Free agents Mustafa Ali and Baron Corbin have returned to WWE NXT.
Tonight’s post-Battleground edition of NXT saw Ali appear in the crowd right before NXT North American Champion Wes Lee and Tyler Bate defeated The Dyad. The appearance caused fans to go wild, and also distracted the competitors in the ring, stopping the match. NXT then went to commercial and when the show returned, Ali was doing guest commentary.
Ali mentioned how he can show up anywhere he wants now that he’s a free agent. After the match, Ivy Nile and The Creed Brothers dealt with Ava and The Dyad at ringside, allowing Joe Gacy to attack Lee from behind in the ring. Ali then rushed into the ring and saved Lee by sending Gacy out to the floor. Fans chanted “Ali!” to end the segment as he raised Lee and Bate’s hands in victory.
Tonight’s main event saw NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes retain over NXT Heritage Cup Champion Noam Dar. At one point during the match, Trick Williams was left alone after the referee ejected Trick Williams due to ringside antics by Oro Mensah, Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson. Dragon Lee and Nathan Frazer ended up evening the odds at ringside, and Hayes pinned Dar with the Nothing But Net leg drop in the middle of the ring to win.
Hayes then celebrated his second successful defense in 48 hours, and posed with the NXT Title on the entrance-way, but that’s when Corbin attacked him from behind. Corbin destroyed Hayes and brought him back in for End of Days in the middle of the ring to loud boos. Corbin grabbed the NXT Title belt and raised it in the air, then dropped it on Hayes. NXT went off the air with Corbin standing tall over Hayes as a “Bum-ass Corbin!” chant started up.
Ali has not wrestled for NXT since a non-televised live event in Venice, FL on April 28, 2017, where he teamed with Rich Swann and Gran Metalik for a win over Dar, Drew Gulak and Tony Nese. Corbin’s last NXT match came at the Download Festival on June 11, 2016, where he and current ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe teamed up for a loss to Shinsuke Nakamura and Andrade El Idolo.
Below are a few related shots from tonight’s show:
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