NXT North American Championship: Carmelo Hayes VS Ricochet
Ricochet kicked off the show to a huge ovation. Carmelo Hayes then came out with a cool entrance graphic which showed t-shirts with the names of all the competitors he has beaten. This match was excellent, Ricochet is the greatest high-flyer of all time whilst Carmelo Hayes is the best up and coming talent in the world. The match was high paced throughout and they were worked so well together. Ricochet hit some awesome moves and Melo’s selling was brilliant, particularly his sell of the poisionrane. Despite all the big moves that were hit, it was Trick Williams’ interference that ultimately cost Ricochet and the A Champ retained with a roll-up. This was Hayes biggest victory, and his star continues to get brighter. Their where some brilliant matches this weekend and this was right up there with them.
Grade: A
NXT and NXT UK Tag Team Championship Unification Match: The Creed Brothers VS Briggs and Jensen VS Gallus VS Pretty Deadly
This was a solid elimination tag team match. Gallus eliminated the NXT UK Champions before the Creed Brothers hit a modified Doomsday device to eliminate the longest reigning UK Champions leaving the best two teams in the division to fight over tag team supremacy. At one point, Gallus and Briggs and Jensen came back down the entrance ramp brawling away and they ended up accidentally taking the referee out. This allowed Damon Kemp to turn on his fellow Diamond Mine members by hitting Julius Creed in the back with a steel chair. Kemp threw the referee back into the ring and Elton Prince got the pinfall victory to make Pretty Deadly the unified champions. Kemp turning on the Creed Brothers was a nice surprise and sets them up for a feud in the next month. As for Pretty Deadly, they are arguably the best tag team on the roster and it’s almost fitting that the only team to hold both the NXT and NXT UK tag team titles won.
Grade: B
NXT and NXT UK Women’s Championship Unification Match: Mandy Rose VS Meiko Satomura VS Blair Davenport
The iconic Meiko Satomura made her entrance to a big ovation. Blair Davenport then came to the ring and Wade Barrett rightly said that Davenport has nothing to lose and everything to gain meaning she was the X-Factor in the match. Mandy Rose then got a special cinematic entrance before the three had a good match. Satomura is so good, some of the moves she hits are crazy. This was the first time I have really seen Blair Davenport wrestle and I definitely feel that she needs to stick around in America as she could be a great addition to the NXT roster. All three of them came close to winning but in the end, Mandy rocked both her challengers with the “Kiss from a Rose” to get the victory. This was probably the right decision; Rose should only lose her title if the company 100% believes that that is the right decision. Rose continues to show that she deserves some “respect on her name”.
Grade: B+
NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships: Katana Chance and Kayden Carter VS Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H.
The NXT Women’s Tag team titles were on the line as the KC’s took one Raw’s Nikki A.S.H and Doudrop. This was match was fine, it wasn’t special but there was nothing wrong with it. They made Doudrop look like an unstoppable force for most of the match and they made Chance and Carter look like the plucky underdogs which they have been for a while now. Nikki ASH, despite her stupid character, is a really solid wrestler and her and Doudrop have the potential to be a really good tag team. Doudrop being on the last NXT UK show was nice as well given the fact that the former Piper Niven was one of the best on that entire roster. Toxic Attraction got involved and cost the Raw duo which makes sense as they know that Chance and Carter would be an easier victory. A positive win for Chance and Carter even though I wouldn’t have had them pin Doudrop.
Grade: C
NXT and NXT UK Championship Unification Match: Bron Breakker VS Tyler Bate
The main event was the highly anticipated matchup of Bron Breakker and Tyler Bate. The face of NXT 2.0 took on the heart and soul of NXT UK in a really good match. Bate had a really cool entrance where he saw all the previous UK Champions which was a great move as it properly put over what the brit was fighting for. The crowd were into the match from the start, and they really wanted Bate to win. The UK Champ hit the Tyler Driver 97 for a really close near fall that the fans bought into as the finish. Breakker then hit his devastating press slam into a powerslam finishing manoeuvre which usually guarantees a victory but Tyler Bate put his feet on the ropes. The ending was excellent, as Bate hit his crazy rope bounce but was met with a devastating spear meaning that the NXT Champion was victorious. The two then shook hands and embraced one and others excellence after the bell. It would have been cool to see Tyler Bate win but it makes sense to keep it on Breakker given how much NXT has invested in him for pretty much a year now. Hopefully Bate will stick around in NXT but if not, he will be a major player in NXT Europe next year. I am also interested to see who Breakker’s next challenger is given the fact he has beaten most of the top contenders.
Grade: A-
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