NXT once again emanates from the Performance Center in Orlando tonight. Five matches have been announced for tonight, including two title matches and multiple highly-anticipated NXT debuts. Be sure to tune into the action on the CW starting at 8 PM ET, and follow along with all the action right here on Cageside!
Two Top Champs Join Forces
Mason Rook put pen to paper last week and signed his NXT contract, but it was what happened before he signed on the dotted line that has people talking. After cutting a solid promo announcing
that he was the best “any-weight” in NXT, the NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo arrived on the scene to have a little chat with the British big man who landed brutal moonsaults on him the previous two weeks. After Kam Hendrix, who was recently promoted from Evolve attacked Tony from behind, Rook took flight again, this time taking out not only Tony and Kam who were brawling on the floor, but also a host of inept security guards that were supposed to be keeping order in the Performance Center.
Later in the evening, it was announced that Rook and Hendrix would be making their NXT in-ring debuts against the brand’s top two champions, NXT Champ Tony D’Angelo and North American Champ, Myles Borne. Can the two newcomers come up with a huge win in their debut and position themselves for title matches in the coming weeks? Or will Tony and Myles join forces and show everyone why they are the top two male stars in NXT?
Tatum Paxley Defends
A week after a brawl broke out among the Women’s North American Champion, Tatum Paxley and three women who have gold in their sights, NXT kicked off with an intense tag team match last week. Tatum teamed up with newcomer Lizzy Rain to take on Nikkita Lyons and her partner Zaria, who was none too thrilled to find herself in a tag team match so soon after her previous team with Sol Ruca came to an end.
At a crucial point in the match, as Nikkita reached out to make a tag, Zaria dropped off the ring apron and left her partner to a 2-on-1 disadvantage. It was only a matter of time after that Lizzy Rain hit Lyons with Thunderstruck and picked up the win for her team. Later in the evening, as Tatum and Lizzy celebrated, Paxley decided she wanted to start giving out title shots again to women she feels are deserving. Who better to be her next opponent than the woman who picked up the pinfall in their match earlier in the night? This is exactly the type of thing Tatum was doing as NXT Women’s Champion that led to Izzi Dame turning on her last fall. Can Paxley trust that her match with the Maiden of Metal will stay on the up-and-up? Will Tatum’s reign as a fighting champion get off the ground tonight or will one of the newest additions to the NXT women’s division win gold less than a month after her debut?
A Slightly Less DarkState?
One of the main story threads of NXT the past few months has been the ever-growing tension in the faction known as DarkState. After losing the tag team titles a few months ago and coming up short in multiple North American Title matches since, it seemed as though the young group was headed towards a breakup. Dion Lennox emerged as a potential standout in the singles ranks, and his insistence on attaining gold for himself didn’t set well with Saquon Shugars. After weeks of proof that Lennox and Shugars had different visions for how their group should move forward, things seemed to be a bit more optimistic when the other two members of the group, Cutler James and Osiris Griffin defeated Hank & Tank a few weeks ago.
Defeating former tag team champions like the Belly Boys seemed to position James and Griffin for a tag team title match against the Vanity Project, and Lennox and Shugars both seemed to come together to support their DarkState brothers. Cutler then flipped the script though when he informed Dion and Saquon that they would be the ones fighting for the tag team championships this week on NXT. Can Lennox and Shugars put past disagreements behind them and bring gold back to DarkState? Or will Vanity Project continue to reign over the NXT tag division and send them further down the road to implosion?
Quick Hits
- Izzi Dame got the drop on Lola Vice once again last week and the show closed with Dame standing over the fallen champ holding the NXT Women’s Championship over her head. Tension is also brewing between Lola and Kendal Grey, who lost to Kelani Jordan last week thanks to the distraction from Dame and Vice brawling at ringside. As the NXT women’s division heats up heading into the summer, who will be next in line for an NXT Women’s Title match?
- Newcomer Tristan Angels has been popping up on NXT the past few weeks and will finally make his in-ring debut tonight. Will he take on Lince Dorado like Naraku did in his own debut last week? Or is there somebody else hanging out in NXT catering that will be called upon to make Angels look good?
- Speaking of the NXT’s newest Japanese star, will the man formerly known as EVIL get a chance to compete again this week after a successful debut and marrying one of the best wrestlers in the world last week?
- After getting greedy and single-handedly losing the 6-man tag team match he was in last week, Tate Wilder asked GM Stone for an opportunity to prove himself last week. It was the wrong place at the wrong time for Tate as the vicious Keanu Carver just happened to be lurking. Now, Wilder and Carver will go one-on-one on tonight’s episode. Can Keanu continue his domination of the NXT locker room? Or will Wilder learn from his mistakes from last week and find a way to come up with a shocking upset?
- The Scottish Supernova, Noam Dar made his long-awaited return to NXT last week but fell short against Jackson Drake, who utilized his advantage in the numbers game to defeat the former Meta-Four front man. Will Noam enlist the help of Romeo Moreno to help even the score with Vanity Project?
- The paths of Natalya and Jaida Parker seem to be converging on each other after Jaida interrupted Nattie’s LFG promo last week. Will it come to blows between these two women, or is the third-generation superstar simply looking to help Miss Parker regain some of her edge?
All this and more on NXT on the CW tonight as WWE’s developmental brand tries to continue building up their new crop of stars. Let us know whose debut you’re most excited for on tonight’s show in the comments below, and be sure to follow along with the live coverage here on Cageside tonight, starting at 8 PM Eastern!
