This Week In NXT 9th Edition: News and Recap

Welcome to the 9th Edition of This Week In NXT. It’s been a while. A lot has gone on in the world of NXT since the last time I talked to you guys. We had another successful NXT Takeover show in Toronto during Summerslam weekend. We saw the return of Breezango on last week’s episode of NXT pick up a big win against the Forgotten Sons. I have even more news to share as well as the recap of this week’s NXT show. Let’s start with the news first.

WWE announced the newest class of NXT signees who will be reporting to the performance center to begin their journey in the company. 9 new talents were signed to contracts. Two of the biggest names announced were Evolve champion Austin Theory. He appeared in the crowd at NXT Takeover Toronto event. The other big-name fans will know was Santana Garrett. We have seen her compete in the Mae Young Classic. Garrett has appeared on several of the NXT tapings over the years too.

Some of the other names include Tehuti Miles (a former U. S. Army veteran and University of Maryland football player), LX Ken, EJ Nduka, Rita Reis, Jessy, Marcos Gomes, and Briana Brandy to round out the class. I wish them all the best of luck and look forward to what they can bring to the NXT brand. I’m very happy for Santana Garrett. Her signing is long overdue. She has so much potential to be a major star in WWE.

This may be the biggest news I’ve had yet to share with you all. NXT will be moving to the USA network next month on September 18th. It will be live and go head to head with AEW once their weekly show airs on October 2nd (which will take place in Washington, DC). It will also move to two hours from the one hour format. The rumors had been circulating for months regarding this. Many fans thought the brand would move to FS1 (Fox) with Smackdown in October. The USA network will continue to air two weekly WWE shows with the addition of NXT.

I’ve heard a lot of mixed feelings on the news. I get it. NXT is special to its core fan base like myself. We don’t wanna see major changes to the show we love. I have my concerns for sure but I look at the big picture. A lot of people still don’t watch NXT. You will have a huge amount of people tuning in on September 18th that will be watching NXT for the very first time. With the show moving to prime time, a lot more eyes will be on the product. The talent deserves that. They have all worked so hard to make NXT the best show in wrestling today. Now more people will get an opportunity to see all this amazing talent weekly.

There are a lot of NXT superstars who you don’t get to see regularly. A lot of talent is exclusive to house shows. With two hours to fill each week, a lot of those wrestlers will have more chances to showcase their skill set. I’m hoping some of the people on the main roster who aren’t doing much get a chance as well to come to NXT. It is a perfect opportunity for them as well. Apollo Crews, Shelton Benjamin, Chad Gable, just to name a few could all benefit from helping out the NXT roster.

Wrestling fans have to be patient with this. We are so fast to jump the gun on things like this. Let’s wait and see how it plays out. I’m excited and happy for all the people who are a part of NXT in front of the camera and behind the scenes. This is their moment. NXT is officially the third brand with this move. Maybe we will see some of the NXT UK talents appear on the show too. It is great exposure for that brand as well. It is a great time to be a wrestling fan. Now let’s get into this week’s recap.

The show kicked off with my favorite groups in wrestling today. The Undisputed Era. Adam Cole (Bay Bay) grabs the mic and says he did everything he said he would do in successfully defending his NXT Title. Roderick Strong, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O Reilly each stated their cases for why they should have won at Takeover Toronto. Fish and O Reilly made the best case because the legal man was not pinned in their match with The Street Profits. They even had video evidence as proof. Cole makes the case that they are two wins away from fulfilling their prophecy which is to win all the gold in NXT.

As they leave the ring and walk up the ramp, outcomes the winner of the NXT Breakout Tournament Jordan Myles. He has a contract to challenge any of the NXT champions and it looks like Cole is his target. Cole lets him know that it would be a mistake to challenge him. He even tells Myles to go to 205 Live or NXT UK and challenge for a title match on one of those shows. Myles drops the contract right at Cole’s feet and walks off. I loved this segment. Myles didn’t say a word but yet he said so much with his body language. In two weeks we will have this NXT Title match between Myles and Cole. That should be a good one.

Our first match of the night was between Mansoor and Damian Preist. This was a good match. Preist has a very cool entrance. I love how he shots the imaginary bow and arrow and his name appears on the screen in flames. It’s very cool. Preist was the aggressor early on in the match. Mansoor picked up the offense and got a near fall in the middle of the match. Preist picks up the win here with The Reckoning. These are two talents I hope to see get more TV time once NXT goes live. Mansoor has a lot of heart and could be that Daniel Bryan/Johnny Gargano underdog character for you. Preist could be one of your top heels on the brand as well.

The next match of the night was between Mia Yim and Vanessa Borne who was accompanied by Aliyah. This match was ok. Vanessa Borne continues to improve. I’ve loved her since the first Mae Young Classic. The sky is the limit for her. Together with Aliyah, I see future woman’s tag team champions. Yim wins with the Protect Ya Neck. At the end of the match, Shayna Baszler comes out. She tries to convince Yim to join her squad to make things easier on her. All of a sudden you see Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke who still had her arm in a sling thanks to Yim’s attack on her a month ago. Mia doesn’t accept and goes after the two ladies. It’s now 3 on 1 and Mia doesn’t stand much of a chance as they beat her down in the middle of the ring.

This feud will continue but Mia will need some help. I wonder who will step up to the plate and help her. There are a lot of possibilities on the roster. Maybe this is a way to get Santana Garrett on TV. She would fit nicely in this feud. Kacy Catanzaro would be a nice choice too. She’s got a big upside to her and could benefit from this opportunity. If Dakota Kai is healthy, she would be a good choice. She has a history with Shayna so it would make sense. We shall see how this plays out.

Next week we will finally get the rematch between Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic. They showed an excellent video package where both men talked about the upcoming match and the history the two had outside of WWE. I didn’t know about that. This should be a very good match. The last one they had 6 months ago was intense. I didn’t realize it had been that long since their last match. These are two big men that will also benefit from the two-hour show coming up.

Our next match is between Bronson Reed and Shane Thorne. This one came about when Shane interrupted Reed at the performance center as he was talking about what’s next for him after being a part of the NXT Breakout Tournament. The match was solid. Reed is another big man who can move and do a lot for you. Shane is finding his place after his tag team partner left the company. Thorne picks up the win here. I’d figured Reed would win here. I was wrong on that one.

The Velveteen Dream comes out next. He is brought out on the couch by a couple of ladies. Dream says that his shirt is $30. His shades are $10 but retaining the NXT North American Title is priceless. He says it doesn’t matter if it’s one-man, two-man, etc. The Dream will come out on top as he likes it. That’s where the spotlight is. The spotlight is now on Roddy Strong. If he wants a one on one match, he has to show that he belongs. If not, it will be dream over. Velveteen Dream owns that character. It’s like Prince, Goldust, Jimi Hendrick, and Rick Rude all rolled up into one.

The NXT Tag Team Titles will be on the line next week. The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish and Kyle O Reilly) will challenge The Street Profits once again. Will the Undisputed Era get it done? Can The Street Profits retain once again? We’ll have to tune in next week and see who will be victorious.

In the main event, we have Matt Riddle vs Killian Dain. This is Dain’s first match in months after coming off an injury. Dain comes out first and is in the ring when all of a sudden Riddle attacks him from behind to gain the upper hand. The match was good. You had action in and outside of the ring. Riddle hits his version of the GTS (Bro to Sleep). The steel steps get involved as well. Dain bounces Riddle face-first off the steps. Then runs and lands on top of Riddle as he lays on the steps with all his body weight. Dain picks up the win here after multiple Vader Bombs. As the show goes off the air, we see Riddle run and chase after Dain as he goes to the back.

Video footage was posted soon after the show where the brawl continued. The two men brawled in the backstage area. They even took the fight outside of Full Sail. A ladder got involved. Riddle ended up taking a nasty bump on the ladder. It wasn’t pretty. This feud has been intense with these two and is far from over. Dain has come back to make a statement. He has shown that he is long past his Sanity days. I’m sure he learned a lot working with that group.

That’s it for my news and recap for the week. This was another solid week of NXT programming. I look forward to seeing what is next for the black and yellow brand. I’ll be back next week for another recap and hope to have more news to share with you all. Until then, take care and I’ll see you soon for more NXT coverage.