NXT had an incredibly productive week of television, presenting six different matches and lining up a pair amount of the upcoming No Mercy PLE. Here’s everything that went down on Tuesday.
Quick Results
- Nathan Frazer & Axiom def. Duke Hudson & Riley Osborne
- Wendy Choo def. Lola Vice
- Jaida Parker def. Sol Ruca, Wren Sinclair, Adriana Rizzo, Brinley Reece, Brinley Reece (NXT Women’s Championship #1 Contenders Match) (Six-Woman Elimination Gauntlet)
- Hank and Tank (Hank Walker & Tank Ledger) def. The OC (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows)
- Ashante Adonis def. Dion Lennox
- Joe Hendry def. Wes Lee & Pete Dunne (NXT Championship #1 Contenders Match) (Triple Threat Match)
Nathan Frazer & Axiom chase another reign
The show started with an unexpected brawl, as Izzi Dame jumped Karmen Petrovic as she arrived at the Performance Center. The commentary team was quick to question whether Petrovic could appear in the NXT Women’s Championship #1 Contendership Gauntlet Eliminator match, a bout taking place later in the evening.
A special celebration for Chase U started this week’s episode of NXT. For those who didn’t catch last week’s episode, the team of Ridge Holland and Andre Chase captured the NXT tag titles, ending the 126-day reign of Axiom and Nathan Frazer.
After some thank yous got passed around, the aforementioned Frazer and Axiom showed up. “You were the better team that day, we just don’t think you are the best team every day,” Axiom said.
Chase U came back with their own idea: If Frazer and Axiom can beat Duke Hudson and Riley Osborne, the former champs can get a title shot. While Frazer and Axiom thought their match would happen later, Hudson and Osborne were ready to start immediately, ripping off their clothing to reveal their ring gear.
Their match worked at an incredibly fast pace. In the end, it was a week of celebrations for Chase U officially coming to an end, as Frazer and Axiom won via pinfall with a double-team brainbuster move on Osborne.
Wendy Choo gets called out
Backstage, Ava mentioned that Karmen Petrovic was removed from the gauntlet match. Izzi Dame, who attacked Petrovic, suggested she join the match. Ava strongly rejected that idea and said that it would instead be Brinley Reece.
Up next, Wendy Choo went one-on-one with Lola Vice. A quick sequence of moves late in the match allowed Choo to win the match via distraction. Kelani Jordan hit the ring suddenly late in the contest and was unintentionally hit with a spinning back fist by Vice, which was intended for Choo. As the referee was distracted, Choo hit Vice with a pillow to win the match.
After the match, Jordan called for a match with Choo at No Mercy for the NXT Women’s North American Championship, a challenge that Choo seemed to like. The two then brawled, with it being revealed in the process that Jordan’s North American Championship was inside Choo’s pillow.
A video package aired for Fatal Influence, a trio of Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne, and Jazmyn Nyx.
“We are the example. We are the leaders. We are the Fatal Influence."
Looks like we've got a new group that's looking to run the women's division… 👀#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/2P1rAs8S1Z
— WWE (@WWE) August 21, 2024
Jaida Parker survives gauntlet, secures title match
The latest challenger for Roxanne Perez’s NXT Women’s Championship was determined next, as six women competed in a gauntlet eliminator match for the #1 contenders spot. The theme for the match was that six women who had never challenged for the title were randomly selected for the qualifier.
Sol Ruca and Wren Sinclair started the match, with Adriana Rizzo joining two minutes later. While Rizzo had a hot tag-esque start when she entered the ring, she became the first woman to get eliminated when Ruca put her away with a powerbomb.
Brinley Reece, the last-minute addition to the match, joined during a commercial break. Kendal Gray came a couple of minutes later. She immediately went after Reece, eliminating her shortly after getting in the ring.
Ruca was on a roll at one point, scoring a moonsault off the top and to the outside onto Gray and Sinclair. Jaida Parker entered the match just moments after this spot, catching Ruca off guard by attacking her from behind as part of her entrance.
Parker got Gray out of the match with a Gore Buster. Sinclair tried for a roll-up on Parker right after but was hit with a Sol Snatcher from Ruca to get her out of the match.
It was down to just Parker and Ruca by this point. The crowd, which was quiet at the start of the bout, had come alive. Ruca came up empty on a frog splash off the ropes, allowing Pakrer to score a Hipnotic (running hip-check) to win the match and thus also earn a shot at the NXT women’s title.
Hank & Tank overcome The OC
The duo of Hank Walker and Tank Ledger scored an upset win in the next match, overcoming Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows of The OC. Hank & Tank hit a double-team powerslam finisher for the unexpected result, giving the team their first-ever win on NXT’s main TV program.
After a break, the No Quarter Catch Crew was in the ring to cut a promo. Wren Sinclair repeatedly cut into Charlie Dempsey’s speech, at one point interrupting him to say that he was willing to defend his Heritage Cup Championship against anyone. It was at that point when North American Champion Oba Femi came to the ring to express interest in a match.
However, Femi wasn’t the only one interested in a match. Former champ Tony D’Angelo hit the ring next. But he wasn’t focused on Dempsey’s title, instead having his eyes on Femi’s belt. D’Angelo ordered The Family to take out the No Quarter Catch Crew, leaving Femi and D’Angelo in the ring. The two briefly brawled, with D’Angelo coming out on top with a spinebuster.
In a grudge match, Ashante Adonis put away Dion Lennox with a superkick in the co-main event. The bout was notably Lennox’s second-ever match on NXT TV and went longer than his three-minute Breakout Tournament match against Lexis King late last year.
Joe Hendry scores biggest win yet
The #1 Contenders match for the NXT Championship finished off the night, with Pete Dunne, Joe Hendry, and Wes Lee battling for a chance at the belt. The incumbent champ, Ethan Page, was at ringside on commentary for the match.
Hendry came close to winning the match prior to the finish, hitting the Standing Ovation onto Pete Dunne. However, Page got out of his seat to pull the referee out of the ring, stopping a pinfall count. An enraged Hendry slammed Lee onto the commentary table after that moment.
Hendry landed another Standing Ovation, but as he went for a pin Page was preventing a new referee from getting in the ring. Dunne scored a Bitter End onto Hendry, but out of nowhere, Trick Williams appeared and hit a Trickshot onto Dunne at this moment as well. Williams threw a referee into the ring, allowing Hendry to get a pinfall win and earn a title shot for No Mercy.
Just before the show went off air, Zachary Wentz emerged from the audience and jumped Lee. The show came to an end with security splitting up the friends turned rivals.
