NXT Results: Controversial finish to title match; Former IMPACT Wrestling Champion makes TV debut
Tonight's NXT had promised two Tag Team Championship matches. Unfortunately due to an injury to Wes Lee of MSK, the NXT Tag Team Titles were off the card. The WWE Women's Tag Team Champions though, did show up to face Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez.
Finn Balor's issues with The Undisputed Era continued, this time with Roderick Strong wanting a piece of The Prince. They delivered in an excellent main event ahead of a title bout next week. A former IMPACT Wrestling World Champion also made his first official TV appearance inside a NXT ring tonight.
While we didn't get that NXT Tag Team Title Match, the champs were in action tonight. One-Two, The Brit-Am Brawlers, whatever you want to call them, faced off against Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa in the opening contest. It was every bit as brutal as a fan would want.
Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch vs Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher on NXT
Timothy Thatcher hooked up with Danny Burch. The Thatch-as-Thatch-Can instructor seemed to hold the upper hand over the veteran in the early goings of this match. Burch evened things up with some right hands as we got to see a brief brawling trade between the two.
Tommaso Ciampa and Oney Lorcan tagged in, with Lorcan pelting the former NXT Champion with some nasty uppercuts. A back elbow rocked Lorcan and set him up for a running knee that launched him into the barricade. Thatcher laid out Burch with a running uppercut, and Ciampa was able to turn Lorcan inside out with a lariat.
Thatcher tagged in, leading to a great flapjack/uppercut combo from him and Ciampa. However, a devastating lariat by the Guvnor of NXT nearly decapitated Thatcher. Everything stopped as the former Evolve Champion rolled to the floor gripping his neck, with Ciampa and the referee looking over him as we cut to the commercial.
When we returned, Thatcher was in significant trouble as Lorcan had him locked in a single leg Boston Crab. Thatcher broke away from the NXT Tag Team Champions and made it to Ciampa, who came in like a house on fire. Lorcan and Burch struggled to keep up as The Psycho Killer hammered them both with running clotheslines.
Thatcher followed up with a series of uppercuts to Burch. A half-hatch suplex dropped Burch as Thatcher locked in a sleeper hold. Lorcan kicked Thatcher in the jaw, but he didn't break the hold. Thatcher and Ciampa beat the champs in tandem before the former NXT Champion applauded his partner for his grit.
Lorcan saved Thatcher from a German and knocked Ciampa off the mat. One-Two's Elevated Impaler DDT was blocked, leading to a fantastic and hard-hitting four-way brawl. Imperium appeared on the stage, distracting Ciampa and Thatcher long enough for the former Evolve Champion to be dropped with that Impaler DDT.
Results: Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch defeated Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: A
It wasn't the tag team match we were hoping to see with MSK, but this ended up being a stellar surprise.