Joe Hendry successfully defended the NXT Championship against Ricky Saints in the main event of Vengeance Day.
The champion secured the pinfall victory following an inadvertent distraction from Ethan Page and a low blow that the referee did not see.
The title bout concluded the March 7 event at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
The match featured significant offense from both competitors. Early in the contest, Saints gained an advantage by trapping Hendry’s leg in the ring ropes and delivering a series of strikes. Hendry responded with a delayed vertical suplex. When Saints attempted an Old School maneuver from the top rope, Hendry crotched him on the top turnbuckle.
The action spilled to the outside, where Saints sent Hendry shoulder-first into the steel steps. Saints then controlled the pace with a neckbreaker, a basement front kick, and an axe handle from the ring apron.
Hendry eventually rallied, hitting a spear and his signature fallaway slam. He then caught Saints out of mid-air to execute a powerbomb. Saints countered a subsequent attack with an Air Raid Crash and transitioned into a crossface and then a guillotine choke. The champion appeared to fade but powered out of the submission with a suplex.
Late in the match, Hendry delivered an Attitude Adjustment-style maneuver and a super fallaway slam from the top rope, but Saints kicked out of both pinfall attempts.
Ethan Page then arrived at ringside and picked up the NXT Championship belt. Saints hit a spear and demanded Page hand him the title. Page slid the belt into the ring, but it went directly to Hendry. As the referee disposed of the championship, Saints delivered a low blow and a Revolution DDT, but Hendry kicked out.
During the final sequence, Saints whipped Hendry into the corner, nearly causing a collision with the referee. With the official’s back turned, Hendry retaliated with a low blow of his own. He immediately executed the Standing Ovation to secure the three-count.
Following the match, Saints questioned Page’s actions at ringside before the broadcast concluded.
