By David Dodgson @DodgeeWriter
This week, we have been promised Aliester Black v. Johnny Gargano – that should be one hell of a match! Even if that doesn’t whet your appetite, there is always the potential for chaos and controversy throughout the division (even if Sanity are on their way to Smackdown). Let’s see what goes down this week.
Undisputed Era Promo
All four stable members come out to a sizeable pop with Roderick Strong sporting the tag belt around his waist and now announced as a tag champ. Adam Cole and Bobby Fish gloat about the amount of gold Undisputed Era now hold and how they did it all despite being constantly backed into a corner.
Roderick Strong takes the mic and gets a literal pat of the back from Cole and co. He says he could not trust Pete Dunne to value their partnership over his UK title, but saw how Undisputed Era always have each other’s backs so he decided to join them.
Cole then announces he will defend his North American title against Orney Lorcan and sends his partners to the back as he will not need their help.
Following on from the recent example of Sami Zayn, it seems this heel turn might give Roddy the refresh he needs. He made a similar point to Zayn after last year’s Hell in a Cell – being the nice guy has always left him coming up short, and it’s time to take care of himself. Good call!
North American Championship Match: Adam Cole (c) v. Orney Lorcan
An unorthodox choice of first challenger perhaps but this is exactly what the North American title needs to be – a chance for those lower down the card to shine. Cole’s ribs are heavily taped, and the commentary team play on this heavily. Predictably, Lorcan goes after the ribs early on forcing the champ to bail to the outside of the ring.
In typical heel fashion, Cole takes advantage as Lorcan pursues him outside the ring, but the rib injury is slowing him down. A blockbuster earns the challenger a near fall before he drops Cole onto the ropes. As he climbs the corner, Kyle O’Reilly comes out with a doctor causing a distraction. Strong drops Lorcan onto the apron and suddenly Cole has recovered. He delivers the Last Shock and gets the pinfall.
Post-match, the heels beat down Lorcan, which draws out his tag partner Danny Burch. He only gets to act as the cavalry briefly until Undisputed Era leave them both splattered on the canvas.
Winner: Adam Cole
Undisputed Era made a case for themselves ruling over NXT, though it might be more accurate to say they rule over the mid-card. Still, it was a decent match setting up plenty of potential angles for the future with the British connection between Burch and Pete Dunne highly likely to come into play.
Heavy Machinery v. Tino Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss
A strong sense of déjà vu as these two teams square off yet again. After the standard ‘Tino sucks!’ chants, the match starts with both teams brawling in the ring. Dozovic and Knight dominate early on leading to ‘steaks and weights’ ringing around the arena.
Sabbatelli and Moss soon take over and look good for a few moments with some slick teamwork. That all ends though when Moss goes for a tackle in the corner but inadvertently hits his partner. When he later goes for a tag, Sabbatelli leaves him high and dry and heads to the back. All alone, Moss does not last long and is soon put in the Compactor.
After the bout, Heavy Machinery call out War Raiders. They promise to raid all the buffets in the back and all the weights in the gym to get ready for their revenge.
Winners: Heavy Machinery
I’m not sure where NXT can go with a Sabbatelli/Moss split as neither guy is over enough with the crowd to turn face. Heavy Machinery are suitable opponents for War Raiders as a first programme and should make for a hard-hitting rivalry.
Who can beat Shayna Baszler?
The women’s division is highlighted through a series of backstage segments and hype packages this week. Shayna Baszler cockily states that the only thing for the women to compete for now is who gets to be number two. We then see brief vignettes for the other women on the roster, each stating their case for being the next challenger.
There is alter an interview with Dakota Kai in which she refuses to talk about Baszler before being confronted by the champ. The bully storyline stands in interesting contrast to the one on RAW – there we have Bliss comically spreading tales about Nia Jax, but there is nothing to laugh at over on NXT as Baszler intimidates her competition. Whether or not she can dominate them remains to be seen.
NXT Championship Match: Aleister Black (c) v. Johnny Gargano
Gargano barely sets foot on the ramp before he gets blindsided by Ciampa, who is sporting black paint around his eye that I first thought was a pirate eye patch. They fight atop the announce table and back onto the stage until Ciampa takes a page out of Nakamura’s heel playbook with a low blow. That continues with a knee to the face before he drives Gargano through a table. Johnny Wrestling has to be stretchered out – I guess the title match is off then.
He gets carted past the entire roster to an ambulance, with Aleister Black looking on. The segment ends with Ciampa stood atop a production truck waving bye bye.
This rivalry is not over yet! A powerful segment as Ciampa once again robs Gargano of a title opportunity. He has to be one of the best heels in the entire company right now.
NXT Championship Match: Aleister Black (c) v. Eric Young
Black hits the ring and starts to call about Tommaso Ciampa but gets interrupted by Sanity (who I guess haven’t made their way to Smackdown just yet). Eric Young starts to ramble about chaos, but Black makes his own interruption to offer a title match right here, much to the crowd’s delight.
The match is an interesting mesh of styles – both guys are aggressive and hard-hitting but Young embraces the chaos while Black remains cool. Sanity interfere at points suggesting they are returning to a heel role for the main roster.
The match is fairly even with near falls for both competitors. It all ends when Young shows impressive agility to roll over the ropes and slide back into the ring, but it is all for nought as he gets a Black Mass for his troubles. Wolfe and Dain try to pounce after the match, but both get a Black mass of their own in what is no doubt their send-off.
Winner: Aleister Black
That was a fun match even if Sanity’s status meant the result was never in doubt. Black looked strong in his first match as champ and his future on the brand looks bright. Sanity head to Smackdown now where I eagerly await them to unleash some chaos.
Final Thoughts
A well-packaged episode that presented a lot in one hour without anything feeling rushed or truncated. Each championship was showcased through matches or segments, and rivalries outside the tile pictures were also highlighted. Once again, NXT looks set to get stronger despite recent call-ups to the main roster and remains the best hour of WWE programming on a consistent basis.
