The final edition of NXT before the huge NXT Takeover: New Orleans event planned for this weekend has just finished airing, and it sure did manage to get fans even more excited for the upcoming network special. This week’s show hammered home some additional points for the five matches taking place at the event, and of course, there was a decent amount of in-ring action as well. The show kicked off with the long-awaited finale of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament.
The Authors of Pain vs. Pete Dunne & Roderick Strong in Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals –
Akam and Rezar both did manage to win that last edition of the Dusty tournament, and the team still rarely loses on television. Dunne and Strong are still a new team in NXT, but both have dominated the tournament ever since being put together a few weeks back. Who won the third Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament and who will face the Undisputed Era at NXT Takeover this Saturday?
It all began when The Authors of Pain quickly established their dominance in the early stages of the match once again. Akam and Rezar each took turns decimating Dunne in the ring while also taking turns trying to pin him. It looked like the Authors of Pain were about to win the tournament for the second time in a row during a few instances in this match, but Dunne always found a way to kick out. However, Dunne struggled to get anywhere close to Roderick Strong for a tag for most of the early stages of the match.
Dunne finally fired back up with some kicks and dashed over to the opposite side of the ring to tag in his tag team partner. Strong then laid waste to both giants by exploding into the ring with stiff chops and forearms. He also landed a dropkick for a very close near fall. The Authors of Pain would not go down that easily, so Strong once again continued to fight with everything that he had left. Dunne then tagged back in and got some offense on the former NXT Tag Team Champions.
“The Bruiserweight” connected with a step-up enzuigiri in the corner of the ring on Rezar, which he then followed up with some punches. Dunne did not really get a chance to display the joint manipulation that he has become so famous for, but this match proved to be more of a brawl than a wrestling match for all of these men. The Authors of Pain regained control by hitting a combo neckbreaker on the United Kingdom Champion.
With some assistance from Roddy, Dunne was able to connect with another step-up enzuigiri in the corner on one of the Authors of Pain. Dunne then immediately hit the Bitter End and appeared to be mere seconds away from getting the win in the tournament, but was still unable to do so. Kicks then sent the Authors down to the mat for a bit until they recovered and hit clotheslines at the same time on Dunne and Strong.
The crowd in Full Sail was absolutely dripping with anticipation to see which team would be declared the winner of this tournament, but unfortunately, it was right around this time when Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly of the Undisputed Era ran in and attacked members both teams, leading to the referee deciding to call off the match.
Winners: Double Disqualification
The Undisputed Era thought that they had just saved themselves from having to defend the NXT Tag Team Championships at Takeover, but General Manager William Regal quickly emerged on the stage and informed the team that this was not the case. Regal announced that Cole and O’Reilly will now defend the titles against both The Authors of Pain and the team of Roderick Strong and Pete Dunne at NXT Takeover: New Orleans this Saturday night. Not only will the winners of the match receive the titles, but they will also be declared the winners of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament.
A video package showing last week’s introduction of the North American Championship and the six participants who will fight for it in a ladder match this weekend was shown.
Another video package for the highly-anticipated match between Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano was also shown during the broadcast.
Vanessa Borne vs. Kairi Sane –
This match appeared to be somewhat of an official debut for Vanessa Borne as she was given a full entrance and a great amount of offense in this match against Mae Young Classic tournament winner Kairi Sane.
Borne started off the match by working over Sane’s arm and trying to wear her opponent down. However, Sane quickly was able to fight off Borne, and then attempted to end the match early via a roll-up. Borne kicked out, but that did not stop Sane from trying again with still no success to be found. Borne then flapjacked Sane and began to elbow the back of her neck repeatedly. She later punched her in the corner of the ring. After hitting some strikes, Borne went for a pin but Sane kicked out.
Sane took over the match firmly once she charged after Borne with a spear. She then ran towards her while she was down in the corner before signaling for her signature elbow drop. Borne was still standing up during this, which led to Sane instead hitting an elbow with less impact. She signaled for the Insane Elbow drop once again after that, but Borne charged up to the post Kairi was on and desperately tried to superplex her to the mat.
The Japanese standout fought off Borne once again by shoving her down while her feet got tangled in the turnbuckles. Kairi then hit a double footstomp before calling for the Insane Elbow for the third time. Sane was able to successfully hit her signature move on Vanessa Borne and earn herself a win.
Winner: Kairi Sane
Lacey Evans was bombarded with questions backstage as she reiterated several times that she is the most classy and sophisticated woman in NXT. She brought up the facts that she is a mother and a former member of the Marines in addition to being such a classy lady. When asked about various women in the NXT locker room, Evans said that none of them matched her class. Not Nikki Cross, not Dakota Kai, not even Ember Moon, and certainly not Kairi Sane.
Due to Bobby Fish’s injury, Cole must compete in both the NXT Tag Team Championship match and the ladder match for the NXT North American Championship at Takeover this weekend. Cole and O’Reily caught up with William Regal outside of Full Sail and made it clear that they were outraged about his decision from earlier in the night. Regal informed the two men that Cole could either fight in both matches as planned, or Kyle O’Reilly can defend the tag team titles by himself, or Cole could withdraw himself from the ladder match. Adam Cole decided that he will compete in both matches, but it was clear that he was not very happy about that.
A video package for the NXT Championship match between Aleister Black and Andrade “Cien” Almas scheduled for Takeover this weekend aired.
The same video of Ember Moon and Shayna Baszler getting into a scuffle at the WWE Performance Center was re-aired. The announcers then reminded fans that Moon will put the NXT Women’s Championship on the line against Baszler at Takeover.
A match between Lacey Evans and Kairi Sane will take place on next week’s edition of NXT.
Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan –
The two big men agreed to have this match against each other during last week’s edition of NXT. It began with a series of collar-and-elbow tie-ups between Sullivan and Dain with both men seeking to overpower the other. Once it was clear that it was getting them nowhere, that is when the two violently exchanged blows back and fourth.
In the end, Dain received the upper hand by delivering a harsh bicycle kick which sent Sullivan tumbling out of the ring. Lars recovered and dragged Dain by his feet under the ropes and down to the ringside area. He proceeded to beat down the man from Belfast until they both eventually found their ways back into the ring.
Lars attempted to hit the Freak Accident on Dain, but was unable to do so. He continued to gain more dominance over Killian, and he later attempted to end the match by executing a high-risk maneuver on the top rope. Before Sullivan could execute this unique maneuver, Dain charged after Sullivan at the top of one of the ring’s corner posts. They began to trade some shots back and fourth with each other once more until they both eventually grew too tired, leading to both of them collapsing onto the mats at ringside.
Once both men were down, The Velveteen Dream suddenly emerged and went up to the top of the same corner ring post. Adam Cole then ran into the ring, prompting Dream to climb down and confront Cole in the ring. EC3 ran out next, leading to the three men having a standoff in the ring. What they didn’t know was that Sullivan and Lars had recovered by then and both men were ready to join in on the standoff. Suddenly, the one and only Ricochet soared down to the ring and stood in the middle of the ring before the NXT crowd and his opponents at Takeover this weekend.
Winner: No Contest
An enjoyable episode of NXT this week from start to finish with an entertaining finale to the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament, but who cares about that now? It’s now time for NXT Takeover: New Orleans. Who will be the first-ever North American Champion? Could we be getting a new NXT Champion or NXT Women’s Champion? Will Johnny Gargano be able to get his job back and defeat his former best friend? All of these questions will be answered during the can’t miss NXT Takeover: New Orleans show this Saturday night. Perhaps the most intriguing question is whether or not this show will be able to top WrestleMania scheduled for the following day. Either way, it will be a thrill to watch both this weekend. I’ll see you NXT time!