– Tonight’s WWE NXT opens up on the USA Network with a graphic in memory of WWE Hall of Famer The Iron Sheik. We’re now live from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida as Vic Joseph welcomes us. He’s joined at ringside by WWE Hall of Famer Booker T.
NXT North American Champion Wes Lee, Tyler Bate and Mustafa Ali vs. The Schism (Joe Gacy, Rip Fowler, Jagger Reid)
We go right to the ring and The Schism is already out – Joe Gacy, Rip Fowler and Jagger Reid with Ava. Out next comes Mustafa Ali to a pop. Tyler Bate is out next, followed by NXT North American Champion Wes Lee.
The babyfaces rush the ring to a “NXT!” chant as everyone brawls. The referee calls for the bell as Bate and Gacy go at it now. Ali tags in and takes Gacy down with a big hurricanrana as fans chant his name.
Fowler tags in after Ali’s hair is used against him. Lee tags in and levels Fowler. Lee with more quick offense to Fowler for 2. Reid tags in and now The Dyad double teams Lee. Reid grounds Lee. Gacy tags in with a big Uranage to Lee in the middle of the ring for 2. Reid tags in and unloads on Lee in the corner.
Fowler tags back in and hits a stiff kick but Lee kick out three straight times. Lee fights back but Fowler cuts him off. Gacy tags back in with more punishment to Lee for 2. Fowler comes back in and Lee rolls him up but Reid makes the save. Lee finally tags Bate in. Bate unloads on Reid as Ava looks on.
Bate kips-up and hits the Standing Shooting Star Press for 2. The two teams end up in the middle of the ring now and the babyfaces send the heels out with a Triple Bop & Bang. They then hit dives to the floor to take The Schism back down. Lee, Bate and Ali stand tall at ringside as we go to commercial.
Back from the break and Fowler controls Bate, dropping him with a lariat, then grounding him with a knee and some trash talk. Ali rallies for Bate and he blocks a suplex with a big suplex of his own for a pop. Ali and Reid tag in and go at it.
Ali controls until he’s sent into the rope face-first. Ali turns it around and kicks Gacy off the apron, then rocks Fowler. Ali is knocked to the floor in a cheap shot. Everyone gets involved and hits their moves now.
Ali rolls through on a 450 Splash attempt on Reid, then Reid whiplashes him into the turnbuckles. Lee comes in and controls Gacy, then flies out on Fowler. Gacy dodges the Cardiac Kick. Lee is triple teamed and Gacy pins him for 2 as another referee rushes to stop the pin because Lee wasn’t legal.
Ali takes out The Dyad, sending them out. Bate with a Bop & Bang to Gacy, Ali with a tornado DDT to Reid on the floor. Bate ends up hitting a clothesline on Gacy, then the Tyler Driver 97 for the pin to win.
Winners: Wes Lee, Tyler Bate and Mustafa Ali
– After the match, the babyfaces celebrate as the music hits and we go to replays. Ava regroups with The Schism.
– We see Thea Hail going over last week’s Battle Royal win with Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey. They find criticism, despite the win. They ask Thea about facing Cora Jade tonight, then offer to train more. Duke Hudson is seen grading more papers now. He asks Thea if she can go train without her chaperone and she says she can. Duke calls Andre Chase and apologizes for all the voicemails, but he wants an update on Andre’s recovery and says things are getting out of hand here.
– Bron Breakker is shown walking backstage. Back to commercial.
– Back from the break and out comes Bron Breakker.
Bron takes the mic as fans begin singing for WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. Bron talks about how he made headlines last week for calling out Rollins and beating up Ilja Dragunov. Bron says it’s all about accountability and everyone around here will be held accountable moving forward.
Bron wonders where Rollins is. Dragunov comes out for a fight but officials hold and pull him back. Rollins finally appears on the big screen and says getting a title shot doesn’t work like this. But he does like Bron’s approach, he’s been in Bron’s spot before, and it would be nice to go back to where it all began. Rollins says he will bring his title to NXT next week and defend against Breakker. Rollins laughs and his music hits as fans sing along and Bron looks on.
– We get a Dana Brooke hype video where she warns the NXT women’s division. Dana is backstage with McKenzie Mitchell now. Dana says she will be in NXT as long as they will have her. She talks about how she loves being in the ring and she’s always been a fighter, busting her ass, now she’s home. Cora Jade shows up and they have words. Dana says blame yourself for last week’s loss, not me. Jade ends up slapping Dana and walking off.
– Wes Lee, Tyler Bate and Mustafa Ali are backstage celebrating. Ali gets them to agree to a NXT North American Title match, with Ali as the special referee.
Thea Hail vs. Cora Jade
We go back to the ring and Thea Hail is out first with Duke Hudson. Cora Jade is out next as Alicia Taylor does the introductions.
The bell rings and they go at it. Jade with offense early on but Hail fights back. Dana Brooke comes walking down the ramp now.
Jade fights out of a hold and drops Hail with a back elbow for 2. Jade continues to dominate as Dana cheers Hail on. Hail finally turns it around and goes from corner to corner on Jade. Hail hits a big suplex, then the Boing, then another big suplex to send Jade out.
Hail goes for a big dive but Jade cuts her off and drops her on the floor. Jade taunts Duke and pulls out her kendo stick but the referee snatches it from her. Jade yells up at the referee. Dana comes from behind and shoves Jade into the steel steps. Hail brings Jade back in and ends up hitting a Kimura Lock takedown for the win.
Winner: Thea Hail
– After the match, Hail and Hudson celebrate.
– We get a video on the NXT Heritage Cup. Nathan Frazer is shown walking with Dragon Lee, while champion Noam Dar is with his crew. Back to commercial.
– It’s announced that NXT Gold Rush will be a 2 week special. Week 1 is headlined by Bron Breakker vs. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, Week 2 will be headlined by NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes defending against the winner of tonight’s main event between Baron Corbin and Ilja Dragunov.
NXT Heritage Cup Title Match: Nathan Frazer vs. Oro Mensah
We go back to the ring and everyone is already out – Nathan Frazer with Dragon Lee, plus the Meta-Four – NXT Heritage Cup Champion Noam Dar, Oro Mensah, Jakara Jackson, Lash Legend. Dar is on crutches and says he can’t defend tonight because they attacked him in the parking lot, and he’s hurt. Dar announces that Mensah will defend the Cup for him tonight.
The bell rings and they go at it. Frazer ends up getting the first fall right before the round ends. They both go to their corners to regroup.
The second round begins and they go at it. Jakara ends up distracting the referee while Lash nails a kick to Frazer. Mensah covers for the pin as we go back to commercial.
Back from the break and they unload on each other but the clock runs out and the round ends. The fourth round begins and they both get close 2 counts in the first two minutes. Lash and Jakara keep interfering until Valentina Feroz and Yulisa Leon take them out. Frazer dodges a corner spin kick, then hits a springboard 450 for the pin to win the title.
Winner and New NXT Heritage Cup Champion: Nathan Frazer
– After the match, Frazer celebrates with Lee, Leon and Feroz as the music hits.
– We get a video on Lyra Valkyria. She says she almost won the NXT Women’s Title at Battleground. She goes on about how she will overcome great odds, and will continue to raise herself from defeat and soar over the battlefields of NXT. Jacy Jayne and others are watching Lyra’s video in the locker room. Elektra Lopez and Jayne have words. Lola Vice walks up and dismisses Jayne. Lola tells Lopez she doesn’t like many people but she likes Lopez. Lopez agrees and says they should stick together.
– Mr. Stone and Von Wagner are backstage talking about Von’s therapy sessions. Von says he is seeing his therapist a lot. Dijak walks by and tells Stone to get with a real winner. They have words and Dijak goes on. Von tells Stone he’s done talking about therapy. Stone asks why he hasn’t talked about the baby photo in therapy, and who does he want to discuss the photo with. Von says it’s always been Stone.
– We see Dabba-Kato walking backstage. Back to commercial.
2-on-1 Handicap Match: Axiom and Scrypts vs. Dabba-Kato
Back from the break and Dabba-Kato is already in the ring. Axiom and Scrypts are out next, and they go at it before the bell.
Kato misses a clothesline and gets double dropkicked. The bell finally hits as Kato levels Axiom with a lariat. Scrypts tags in but Kato dominates both.
More back and forth for the next several minutes with offense for both sides. We’re having some technical difficulties tonight but come back to Axiom nailing a Golden Ratio for the pin to win.
Winners: Axiom and Scrypts
– After the match, Axiom and Scrypts stand tall to celebrate until Angel and Humberto hit them with cheap shots. Los Lotharios destroy Axiom and Scrypts, then leave them laying.
– Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo is backstage with a white board, trying to figure out who set up Tony D’Angelo and put him in jail. He settles on Gallus and says he needs to get even, not angry, and he needs to get Tony out of prison.
Edris Enofe vs. Malik Blade
Back from a break and Edris Enofe and his tag team partner Malik Blade are out to wrestle in hopes of being a better unit.
The bell rings and they go at it. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger end up coming out to watch, as do Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen. The finish to the fairly short match sees Enofe hit a superplex for a close 2 count off the cradle, but Blade rolls over and holds him there for the pin to win.
Winner: Malik Blade
– After the match, Enofe and Blade shake hands, then hug after showing they do know more about each other. Briggs, Jensen, Hank and Tank come in to congratulate them. Booker T stands up to announce that these three teams will face off on Gold Rush Week 1, then the winners will challenge NXT Tag Team Champions Gallus on Week 2. The three teams start brawling now as we see Los Lotharios looking down from the platform above the crowd. Kelly Kincaid asks why they have come to NXT. Angel says there is a lot of excitement in NXT and they want to be part of it.
– Damon Kemp is backstage showing a referee how he was screwed in the loss to Eddy Thorpe. The ref apologizes. Another referee shows up and Kemp yells at him. Eddy Thorpe shows up and he has words with Kemp. Thorpe tells Kemp he can have any kind of match he wants, just name it. Kemp says he will think about it.
Roxanne Perez vs. Tatum Paxley
We go back to the ring and out comes Roxanne Perez. Back to commercial.
Back from the break and we get a vignette from Blair Davenport. She brags about derailing the future of the women’s division ll by herself. She shows us where she took out Nikkita Lyons, Wendy Choo and Sol Ruca. Davenport’s route to the top is much easier. She sends a warning to Perez and says her time is coming.
We go back to the ring and Tatum Paxley is out. Paxley controls a lot of the match until they go back & forth. Paxley goes to the floor to regroup and Perez hits a suicide dive. They bring it back in and briefly tangle before Perez hits Pop Rocks for the pin to win.
Winner: Roxanne Perez
– After the match, Perez sends a warning to Davenport. Perez says she is not afraid, and she is on the hunt for Davenport.
– Gigi Dolin and Fallon Henley are backstage bonding over their hate for Kiana James. Henley tells Dolin to watch out because James is a snake. Fallon walks off. Dolin mutters to herself and says she will make sure James understands why you don’t mess with a reject.
– We see Ilja Dragunov and Baron Corbin walking backstage. Back to commercial.
– Back from the break and we get a video on Bronco Nima and Lucien Price, and how they got together. They say they have each other and that’s all they need. People tried to keep them apart but they’re still together and NXT is not ready for them.
#1 Contender Match: Baron Corbin vs. Ilja Dragunov
We go back to the ring for tonight’s main event and out first comes Baron Corbin. Ilja Dragunov is out next with his ribs taped up. The winner will face NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes in two weeks.
The bell rings and they lock up. Corbin rocks Dragunov and clubs him down. Dragunov turns it around and unloads against the ropes. Dragunov fights Corbin around the ring. Corbin with a big chop but this angers Dragunov, who fights back with chops of his own.
Dragunov chops Corbin to the mat but fans want more. Corbin drops Dragunov throat-first over the top rope, then clotheslines Dragunov. Corbin focuses on the hurt ribs now as fans boo. Dragunov comes back and hits two big German suplexes but the third is blocked. Dragunov hits the Constantine Special to knock Corbin out of the ring. Dragunov stands tall as we go to commercial.
Back from the break and Corbin works Dragunov over, then knocks him to the floor. Corbin follows and chokeslams Dragunov into the edge of the apron. Corbin pounds on Dragunov some more, and works him over on top of the announce table.
Dragunov is sent face-first into the edge of the apron. Corbin brings it back in and grounds Dragunov with a chin-lock. Dragunov fights up with strikes but Corbin hits a stiff backbreaker for 2.
Fans rally for Dragunov now but Corbin just takes his time with the punishment, launching him into the corner. The referee asks Dragunov if he wants to continue. More back and forth now as Corbin focuses on the hurt ribs. Corbin with a big superplex for a close 2 count.
Fans taunt Corbin as Dragunov unloads with stiff strikes. Corbin catches him with Deep Six for a close 2 count. They trade more offense now. Dragunov with a top rope knee drop. Dragunov goes back up for the diving headbutt but he also hurts his own ribs. Dragunov blocks a slam with a DDT.
The fight goes on and Dragunov charges with the Moscow Torpedo but hits Bron Breakker instead when he rushes into the ring. Corbin takes advantage and hits Dragunov with End of Days for the pin to win.
Winner and New #1 Contender: Baron Corbin
– After the match, Bron and Dragunov brawl to the back as Corbin looks on from the ring. Corbin turns back around to an attack by NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes. Hayes unloads and lays Corbin out, then goes up top to hit the Nothing But Net leg drop. Hayes puts a foot on Corbin’s chest, then raises the NXT Title belt in the air as NXT goes off the air.
Follow Marc on Twitter at @this_is_marc. Send any news, tips or corrections to us by clicking here.