NXT Results and Recap: Say It Ain’t So, Johnny!!
Last week’s NXT boasted a double main event, including a tag team match with the NXT Tag Team Championships on the line, and a number of shocking returns. Bobby Fish returned to make his mark and reaffirm Undisputed Era as the stable that runs the show, and Aleister Black suddenly appeared in the ring and seemingly found out, from Nikki Cross, who attacked him all those weeks ago. That leaves a lot of questions for this week’s show: what will Aleister Black do next? Who attacked him? And with NXT TakeOver: WarGames on the horizon, what’s in store for NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa? We’ve got all the answers below, so let’s get to it.
After William Regal sets up a line of security outside Full Sail and instructs them to send Aleister Black straight to his office when he shows up, things get started with a shock to the system. That’s right, it’s the Undisputed Era, complete with a healthy Bobby Fish, making their way to the ring and boasting enough swagger to power all the lights at the Staples Center when WarGames rolls around next month. Cole is feeling confident now that Undisputed is back to 100%, issuing a warning to the locker room that nobody should dare step up to challenge them. “You are not NXT,” he says to the crowd. “The Undisputed Era is NXT.”
After that insult, Cole quickly pivots to something else that’s on his mind: Ricochet and the North American Championship. He’s not pleased that his rematch for the title was a triple threat and that Pete Dunne took the pin. “You didn’t beat Adam Cole,” he says in glorious third person. He doesn’t get much time to air his grievances though, because EC3 comes to the ring with his own problems. Namely, that Cole doesn’t deserve yet another shot at the North American Championship. Filled with confidence, Cole shouts for a referee and offers to make an example of EC3 in the ring, and suddenly we have our first match of the night.
EC3 starts the match hot, throwing Cole around like a rag doll. A slight distraction from the three other members of Undisputed Era gives Cole the upper hand though, as he connects with a superkick and then works on keeping EC3 grounded, hoping to take his size advantage out of the equation. He goes for a number of pins early on, hoping to put away the Top 1% before he can regain his advantage, and perhaps his own shot at the North American Championship.
Despite the best attempts from Undisputed to interfere, EC3 eventually gets the three count after quickly rolling up the former champ. That victory doesn’t do EC3 any favors though, as Undisputed jump all over him and beat him down after the match, with Bobby Fish crossing the line and ruining EC3’s knee with a massive chair shot on the ramp. Once again, Undisputed has made their mark, but something tells me that this isn’t the last they’ll see of EC3.
Next up, NXT gets its first look at the “Blasian Baddie” Mia Yim outside of the Mae Young Classic. Fresh off getting a contract from Triple H, Yim steps into the ring against the entitled but vicious Aliyah. The look on Aliyah’s face is one of disgust as the match gets started, but it isn’t long before Yim is wiping that look off her face. Aliyah gains control early by luring Yim to the ropes and getting her on the ground, but, quite frankly, you can’t keep Mia Yim down that easily.
Aliyah gets in plenty of vicious forearms, and one seriously gorgeous Northern Lights Suplex, but Yim fights her way back with a dropkick, a cannonball in the corner, and a swift boot to the jaw that knocks Aliyah out. Yim’s win will definitely put the whole division on notice, but backstage it’s Bianca Belair demanding attention, telling William Regal that her undefeated streak means she should be getting a shot at the NXT Women’s Championship. Be it Belair’s demands, a video package that promises more power from former Marine Lacey Evans in the future, or Yim’s impressive debut, it’s clear that the women’s division has more than its fair share of contenders making a name for themselves. Kairi Sane should be looking over her shoulder at all times, assuming she can hold on to her title this coming Sunday at Evolution in her rematch with former champion Shayna Baszler, and that’s certainly no guarantee.
Before we get to Regal’s big announcement about the NXT Championship, there’s one more match to get to. This one sees newcomer Justin Xavier take on the Knockout Artist Kassius Ohno, who just last week got in Regal’s face about the lack of opportunities he’s been given in NXT. That anger seeps into the match, as Ohno treats Xavier with a ton of disrespect, laughing at him as he towers over him. To be fair, Ohno backs up his ego, quickly doing away with Xavier with more than a few huge kicks to the face and numerous sentons. To say that Ohno proved his point would be an understatement; the easy win certainly shows that Ohno deserves more opportunities from NXT’s GM. However, Nikki Cross is still lingering around Ohno, insisting she knows “what he did.” Could whatever that secret is haunt Ohno and his future opportunities? We’ll have to wait and see.
Speaking of opportunities, not only do we learn that Matt Riddle will make his NXT in-ring debut next week, but we also get William Regal’s announcement about who will face Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Championship at WarGames…or rather, we get a tease of it before absolute chaos erupts in the ring.
Ciampa comes to the ring first, wanting to hear the news for himself, clutching the championship to his chest as if somebody is going to take it away from him. Ciampa isn’t here to make friends. “Wipe that smug look off your face,” he says to Regal, immediately disrespecting the GM.
Regal doesn’t get a chance to hit back though, as the Velveteen Dream makes his way to the ring. He’s had his fair share of issues with Ciampa lately, and he thinks he should be given a title shot. Apparently
That’s just the beginning of the chaos though, as Nikki Cross runs to the ring shouting “he’s coming!!” before Aleister Black hits the Black Mass on a number of security guards and Lars Sullivan. He gets in Regal’s face with a simple question: “where is he?” He wants to know where his attacker is. But wait, isn’t he the one who laid out the former NXT champ?
No. him? truth is perhaps even more shocking than Black’s return last week. As Black shouts “where is he?” over and over again, it’s Johnny Gargano who shows up and plants a superkick on his chin. Three simple words confirm what none of us could have expected: “I’m right here.” Johnny Gargano attacked Aleister Black, and that’s where the show ends. Just…wow.
You can watch this week’s NXT on the WWE Network