This week, NXT hosts its last episode before NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia. No Way Jose returns to action, Bianca Belair looks to make a statement, and Johnny Gargano puts his TakeOver main event on the line when he faces Velveteen Dream.
No Way Jose vs. Cezar Bononi
After months of being absent from television for seemingly no reason, No Way Jose is finally back in action. Facing Cezar Bononi should be an easy victory in his return, but Bononi did defeat current NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas a few months back. While this match will not have any effect on NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, this helps the winner climb the ladder for a title opportunity down the line.
Bononi gets in some decent offense, but Jose is able to take out the bigger man with a Pop-Up Forearm Smash, picking up an important win in his return. Winner: No Way Jose
Promo Package
Just a few days before TakeOver: Philadelphia, NXT puts out a good video hyping up Aleister Black’s Extreme Rules match against Adam Cole. Their first collision was in the mini-tournament for and NXT Championship opportunity, where Black was victorious over Cole. In the #1 Contender’s Fatal Four-Way Match, Cole (along with Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly) assaulted Black and prevented him from winning.
After one final collision a couple weeks ago, General Manager William Regal made sure to add an appropriate stipulation to this match by making it the Extreme Rules match. Also, Philadelphia is known for hosting a majority of ECW, so the fans in attendance know exactly what to expect.
Bianca Belair vs. Latoya
Bianca Belair has only been in the pro wrestling business for about a year or so, but she has already impressed. The incredibly athletic Belair made her big splash in the inaugural Mae Young Classic where she had one of the best matches of the tournament against eventual winner Kairi Sane. Being the strongest and fastest female NXT competitor, she calls herself the “-EST” of NXT. All she needs is some more screen time and character work before she can quickly accelerate to a big star.
After whipping Latoya in the abdomen with her weaponized braids, Belair picks up the victory with a reverse powerbomb facebuster. Winner: Bianca Belair
Shayna Baszler and Ember Moon, Face-to-Face
Since debuting, Shayna Baszler made statements by purposely trying to injure the other women on the roster instead of just defeating them. This eventually drew out Ember Moon, who challenged her to a match (and even putting her title on the line) just to get her to stop. This was Baszler’s plan all along, and now she could be the woman to pick up the title closest to when she debuted.
Announcement
After two weeks of great video packages getting a closer look at TM61, the Australian duo of Nick Miller and Shane Thorne will return to the ring next week.
The Authors of Pain (w/Paul Ellering) vs. Irrelevant Tag Team
Before this match even starts, Akam and Rezar destroy their scheduled opponents. They send a message to The Undisputed ERA, who they challenge for the NXT Tag Team Championships this Saturday. To earn the title opportunity, AoP defeated the undefeated Street Profits last week in a #1 Contender’s match. Result: No Contest
Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream – #1 Contender’s Match (NXT Championship)
About a month ago, Velveteen Dream was scheduled to be a part of the NXT Championship #1 Contender’s mini-tournament, but an injury kept him from competing. Johnny Gargano would end up taking his spot and eventually winning the opportunity to face Andrade “Cien” Almas for the NXT Championship at TakeOver: Philadelphia.
Now that Dream is healthy, he wants to win the opportunity he never had a chance to get. After Gargano got taunted by numerous doubters, he decided to put his title match on the line just to prove them all wrong. The winner here will main event TakeOver: Philadelphia and perhaps become the face of NXT.
Dream hesitates for too long before attempting the Purple Rainmaker and Gargano hits him with a superkick. Johnny Wrestling then finishes the match by locking in the Gargano Escape, clinching his TakeOver main event. Winner, and STILL #1 Contender (via submission): Johnny Gargano
Announcement
At TakeOver: Philadelphia, Velveteen Dream will face Kassius Ohno to complete the card.
