NXT – July 11, 2018: They’re Coming Home
IMG Credit: WWE
NXT
Date: July 11, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson
It’s rematch night and in this case we have a title on the line. This time around it’s about the Tag Team Titles as new champions Moustache Mountain defends against former champions the Undisputed Era. Other than that we’re still in the early stages of the build towards Takeover: Brooklyn so let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
We open with a very quick look at Moustache Mountain winning the titles in England.
Opening sequence.
Adam Cole vs. Danny Burch
Non-title. Danny goes technical to start with a takedown but Cole grabs a headlock to slow things back down. A shot to the face puts Cole on the floor so he gets in a neckbreaker to take Danny down again and keep the pace slow. Back in and Cole grabs a suplex and drives some knees to the back, allowing him to be as smirky and cocky as you would ever expect him to be.
We hit the chinlock (you knew that was coming) for a few moments until Danny powers out. A German suplex gets two and Danny slaps on a quickly broken Crossface. The Tower of London out of the corner is good for two more but Cole kicks him in the knee. The fireman’s carry neckbreaker and original Last Shot set up the new Last Shot to put Burch away at 8:50.
Rating: C+. Burch was good for rising up and making Cole sweat but this was exactly how it should have gone. Cole is a bigger star with a much brighter future. Have him win here and move on to something bigger after a good match. Burch is fine for a role like this and thankfully NXT knows just how to use him.
Earlier this week, Candice LeRae was happy with her win but ran into Shayna Baszler. The champ’s advice was just to be a happy sidekick so the fight was on.
Dakota Kai is ready to rise back up the rankings when Lacey Evans comes in. Lacey doesn’t like the idea of Kai as champion because it would sully the title. The challenge is made for next week and Evans seems to accept.
Kairi Sane vs. Vanessa Borne
Borne takes her into the corner to start so Sane goes away from the power, opting for a dragon screw legwhip instead. A leg lock doesn’t get Sane anywhere as Borne rolls her over into a bodyscissors and a spinning suplex. Borne stops to pose though and it’s Sane coming back with a neckbreaker, only to bang up her back even more. Back up and a spear cuts Borne in half and there’s the sliding forearm in the corner. Sane gets slammed off the top but pops back up with a spinning backfist. The Anchor, a rather hard half crab, makes Borne tap at 5:58.
Rating: C. Sane being built up as a challenger for Baszler makes sense given their history, especially with the Mae Young Classic coming up again. That should make for a fine one off challenge and if their second match is as good as their first, everything is going to be fine. That being said, LeRae and Kai are a little more interesting for more serious challengers so the division continues to look awesome.
Post match, Sane says she’s beaten Baszler before and she’ll do it again.
Johnny Gargano tells Aleister Black that Tommaso Ciampa cannot become NXT Champion no matter what. Black says he’s got this and leaves, only to get jumped by Ciampa. A hanging DDT from a table to the floor knocks Black cold.
Tag Team Titles: Moustache Mountain vs. Undisputed Era
The Era is challenging. We get the Big Match Intros and the fight is on in a hurry. The champs whip them into each other and take turns flipping each other onto both challengers. They head outside with the Era getting beaten up even more as this is one sided so far. Seven knees the steps though and the Era has a very sudden target. Back in and it’s time to go after the knee in a variety of painful ways as the fans are still dueling with the chants. O’Reilly slaps on the leg lock to keep Trent in trouble before cannonballing down onto the knee.
A rollup gives Seven a desperate two but it’s off to Strong to keep him in trouble. We hit the leg lock again but Seven fights up, only to have O’Reilly run over and pull Bate off the apron. The leg lock goes on yet again and again Strong is there to cut Bate off from the save. One more kick to the face is finally enough for Seven to get over to Bate and the hot tag finally brings him in.
Bate speeds things way up and uppercuts O’Reilly down, setting up a running shooting star press. We get the crazy airplane spin/giant swing combination on the Era as the trainer is checking on Seven’s knee. The Tyler Driver gets two on Strong with O’Reilly making a save to put all four down. O’Reilly kicks Bate in the head and the brainbuster gets two more. Seven is back up and tags himself in to slug away, including a weakened Seven Stars Lariat for two on Strong.
The knee gives out again though and a chop block sets up a kind of inverted Texas Cloverleaf (cool) until Bate dives in for a save. A middle rope knee to Seven’s knee sets up another heel hook but Seven kicks him in the head to finally make the break. O’Reilly grabs an even stronger version and Bate finally throws in the towel to save his friend, giving the Era the titles back at 17:17.
Rating: B+. That’s a great story with Seven being Bate’s mentor and the younger Bate wanting to save his friend instead of worrying about the titles. This easily sets up a rematch in Brooklyn and with that kind of a crowd, it could be even better than this one. Bate continues to be scary good, especially for someone of his age.
The rest of the Era comes out to celebrate as Bate and trainers tend to Seven to end the show.
Overall Rating: B. That main event more than carries this one and you can start to see the pieces being put together for Brooklyn. Above all else though, the women’s division looks better and better with each passing week as there’s depth there and you don’t know who is going to be the one to take the title from Baszler. If nothing else we’re almost guaranteed some more talent from the tournament so things are looking up even more. Another strong show from top to bottom here as they’re ready for Brooklyn.
Results
Adam Cole b. Danny Burch – Last Shot
Kairi Sane b. Vanessa Borne – Anchor
Undisputed Era b. Moustache Mountain via referee stoppage when Bate threw in the towel
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