Results
- Tavion Heights def. Jackson Drake (NXT North American Championship #1 Contenders Match) (11:05)
- Izzi Dame def. Wren Sinclair (WWE Speed Tournament Semi-Final) (2:20)
- Nattie def. Jaida Parker (15:08) (Recommended)
- Arianna Grace def. Layla Diggs (WWE Speed Tournament Semi-Final) (2:44)
- Lola Vice & Kendal Grey def. Zaria & Kelani Jordan (12:45)
NXT’s top women’s talents booked for tag match main event
The latest episode of NXT, live as usual from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, opened with a recap of last week’s eventful episode: Zaria captured the women’s North American title off Tatum Paxley, Naraku earned a shot at Tony D’Angelo’s belt, and Kendal Grey secured a title opportunity against Lola Vice.
We then went to the live feed, where the newly-crowned Zaria opened the show. The new champ got on the microphone to brag about how, despite being an afterthought in the women’s division for months, she was able to capture a belt without any added help. Zaria kept trying to cut a heel promo, at one point saying, “I don’t owe any of you anything, especially gratitude,” but this PC crowd wouldn’t stop cheering her.
Zaria’s promo was cut off by Kelani Jordan, the first woman to win the North American title. She took credit for giving the title prestige and wanted to come to the ring and give Zaria some advice. Jordan warned Zaria that her accomplishments would never be enough for the greedy NXT fans, and that she should hold onto her title for as long as possible, as unfair booking means it could be her last shot at a belt.
Jordan started to express frustration over her loss last week to Kendal Grey, causing Grey herself to come out.
NXT Women’s Champion Lola Vice followed just moments later and addressed all three women: She told Zaria to get over Sol Ruca, and told Grey she had beaten her before and will do it again at Great American Bash in a few weeks, where they’re scheduled to face off. These four started to all shout at eachother, causing NXT General Manager Robert Stone to come out and book a tag match for later tonight between the women in the ring. This segment was a little all over the place, but that match should be a fun way to preview the upcoming title bout.
Tavion Heights earns Great American Bash opportunity
Another matchup for Great American Bash was decided next, as Tavion Heights and Jackson Drake battled it out for a shot against NXT North American Champion Myles Borne. I wasn’t sure who would win this one: Heights going head-to-head with friend Borne made sense, but Drake has been gaining lots of momentum on the show recently as well.
Heights had a strong start to the fight, but lost control of the battle after a slight distraction from the rest of Vanity Project at ringside. The short pause allowed Drake to send Heights flying out of the ring with a knee strike, then running him full-force into a set of steel stairs at ringside.
Heights clawed back into the match after the show returned from a break, getting a near fall after a pair of clotheslines then a belly-to-belly overhead suplex. After a crafty series of counters, Drake came off the ropes with a cutter then followed with a standing Shooting Star Press for a two-count of his own.
Heights was dropkicked out of the ring by Drake, who followed up with a high-speed tope suicida. Back in the ring, Heights countered a top-rope move with an overhead belly-to-belly out of the corner. He followed up with a top-rope frogsplash, but it wasn’t enough to stop Drake. The crowd was digging the performance, chanting “This is awesome” by this point.
Drake tried for a 450 Splash off the top, but Heights avoided the move. Heights then delivered an overhead belly-to-belly which sent Drake over the top rope and out of the ring. landing on his two Vanity Project teammates. Myka Lockwood distracted the referee, giving the chance for Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes to try and hit the ring and attack Heights, getting revenge after they were wiped out by him moments earlier. But, right as they tried this, North American Champ Borne appeared at ringside and dragged the two heels out of the ring!
After Borne took out Baylor and Smokes with clotheslines, Heights dropped Drake with his Height of Glory powerslam for the pinfall win in 11 minutes. Heights and Borne is set for Great American Bash.
Borne tried to raise Heights’ hand after the win, but Heights pushed him away and made it clear that he didn’t want the champ’s help tonight. This was a fun match, and the rematch between former NQCC members Borne and Heights should be entertaining.
Izzi Dame advances in Speed tournament
This week saw the latest WWE Speed #1 contenders tournament kick off, this time focusing on the women’s division. In the first of two semi-final bouts, we saw Thea Hail and Izzi Dame square off. It’s worth highlighting that this was the first TV match for Hail since March. There’s also a storyline going on within The Culling that we should note, with Dame recently struggling to get along with Shawn Spears and Niko Vance. Spears got Dame a spot in this tournament as an attempt to get back on her good side.
Hail immediately went for a pair of roll-ups, but neither were able to put away Dame. The fight went to ringside, where a kimura attempt from Hail was stopped by Dame, who ran her back-first into the ring apron.
Back in the ring, Hail dropped Dame with a headbutt then tried for her springboard senton, but Dame got out of the way. Dame then charged at Hail with a knee strike to the head for the pinfall win with 40 seconds to spare in the three-minute time limit match. The embattled Culling might soon have gold (albeit arguably the least important title on the brand), as Dame is two victories away from capturing the women’s Speed title.
Kendal Grey and Lola Vice briefly got into a heated argument backstage, planting the seeds for a classic “Can they coexist?!?” storyline when they team up later tonight.
Great American Bash headliners have face-to-face meeting
In a pre-taped segment, we saw NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo and his Great American Bash opponent, Naraku, met in a face-to-face. D’Angelo approached Naraku, who had a table set up in a park at night.
Naraku was being cordial to the champ, but D’Angelo said that the Japanese star was doing a fake nice guy character. D’Angelo said he did his research and learned about Naraku’s past as EVIL. He knew that Naraku was a dangerous man in NJPW, earning numerous titles but winning many with underhanded tactics, using his “pack of wild animals” in House of Torture to cheat his way to title wins.
D’Angelo said that Naraku came to America by himself and believes he can win the title without any assistance. “That’s where you’re wrong,” D’Angelo said.
D’Angelo opened the binder which had the contract for their Great American Bash match. Naraku hadn’t signed it yet! The NXT newcomer told D’Angelo that, after the champ signs it, he will deliver his side of the contract to him next week to confirm the bout. After D’Angelo signed the contract and left, Naraku looked into the camera and said: “Evil is coming! Hahahaha.”
Now that they have acknowledged Naraku’s past as a cheater and dirty player, I’m curious whether that will continue into his NXT career. Will he use underhanded tactics or, will he possibly even use assistance from someone else? We haven’t heard any updates in a while, but the rumor mill said months ago that former Los Ingobernables de Japon teammate Hiromu Takahashi was also NXT-bound. I think there are still many questions to be answered about the Naraku character, and I’m hoping next week and the upcoming GAB match will give us a clearer picture finally.
Nattie takes out rival Jaida Parker in long-awaited face-off
Backstage, Robert Stone announced that EK Prosper and Keanu Carver will face off next week. Carver expressed frustration that he’s stuck with Prosper while others like Naraku get to challenge for a title. Prosper took offence to that comment and said he would humiliate Carver next week.
A grudge match between Jaida Parker and veteran talent Nattie was up next. These two have been beefing for weeks, a rivalry which started after Nattie said that the struggling Parker had lost her edge. I was expecting this match to be saved for a PLE, honestly.
A large part of this match was the women going back and forth with submission attempts. Nattie also targeted one of Parker’s knees early on. Parker locked in an STF at the 10-minute mark, but Nattie escaped by reaching the ropes. Nattie swept Parker face-first onto the mat then searched for a Surfboard Stretch.
Parker gained some momentun with a series of hard-hitting moves, scoring clohteslines, elbows, and head kicks. She was able to position Nattie in a corner of a ring for her high-step splash, then followed up with a Hipnotic. Surprisingly, that wasn’t enough to put away Nattie.
Nattie tried for a Sharpshooter, but Parker was able to escape. An armbar attempt was also avoided by Parker via roll-up pin attempt. Nattie was knocked out of the ring with another Hipnotic from Parker. At ringside, Nattie shoved Parker into a steel staircase. Back in the ring, a huge discus lariat dropped Parker, then Nattie finally locked in the Sharpshooter submission. Parker crawled her way near a rope, but just as she was about to secure a rope break, Nattie pulled her back into the center of the ring. A defeated Parker tapped out to end this one in 15 minutes.
A few minutes into this, I wasn’t sure if this match would be anything of note. But they gained a lot of heat as it progressed and had the crowd fully invested by the end. The gritty, hard-hitting striking was fun, the submission exchanges were entertaining, and they made the right booking decision by making Nattie win here. I’m hoping the next chapter is Parker accepting Nattie as her protege and levelling up with her help.
Diggs impresses, but ultimately loses in Speed semi-final
The second half of the latest WWE Speed women’s tournament was next, with NXT newcomer Layla Diggs taking on Birthright’s Arianna Grace. Diggs has appeared roughly a dozen times on EVOLVE and made some past appearances on NXT Level Up years ago. This was her second appearance on NXT’s flagship show, coming back a few weeks after facing Jaida Parker. Commentary mentioned that she’s also set to make her Main Event debut later this week.
Diggs slammed Grace face-first on the apron then scored a beautiful Shining Wizard for a two-count just a minute into the bout. Grace gained some momentum with a clothesline, a suplex, then a huge diving forearm for a two-count. Diggs knocked down Grace with a leg lariat, then a step-up enzigiri.
Another crafty head kick dropped Grace. Diggs climbed to the top rope but was distracted by the rest of Birthright. Diggs took out the rest of the faction at ringside with a huge moonsault to the floor. She climbed back into the ring and was immediately rolled-up by Grace for the win with just a few moments later. Diggs looked really fun here, but wow, that finish made her look like a geek. And now the finals are Grace vs. Dame, two heels who the crowd isn’t that interested in? Anyway, hope we get to see more Diggs soon.
In a pre-taped promo, NXT risk-taker Tate Wilder said that he’s feeling the pressure after going winless in his few appearances for the brand. But, he made it clear that he’s still expecting that first victory and looking forward to it.
The broadcast announced that Saquon Shugars vs. Dion Lennox is official for Great American Bash. We got a video package showing Shugars briefly discuss his upbringing, then saying that DarkState will regret kicking him from the group. Lennox was seen watching the video backstage and said he will see Shugars next week.
Here’s what was announced for next week on the broadcast:
- Aaron Rourke vs. Tristan Angels (EVOLVE Championship)
- Hank Walker & Tank Ledger vs. Uriah Connors & Stacks
- Tony D’Angelo vs. Naraku & Lola Vice vs. Kendal Grey contract signings for Great American Bash
- Saquon Shugars & Dion Lennox meet face-to-face
- Dorian Van Dux & Sean Legacy vs. Shawn Spears & Niko Vance
- EK Prosper vs. Keanu Carver
As previously mentioned, we’re also expecting EK Prosper vs. Keanu Carver. The Aaron Rourke and Tristan Angels match was made after they had a heated back-and-forth backstage on this week’s show.
With help from Tatum Paxley, Vice & Jordan win main event
The main event saw Great American Bash opponents Lola Vice and Kendal Grey attempt to put their rivalry aside to take down the team of Zaria and Kelani Jordan.
Grey was isolated through the commercial break, giving Vice the opportunity to get the hot tag after the show returned. She scored a pair of hip attacks in the corner to Jordan. Zaria scored a blind tag then dropped Vice with a hard head kick. Jordan tagged back in and connected with a five-star frogsplash for a near fall.
A fresh Grey got back into the match. She sent Jordan flying across the ring with a belly-to-belly overhead suplex. She peeled down the straps on her singlet then hit a pair of German Suplexes. A third was countered by Jordan into a Wasteland. Jordan tried for a split-legged moonsault out of the corner, but Grey prevented it.
Zaria got into the match and dropped Grey with a huge spear. She tried to follow up with an F5, but Grey countered it mid-air into a Fujiwara Armbar! That was an awesome spot. Grey transitioned into a traditional armbar, but Zaria escaped with a powerbomb. Vice got back into the ring to break up a pin attempt.
Grey connected with a beautiful spinning back elbow, Andrade El Idolo style. Vice got into the ring and locked a sleeper on Zaria. Jordan tried to hit the ring to break up the pin, but got caught in an ankle lock by Grey.
Both of the heels escaped submissions and the fight went to ringside. Jordan took out Grey with a springboard moonsault to the floor. Vice came off the ring apron with a dive to take out Jordan. Zaria speared Vice on the floor! Zaria picked up Vice, but got distracted by former North American Champ Tatum Paxley suddenly appearing at ringside. This distraction allowed Vice to regain control of the match.
Back in the ring, Vice dropped Zaria with a spinning backfist for the pinfall win in 12 minutes. This was a high-octane tag match that worked at a wild pace in the final stretch. Really enjoyable, and did a good job at previewing the top women’s title program as well as (what is presumably) a rematch set to go down for the North American title.
Paxley and Zaria brawled at ringside after the match. Jordan got in-between a face-off between Vice and Grey, causing challenger Grey to accidentally strike the champ with her title. While they want to be friends, Vice and Gret keep having troubling moments. A fun sequence to end the show.
