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NXT was bookended by two stellar matches. The show started with a three-way to determine Karrion Kross's challenger at NXT TakeOver: In Your House. The main event was a Tag Team Title Match that pitted MSK up against longtime rivals Legado Del Fantasma.
We also saw Kushida defend the Cruiserweight Championship against a new face to the brand, Carmelo Hayes. LA Knight hoped to impress Ted Dibiase in a match against Jake Atlas, and Adam Cole made his long-awaited return to the brand. All that and more on NXT.
We started with Pete Dunne, Kyle O'Reilly, and Johnny Gargano as they all vied for a shot at the NXT Championship.
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NXT No.1 Contender's Triple Threat Match: Pete Dunne vs Johnny Gargano vs Kyle O'Reilly
These three NXT stars laid into one another with kicks, knees, and elbows hoping for a quick knock-out shot. As Johnny Gargano was first sent to the floor, Pete Dunne targeted Kyle O'Reilly's left arm and fingers. Dunne was caught in a surprise cross armbreaker only for Gargano to break it up.
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O'Reilly was then trapped in a heel hook (Gargano) and armbreaker (Dunne) but was able to escape both. Gargano finally tossed O'Reilly to the floor before focusing on the Bruiserweight of NXT.
As Dunne escaped through the ropes, he let O'Reilly and Gargano wear each other down until the time was right. When O'Reilly set up for a submission, both he and Gargano were trapped by Dunne, snapping and stomping the fingers of both men.
They all traded a series of running elbows before O'Reilly slowed things down with a double dragon screw. Dunne countered the ankle lock with one of his own.
O'Reilly escaped and sent Dunne to the floor where the first-ever NXT Triple Crown Champion laid him out. Gargano hit the tornado DDT, catching Dunne with a kick to the head mid-move. The action was consistent throughout the break, where Dunne dominated for a time.
O'Reilly fired upon his competition with a series of kicks and knees laying out Johnny Wrestling. Dunne was next, and O'Reilly snapped his elbow with an over-the-shoulder arm breaker. O'Reilly planted Gargano on top of Dunne and pinned the former NXT UK Champion for a two-count.
Gargano caught O'Reilly with his patented slingshot spear but couldn't pick up the win. As they jockeyed for position, they were taken out by a forgotten Dunne, who dropped Gargano with the X-Plex for a near fall. Dunne stopped O'Reilly's heel hook on Gargano and set up for the Bitter End on Johnny TakeOver.
Gargano countered with One Final Beat before launching him like a lawn dart into O'Reilly in the corner. Unfortunately, he couldn't put Dunne down for good. Soon all three men were back on their feet and trading stiff shots. O'Reilly fell to the ropes before rebounding with a double clothesline that took both of his opponents' heads off.
O'Reilly locked in a guillotine on Gargano but was caught with a sleeper by Dunne. O'Reilly lost his grip and was sent to the floor when Gargano took Dunne to the mat with the Garga No Escape. Dunne snapped the fingers and set up for another Bitter End.
Dunne hit it, but the pin was broken up by Kyle O'Reilly's devastating flying knee. Before we could get a finish to the match, Adam Cole ran in. The former NXT Champion dropped Dunne on the floor with a brainbuster and rocked O'Reilly with a superkick. Gargano was knocked out with the Last Shot.
Results: No Contest.
Grade: B
William Regal and some NXT officials came to the ring to escort Adam Cole out. What did this mean for Karrion Kross? Would the match restart?
When we returned to NXT, William Regal forced security to remove Adam Cole from the building. Just as we saw the end of that, Ember Moon rushed to the ring, holding the show hostage until NXT Women's Champion Raquel Gonzalez confronted her.
William Regal tried to put a stop to it, but Gonzalez ran past him and moved onto Moon. The former NXT Women's Champion got some much-needed revenge after the beatdown of Shotzi Blackheart, rocking Gonzalez with a series of kicks and sending her out of the ring. Though Regal thought he had the situation under control, Dakota Kai ran down Moon and laid her out for Gonzalez.
Tonight, MSK would defend their NXT Tag Team Titles against Legado Del Fantasma. Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza vowed to make Santos Escobar proud.
LA Knight was out next and claimed that he'd drop his opponent tonight on his head before carrying on the Million Dollar Legacy.
LA Knight vs Jake Atlas on NXT
Jake Atlas took NXT's loudmouth to school in the opening moments of this one. After taking him to the mat, Atlas worked over the arm of LA Knight. A stiff boot stunned Knight, but he finally turned things around with the Stun Gun. A leaping neckbreaker brought Atlas down as The Million Dollar Man came out to the ramp.
The WWE Hall of Famer watched on while Knight almost lost the match to the springboard sunset flip. Knight kicked out and planted his opponent with a power slam. A slingshot shoulder tackle connected as NXT cut to break.
Any time Atlas began to build steam, Knight took a shortcut to halt the momentum. Jake was nearly counted out on the floor before rolling in at eight. However, Atlas shocked Knight with a hellacious discus lariat and a pump kick. A suplex dropped Knight for a two-count while NXT's richest superstar Cameron Grimes made his way over to Dibiase.
Atlas planted Knight with a rolling death valley driver and a standing moonsault. Knight cut off a dive by leaping to the top rope, but a distraction from Grimes allowed Atlas to crotch him on the ropes. The Cartwheel DDT spiked Knight for the three-count.
Results: Jake Atlas defeated LA Knight via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: B
After the match, Ted Dibiase shook his head at LA Knight before abandoning him in the ring.
As Ted Dibiase spoke about what was next for the Million Dollar Legacy backstage, Adam Cole stormed the building. What did the former NXT Champion have in store for us?
Adam Cole calls out the NXT Champion
Adam Cole started off by reminding us he became NXT Champion two years ago on this day. Cole said that he'd been gone for two months, and in that time nobody had been able to live up to his legacy. He just took out three of NXT's top stars in just one night. It was time for Adam Cole to get the Championship back.
Cole then spoke to Karrion Kross, claiming he was an overrated muscle head that didn't deserve to be in his ring. It wasn't a mistake that he held the gold for over four hundred days. Karrion Kross and Scarlett stormed the ring before Cole could finish.
Kross started out by calling Cole a little man before stating that when he signed here, everything that made Adam special flew out the window. Cole called Kross overrated once again, claiming that NXT has done whatever they could to make him special. What makes Adam Cole special? We see that when the bell rings.
The Panama City Playboy said Kross couldn't hang with him as he's just not at that level. Cole is special and Kross is just holding his property.
Before William Regal could put an end to all of this, Karrion Kross made a special challenge.
At the upcoming TakeOver, he'd take on everyone. Pete Dunne, Kyle O'Reilly, Johnny Gargano...and Adam Cole.
We got a vignette of Carmelo Hayes ahead of his debut on NXT tonight. Hayes said that he was the next NXT Cruiserweight Champion.
Two of NXT's toughest stars are destined for war at TakeOver: In Your House. Xia Li cut a promo on Mercedes Martinez, calling back to her Mae Young Classic match with Martinez four years prior. At TakeOver: In Your House, she'd get her revenge.
NXT Cruiserweight Championship: Kushida vs Carmelo Hayes
Carmelo Hayes locked up with the NXT Cruiserweight Champion, catching Kushida with a sunset flip for a one-count. He took the Champ down with a series of arm drags and a standing dropkick. Kushida was able to even things up with his handspring back elbow to the face.
Hayes caught Kushida with an elevated springboard leg drop for a near fall as we cut to break. When we came back, Kushida missed a dive off the top. Hayes hit a superkick and spun him around with a fireman's carry spin-out facebuster. A springboard clothesline earned Hayes a two-count. A tilt-a-whirl facebuster planted Kushida for another close call, but Hayes just couldn't get the win.
The Japanese star escaped another onslaught, hitting the hip toss/kick to the jaw. Kushida went for the Hoverboard Lock, but the Cruiserweight Champion couldn't lock it in. Carmelo looked for another springboard clothesline only to be rocked with Kushida's right hand. The Hoverboard Lock was finally synched in and Carmelo had to quickly submit.
Results: Kushida defeated Carmelo Hayes via submission on NXT.
Grade: B-
Kushida helped his opponent to his feet, as Hayes earned his respect in a great debut match.
MSK cut a promo on Legado Del Fantasma. Nash Carter and Wes Lee prepared to defend the NXT Tag Team Titles in the main event and were vehement that they'd come out the other side still with the gold.
Zoey Stark and Zayda Ramier vs The Way on NXT
The NXT Women's Tag Team Champions The Way kicked things off with Zayda Ramier. Candice LeRae dominated her early, but she was nearly caught with a school boy.
LeRae ran over Ramier and tagged out to Indi Hartwell, who immediately lost control when she missed an elbow drop. Candice cut Ramier off from her partner and sent Zoey Stark to the floor.
Ramier dazed LeRae with a strike and finally got to Stark, who went to work on the NXT Women's Tag Champions. A spinning back kick nearly knocked the Poison Pixie out cold. Stark slammed Ramier on top for a near fall, with LeRae just being saved by Indi Hartwell.
After sending Stark to the floor, LeRae hit the Wicked Step Sister on Ramier and Hartwell finished it with Pretty Savage for the win.
Results: The Way defeated Zayda Ramier and Zoey Stark via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: B-
We got another Diamond Mine vignette, though still no official date for the debut.
Ember Moon challenged Dakota Kai to a match on NXT next week. Then at TakeOver: In Your House, she'd take the title from Raquel Gonzalez and become a two-time NXT Women's Champion.
NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Legado Del Fantasma w/Santos Escobar vs MSK (c)
Wes Lee and Joaquin Wilde kicked off this NXT main event. Lee and Wilde were evenly matched in the early goings. Wilde managed to avoid some tag team offense, slipping out of Nash Carter's flying bronco buster.
Legado Del Fantasma took over, stomping out Carter in the corner. Raul Mendoza, sporting a mask to protect his broken nose, and Joaquin Wilde took turns tearing Carter apart.
After several minutes he finally got to Lee, leading to a four-man brawl where all men laid one another out with high-impact strikes. The Grizzled Young Veterans looked to get involved but were attacked by Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher (I will call them Team Dad until they break up).
Wes Lee and Joaquin Wilde reset, trading the upper hand during the commercial break. He couldn't keep Wilde from getting to his partner, though, and Mendoza was able to turn things around for Legado Del Fantasma.
LDF slammed Lee with a double spinebuster before splitting the wishbone, following that with stereo basement dropkicks. Lee kicked out, infuriating Wilde. A spinning back elbow caught Wes in the mouth, and allowed Legado to pick up steam. A springboard splash and springboard moonsault earn another two-count.
Lee finally broke away from Mendoza when he countered a powerbomb with a DDT. Wilde and Carter were again the legal men, and Nash lit up the challenger with a series of kicks, ending with a penalty kick.
MSK's Hot Fire Flame connected, but Wilde kicked out. Lee avoided an attack in the corner only to be rocked by a hellacious springboard dropkick from Mendoza. A brainbuster spiked Lee, giving Mendoza the two-count.
After splitting the NXT Tag Champions up and sending Carter to the floor, they set up Lee in their corner. The top rope rana into a powerbomb and only earned a two-count. Mendoza tossed Lee to the floor and distracted the ref, allowing former NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar to send the MSK member into the steps.
Legado hit their finisher on Lee but Carter broke it up. NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed surprised Escobar and everyone watching when he squashed him into the barricade with a nasty body splash.
MSK hit their spinebuster/blockbuster finish on Wilde to retain the NXT Tag Team Titles.
Results: MSK defeated Legado Del Fantasma via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: A+
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