The March 10, 2021 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
- Io Shirai defeated Toni Storm to retain the NXT Women’s Championship
- Pete Dunne defeated Jake Atlas
- Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon defeated Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez to become the new NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions
- Xia Li defeated Kayden Carter via DQ
- Legado Del Fantasma defeated The Grizzled Young Veterans
- Finn Balor defeated Adam Cole to retain NXT Title
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Singles Match
Xia Li vs. Kayden Carter took place in a singles match. WWE had Kacy Catinaro at ringside for the match and on crutches. Li was the one who in storyline injured her. Li worked over the right knee of Carter throughout the match. Catanzaro
The referee rang the bell while Li was attacking Carter and Kacy hit Li with the crutch. Kacy got into the ring after the match and hit her with the crutch several times. Li’s brother got into the ring and Kacy tried to hit him with the crutch, but he blocked it. Carter hit him in the back and he sold it.
William Regal’s Announcements & Title Change
William Regal had an announcement that would “change the landscape of NXT’ in addition to another big announcement. So what were the announcements?
Regal did a promo in the opening segment of the show. The first announcement was NXT TakeOver: Stand And Deliver, which will take place on April 7th during the usual NXT time slot on USA Network while the second night will air on the WWE Network on April 8th.
The other announcement was the NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles, which were given to Women’s Dusty Rhodes Classic Tournament winners Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez. The storyline reason for why they were given the titles was due to the question finish that saw Kai and Raquel losing to WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler last week.Â
Kai and Raquel later made their first title defense against Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon. However, WWE ended up doing a title change with Moon and Blackheart winning.
Women’s Title Match
Toni Storm vs. WWE NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai took place on this show. This was the first match on the show and it tore the house down. A very good opening contest.
The finish saw Io lock in her submission hold or the win.
Last month, Shirai retained the NXT Women’s Championship by defeating Storm and Mercedes Martinez in a triple threat match at TakeOver: Vengeance Day . The finish saw Storm go in for a pin on Martinez, but Shirai flew in with a moonsault and pinned Martinez to get the win. A few weeks ago, Storm attacked Shirai during a photoshoot.
There was later a promo segment where Storm claimed that Io was afraid of her and she knows she can’t beat her. She dared Shirai to prove her wrong. Thus, Io asked NXT general manager William Regal to make the match happen.
Finn Balor vs. Adam Cole
Finn Balor put the NXT Title on the line in the main event of the show.
The match featured a very good match with Balor selling his jaw after getting kicked in the face. It wasn’t a technical match, but rather a brawl with the two stars hitting their best moves.
There was a few near falls such as Cole hitting a running knee and then Cole connecting with the candian destroyer. Near the end, Kyle O’Reilly showed up and stood at ringside. This allowed Balor to get the advantage. Post-match, Cole tried to hit a low blow to Kyle, but Kyle blocked it and a brawl broke out. The show ended up with Karrion Kross standing behind Balor and they had a staredown.
Ironically, after Karrion Kross vacated the NXT Title due to a shoulder injury last September of last year, Balor won the NXT Championship by defeating Cole. WWE booked a four-way Iron Man match between Balor, Cole, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa to decide the new champion.
However, that ended in a tie between Balor and Cole. Thus, it set up a singles match where Balor defeated Cole to win the title.
