Tonight’s WWE NXT episode opens up on the USA Network with highlights from last week’s show. Mauro Ranallo narrates and also hypes up tonight’s title matches.
– We’re live on a slight tape delay from the NXT Arena at Full Sail Live on the campus of Full Sail University as we see developmental trainees in the crowd with friends and family. Mauro is joined by WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix but once again they are not in the arena tonight. We see the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions arriving to the building earlier – Sasha Banks and SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley.
NXT Tag Team Titles Match: Breezango vs. Imperium
We go right to the ring for tonight’s opener as NXT Tag Team Champions Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner of Imperium head to the ring while Alicia Taylor does the introductions. Out next comes Breezango – Tyler Breeze and Fandango. They mock Imperium by doing their entrance. Tom Phillips also joins Mauro and Beth.
The bell rings and Imperium immediately sends Fandango out to the floor. Marcel beats down Breeze and rips off his jacket, yelling while unloading in the corner. Barthel keeps control of Breeze and grounds him as Fandango returns to the apron. Breeze fights up and out, nailing a jawbreaker. Breeze fights but in comes Aichner with a big arm drag to cut him off. Aichner grounds Breeze by the arm as the referee counts now.
Breeze ends up sending he and Aichner over the top rope to the floor and they land hard. Marcel comes over and the referee warns him. Marcel ends up manhandling Breeze into the Plexiglas barrier while the referee was distracted a bit. Aichner brings him back into the ring for a close 2 count in the middle of the ring. Aichner stomps on the face of Breeze. Aichner keeps control and makes another tag. Barthel beats Breeze down in the corner again, then plays to the crowd for more boos. Breeze ends up looking for a counter, sending Barthel to the floor. Fandango finally gets the hot tag. Fandango unloads and takes out both opponents. Aichner takes a big powerslam and Fandango gets hyped up as the crowd rallies.
Fandango with a second tornado DDT, this time to Aichner. Fandango runs the ropes and takes out both champions on the floor with a big dive. Fandango clutches his elbow on the floor as we go back to commercial.
Back from the break and Breeze pins Aichner for a 2 count. Barthel fights back after being double teamed during the break we see. Aichner tags in and they double team Breeze with kicks and an assisted Brainbuster. Fandango runs in and breaks up Aichner’s pin. More back and forth and close calls from both teams for a few minutes as the match falls apart. Fandango with a Last Dance to Aichner but Barthel saves it. Breeze sends Barthel to the floor but Fandango clotheslines Barthel to the floor.
Fandango and Aichner are in the ring now. Indus Sher comes down with Malcolm Bivens, walking up to Barthel and Fandango on the floor. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch run down and attack Indus Sher from behind. Both of the teams end up on the ground and Breeze is knocked out onto them. Fandango rolls Barthel up from behind but Aichner is the legal man. Aichner runs over and drops Fandango with a DDT for the pin to retain.
Winners: Imperium
– After the match, Imperium celebrates with their titles as the music hits. Bivens checks on Saurav Gurjar and Rinku Singh on the floor as we go to replays. Imperium raise the titles on the stage while Lorcan, Burch and Breezango look on from the ring. Indus Sher want to enter the ring to fight Lorcan and Burch but Bivens talks them down.
– Tom is joined by The Velveteen Dream for an interview. Dream speaks while Dexter Lumis hands a drawing to him but we don’t exactly see him. The drawing is of Lumis and Dream wearing the NXT Tag Team Titles. Dream says they may have helped each other in recent weeks, but it was called a favor and the drawing means nothing because Dream is a solo act. Dream puts the drawing down and walks off.
– We see Damian Priest arriving to the building earlier today. Cameron Grimes can be seen in the background. Back to commercial.
Damian Priest vs. Killian Dain
We go back to the ring and out comes Damian Priest to the ring. Killian Dain is out next for his return to action.
The bell rings as they size each other up. They lock up and go to the ropes, then from corner to corner. Dain with a side headlock now. Dain collides with a shoulder. Priest takes it and tells him to try again. They run the ropes and Priest acts like he tweaked his lower back on a landing. Dain attacks him into the corner and beats him down, focusing on the back.
Priest fights back and hits Dain with elbows. Dain ends up leveling Priest with a big leg drop from the middle rope while Priest hangs over the middle rope. Dain unloads with strikes while Priest is down on the mat. Priest tries to fight free with more elbows. Dain stops him with a headbutt. More back and forth now. Priest with kicks and more forearms. Dain grabs him for a belly-to-back suplex, and another. Dain lifts Priest again but slams him face-first this time. Priest kicks out at 2. Priest struggles to get up as Dain stays on him. Priest counters a belly-to-back suplex and shifts his weight for a quick pin attempt. Dain charges in the corner but hits the turnbuckles and goes down.
The crowd rallies some now as Priest gets up. Dain with big lefts and rights. Priest keeps fighting back. Priest with kicks and more punches. Dain charges but goes down off a clothesline. Priest comes off the second turnbuckle with a forearm but Dain still kicks out at 2. Priest stunt Dain in the corner and runs in with a forearm. Priest charges again but Dain meets him in mid-air with a crossbody for a 2 count. Priest slides out of an Electric Chair. More back and forth until Priest hits The Reckoning for the pin to win.
Winner: Damian Priest
– After the match, Priest stands tall as his music hits. We go to replays.
– Tom leads us to a video package for NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar, formerly known as El Hijo del Fantasma. The video shows highlights from last week’s big angle and reveal. Escobar is shown in new footage standing with Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde. All three have their masks on but they take them off to show their faces as the video goes on. Escobar says he will change the history of lucha libre beginning tonight.
– Back from the break and we see footage of Killian Dain during the commercial break. Dain was making his exit when he spotted a still-disheveled Robert Stone leaning against the Plexiglas barrier on the crowd side. Dain smacked the barrier and sent Stone flying back to the ground.
Xia Li vs. Aliyah
We go back to the ring and out comes Xia Li. Aliyah is out next. She stops during her entrance and spots Robert Stone down on the ground, still looking rough and holding a bottle in a brown paper bag now. This is supposed to look like he’s drinking alcohol. Aliyah helps him to ringside and then hits the ring as her music plays.
The bell rings and they lock up. Aliyah with a big Thesz Press and strikes early on. Li comes right back with kicks as she takes Aliyah to the corner. Li places Aliyah on the top and rocks her. Aliyah counters as Li brings her off the top and hits a Northern Lights suplex for a 2 count. The referee warns Aliyah about using Li’s hair. Li responds with a big kick. Li with more big strikes to send Aliyah back down.
Li with another kick and a dropkick. Stone stumbles up to the apron now. Li turns her attention to Stone on the apron but he ends up spitting up his drink all over the mat, hitting Li some. Aliyah takes advantage of the distraction and rolls Li up for the win.
Winner: Aliyah
– After the match, Aliyah stands tall as her music hits. She helps Stone as he’s still unable to stand on his own two feet. We go to replays. Aliyah helps Stone before making her exit as well. They stop on the ramp so she can taunt Li with her backside.
– Still to come, an Undisputed Therapy session. Back to commercial.
– Back from the break and we see Timothy Thatcher in a ring somewhere dark. He welcomes unknown talents to the first day of Thatcher’s “Thatch-as-Catch-Can (Catch-as-Catch-Can) Wrestling” training. He says he will teach them things that no one else is able to. The first lesson is a Fujiwara armbar. He applies it to an unknown wrestler and shows how to really make it hurt. Any questions? Next is the double wristlock. He also shows how to make that work. Thatcher tells the group that this is the first day but next time the real work begins. He dismisses them but tells them to clean up the mess first from the one who cried all over his mat.
– Tom shows us video from earlier today of The Undisputed Era – NXT Champion Adam Cole and Bobby Fish. They’re sitting in the back of a car strategizing. Roderick Strong joins them. Cole knows Strong has gone through a traumatic experience from Dexter Lumis but he and Fish are going to get Strong the best of the best help, so he can get back to being the Strong that he was. Cole yells at a driver to take them where they’re going. We next see them as a doctor’s office. Strong leans back on a couch as Cole tells him that this is the best of the best doctor. Strong shuts his eyes and settles in. The doctor is Kyle O’Reilly in disguise, called Dr. Lyle Von Thurstenberg. He asks Strong about the trauma Lumis has brought on. Strong goes on about how Dexter Lumis is tormenting him. He goes on and O’Reilly assures him this is a safe space. He’s also shown some ink blots but he just sees Lumis in each one. Things go left and O’Reilly yells but remembers to use his fake voice. He believes they had a breakthrough, and thinks Strong needs to face the trunk of that car next. Strong hesitates but agrees. Strong, Cole and Fish end up back outside but Strong doesn’t want to go into the trunk. He runs away. Cole jokes that besides Strong running off, that went well. Cole tells Fish he’s going to get Strong.
– McKenzie Mitchell is backstage with Adam Cole now. He thinks Karrion Kross and Scarlett were just trying to scare him last week, but this will end like it has every other time, with Cole on top. NXT North American Champion Keith Lee walks up and McKenzie is dismissed. Lee says Kross and Scarlett were correct – Cole’s time with the title is coming to an end. Lee says but Kross won’t be the one to take the title from Cole, it will be him. Lee picks up the hourglass and shatters it on the ground. Cole storms off. Lee says “Tick Tock” and walks off. We go back to commercial.
– Back from the break and out comes NXT Champion Adam Cole to the ring.
Cole brags on being champion for 381 days and being the best. He says people can’t just throw their names into a hat and receive a title shot. It doesn’t work like that. He brings up how Karrion Kross beat one of the best in NXT, Tommaso Ciampa, but he’s still not worthy. He hasn’t been here long enough to get a title shot. Cole addresses NXT North American Champion Keith Lee next. Cole says he was the greatest NXT North American Champion and maybe he has his eyes on Lee’s title. Maybe he wants to hold both titles, maybe he wants to be North American Champion for 381 days. Cole goes on until the music hits and out comes Lee to the ring.
Lee and Cole have a few words as the big man enters the ring and paces around, mic in hand. Lee goes to speak but before he can, the music interrupts and out comes Johnny Gargano. Gargano comes out with a mic and mocks this cool moment between Cole and Lee. Gargano doesn’t care about moments anymore, he cares about results and the result from last week was Gargano pinning Lee. Gargano says he’s coming for Lee’s title. But why stop there? Gargano is in the ring now. He says he’s the first Triple Crown winner in NXT history and now it’s about time he gets what he deserves. He says he and Candice LeRae will be the first couple to be champions at the same time. Lee asks how Candice is and Gargano says she’s fine after what Lee did last week to her. Lee goes on about how he was more concerned for Candice than Gargano was last week. He recalls how Candice thanked him and said that was the most actions she’s had all year. Gargano yells about how that didn’t happen, he was there. The music interrupts and out comes Finn Balor.
Balor says now that he’s here they can stop being marks for themselves and go back to being a mark for him. Balor told Lee before but e will say it again – he’s held titles all over the world but he hasn’t held the NXT North American Title. Balor enters the ring and Gargano introduces himself with sarcasm. Balor says he’s not like Gargano, he doesn’t wait in lines, he cuts to the front. Balor steps around Gargano and to Lee’s face. He says big man I’m coming for the title and when I win it… I’m coming for you, Cole. Balor is in Cole’s face now. Cole dismisses Balor and says this always happens – Balor is somewhere but then Cole shows up and passes him by. Balor and Cole have more words until NXT General Manager William Regal interrupts from the big screen.
Regal announces a Triple Threat for the North American Title with Balor vs. Gargano vs. Lee for next Wednesday. The winner will then face Cole on the July 8 episode in a Champion vs. Champion Winner Takes All match. Everyone looks around and but no one attacks. That’s the segment.
– Still to come, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles are on the line. Back to commercial.
– We are back and Keith Lee is asked about William Regal’s announcement but Candice LeRae interrupts and Mia shows up behind Candice and Mia sends Candice into some storage bins. They continue to fight as referees try to break it up.
Kayden Carter vs. Dakota Kai
Carter with a take down and punches. Carter with a cross body and punches. Kai with a waist lock and Carter with a standing switch and rollup for a near fall. Carter with a springboard drop kick. Kai goes to the floor. Carter goes to the floor and Gonzalez runs interference. Carter stops Kai from attacking her from behind. Kai with a scorpion kick for a near fall. Kai pie faces Carter but Carter with forearms to Kai. Carter with a drop kick. Carter with a victory roll into a thrust kick for a near fall.
Kai with an Irish whip and Carter sends Kai to the apron. Carter with a knee and a jumping driver. Gonzalez drops Catanzaro on the apron. Kai with a rollup for a near fall. Kai with a submission and Carter taps out.
Winner: Dakota Kai
– We go to black and white in the back and Scarlett sees the broken hourglass. Karrion Kross walks in and steps on the glass as we go to commercial.
– We are back with a video package for Mercedes Martinez. She says she has been grinding for 19 years. She is all action and she is not here to lose. Every single female better watch their back. Everyone needs to know who Mercedes Martinez is.
Bronson Reed vs. Leon Ruff
Reed with a forearm and a back senton. Reed goes up top for a frog splash and the three count.
Winner: Bronson Reed
After the match, Reed takes the mic and he says he is not one to forget. That is why he is going to do what no one else has. He says he is calling out Karrion Kross for next week. Reed checks on Ruff and carries him to the back.
– We go to the parking lot where Damian Priest sees that his tires have been slashed. A car drives by and Cameron Grimes stops and asks Priest if he can get him an Uber. Back to commercial.
– Back from the break and out comes NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar, the former El Hijo del Fantasma. He’s wearing a suit. He stops on the stage and is joined by Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde, who are also wearing suits. They walk down the ramp with him but stop and go off to the side, allowing him to walk and enter the ring by himself. Escobar poses in the ring and they join him at his sides again as the music continues.
Escobar takes the mic and says Fantasma was known as the best lucha libre artist ever, but when you wear a mask that’s all the world sees – a luchador with a mask. For 20 years that was him, then he got the opportunity to come to NXT. He knew on this worldwide platform that the book of El Hijo del Fantasma would come to an end. He recalls how his dad, as Fantasma, told him growing up that he would be a leader. He tells Wilde and Mendoza that he will make them leaders because he is the leader of leaders. Together they are going to leave a legacy. He goes on but Drake Maverick comes out with a mic to interrupt.
Drake says Escobar fooled him but you know what they say, he’s got more heart than brains. Maverick rushes the ring and attacks Escobar. The others try to stop him and he gets rocked but keeps fighting. Maverick leaps out to the floor to nail Escobar again. They triple team him now and manhandle him at ringside, using the barrier. They fight off to a production area now. Drake fights off Mendoza and Wilde but Escobar cracks him over the back with a monitor. Escobar takes Drake on top of a table now and puts him through it with a Phantom Driver. Drake lands hard on the floor and clutches his head, selling the bump. Escobar, Wilde and Mendoza stand over Drake as the crowd boos. Escobar raises the title over Drake.
– Still to come, Sasha Banks and Bayley in the main event.
– Back from the break and we see what just happened to Drake Maverick. Tom also shows us Drake being stretchered into an ambulance during the break.
– The announcers confirm Karrion Kross vs. Bronson Reed and Cameron Grimes vs. Damian Priest for next week, in addition to the NXT North American Title Triple Threat.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles Match: Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox vs. Sasha Banks and Bayley
We go to the ring for tonight’s main event and out first comes Shotzi Blackheart in her tank. Tegan Nox is out next. Out next are the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions – Sasha Banks and SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley. The two teams meet in the middle of the ring and have words before we get formal ring introductions from Taylor.
Banks starts off with Nox, taking her down in the middle of the ring. They get up and trade holds. They tangle some more and go into the corner. Banks breaks and taunts Nox. Banks keeps control and covers for a 2 count. Nox catches Banks with a backslide for a 2 count. Blackheart tags in as Nox drops Banks on her face. Blackheart with an Oklahoma Roll for a 2 count. Bayley also comes in and goes at it with Blackheart. They trade more holds and quick pin attempts. Bayley drops a big knee on Blackheart and taunts her as we go to commercial.
Back from the break and Bayley is in control of Nox. Bayley runs into an elbow in the corner and she goes down. Nox with a double axe handle across the back. Nox rocks Bayley again but they collide and both go down in the middle of the ring. Blackheart and Banks tag in at the same time and they go at it.
Blackheart runs over Banks and drops her face-first into the mat for a pop. Blackheart with a big knee, forearm and Switchblade kick to Banks. Blackheart continues her offense with a belly-to-belly suplex to Banks for a close 2 count. Banks is on the apron now. Blackheart runs and goes to kick her to the floor with a Wrecking Ball but she misses and ends up on the floor. Banks runs off the apron with the Meteora on the floor. Banks brings it back in with a close 2 count and she’s surprised.
Banks tags Bayley back in and they double team Blackheart. Banks misses her double knees in the corner. Bayley goes to work on Blackheart but gets kicked, then sent face-first into the turnbuckle. Nox tags in and they take turns hitting cannonballs on each of the champs in opposite corners. Nox sends Banks to the apron and ends up chokeslamming her onto Bayley on the floor.
Blackheart leaps from the top, with an assist from Nox, and splashes to the floor with a crossbody, taking both champs down on the ground. Blackheart brings Bayley back in as the crowd cheers them on. Nox helps Blackheart with a big suplex on Bayley but Banks makes the save by sending Nox into them. All four Superstars are down on the mat now. Banks and Nox trade big shots now, both going down. Banks ends up on Nox’s shoulders as Blackheart tags in. Banks sends Nox into the corner but Blackheart nails a missile dropkick for another close 2 count. Banks immediately reverses into the Bank Statement in the middle of the ring.
Blackheart gets free and applies Cattle Mutilation. Bayley runs in with a steel chair but Nox stops her and grabs it. The referee is distracted by Nox and the chair now. Bayley breaks Blackheart’s submission, flipping her over and allowing Banks to go back to the Bank Statement. Blackheart taps out for the finish.
Winners: Sasha Banks and Bayley
– After the match, Banks and Bayley stand tall in the middle of the ring with their titles as the music hits. They will now defend against The IIconics on Monday’s RAW. We go to replays. Banks and Bayley continue their celebration until NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai flies into the ring and takes them both down for a big pop. Shirai unloads and delivers running double knees in opposite corners to each SmackDown Superstar. Shirai keeps control and clears the ring. Banks and Bayley regroup at the bottom of the ramp as we get replays of Shirai’s attack. Shirai raises her title in the air, staring Banks and Bayley down. Tom goes over the matches for next week’s show now. NXT goes off the air with Shirai posing up top, with her title on the line.
PLEASE SHARE THIS ARTICLE:
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
LATEST NEWS var numposts = 7;var showpostthumbnails = true;var displaymore = false;var displayseparator = true;var showcommentnum = false;var showpostdate = false;var showpostsummary = true;var numchars = 100;
