It’s that time once again guys, time to check out the best WWE Network show… No, not WWE Total Bellas! Let’s check out what happened This Week on NXT!
Pete Dunne (c) vs Rodrick Strong – WWE UK Championship
Pete Dunne continued to make his mark in NXT by taking on one of their most charismatic performers, Rodrick Strong. There was much resistance from Strong who kept pushing forward, wanting to beat Dunne one way or another. Dunne dominated thanks to his brutal style and managed to keep Strong down. Strong would fight back with his sudden bursts of energy and Dunne would respond by shattering his spirit and crashing Strong back down to earth.
The match built up the tension solidly with moves becoming faster and harder towards the end, leaving moments of respite when the exhaustion took over both opponents and getting creative in how either man could achieve the win. An Avalanche Olympic Slam couldn’t but Dunne away and neither could Strong’s follow up which led to both men fighting for their lives to take advantage. Predictably the win went to Pete Dunne after using The Bitter End to finish Strong off.
Winner: Pete Dunne
Meanwhile…
– Dream mentioned Tyler Bates’ comment the previous week, mocking his attempts to intimidate the Dream. Bate vs Dream in the future? This I got to see!
Aleister Black Speaks…
There’s a devil driving him crazy on his back, the NXT Championship. Before he could make any formal challenge for the title, Killian Dane walked down to the ring. Dane made his own claims to the NXT championship and warned Black that his path to the championship would be blocked by chaos. Black stated that Dane would fade to black now that he’s crossed him. Dane vs Black? That’s even better! Can’t wait to see this materialise.
TM-61 vs Jobbers
Ah and here I thought we could escape one week without a squash match. I guess I shouldn’t be so optimistic in the future. Miller and Thorne weren’t fully on the offence, but their opponents posed a weak threat thanks to their teamwork and overall athletic ability. All of it culminated with a Greeting From Thunder Valley and TM61 taking the win. A good showing from Miller and Thorne, but the slow build to a full comeback is taking its time.
Winner: TM61
Shayna Baszler vs Ember Moon – NXT WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
This was actually a tricky one to predict, Ember ended the last encounter victorious but injured and Shayna left defeated but was ego boosted by the damage she’d inflicted. It could’ve gone either way, plus we’re left with less than 10 minutes of the show to go for this main event so we were sure to see something surprising.
The threat of any submission by Baszler loomed over the match while Ember went all out on the assault and holding nothing back. A suicide dive from Moon left Baszler on the floor and Ember’s arm in intense pain. With an open target, Baszler went for the kill and focused solely on the injured arm. Baszler went even further to break Ember by wrapping the injured arm through the ring barrier and wrenching it hard.
Fortunately for Ember, a guardian angel taking the form of Kairi Sane came down to teach Shayna a lesson. She attacked her and led to a DQ finish and leaving Ember the champion. Kairi and Shayna stared down giving us an repeated image of the rivalry from the Mae Young Classic. Does this make the champion look weak? I could see how someone would perceive this, but given how Ember’s been presented as resilient and refusing to quit pretty much eliminates the idea that she was a weak person.
Winner: Shayna Baszler (Ember retained by DQ)