NXT will emanate from the Performance Center in Orlando once again tonight, just four nights before the Great American Bash. Five matches have been confirmed for the show, including one for the Evolve Men’s Title and another to determine a #1 contender. Plus, the two main events for the Bash will be made official in a double contract signing. Be sure to tune into the action on the CW starting at 8 PM ET, and follow along with all the action right here on Cageside!
Double Contract Signing
NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo and his #1 contender Naraku met in the middle of a forest last week to discuss their upcoming battle at the Great American Bash. D’Angelo talked up Naraku’s past, pointing out that the Japanese star has had a pack of dogs doing his bidding to get what he wants. With no allies making themselves known yet, Naraku urged the NXT Champion to take him at his word. Tony then let his opponent this Saturday know that it is going to take more than Naraku himself to take the NXT Championship away from him.
It appeared as though they were going to sign their contract to make their match official. Tony D put pen to paper, but Naraku let him know that he would be signing it this week instead, followed by an ominous warning that evil is coming. What does the former IWGP Champion have in mind for Tony D this week? Was their dialogue last week setting up Naraku to bring in backup to help him along in his pursuit of the NXT Championship?
On the women’s side of things, Kendal Grey earned a title match of her own a few weeks ago by defeating Kelani Jordan. After earning that shot at the NXT Women’s Title, Kendal caught an errant spinning backfist from champion Lola Vice a few weeks back, building up the growing tension between the two crossover stars. It seemed as though Vice and Grey had buried the hatchet last week as they successfully defeated Jordan and new North American Champion, Zaria in tag team action.
After the match, though, as Lola and Grey stared each other down and set the stage for their title match this Saturday (which should main event the show in this writer’s opinion), Kelani Jordan reached for the NXT Women’s Championship belt. Kendal tried to wrestle it out of her hands, but when she did, her momentum sent the title crashing across the face of Lola Vice. It would appear as though the two women and Bash opponents are all square now, but Lola is sure to have something to say about it as they sign their contract this week.
Will Lola and Kendal make their match official without incident? Or will we get a preview of their highly anticipated Bash showdown 4 nights early? Plus, will Kelani Jordan look to interject herself in the proceedings?
NXT Rebuilds Tag Team Division
A few weeks after reports surfaced of the WWE looking to rebuild their tag team division, the developmental brand has count em…. TWO…. tag team matches signed for their show this week.
After being a judge in the Mr. NXT pageant, we saw footage of comedian Matt Matthews hanging out with Hank & Tank in GM Stone’s office last week. The self-proclaimed fastest man in the world, NXT Men’s Speed Champion Lexis King, vroom-vroomed his way into the picture, followed by the rest of Birth Right. Verbal barbs were exchanged, which led to a tag team match being signed for this week. Two nepo-babies (or maybe one nepo-baby and Stacks) will take on former NXT Tag Team Champions, the Belly Boys, who will have Matthews in their corner.
Elsewhere, buff Macklemore Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux have been discussing a potential team-up for a few weeks and were inspired last week by Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno officially calling each other tag team partners. Van Dux saw The Culling walking by and decided they were a perfect first opponent for him and his new partner.
With Smokes and Baylor of the Vanity Project seemingly challenger-less, which teams will come up with wins this week and put themselves in the running for a tag team title shot down the road? Will we see any other new teams form, or will any previous teams return and throw their hats into the metaphorical ring?
Evolve Championship Defended
Tristan Angels declared himself Mr. NXT last week despite being the runner-up in the pageant the week before. After Kit Wilson and comedian Matt Matthews split their votes between the two competitors, Evolve Men’s Champion Aaron Rourke turned his deciding vote over to the NXT Universe. The results of the fan vote were announced, and Shiloh Hill was declared the winner. This didn’t sit well with Mr. Angels, and the newcomer unleashed a vicious attack on the new Mr. NXT.
While commiserating with fellow recent signees Mason Rook and Lizzy Rain, Angels enacted a little-known pageant rule by declaring himself the official winner, since Hill wasn’t medically cleared to fulfill the role’s duties. Aaron Rourke was lurking and took issue with Angels’ claims. The confrontation ended with Rourke agreeing to put his Evolve Men’s Championship on the line against Angels this week. Will Rourke’s title reign continue or will Tristan actually earn an accolade and become champion? Plus, will Shiloh be medically cleared in time to get involved to prevent his rival from winning gold?
Quick Hits
- Tough guy Keanu Carver had been asking for GM Robert Stone to line him up with a new opponent for a few weeks. Last week, we found out that it would be Eli Knight EK Prosper stepping up to Carver next. Does Prosper have any chance of pulling off the upset tonight? Or will we see Keanu back in Stone’s office next week, asking for his next opponent?
- Izzi Dame and Arianna Grace won their Speed tournament matches last week against Thea Hail and Layla Diggs respectively. Now, they’ll go one-on-one in a three minute match with a shot at Wren Sinclair’s Speed Championship up for grabs. Will Izzi win to give her one less reason to be pissed off at Shawn Spears? Or will the former TNA Knockouts Champion get one step closer to winning a different championship?
- Just a few weeks after being unceremoniously kicked out of DarkState, Saquon Shugars will go face-to-face with his Great American Bash opponent, and the only member of DarkState he hasn’t beaten up yet, Dion Lennox. Will these two men, who were competing for tag team gold together less than a month ago, save the physicality for their showdown on Saturday? Or will they come to blows and give us a preview of that match at the Bash?
- Tavion Heights earned a date with his former NQCC tag team partner, Myles Borne at the Great American Bash by winning a #1 contenders match against Jackson Drake last week. Will Heights and Borne cross paths tonight to exchange pleasantries ahead of their North American Title match?
- After weeks of heated exchanges at the Performance Center and Nattie’s wrestling school, the Low Key Legend defeated Jaida Parker as clean as a sheet on last week’s show. Does NXT creative have a plan to build Jaida back up, perhaps by earning Nattie’s respect and eventually teaming up with her?
- We celebrated at least one more Tatum Tuesday last week after Ms. Paxley appeared in the crowd and distracted Zaria, leading to the new North American Champion getting pinned in the tag team main event. Will Paxley get a shot to regain the gold, perhaps one more time before moving up to Raw or Smackdown?
- Bronco Nima and Karmen Petrovic appeared on AAA this past weekend to help reform legendary lucha libre faction, Perros del Mal. What does this mean for Bronco’s future with his long-time OTM tag team partner, Lucien Price, and Karmen Petrovic’s budding alliance with Nattie and Nikkita Lyons?
All this and more on NXT on the CW tonight as WWE’s developmental brand heads towards the Great American Bash this Saturday! Let us know what you’re most excited for on tonight’s show in the comments below, and be sure to follow along with the live coverage here on Cageside tonight, starting at 8 PM Eastern!
