The August 31, 2021 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
- Sarray def. Mandy Rose via countout.
- Kyle O’Reilly def. Duke Hudson.
- Imperium def Drake Maverick & Grayson Waller
- LA Knight def. Johnny Gargano.
- Raquel Gonzalez def. Jessi Kamea
- Roderick Strong def. Ikemen Jiro.
- Tommaso Ciampa def. Ridge Holland.
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Sarray vs. Mandy Rose
Sarray vs. Mandy Rose opened this episode of NXT. The match was controlled by Rose for the majority of the time. Rose got hit with a double drop kick and she walked to the backstage area while having a towel over her face. Sarray won via double count out.
Last week, Rose aligned with Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne as she offered to take them under her wing after they lost a tag team match against Kayden Carter & Kacy Catanzaro.
Rose made her return to NXT this past Jily where she scouted a match between Sarray and Dolin. Before the return, Rose had been part of a tag team with Dana Brooke on Raw. On the flip side, Sarray was last in action on NXT three weeks ago where she lost to Dakota Kai.
Samoa Joe Takes A Seat
Wade Barrett hosted a sit-down interview with NXT Champion Samoa Joe. This came just a few weeks after Joe beat Karrion Kross at NXT TakeOver 36 to win the title.
Last week, Joe welcomed all challengers as the likes of Pete Dunne, LA Knight, and Kyle O’Reilly made their cases as to why they should get the next title shot.
In this interview, Joe stated he plans to dominate his opponents and wants to establish what it means to be NXT Champion. This started before he became champion, but rather coming back. He said he was at the talent tryouts in Las Vegas then straight back to Florida on a red eye and tired while challenging for the title.
He said he needed to win the title because the precedent needed to be set. He said the legacy of the title and those who have held it before him is important. The path that he goes is the way that all future champions will follow him. He wants to know who will step up.
Ilja Dragunov Returns
Ilja Dragunov made his first appearance as NXT United Kingdom Champion on this show.
Ilja cut a promo in the ring about how he’s looking for someone with passion, soul and struggle to take away the title from him. He said the ring general has fallen and long live the Czar.
Dragunov defeated WALTER to win the NXT United Kingdom Championship at TakeOver 36. Dragunov is the fourth-ever NXT United Kingdom Champion as Tyler Bate, Pete Dunne, and WALTER previously held the title.
WALTER held the title for 870 days. Dragunov had two matches on NXT leading up to the title match where he lost to Pete Dunne and beat Roderick Strong.
Duke Hudson vs. Kyle O’Reilly
WWE booked Duke Hudson vs. Kyle O’Reilly in a singles match.
This was a short hard-hitting match that saw Hudson get some offense and looked impressive even if it was against O’Reilly, who can make anyone look good. Hudson got a near fall spot with a belly-to-belly suplex.
In the end, O’Reilly won with a leg submission.
Ridge Holland vs. Tommaso Ciampa
Ridge Holland and Tommaso Ciampa ended up working a singles match on this show.
Just last week, Holland beat Ciampa’s tag team partner, Timothy Thatcher, in a singles match. After the match, a brawl broke out with Ciampa and Thatcher being left lying thanks to Danny Burch and Pete Dunne. Thatcher is out of action indefinitely following Holland’s attack.
The match was saved for last and it didn’t disappoint. Holland continued to show off and had a good performance as he dominated the majority of it with Ciampa fighting back. Ciampa went over. Post-match, the heels beat down Ciampa until MSK came out to make the save.
Roderick Strong vs. Ikemen Jiro
Roderick Strong vs. Ikemen Jiro was made after Jiro accepted the open challenge issued by Strong over the past few days.
Jiro put up a good fight, but Strong put him away pretty quickly.
Strong was supposed to challenge for Kushida’s NXT Cruiserweight Championship two weeks ago. However, it was announced that Kushida wasn’t cleared to compete and there’s still no word yet on when it will happen. On that episode, Strong instead issued an open challenge and lost to NXT UK Champ Ilja Dragunov.
On the flip side, Jiro has been a regular on 205 Live since signing with WWE last December. He also worked the NXT Breakout Tournament.
Johnny Gargano vs. LA Knight
Johnny Gargano vs. LA Knight did not end up being the main event of this show. Instead, it kicked off the second hour.
The match was back and forth. It ended with Knight hitting the BFT thanks to an accidental distraction by Lumis.
Knight had just finished up a program with Cameron Grimes and Ted DiBiase at NXT TakeOver 36 where he dropped the Million Dollar Title. Gargano had been in a feud with Dexter Lumis and even though he won the Love Her or Leave Her Match, Lumis is slated to have a storyline wedding with Indie Heartwell.