NXT JULY 4TH 2018
Dakota Kai vs. Santana Garrett
Good back and forth match to get Kai a win. Garrett got to look competitive throughout, but Kai rallied with some kicks before winning with the over the back lungblower, which is an odd move, but looked really good here.
EC3 and Gargano were shown arriving at the arena. EC3 was playing up to the crowd, while Gargano looked miserable.
Another self filmed video from Heavy Machinery, earlier in the day at the Performance Center. Dozovic was taking the camera outside to go check on their barbecue, while Tucker was lifting weights. The Mighty sneak attacked Tucker though and could be seen running away when Dozovic noticed something was up. Moral of the story- never leave a barbecue unattended.
Shayna came out for a promo. She bragged about beating Nikki, saying she answered everyone’s questions and she was the most dominant force the division had ever seen, so she’d keep answering the questions. She brought up Belair, Sane and Candice, saying Candice should probably stay home and take care of her husband and claimed she was the reason they needed another Mae Young Classic, just to find a challenger for her. She said the answer would always be the same, she’d put everyone to sleep and she’d still be NXT Women’s Champion. Shayna’s already proven herself as a solid talker.
Oney’s eye injury was shown, before Cathy interviewed Burch backstage. Burch said Oney had had surgery and would be out about three months, before being interrupted by Undisputed Era. Strong told him that even if Oney did recover, they’d be at the back of the line, where-as they were at the front and invoking their rematch clause next week. Cole called him a loser and when Burch responded, he accused he and Lorcan of having massive egos ever since he gave Oney a North American Title shot. Burch suggested Cole face him next week and Cole, unfazed, accepted.
Hype video for War Raiders.
Recap of Ciampa confronting Black last week. The match, for the title, was confirmed for three weeks time.
The Mighty vs. Otis Dozovic
Otis had to compete solo, with Tucker injured. Dozovic ran through both guys early on, until The Mighty used a referee distraction to get an advantage. Dozovic was able to reverse a double suplex to kick off a big comeback. Miller pulled Thorne out of the way of a Vader Bomb though and The Mighty got the win after a Thorne rear clothesline.
Promo from Belair, from her honeymoon. She referenced Nikki, Kairi, Kai and Candice as people claiming they should be number one contender, but she was undefeated and maybe her being on honeymoon would give everybody else time to catch up.
Sane was interviewed outside the Performance Center about Vanessa Borne’s comments, saying Borne should focus more on fighting, but she’d face Borne, make her walk the plank and go on to win the NXT Women’s Championship.
Velveteen Dream vs. Chris Dijak
This was a good, competitive and hard hitting match. Dijak put in another good showing, while Dream was forced into being more aggressive as a result. The finish saw Dream trip Dijak off the apron, causing Dijak to hit his head on the ring steps and then follow up with the Shell Shock DDT when Dijak beat the count back in, to pick up the pin.
As Dream was celebrating, EC3 made his entrance for the main event, with the commentators referencing Dream walking out on EC3 in their tag team match at Royal Albert Hall.
Bate and Seven were interviewed about Undisputed Era invoking their rematch clause. They said they weren’t a joke or a fluke, they won the belts clean as a whistle in Royal Albert Hall and they’d do it again at Full Sail.
EC3 vs. Johnny Gargano
Story here was Gargano coming out aggressive and trying to fight instead of wrestle. EC3 got the better of things and tried to work on Gargano’s neck, after the DDT he took at Takeover. Gargano would eventually get back into the match, setting up an even finish. The finish saw Gargano notice EC3 sitting next to him and thinking he was mocking him by acting like Ciampa, which fired him up. EC3 got to the ropes in the Gargano Escape and Gargano almost didn’t break the hold. He did the same thing a second time, then hit a Ciampa style running knee and a draping DDT ala Takeover, for the win. Gargano ‘snapping’ at the end did skirt the line of being a bit much, melodrama wise, but either way, a solid main event. After a couple of shaky squashes, this was clearly EC3’s best showing since returning.
RECOMMENDED VIEWING: Gargano versus EC3, Kai against Garrett and Dream against Dijak were all enjoyable matches and worth a look. Baszler’s promo was strong as well.
NXT WEEK: Kairi Sane versus Vanessa Borne, Adam Cole against Danny Burch, Moustache Mountain defending the NXT Tag Titles against Strong and O’Reilly and an appearance from Aleister Black.