Opening Segment: Matt Riddle vs. Arturo Ruas

Ranallo says he feels like he’s in a parallel universe, calling this wrestling match between two mixed martial arts guys.

Highlights include:
Riddle wraps a headlock in and gets his legs around Ruas. Ruas maintains his base and slams Riddle to the mat.

Riddle counters a beauty armbar by Ruas with one of his own, which eventually leads to a reset by both men. Fans cheer for the two of them.

Kick attempts by both men. Riddle’s advantage is his reach and he grazes Ruas with his high kick.
High knee strike and Riddle pummels Ruas until the referee stops the fight.

Winner: Matt Riddle via TKO in 4 minutes

Post-match, Killian Dain attacks Riddle from behind, hitting him with multiple sentons. He’s dressed in street clothes and his hair was hidden under a hood, so it wasn’t immediately clear who it was.

Dain continues the attack on the outside of the ring, slamming Riddle on the floor and striking him with clubs and kicks, and yet another senton across the back. Dain follows Riddle, who is crawling on all fours, up the ramp.

He goes for another senton…AND THEY FALL THROUGH THE STAGE. The impact of Dain’s senton sends both men down. Referees attend to Riddle as Dain hoists himself up out of the hole and walks away.

1 cool point for Riddle and 1 cool point for Dain’s return. Riddle gets the rare TKO victory and that’s notable in establishing him as a unique opponent for nXt Champion Adam Cole. Would NOT be surprised to see that pairing.

nXt Tag Team Champions Street Profits cut a short promo on the Undisputed Era. They say O’Reilly & Fish think they own the place. They keep disrespecting them. Dawkins says they’re serious. How come Undisputed Era couldn’t beat them in the ladder match? Dawkins calls them out again and says it’s undisputed. Cue Ford’s surprised face!

Last Saturday, Mia Yim attacked Marina Shafir in the parking lot at FSU. McGuinness reminds us that Yim wants a title shot against Baszler. This is one way of getting her attention.

Second Segment: Dexter Lumis vs. Bronson Reed (nXt Breakout Tournament First Round)

Lumis gets time to do his best Sam Shaw impression, staring creepily at the crowd and the camera, as a pulsating, synthesizer loop plays. Yes, this is the guy formerly known as Sam Shaw from Impact. Look it up.

Highlights include:

Lumis falling out of a carry by Reed, pushing Reed off the ropes and nailing him with a back elbow. That elbow forces Reed to the floor. Lumis does a somersault flip over the top rope and lands on his feet when he sees he won’t hit Reed.

The commentators talk up how Lumis has made the entire mood of the arena change. Reed’s a big lad and after a neck crank or 2, he finally connects with a massive powerslam.

Back body drop, followed by a body avalanche and a senton! 1-2- Lumis breaks the count by getting his shoulder up.
Impressive belly to back suplex by Lumis. He leaps and lands a legdrop on Reed. 1-2- kickout!

Lumis goes to the top rope. He frames Reed on the mat. Misses a senton bomb. Reed drops the straps of his shirt and heads for the top rope. WOW! Super splash. It’s over!

Winner: Bronson Reed via pinfall in 5 minutes

This is much better. The last few weeks of this tournament were somewhat flat. This match had 2 guys with plenty of character and they fed off of each other well. Crowd bought in and we got some fun highlights in there. 1 cool point for each guy. Definitely will see Reed again, but I’m sure we’ll see Lumis too.

Backstage, Tyler Breeze is interviewed by Cathy Kelley about his next steps. He’s interrupted by the Forgotten Sons. They poke fun at Breeze, saying this is a different nXt than the one he left. Breeze jokes about Ryker being Buddy Murphy. Blake jabs at Breeze for not being serious and says that’s why he’s not taken seriously.
Blake says you’ve never seen a man like Ryker before. Breeze responds by saying he’s seen everything.

Third Segment: Kushida vs. Apollo Crews

Crews gets a huge welcome back from the Full Sail crowd. He’s got a brand new baby at home, but he’s here, continuing to support the family, because he loves what he does, says Phoenix. Commentary’s hyped for this clash of styles as well.

Highlights include:

Beauty sequence of kip ups, backflips and a dynamic dropkick on Kushida by Crews. Kushida draws Crews to the outside apron and hits him with a handspring double heel strike. Crews lands near the barricade where Kushida retrieves him.

Stall vertical suplex where Crews holds Kushida up for 15-20 seconds, even with one arm for a few seconds. It leads to a 2 count.
Corner splash to an overhead belly to belly release suplex by Crews. 1-2- kickout!

Kushida’s not getting lots of offense in, but he has been resilient so far. He ducks the advancing Crews out of the turnbuckle whip. He catches Crews’ legs, throws them up and hits them with a high dropkick. Handspring back elbow is next!

Tornado DDT coming from the low rope, through and to the inside. 1-2- Crews kicks out. Crews stops Kushida’s armbar attempt in mid-air. He lifts him up. Kushida counters, but Crews nails him in the face with a big boot.

German suplexes by Crews. The last one flips Kushida over on to his front.

STANDING SHOOTING STAR PRESS by Crews! Perfectly executed but Kushida still kicks out!
Kushida with a reverse STO into the second turnbuckle. Springboard hurricanrana…but Crews rolls through for a pinfall attempt. Doesn’t get it.
They trade an enziguri for a dropkick, and both men lie flat as the referee begins to count.

Kushida meets Crews on the turnbuckle, following a springboard double heel strike. Kushida twists and falls right into an armbar on Crews. Crews’ left arm is trapped between Kushida’s legs. Crews tries to escape, but Kushida shifts to a Kimura, then a double wristlock. Crews is forced to tap.

Winner: Kushida via submission in 11 minutes

Both men shake hands and embrace following the match. Ranallo welcomes Crews home.

3 cool points for each. This could have easily been a TakeOver or PPV match. Plenty of exciting spots and counters. Innovative moments because of how agile and creative both men are, especially Crews given his size. Nice to see Crews show off his stuff again after not getting much opportunity on the main roster.

Keith Lee gets interviewed backstage. Once again, he remarks that he’s been in nXt one year. He feels passed by and even calls out the Breakout Tournament, whose winner will get a championship opportunity. But not him. He’s still smiling though.

Maybe he should show people it’s not Priest they should be talking about, but him. They’ll be wrestling next week.

Main Event: Adam Cole’s nXt Championship Bay Bay Celebration

Cole gets on the mic after his usual postures. He says there is an undisputed power switch happening in nXt. He’s ready to take on all comers, to put his nXt Championship on the line…tonight.
He points to the screen and a clip of Johnny Gargano as nXt champion is shown. He puts the title on the shoulder of one of his trainees from Cleveland.

Cole asks Twan Tucker to come on down and, indeed, it’s the same guy from the video! He’s got a mic, but no music.
It’s just them. No Undisputed Era guys are lurking around. Tucker says that’s too bad because he didn’t come alone.

Cue Johnny Gargano’s music! Gargano runs down the ramp and the two exchange blows. Gargano catches a superkick attempt and nails Cole with one of his own. The brawl spills to the outside and into the audience. They even go up the stairs towards the top of one of the sections, exchanging punches.

Back elbow from Cole stops Gargano, but Gargano sends Cole crashing into the barricade. He pummels Cole, slamming his head on the concrete, as a number of nXt referees crowd him and pull him away.

Suddenly, Gargano flies from the stage, hitting Cole with a plancha. They continue to fight on the ramp and back into the ring. Another superkick by Gargano, followed by a third with Cole on his knees. Garga-No Escape!

Cole taps furiously as the referees try to pull Gargano off of the champion. He refuses to release it for a spell.
Finally, he walks away, backwards, up the ramp with a message for Cole…

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Catch up on nXt results: nXt Results- July 10, 2019
nXt Results- July 3, 2019 (Strong vs. Breeze)

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