NXT returned last night (March 24) from the Capitol Wrestling Center (CWC) in Orlando, Florida. You can find the results on the live blog here.
Adam Cole is out of control (and O’Reilly too)
The war between former friends Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly could no longer be confined to the ends of the Capitol Wrestling Center. The fight spread to the public and left Regal praying that the police would drop the charges … but that was only because HE wanted to be the only one to deliver the punishment.
Cole would have to face the music when he arrived, with O’Reilly and Regal waiting. The GM would be forced to make a decision with Stand & Deliver just two weeks away!
Regal started the meeting (which was the “main event” of the show) calmly, but quickly started shouting at Cole and O’Reilly for involving the BLOOD POLICE. He told them that the only way to allow an injured Kyle O’Reilly to fight as the main co-event of takeover night two was if they both signed a disclaimer absolving NXT of any responsibility for what would happen.
Adam Cole signed first, but not before he took the opportunity to belittle Kyle O’Reilly as nothing more than a “lap dog” and a “helper”. He told William Regal that he was like a blind man seeing the world for the first time, and his revelation was that he didn’t need The Undisputed Era – in fact, they were stopping him. The title record reigns, the main events, the sales of t-shirts, everything ADAM COLE BAY BAY. He said that the Takeover winner was obvious to everyone, except for the man across the table.
O’Reilly’s replica was just as passionate. He couldn’t believe that the past three and a half years had been a waste of time, that their friendship had been a lie, but he had to accept that or he wouldn’t be able to do what was necessary in Takeover. O’Reilly said that they became better fighters, better fighters and world champions in The Undisputed Era … but only one of them became a BETTER MAN. He vowed to take responsibility for all his crimes, starting by taking the man he trusted for everything. He signed the contract and threw the pen at Cole, Cole exploded with rage and the match for Takeover was official!
No more doubles champions
Due to Danny Burch’s unfortunate injury last week, General Manager William Regal felt he had no choice but to take Burch and his partner Oney Lorcan out of their doubles titles.
I can confirm this incredibly unfortunate news and make the difficult decision to vacate the #WWENXT Tag Team titles. In addition, I’ll talk about the status of the titles tomorrow night in @WWENXT. https://t.co/z3iQdC1Ruc
– William Regal (@RealKingRegal) March 23, 2021
This left a big gap in the title photo, which could possibly be resolved before or during Takeover: Stand & Deliver. What would be William Regal’s decision? He came up with a triple threat for the first night of Takeover – MSK, Grizzled Young Veterans and Legado Del Fantasma would face off for the vacant belts!
Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon vs. Mercedes Martinez and Aliyah
While it seemed unlikely that the women’s doubles titles would change hands again shortly after they opened, that did not mean that Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon could simply laugh at the challenge that Mercedes Martinez (replacing injured Jessi Kamea) and Aliyah brought to the table, especially with Robert Stone ready and willing to interfere on your behalf.
WALTER vs. Drake Maverick
I’m not kidding. NXT champion UK WALTER has long faced the tiny Drake Maverick in an untitled WWE NXT defense this week.
This went on for exactly as long as you expected. WALTER destroyed him with a single energy bomb and put him on hold for submission, but the referee stopped the fight after declaring that Maverick was already out. Tommaso Ciampa went out to challenge WALTER for his NXT UK title at Takeover, and WALTER accepted … but only after Imperium left him in a pile in the middle of the ring.
Bronson Reed is no longer kidding
Last week, Bronson Reed found it funny to make the “fat man in a small coat” movie with LA Knight’s designer jacket. This week, although Reed was all professional – there is no more time for jokes.
LA Knight tried his best to keep “The Colossal” Bronson Reed under control, but eventually he angered Reed many times and he “got up” for the return. Knight tried to grab him on the top rope and suppress him, but Reed dominated him and sent him flying, so he came off the top for a TSUNAMI to end the competition decisively.
Karrion Kross vs. Oney Lorcan
If it weren’t enough that Karrion Kross destroyed Danny Burch by accident last week, now he would raise the stakes by trying to destroy Burch’s tag team partner in PURPOSE.
Kross sneered at Lorcan during the match, telling him that he liked to hurt Danny Burch and did not regret his actions at all. This caused Lorcan to make a furious comeback full of uppercuts, but he still succumbed to his forearm at the back of the head, just like most Karrion Kross opponents do. The victory was just an excuse for Finn Bálor to show up and tell Kross that he had shown his weakness last week – he is a hot-headed young man ruled by emotion. Bálor promised to be cool and impartial in Takeover: Stand & Deliver, where he vowed to drown Kross “in the deep waters”.
Jordan Devlin vs. KUSHIDA too
Did they really have enough time to pile it all up in a two-hour episode? Apparently yes! Like WALTER, this was also an untitled fight for cruiserweight champion Jordan Devlin.
Legado Del Fantasma tried to distract and cost Jordan Devlin the fight, but he avoided Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde, diving back into the ring and making the bridge for KUSHIDA. The damage was done, as KUSHIDA was working on his left arm throughout the match, possibly sending him to the title unification fight (in kayfabe, at least) in a weakened state. Santos Escobar entered the ring to face him and display the provisional title, but Shawn Michaels’ music hit and interrupted them both!
The Heart Break Kid didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. He lifted his apron and slid a ladder into the ring, and the two men took it as a hint that they would have a ladder match to unify the Cruiserweight belts in Takeover. It’s on!
Rachel sends message
Io Shirai and Zoey Stark vs. Dakota Kai and Raquel González was the opening contest for this week’s program. This was a good opportunity to remind everyone that Io Shirai vs. Raquel González will headline NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver on the first night. It was an even better chance for González to prove his point by showing Shirai his dominance. She kicked him in the face in his apron and bombarded Zoey Stark in the middle of the ring for the pinfall, so just to add insult to injury, she hit Shirai on the advertisers table after the match. Shirai was writhing in pain while González rejoiced with her.
Oh, and one more thing
William Regal announced an actual 12-man battle to determine a new number one competitor for North American NXT champion Johnny Gargano.
Note: B +
Without disrespect for Jessi Kamea, the fight was improved with Mercedes Martinez as partner of the Aliyah duo for the title dispute. Unfortunately, they rushed to give the segment more time at the end of the show, and that’s my biggest criticism of the episode as a whole. Title fights must be important even if opponents change at the last minute. There was some unnecessary trick by Cameron Grimes in which he tried to buy the intellectual property from Roderick Strong’s The Undisputed Era and got scolded, but at least it was short. I would have preferred WALTER to have a real game instead of a squash, but any week he’s on NXT is a good week for me.
Get up from your seats next to the cage and turn off the sound below. See you in seven days!