NXT – August 10, 2021: Enjoy It (A Lot) While You Can

NXT
Date: August 10, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

NXT has been the hot topic in wrestling as of late and that very well may be the case again tonight. There are several major changes rumored, but I don’t think we’re going to be seeing them right away. There is a chance something could be shaken up, but I would bet on it being either more gradual or at least after Takeover. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Ember Moon has not been medically cleared tonight so we have a replacement for her scheduled match against Sarray.

Sarray vs. Dakota Kai

Kai promises to make an example out of Sarray on her way to Takeover. They trade arm cranks to start with Sarray getting the better of things. Kai gets taken to the mat for a quickly broken Muta Lock so she fires off some kicks to Sarray’s back to take over. A suplex gives Kai two but she gets pulled into some kind of really cranked half crab. The slow crawl to the rope gets Kai out of trouble so Sarray grabs a fisherman’s suplex for two.

We take a break and come back with Sarray snapping off a German suplex for two more. Another bridging German suplex gets two more and it’s time to scream a lot on the kickout. Kai avoids a charge and hits a running boot in the corner for two. Joseph: “Kai starting to lose her composure.” The composure she had from being on offense for eight seconds?

Kai hits a Scorpion kick but Sarray is right back with the dropkick. The decapitating dropkick in the ropes rocks Kai again but she avoids a second edition. We see Raquel Gonzalez arriving as Sarray gets some rollups for two each. Kai has had enough of this and hits the running kick to the face finishes Sarray at 11:08.

Rating: B-. Good match, though Sarray continues to just exist on the roster. It is way too early to make a determination on her yet, but until she has a feud of some kind, we aren’t going to know what she can do yet. Kai winning makes sense for the title shot though and I’m curious to see how the Takeover match goes.

Post match Kai loads up another kick but Raquel Gonzalez sprints in to chase her off. Gonzalez grabs the mic to say if Kai wanted a shot, all she had to do is ask. She’ll get the shot at Takeover but Gonzalez is going to tear her apart. That was to the point and it worked.

We look back at Dexter Lumis and Indi Hartwell finally getting together last week.

We go to House Gargano, where Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae are not happy. They have done everything for the Way, even buying this house so they could have their own rooms. The doorbell rings and here is Dexter, with flowers, and without saying a word. As Indi keeps putting on her makeup, Gargano orders Lumis to take her to a nice restaurant and have her back by 10pm. Indi and Dexter leave, with Gargano and LeRae following. Hijinks to follow.

Hit Row isn’t happy with Legado del Fantasma and burn a mask to prove their point.

Here is Ilja Dragunov for the first time in NXT. He talks about putting his rage into everything he has, including his fists. At Takeover, he will make the impossible happen and you will see violence and rage. An unbeatable kingdom will fall and Walter will be defeated for the United Kingdom Champion. Cue Pete Dunne to interrupt and talk about how he carried the UK wrestling scene on his back. He is the real star, but Dragunov says Dunne never could beat Walter. Dragunov will do that at Takeover, but that’s in twelve days. How about tonight, he show Dunne what this is all about? Dunne says Dragunov isn’t making Takeover.

LA Knight doesn’t want to hear about the butler getting attention because Knight is the real star around here. Now put the title on his shoulder already. Cameron Grimes’ spirit dies just a bit more.

LA Knight vs. Andre Chase

Blunt Force Trauma (headlock driver) finishes Chase at 30 seconds.

Post match, Grimes has to wipe Knight down but here is Ted DiBiase to interrupt. DiBiase says that Grimes can do all kinds of things better than being a butler. He believes in Grimes, just like all of these people here. Knight asks what the point here is, but DiBiase thinks Knight needs to put the title on the line one more time. That doesn’t sound good for Knight, but he’ll finally put it on the line, with one condition: if Knight wins, DiBiase is his new butler. Despite Grimes saying no way, DiBiase says that he has a lot of money, and he’s putting it on Grimes.

Gigi Dolin is ready to destroy Io Shirai and drops a rose.

Gigi Dolin vs. Amari Miller

Jacee Jane is here with Dolin, who takes Amari straight into the ropes. A few forearms set up an abdominal stretch….which Dolin snaps down into something like a crucifix bomb for the pin at 2:12. That was a new one.

Dexter Lumis and Indi Hartwell are at the restaurant, where Indi orders half of the menu for appetizers. Then she overhears Candice LeRae on a walkie talkie and throws out LeRae and Johnny Gargano.

Here is William Regal for the face to face between Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole (the Undisputed Finale). O’Reilly and Cole come out with security (including Parker Boudreaux) standing guard. Regal says the match is going to be 2/3 falls and they both get to pick a stipulation each.

O’Reilly picks one fall to a finish with only pin or submission, because losing that way would hurt Cole more than anything. Cole picks a street fight, because he needs to hurt O’Reilly. They don’t need to know the third fall because we aren’t getting there. O’Reilly talks about how he learned to go after people from Cole, who doesn’t think O’Reilly has the killer instinct. The brawl is on and Regal says he knew this would happen, so the third fall will be inside a steel cage. As usual with Cole, this took WAY longer than it needed, just like the match will.

Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher don’t like Oney Lorcan and Ridge Holland trying to be them. Holland and Lorcan aren’t the two of them but they’ll learn a lesson. School is in session.

MSK interrupts Imperium and mocks their serious style. If Imperium wants the Tag Team Titles, come get them.

Breakout Tournament Semifinals: Odyssey Jones vs. Trey Baxter

The fans are behind Jones here as he throws the smaller Baxter around to start. Baxter gets a foot up in the air but Jones throws him off the top hard. A choke gets Baxter out of trouble for a bit and he nails a spinning kick to the face. Jones avoids a dive off the top though and hits a corner splash. Jones picks him up and spins him into a slam for the pin at 2:53. They kept this quick and more effective here.

Post match, Jones is fired up about his win.

Boa is ready to hurt someone.

William Regal announces some title matches next week: MSK defends the Tag Team Titles against Imperium and Roderick Strong challenges Kushida for the Cruiserweight Title.

Boa vs. Drake Maverick

Mei Ying rises up out of the stage. Boa strikes away to start but Maverick manages a quick hurricanrana in the corner. Back up and Maverick hits a running basement dropkick while seeming to favor his left arm. A big flip dive to the floor drops Boa again but Ying mists Maverick behind the referee’s back. Boa kicks Maverick in the head for the pin at 2:59.

Back to the restaurant, where Dexter has Indi laughing and now it’s time for dessert. Cue Gargano as a waiter in a wig and mustache (Indi doesn’t buy it) to insist that Dexter pay for dinner. The cake goes into Dexter’s face by mistake and Gargano (“See you at home!”) bails. Hartwell eats some icing off of Dexter’s face and covers the camera before the kiss.

Video on Samoa Joe vs. Karrion Kross. Joe wants to end the chaos, which Kross says is Joe wanting to control everything. Kross talks about Joe getting his second chance, but he is ending NXT’s past. Everyone pays the toll. Tick tock.

Pete Dunne vs. Ilja Dragunov

Feeling out process to start with Dragunov going for the grappling but getting his fingers bent back. Dragunov kicks him down and hits a top roe knee for two but Dunne gets in a shot on top. We take a break and come back with Dunne working on the arm. Dunne kicks said arm away but Dragunov strikes away. A suplex is countered into an armbar but Dragunov elbows him in the head, setting up a suplex for two. Dragunov hits a backsplash, followed by more elbows to the head.

Dunne pulls him into a triangle, which is countered into a powerbomb for two. Back up and Dragunov spins out of the finger splitting but the 61Line fails because of the hand. Another suplex is countered into Dunne’s cross armbreaker, which is countered into a bridging suplex for two. The top rope backsplash connects….and here’s Walter. Dunne can’t get the Bitter End but he can counter Torpedo Moscow. Now the Bitter End can finish Dragunov at 14:30.

Rating: B. Oh like this wasn’t going to be good. These guys could have a hard hitting match int heir sleep and be more entertaining than almost anyone else in WWE today and that’s more or less what happened here. The ending was a bit odd as you would have expected Dragunov to get the win but at least it wasn’t a clean loss or something insane like that on the way to a title match, because that would just be stupid.

Post match Walter goes after Dragunov but gets caught with Torpedo Moscow to send him outside. Dragunov holds up the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This felt like an old school NXT and I certainly approve. What mattered here was keeping things moving, which is not something you get to see most of the time around here. The important things, or at least the things in the right spots, got some extra time but a lot of this show was about getting in and out while doing what needed to be done. Very good show this week, but it’s more or less a holding pattern until after Takeover.

Results
Dakota Kai b. Sarray – Running kick in the corner
LA Knight b. Andre Chase – Blunt Force Trauma
Gigi Dolin b. Amari Miller – Abdominal stretch bomb
Odyssey Jones b. Trey Baxter – Spinning slam
Boa b. Drake Maverick – Kick to the head
Pete Dunne b. Ilja Dragunov – Bitter End

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