The April 8, 2020 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from the Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.Â
The show was headlined by Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano.
WWE NXT Results (4/8)
- Io Shirai def. Chelsea Green, Mia Yim, Tegan Nox Candice LeRae, and Dakota Kai – Ladder Match
- Rinku Singh and Saurav Gurjar def. Ever-Rise
- Johnny Gargano def. Tommaso Ciampa
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Rinku & Saurav In-Ring Debut
After making their television debut a week ago by attacking Matt Riddle, Rinku and Saurav made their in-ring debut.
They did so when they took on Ever-Rise in a tag team match that served as the second match of the night.
As expected and rightfully so, Rinku and Saurav went over in a dominating performance. They’re the latest tag team in NXT and one to see who will get a big push in NXT.
Malcolm Bivens, who is best for his time in EVOLVE, is the manager of the team made up of two big men. The tag team division in NXT is in need of some new blood as the latest feud had seen Riddle and Pete Dunne go up against The Undisputed Era.
It will be interesting to see if Rinku and Saurav get over with fans in attendance once things get back to normal.
Adam Cole Continues To Talk
The continuation of the slow build for the program between The Velveteen Dream and NXT Champion Adam Cole continues.
WWE had Cole cut another promo from the poolside at his home. Cole talked about how Dream went through one of the baddest stars on the NXT roster in Bobby Fish and he called it a lucky win.
Cole talked about how unfortunately for Dream, lightning never strikes twice especially when the lighting is the greatest NXT Champion, which is him. Cole stated that Dream is a guy who doesn’t deserve a title shot because Dream is a pretender and he’s the real deal.
Cole stated that if Dream keeps pushing then he’ll end the experience or shatter Dream’s spotlight because Dream can’t do anything about it. It was another great promo to further their program.
WWE still has yet to announce when the match will take place but it’s likely sooner rather than later.
Women’s Ladder Match
After weeks of build-up, WWE held a Ladder Match to determine the top contender to WWE NXT Women’s Championship.
The competitors in the contest were Chelsea Green, Mia Yim, Tegan Nox, Io Shirai, Candice LeRae, and Dakota Kai. It ended up being Io Shirai who won the match.
It was a wild match with several high spots. If you’ve seen one ladder match in WWE, the same formula is the same. It had a table crash spot as well as Knox going through a ladder off the middle rope. This was a nice way of building up a new #1 contender for the title.
Charlotte Flair beat Rhea Ripley to win the NXT Women’s Title at WrestleMania 36. One would think that Ripley would get an automatic rematch. Time will tell whether that happens.
In the meantime, WWE can have Flair feud with the new #1 contender if they wanted to hold off on Flair vs. Ripley 2.
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano
In the main event of the show, as expected, Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano took place. It was held in an unknown location that wasn’t the Performance Center or Full Sail University with a ring and a referee.
It was exactly what you thought it would be as it was a brawl. WWE shot it in a cinematic way somewhat like the Boneyard Match was between The Undertaker and AJ Styles from WrestleMania.
There were no commentators for the match. It was just the sound of the ring and the wrestlers reacting to moves. At one point, Ciampa brought out a crutch and they even brawled outside.
The finish saw Candice LeRae, who is Gargano’s wife, hit a low blow to Gargano then to Ciampa. Gargano pulled out a cup afterward and laughed. Gargano hit his finisher for the win.
These two have been feuding with each other off and on for a few years now under the WWE NXT banner. The stipulation going into the contest was that after this bout, this would be the final one-on-one encounter between them in NXT.
Now, it’s pro wrestling and that could change at any time but with both guys making it known that they would like to stay in NXT for the rest of their careers. It appears that this might be the last match that we see with them going against each other. Time will tell.
