The July 27, 2021 episode of WWE NXT aired live on Syfy from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
- Pete Dunne and Oney Lorcan def. Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa.
- NXT Breakout Tournament, First Round: Carmelo Hayes def. Josh Briggs.
- Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro def. Jessi Kamea and Franky Monet.
- Imperium’s Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner def. Hit Row
- Adam Cole def. Bronson Reed.
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Tag Team Match Action
Pete Dunne and Oney Lorcan defeated Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa in a tag team match on this show.
The match opened the show. Ridge Holland returned from injury to help Dunne and Lorcan beat Thatcher and Ciampa with a distraction. Post-match, the heels beat down the babyfaces.
Holland was involved in the main event angle of NXT TakeOver 31 last year when he attacked Cole backstage as a way of a storyline where it was said that Pat McAfee hired Holland to attack Cole.
Plans were put on hold when Holland got injured and had to undergo surgery after being injured when catching Oney Lorcan on a dive. Holland suffered a left ankle dislocation and fracture and a right knee patellar dislocation and patellar tendon rupture.
TakeOver Main Event
Last week, NXT Champion Karrion Kross continued his feud with Samoa Joe by attacking NXT General Manager William Regal. Two weeks ago, Kross retained the title over Johnny Gargano but choked out Joe, who was the referee for the match, afterward.
Joe came out to the ring. He set up a table and a chair. He said that he could bark about Kross, but he knows Kross is too much of a coward to be in the building tonight. He asked Regal to come out to the ring. Joe said that he can see Regal’s anger and what Kross did was wrong. He knew Regal would fire Kross, but he had a better solution.
Joe said that he has a way to help all of their needs. Joe quit his position as the enforcer for Regal. He wanted Regal to reinstate him as part of the active roster in NXT. Regal signed both papers. Joe had a third contract and that was for himself vs. Kross at TakeOver 36. Regal signed that as well.
Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai Split
There was a segment with NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai. This opened the second hour. Raquel said all of the challengers have come and fallen. Kai said Raquel is the most dominant woman in NXT history. Kai said Raquel has beaten former champions and the list will go on and on.
The segment ended when Kai turned on her and laid her out from behind with a kick. Kai threw the title on Raquel and left the ring.
Gonzalez had just beaten Xia Li on last week’s episode of NXT in the main event to retain her title. She’s been paired with Kai for the majority of her time on the main roster. It is looking like a match between these two stars will be booked for TakeOver.
More Tag Action
There was a tag team match that saw Imperium’s Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner defeat Hit Row’s “Top Dolla” AJ Francis and Ashante “Thee” Adonis when Legado del Fantasma distracted Hit Row.
Marcel and Fabian had the majority of the offense. Adonis sold throughout until Top Dolla got the hot tag. Dolla hit a big elbow drop to Fabian for a near fall.
Towards the end of the match, El Hijo del Fantasma came out, but Top Dolla took them out. This led to Imperium hitting a powerbomb to Adonis. Post-match, El Hijo del Fantasma took out the babyfaces. Isaiah Scott cleared the ring with a chair.
Main Event
WWE saved a big match for last as Adam Cole battled Bronson Reed in a match between two former North American Champions.
In the end, it was Cole going over in about a 10 minute match. Post-match, Kyle O’Reilly attacked Cole with a steel chair.
Cole and O’Reilly have been feuding for the past several months with all indications that they will settle the score at TakeOver 36 in August.