A pair of championship matches are scheduled for WWE NXT tonight.
Sol Ruca has an NXT Women’s North American Championship defense set, putting her title on the line against Tatum Paxley. It’s a title shot that Paxley earned when The Culling defeated Zaria, Ruca, Hank Walker & Tank Ledger — though Izzi Dame didn’t seem too happy about Paxley getting the shot instead of her.
Hank & Tank will be defending their NXT Tag Team title belts against the Chase U duo of Kale Dixon & Uriah Connors tonight.
After making her return to NXT last week by attacking Lash Legend, Nia Jax takes on Thea Hail.
Blake Monroe will also be in action against Kelani Jordan, Myles Borne continues his rivalry with Lexis King, and Yoshiki Inamura goes one-on-one with Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo.
Plus, the build to Heatwave continues with the PLE now less than three weeks away.
Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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The show opens with the entrance of Blake Monroe. Her new entrance includes a mirror. It was cool enough I think if The Narcissist had the camera shot as part of his act in 1993, he might have gotten over better.
The entrance of Kelani Jordan is next, and she rushes into the ring, and the opening match is quickly under way. Maybe they were born with it. Or maybe it was Maybelline, which is a sponsor with their brand name on the center of the mat.
Blake Monroe vs. Kelani Jordan
Jordynne Grace returns during the match wearing a neck brace. Monroe flees the ring and Jordan wins via countout.
The bout itself was rather short, but it was more of a vehicle for an angle. More on vehicles later, as Monroe would speed away in an SUV to escape Grace. Monroe with heat on Jordan early in the match. Jordan with a comeback, and she locks in a half crab. Monroe gets a rope break.
Jordan leaps off the top rope, but Monroe cuts her off with a headbutt. Running knee strike by Monroe and a near fall on Jordan. Monroe goes to follow up when the theme music for Jordynne Grace blares on the speakers.
Out comes Grace wearing a neck brace, and Grace walks straight into the ring like she is on a mission. Monroe powders, and she runs for her life. Monroe gets into the back of a waiting SUV, and the automobile speeds away. Meanwhile, the referee is counting out Monroe. After a ten count, Jordan wins the match.
Match result: Kelani Jordan defeats Blake Monroe via countout
— In a backstage skit ahead of the next bout, Andre Chase is giving Chase U students Uriah Connors and Kale Dixon a pep talk. Chase did not like their odds in the tag title match, and they did the “so you’re saying there’s a chance” bit from Dumb & Dumber.
NXT Tag Team Champions Hank Walker & Tank Ledger vs. Uriah Connors & Kale Dixon (with Andre Chase)
Hot match, even with babyfaces on both sides. Connors & Dixon get to shine some, and Dixon does a flip dive over the top rope. He misses and rolls through a leap off the top rope. Dixon is then in the crosshair of Hank & Tank. Connors pushes Dixon to take a bullet for his partner.
Hank & Tank with a high/low powerslam combo on Dixon, and Hank covers Dixon while Tank blocks Connors from breaking the count. The ref stops the count anyway, and he claims Dixon got his shoulder up. The live studio audience was not buying it, and rightly so. Not sure it that was a botch, but it certainly was a bad spot.
Hank & Tank sandwich Dixon with a double standing splash, and they follow by once again doing their combo finisher. Hank then scores a pinfall on Dixon as the referee counts to three this time.
Match result: Hank & Tank defeat Connors & Dixon to retain the NXT Tag Team titles
Suddenly, the lights in the sound stage go dark. Darkstate is running in, and they jump everyone in the ring. They lay waste to Connors and Dixon. Darkstate with triple team moves on Hank & Tank. Darkstate stand pose under strobe lights over their fallen prey.
— The Personal Concierge cuts a promo on behalf of Ash by Elegance. He delivers message to WWE NXT/TNA Knockouts Champion Jacy Jayne, with The Personal Concierge vowing that Ash will win the title Thursday on Impact.
— Myles Borne and Tavion Height chat in a backstage skit, which plays off their past in the No Quarter Catch Crew. They remain buds in this skit.
— Vic Joseph voices over a plug that advertises bull riding on CW. Professional Bull Riders (PBR) is part of TKO Group Holdings alongside WWE, hence the cross-promotional. PBR recently inked a deal to air their team series bull riding events on CW.
— Izzi Dame gives Tatum Paxley a pep talk on behalf of The Culling.
— Thea Hail gets coffee in a skit posted on social media. She cuts a promo on Nia Jax, and Hail is go wound up over Jax that she almost forgets her coffee.
Myles Borne vs. Lexis King
The match goes through a split-screen commercial break. Before picture-in-picture, Borne slingshots himself over the top rope with a plancha on King. During the commercial break, King cuts off Borne. King targets Borne’s ear, which plays on Borne’s backstory.
Borne eventually makes a comeback with Saito suplexes, and then he strikes with Borne Again (which is the name for what was formerly called the Zig Zag finisher). Borne then covers King for a three count.
Match result: Myles Borne defeats Lexis King via pinfall
— Darkstate as a group cut promos saying they are focusing on getting the tag titles. Despite being played as a serious promo, they included a crude joke for comedy. So much for taking them seriously.
Nia Jax vs. Thea Hail
The match goes through a commercial break. Jax played the monster heel and Hail was the babyface in peril. Hail fought valiantly, but Jax was merciless. Jax with a Bonsai Drop, and she sits on Hail as the referee counts three.
Match result: Nia Jax defeats Thea Hail in the in-return of Jax to NXT
Kelly Kincaid is the ring for a post-match interview. Jax snatches the microphone out of Kincaid’s hands, and she cuts a promo on Lash Legend.
Out comes Legend to confront Jax. Legend flubs a line and then rushes into the ring for a pull-apart brawl with Jax. Security and officials pour in to separate them. Good thing security was there, unlike when Darkstate runs in.
— Jordynne Grace was pacing in the office of NXT General Manager Ava. Still in a neck brace, Grace ensures she will be cleared by the time of NXT Heatwave, where Grace meets Blake Monroe in a singles match.
Moose makes surprise appearance and a melee ensues
NXT Champion Oba Femi enters the ring for a monologue. He is soon interrupted by TNA Champion Trick Williams. Trick confronts Femi in the ring and they face off while cutting promos on each other. Soon comes another interruption as Je’Von Evans joins the party. The bickering continues, but with three people instead of two.
Moose from TNA makes a surprise appearance, and he cuts a promo on Trick. Moose vows to win the TNA title from Trick. Suddenly, the lights go dark on the sound stage. Darkstate runs and a schmoz ensues and everyone brawling in the dark.
— More cross-promotion as Vic Joseph voices over a plug for the Canelo vs. Crawford boxing match that TKO is co-promoting.
— Arianna Grace and Heritage Cup Champion Stacks flirt with each other as Nia Jax and Lash Legend brawl in a backstage pull-apart.
— Wren Sinclair is in a kitchen lounge with Charlie Dempsey. She sings the Joe Hendry song, and Hendry appears. Hendry pops out of a refrigerator. The skit sets up a match between Dempsey and Hendry. Dempsey is referred to as a “sourpuss”, which Sinclair repeats for comedic effect. Dempsey storms off, and Sinclair asks Hendry to take a picture with her. 1`
Yoshiki Inamura vs. Heritage Cup Champion Stacks in a non-title match
Stacks ambushes Inamura before the bell. Stacks gets heat on Inamura. Comeback by Inamura and he runs wild. The fight spills outside the ring, where Inamura gives Stacks a stiff slap. Arianna Grace runs down to ringside and slaps Inamura across the face. The referee ejects Grace from ringside, but not before another run-in.
With the referee distracted by Grace, Josh Briggs rushed into the ring on the far side. Briggs ambushes Inamura with a big boot. Stacks then covers Inamura to win the match.
Match result: Stacks defeats Inamura via pinfall
— Vic Joseph reads a voiceover that plugs NASCAR on CW.
Tavion Heights confronts North American Champ Ethan Page and Chelsea Green appears
NXT North American Champion Ethan Page is in the ring for a monologue. Page cut a promo bragging on his victory over Santion Marella. Page then talks about the greatest Canadians, and Page puts himself at the top of the list.
Page then does the Nikolai Volkoff gimmick of singing a foreign national anthem. So, Page begins singing “O Canada” to a chorus of boos. Tavion Heights interrupts the anthem and confronts Page in the ring. Heights insults Page and challenges Page to a title match. In doing so, Heights mentions he is an Olympian.
The live studio audience chants “YES” while Page tries to dismiss Heights. Suddenly, they are interrupted by the entrance of Chelsea Green and Secret Service. Green is flanked by Piper Niven and Alba Fyre as she storms the ring and confronts Heights.
Green points out she was a United States Champion as a Canadian. Green was going to sing the Canadian anthem, but Heights interrupted that. Green insults Heights for being American, but she says even a “rude” and “ignorant American” would not hit a woman. Heights says she is right, and he decks Page instead. Green jumps into the arms of Niven for comedy. Heights then vows to find a woman that will hit Green for him.
— The Fatal Influence trio insults Kelani Jordan and Lola Vice in a backstage skit. Dual champ Jacy Jayne joins Fallon Henley in cutting promos on Vice and Jordan. In walks Jazmyn Nyx, and she hands Jayne the NXT and TNA women’s title belts. Nyx informs them all she talked Ava into booking a tag match next week, much to the chagrin of Jayne. Vice and Jordan team up next Tuesday against Jayne and Henley.
— Sol Ruca and Zaria are chatting backstage when Lash Legend and Nia Jax brawl their way into the skit. Amidst the pull-apart brawl, Ava comes in to announce Legend and Jax meet next week in a singles match.
— Ricky Saints sits down with Kelly Kincaid for an interview in a segment sponsored by an insurance company. Saints talks about Jasper Troy, which builds up a match between the two.
— Triplemania gets a plug, as does NXT live in Philadelphia.
NXT Women’s North American Champion Sol Ruca (with Zaria) vs. Tatum Paxley (with The Culling)
Ruca retains after interference by The Culling and a doll. Lash Legend and Nia Jax also continue their ongoing brawl, which led to a stunt at ringside.
The title match goes through a split-screen commercial break. Before the break, Sol Ruca does a moonsault to the floor off the top turnbuckle. In setting up the spot, Shawn Spears interferes in the match. Zaria makes a save, causing Izzi Dame to get involved by arguing with Zaria. As they huddle together to argue, Ruca leaps into the moonsault.
During the break, Paxley cuts off Ruca. Paxley works the neck after targeting Ruca with a neckbreaker. Ruca with a comeback and rally. Ruca superkicks Paxley, and Ruca delivers a Rude Awakening neckbreaker. Ruca follows up with a running knee strikes. That sends Paxley out of the ring to regroup. Paxley then cuts off Ruca with a kick.
Paxley springboards into a Whisper in the Wind for a near fall. The studio audience chants “this is awesome” in admiration of the match. Ruca and Paxley tease a superplex, only for Ruca to instead catch Paxley with a sunset bomb.
Ruca post herself when she misses a charge into a corner. Paxley with a roll-up for another near fall. Ruca counters Paxley’s finisher into a pinning combination, but Paxley kicks out. Ruca lands on her feet after flipping off the ropes, and Ruca Spears Paxley in a corner.
Ruca slips on the top rope going for a springboard. They recover from the botch and they execute an avalanche neckbreaker. Double down after Paxley gives Ruca the neckbreaker. Meanwhile, Spears tries to slip Paxley her doll (seemingly to use as a weapon). Izzi Dame chides Spears for doing so, while Paxley picks up the doll.
Nia Jax and Lash Legend brawl there way onto the sound stage, which interrupts the match. They brawl at ringside, and they crash through a gimmicked section of the barricade.
Paxley is preoccupied with her doll, which allows for Ruca to deliver the Sol Snatcher. Ruca then hooks a leg and covers Paxley for a three count.
Match result: NXT Women’s North American Champion Sol Ruca defeats Tatum Paxley to retain her title
