

But Candice LeRae seemed like she both had no chance and all the opportunity in the world. That certain uncertainty is a great thing when you’re watching a wrestling match. You KNOW what’s going to happen, but you’re not sure if you know too strongly.

Winner: Shayna Baszler

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

Ultimately, though, Shayna’s reign of terror continues on. Candice put up a hell of a fight, but just couldn’t escape from the Kirafuda Clutch. She held on for a long time, almost worked her way out, but just couldn’t get to the ropes for a break.

I wouldn’t mind seeing more of these two in action in the future.

Pete Dunne vs. Danny Burch

In “Matches I Didn’t Know I Needed To See Until They Happen,” here’s the Bruiserweight against Danny Burch, and hot damn how has this taken so long to see? Whoever decided to book this may be the best agent in all of pro wrestling, if I’m being completely honest.

Dunne/Burch is a prime example of why I – and so many other fans – love WWE NXT so much. There is literally something for everyone on the show. It’s not like RAW or SmackDown, where nine out of ten matches follow the same basic template. Things are different for different superstars.

Take tonight’s card – Cole/Riddle was your super main event, put on a show-stealer banger. Shirai and Yim had a nice little match that showed off what both can do. Gargano and Thorne established Thorne as a competitor, and confirmed Gargano as the face of NXT. Candice and Shayna was the perfect underdog story, even if the underdog falls short.

And then there’s two lovely Brits just beating the ever-loving tar out of each other.

You hear the phrase “British Strong Style” a lot these days, thanks to young Peter and his Mustache Mountain buddies. But this is one of the first real examples outside of NXT UK where you actually saw it – the sound on the lariat Dunne hit Burch with before the commercial was unbelievable. And that was a lariat, not even a strike.

Burch put up a hell of a fight, but Dunne is the next big thing, so he managed to come back and hit a Bitter End to earn the win.

Winner: Pete Dunne

Rating: 2.25 out of 5 Stars

After the match, Damian Priest made his presence felt as he attacked Dunne. I guess that’s a program in the works, and honestly I’m not sure how I feel about it. Gonna have to sit and stew on that one for a while to give it a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

NXT Tag Team Championship Match

Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) (c) vs. Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins)

First off, bringing Wale onto TV is always a good decision. I’m not even a hip hop fan, but that dude is great. It also highlighted something about the Street Profits I never noticed before – their ability to flip the switch from “goofy guys having fun” to “WE ARE GOING TO STRAIGHT UP DESTROY EVERYTHING IN OUR PATH EN ROUTE TO GLORY.”

Just look at the eyes of both Ford and Dawkins during the ring announcements. Montez especially looked like he was a damn Terminator – stone cold focus on the task at hand. Yet LITERALLY ten seconds earlier he was dancing like a lunatic while Wale rapped him to the ring. I’d be TERRIFIED of King Tez if I saw that instantaneous change, man.

As for the match itself, well, it’s two great tag teams, so how do you think it went? Fish and O’Reilly have been doing this for YEARS, and the Street Profits have been one of the hottest acts in wrestling since before anyone on RAW ever heard of them.

I question Dawkins being the hot tag for the Profits, because Ford seems like the PERFECT guy to come in like a house of fire. He’s got the charisma, athletic ability, and overall talent to be that guy, but I guess because Dawkins is the bigger guy he’d be less believable as a face in peril.

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Much like Shirai/Yim, the story in the tag title match was pretty simple to follow. Fish and O’Reilly have the edge in experience, so they exploited that like no other. Fish pulling Dawkins off the apron to prevent a tag? Veteran move. Quick tags? Veteran move. Cut the ring in half? Yeah, that’s a veteran move, too.

And good ol’ heels the UE also exploited the rules. Knowing how and where a referee will position himself allowed some double teams of questionable legality. And that five-count? Not broken until 4.999999999.

What about the Street Profits? Well, they’re still kind of newbies, so their situational awareness could use some work. In a big title match, you need to have your head on a swivel to avoid everything UE threw at them. The raw talent is there. After all, they are former NXT Tag Team Champions. And check out Tez with an absolutely insane dive to the outside OVER the ringpost!

But there’s only two Street Profits, and four members of the Undisputed Era. So when Roderick Strong came down to get involved, it was the numbers advantage UE needed to turn the tide in their favor for good, and poor Ford got hit with the Total Elimination as Fish and O’Reilly retained.

Winners: Undisputed Era

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

A fine tag team match, but at the end of a two hour-plus show, it needed a LOT more to justify the main event spot.

Maybe the goal was for the Tommaso Ciampa return to pop the crowd? It sure did, but imagine if the Finn Bálor return happened here, and Ciampa came back after the opener. It totally opens up all sorts of doors for future WWE NXT episodes and TakeOvers, but I think flipping the first and last matches of the night – and the post-match segments of each – would have been much more effective.

What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE NXT? Sound off in the comments below!