Martinez replacing Kamea in NXT Women’s Tag Team title match

WWE has announced a change to tonight’s NXT Women’s Tag Team title match.

NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon will now defend their titles against Aliyah & Mercedes Martinez on tonight’s show. It was originally announced that Blackheart & Moon would be facing The Robert Stone Brand’s Aliyah & Jessi Kamea.

In a video that WWE uploaded this afternoon, Robert Stone said Kamea was injured while training for tonight’s match. Stone and Aliyah approached Martinez and offered her the “life-changing opportunity” to challenge for the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles with Aliyah tonight. When Martinez saw how much money Stone was offering her, she told Stone that would only be half of her pay. Martinez said she expects to be paid the other half after tonight’s match. When Martinez left, Stone said he doesn’t have any more money.

Martinez was formerly part of The Robert Stone Brand prior to her call-up to the main roster last year. She was written out of the group by being served with a restraining order from Stone after losing a steel cage match to Rhea Ripley last September. After briefly being part of RETRIBUTION on the main roster, Martinez returned to NXT in December.

This will be Blackheart & Moon’s first NXT Women’s Tag Team title defense. The titles were introduced two weeks ago and awarded to women’s Dusty Classic winners Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai, but Gonzalez & Kai lost the titles to Blackheart & Moon that same night.

The Robert Stone Brand had interrupted an interview with Blackheart & Moon on last week’s NXT and challenged them to a Women’s Tag Team title match.

Here’s the updated lineup for tonight’s NXT:

  • NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon defend against Aliyah & Jessi Kamea
  • NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai & Zoey Stark vs. Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai
  • Karrion Kross vs. Oney Lorcan
  • NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin vs. Kushida in a non-title match
  • NXT United Kingdom Champion WALTER vs. Drake Maverick in a non-title match
  • Bronson Reed vs. LA Knight
  • NXT general manager William Regal will address Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly
  • Regal will also give an update on the situation with the vacant NXT Tag Team titles

Ripley & Blackheart vs. Martinez & Aliyah added to WWE NXT

WWE has announced an addition to the lineup for tonight’s TakeOver XXX go-home edition of NXT.

Rhea Ripley & Shotzi Blackheart will team against the Robert Stone Brand’s Mercedes Martinez & Aliyah on NXT tonight. Martinez & Aliyah defeated Kayden Carter & Kacy Catanzaro last week. After the match, Ripley came out to the ring and fought with Martinez. Blackheart then helped Ripley even the odds against Martinez and Aliyah.

Martinez interfered in Ripley vs. Dakota Kai on NXT two weeks ago, costing Ripley the match and preventing her from becoming the number one contender to the NXT Women’s Championship. Ripley and Blackheart have both feuded with the Robert Stone Brand since declining offers to join the group.

Here’s the updated lineup for tonight’s NXT:

  • Adam Cole-Pat McAfee face-to-face segment
  • Second chance qualifying match: Finn Balor vs. Velveteen Dream
  • Second chance qualifying match: Johnny Gargano vs. Ridge Holland
  • Isaiah “Swerve” Scott & Breezango vs. Legado del Fantasma (NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar, Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde)
  • Rhea Ripley & Shotzi Blackheart vs. The Robert Stone Brand (Mercedes Martinez & Aliyah)

The winners of Balor vs. Dream and Gargano vs. Holland will become the final two wrestlers to qualify for the ladder match for the vacant NXT North American Championship at TakeOver XXX. Bronson Reed, Damian Priest, and Cameron Grimes have already qualified for the match.