WWE NXT 2.0 - 5 biggest news stories: Former World Champion appears, Dusty Tag Team Classic final revealed
WWE NXT 2.0 was live this week on the Syfy channel in the United States due to the 2022 Winter Olympics from China taking place on the USA Network.
There were certainly high stakes in this episode, as the NXT Women's Championship was being defended by Mandy Rose, plus two Men's Dusty Classic semi-final matches, took place to determine who would advance to the final.
The broadcast was the go-home show before the Vengeance Day special that will take place next Tuesday, which will also air on Syfy. A number of matches have already been set, including Carmelo Hayes defending the North American Championship against Cameron Grimes.
Also scheduled for Vengeance Day is Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne) defending the NXT Women's Tag Team Titles against Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta.
Last week's offering produced 619,000 viewers on the USA Network, according to Showbuzzdaily.com, which was an increase from 593,000 the week prior. The company were certainly hoping to capitalize on the momentum leading into the huge Valentine's special next week.
That being said, let's take a look at the five biggest stories from this week's episode of NXT 2.0
#5 Mandy Rose retains the NXT Women's Championship, but Toxic Attraction are chased off by Io Shirai
.@WWE_MandyRose retains the gold! #WWENXT
#NXTWomensTitle @Kay_Lee_Ray https://t.co/fuTnWns7jH
The main event on NXT 2.0 this week saw "The Baddest B*tch in the Game" Mandy Rose defend her NXT Women's Championship for the first time since January 4 against Kay Lee Ray.
Kay Lee Ray, a former UK Women's Champion, was looking to add another accolade to her resume, however, it appeared that she would be up against the odds as Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne were ready to join Rose for the contest. But, Indi Hartwell & Persia Pirotta both took them down backstage, leaving Rose alone in her quest to retain her title.
Just when it appeared Kay Lee Ray was about to dethrone the champion, Dolin and Jayne reappeared to interfere, allowing Rose the golden opportunity to retain. She did so using the running knee, following it up by pinning the Scottish superstar.
After the contest, Toxic Attraction was ready to give Kay Lee Ray a post-match beating, though, Io Shirai appeared to chase them off and protect the fallen challenger from further damage.
Mandy Rose's reign continues and there's no sign of her reign ending any time soon, especially with Dolin and Jayne around.