NXT will emanate from the Performance Center in Orlando once again tonight. Five matches have been confirmed for the show, including the NXT Championship and the Men’s Speed Title being defended. 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!
Tony’s Turn
Last Tuesday, NXT Women’s Champion Lola Vice put her gold on the line and successfully defended against Izzi Dame. This week, it will be the NXT Men’s Champion Tony D’Angelo with his title
up for grabs.
Since the major post-WrestleMania roster reset back in April, Tony D has had no shortage of competitors gunning for him and the NXT Championship that he won at Stand & Deliver. With his top challengers Joe Hendry, Ethan Page, and Ricky Saints all moving up to Raw or Smackdown, new stars like Mason Rook, Kam Hendrix, and Naraku have replaced them at the top of the card in the men’s division.
Naraku was the first one to catch Tony’s attention, but things took a turn with the evil Japanese star last week when he informed the NXT Champion that, not only were they destined to go to war with each other, but until the time was right, Naraku was going to make sure that championship stayed around Tony’s waist.
He wasted no time proving it either!
As Kam Hendrix was about to attack Tony after some in-ring trash-talking, Naraku blocked Kam’s attempt and ended up spilling the former LFG talent to the outside of the ring. Kam gets the next shot at Tony’s title this week after getting the pinfall in tag team action two weeks ago, but his partner in that match might have something to say about it. Mason Rook has been getting the drop on Tony for weeks and arguably did a lot of the heavy lifting in that aforementioned tag match to allow Hendrix to score the win.
All of these moving parts make for a combustible NXT Title match tonight. Will Kam Hendrix make a meteoric rise and dethrone Tony D’Angelo? Or will Naraku make sure that that doesn’t happen? Plus, what involvement will Mason Rook have?
Lexis King Defends His Throne
The tournament to determine the #1 contender to Lexis King’s Men’s Speed Championship began and ended last week on NXT. Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux fought to a time-limit draw in the first semifinal of the night, which, by Speed tournament rules, meant that both men were eliminated from the tournament. This development turned the other semifinal match between Evolve’s Romeo Moreno and Smackdown’s Nathan Frazer into the tournament final.
As all Frazer’s matches are, his showdown with Moreno last week was fast-paced, but in the end, it was the Spanish newcomer that pulled out the victory. Romeo will now take on Lexis King in a five-minute match this week with King’s gold on the line. The numbers game is sure to favor Lexis, as his Birth Right buddies will likely be in the building. Will Noam Dar, who has been hanging with Romeo Moreno recently, accompany him to ringside to help even the score? Or will the second generation King continue his reign?
New DarkState Faces Old NQCC
After kicking Saquon Shugars out of the group, the remaining DarkState trio vowed to re-establish themselves at the top of the NXT food chain last week. They wasted no time trying to make good on that promise, attacking Tavion Heights and NXT North American Champion, Myles Borne backstage.
Heights and Borne, former tag team partners in the NQCC, have been having their own issues lately. It was Tavion’s inadvertent interference a few weeks back that allowed Kam Hendrix to pin Borne and earn his shot at Tony D this week. Heights is hungry for opportunity and seems to feel like his buddy is holding him back a bit. Though their paths could still collide with the North American Title in the balance at some point soon, Myles and Tavion now have a common cause to fight for.
Will Griffin, Lennox, and James beat two of NXT’s top stars to show everyone that they truly do mean business as a trio? Can the former NQCC reunite and get on the same page in time to pick up a big victory? Plus, after lurking on top of an equipment truck at the end of last week’s show with his eyes clearly on his former buddies, will Saquon Shugars begin his path to revenge on DarkState and possibly cost them the match?
Quick Hits
- Since her breakup with Sol Ruca earlier this year, Zaria’s been on the warpath on Tuesday nights and newcomer Lizzy Rain has seemingly become a roadblock on the Aussie star’s path to singles glory. Can Zaria defeat the Maiden of Metal and get one step closer to a title shot against Tatum Paxley? Or will Lizzy pick up the win and inspire Tatum to give her another shot at the gold?
- Tate Wilder’s overzealousness cost him and his partners a six-man tag team match a few weeks back. Then, the following week, he got absolutely demolished by Keanu Carver. The Vanity Project crossed paths with Tate backstage last week and questioned whether the recent Evolve callup was in any position to compete, but Wilder didn’t back down and challenged Jackson Drake to a match this week. Can Wilder keep his focus long enough to pick up a big win? Or will Drake’s new boo Myka Lockwood make sure that Jackson comes out on top?
- Shawn Spears royally screwed up last week. After requesting a tag team match for he and Niko Vance and realizing it would distract from Izzi’s title match with Lola, Shawn decided to attack OTM with a chair before the match even got going. His intention was to get the match cancelled so he could be there to support Dame, but it ended up costing Izzi as OTM came down and fought Spears and Vance out of the Performance Center. Is it time for Izzi and Niko to move on and ditch the former Perfect 10?
- Kelani Jordan’s win streak continued last week when she meticulously picked Wren Sinclair apart on her way to a submission victory. With NXT Women’s Champion Lola Vice seemingly putting Izzi Dame behind her last week, is it time for the Standout to stand up and try her hand against the champ?
- Jaida Parker defeated Evolve’s Layla Diggs last week in the latter’s NXT debut, but the story revolved around the presence of third generation superstar, Nattie, who had accompanied Diggs to ringside. Miss Parker and Miss Neidhart seem to be circling each other. Is a showdown between the two in the cards? Or is Nattie looking to bring some of Jaida’s edge back with the hopes of teaming up with her down the road?
- With the Mr. NXT pageant just a week away, will Shiloh Hill and Tristan Angels do any last-minute campaigning this week to increase their chances of being named Mr. NXT?
All this and more on NXT on the CW tonight as WWE’s developmental brand looks to build more momentum heading into the summer. Let us know which match 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!
