Tonight for the first time in four years, ‘The Queen’ Charlotte Flair goes one-on-one with Bianca Belair ahead of her NXT Women’s Championship match against Rhea Ripley. How will The Velveteen Dream respond to the brutal beatdown of The Undisputed Era from last week? Tonight we celebrate ten years of NXT!
Dominik Dijakovic vs. Cameron Grimes
One week after challenging his longtime rival Keith Lee for another shot at the North American Championship, Dijakovic had his hands full against the tenacious Cameron Grimes. ‘The Caveman’ would not stay down even while the big man hurled him around like a sack of potatoes over the ropes.
Grimes continues to prove to me and the Full Sail arena why he is going to be the next North American Champion sooner rather than later. He’s just that good. Dijakovic landed a stunning moonsault on the floor but landed awkwardly on his leg. Out of nowhere, Damien Priest chopped his leg on the apron and Grimes hit the Cave-In for a huge victory.
Xia Li vs. Mia Yim
Essentially a year after her NXT in-ring debut against Mia Yim, the first Chinese-born superstar was ready to get her win back. The “HBIC” underestimated her opponent and Li came out of the gate. Yim took the fight to her early on. Li is one of those superstars who has floated around in the background without any real feuds.
.@DakotaKai_WWE & @RaquelWWE sent a message to @MiaYim on #WWENXT. pic.twitter.com/hsFvzCb1wQ
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) February 29, 2020
Yim was on the verge of victory until Dakota Kai and her bodyguard Raquel Gonzalez interrupted which allowed Li to roll her up for the surprise win. After the match, Gonzalez annihilated both superstars while Kai arrogantly apologized for their interruption.
Tomasso Ciampa vs. Austin Theory
Holy crap folks, this was a terrific match. The twenty-two-year-old has made a big impression on the NXT Universe myself included. First, his five-star classic against the former NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong and tonight. Ciampa delivered his typical hard-hitting smash mouth wrestling style but was unable to put the young up-and-comer away.
Theory spent too much time paying the veteran back for his attack last week and got caught for Willow’s Bell and Fairytale Ending for the victory. After the match, Gargano emerged and delivered a vicious beating to his former DIY partner. Theory got caught in the middle and paid for it. Johnny Turncoat mocked Ciampa’s apron clap signature pose.
Bronson Reed vs. Killian Dain
Man, I love watching a battle of behemoths just tearing each other apart, and that’s exactly what Reed and Dain did here. Both warriors ran into one another like raging bulls. Reed has impressed me since the NXT breakout tournament last year, and he brought the fight to ‘The Beast of Belfast’.
Dain was just nasty in his attempt to put away his opponent as both warriors collided after The Divide. Reed continued to get back up and even delivered a suicide dive to the outside. Dain, however, bounced back and hit three running sentons before finishing off his opponent with the Vader Bomb. Fun match!
The #UndisputedERA vow to be draped in gold once again!@AdamColePro @theBobbyFish @KORCombat @roderickstrong pic.twitter.com/LCXhk0OxZz
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) February 29, 2020
The Forgotten Sons vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans
I feel like a broken record saying this from show to show but damn James Drake and Zack Gibson are so amazing. Man, tag team wrestling has always been a strong point under the NXT umbrella. Their underhanded tactics and clever maneuvers remind me a lot of The Revival. At this point, GYV could challenge for either brand’s tag team championships because they are just trying that damn good.
The Forgotten Sons portrayed the role of patriotic babyfaces basically set up as an obstacle in the way of The Broserweights. I wish Steve Cutler and Wesley Black were utilized more frequently because they are very talented. Let’s hope that perhaps, the trio evolving into babyfaces will allow them to gain more meaningful feuds.
NXT Main Event: Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair
This blockbuster match was hyped the entire episode as the first time ‘The Queen’ has competed on the black and gold brand in over four years. I didn’t realize how toe-to-toe these two superstars were until this bout. I can’t even comment on who dominated more because it was so back and forth.
Flair was the cornerstone of the women’s division when she was here and to see her come back and not miss a step was awesome. Belair loses nothing in defeat as she almost defeated the former Seven-time Women’s Champion, and Flair continues to pick to up steam ahead of her NXT Women’s Championship match against Rhea Ripley. The best thing that WWE can do is keep them apart until WrestleMania.
