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WWE NXT has been doing a great job of building towards big rivalries and Championship matches. Soon after Keith Lee relinquished his NXT North American Championship, a multi-man Ladder match to crown the new Champion was announced.
So far, Bronson Reed, Dexter Lumis, and Damian Priest have qualified for the ladder match. However, it was announced during last night's episode of NXT that Lumis had to be pulled from the match due to an ankle injury.
Apart from that, Rhea Ripley and Dakota Kai squared off to determine the next challenger for the NXT Women’s Championship, while Karrion Kross continued to build his case for an NXT Championship opportunity.
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Santos Escobar made another big statement by kidnapping Fandango and sending a warning to Isaiah "Swerve" Scott to stay away from his NXT Cruiserweight Championship.
The main event of the evening saw a big NXT Tag Team Championship match between Imperium and The Undisputed ERA, and things ended in a way no one expected them to.
In this article, we will look at 5 things that WWE NXT got right on this week’s show.
#5 Karrion Kross sends another message to the WWE NXT Champion
Last week on WWE NXT, Keith Lee walked out to address Karrion Kross after what the latter did to Dominik Dijakovic. However, Cameron Grimes decided to interrupt the NXT Champion and paid for his mistake.
This week, Lee took on and defeated Grimes. After the match, the lights went out once again and Kross appeared on the big screen. He warned The Limitless One that he would do whatever needs to be done for him to get his title shot.
While Lee's match with Grimes didn't push any boundaries, it did enough to take the latter out of the equation quickly while showing how irritated Lee was. Kross appearing on the big screen again rather than in person was an odd choice, but it did enough to make him look like a credible threat to Lee's title reign.
#4 Dakota Kai earns a WWE NXT Women’s Championship match
WWE NXT TakeOver XXX will see NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai defend her title against Dakota Kai, who secured her title shot by defeating Rhea Ripley in a #1 contender’s match on the most recent edition of NXT.
The two women exchanged a few big strikes before Kai caught Ripley with the Kaio Kick in the corner. She wanted to set up her finisher but The Nightmare managed to fight her way out of the corner.
Just when Ripley was getting back into the match, Mercedes Martinez attacked The Nightmare on the apron while the referee was distracted. Kai then took advantage of the situation and hit the GTK to pick up the victory.
After the match, Martinez took out Ripley to make a huge statement on behalf of The Robert Stone Brand. This match and the post-match beatdown paved the way for two big bouts for NXT TakeOver XXX. Not only will we get to see Kai take on Shirai at the event, but we could possibly see Ripley team up with Shotzi Blackheart to take on Martinez and Aliyah.
#3 Damian Priest sets his sights on the WWE NXT North American Championship
This week on WWE NXT, Oney Lorcan, Damian Priest, and newcomer Ridge Holland competed in a triple threat match to determine the third competitor in the upcoming ladder match for the vacant NXT North American Championship.
While Holland seemed like the clear favorite to win and had an impressive showing throughout the bout, Priest did not back down from the fight and used his experience to his advantage. He took the big man out of the equation and then hit The Reckoning on Lorcan to pick up the victory and punch his ticket to NXT TakeOver XXX.
This was a great match that allowed Holland to make an immediate impact while ensuring that the right man progressed to the heavily-promoted title match. The Archer of Infamy needs gold around his waist, and this could be the perfect opportunity for him.
Later in the night, it was announced that Lumis had suffered an injury and that his replacement would be determined through a couple of singles matches.
#2 Imperium retain the WWE NXT Tag Team Championship
Imperium put their WWE NXT Tag Team Titles on the line against The Undisputed ERA this week. Pat McAfee was a part of the commentary team during the match that saw Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish going all out to take the titles back for their team.
They showcased their insane tag team chemistry and the NXT Universe was glad to see both men team up again. The two teams fought back and forth to put on an entertaining wrestling bout.
When it started looking like The Undisputed ERA were set to take their titles back from Imperium, distractions got the best of O’Reilly and this allowed the United Kingdom duo to hit the European Powerbomb to pick up the victory and retain their NXT Tag Team Titles.
This was a great way to end the main event and protect the Undisputed ERA for a potential rematch at NXT TakeOver XXX. While Imperium has shown that they have what it takes to lead the NXT tag team division, it’s always great to see UE at the top.
#1 Pat McAfee leaves his mark on WWE NXT
While Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish were fighting their battle inside the ring against Imperium, Pat McAfee was busy talking down Adam Cole once again. While it seemed like the two men had patched up during the show, McAfee still had a lot of discouraging things to say about the former NXT Champion.
After McAfee’s comments drove Beth Phoenix away from the commentary table, Cole had enough of the visitor who’d already gotten under his skin during the Pat McAfee show a couple of weeks ago and threw water at him.
This prompted a war of words between the two men. Roderick Strong, Triple H, and several other officials including Shawn Michaels tried to calm the two men down and break things up.
The show ended with McAfee delivering a devastating punt kick to Adam Cole. This segment was beautifully executed and added fuel to the rivalry between the involved individuals.
Not long after the segment, Triple H challenged Pat McAfee to a match against Adam Cole at NXT TakeOver XXX.
