5 things WWE NXT got right this week: Bron Breakker seemingly injured; Nikkita Lyons shines
Tensions ran high on WWE NXT a week before the Great American Bash. The creative team was looking to find some challengers for the current champions while building up the existing rivalries.
Cameron Grimes and Bron Breakker were scheduled to face off during the show. Meanwhile, Nikkita Lyons returned to face Mandy Rose in one of the most high-profile matches of the night.
The Diamond Mine suffered a setback during their contest against Joe Gacy & The Dyad. During the show, Sanga also made a statement as he defeated Xyon Quinn in a one-on-one match.
Pretty Deadly interrupted Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen’s NXT UK Tag Team Title celebration and emerged as their first challengers. The latter is a good team but could have been built up more before they became champions. However, the two men could lose the titles to the talented Pretty Deadly in the coming weeks.
There were a few big matches and segments that helped build toward the Great American Bash. Take a look at the five things WWE NXT got right on this week’s show.
#5. Toxic Attraction found their challengers for The Great American Bash
Kayden Carter & Katana Chance faced off against Cora Jade & Roxanne Perez in a #1 contenders match for the WWE NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship. Jade took control of the match early and pushed Carter to the limits.
Chance tagged in and was isolated by Jade and Perez for some time. The two continued to stay on top of the competition and countered their opponent’s comebacks.
Carter and Chance came back with some double-team moves and built momentum. They locked Perez in a couple of painful submission moves before she finally reversed one.
After the two teams hit some good moves, Jade saved Perez from an elevated 450 splash, setting up Perez to hit Pop Rox for the win. It was a decent match that crowned the right team as the titles' next challengers.
While Chance and Carter are the better and more established tag teams on the roster, Jade and Perez have the fans behind them. They will likely give Toxic Attraction a run for their money at the Great American Bash. NXT could even look to make the titles change hands at the event.
#4. Giovanni Vinci impressed in his match against Ikemen Jiro
Former Imperium member Fabian Aichner was repackaged as Giovanni Vinci by WWE NXT a few weeks ago. After making an impressive re-debut against Guru Raaj, Vinci faced Japanese superstar Ikemen Jiro on this week’s show.
Jiro was no match for Vinci’s power and athleticism. He did get some moves early in the match, but Giovanni took him down and dominated the contest. He caught him with an impressive springboard tornado DDT before going for the kill. The former Imperium member hit a massive powerbomb to pick up another easy win.
The match was nothing more than a squash, but it did give Vinci the screen time he needed. NXT should book him against a few bigger men to showcase his strength further.
Vinci was impressive during his time with Imperium. However, the singles push could help the former Evolve Champion become a major player on the brand. The 31-year-old has already shown that he is among the most powerful men in the company today.
After the match, Giovanni Vinci claimed that there could be no Great American Bash without him. Will he crash a match to make a statement at next week's show?
#3. Roderick Strong cost Diamond Mine their match on WWE NXT
Roderick Strong & The Creed Brothers took on Joe Gacy and The Dyad on this week’s WWE NXT. The two teams were looking to make a statement on the show.
Strong took control of the match against Gacy before being isolated in The Dyad’s corner. The Creed Brothers beat down one of the Dyad before Gacy called him out of the ring for a talk.
The Dyad took control of the match from thereon and hit some excellent moves to target The Creed Brothers. Brutus Creed took a DDT from Gacy and was isolated for some time. Gacy hit him with a slam and nearly picked up the win.
Julius finally got the hot tag and took out the three men with some big blows. He was setting up for his finisher, but Roderick forced a tag. The Diamond Mine got into an argument, allowing The Dyad to hit a double-team move on Strong for the win.
NXT has been teasing a split between Diamond Mine for some time now. The match helped escalate their problems and created more issues for The Creed Brothers.
The NXT Tag Team Champions will likely be challenged by The Dyad sooner rather than later. This could result in a title change due to misunderstandings within the group.
#2. Nikkita Lyons proved to be a decent challenger for Mandy Rose
Mandy Rose was challenged to a match by Nikkita Lyons on WWE NXT. Toxic Attraction was ringside to help Rose out during the contest.
Lyons used her strength to fight out of Rose’s offense and threw her into the turnbuckles. She followed it up with a big splash to put the NXT Women’s Champion on the backfoot. Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne dragged Rose outside the ring to protect her.
Lyon stayed on top and hit Rose with a few big moves before locking in a submission maneuver. She hit Rose with a splash in the corner before getting a nearfall off a German suplex.
Dolin and Jayne got involved before Jade & Perez came out to take them down. The match ended in a disqualification after a brawl broke out. It was a decent contest that Mandy Rose primarily carried out. She sold Lyons’ moves well and helped put her on top.
Meanwhile, Nikkita Lyons still has to improve in the ring. She had to keep repeating her moves to take the match forward and could not sell very well. However, she seems like the perfect challenger for Rose and her title.
#1. Cameron Grimes took a cheap shot at Bron Breakker before their title match
Cameron Grimes and Bron Breakker came out for the final segment of WWE NXT. Wade Barrett hosted the face-off between the NXT Champion and his challenger for the Great American Bash.
Grimes started by accusing Breakker of taking shortcuts to reach the top. The NXT Champion hit back and said he was much better than The Technical Savage in everything he did.
Bron lost his cool after Grimes brought up his father. He attacked Grimes, but the latter moved away and sent the champion into the turnbuckle shoulder-first twice.
Medics and referees had to check on Breakker, who seemed to be injured by Grimes’ actions. It looks like The Richest Man in NXT had a plan coming into the segment. He has a greater chance of defeating Breakker now that he’s not in his best state.
Cameron Grimes is a veteran who can make any story work with his skills. WWE hasn’t turned him full heel yet, so he could continue playing a babyface after his match at the Great American Bash.