There really is not much to even say about this week’s NXT show. As is usually the case with these post-Takeover editions of NXT, this show mostly just served to recap the event while throwing in two matches in the beginning and ending of the show. Nevertheless, there was some news and recap-worthy moments from this week’s episode, so let’s get into it. The matches for this show were taped right before the excellent NXT Takeover: Chicago event, which means that Mauro Ranallo was still not present at the commentary table. 205 Live’s Vic Joseph filled in again and assured fans that Ranallo will be back on NXT next week.
Before the show began, WWE put up a graphic dedicating this week’s show to recently deceased wrestler Vader.
Dakota Kai vs. Bianca Belair –
Belair taunted Kai backstage a few weeks back after she lost an NXT Women’s Championship match against Shayna Baszler. Kai may still be scared of Baszler, but she promised Belair that she was not afraid of her. That segment is what led to this match right here.
WWE is clearly beginning to put an emphasis on Belair and deservedly so. She pulled off some incredible maneuvers during this match and looked good at the expense of Dakota Kai. Bianca slammed Kai down instantly and went right to work on her. Kai did get some offense in when she landed a dropkick on her opponent, but that was pretty much all that she had in the tank for this one.
The Chicago crowd erupts in “EST” chants as Belair hit a springboard suplex on Dakota. She also turned an abdominal stretch into a backbreaker. Belair then proceeded to lift Kai up for a delayed vertical suplex, and she demonstrated just how strong she is by holding her in the air and bouncing her off of the ring ropes as she got tired only to immediately hoist her right back into position. After she dropped Kai, Belair went for a splash, but Kai was able to get her knees up.
Kai fought back with a step-up enziguri before landing several kicks on Belair. Her decision to go up to the top of one of the ring posts proved to be her undoing as Bianca dodged the move. Belair nailed Dakota with a forearm shot before locking her in the Torture Rack. Belair then turned that into a harsh slam down to the canvas before scoring herself another victory.
Winner: Bianca Belair
Some highlights from Ricochet and The Velveteen Dream’s match from Takeover was shown before Ricochet was interviewed backstage. Ricochet said that his win proved why the spotlight truly belongs to him. On the other hand, Velveteen Dream was much more dejected. When he was asked what he will be doing next he simply stated that it’s “dream over in Chicago.”
Another video package showing Shayna Baszler’s win over Nikki Cross from Takeover was aired. Baszler was interviewed backstage with Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke about her win. She said that she managed to defeat chaos by sucking the air out of it and putting it to sleep, which is exactly how she retained her title over Cross at Takeover.
Highlights from the NXT Championship match between Lars Sullivan and Aleister Black were shown right after that. Black was shown badly limping around backstage after his match was over. NXT personnel tried to get the champion to do an interview, but Black was so badly beaten up that he had no time to stop and chat.
Want to guess what was next? Another highlight video package showing The Undisputed Era’s successful NXT Tag Team Championship defense over Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch from Takeover aired. Burch and Lorcan was asked about their loss backstage after the match. Burch said that they left it all in the ring but they were disappointed that they were not the champions. Although this was the biggest match of both of their careers, Oney said that that was what also made it the biggest loss of their careers.
Just one more highlight video package to go! This time it was for the outstanding Chicago Street Fight main event between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. It was a well-done assortment of clips that detailed the match, the events leading up to it, and Ciampa’s devastating victory over his former tag team partner.
EC3 was briefly interviewed in the WWE Performance Center and he was asked for his thoughts on Takeover. EC3 said that the show in Chicago just about had it all except for the top one percent. Although he missed this Takeover show, EC3 promised to be on all future Takeover shows and to continue turning the brand into “NX3.” When asked who he wanted to face at a Takeover show, EC3 enthusiastically shouted “everyone!”
The War Raiders vs. The Mighty –
The duo formerly known as TM61 have now fully committed to their new change in attitude. Know known as The Mighty, Shane Thorne and Nick Miller now wear long trench coats to the ring and also wear long tights. They’ve been scoring a lot of victories in controversial fashion over the past few weeks, but they tried to make a name for themselves here by taking on Hanson and Rowe of The War Raiders.
It started off with The Mighty throwing their coats at The War Raiders as a distraction before they started attacking them before the bell sounded. When the match began, The Raiders began savagely beating down the Australians in the corner of the ring. The Mighty eventually regained the upper hand with Miller dishing out some punches to Rowe.
Miller and Thorne teamed up to use a double team move on Rowe for a two-count. Thorne proceeded to throw Rowe into the corner of the ring. He went to the opposite side to get a running start, but Hanson suddenly appeared and roared right in his face. This was enough to momentarily stun Thorne for just a moment as Rowe recovered. He and Hanson then entered the ring as a melee between the two teams began. The War Raiders were able to take care of Miller and Thorne.
Hanson grabbed Thorne and slammed him down to the canvas for a two-count. They continued to lay waste to Shane with some blows and strikes. Rowe then threw Thorne in the air before his partner caught him and gave him another hard press down in the center of the ring. The crowd in Chicago was convinced that this meant the end for The Mighty, but Miller frantically ran back into the ring and broke up the pinfall just in time to save the match for themselves.
War Raiders did not take too kindly to that little stunt. They threw Miller back outside the ring before Hanson dived right onto him. With Miller now out of the picture, The War Raiders had the perfect opportunity to end the match and earn the win. Rowe held Thorne in place while Hanson went up to the top of one of the ring posts in the corner to give him a a leg drop. Hanson then pinned Thorne to win the match and continue their winning ways in NXT.
That is all that there was to this episode of NXT. A fun main event between The War Raiders and The Mighty, but not much else of note for those who have already watched NXT Takeover: Chicago. Now that Takeover has come to an end, NXT will be going back to normal with shows taking place in Full Sail University again starting next week. What really is next for The Velveteen Dream? Will the Gargano/Ciampa feud continue? Hopefully, fans will have those questions answered within the next few weeks. The fallout from Takeover will continue next Wednesday night. I’ll see you NXT time!
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