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Roderick Strong and Diamond Mine were in the ring after NXT kicked off and Bivens said that Kushida was a liar and a coward and that he wouldn't want to defend his title against Roderick Strong either.
It was revealed earlier that Kushida was not medically cleared to compete and the NXT Cruiserweight Championship match was pulled from tonight's show.
Roderick offered up an open challenge and Ilja Dragunov was the one who answered the call.
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Ilja Dragunov vs. Roderick Strong on NXT
Roddy was dominating as the match began and sent Dragunov into the ropes before kicking him into them. Ilja countered it with a spinning chest chop and a Senton for a near fall as the match went on.
Haichiman distracted Ilja from the outside as Roddy sent him into the steel steps before hitting a Uranage onto the ring apron. Dragunov was busted open after a suplex and Strong went for a flying knee but missed.
Ilja hit a suplex for a two count with a bloody face before he was hit with a devastating knee. Dragunov hit the Torpedo Moscow for the win on NXT despite the counter from Strong!
Result: Ilja Dragunov def. Roderick Strong
Grade: B
Isaiah 'Swerve' Scott was out next with Hit Row and they called Santos Escobar out for taking his grill last week. Escobar showed up on the titantron and said that he did not mean any disrespect despite seeing them burn Lucha masks and called Scott out to the parking lot to take it back but asked him to come alone.
Isaiah walked out to meet him but Wilde and Mendoza jumped him from behind. Hit Row rushed to the parking lot and took Legado del Fantasma out by using steel pipes and sending them into a garage door.
Swerve grabbed Escobar and smacked him into the garage door a few times before taking his grill and walking off with his crew on NXT.
Cameron Grimes vs. Josh Briggs on NXT
Ted DiBiase was out for the match and joined the NXT commentary team. Grimes hit some good early offense but a distraction from LA Knight let Briggs take him down. Grimes hit his flying crossbody power slam and then the Cave In for an extremely quick win over Briggs.
Result: Cameron Grimes def. Josh Briggs
After the match, Knight attacked Ted Dibiase and Grimes tried to come to his aid but was hit with Knight's finisher for his efforts.
Grade: C-
Indi Hartwell & Dexter Lumis vs. Robert Stone & Jessi Kamea on NXT
InDex was dominating the match and were delivering a double beatdown before Franky Monet grabbed Dexter by the feet and tried to pull him out. Lumis instead brought the former IMPACT Wrestling star into the ring and the referee caught Monet and sent her off backstage.
Stone was hit with a spinebuster after he tried to negotiate with Dexter to get him to back off. Hartwell almost got the pin but Stone dragged her away from the attempt. Kamea got a Boston Crab in but Indi found the ropes.
Indi Hartwell & Dexter Lumis vs. Robert Stone & Jessi Kamea on NXT (contd...)
Stone tried for a dive to the outside on NXT but missed his mark terribly. Kamea hit a forearm to Lumis at ringside before Hartwell came in from behind and dragged her back to the ring. Hartwell locked in Dexter's finisher, The Silence, on Kamea in the ring while Lumis did the same to Stone outside the ring.
Result: Indi Hartwell & Dexter Lumis def. Robert Stone & Jessi Kamea
Indi proposed to Dexter after the match and Dexter said yes. InDex is now engaged.
Grade: B
Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai were in an interview on NXT and Gonzalez said that Dakota used her but then went after her because she surpassed Kai.
The NXT veteran said she taught Gonzalez everything Raquel knows but she didn't teach her everything she knows. Gonzalez called Kai a 'sidekick' before the interview was over.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Duke Hudson - NXT Breakout Tournament Semi-Finals
Hudson had the upper hand early on and tossed Hayes outside before we headed for a break on NXT. Back to the show, Hudson went for the Winds of Change but was sent outside.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Duke Hudson - NXT Breakout Tournament Semi-Finals (contd...)
Hayes hit a scissor kick on NXT to keep his opponent outside the ring before Hudson climbed back up. Carmelo kicked him a few times and landed a DDT to the ring apron. Hayes hit a lung blower and got the flying leg drop for the win.
Result: Carmelo Hayes def. Duke Hudson.
Hayes fired off at Odyssey Jones and said that he was the final boss in this tournament and not Jones.
Jones came out and had some choice words for Hayes as well and the both men had an intense faceoff.
Grade: B
Cameron Grimes was backstage when Ted DiBiase walked up to him and said that he was sorry for dragging him into all this. Grimes said that it was his fault for not believing in himself and freaked out, yelling he was going to be the Million Dollar Champion soon.
The WWE Hall Of Famer agreed to it by producing his iconic Million Dollar Man laugh.
Jacy Jayne cut a creepy promo before we headed back to the ring on NXT.
MSK (c) vs. Imperium - NXT Tag Team Title match
MSK had control early on and Carter tagged in and hit a Bronco Buster. Aichner tagged Barthel in and Imperium got the upper hand for a bit.
MSK (c) vs. Imperium - NXT Tag Team Title match (contd...)
Barthel hit an uppercut and took Carter to the corner on NXT before taking a double underhook clothesline. He quickly tagged Aichner back in. Lee got the tag and MSK went for the double team on Aichner before sending both their opponents out of the ring.
MSK hit dives but Imperium caught both of them and slammed them on the ground before we headed for a break. Back on NXT, Lee kicked out of a pin and Imperium isolated him in the ring.
Barthel went for the ankle lock on Lee before tagging Aichner back in for a big move. Lee looked like he was done but tagged Carter in as WALTER arrived at ringside. The NXT UK Champion ran a distraction which put MSK in a lot of trouble. However, Ilja Dragunov attacked WALTER. Ilja's efforts were not good enough to keep the Ring General down as he took out his TakeOver 36 opponent.
Amidst the chaos outside, MSK hit their combined finisher on Imperium for the win.
Result: MSK def. Imperium to retain the NXT Tag Team Titles
WALTER wiped out Dragunov at ringside and destroyed MSK before Imperium stepped in the ring. The NXT UK Champion knocked Dragunov out once more.
Grade: B+
Samoa Joe sends a message to Karrion Kross on NXT
Samoa Joe was out next and called out the NXT champ, Karrion Kross. Kross came out and said that this wasn't about either of them, it was about the future of the brand. He said he called security as protection for Joe as several guys lined up outside the ring.
Kross said that Joe would have no chance and would get dropped real fast before Joe attacked him. The security team tried to separate both men but Joe took them all out with a dive and a host of referees also joined them as the carnage got out of hand quickly.
Joe was sent into the steel steps and Kross went through the railings on the barricades and looked like he was badly hurt as the officials stepped in to defuse the situation.
Episode grade: B-
We got the unexpected engagement of InDex tonight on NXT while Carmelo Hayes made it to the finals of the Breakout Tournament. Roderick Strong took a big loss while Gonzalez and Kai had an intense exchange and so did Samoa Joe and Karrion Kross, ahead of TakeOver: 36. MSK put their titles on the line in the main event and retained but WALTER wiped them out after the match.
