The August 26, 2020 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
WWE NXT Results (8/26)
- Breezango def. Imperium to win NXT Tag Team Titles
- Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jake Atlas ends in No Contest
- Shotzi Blackheart def. Mia Yim
- Santos Escobar def. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott to retain NXT Cruiserweight Title
- Kyle O’Reilly def. Drake Maverick
- Dakota Kai & Raquel González def. Io Shirai & Rhea Ripley
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Karrion Kross & Scarlett Kicked It Off, But Said Goodbye To NXT Title
Karrion Kross & Scarlett opened the show with an in-ring promo. Kross was wearing a sling.
Of course, Kross is coming off his biggest win thus far in his career under the WWE NXT banner as he dethroned Keith Lee to win the NXT Title this past Saturday night at NXT TakeOver: XXX. However, in the process, Kross suffered a shoulder injury.
Kross said that he warned everyone and it happened, he kept good on his word when he ripped the NXT Title from Lee’s hands. He said that when you go to war, you should casualties on all sides. He said that his shoulder is separated and he’s in pain, but he enjoys it.
He said that he’s a realist and there’s no way that WWE will allow him to defend the title. He said that the obstacles in his way are part of the path. Kross put the title down and said that this is a warning as it changes nothing.
He said that everyone will pay the toll and god help the person who is champion. Thus, he has given up the title.
Later in the show, William Regal announced that there will be a 60 Minute Iron Man Fatal 4-Way Match to determine the new NXT Champion on next week’s show. Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Balor vs. Tommaso Ciampa is booked.
WWE NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Imperium put the NXT Tag Team Titles on the line against Breezango in what seems to be a feud that will not end. However, Fandango did earn the title shot.
Cruiserweight Championship Match
After weeks and weeks of build, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott finally got his shot at the Cruiserweight Championship from Santos Escobar.
This was a solid match as both guys worked hard to put on a compelling story. The finish was interesting as Scott was close to winning the title. However, Escobar put on his old mask and hit a headbutt to score the pinfall.
Their history goes back quite some time as Scott defeated Escobar earlier this year in NXT’s Cruiserweight Title Tournament.
What’s more interesting is that Scott is the only person who’s beaten Escobar in WWE. Scott almost got another win over Escobar just last week in a six-man tag match, but failed to do so.
Tommaso Ciampa Returns
After being crushed by Karrion Kross at the NXT TakeOver: In Your House event, Tommaso Ciampa had been kept off television. That all changed on Wednesday’s episode of NXT.
Ciampa did so when he took on Jake Atlas in a singles match. He destroyed the poor guy and controlled the entire match.
He took him outside of the ring for further damage that led to him getting stretchered out, but Ciampa added insult to injury when he hit a DDT off the stretcher. There was no winner.
This was a good showing for Ciampa, who is apparently going back to his old ways.
Io Shirai & Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai & Raquel González
NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai & Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai & Raquel González was booked in a tag team match. It actually served as the main event.
This match came after Saturday’s NXT TakeOver: XXX event where Shirai retained her NXT Women’s Championship against Kai. Post-match, Gonzalez attacked Shirai until Ripley made the save. After Gonzalez and Kai backed away, Ripley took a look at Shirai and her title belt before leaving.
At the end of the match, Mercedes Martinez took out Ripley on the outside. However, she managed to get the tag from Io, but wasn’t 100%. Raquel hit a power slam to Ripley for the win.
With Raquel getting the pinfall, we might see her in the title picture whether that’s her being at Kai’s side again or challenging for the title again. Meanwhile, Ripley is going to want to get revenge on Martinez for that interference.