WWE NXT
Winter Park, Florida
October 9, 2019
results thanks to wwe.com
Lio
Rush def. Drew Gulak to become the new NXT Cruiserweight Champion
Lio Rush’s last three weeks have been as good as anyone’s. He returned
from sabbatical, earned a title opportunity and now can call himself the
new NXT Cruiserweight Champion.
He dethroned Drew Gulak in a hotly contested encounter Wednesday,
dazzling yet again since his comeback last month. Starting the match at
a blistering pace, including a Spanish Fly that nearly ended the match
in immediate fashion, Rush eventually was grounded by Gulak’s more
tactical style.
With nifty reversals and escapes, Rush found his way back into the
fight, even slipping out of The Philadelphia Stretcher’s dreaded Gulock
at one point. Later countering an apparent superplex attempt, The Man of
The Hour set himself up for a springboard stunner and The Final Hour to
secure victory.
After impressive victories over Oney Lorcan and now Gulak to put
championship gold around his waist, who can slow down the red-hot Rush?
Rhea Ripley def. Aliyah
Shayna Baszler’s continued dominance as NXT Women’s Champion has left
fans wondering who could possibly unseat her; Rhea Ripley’s thoughts on
the matter are loud and clear.
After taking care of Aliyah in singles competition, Ripley staked her
claim to Baszler’s title. “The Nightmare” issued a confident warning for
The Queen of Spades, putting Baszler — and her reign — on notice.
Ripley appears unafraid of Baszler, taking a steel chair to her back
when fellow MMA Four Horsewomen Jessamyn Duke & Marina Shafir got
involved in their non-title bout last month. How will Baszler respond to
her newest challenge?
The Forgotten Sons def. Breezango
The Forgotten Sons are done being an afterthought in NXT, and they don’t
care who they have to hurt to make their presence known.
Pre-empting what was supposed to be a match between Breezango — who
sported a new construction-themed look and entrance — and Ever-Rise by
taking out Matt Martel and Chase Parker backstage, The Forgotten Sons
took liberties to insert themselves instead in the bout opposite Tyler
Breeze and Fandango.
That forcible adjustment was also a fruitful one. The Forgotten Sons’
duo of Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake picked up a pinfall victory
following some help from Jaxson Ryker on the outside.
Breezango has been successful since reuniting in NXT, but The Forgotten
Sons have re-announced themselves as a threat in the tag team division —
especially after showing they’re not shy about using the numbers game to
their advantage.
Cameron Grimes def. Boa
Killian Dain doesn’t appear to have gotten over narrowly missing out on
an opportunity at the NXT Championship two weeks ago.
Unfortunately for Boa, he was the target of Dain’s rage on Wednesday.
Left lying on the mat after becoming the latest victim to a
lightning-quick Cameron Grimes victory, Boa was brutalized seconds later
by the unannounced Dain. The Beast of Belfast continued his beating
through the crowd, punctuating it by tossing Boa across the the announce
table in ruthless fashion.
The scene reminded us that there may be nothing scarier in NXT than an
angry Dain, who told the commentary team, “This is just the beginning.”
NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong def. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott
If The Undisputed ERA has learned anything since fulfilling the golden
prophecy last month, it’s that heavy is the head that wears the crown.
NXT’s most dominant group is seeing challengers emerge from all
directions for their respective titles. After Roderick Strong defeated
Isaiah “Swerve” Scott in a match that seemed to give the NXT North
American Champion far more than he bargained for, The Velveteen Dream
appeared with a message for Strong — that he plans on recapturing the
title in two weeks.
Dream declared his intentions by embarrassing Strong with some — we’ll
call it “creative artistry” — on the video screen at Full Sail Live. But
that wasn’t all The Undisputed ERA had to deal with.
Tommaso Ciampa also arrived on the scene to confront NXT Champion Adam
Cole for the second straight week, clearing the ring of The Undisputed
ERA when he arrived with a steel chair and his patented crutch in tow.
Ciampa wasn’t done there, taking out Angel Garza with a vicious strike
backstage moments later in a seemingly wrong place, wrong time
situation.
The Undisputed ERA may have turned NXT into its own Camelot, but it’s
clearly now under siege.
Bianca Belair def. Dakota Kai
Bianca Belair will not sit idly while Rhea Ripley claims the front of
the line for an opportunity at the NXT Women’s Title.
Overcoming the recently returned Dakota Kai after the K.O.D. in a
spirited battle, The EST of NXT didn’t merely let the win speak for
itself. Belair rebutted Ripley, announcing herself as a roadblock in
Ripley’s path to a potential opportunity at Shayna Baszler’s NXT Women’s
Championship.
Belair and Ripley both represent an opponent unlike any the other has
seen, and one can only imagine a one-on-one encounter would produce
fireworks — and perhaps a definitive next challenger for Baszle.
WALTER def. Kushida
If WALTER and Imperium are to be outmatched in NXT, it’s not going to
come at the hands of one man.
Fighting valiantly, Kushida perhaps pushed WALTER beyond his limits.
However, The Ring General was simply too much for the time-traveling
high-flyer, wearing him down with punishing chops and slaps throughout
their encounter.
Kushida’s fighting spirit reared itself in a fiery rally. Despite a
significant size and strength disadvantage, he out-maneuvered WALTER
late in the match with a series of masterful counters, highlighted by a
powerbomb reversed into a DDT. The breakneck pace eventually ceased and
spelled the end for Kushida with WALTER connecting on a truck-like
running dropkick and a powerbomb — successful this time — for the pin.
Afterward, WALTER stood tall in victory with his Imperium teammates. The
Japanese Superstar was the first to step to the imposing group after its
bullyish arrival on NXT, but given Kushida’s fate, one has to wonder if
anyone else in the locker room will try the same.