Title Matches and More Set for Final WWE NXT Before Takeover 36

A “Title Tuesday” theme has been announced for next Wednesday’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network, which is the go-home show for Takeover 36 on Sunday, August 22.

NXT General Manager William Regal has announced two title matches for next Tuesday. NXT Tag Team Champions Wes Lee and Nash Carter of MSK will defend against Imperium’s Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner. Also, NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida will defend against Roderick Strong of The Diamond Mine.

It will be interesting to see if NXT UK Champion WALTER interferes in the tag team match next week. WALTER is in the United States for his Takeover 36 match with Ilja Dragunov, and brawled with Dragunov after tonight’s NXT main event, which saw Dragunov take a loss to Pete Dunne, thanks to WALTER’s presence at ringside.

MSK and Imperium have feuded for several weeks now. Tonight’s show saw MSK interrupt a vignette by Imperium, mocking their style of vignettes and bragging on how they’ve brought new life to the NXT tag team division. Tonight’s NXT show also featured a segment to set up Strong vs. Kushida. Last week’s show saw Kushida declare that Strong was due for a title shot as Kushida was impressed by Strong’s win over Bobby Fish. This week’s show saw Diamond Mine manager Malcolm Bivens leaving Regal’s office after talking him into making the match for next Tuesday.

It looks like Timothy Thatcher vs. Ridge Holland will also take place next Tuesday on NXT. Holland returned from injuries two weeks ago, brought back by Dunne and Oney Lorcan to help them defeat Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa. Holland, who defeated Ikemen Jiro in his ring return last week, was called out by Thatcher and Ciampa during a backstage segment on tonight’s episode. Thatcher warned that class is now in session for Holland. That match was not officially announced for next week, but it was teased.

It was also announced that next Tuesday’s NXT episode, the Takeover 36 go-home show, will feature Samoa Joe and NXT Champion Karrion Kross facing off in the ring for their final meeting before the Takeover title match. Kross and Joe did not appear live on tonight’s episode, but WWE did air a lengthy video package to look back at their rivalry.

As noted before, next Tuesday’s NXT episode will also feature Carmelo Hayes vs. Duke Hudson in a semi-finals match for the 2021 NXT Breakout Tournament. The winner will advance to the finals to face Odyssey Jones. This week’s semi-finals match saw Jones defeat Trey Baxter to advance to the finals.

Stay tuned for more on next Tuesday’s Takeover 36 go-home edition of NXT on the USA Network. Below is the current line-up, along with related shots from tonight’s show:

* The go-home build for Takeover 36

* NXT Tag Team Champions MSK defend against Imperium

* NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida defends against Roderick Strong

* Samoa Joe and NXT Champion Karrion Kross face off in the ring

* NXT Breakout Tournament Semi-finals: Carmelo Hayes vs. Duke Hudson. The winner will face Odyssey Jones in the finals

* Timothy Thatcher vs. Ridge Holland

🚨 TWO BLOCKBUSTER TITLE MATCHES FOR NEXT WEEK'S #WWENXT 🚨

🏆 @KUSHIDA_0904 vs. @roderickstrong (w/ @DiamondMineWWE) for the #WWENXT #Cruiserweight Title!
🏆@NashCarterWWE & @WesLee_WWE vs. @Marcel_B_WWE & @FabianAichner for the #WWENXT #TagTeamTitles! pic.twitter.com/lj81pfGKra

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) August 11, 2021

https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1425273458582228997

Next week, #NXTChampion @WWEKarrionKross & @SamoaJoe will meet FACE TO FACE in the final #WWENXT before #NXTTakeOver 36! pic.twitter.com/K85W3H2zQG

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) August 11, 2021