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WWE NXT has been giving fans some of the best entertainment in recent weeks. The NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament had made things much more interesting and this week’s final caught the interest of the entire WWE Universe.
Drake Maverick fought for the title and a chance to get his job back against NXT’s newest Superstar, El Hijo del Fantasma.
The beginning of the night saw a big fight between Candice LeRae and Mia Yim that ended up becoming a Mixed Tag Team Match later on.
Three of NXT’s top teams battled for a chance to get a shot at Imperium’s NXT Tag Team Championship and a surprise victory helped the brand further build their tag team division.
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Isaiah "Swerve" Scott and Cameron Grimes managed to have a good night, while Drake Maverick’s widely-expected departure took an unexpected turn.
In this article, we will look at the five things WWE got right on this week’s NXT before TakeOver: In Your House.
#5 The NXT North American Championship match build
The latest hot rivalry of NXT saw Mia Yim and Candice LeRae scheduled for a match to kick off the show. LeRae attacked Yim during her entrance and tried to take control early.
However, The Poison Pixie was surprised to see Yim’s strength as both women continued to trade the advantage to keep the match at a balance.
The fight spilled over to the floor where Yim threw LeRae around to vent her frustration, causing the referee to count out both women and end the match.
LeRae sent The HBIC into the LED wall, leading to Tegan Nox appearing as she tried to separate both women. However, Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez came out to attack Nox which led to Shotzi Blackheart coming out to her assistance.
The brawl turned into an NXT Mixed Tag Team Match
Soon, the men got involved as Johnny Gargano and Keith Lee made their way out to the middle. William Regal turned the fight into a mixed tag team match between the two couples and we saw the women do most of the fighting in the ring.
After Gargano broke up a pin by Yim, The Limitless One got involved and went after The Rebel Heart. Gargano poked Lee’s eye with a car key and the distraction allowed The HBIC to take the fall as LeRae pinned her to pick up the victory.
This segment and match did extremely well to build towards Sunday’s NXT North American Championship match and NXT ensured that the two men did not trade too many blows so that their first clash at TakeOver seems fresh.
#4 Cameron Grimes continues to rise
Cameron Grimes isn’t your average WWE Superstar. He has the looks and talent to make a great heel, but his current character is going all over the place and not letting him settle in one role on NXT.
Grimes has suffered several big losses this year, but he’s managed to get back into the zone after picking up the biggest victory of his career against former Universal Champion Finn Balor with a little help from Damian Priest.
Grimes came out this week to compete against NXT’s Thicc Boi, Bronson Reed. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Reed compete and the NXT Universe knows exactly how much talent the new Superstar has.
NXT is looking to build a few new heels
Reed had the advantage in the match and kept The Technical Savage down for most of the bout using his power and size. While Reed seemed to be in the driving seat, Grimes was able to make a comeback and hit his finisher to pin the mammoth Superstar.
After the match was over, Karrion Kross appeared in the ring and took out Reed with his Doomsday Saito finisher to make one final statement before TakeOver: In Your House.
Grimes looks to be the next star NXT should focus on, and such victories will only help him come across as more than just The Technical Savage. His progression into a well-developed character can take him to new heights.
#3 Breezango makes an interesting return in the NXT ring
The Undisputed Era was up against Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan this week and a mystery team. The mystery team was revealed to be none-other-than the most entertaining tag team in NXT, Breezango.
The Triple Threat Tag Team Match saw a member of each team compete at the same time. All had their moments in the match, and Lorcan was the star who made things even better for the viewers.
Tyler Breeze and Fandango had newfound energy during the clash and continued to retain the advantage for extended periods. While Undisputed Era looked to pick up the victory and go on to another NXT Tag Team Championship match, Dexter Lumis showed up in the crowd to distract Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish.
Another distraction cost the premier tag team on NXT
The distraction allowed Fandango to get back in the match and hit a leg drop from the top rope to pick up the victory for his team.
This was a great way to have an exciting tag team match and allow a team like Breezango to get a push and give Imperium a tough time without threatening their current position.
The appearance of Indus Sher after the match reminded the fans that the new NXT tag team also had their eyes on the prize even though they haven’t been in action much.
#2 NXT gets a new Cruiserweight Champion
The end of last night’s NXT was set to host the big final between El Hijo del Fantasma and Drake Maverick for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship.
Maverick was the underdog yet again but had the backing of the WWE Universe due to recent events that saw him getting released from the company. However, he had managed to get this far in the tournament and was looking to pull off the ultimate heist against NXT’s newest signee.
While Fantasma is still a cruiserweight, he had the clear size and power advantage over Maverick who is among the lightest Superstars in WWE.
The masked Superstar continued to take advantage in the match while Maverick found small openings to make short comebacks. Two masked men appeared, just like we’ve seen backstage for several months, and approached Fantasma who was out near ringside. However, Maverick made the save and laid out both men.
Who are the masked men attacking NXT Superstars?
This allowed Fantasma to take control and hit his finisher on the underdog to pick up the win and take home his first WWE Championship early in his career.
While Fantasma is new to the company, fans are well-acquainted with his skills and achievements outside WWE. It was good to see Maverick reach the finals but had WWE allowed him to win the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, they’d have possibly received a lot of backlash from the WWE Universe. This was the right move to make.
#1 Drake Maverick gets a pleasant surprise from NXT
After Fantasma was done celebrating becoming the new NXT Cruiserweight Champion, the NXT Superstars and WWE Performance Centre recruits in attendance gave a standing ovation to Drake Maverick. The Superstar was ready to bid farewell to the company and thanked the WWE Universe for believing in him throughout the tournament.
As he was about to leave, Triple H walked out and presented Spud with a brand new contract. Maverick was overjoyed and so were the men and women in attendance who cheered for him and the head of NXT.
NXT re-signs Drake Maverick
This was a great way to bring the tournament and the night to an end after telling a great story that likely stemmed from the reaction of Maverick and the WWE Universe following his release.
While Fantasma rightfully won the title after a hard-fought tournament, it was Maverick who pulled the crowd in for each match as he looked to make the story his own.
It’ll be interesting to see what role Maverick works in following the NXT Cruiserweight Tournament and whether any other recently released Superstar will get the same opportunity that he did after the fans’ reactions.
