NXT - 03/06/2020
- LDR
- Jun 4, 2020
- 6 min read
This week's NXT was the go home show before TakeOver: In Your House this weekend, so there was definitely a lot to look forward to. We knew we would see the Interim Cruiserweight Championship Tournament concluded tonight, as well as Candice LeRae going up against Mia Yim before Candice's husband Johnny Gargano would take on North American Champion Keith Lee at TakeOver. Read on to see what else went down on the black and gold brand this week.
Source: wwe.com
Candice LeRae v Mia Yim
This week's show opened with a match that has been building for some time, with Mia and Candice taking verbal shots at each other over the past few weeks. Candice was the first to take a physical shot, attacking Yim from behind while she was making her entrance. Once the match actually began Yim managed to overpower her smaller opponent, but LeRae showed that she is settling into her new role well by using some underhanded tactics to swing the match in her favour. The fighting spilled to the outside, with Yim throwing LeRae into the barricade a few times, but the two fought so hard outside that they were both counted out. LeRae managed to get the upper hand and threw Yim into the LED wall, causing Tegan Nox to try and create some peace. Dakota Kai, Raquel Gonzalez and Shotzi Blackheart soon joined the fray and the women brawled until Johnny Gargano and Keith Lee came out to break it up. It was then announced that there would be a mixed tag match between Yim and Lee against LeRae and Gargano. The women picked up where they left off, with Yim almost getting the better of The Poison Pixie, but Gargano broke up the pin. This angered Keith Lee and he charged at Gargano with everything he had but Gargano managed to get Lee into a position where he was gouging his eye with a car key. This distracted Mia Yim, allowing LeRae to put her down for a 3 count. The women having the majority of the spotlight here makes sense, with Gargano and Lee set to face off at TakeOver, but it was also a nice way to keep both rivalries bubbling along.
Source: wwe.com
Isiah "Swerve" Scott v Tony Nese
These two men both took part in the Cruiserweight Tournament and both had cause to be upset with their performances and would definitely have had a point to prove here. Swerve came out all guns blazing, showing more fire and aggression than usual and took Nese to the outside. The Premier Athlete managed to fight back but had to resort to raking the eyes of Swerve to really make any headway. As Nese took control, he slowed the pace down and kept Swerve grounded, playing the game his way. Nese locked in a guillotine choke but Swerve fought out, hitting a brainbuster. It looked as though Swerve was on his way to victory but Jack Gallagher appeared at ringside, trying to distract Swerve. Nese tried to take advantage, but Swerve still managed to counter into a sunset flip and take the win. This match played up on a few of the smaller stories from the Cruiserweight Tournament and each man involved will be looking to raise their profile after their exits from it. Putting on good matches like these are the perfect way to do that.
Source: wwe.com
The Undisputed Era v Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch v Breezango
A match with potentially huge implications for the tag division, each team had a man in the ring from the start. The two other teams joined forces to take out the Undisputed Era boys early on, but it was only a short lasting alliance. These teams put everything they had on the line, fighting with everything they have and jostling for position in the tag team rankings on NXT. Since Imperium won the tag belts and Matt Riddle went to war with his former partner Timothy Thatcher, there has been a gaping hole in terms of challengers, so each team was looking to prove that they should be the team to take that spot. Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish were looking to show why The UE were one of the greatest teams in NXT history yet again, but Dexter Lumis appeared in the crowd allowing Fandango to hit a diving leg drop to claim the win for himself and Tyler Breeze. As stated, these three teams all wanted to make an impact and this was a huge win for Breezango, but Imperium's prescence as well as Malcolm Bivens' appearance at the tail end of this may well mean that they are not quite top of the hill yet.
Source: wwe.com
Aliyah v Santana Garrett
After being fired last week by Chelsea Green, Robert Stone was at ringside here cheering on potential Robert Stone Brand member Aliyah. There has been some back and forth between the two over the past few weeks and, now without his star client, Robert Stone seemed interested here. Aliyah started very strong, attacking Garrett with a newfound ferocity, but Garrett fought back and hit a handspring moonsault to take the win and keep Aliyah on her current poor run of form. She is possibly gaining quite a lot from these losses, as it seems to be lighting a fire inside her, as does trying to impress Robert Stone, so this is looking like the right way to go for now.
Source: wwe.com
Cameron Grimes v Bronson Reed
Cameron Grimes managed a shocking win over Finn Balor recently and was looking to build on that here. He was clearly outmatched in size and power against the big Australian here and Reed took Grimes down with strikes and attacks. Grimes was looking to get back into it, but could not make any progress against his bigger foe until eventually he managed to nail The Cave In to get the win. After the match Karrion Kross came down to the ring, hitting his Saito Suplex finisher on Reed, showing great power to take the big man up and over. The match here was okay, but nothing special. The main talking point was Kross' post match attack which was clearly supposed to send a message to Tommaso Ciampa while also displaying his impressive power game.
Source: wwe.com
Drake Maverick v El Hijo Del Fantasma (Interim Cruiserweight Championship Tournament)
Drake Maverick's fairytale run to the final of this competition would end one way or another here, bringing a close to one of the most engaging storylines in all of WWE recently. Maverick was a clear underdog once again, with Fantasma having a size and power advantage while also being just as quick as the little Brit. It didn't matter one bit to Maverick though, who went at the masked man with everything he had, hitting move after move to try and claim the Cruiserweight Championship. Fantasma managed to hit a huge powerbomb on the floor which nearly ended this one, following up with some more big moves back in the ring. Another powerbomb gained Fantasma a near fall, but Maverick managed to kick out again. As the action spilled outside once again, Fantasma looked as though he was going to be attacked by the masked men who have been kidnapping Cruiserweights recently, but Maverick hit a tope to send them packing. The distraction did allow Fantasma to hit the Phantom Driver, which gave the masked man the win and the title. Maverick had clearly given his all here, but it wasn't enough to win him the championship and his fairytale had come to it's end. After getting huge cheers from the performers in the crowd, Drake looked down the camera and thanked everyone for believing in him before heading to the back. As he reached the top of the ramp, Triple H appeared with a contract that he handed over to an ecstatic Maverick. Maverick has been the highlight of the Cruiserweight tournament and deserves his spot in WWE, so this was the perfect ending to this current story arch for the Brit. Fantasma is a good choice as champion, with him showing some great in ring capabilities so far and it also allows Maverick something to chase as the underdog babyface. The attacks of the masked men seemed quite convenient for Fantasma, being the target multiple times but never being kidnapped like the others. This week's appearance directly led to Fantasma winning his match and the title, so there could be something going on here. Definitely something to keep an eye on.
What did you think of NXT this week? Are you looking forward to TakeOver: In Your House? Do you think El Hijo Del Fantasma has anything to do with the masked attackers in the Cruiserweight division? Let us know what you think on this and more down below!
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