A Room with a Review: NXT 08/05/20
Hey. You guys like NXT, right? Good. Read this.
- We’re starting out with a freshly bleached-blonde Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai. The winner will face Io Shirai at TakeOver 30 for the NXT Women’s Championship. I’ve never realized it, but I think Kai may be the female version of Dolph Ziggler. She rag-dolls really well, especially against the bigger opponents. While the referee is looking the other way (poorly, I might add), Mercedes Martinez kicks Ripley, allowing Dakota to hit the GTK for the win. After the match, Martinez continues the assault on Rhea.
- Next up is Bronson Reed vs. Shane Thorne. Two matches in and we’ve had three Aussies and one Kiwi. Reed picks up the win with a top rope splash he calls the Tsunami.
- Earlier today, Legado del Fantasma attacks Breezango in the parking lot. They throw Fandango in the back of their SUV and speed away.
- McKenzie Mitchell catches up with the entire Robert Stone Brand and asks them about their attack on Rhea Ripley earlier.
- It’s time for this week’s Triple Threat Match, with the winner joining the Ladder Match at TakeOver 30. It’s Damian Priest vs. Oney Lorcan vs. Ridge Holland, who is coming over from NXT UK. This match is intense, with Lorcan and Holland getting some hard shots in on each other. Priest takes one, too, complete with a giant knot appearing next to his right eye. The Archer of Infamy (so hard to type with a straight face) gets the victory after hitting Oney with the Reckoning.
- Up next is a match between Cameron Grimes and NXT Champion Keith Lee. The champ is still angry about what happened between Karrion Kross and Dominik Dijakovic, so Grimes looks to take advantage. Lee wins with a Spirit Bomb in a match that took a lot longer than it should have with the story they are telling. After the match, Kross appears on the TitanTron. The camera pulls back to show multiple unconscious superstars at the feet of Kross.
- NXT General Manager William Regal announces that Dexter Lumis will not be medically cleared to compete in the Ladder Match. They will have two more singles matches between the competitors who did not get pinned or tapped out to fill the final two spots.
- Legado del Fantasma head to the ring through the back entrance, dragging Fandango with them. Santos Escobar says Breezango insulted Lucha Libre at Great American Bash. Tyler Breeze comes out to help but can’t beat the numbers game. Escobar also calls out Isaiah “Swerve” Scott for mentioning his name.
- Next is a video package showing the tag team success that Undisputed Era has had since they first debuted.
- Damian Priest and Bronson Reed face off in the parking lot, setting up a singles match for next week.
- Pat McAfee is joining the commentary team for the rest of this show. Earlier in the day, McAfee and Adam Cole (bay bay) patched up their differences after the altercation on Pat’s podcast last week. The first match he gets to call is Tegan Nox vs. Indi Hartwell. Nox gets the win with the Shiniest Wizard.
- It’s time for the main event as Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly w/ Adam Cole and Roderick Strong face Imperium for the NXT Tag Team Championship. McAfee makes some comments about Adam Cole while on commentary, prompting Beth Phoenix to walk out because of his unprofessionalism. Pat continues, which causes some friction between him and the other announcers. Adam Cole finally has enough and walks over to the commentary table, asking McAfee what’s up. They get into an altercation that has to be broken up by referees and Triple H and even Shawn Michaels! Pat walks away but decides to get one more jab in. The former NFL punter kicks Cole in the head, knocking him unconscious. While all of this is going on, Imperium takes advantage of the distraction and hits Bobby Fish with the European Bomb to retain their titles.
There were a few good matches here and some story advancement ahead of TakeOver 30. My only complaint is that a great main event match was essentially ignored in favor of an angle that has your longest-reigning champion ever get knocked unconscious by a guy that played the wimpiest position in the NFL.
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