NXT AUGUST 29TH 2018
Cathy spoke with Regal outside his office, which was being set up to begin the investigation into who attacked Aleister Black.
As the commentators discussed this at the top of the show, Gargano came out on a crutch. He said the crowd had always had his back (which they mostly did here), but he didn’t deserve it. Gargano said he broke a promise to them by losing in Brooklyn and he didn’t know where he went from here, because he lost more than a match in Brooklyn, he lost himself. He said he became Tommaso Ciampa in Brooklyn and he needed to be better for all of them. He was interrupted by Regal, who asked Gargano if he was the one who attacked Black. Gargano said Regal had known him for a long time and invited Regal to look into his eyes and he’d know the answer. Velveteen Dream then showed up, saying this shouldn’t be about him, tonight should be about him after he stole Brooklyn. He called Gargano “Johnny Failure”, causing Gargano to throw the crutch at him, but Regal kept them apart. He told Dream to get to his office and made a match for next week.
Dakota Kai vs. Aliyah
One guy was really behind Aliyah here. The rest of the crowd, not so much. Aliyah got to control the match for a while, before Kai made a comeback. When Aliyah regained the upper hand, she then got too distracted playing for the camera, leading to a trip by Kai and the over the back lungblower for the win.
We caught the tail end of Regal’s questioning of Dream, before Wesley Blake, Steve Cutler and Jaxson Ryker were called in. When asked where they were, they claimed they were looking for Regal, so they could finally get an opportunity. They said they didn’t see or do anything in regards to Black, they wouldn’t have even been able to. Regal booked them in a tag match next week before they left.
EC3 was found backstage, having been attacked, seemingly, by Lars Sullivan.
Regal tried to question Nikki Cross about the Black attack. She claimed she knew who did it, but she was acting too crazy to actually tell them. Belair came in and requested a title match, claiming she deserved it over anybody else, which sparked Nikki’s interest. And Regal never got his answer. Presumably, all the investigation needs to be now is asking Nikki until she tells them.
Since EC3 was out of commission, Mendoza was set to face somebody else. Lars came out and explained he attacked EC3, because when his name came out of somebody’s mouth, he’d rip them limb from limb. Sullivan then made light work of Mendoza, in what never became an official match, before finally laying him out with the Freak Accident.
Ciampa cut a promo into his own camera, bragging about surpassing all expectations since his injury, ending the Gargano fairytale and winning the NXT Championship. He said NXT was his home and this was just the beginning.
Keith Lee vs. Luke Menzies
Another short showcase for Lee. Menzies looked pretty cumbersome at points, and yet the pounce Lee hit and the Spirit Bomb which Lee won with both looked great, so job done.
Hype video for Lorcan and Burch, who are back in action in two weeks time.
Roderick Strong and Adam Cole vs. Ricochet and Pete Dunne
This was supposed to be Strong and O’Reilly against Ricochet and Dunne. However, Cole came to ringside with them and told O’Reilly to sit the match out, since he wanted a piece of Ricochet. This didn’t hit the heights that Strong and O’Reilly’s best matches have hit recently, but this wasn’t really designed to do that. And recent heights aside, it was still an entertaining match. The focus was on the interactions with Cole and Ricochet for the most part, with Cole initially not wanting Ricochet, then winding up in the ring with him and faring poorly, until a blind tag from Strong allowed Undisputed Era to gain control. Dunne would end up getting the hot tag and dominated from there. But after a moonsault to the floor to Cole and Strong, Undisputed Era avoided a Ricochet dive and left Pete to take the brunt of it, leaving O’Reilly to throw Dunne back in and Cole to pin Dunne after the Last Shot.
Post match, Undisputed Era beat down Ricochet, but War Raiders came out and Undisputed Era bailed from the ring rather than fight them.
RECOMMENDED VIEWING: The main event was good and the key takeaway from the show.
NXT WEEK: Gargano against Velveteen Dream, The Forgotten Sons in action and a Kairi Sane appearance.