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WWE NXT delivered an action-filled episode on Tuesday night last week. The show was filled with surprises and title changes that helped the brand kick things off on the right foot.
This week, the brand looked to carry on the momentum with some big matches and a massive debut. Kyle O’Reilly returned to the show and expressed his desire to target the NXT Championship once again.
KUSHIDA issued an Open Challenge just a week after winning the NXT North American Championship. Sarray made her NXT debut against Zoey Stark in one of the best matches of the night.
MSK came across potential challengers to their NXT Tag Team Championships soon after KUSHIDA’s match. Leon Ruff sent another warning to Isaiah "Swerve" Scott to make their rivalry even more intense.
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Franky Monet interrupted Io Shirai’s interview and nearly got into a fight with the former NXT Women’s Champion. How long will The Genius of the Sky stay away from the NXT ring before returning?
Let’s take a look at five things WWE got right on NXT this week.
#5 LA Knight and Dexter Lumis had a good match on WWE NXT
Dexter Lumis and LA Knight were scheduled to compete in one of the bigger matches of WWE NXT this week. Knight tried to mock Lumis a little too much and paid the price early on.
Lumis tried to pick up an early victory with a jackknife pinfall attempt. Knight got back into the match with a Big Boot and then sent his opponent into the barricade outside the ring. He dropped The Tortured Artist on the ring apron and then hit a neck-breaker inside the ring.
Lumis recovered to hit some explosive moves to get back into the contest. However, Indi Hartwell appeared to distract Lumis and the two nearly kissed outside the ring before Knight attacked Lumis.
Lumis took Knight down with a slingshot double axe-handle but could not put him away. The Tortured Artist’s infatuation with Hartwell led to his downfall as a Headlock Driver through the ropes helped Knight pick up the victory.
After the match, The Way dragged Indi Wrestling away just as she came close to locking lips with Lumis. The match was good and allowed Knight to pick up a victory over an established superstar.
It doesn’t make sense why Lumis is not progressing to the NXT North American Championship picture. Nor does it make sense why creative are keeping him tied up with such storylines. However, his storyline with The Way has been entertaining, and it could lead to something bigger for the NXT Superstar.
Backstage, McKenzie Mitchell tried to interview Hartwell before The Way interrupted. Bronson Reed arrived to challenge Johnny Gargano, but Austin Theory accepted the challenge instead.
#4 Grizzled Young Veterans continued to impress on WWE NXT
MSK won the WWE NXT Tag Team Championships at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. NXT needed to build some competitors for the new champions .Creative booked a good tag team match this week.
Breezango came out dressed as the Queen’s Guards before the Grizzled Young Veterans made their way out. They were not impressed with Tyler Breeze and Fandango’s antics and thought that they did not take them seriously.
Zack Gibson and James Drake dominated early and kept Breezango on the back foot. After Fandango took a lot of damage, he tagged Breeze into the contest. Prince Pretty got the hot tag and tried to take down GYV singlehandedly.
However, he could not finish off Drake and Gibson on his own. A blind tag allowed GYV to hit the Ticket to Mayhem to pick up the victory. GYV have been in contention for the NXT Tag Team titles on and off but have failed to win them thus far.
However, such impressive performances will help them stay on top and hopefully win the titles sooner rather than later. MSK and GYV have already competed on a couple of occasions, but this is one rivalry that will not get boring for some time.
#3 KUSHIDA and Oney Lorcan put on a clinic on WWE NXT
KUSHIDA surprised the WWE Universe by winning the NXT Cruiserweight Championship in an Open Challenge last week. The Japanese Superstar kicked off his first title reign by coming out to establish his own Open Challenge.
Oney Lorcan answered KUSHIDA’s call and tried to use his power during the contest. However, he was no match for KUSHIDA’s speed in the early part of the match.
KUSHIDA worked on Lorcan’s arm to build towards his submission maneuver. Lorcan tried to power his way back into the match with a running knee. However, things did not improve for the former NXT Tag Team Champion as he was forced to submit to the Hoverboard Lock soon after.
After the match, Legado del Fantasma showed up to ambush the NXT Cruiserweight Champion. MSK then came out to even the odds, taking out the heels to end the segment.
The match between KUSHIDA and Lorcan was good and allowed the former NXT Tag Team Champion to work alone as his partner is currently out with an injury.
Fans will get a six-man tag team match between Legado del Fantasma and the team of MSK and KUSHIDA next week. This will likely lead to a new rivalry for the NXT Tag Team Championships.
#2 Sarray made an impressive debut on WWE NXT
Sarray was all set to make her WWE NXT debut this week. General Manager William Regal greeted Sarray in the parking lot before Zoey Stark cut in to ask for a match against the newbie later in the night.
The Warrior of the Sun took advantage early on after Stark tried to show her some respect. Stark tried to use her power in the competition, but Sarray refused to stay down for long as she was looking to make a big impact.
Stark picked up the pace late in the match and took down Sarray with a suplex followed by a running knee for a near-fall.
A spinning heel kick into a forearm helped Sarray deliver the Saito Suplex to seal her first victory in NXT. After the match, Stark and The Warrior of the Sun stood in respect of one another before Toni Storm arrived to take down Stark.
This was a good first match for Sarray. Stark's first big match was against Io Shirai and did extremely well in the contest. It was great to watch her get another big match against a competitor like Sarray.
The rivalry between Storm and Stark will likely get more interesting from here on, while Sarray has several competitors to look forward to.
#1 Kyle O’Reilly continued to make his case as a top singles wrestler on WWE NXT
Kyle O’Reilly returned to WWE NXT after putting Adam Cole behind him. O’Reilly was ready to move forward after excelling as a singles competitor. He made it clear that his focus was on the NXT Championship currently held by Karrion Kross.
Cameron Grimes came out to interrupt KOR and offered to set up a business relationship with him. Kool Kyle joked about joining Grimes before dropping him with a right hand.
This led to a match between the two men later on NXT. Kross starred down O’Reilly as he headed out for his match against The Technical Savage.
Grimes was impressive once again and looked to work over KOR’s injured neck. He dropped him with a German Suplex and locked in the Crossface to apply pressure to O’Reilly’s injuries.
O’Reilly fought back even though he was far from a hundred percent. He countered a Cave In attempt and hit a Roundhouse Kick. After some more action, KOR picked up the victory with a diving knee drop to the back of Grimes.
The match was great and allowed both superstars to shine. Grimes has been outstanding nonstop even though his gimmick hasn’t been too great. O’Reilly has been the shining star of NXT since late last year, and he continued to impress with this performance.
It will be interesting to see how O’Reilly performs against Kross later on. More importantly, where is Adam Cole?
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