Adam Cole def. Wolfgang to retain the NXT North American Championship:
The audience was so incredibly behind Adam Col (bay bay), that he essentially played the babyface in peril for the whole match against the larger Wolfgang, who despite the hometown(ish) advantage, was booed vociferously. Wolfgang is still quite agile for a man hsi side, and he certainly played the bad guy far better than he would have played the underdog against Cole, but every bit of Cole’s offense was getting the cheers of the night. When Cole finally got the win, the fans weren’t done, requesting he tell them who he was one more time. And boy, did he.
Aleister Black & Ricochet def. EC3 & The Velveteen Dream:
This was everything you would have expected from these four, without being anything groundbreaking. Black used his strikes, Ricochet used his agility, EC3 was the slimy cheater and Velveteen Dream was the catalyst for how it all went down. Neither the fans in attendence, nor I watching at home, have forgotten the saga that was Black/Velveteen, and I think there will be more of that to come womewhere down the line. Velveteen’s injured foot/knee/leg in general was the best way to get out of having someone lose this cleanly, and I think it helped EC3 is not looking like too much of a loser, despite being the man who was pinned.
Shayna Baszler def. Toni Storm to retain the NXT Women’s Championship:
The more I reflect on Baszler/Cross form the recent TakeOver event, the less I think I liked it. This was a similar match in many ways, with the ridiculously cute Toni Storm playing underdog from the get-go, but it was that dastardly Queen of Spades and her Kirifuda Clutch that sealed the deal, this time with a countout, rather than a pass out.
Pete Dunne def. Zack Gibson to retain the WWE United Kingdom Championship:
Gibson’s tournament arc finally came to it’s head, as the Shankly Gates were for once not the key to Gibson’s victory. Dunne showed everybody why he is a Bruiserweight, with blistering strikes and some genuine high-flying athleticism, but it was Gibson’s consistent attacks on the limbs of Dunne which built up the suspense. The crowd, and I, genuinely bought into the ending the second time the Shankly Gates were locked in, but Dunne powered out, broke Gibson’s fingers and hit the Bitter End to retain his United KIngdom Championship.
A nice post match segment followed, with Triple H announcing the new NXT UK brand to the world with that now well known battle cry of “We are NXT”.
Should you watch this event: All of the average/less than good stuff from Night 1 can almost be forgiven for how good this show was. Less than three hours, four title matches and a number one contender crowned were enough to make this a must watch, even at the loss of watching Night 1. This was a really good show.
MoshFish Reviews 