With NXT Takeover only three days away, we have a final episode of NXT leading into the show. The show opens with a recap of NXT TV from last week, where the Triple Threat match for Takeover was announced. We also see that Aleister Black was assaulted outside the Full Sail venue. He was previously announced from the triple threat match, making it just Gargano and Ciampa.
The Street Profits vs. The Mighty
The first fight of the evening was The Street Profits against The Mighty (formerly known as TM61). Street Profits had the crowd completely behind them for this match. Montez Ford for The Street Profits got a hot tag, taking out both of The Mighty. He hit a Sunset Flip for a two count. When an attempted roll-up with tights pulled was tried on Ford he turned the tables to win the match. The Street Profits celebrated in the seats afterwards. I thought that this match was very entertaining. The Street Profits are pretty good wrestlers and their glowing personalities make up for whatever is missing in the ring.
Kairi Sane vs. Aliyah
After a short break we saw a backstage conversation between the Undisputed Era. They cut a decent promo. The next match is Kairi Sane facing Aliyah. Sane has a match at NXT Takeover, facing Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s Championship. Just as the bell was about to ring, Baszler came out to watch the match. Sane seemed visibly disturbed by this. Baszler was on commentary for this match. Sane hit three elbow drops, but did not let Aliyah lose as she wants to send a message to Baszler. Aliyah eventually tapped out via submission. I’m very excited to see how this match turns out on Saturday. Baszler was a little rough on commentary, seeming to have a little trouble with the improv that it throws at you. That’s okay though, improving on that is what NXT is for.
EC3 Confronts The Velveteen Dream
The Velveteen Dream comes out to talk to the crowd. He was discussing his opponent on Saturday, EC3. As he was talking, EC3 himself came out. Velveteen Dream attacked EC3 after quite the discussion. EC3 fought back and won the fight. Didn’t seem like a very babyface thing to do, to just attack someone like that.
We now see a full analysis of the attack on Aleister Black attack, trying to find out who did it. This was a very funny segment, showing lots of wrestlers just hanging around the incident. They did not find a definitive answer to who attacked Aleister.
Tyler Bate w/ Trent Seven vs. Roderick Strong w/ Kyle O’Reilly
After another break it is announced that Pete Dunne with defend his United Kingdom Championship against Zack Gibson next week on NXT. The main event for this episode of NXT is Tyler Bate versus Roderick Strong. The match plays as a preview to the tag match between these guys and the other half of their teams. Early in the match Kyle O’Reilly was involved, playing as a distraction, letting Strong get back in control of the match. Tyler Bate did that move where it looks like he’s diving out of the ring but he’s just bouncing off of the ropes. That move messes with your brain. He followed it up with a clothesline then did an actual dive. He hit a Tyler Driver to win the match. The babyfaces are on top heading into the big show. This was a great preview for the match on Saturday. The competition between these two teams should be really something to watch.
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