Dakota Kai turned on her friend Raquel Gonzalez in a shocking twist last week on NXT. She threw away the friendship and attacked Gonzalez with a kick to her face while she was celebrating, and took her NXT Women’s Championship and raised it. This clearly signified that we’re going to see a rivalry between the two now-ex-best friends, and on this week’s episode of NXT Kai explained her actions in a video package aired during the episode.

Dakota Kai explained that 18 months ago she needed someone that she could trust in the beginning, and that’s when she found Raquel Gonzalez. Kai said that if she hadn’t picked Gonzalez, she would have stayed stuck in the shadows. Describing her early partnership, Kai said that Gonzalez’s task was simple, it was to stand behind her and protect her whenever she needed. When Gonzalez became a star on her own, Kai was okay with it as long as it was clear who the leader was.

Kai, however, started to get envious when Io Shirai chose Gonzalez for the title match instead of her. She felt it was disrespectful but she still chose to help Gonzalez with the title, still adding that she should have been the one standing in the ring with Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley. She wanted a title of her own so that’s why she seeked help from Gonzalez in winning the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships, however, she accused Gonzalez of not giving her 100% ever since she became the NXT Women’s Champion. They went on to lose to Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon, sealing the deal for Kai’s friendship with Gonzalez.

Kai said that Gonzalez was so caught up in her own world that she didn’t even see the betrayal coming. Kai clarified that she doesn’t want to be anyone’s sidekick and will take Gonzalez down.

WWE Executives are not happy with NXT Superstar Adam Cole’s contract situation going public.

The news broke yesterday by Wrestling Inc’s Raj Giri that Cole will be a free agent after Summerslam. Giri also reported that Cole already has options, including “companies who are not even in the current wrestling space.”

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson has also followed up on Giri’s report and confirmed the news while adding that WWE executives are unhappy. “Multiple sources within WWE confirmed the story, admitting frustration that it had become public,” said Johnson.

Cole’s Contract Situation

The news of Cole’s contract expiring has caught fans by surprise. Giri reports that Cole’s contract actually expired after the Great American Bash on July 6th. However, Cole decided to extend the contract to this upcoming Summerslam.

Johnson also reports that WWE executives believed Cole was under contract to at least January 2022.

The timing of Cole’s contract issue could also be connected to the release of former Senior Vice President of Talent Development Canyon Ceman. Johnson reported Ceman release on July 23rd and noted he was very involved with the hiring process in NXT.

Wrestling Inc’s Marc Middleton reports that the timing of Cole’s contract issue “Very much lines up with the timing of Ceman’s departure.”

The WWE has yet to release a statement on Cole’s contract situation.

Cole’s WWE Career

Cole signed with the WWE on August 14, 2017, after leaving Ring of Honor. Five days later, he made his NXT debut at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 3 on August 19, 2017, at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, New York. Cole has been an NXT tag team champion, North American champion, and World Champion. He also still holds the record for longest-reigning NXT World Champion.

He’s currently in a feud with a long-time ally/rival Kyle O’Riley. Since February, the feud has been ongoing, with both Cole and Riley getting a win over the other. It is unclear if Cole will finish his feud with Riley at the upcoming NXT Takeover 36 on August 22nd.

WWE RAW Superstar and former NXT North American Champion Damian Priest recently appeared on the Battleground Podcast. The man who teamed with Bad Bunny at WrestleMania 37 discussed several topics during the show, including the NXT Championship.

“I mean, there’s a lot of guys that I wish I could have had the opportunity to work with” Damian Priest began, discussing the talent in NXT that he didn’t get a chance to work with originally.

“Obviously, that’s not saying that we were never going to work because it’s still WWE, right? Whether it happens here or I go back or whatever. But yeah, there are definitely more moments, there are definitely championships. I wanted to be the NXT Champion” Priest continued.

Damian Priest on NXT Run

“You know, unfortunately, I didn’t get that opportunity. But again, you never know, you know, Finn Balor’s done it, you know, so I don’t see why not down the line” Priest added, citing the NXT return of Finn Balor in 2019.

“I got to have good experiences, I got to become North American Champion. I got to have great matches with a lot of incredible talent. So at the end of the day, it was still a successful and positive NXT run” Damian Priest concluded.

There are not many NXT (or WWE superstars) better than Adam Cole. He has wrestled across the globe and has been part of several great factions. Most notably, Bullet Club and Undisputed Era.

However, news has recently broken that Adam Cole’s contract with NXT expired last month and he has since been agreed a one-month extension while WWE try to thrash out a new deal for their star. The news was originally broken this weekend by Wrestling Inc’s Raj Giri, who confirmed that Cole’s original deal expired just after the NXT Great American Bash PPV.

The expiration reportedly took WWE officials by surprise, as most believed Adam Cole’s contract ran until December. Cole agreed on a short term, one-month extension but is said to be considering different options. This is reported as including several options that lie beyond the professional wrestling sphere.

Fans of WWE and NXT will be hoping that this short-term deal is merely giving both Cole and WWE the chance to discuss a long-term deal.

Adam Cole Has Been the Face of NXT Since Arriving

Adam Cole signed for WWE, joining their NXT brand in 2017. Since then, he has been one of the leading figures in both storylines and memorable matches. As the leader of Undisputed Era, he wrote his way into NXT history. With Cole at their helm, Era became the most successful faction on the brand. A good argument could be made for their placing in the top lists of all WWE factions.

During his time in NXT, Adam Cole has won every belt going. This includes being the inaugural North American Champion and the longest-reigning NXT champion. His title reign spanned 403 days.

With the high number of releases happing in WWE this year, including the recent shock release of Bray Wyatt, it would seem unlikely that they would be happy for Adam Cole to walk away also. Hopefully, a new deal can be reached and we can all carry on watching Cole and Kyle O’Reilly fight forever.

WWE NXT Superstar Samoa Joe recently appeared on WWE’s After The Bell podcast. The Samoan Submission Machine discussed several topics during the show, including his return to the ring at NXT Takeover 36 on August 22nd.

“I kept it simple. It was just getting healthy. A lot of times, people have a tendency to overcomplicate their problems and make them worse and adding to them by adding extra pressure” Samoa Joe began on the podcast, discussing his return to in-ring health.

Joe also discussed the actual injury and how it was beyond anything he had suffered with before. “It was a much worse type of injury than I had dealt with before. It scared me, it scared a lot of people I cared about” Joe added.

“It became very easy to make that the focus as far as what I wanted to do when I came back. Inevitably, it all hinged on making sure I was alright and feeling good and when I came back to the ring, I didn’t want to come back in a 70% or 60% capacity” Joe revealed.

“I wanted to make sure I could come back and give the best I could to the fans. I do play my cards close to my chest, but that’s just the belief I have” the former NXT Champion concluded. 

WWE is back to classifying the Black-And-Gold Brand as developmental.

As pointed out by Lavie Margolin on Twitter, according to their quarter report with the SEC, WWE has once again labeled NXT as “developmental”.

In page 33 of the report, under “Operating Metrics”, item #3 states:

“Metrics exclude the events for our domestic and United Kingdom NXT brands. These are our developmental brands that typically conduct their events in smaller venues with lower ticket prices. We did not conduct any ticketed NXT events in the periods presented.”

This recent classification as a “developmental” territory is contradictory to recent statements made by WWE executives and Superstars that concluded NXT was considered a third brand.

Earlier this year, Triple H stated that Finn Balor’s return cemented NXT as WWE’s third brand.

Two years ago, Adam Cole was quoted saying in an interview with Newsweek, “We’ve called it this for a while, but we look at NXT as the third brand,” when asked about whether the show’s move to USA qualified it as so.

With live events back in play due to looser COVID restrictions, it will be interesting to see if WWE still keeps NXT in developmental classification.

While AEW’s audience is on a steady increase since the end of Wednesday night wars, NXT doesn’t seem to be attracting a lot of new viewers. This week’s episode of it has recorded the lowest audience since the show’s premiere.

This Tuesday’s edition of the Black and Yellow brand on SyFy drew a total of 520,000 viewers according to Nielsen which is the lowest TV viewership in the show’s history.

Last week’s episode of NXT drew 709,000 viewers. The numbers this week saw a big 20.5% decline compared to last week’s average audience.

The episode drew a 0.12 rating in the much talked 18-49 demographic which is a 40% decline from last week’s 0.20 ratings in the same demo.

• Samoa Joe vs. Karrion Kross Confirmed For WWE NXT TakeOver 36

USA Network was airing the Olympics this week due to which NXT was moved to SyFy. This change and the competition from the Olympics seem to have been important factors in the big rating drop.

The show will air on SyFy next week as well so the ratings aren’t expected to improve much. NXT will return to USA Network for the August 10 episode and we will have to see how the viewership rebounds for that episode.

At the recent NXT television tapings held at the Capitol Wrestling Center, Samoa Joe’s in-ring return was confirmed. During the tapings, Samoa Joe offered NXT General Manager William Regal his resignation so that he could face Kross. Regal agreed and signed the paperwork for a match between Kross and Joe at Takeover 36 for the NXT Championship.

For Samoa Joe this would be his first match since February of 2020. He has been out of action dealing with concussion issues. Following his release from WWE’s main roster this spring, Joe moved to NXT where he became something of Regal’s enforcer, although he only lasted a short while in the role.

Joe appeared on Ryan Satin’s “Out of Character” podcast at the end of June and spoke about his transition to NXT.

“I’ve kind of been in this situation before. A younger me probably would have been really, really freaked out. But, I mean at this point you just roll/pivot. That’s really all there is to it when it comes to life in general. That’s kind of the mantra I’ve kept. At that point I think I was already kind of in the works and setting up the next framework for whatever else I was going to do. A few hours later I get a call from Hunter and it pretty much all kind of changed.”

Xia Li appeared to be injured during her NXT Women’s Championship match against Raquel Gonzalez last night on NXT. The match was stopped after Gonzalez landed on Li following a springboard senton splash. Li rolled onto her stomach after the move and then was only weakly able to get her shoulder up during the pin attempt.

The match was restarted after medical personnel checked on Li for a few moments. They quickly went to the finish after, however, with Gonzalez pinning Li after a one-armed power bomb. According to sources backstage at the Capitol Wrestling Center, Li appeared to be fine after the match (via Fightful).

Xia Li To The Main Roster?

Xia Li is one of several members of the NXT roster rumored to be headed to the main roster soon. Li faced former Robert Stone Brand member, Aliyah, in a dark match before Smackdown. She picked up the win in a match from Houston’s Toyota Center.

Xia Li joined WWE in 2017 after having impressed scouts during a WWE tryout from Shanghai, China. She is the first woman from China to compete in a WWE ring. As of late in NXT, she has been aligned with Boa and Mei Ying in the Tian Sha faction.

Leader of The Way, Johnny Gargano has spoken about how much he is enjoying working with both Indi Hartwell and Austin Theory. Both wrestlers are young and upcoming talents within WWE, and Gargano is relishing playing the mentor role both on and off-screen.

“I’m going to make the best of the time I have with Austin and Indi because I know and firmly believe… like… they were handpicked by me and Candice because we know they are the future of what we do. Both have great attitudes. They have so much charisma, so much character and so much athletic ability. It looks like we made them in a freakin’ lab. I think the world of Austin and Indi, so we’re gonna make the best of the time we have with them because they’re gonna make this company a lot of money for a long time.” Johnny Gargano said in a recent interview with Sportskeeda

Johnny Gargano Is Enjoying Life in NXT

Johnny Gargano’s is enjoying life in NXT these days. He has been part of the NXT roster since 2015, and despite a few appearances on the main roster, is a man content with where he is. A former NXT tag team champion alongside Tomasso Ciampa. He also held the North American Championship and is a former NXT champion. His name can easily be thrown into the main event mix. As shown by his recent title match with Karrion Kross.

Now, as leader of The Way, Johnny Gargano is playing a comedic heel role that fits him perfectly. Working alongside his real-life wife Candice LeRae, as the pseudo parents of Indi Hartwell and Austin Theory. It is an interesting group that has made it work thanks to good chemistry and organic growth. The original plan for the group was far different from how it has evolved.

Johnny Gargano is a great wrestler and a big name who can throw down with the very best of them. With The Way gaining momentum as a group, the sky is the limit for what they could achieve as a faction.

WWE NXT on Tuesday nights will temporarily move to the SyFy Network due to the USA Network’s coverage of the Tokyo Olympics. Television listings for Tuesday, July 27th show Olympic coverage taking place during NXT’s normal time slot. According to a report from PW Insider, NXT that week will move to the SyFy channel.

NXT has been putting on big shows this month, perhaps in anticipation of having to move channels temporarily due to the Olympics. Great American Bash took place last week, Karrion Kross vs Johnny Gargano faced off for the NXT Championship this week and an NXT Women’s Championship match between Raquel Gonzalez and Xia Li has been scheduled for next week.

Additionally, NXT saw Mandy Rose return to the roster this week. She appeared on the entrance ramp during the Sarray and Gigi Dolin match. Rose would later appear in a backstage segment with Franky Monet and the Robert Stone Brand. Cameron Grimes and LA Knight are also currently in an angle where Grimes is Knight’s butler.

The only other match scheduled for next week’s show sees Bobby Fish team with KUSHIDA to take on the Diamond Mine. Fish was defeated by Tyler Rust this week but only after being distracted by Roderick Strong on the outside.

WWE NXT Superstar Johnny Gargano challenged for the NXT Championship on this week’s episode of the show. Johnny Wrestling took on Karrion Kross with Samoa Joe in the role of special guest referee.

Gargano was unsuccessful in his attempt to regain the NXT Championship from Kross, following a great match that headlined the episode on USA Network. Kross and Samoa Joe went toe to toe multiple times in the match between Kross would choke Joe out after the match.

Johnny Gargano took a nasty bump into a table during the main event of the show, and Fightful Select have reported that despite this the leader of The Way is not suffering from any clear injuries.

It’s not clear what the future is for Johnny Gargano or The Way, with WWE looking at potentially moving more Superstars across the three main brands as fans begin to return to shows.

It’s very unlikely however that we will be seeing Gargano appear in the NXT title picture for quite some time, after Kross got a definitive win over the former EVOLVE star.

Adam Cole is a star on the rise in NXT. Many people believe that the time has come for him to rise even higher. Fans are calling for him to make his move up to the main roster. However, talking on a recent episode of Inside the Ropes, Cole made it very clear that he still has plans in NXT.

“There is so much to do. That’s the other thing. I find it so flattering that there are people [saying] ‘God, I want to see Adam Cole on RAW or SmackDown so, so badly’. Then there’s another group that’s like ‘No, I really want him to stay in NXT’. And right now, the possibility of things to do, on any of the three brands, feels endless for me. It just feels exciting across the board. Being able to stay in NXT, even with the 403-day reign and being a Triple Crown winner and all that stuff. I’ve been with the brand for such a long time. I’ve seen it grow so much that it’s really fun to be a part of that process. I would love to win the NXT title again, and I would love the chance to someday maybe step in the ring with Samoa Joe. I want the chance to wrestle guys like Isaiah ‘Swerve’ Scott.” Adam Cole said when addressing talk of the main roster call up.

Adam Cole Has Unfinished Business in NXT

There’s no question that Adam Cole has the star power, and skillset to make an impact on Raw or Smackdown. However, he clearly has a lot of unfinished business on the black and gold brand. To accompany this is the counterargument that sees NXT as being a main roster calibre brand.

Are the days of NXT being a purely developmental territory behind them? With athletes like Adam Cole, Tomasso Ciampa and Finn Balor, an argument could easily be made for NXT being one of the superior brands in WWE right now.

Either way, Adam Cole is a wrestler who is happy where he is. He is in no rush to run chasing glory on a brand that seems less in tune with its stars.

There were few wrestlers caught more by surprise by their release than former NXT tag-team Ever-Rise. The duo comprising wrestlers Matt Martel and Chase Parker had only just signed new contracts with WWE. On top of that, they were getting an ever-increase level of screen time.

Talking to WhatCulture, Ever-Rise, were perfectly happy with the way their careers seemed to be developing.

“Yeah, [we were] surprised to say the least. Surprised, to say the least. It seemed to us that we had our whole careers in front of us in WWE. We were on TV every week doing what we wanted to do.” Matt commented.

“Since, like, the month of October, we were doing something every week. Especially on NXT. finally getting, like, those… fleshing out those characters, which was always the idea, but it was a slow start.” Chase added.

Ever-Rise were always supposed to be background figures, building their popularity and their brand slowly before snowballing onto the main stage. It was a process they all thought was going well.

Ever-Rise Praise NXT Communication and Hold No Grudges

In fact, the duo had been talking creative ideas with NXT the very day they were cut from the roster. However, that said, Ever-Rise hold no animosity with NXT and were full of praise for the level of communication and way of working on the black and gold brand.

“For our end, there’s always great communication between… whether it be Triple H, or Shawn Michaels or the coaches at the Performance Center, the writing team, the producers. Great communication all around. So it was… again, that’s kind of why it comes as a surprise because we were still in the process of working on stuff that day. That day!”

It’s a shame Ever-Rise never got the chance to truly show what they were capable of in a WWE ring. Whether the pair will stay together or go their separate ways remains to be seen. First, they need to sit through their mandatory cooling-off period.

With the Undisputed Era now finished, Roderick Strong has returned to WWE NXT along with the Diamond Mine. According to a report from Fightful, Strong signed a new deal with WWE before the faction debuted. Strong re-signed just before his wife, Marina Shafir, was released by WWE last month.

• Marina Shafir Comments On Her WWE Release

The Diamond Mine, and Strong in particular, are expected to play a major role in the NXT Cruiserweight division moving forward. In addition to Marina Shafir, several cruiserweights released including Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari, August Grey, and the Bollywood Boyz.

A KUSHIDA vs Roderick Strong NXT Cruiserweight Championship match could potentially be as big a match as the division has ever seen.

Strong signed with WWE in 2016 after having spent 13 years with Ring of Honor. He debuted for ROH in 2003. He is a 1x ROH World Champion, 2x Television Champion, and once held the tag titles for the promotion along with Austin Aries. In NXT, Strong is a 1x North American Champion and 2x tag champion along with his Undisputed Era teammates.

WWE NXT Superstar LA Knight defeated Cameron Grimes on this week’s episode of NXT to retain his Million Dollar Championship. With Knight winning the match during the Great American Bash, he now has the services of Grimes as a ‘butler’ for the foreseeable future.

It appears as though WWE will be looking to have elements of the original angle between Ted DiBiase and Virgil, with the man now know for liking his ‘F*CK MONEY’ turning on DiBiase and becoming a big star for a very short time.

LA Knight revealed the plans he has for Cameron Grimes after NXT aired on the WWE YouTube channel. “I’m the Million Dollar mega star and now I have help. I got my own help,” LA Knight began when talking to cameras backstage at the Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, Florida.

LA Knight on Cameron Grimes

“The clause in the contract says that I have to give him a day to gather his stuff before he can come over [to my house] to do stuff for me” Knight continued.

“Well, Cameron, I hope you got your plunger, toilet brush and all the plumbing gear you need, because I got some toilets for you to clean” the Million Dollar Champion continued.

“I got some cars for you to clean and some meals for you to cook for me. I got an expensive chef but now I have free help, and I love it” LA Knight then concluded.

It is not confirmed exactly how long this angle is expected to go on for, but it looks as if we’re in for the long haul on this one.

NXT UK’s Candy Floss recently took to Twitter to release a statement about difficulties she has had to endure following the #SpeakingOut movement. Without naming anyone, Floss noted that rumors regarding her relationship spread around the wrestling industry following the onset of the movement. This led to Progress Wrestling hiring an independent investigator to look into claims regarding her partner.

“After the Speaking Out movement, concerns and rumors about my relationship with my partner started to make their way around the wrestling industry,” she begins her statement with.

“Earlier this year, these rumors found their way to wrestling promotions. Progress Wrestling paid for an independent safeguarding consultant and former police officer to conduct a thorough investigation. The case was closed months ago as it was found that everything was absolutely fine, and the whistleblower was informed of this.”

Candy Floss would then say that some people continued to spread rumors despite the investigation by an independent safeguarding consultant.

“I’ve seen a wrestler who has made a name for themselves over the last year by being very vocal about change and things being done properly gossiping about these rumors on a fan Discord server, when we’ve never even met.”

She continued to say that the rumors have cost her partner bookings as well.

“There have even been promotions that contacted the safeguarding consultant, were given the results of the investigation and were so impressed that they actually asked to employ her, but still unbooked my partner.”

Her statement continued to say that even though people say “Believe Victims” her experience is that it’s only “Believe victims until they say they’re not a victim and everything’s fine, then just don’t listen to them.”

“The Speaking Out Movement revealed so many problems and started a much needed conversation,” she concludes her statement with. “But it’s not a conversation if you’re not listening.”

Adam Cole is a name that is always brought up whenever there is talk about potential NXT call-ups. With the WWE drafts expected to take place next month, there is a good chance that he will be moved to the main roster.

The former NXT champion recently had an interview with Talk Sport. He talked about a number of things and also commented on the possibility.

Adam Cole said that he is flattered by the fans who want to see him in Raw or SmackDown. However, he explained that he wants to stay in NXT because there is still a lot for him to do in the brand:

“There is so much to do. I find it so flattering that there are people that want to see Adam Cole on Raw or SmackDown so, so badly. But then there’s another group that’s like no, I want him to stay in NXT.”

Cole said that there are many talents in the Raw and SmackDonwn rosters who he wants to face but he explained there is also plenty of stuff he still wants to do in the black and yellow brand:

“Then of course with RAW or SmackDown there’s a bunch of talent that I haven’t had the chance to wrestle yet that I would love to as well. So it’s exciting, but there is definitely plenty for me to do in NXT yet.”

• Adam Cole On How The Undisputed Era Would Do On The Main Roster

Adam Cole later expanded on his comments saying that he is not saying that he doesn’t want to go to the main roster. He is not dragging his feet by any means and instead he is just waiting.

Apart from this, the former Undisputed Era leader detailed the things he still wants to do in NXT including winning the NXT title once again and more. You can check out his full interview at this link.

WWE has announced that the NXT champion Karrion Kross will come face-to-face with Johnny Gargano at the NXT Great American Bash this Tuesday.

Gargano expressed the desire to have a confrontation with the fellow NXT star on Twitter. He mentioned how his rival tried to hit him with a car last week and promised to ‘smack the taste outta’ of the NXT champion’s mouth.

Kross accepted this invitation with a tweet of his own. He told Johnny that it was time to cool off his mouth and compared the former champion to ‘ the bugs that crawl in and out of dog crap’:

Both the NXT GM William Regal and special enforcer Samoa Joe also reacted to this news on Twitter. You can check out the exchange among these four below:

Great American Bash: Updated Card

• NXT Champion Karrion Kross coming face to face with Johnny Gargano
• Championship Cypher hosted by North American Champion Isaiah “Swerve” Scott and Hit Row
• NXT Tag Team Championship Match: MSK vs. Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher
• NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai and Zoey Stark
• Singles Match: Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly

NXT’s Great American Bash is scheduled to take place from the Capitol Wrestling Center on this Tuesday, July 6. Below is the updated card for the show after the latest addition:

NXT superstar Adam Cole was a guest recently on After the Bell with Corey Graves. The duo talked about the legendary PPV’s of old, and their recent resurgence under NXT, including the Great American Bash. However, it was another iconic event that dominated the conversation.

During their conversation they discussed the iconic Hell in a Cell structure and its legacy within WWE. Cole was quick to volunteer for a match inside the steel structure.

“I really really want to wrestle in a Hell in a Cell someday, cause I’m an absolute maniac.” Adam Cole said eagerly.

A wrestler like Cole could certainly put on quite a show in that structure. When asked who he would most want to face, he was also quick to answer. Giving two names, one past and one present who he would love to square off against.

 “In a perfect world, if past, present or future doesn’t matter, me vs. Shawn Michaels is the one I would love. If I’m picking current guys to possibly face right now, I’m going to go Kyle O’Reilly, I am. I feel like if I beat Kyle O’Reilly in Hell in a Cell, it’s over. Then I can move on, go back to going after the NXT Championship, then I can move on. Either Shawn Michaels or Kyle O’Reilly.”

I think there could be no denying that either match would be fantastic, and Adam Cole would be a perfect partner for Shawn Michaels in his prime. However, after their unsanctioned match at Stand and Deliver, a Hell in a Cell match between Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly would be something special.

Ever since debuting on NXT, Adam Cole has been a superstar on the rise. In Japan, he was part of one of the most dominant factions in wrestling. Coming to NXT, he recreated the same dominance with his new faction, Undisputed Era.

Talking during a recent interview with Talk Sport, Adam Cole discussed how surprised he was when it was announced that the group would be disbanded.

“It wasn’t this thing that we were preparing for, it was something that fell into our laps. We had very little time to process it or think about it.” Adam Cole said before addressing the question of whether it was the right thing to do or not.

“It’s never going to feel – especially when you have the chemistry we had – it’s never going to feel like the perfect time. However, I do think development wise for all of us individually, it’s been really, really important. I had the time of my life in the Undisputed Era – I really, really did – but I do think it was a good call.”

During their run in NXT, Adam Cole and Undisputed Era held 6 championships between them. They also won multiple NXT end of year awards, including best Tag Team for three consecutive years.

After almost 4 years of dominance, the group disbanded in April 2021. Roderick Strong has moved on to be the leader of the Diamond Mine. The other members, however, have continued as singles competitors.

Adam Cole is set to renew his rivalry with Kyle O’Reilly at the upcoming NXT Great American Bash PPV. This will be their first meeting since O’Reilly emerged victorious in their unsanctioned match at Stand and Deliver.

After NXT ratings dropped for their mid-week show, WWE made the decision to move to the Tuesday night slot. Ending the Wednesday night wars between the WWE’s black and gold brand and AEW Dynamite. While an unofficial ratings war, AEW emerged victorious.

When NXT moved to a Tuesday night, initial numbers looked good. While the move was seen initially as a good thing for the brand, the numbers now tell a different story.

However, looking back at the weeks since Wrestlemania 37, things are not looking great for the NXT Ratings. Recent figures show that ratings have dropped steadily each week since April. This week’s episode of NXT was a record low for the brand since the move pulling in just 636,000 viewers and a .13 rating in the all-important 18-48 demographic.

• Apr. 13: 805,000 / .22
• Apr. 20: 841,000 / .23
• Apr. 27: 744,000 / .22
• May 4: 761,000 / .18
• May 11 – 697K / .17
• May 18 – 700K / .15
• May 25 – 698K / .13
• June 1 – 668K / .19
• June 8 – 669K / .20
• June 15 – 695K / .19
• June 22 – 665K / .17
• June 29 – 636K / .13

The NXT ratings have arguably suffered in recent weeks as a result of the NBA playoffs, and the show will undoubtedly be hoping to turn things around in their go-home episode ahead of the next PPV.

However, WWE will be hoping that NXT ratings will improve with a solid Great American Bash pay-per-view later this month. A few matches have already been announced for the show, with Adam Cole vs Kyle O’Reilly currently the most anticipated match on the card.

NXT star Mercedes Martinez apparently suffered a concussion during her tag team match on this Tuesday’s episode of the Black and Yellow brand.

Dave Meltzer talked about the female star on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio. He revealed that the veteran wrestler suffered a concussion during her match on the show

Mercedes Martinez teamed up with Jake Atlas to face Xia Li and Boa in a mixed tag match on the show. However, the bout couldn’t reach its planned ending.

The NXT star got knocked out halfway through the bout thanks to a roundhouse kick from Lee. She started bleeding from her mouth and went down, forcing the referee to stop the bout. The match was then called off due to referee stoppage.

The team of Xia Li and Boa were declared the winners. Martinez was taken to a hospital for further checkup but the good news for fans is that she was doing better by the next morning.

Neither WWE nor the female star herself has commented on her health as of now. There is no word yet on if she will miss any ring time due to the injury. We will keep you posted on her status.

• WWE NXT Results (6/29): Triple Threat Match, Face-Off, Title Change

Bea Priestley has signed with WWE. She is headed to the NXT UK brand where she will go by the name Blair Davenport. Last week on NXT UK, a woman named Blair Davenport signed an NXT UK contract only her face was not shown. Another video aired this week and this one showed that Blair Davenport is Bea Priestley.

“I have wrestled all around the world, I have sacrificed everything to get to where I am today. I have given up friends, I have given up family, to master what I do. Did you really think that I wouldn’t end up a part of the greatest women’s division on Earth? Blair Davenport has arrived in NXT UK.”

Before signing with WWE, Priestley was with World Wonder Ring Stardom from 2017 to 2021. She also was briefly part of Will Ospreay’s United Empire faction in New Japan Pro Wrestling before she was kicked out of the faction in rather dramatic style. Ospreay gave his partner the Oz-cutter, something some fans were upset about.

Will Ospreay On Giving Bea Priestley the Oz-Cutter

In an interview with the Two Man Power trip earlier this year, Ospreay explained that it was Priestley’s idea to take the move.

“I understand the triggering that can have with a lot of people, but people need to realize that me and Bea are still together, said Ospreay (transcriptions via Fightful). “Everyone realizes this, right? She’s just gone home. She realized she was done and going home. Her idea is, ‘what better way to send a message than driving home the fact that you will do anything to take the IWGP World Heavyweight Title?’”

“It was her idea to take the Os-cutter. She put herself forward for that. She’s a pro wrestler and a very very good pro wrestler. The fact that she was willing to take a bullet for me, I can’t say enough good things about her. A lot of people were obviously annoyed by it, but people need to remember that there is talking between us and nothing is done without the other person knowing,”

Former NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed seems to be one of the prospects WWE is eying for a move to main roster during the upcoming drafts.

The NXT star recently appeared on El Brunch de WWE where among other things, he also shared his thoughts on a potential move to Raw or SmackDown.

Reed was asked which brand he would like to join if the company does decide to bring him up. Replying to it, the former champion picked up the blue brand as his preferred destination:

“That’s a tough choice, I think both [RAW & SmackDown] have benefits but if I had to choose, if I had to leave the black and gold NXT, I’d probably say the blue brand. I would say Friday Night SmackDown.”

• Potential Draft Plans For Big E After WWE SummerSlam

Bronson Reed also discussed his experience of working WWE Main Event. He mentioned how he got to wrestle Drew Gulak during the bout and said that it was an opportunity to get more eyes on him:

“I feel great, I think it’s another opportunity to get more eyes on ‘The Colossal’ Bronson Reed. So I got to wrestle Drew Gulak and I hit my Tsunami Splash and beat him, one, two, three, so feeling very happy about it.”

Another NXT star WWE officials seem to be interested in bringing up is the NXT champion, Karrion Kross. You can check out the latest backstage news on potential future plans for both these names here.