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WWE nXt ResultsJuly 5th, 2017 On commentary tonight, at Full Sail University, are Mauro Ranallo, “Showtime” Percy Watson, and Nigel McGuinness. Opening Segment We see footage from earlier today of Roderick Strong and his family arriving to FSU as the announcers hype tonight’s nXt Championship match between he and Bobby Roode. Tag Team Match: Kassius Ohno & Hideo Itami vs. SAnitY (Wolfe/Dain) Wolfe and Ohno tangle up to begin the match. Ohno with a massive knee to the face of Wolfe, landing the first big hit of the night. Itami tags in and he and Ohno take turns striking Wolfe in their home corner. Itami handles Wolfe quite easily until Dain interferes on the apron, distracting Itami to receive a neckbreaker on the ropes by Wolfe. Dain tags in and continues to stomp Itami down in the ring as… We go to commercial break. On the return, Wolfe’s back in the ring, dishing some punishment to Itami who’s lying on the mat. 2 count pinfall attempt. Wolfe tags in Dain who squashes Itami with his full body weight. Another splash and a pinfall attempt for 2. Itami reaches for Ohno but he’s not close enough. Dain immobilizes Itami with a facelock. The crowd gets cheering for Itami which brings him to his feet. He fights back with a punch but can’t tag Ohno in. As Itami makes his big comeback, Wolfe distracts Ohno from being in his corner. Itami goes to tag in and NO ONE IS THERE! This allows Dain to regain the advantage briefly but Itami fires up again. He takes out Dain, doesn’t bother to see Ohno’s outstretched hand for a tag, and continues on with Wolfe. Exploder suplex on Wolfe. He sees Ohno now, stares him down and ignores him. Falcon arrow! 1-2-…Dain interrupts the count with a senton on Itami. Ohno arrives on the scene with a big boot on Dain. He pleads with Itami to tag him in and the referee tells him to return to his corner…where Wolfe gives him the big boot! Thanks to the distraction, Itami preps Wolfe for a GTS and nails it! Unfortunately, Dain tagged in while Wolfe was on Itami’s shoulders…crossbody splash. Itami’s done. 1-2-3. Winners:SAnitY via pinfall in 9 minutes One cool point for SAnitY’s victory which officially establishes them in the tag team ranks. Although Ohno and Itami were a broken team at best, Wolfe & Dain should be pleased with their success. Their distraction tactics planted seeds of doubt and mistrust in Itami’s mind, and he couldn’t shake them for the rest of the match, making him think Ohno didn’t care about him. Smart stuff. Earlier today, at the WWE Performance Centre, Ember Moon is being interviewed when Ruby Riot interrupts her. She says Moon had her chance already, so did Nikki, and now it’s her turn. That’s why she’s training. Moon says Asuka will always be the main focus for her but if anyone else gets in her warpath, she’ll take them out. We get highlights from last week’s Last Woman Standing Women’s Championship match between Asuka and Nikki Cross. A tweet from Asuka reveals she’s on vacation and will return when a worthy opponent is found. Coming Up: nXt Championship match between Roode and Strong Second Segment Promo: A combination of in-ring and interview footage of Drew McIntyre is shown. Backstage, McIntyre gets some interview time and he’s asked about tonight’s title match. He says next time they talk, they’ll be talking about his title match. He runs down the list of former nXt champions and he wants to join that lineage, Recap: Footage from Ciampa’s betrayal of his former tag partner, Johnny Gargano is shown. We see the post Takeover beatdown and we find out Gargano will return next week. Earlier today, the Iconic Duo get a little interview time. They say they feel disrespected. Royce was the only one to recognize Kay’s birthday. Kay wants cake. They leave. The reporter goes over to Andrade “Cien” Almas and an unnamed woman who are arguing behind where the ladies were. He’s asked for clarification but Almas provides none. Final Segments Recap: Roderick Strong gets the promo treatment, mixing his life story video package from a few months ago with other nXt footage. This transitions into a promo for the upcoming championship match. Before it begins, Roderick Strong is asked about the match and he has one word to share about his expectations: victory. Roode is interviewed before the match, too. He says Strong’s been living a fairytale the last few months. Tonight, he’s going to get a dose of reality…and it will be GLORIOUS! nXt Championship Match: Bobby Roode (C) vs. Roderick Strong Challenger’s out first and champion’s out last. Off to a good start. Plenty of posing to begin this match and a close-up on Strong’s fiancée and mother at ringside. Roode is up to his usual arrogant mannerisms in the ring until Strong dropkicks him in the face for a 1 count. They bring things outside briefly where Roode has gone to recover from the dropkick. Strong chops him hard and throws him back into the ring. Strong continues to show Roode what he can do and forces Roode to retreat as… We go to commercial break. On the return, both men are trading punches and kicks, even slaps and cross-body chops. Roode prepares to suplex Strong but Strong counters it for a backbreaker on his knee. Roode’s on the outside and Strong connects with a jumping double-foot kick through the ropes. Strong keeps up the offensive until Roode is able to flick Strong off and catch his legs in the steel step. Roode beats up Strong a bit in front of his family before rolling the challenger into the ring. He wraps up Strong in a body scissors but Strong won’t give up. He begins working over the left knee of Strong. Plenty of close-ups of Strong’s fiancée who is watching the match with concern. Roode yells at Strong in the corner that he’s the champ. Strong reacts to this and begins to fight back again. Roode counters an enziguri, forcing Strong to the mat, holding his knee. Strong gets a 2 count on Roode. Roode with a running clothesline on Strong which cleans his clock. Roode poses for the fans as… We go to commercial break. On the return, Roode is twisting Strong’s left knee. He keeps at it until Strong is able to muster up enough energy to kick Roode away. Strong begins to take the lead in this match, surprising Roode with his offense. He even connects with an Angle slam. He charges up to run cross corner but Roode meets him with an elbow. Doesn’t hold back Strong for long and he surprises Roode with a backbreaker. Strong’s left knee is attacked again by Roode. He proceeds to stomp that very knee multiple times. He tries to twist the leg but he’s pushed off the ropes by Strong who rolls him up for a 2 count. Roode with the spinebuster reply! 1-2- kickout! Roode poses for the audience, Gutbuster by Strong! 1-2- kickout! Roode pulls Strong’s legs around the turnbuckle and slams that left knee into the ringpost. Strong recovers and throws Roode up, to land gut first on Strong’s knees, for a massive gutbuster. 1-2- kickout by Roode! He exits the ring, grabs Strong’s leg again and slams it against the turnbuckle. Strong’s writhing in pain. Roode’s not in much better shape. He ascends the turnbuckle and gets a vicious enziguri from Strong for his efforts. Strong joins Roode on the top rope and drops Roode with a backbreaker on to the top rope. Roode’s on the floor. Strong rolls him back in for the count. 1-2-kickout! Strong’s hit another gear. His suplex or slam attempt is blocked by Roode. The two exchange haymaker and uppercut punches. Strong misses a flying attack, almost hits the referee and Roode seizes that moment to hit Strong with the DDT! 1-2-.. KICKOUT! Roode is shocked. Fans are too. Strong won’t quit. Roode taunts Strong’s family. He taunts the crowd, too, but this allows Strong to catch Roode with a running knee to the face…a 180 slam and a massive backbreaker on to his knees! 1-2-3!!! But Roode’s leg was under the ropes so the referee has to stop the celebration at ringside between Roderick and his wife. While the referee explains to the officials at ringside, Roode knocks Strong off the apron and into the ringside barrier. Looks like Strong tweaked his knee again…the same one Roode’s been targeting all night. Roode with the Glorious DDT on Strong, right in front of his family. Then ANOTHER Glorious DDT! It’s gotta be over. 1-2-3. It is. Winner, and still nXt Champion: Bobby Roode via pinfall in 22 minutes Two cool points for a lengthy match which delivered a high entertainment value for the fans tonight. Roode, as usual, wrestled a very opportunistic, strategic match, targeting the left knee of his opponent. He surprised Strong often by taking things to the ringside area where he injured him using the ringpost and the ringside barrier on multiple occasions. Strong’s offense was explosive but intermittent. He gave his all out there and it wasn’t enough to defeat Roode. It appears as though he may have won over some more fans despite the loss. I’m not sure where he goes from here. Was this it for Strong or will he follow up with Roode in a few weeks? Was this match Takeover-worthy or Takeover-calibre, or was it appropriate for a regular weekl Looking forward to your thoughts, cool point suggestions, and comments. Peace!
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