Tonight’s episode of WWE NXT is presented from the WWE Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, Florida. If you missed the most recent episode on July 27th, you can catch up on those results here.
Quick Results:
- Hit Row defeated Legado Del Fantasma
- Ridge Holland defeated Ikemen Jiro
- Roderick Strong defeated Bobby Fish
- Grizzled Young Veterans defeated L.A Knight & Cameron Grimes
- Trey Baxter defeated Joe Gacy
- Johnny Gargano defeated Dexter Lumis
Hit Row (Ashante “Thee” Adonis & “Top Dolla”) w/ Isaiah “Swerve” Scottt & B-FAB vs Legado Del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde) w/ Santos Escobar:
As soon as the bell rings the four men in the match brawl inside the ring. Hit Row clears the ring, and it’ll be Adonis facing off against Mendoza. Adonis repeatedly Irish-whips Mendoza from one corner to the other. Heading to the top rope, he misses a cross body allowing Mendoza to tag Joaquin Wilde into the match. Adonis lays out Wilde with a neckbreaker, before tagging in Top Dolla. Top Dolla immediately lifts up Wilde, tossing him around the ring with just one arm. Wilde is pushed into Hit Row’s corner, as they begin to double team him. Wilde remains isolated well away from his corner, until Santos Escobar distracts the referee allowing Mendoza to interfere from the apron sending Adonis to the outside. Adonis is sent into the stairs, as we head to an ad break.
Back from the break, and Adonis is being worked over by Wilde in the middle of the ring. He starts to mount some defensive offence, but a series of quick tags between Wilde and Mendoza end those hopes. The pair combine for a suplex, followed by a moonsault from Mendoza that secured a two-count. Both men tag in their partners, as Top Dolla runs riot over both members of Legado Del Fantasma, but Santos Escobar has seen enough and hits him with a steel chair for the DQ.
Winners: Hit Row via DQ
Post-match, all three members of Legado Del Fantasma attack the WWE NXT North American Champion, Isiah “Swerve” Scott with a steel chair. They wrap the chair around Scott’s neck as Escobar looks to go to the top rope. Top Dollar pulls out Scott saving him from his fate, as B-FAB swings for Legado with another steel chair. Hit Row proceeds to clear the ring, as Escobar, Mendoza and Wilde scurried away.
– Backstage, William Regal informs Samoa Joe he will now have a security detail with him, ensuring he stays away from Karrion Kross until WWE NXT TakeOver 36.
– After an ad break there is a backstage vignette showing Dexter Lumis drawing pictures of In-Dex
Ridge Holland w/ Pete Dunne & Oney Lorcan vs Ikemen Jiro:
Holland’s first match back in a WWE NXT ring since last October, and he immediately made an impact, uppercutting Jiro. The pair quickly head to the outside by Holland’s command. Outside the ring, and Jiro is pounced straight into the fencing around the guard rails. Jiro is tossed back into the ring, and he is defenceless as Holland decimates and tears him apart. A series of suplexes, as Jiro begins to lay limply. He’s picked up one more time, as Holland lifts and plants him for the victory.
Winner: Ridge Holland via pinfall
Post-match, he sends Jiro to the outside. Pete Dunne gets on the mic and says Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher thought they were bad men, that was at least until Ridge Holland, Pete Dunne and Oney Lorcan turned up. He proclaims the trio to be the three most dangerous men in NXT, and dares anyone to prove them wrong.
– Backstage, Franky Monet blames Robert Stone for Monet/Jessi Kamea’s defeat last week. She says if this unit is going to work, it’s going to be under Franky’s rules.
– A vignette airs hyping Trey Baxter ahead of his WWE NXT Breakout Tournament match against Joe Gacy
Bobby Fish vs Roderick Strong w/ Diamond Mine (Malcolm Bivens, Tyler Rust, Hideki Suzuki):
The two former members of the Undisputed Era immediately lock up, with neither man managing to get an advantage over their opponent. Strong takes down Fish, but the two men continue to stay locked up in a hold on the floor. Into the corner, and Fish proceeds to kick and strike at Strong. A suplex, and the pair again are locked in a series of holds on the floor. Strong comes close to escaping, but he’s dragged back down to the floor as Fish gets in a few more strikes. Back on their feet, and they trade standing strikes, but it remains Fish who is in total control.
Strong lies on the apron attempting to catch his breath, and then pulls Fish down onto the rope giving him some time away from his foe. They both remain on the apron, trading blows, Strong knocks Fish off but he lands on his feet and launches a kick sending Strong flying. They both head back into the ring, and trade pinfall attempts. Strong looks to finally have some room to catch his breath as he ties up Fish in a stretch on the floor. True to the nature of a blood feud between two former brothers, they again trade vicious standing strikes. Strong hides behind the referee in the corner, before launching a sneak attack at Fish. He stomps away at his foe, and for once it looks like Strong has some momentum. Strong begins to target Fish’s back, a series of stretches followed by multiple backbreakers as he works over the 44-year-old veteran. Fish pieces together some offence, tripping Strong up and locking in a sleeper hold when he gets back on his feet. As Fish looks to be back in the driving seat, he secures a two-count from a kick. The members of Diamond Mine look visibly worried on the outside, but their worries were in vain. Fish rolls up Strong, but as Strong kicks out on the count of two, he met Fish with a jumping knee. Strong then pulled Fish up, before one more move secured the 1-2-3.
Winner: Roderick Strong via pinfall
– Backstage Cameron Grimes and L.A Knight discusses if they have each other’s backs. Knight says as long as Grimes honours his role as a butler, Knight will look after Grimes as well.
L.A Knight & “The Butler” Cameron Grimes vs Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson):
– Pre-match, GYV lambast Grimes and proclaim they will soon be WWE NXT Tag Team Champions
Grimes and Gibson begin the match, but Knight quickly tags himself back in. He takes Gibson to the corner, attempting to Irish-whip from one side to the other, but Drake sacrifices himself absorbing the impact. Drake tags in, but is dropped by a neckbreaker by Knight who tags back in Grimes. Grimes leaps from the top taking out Drake. A shout from Knight distracts Grimes, and he misses a blind tag by Drake. The pair keep Grimes away from Knight attacking him as a pair. Grimes, makes his way to his corner, but Knight drops off the apron telling Grimes he has to do it on his own. Cameron Grimes then takes down both members of GYV, showcasing a wide range of his arsenal. He secures a two count on Drake, but the two-on-one advantage keeps the win out of reach for Grimes. Drake tags out and then the pair hit Grimes with the Ticket to Mayhem for the win.
Winners: Grizzled Young Veterans via pinfall
Post-match, Ted DiBiase tells Grimes that he knows he’s a man of his word, but Knight isn’t going to be there for him. He then helps Grimes to the back.
– A vignette airs replaying when Samoa Joe first arrived in WWE NXT. Writers note, does anyone else remember how bad his first entrance theme was?
A vignette airs for Dakota Kai. She says how eighteen months ago she saw Raquel Gonzalez, and how if it wasn’t for Dakota Kai she would still be nothing as she was then. She says she let Gonzalez collect her wins, but she was always the leader. Dakota says she plucked Raquel out of obscurity, and that it should have been her that became the WWE NXT Women’s Champion. She says Raquel didn’t care about returning the favour or re-capturing the WWE NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships. As a result of this, she became the sidekick, but she is nobody’s sidekick. She says she brought Raquel into this world, and now she will take her out of it.
– Backstage, Johnny Gargano ranks tonight up there with his biggest ever matches. He says the fate of the family rests in his hands, and tonight he will end In-Dex for good.
– Vignette airs for Joe Gacy ahead of his match vs Trey Baxter.
Medical update on Adam Cole: He is not medically cleared as a result of Kyle O’Reilly’s attack last week. The pair will meet in a face-to-face next week.
Trey Baxter vs Joe Gacy:
The final first-round match of the WWE NXT Breakout Tournament, and Gacy starts off in control. Baxter sends Gacy to the outside with a dropkick, before attempting a suicide dive. Gacy catches him in the act, before catapulting him off the ropes for a huge punch. Gacy attempts a few falls but Baxter easily kicks out. Gacy is manhandling Baxter with ease, as well as hitting him with a series of massive blows. A suplex back into the ring with Baxter on the apron draws a soft two-count. Baxter manages to use his speed, avoiding Gacy before sending him to the outside again. Two suicide dives, followed by a backflip through the ropes and Baxter is getting some offence in now. Gacy resorts back to what has worked for him as he lifts up Baxter, attempting to again use his strength as he heads to the top rope. Baxter slides off, pushing Gacy down. With Gacy on his back in the ring, Baxter hits a 450 stomp for the win.
Winner: Trey Baxter via pinfall
– A vignette airs of Io Shirai and Zoey Stark having sushi and trying to bond as a team.
– Indi Hartwell is interviewed backstage. She says she’s torn between family and true love. But, if Lumis does win then maybe Gargano and LeRae will realise he’s not such a bad guy.
WWE NXT Champion Karrion Kross stands on the commentary desk and asks who provoked who? Samoa Joe storms to the ring and tears apart the security detail from earlier on, as Kross bolts and runs. Joe looks like the dominant beast he was pre-commentary desk.
– An excellent hype package for Walter vs Ilja Dragunov II airs. WWE treated the match as a legitimate marquee bout, and that should be commended.
– Raquel Gonzalez will be sharing her thoughts on Dakota Kai’s betrayal next week.
Johnny Gargano vs Dexter Lumis – Love Her or Lose Her Match:
Gargano holds up a The Way t-shirt, he shouts at Lumis, ‘This is my family, you want Indi, you’ve got to go through me.’ The pair start off in a cagy fashion, as Gargano catches Lumis with a pair of arm drags. They head to the outside of the ring, as Gargano look to be gaining an advantage. Indi Hartwell then appears at ringside. Back in the ring, they go back and forth with one another as neither man manages to get an advantage over the other. Gargano Irish-whips Lumis who slides under the rope and out of the ring. He then crawls under the ring, and Hartwell goes under after him. Candice LeRae heads down the ramp and pulls her out with the help of Gargano, Hartwell is holding hands with Lumis and drags him out as well. Gargano swings a kick at Lumis, as Hartwell looks less than impressed. Gargano walks round the ring gloating and psyching himself up. They head back into the ring, and Gargano is firmly in control at this stage. After a long headlock, Gargano levels a few strikes at Lumis, who starts to fight back. With a series of clotheslines and strikes, Lumis sends Gargano into the corner. He then hits Gargano with a three-point combo of a bulldog, backbreaker and a leg drop for a two-count. Gargano sends Lumis to the outside, jumping after him with a suicide dive. Gargano makes the error of taking his eyes off Lumis, instead opting to trash talk Beth Phoneix on commentary. Gargano heads back into the ring, but he is met by Lumis as the pair seem evenly matched at this point. They trade blows in the middle of the ring, as Lumis finally drops Gargano. Just like how Gargano got distracted moments earlier, Lumis looks at Hartwell and takes his eyes off Gargano. He goes for a springboard elbow but misses. Gargano seizes the opportunity locking in the Gargano Escape. He’s far from the centre of the ring though, as Lumis manages to make it to the ropes, with a slight helping hand from Hartwell. A roll-up attempt from Lumis results in Hartwell being knocked to the floor. Lumis heads outside to check on Hartwell, Gargano dives through the ropes and hits a DDT onto the outside. He shouts at Hartwell that this is ‘For her own good’, as he sends Lumis back into the ring. Gargano then hits one more springboard DDT for the win.
Winner: Johnny Gargano via pinfall
Post-match, Hartwell initially walks up the ramp with LeRae and Gargano, before ignoring the stipulation of the match. She heads back into the ring and jumps onto Lumis kissing him repeatedly as the show goes off the air.
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