WWE NXT Results (April 8th, 2020): Winners, Grades, Video Highlights and more
Tonight's episode of NXT gave us a couple of the TakeOver matches the WWE Universe was robbed off thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. The epic tale of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa would finally end, as the former best friends would battle one last time. Triple H revealed weeks ago that once they finished tonight, it was over, or both of them would be fired from the company.
We kicked off the night with the six-woman ladder match to determine Charlotte Flair's #1 contender. Over the course of February and March, Tegan Nox, Chelsea Green, Mia Yim, Candice LeRae, and Io Shirai earned their way into the bout in qualifying matches. The sixth, and final competitor, Dakota Kai, won a gauntlet match recently, knocking off Shotzi Blackheart who'd eliminated the rest of the competition in that bout, all losers of the said qualifying matches.
Which Superstar would find herself standing across Charlotte Flair in the near future?
NXT Six-Woman Ladder Match: Io Shirai vs Tegan Nox vs Chelsea Green vs Mia Yim vs Dakota Kai vs Candice LeRae
The six competitors broke off into three pairs attempting to eliminate one another early before Dakota Kai snuck up behind the others, ending up being the only one left standing at the beginning of the match. Raquel Gonzalez aimed to bring the ladder in, but LeRae and Yim dropkicked it into Kai's hired hand.
Yim, LeRae, and Nox took turns lighting up Kai. All three women have had serious problems with Kai in recent months, and this seemed a bit cathartic. Chelsea Green attempted to interrupt, but would be rocked by some stiff shots from the trio for her trouble.
Io Shirai, however, was able to take them out, rocking LeRae and Nox with a missile dropkick before dumping Yim to the floor. She didn't waste any time, and brought in a ladder to end the bout early. LeRae put a stop to it, leading to a moment where both women attempted to drop one another on the steel.
Chelsea Green rushed in, dropping both women on the ladder with a pair of bulldogs. Nox and Kai finally butted heads, trading stiff headbuts, uppercuts, and boots. Kai's pump kick was blocked and she was rocked with a nasty European uppercut before getting planted with a chokeslam.
As Green attempted to slide a ladder in, Nox caught it and sent her into the barricade. LeRae and Nox tried to make their way to the top, but a momentary distraction allowed the rest of the competitors to roll in. It was a back and forth battle between all six, ending with Yim dropping LeRae with Sole Food as everyone else was sent to the floor.
Green rushed Yim for a pump kick, but Yim dodged, inadvertently trapping Green's knee in the ladder. A chair shot seemingly eliminated her from the match, as her knee was cracked between the steel. Shirai connected with a running dropkick and launched Yim face first into the ladder with a slingshot.
As she ran up the ladder, Raquel Gonzalez entered the fray, sending the ladder over. Shirai landed on the top rope, turning it into a dive to the outside where she landed on Nox, LeRae, and Kai.
Gonzalez continued to stalk the area as Robert Stone tried to assist Chelsea Green. A table ad been set up while we were away for a commercial break. Gonzalez attempted to carry Kai to the top herself, but the HBIC put a stop to it. Gonzalez lifted Yim in the turnbuckle for a nasty head crank, but Yim escaped, attempting to powerbomb her through the table on the outside.
Tegan Nox assisted, making it a chokeslam/powerbomb combo. Yim fell through with Gonzalez while Kai kicked Nox's head off, sending her through a ladder on the outside. Kai and LeRae battled atop the ladder for the briefcase before getting taken out by Io Shirai.
LeRae responded with a German suplex that spiked Shirai on her neck. This left everyone out while Robert Stone pushed Chelsea Green into the ring. He motivated her as she attempted to push herself to the top.
Stone ran in to help her up the ladder. As they both stood at the top, Shirai and LeRae knocked it over, sending them both to the floor below. It came down, again, to Shirai and LeRae. Shirai raked LeRae's eyes before sending her crashing into a ladder set up in the turnbuckle.
With that, Io Shirai won the ladder match, thus becoming the #1 contender to Charlotte Flair's NXT Women's Championship.
Results: Io Shirai is the new #1 contender.
Grade: A
Next up, Finn Balor would address the situation between the NXT UK Champion WALTER and himself.