The February 26, 2020 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from the Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
The show was headlined by Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair in a singles match.
WWE NXT Results (2/26/20)
- Cameron Grimes def. Dominik Dijakovic
- Xia Li def. Mia Yim
- Tommaso Ciampa def. Austin Theory
- Killian Dain def. Bronson Reed
- Charlotte Flair def. Bianca Belair
Here are the 4 takeaways from this week’s show:
Finn Balor Cuts Done It Promo
Finn Balor came out to the ring to discuss his future plans following his win over Johnny Gargano at TakeOver: Portland.
He talked about how he builds brands and has done it in Mexico and Japan and he holds lots of titles. He said that everybody is trying to get big before WrestleMania season and that people want to get a rub off of him. He brings up names such as Matt Riddle and Gargano.
This led to members of Imperium coming out and cutting a promo about one thing that he hasn’t done is travel to NXT UK. They say that WALTER, who isn’t there, would like to send his regards.
A brawl broke out with Balor being left laying. It appears that WWE is setting up Balor vs. WALTER for the NXT UK Title at TakeOver: Tampa.
Dominik Dijakovic vs. Cameron Grimes
A late addition to this show came in the way of Dominik Dijakovic vs. Cameron Grimes in a singles match. WWE announced the contest on Wednesday morning.
It was a nice back and forth affair with both guys having their moments. Clearly, WWE officials are behind Domik and thus the reason that many people thought he would go over in this contest. That isn’t the case as Damien Priest attacked Dijakovic with a club that played into the finish. Grimes won the match.
The belief was that WWE is keeping him in a feud with NXT North American Champion Keith Lee unless that changes. They’ve had some good matches both in WWE NXT and outside including in PWG.
Grimes continues to be a talent that is lost with a gimmick not working despite being a good worker. Perhaps WWE will repackage him one day but it appears with the push of him on television, he’ll be in this role for the time being.
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Austin Theory
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Austin Theory was booked and as expected, the former NXT Champion went over.
While the outcome of the match was predictable, it wasn’t a bad thing as it gets Ciampa a win coming off his loss to NXT Champion Adam Cole at NXT TakeOver: Portland two weeks ago.
Post-match, Gargano attacked Ciampa and threw him on the TakeOver: Tampa logo. This would signal whee things are going.
This contest was set up last week when Ciampa interrupted Theory’s match in order to cut a promo about Johnny Gargano costing him the NXT Title by turning heel while attacking him.
Theory tried to attack him but Ciampa knocked him down. Ciampa ended the promo then went on an assault of Theory.
That segment and this match was a nice shine for Theory, who is a former EVOLVE Champion. Some think that he has a ton of potential in NXT and someone to keep an eye out for. Whether that happens remains to be seen but for him to be in the ring and in a competitive match with someone like Ciampa is only a positive.
Charlotte Flair Takes On Bianca Belair
Charlotte Flair took on Bianca Belair in a singles match on this show in what was the most promoted thing on the episode.
This marked Flair’s first match under the NXT banner in four years. WWE announced the match over the weekend and did it for two reasons. First is due to it helping the ratings as they continue to face and get beat by AEW Dynamite over on TNT.
Also, this was a way to help build Flair’s feud with NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley heading into WrestleMania 36 in April.
A few weeks ago, WWE did a segment where Ripley and Belair laid out Flair. Thus, the reasoning behind the match booking between Flair and Belair. Thus, this was a match that many fans thought could happen and WWE obliged that hope.
The match saw Flair go over an rightfully so as WWE needs to keep Flair strong heading into Mania. Post-match, Flair attacked Belair until Ripley ran down to make the save and Flair backed down.
What will be interesting about this match is the outcome as one could think that Flair isn’t going to be a normal player in the NXT world.
