NXT Results and Recap: The Return of Tommaso Ciampa

All anyone could talk about heading into this week’s NXT was what Tommaso Ciampa would have in store for the NXT Universe. He’s been absent since retaining his NXT Championship at TakeOver: WarGames, but he promised to be on the show this week, telling the NXT Universe that all they’d have to do is show up and follow his lead. What could that mean?

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We’ll find that out later because this week’s NXT kicks off with the “King of Bros.” He makes his very chill way to the ring, but he needs to get serious quick because he’s squaring off against one of NXT’s latest highly-touted signings, Punishment Martinez. The two jockey for position early on, a surprisingly quick pace dominating the start of the match. The two trade kicks before Riddle locks in a sleeper hold that puts Punishment on the ropes, but Martinez is quick to recover and gain the upper hand with a spinning cyclone kick.

Martinez doesn’t hold on to that momentum for long though. He’s simpl no match for Riddle. He gets in a few clotheslines, but Riddle’s just too quick. He hits Punishment with a flurry of kicks before locking in a deadly submission. Martinez looks to be getting out of it briefly, so Riddle hits him with one massive chop after another and then locks it back in. That’s it for Punishment, who taps and takes the loss in his debut. It’s yet another win for Riddle, but it doesn’t come without another form of punishment. Kassius Ohno, who Riddle embarrassed at TakeOver with a win in six seconds, meets him on the ramp and lays him out with a forearm, assuring that these two will be in the ring again sometime soon.

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After a video package showing Heavy Machinery hitting the Steaks and Weights to get back into the NXT Tag Team Championship hunt—they make it known that they’re coming for Undisputed Era—and a brief clip showing Bianca Belair qualifying for a Fatal 4-Way match to determine the #1 Contender to the NXT Women’s Championship, we’re on to tag team action. It’s two teams who’ve struggled to build momentum lately, as Mendoza and Carrillo take on Blake and Cutler of the Forgotten Sons. Blake and Cutler have the clear size advantage, and they use it early on, grounding their opponents.

That’s definitely the strategy, because as soon as Mendoza gets back to his feet, he’s flying around the ring, hitting Cutler with one high-flying move after another. Strength vs. Speed defines the match; Blake gets the match back under control when Mendoza tries to use Carrillo’s back to fly into the corner, only for Blake to catch him in midair and slam him down on his partner. If we’ve learned anything from the few matches Carrillo and Mendoza have had in NXT though, it’s that you can’t count them out. They’re too dynamic, able to adapt and get the upper hand in a split second. Carrillo runs through Cutler and Blake for awhile, hitting them with missile drops kicks and flying crossbodies. He spends more time in the air than on the mat… until he gets caught by Cutler and Blake and they deliver a double team to knock out Carillo for good; it’s a cool looking move, a double stomp, and Scorpion Death Drop all in one.

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Meanwhile, Velveteen Dream is backstage, and he assures everyone that he’s feeling incredibly confident after his loss at TakeOver: WarGames because everyone—the internet, the locker room, and even Triple H—is still talking about The Dream. He’s sure his future looks bright.

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Speaking of TakeOver: WarGames, Dakota Kai and Shayna Baszler have some unfinished business. The two have been crossing paths here and there for awhile, but TakeOver took that to another level as Kai came out to help fend off Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke during Baszler’s title match with Kairi Sane. She wanted to protect her friend and even the odds, but that comes at a cost. Being in the crosshairs of the NXT Women’s Champion is never a good thing.

Baszler comes to the ring with Shafir and Duke by her side, immediately putting Kai in a tough spot, and that’s without mentioning that in her two previous matches with Baszler, Kai’s taken the loss both times. With that surely in the back of her mind, Kai attacks early, hitting Baszler with two massive kicks and sending the champ scrambling to the outside. That’s all the space she needs, taking Kai’s leg and ramming her into the ring post before bringing her back in the ring and working her arm over.

She may not have an arm to work with, but that’s no trouble for the woman named captain of Team Kick. She gets Baszler on her knees and then kicks her in the face over and over again; simple, but effective. Then she hits two big running kicks in the corner before heading to the top rope and hitting the champ with a double stomp. That’s a near fall, but it’s not enough to put Baszler away. It feels like Kai’s opportunity has slipped away. Baszler takes control, throwing Kai to the top rope and then delivering a deadly superplex. With Kai down she locks in a submission, and that means lights out for Kai. Baszler continues to run roughshod over the division, but on December 26th we’ll find out who her next opponent is. Could it be Io Shirai, who comes out here to save Kai from the post-match beatdown? We’ll have to wait and see.

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Then, it’s time for our main event, and what better way to end the show than by basking in the glory of the self-proclaimed greatest sports entertainer of all time, NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa. Ciampa declares himself the “NXT MVP,” and lays out how he easily dismantled Velveteen Dream, exposing him for the fraud he is. Of course though, Ciampa’s not happy. He’s upset about everything, but namely, he’s upset that nobody in NXT “believes” in him. He stalks around the ring yelling at individual members of the crowd, and even Mauro Ranallo, for not appreciating his title reign and his work.

It’s typical Ciampa, his bloated ego barely contained in the ring. You know who’s sick of it? Former NXT Champion Aleister Black. He’s the man who Ciampa beat for the championship, but a kick from Gargano certainly paved the way for that loss. Black knows they have unfinished business, and he invokes his rematch clause for NXT TakeOver: Phoenix. The championship scene is crowded though, and Gargano comes to the ring to tell Black that they’re not done just yet either.

Ciampa, the sneaky champ that he is, sees an opportunity here. He plays Gargano and Black against each other, saying that he can sense they have some hatred they need to work out and that there’s no better way to settle it than inside a steel cage. As Black and Gargano shout at each other, tensions boiling over, Ciampa smiles along in the background. His plan has worked to perfection… or so he thinks. Black lays him out with a Black Mass to end the show. Obviously, this is far from over. Black isn’t done with Gargano just yet, but he’s made his statement to Ciampa too. Like I said, the championship scene is crowded, and that’s good news for all of us who absolutely love NXT.

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You can watch this week’s NXT on the WWE Network