NXT Television Report Card

Going into this week's edition of NXT television, we only had one confirmed match on the card for NXT Takeover: Chicago II when The Undisputed Era takes on Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan.

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After the dust settled on this week's episode, a total of four matches were confirmed on a card that is shaping up to be yet another amazing edition of NXT Takeover.

The NXT Championship will feature Lars Sullivan challenging Aleister Black, Velveteen Dream takes on Ricochet in what's been an amazing feud, and the contracts are signed for Johnny Gargano v. Tommaso Ciampa in a Chicago Street Fight.

In addition to the developments leading towards NXT Takeover: Chicago II, there were a total of four matches this week. As always I will be grading the major segments of the show with A+ being the best grade and F being the worst.

Let's kick things off with the NXT Championship announcement...

Lars Sullivan destroys Aleister Black after announcing he's the #1 contender

We now know Lars Sullivan will face Aleister Black at NXT Takeover: Chicago II...

Aleister Black started off the show stating how it has been a trip being the NXT Champion. He mentions that there is confusion about who his next challenger is, but whoever it may be, they are one shot away from fading to black.

The Leviathan of NXT, Lars Sullivan, came out to let Black know that there is no longer any confusion. NXT General Manager William Regal named him the #1 contender for NXT Takeover: Chicago.

Sullivan grabbed Black by the throat, but Aleister broke free and tried for the Black Mass; however, Sullivan caught his foot with only one hand and hit the Freak Accident. It was definitely a solid promo to kick off the show.

GRADE: B

War Raiders destroy a couple of jobbers

The War Raiders of Hanson and Rowe made their debut at NXT Takeover: New Orleans in matches prior to the main card. Since then, they have carved a path of destruction befitting of this duo.

They are currently destroying jobbers left and right; which is the right call for this duo as some of the NXT Universe may not know who they are from their days in Ring Of Honor as War Machine.

I fully expect them to challenge The Undisputed Era for the NXT Tag Team Championships at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV, but it's really hard to grade a squash match like this one.

GRADE: C+

EC3 takes on Fabian Aichner and is rudely interrupted by Johnny Gargano

You can tell that EC3 wasn't pleased that Johnny Gargano interrupted his match...

EC3's journey to turn NXT into NX3 continued today with his third match since his return to the company. EC3 took on Cruiserweight Classic turned NXT competitor Fabian Aichner in a fairly competitive, but short match.

The major part of this segment was the fact that Johnny Gargano interrupted the match to deliver the Chicago Street Fight contract. I think this is going to be some foreshadowing for a feud heading into Brooklyn this August because EC3 didn't look pleased that Gargano interrupted his match.

GRADE: B-

Ricochet v. Chris Dijak

Chris Dijak makes his NXT television debut this week against Ricochet...

I was a little surprised that someone that has the talent of Chris Dijak didn't have any fanfare on his NXT debut, but he competes in his first television match since coming over from Ring Of Honor when he took on Ricochet.

It was a very short match as it appears the build for Dijak will be a slow one. He did show some flashes of brilliance that impressed the NXT Universe though. Ricochet finished it with a beautiful 630 Senton.

GRADE: C+

Ricochet calls out Velveteen Dream

The look on Velveteen Dream's face says it all after the way Ricochet got out of the ring to face him...

After his match with Chris Dijak, Ricochet got on the microphone and called out Velveteen Dream. When Dream came out to the ramp, he took exception to Ricochet calling him a punk, and Ricochet challenged him to do something about it.

Dream says that the only spotlight big enough for them is Takeover where he will prove that anything Ricochet can do, he can do better. After that, Ricochet does something very amazing.

You RISE when @KingRicochet appears! pic.twitter.com/QIWi8zz3kL
— TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) May 31, 2018

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That was truly amazing, something a superhero would do. You could tell that Dream was impressed too by the look on his face on the top photo. Ricochet told him to prove it, and all Dream could do is walk away.

It is always magic when these two are in the same room, and this segment was no exception. If it wasn't for Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, this could be the feud of the year.

GRADE: A

Shayna Baszler v. Dakota Kai for the NXT Women's Championship

SHa — Shayna Baszler was in complete control of Dakota Kai this week...

Dakota Kai faced her fears and her bully for an opportunity at the NXT Women's Championship when she took on Shayna Baszler in the main event. Though Kai had a nice flurry of offense, she was no match for Baszler and ended up tapping out to the rear-naked choke.

The match was pretty short and sweet (well not so sweet for Kai) where the outcome was never in doubt.

GRADE: C

Nikki Cross makes her intentions known

Very few can out-crazy Nikki Cross, and the end of NXT was proof.

After defeating Dakota Kai for the NXT Women's Championship, Shayna Baszler would re-apply the rear naked choke that earned her the win. SAnitY's Nikki Cross would come out and make the save.

Cross challenges Baszler to fight, but Shayna heads up the ramp. Before she could leave the arena, Cross would hilariously steal her title and go into the ring. She made an impromptu championship match with Dakota Kai as the guest referee.

Cross would hit The Purge and Kai would count for three. It obviously wasn't an actual title match, but the entire end of NXT was a brilliant display of Nikki's character.