NXT Champion Adam Cole expected his title defense against Jordan Myles to be a cakewalk, but the 2019 Breakout Tournament winner gave the cocky Undisputed ERA leader far more than he bargained for in a high-octane main event.
Breezango def. Chase Parker & Matt Martel
ORLANDO, Fla. — New NXT tag team Chase Parker & Matt Martel are one of Canada’s longest-tenured and most-decorated duos — the two Superstars teamed for well over 15 years before coming to NXT and held titles throughout the Great White North — but even their extensive experience as teammates couldn’t boost them past the reimagined and reinvigorated Breezango.
Parker & Martel’s prolonged pre-match hug drew the ire of the NXT Universe, and their clever — if underhanded — double-team tactics gave Tyler Breeze trouble, preventing him from tagging Fandango. The tide turned once Prince Pretty broke free and Dango entered the mix. The stylish sleuth hit back-to-back powerslams and spun Parker into a Falcon Arrow before joining Breeze to hit their newly coined Fashion Faux Pas tandem maneuver to claim victory.
Io Shirai attacked Candice LeRae with a Kendo stick in the parking lot
WWE Network cameras caught the end of a tumultuous scene in the Full Sail parking lot, as NXT officials were seen prying a Kendo stick-wielding Io Shirai off Candice LeRae. The evil Genius of the Sky, who evidently repaid LeRae for last week’s onslaught, was eventually pulled away from LeRae, who was left writhing in pain on the concrete.
Another week passes, and it becomes increasingly clear that the combination of Shirai, LeRae and a Kendo stick is a recipe for disaster.
Velveteen Dream def. Kona Reeves; afterward, Roderick Strong set Dream’s purple couch ablaze
Velveteen Dream’s coveted NXT North American Title didn’t have to be on the line for Kona Reeves to approach the match with dangerous intensity. Looking as aggressive as ever, The Finest turned the match into a slugfest after Dream rankled him with a slap. Reeves stayed on the attack until the referee caught him trying to illegally use the ropes for added leverage in a pinning predicament. Velveteen Dream then took over, stunning Reeves with superkicks and a Dream Valley Driver for the three-count.
Dream’s emphatic win was soon overshadowed by the presence of Roderick Strong on the big screen. Appearing outside of the arena, The Messiah of the Backbreaker revealed that he had set fire to Velveteen Dream’s signature purple couch.
Fuming, Dream paced the ring, while Strong signed off with a rhetorical quip for the NXT North American Champion: “Do I have your attention now?”
Bianca Belair def. Taynara Conti
Taynara Conti relied on judo takedowns and quick thinking to gain an early advantage against the immensely powerful Bianca Belair. The Brazilian Superstar also had a few dirty tricks up her sleeve, as she showed when she scraped Belair’s face across the bottom rope.
Taynara’s lead vanished, however, when she made the mistake of leaping off the apron with a cross body block. Putting her world-class athleticism on display, Belair caught Conti mid-flight and deposited her on the thinly padded floor with a thunderous fallaway slam that did almost as much damage to Belair as it did Conti.
Both Superstars barely made it into the ring before the ref counted to 10, but once they were back inside, Belair found her next gear. The EST of NXT run roughshod over Conti, splashing her with a handspring moonsault and flooring her with a forearm smash before picking up the win with the K.O.D.
William Regal announced an NXT Women’s Title No. 1 Contender’s Triple Threat Match
After it was announced earlier in the night that NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler will face Rhea Ripley next week on WWE Network, NXT General Manager William Regal dropped a different bombshell relating to The Queen of Spades.
Regal declared that Bianca Belair, Io Shirai and Mia Yim will square off in a No. 1 Contender’s Triple Threat Match two weeks from tonight to determine the next challenger to Baszler’s NXT Women’s Championship!
NXT Champion Adam Cole def. Jordan Myles
For NXT Champion Adam Cole, pride almost came before the fall. Almost.
The Undisputed ERA leader wasn’t just confident at the outset of his NXT Title defense against Breakout Tournament winner Jordan Myles; he was cocky and condescending, constantly berating Myles and letting him know that he wasn’t being taken seriously by The Panama City Playboy.
Cole’s swagger grew as he started picking Myles apart, but as the match drew on and Myles proved to be resilient, the champion’s demeanor radically shifted. After Myles pieced together back-to-back near falls — one off a high-altitude cross body block, and another off a deadlift German suplex — the champion suddenly appeared more concerned. By the time Myles kicked out of Cole’s tried-and-true Ushigoroshi later in the match, Cole was nearly apoplectic.
An exciting, 11th hour rally by the challenger — which featured a high-speed, on-target suicide dive — kept Myles’ championship dream alive. Myles’ feelgood story, however, didn’t extend much past that. Moments after blocking Myles’ Midnight Star 450 splash with a pair of knees to the midsection, Cole unleashed a devastating trifecta of strikes that culminated with the Last Shot, closing the book on another successful, if borderline miraculous, title defense.
