WWE NXT Review: Results, Analysis, and Grades for September 21

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:29 p.m. ET

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Source: NXT on WWE.com

Find out everything that happened on Wednesday’s episode of WWE NXT.

Previously on WWE NXT, Samoa Joe apologized for being a jerk in the weeks leading up to TakeOver: Brooklyn. First, he addressed the crowd, then he called Shinsuke Nakamura to the ring. The new NXT Champion accepted Joe’s apology, and his request for a rematch.

But Joe wasn’t done, and he blindsided Nakamura on the entrance ramp. After a brutal attack, Joe finally left, and Nakamura needed to leave on a stretcher. Will Joe make yet another apology this week? And what is Nakamura’s status following the assault?

Elsewhere last week, the match of the night was Drew Gulak vs. Hideo Itami. Both men just wailed away on each other with hard slaps, and the intensity was high from bell to bell. Itami emerged victorious after a GTS, so who’s next on the list?

We also saw Bobby Roode defeat No Way Jose in the main event. Jose put up a good fight, but Roode was too glorious for the party animal. The women’s division took some shape as well, with Liv Morgan challenging Asuka to a championship match. And the Authors of Pain continued their run of dominance in the tag team division by soundly defeating some local talent.

What else is in store for this week’s episode? In the last few weeks, we’ve seen the Cruiserweight Classic participants in action on NXT. With the Cruiserweights hitting Raw this past Monday, will we still be seeing them in NXT? No matches have been announced ahead of time for this week’s episode of NXT, so we’ll need to wait and see what kind of action we get.

Please continue reading to find out everything that happened on Wednesday’s episode of WWE NXT.

Samoa Joe Speaks

Joe comes to the ring to address the “altercation” between himself and Shinsuke Nakamura. He was able to get a copy of Nakamura’s medical report. Joe reads a bunch of technical medical jargon, with the most interesting part being that the NXT Champion will likely not require surgery. However, he will require extensive rest and rehabilitation, anywhere from six to twelve weeks.

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Joe states he is not a patient man, so he calls out William Regal to do the right thing a strip Nakamura of the championship. Furthermore, he wants to be awarded the title, since he deserves it.

Regal emerges, and confirms the accuracy of the report Joe read. He says Nakamura is seriously hurt. Regal also says that Nakamura is not a “normal” individual, so he doesn’t know exactly what his status is. But regardless, the mess that Joe created needs to be fixed by Regal.

Joe leaves the ring and gets in Regal’s face, and offers him the chance once again to make the situation right. If he doesn’t, Joe says the entire NXT roster will look like Nakamura.

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Bryan’s Thoughts: Not much to really say other than Joe violated a bunch of HIPAA regulations, and whatever health care worker he got that report from should be fired.

More seriously, it will be interesting to see how long Nakamura stays off television for. I can’t imagine he’d be missing the “six to twelve weeks” announced by Joe. With TakeOver: Toronto on the horizon (albeit still unofficially as per aired tapings) (uh, spoiler alert?), the NXT Champion will most likely be around well before that event.

Cedric Alexander Backstage

Cedric says that for seven years, people have been telling him he would fail. He says he spoke to William Regal and asked to face “the best,” because he knows he’s that good. So tonight he faces Andrade “Cien” Almas, and he knows he’ll come out on top.

Liv Morgan Backstage

Liv says she’s ready to challenge Asuka because she’s here to jump hurdles. She’s not going to back down from anyone. Liv didn’t start from the bottom to end up back at the bottom. Asuka interrupts and says if Liv thinks she’s ready, they should find out.

Oney Lorcan vs. Austin Aries

Result: Austin Aries defeated Oney Lorcan via submission

Rating: 2.6 out of 5 stars

No one has a better headlock than Oney Lorcan! The way he locked that move in and refused to let go, you’d think he was Bret Hart with a Sharpshooter. Aries breaking the hold with a backdrop off the apron to the outside was rough looking, but in the good way.

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It’s apparent that Aries is studying Itami, because he and Lorcan channeled the Gulak vs. Itami match from last week. Who says wrestlers don’t study tape of their opponents? The heavy chops and slaps from both competitors echoed throughout the arena, and through the viewing audience’s television speakers.

Lorcan is basically what you’d get if you crossed Cesaro with Akira Tozawa. He’s a bald guy who can uppercut you to death, but he sure as heck won’t do it silently. War cry is an understatement. I thought he hit the running uppercut solidly, but there’s no way Aries is ready to lose a big match en route to getting his hands on Itami.

The post-match promo by Aries was just the right amount of weasel meets jerk. Very few have played the cowardly heel who doesn’t have to be cowardly in NXT like Aries. If you thought Itami wasn’t coming out, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. And if you thought Aries would stay and fight, I’ll give you a 25% discount.

Dan Matha Video

Dan Matha shows up in two weeks. He’s 6’7, over 300 pounds, and I only know that because Corey Graves told me. Apparently he’s a football player turned wrestler, and he’s progressed mighty quickly at the Performance Center.

Source: WWE.com

Aliyah vs. Billie Kay

Result: Billie Kay defeated Aliyah via pinfall

Rating: 2.1 out of 5 stars

Quite possibly the worst thing about NXT is that a performer will get a really good entrance theme, and a few weeks later it’s gone forever. When it’s a clearly cheap knockoff of the original it’s bad enough, but when it’s just a lamer tune it’s really awful. Billie Kay losing the Toreador song from “Carmen: A Hip Hopera” is THE. WORST.

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I’m issuing a few demerits to the Full Sail crowd during this match. Billie Kay is quite obviously meant to be the bad guy in this one, but Aliyah is getting booed? I get that she’s flip-flopped a few times between good or bad depending on the needs of the match. But all she did was hit a pretty good looking leg drop and she got X-Pac heat.

The match itself wasn’t too bad. Aliyah needs this kind of work to continue to develop, and she clearly is getting better and more comfortable. Kay is almost by default the top heel in the NXT Women’s Division.

DIY Clashes With The Revival

Following their tag team victory at the CWC finale, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa were interrupted backstage by The Revival. All four men brawled in the backstage area until Dash and Dawson escaped.

Mandy Rose Backstage

Rose says Ember Moon doesn’t have the look of a real NXT Superstar. When she gets Moon in the ring, Rose is going to make sure that she’s eclipsed.

Cedric Alexander vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas

Result: Cedric Alexander defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas via pinfall

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

The pop Cedric got upon his ring announcement was wonderful. He’s a great wrestler who seems like a really nice guy, and it’s clear he loves what he does. He should be the biggest star coming out of the CWC.

Almas, on the other hand, probably could have benefitted tremendously from being a part of the CWC. If he would have had the chance to get 15-20 minutes in the ring with a guy like Kota Ibushi in front of a WWE audience, would he not be cheered like crazy?

Watch that long sequence of arm drags and trips and flips and such from the opening of the match. Almas has everything it takes to get himself over with the crowd except for context. He’s talented. He’s exciting (in context). And he’s charismatic. It’s stunning that he’s fallen so far since his debut.

A match like this is a great thing for both superstars. Almas gets to showcase his natural ability against a guy who can keep up and enhance it. Alexander gets a match to properly introduce himself to the NXT audience, even if the CWC crowds had a lot of overlap.

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Curious to see where Almas goes from here, since this is two straight matches where he’s been on the short end of the stick to a debuting superstar. Something tells me that the hug and respect at the end of the match is foreshadowing something. (Remember, I don’t read spoilers for the NXT tapings until each episode airs, so I really have no idea.)

Major demerits go to Tom Phillips for calling the Lumbar Check a backbreaker. Come on, man, I KNOW you get the WWE Network, you had to have heard Mauro calling it, mamma mia.

That’s all for this week’s episode of WWE NXT, what did you think of the action?

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