WWE NXT live results: Number one contender’s match
Tonight’s WWE NXT on The CW continues the march toward this month’s Great American Bash will feature a number one contender’s match in addition to TNA’s Joe Hendry in action.
Jasper Troy and Yoshiki Inamura will do battle for the right to challenge NXT Champion Oba Femi at the Bash. Troy is coming off a loss to Femi last month while Inamura battled Femi once on a live event, also last month.
Hendry returns to NXT for the first time since May when he battles Wes Lee. Hendry is preparing to challenge TNA World Champion and NXT member Trick Williams in addition to Mike Santana at this month’s TNA Slammiversary.
NXT North American Champion Ethan Page and Ricky Saints will meet with NXT GM Ava as another match between them looms in the distance.
Myles Borne vs. Lexis King, Thea Hail vs. Lainey Reed, and Izzi Dame & Tatum Paxley vs. Zaria & Sol Ruca round out the show.
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Opening the show is the entrance of TNA World Champion Trick Williams, and he joins the announce team for guest commentary alongside Vic Joseph, Booker T and Corey Graves.
Joe Hendry defeated Wes Lee (with Tyson Dupont & Tyriek Igwe)
Hendry pinned Lee after a chokeslam. Williams was on commentary, but other than stare down with Hendry, he did not play into the match itself. Yet, the match still featured a run-in.
The match goes through a commercial break. Just before the break, Hendry takes a wrecking ball dropkick from Lee on the floor. Hendry then counters to clothesline Lee. Hendry then has a stare down with Trick Williams at ringside. Those two meet in a title match at TNA Slammiversary in triple threat that also includes Mike Santana, who runs in later in this match to aid Hendry.
When the show returns from the break, Igwe and Dupont distract Hendry. That allows Lee to hit Hendry with a dive. Lee then casually springboards off the middle rope into a Phoenix Splash. From there, Hendry counters a tilt-a-whirl with a vertical suplex. It’s off to the races from there. Hendry manages to counter Lee again.
Santana runs down to ringside to counteract interference by Igwe and Dupont. Hendry deliver a chokeslam soon thereafter, and Hendry covers Lee for a pinfall.
Luca Crusifino comes to ring wearing a suit. He calls out Tony D’Angelo to clear the air. “The Don” accuses Crusifino of costing him the Heritage Cup in a match last week. They then accuse each other of hitting the other in the face.
Crusifino goes on to talk about how he left college and turned down offers to join a law firm in order to instead chase his dream in WWE. Crusifino says he as never done anything to doubt D’Angelo, and that is loyalty.
Out comes Heritage Cup Champion Stacks to interrupt the bickering to himself bicker with other two. Stacks sarcastically thanks Crusifino helping him win the Heritage Cup. Crusifino yells at Stacks to shut up. This is between Crusifino and D’Angelo. “The Don” chimes to to agree, and Crusifino decks D’Angelo with a right.
Stacks enjoys the sight of a decked D’Angelo, and he puts his arm around Crusifino while taunting D’Angelo. Crusifino then suddenly decks Stacks. The plot thickens.
NXT Champion Oba Femi is interviewed backstage by Kelly Kincaid. He comments on Jasper Troy against Yoshiki Inamura in a match later today. In walks Inamura, flanked by Josh Briggs. Inamura gets a promo that concludes with him saying he will see Femi at Great American Bash.
Myles Borne defeated Lexis King
Borne pinned King to win the match, which was set up in a skit last week with University of Florida football players George Gumbs Jr. and Tyreak Sapp. They were front row ringside for this match, and the celebrated after the match with Borne. For the finish, Borne does the Florida Gator chop before a Zig Zag and a pinfall.
Darkstate is featured in a pre-taped promo where each member gets to talk and threaten the NXT roster.
Lainey Reid defeated Thea Hail
Reid pinned Hail in a disputed finish. Not only did Hail have her hand under the plane of the bottom rope, but Reid was also holding the rope for illegal leverage. Moments before the finish, Reid tries to cheat by putting her feet on the ropes. For the finish itself, Reid delivers a knee strikes and covers Hail for the disputed finish. A rematch is plausible.
No Quarter Catch Crew is featured in a skit that sets up Charlie Dempsey against Tavion Heights. If Heights wins, he leaves the Crew. This is such an odd stipulation. Just leave if you want. Dempsey says when he wins, he does not want to hear about it again. Dempsey also heeled on Wren Sinclair in the skit.
Jasper Troy cuts a promo vowing to win tonight against Inamura, and then Troy vows to win the NXT title at Great American Bash.
Tatum Paxley & Izzi Dame (with The Culling) defeated NXT Women’s North American Champion Sol Ruca & Zaria
Dame pinned Ruca to win the match, which could also set up a title match with the champ dropping a fall. Paxley aligned herself with The Culling throughout the story of the match.
Ruca & Zaria are in sync most of the match until they go home. The tag bout goes through a commercial break. Just before cutting to commercials, Ruca & Zaria do a cool tandem spot that includes a dive to the floor and military press outside the ring. They do other tandem spots, including a modified take on the old Quebecers finisher. However, miscommunication and aDamen inadvertent spear tease dissension.
Just before the finish, Zaria accidentally spears Ruca after Paxley saves Dame. For the finish itself, Dame uses a sit-out powerbomb to score a pinfall on Ruca. With Dame pinning a champion, that would seem to set a title match in the near future.
In a skit from the office of NXT General Manager Ava, Ricky Saints meets with NXT North American Champion Ethan Page. Flanking Page is Vanity Project from Evolve, which includes WWE Evolve Champion Jackson Drake. This skit sets up Saints in a “Vanity Project gauntlet” next week. If Saints runs the gauntlet, he can pick a stipulation for his title rematch against Page.
Chasu U is featured in a vignette. Andre Chase apologizes to Uriah Connors and Kale Dixon for tough love. Chase has Dixon booked in a singles match next week. Chase wants Dixon to promise he will listen to Chase.
Joe Hendry is being interviewed by Kelly Kincaid when Santana also joins them. Hendry and Santana agree to fight against High Ryze.
Backstage in a skit, NXT Tag Team Champions Hank & Tank agree to put their titles on the line
Yoshiki Inamura defeated Jasper Troy in number one contender’s match
Inamura pinned Troy clean with a flying body press. In winning, Inamura earns a title match against NXT Champion Oba Femi at The Great American Bash.
So much for Troy’s big push. They figuratively cut his legs off here with a clean loss after several weeks of a pushing him. Inamura also kicked out of Troy’s finisher, which was a black hole slam. Inamura fired up in the closing moments. He then climbed the turnbuckles and leapt off with a splash to score the deciding pinfall.
Femi comes out after the match to have a stare down with Inamura on the entrance ramp. Meanwhile in the ring, Je’Von Evans springboards in to attack Troy. That is payback from a previous angle involving the two, and it also indicated a direction for both Evans and Troy.
Jordynne Grace is headed to the ring for a monologue. She starts by saying getting to this point (in NXT) is the hardest thing she has done. It reminds her that she thrives under pressure. So is heading into Evolution and is in the ring this time and not on the sidelines. She gets to compete alongside the best women’s wrestlers in the world.
Grace goes on to say for sake of being honest, she fears being vulnerable. She thought a lot and asked herself if she really belongs in WWE. She says the audience knows her journey. She did not grow up wanting to be a WWE superstar, but Gracy says she did everything she could to get here. She became someone WWE could not ignore.
Grace is interrupted by the Fatal Influence trio consisting of NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley and Jazmyn Nyz. Jayne taunts Grace by mocking her “sob story” about her journey. Jayne mocks by saying Grace might bench press more than her, but Jayne tells Grace she could never carry the women’s division. Keep flexing and a title might fall into her arms, but Jayne says it will not be her title.
Jayne claims she is at the top of her game. The live studio audience drowns her with boos, and Jayne taunts them too. Grace eventually cuts off Jayne and tells her to shut up. Grace starts saying a vow to become the champion when Jayne goes for a sneak attack. Grace tries to fight them off, but Grace is overcome by the odds.
Jayne and Henley are jumping Grace when Blake Monroe runs down for a save. Monroe and Grace clean house and clear the ring as the heels flee. Out comes Ava, who bickers with Fatal Influence. Ava books a match for The Great American Bash with Monroe & Grace against Jayne & Henley. The two heels — Jayne & Henley — rush into the ring after the announcement and they brawl with Monroe & Grace. The babyfaces again clean house on the heels before the show goes off the air.
