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A lot was promised for this week’s WWE NXT as William Regal was scheduled to make a big announcement for the show. Regal did not disappoint as he revealed that a new NXT TakeOver would be held in August for the NXT Universe.
A big match between Killian Dain and Dexter Lumis was scheduled for the night after the two came face to face backstage last week following a segment involving Robert Stone and Aliyah.
Oney Lorcan also got his hands on Timothy Thatcher once again this week after the two men have already shown that they have a lot of differences to settle.
The real big match of the night saw Karrion Kross compete against Dominik Dijakovic to make yet another statement on the Black & Gold brand.
With a lot of action taking place during this week’s show, fans can’t help but get excited for what’s to come, especially during the next NXT TakeOver event.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things WWE got right on this week’s episode of NXT.
#5 Keith Lee relinquishes his WWE NXT North American Championship
This week’s WWE NXT had a major announcement by General Manager William Regal scheduled for the night. Regal gave the chance to NXT Champion and NXT North American Champion Keith Lee to open the night with a huge announcement.
Lee shocked the NXT Universe by announcing that he would relinquish his NXT North American Championship in favor of his NXT Championship, ending his reign at 182 days. Lee said that he wanted to give other Superstars a chance to stand out and claim this opportunity when he goes ahead and defends the NXT title.
Following Lee’s big announcement, Regal took over to announce that he’d set up a tournament to crown the new North American Champion. He revealed that a series of triple threat matches would take place as qualifiers, and the winners would progress to a Ladder Match to be held at NXT TakeOver XXX.
This was a great way to start NXT as it immediately helped set the tone for the night. Lee relinquishing the title was a smart move as it will set up the secondary rivalries in NXT without hurting The Limitless One’s value. This will also avoid double-booking Lee or keeping the two titles together on one Superstar.
It will also give fans two big matches for NXT TakeOver XXX without the need to book Lee in two matches for the night.
#4 Dexter Lumis makes Killian Dain pass out on WWE NXT
Two of WWE NXT’s most unforgiving men squared off in the ring this week as Killian Dain looked to make a memorable comeback to the ring against Dexter Lumis. The two men had engaged in a backstage scuffle last week, and Dain was looking to teach Lumis a lesson this time around.
Dain tried to dominate Lumis early in the match but was scored by his dead-eye scare. However, The Beast of Belfast tried to unload everything he had on Lumis as he looked to pick up a big victory.
The heel had Lumis on the backfoot, but a spinebuster opened up the match for Lumis again. He hit a Senton before locking in the Kara Gatame as we saw The Beast pass out. Lumis won the match by Techincal Knockout as Dain once again failed to make an impact.
This was a decent match that saw Lumis carry the entire load of the contest while dragging Dain with him. The Beast of Belfast really needs to step up his game and become a force on NXT before he gets washed away.
Lumis winning the match was the right way to go, and we could ultimately see him become a part of the NXT North American Championship Ladder Match.
#3 Timothy Thatcher makes Oney Lorcan pay on WWE NXT once again
Timothy Thatcher and Oney Lorcan were prepared for another match this week after Lorcan had arrived to chase Thatcher away on NXT last week.
Thatcher was the superior athlete in this match as he wore down Lorcan and looked to take him out with submission holds early in the match.
However, Lorcan is one of the toughest men in NXT and did not bow down to Thatcher as he fought back to get into the match with a series of strikes.
The face then locked Thatcher into the Fujiwara armbar, but the heel managed to get out of it, frustrating Lorcan even more. Lorcan continued to work on Thatcher’s arm in hopes of finally taking him down, and continued to make the heel pay for his actions earlier on.
However, Thatcher rolled Lorcan up with a handful of tights and stole the victory after Lorcan had already put in all the hard work.
This was another great match between the two men, and they showed the chemistry they share in the ring to perfection. Even though they don’t have the show-offy moves to steal the night, their overall matches are unique and something to watch again and again.
This match was different from their first one, and we’ll have to wait and see if we’ll get the third chapter in this rivalry or not. As for now, Thatcher will compete against Dexter Lumis and Finn Balor next week in a match that will see one man progress to the NXT North American Championship Ladder Match.
#2 Bronson Reed picks up the biggest victory of his WWE NXT career
Backstage on WWE NXT, Bronson Reed was sick of listening to Roderick Strong who had already gotten several opportunities in his extended NXT career. He made it clear that he wanted to win this match against Strong and Johnny Gargano and progress to his first big opportunity.
Reed was up against two former NXT North American Champions but did not seem intimidated even though he’d lost clean to Karrion Kross only a few weeks ago.
While the heels tried to team up to take out the larger man first, Reed felt like Keith Lee in this performance and he dished out similar punishment to his smaller opponents in this fight.
Gargano then changed his focus and looked to pounce on any opportunity he saw during the match rather than helping Strong isolate Thicc Boi. In one big spot, Gargano took out Reed and then hit the One Final Beat on Strong. However, Reed recovered and hit a diving splash to pin Strong and take home the biggest victory of his career.
This match was well booked and allowed the newer Superstar to shine against two of NXT’s most accomplished men. NXT has always been the land of opportunities, and this match clearly showed that the veterans are ready to take the fall to push new talent without any hesitation.
#1 Karrion Kross emerges as the biggest monster of WWE NXT
The biggest match of the night was saved for last as the two biggest men of WWE NXT came face to face in a great battle. Karrion Kross and Dominik Dijakovic had a backstage altercation last week after Dijakovic lost his match against Keith Lee, and they were in the ring to settle their differences.
Kross started strong in the match as Dijakovic clearly showed signs of fatigue and injuries from last week. However, he got back in the match with a big kick to Kross.
The Heral of Doomsday refused to stay down, and even a suplex followed by a choke bomb from Dijakovic could not earn him the victory. The two men battled their way outside the ring where Kross threw Dijakovic into the steel steps. He continued his vicious attack by trapping Dijakovic’s head between the steps and the NXT ring post.
Dijakovic was knocked out by a running boot against the steps, after which Kross dragged him back into the ring and continued his assault on the big man. NXT Champion Keith Lee walked out to check on his friend, but Kross set his sights on Lee and finally locked Dijakovic in the Kross Jacket to pick up the victory.
This was a great match that showed the heart of Dijakovic and the ruthlessness of Kross. Lee coming out concerned added the extra punch to the match as we needed to see how effective Kross was in bringing out the Champion.
