Match #3 is a Triple Threat Match for the NXT Women’s Championship: Ruby Riot vs. Nikki Cross vs. NXT Women’s Champion Asuka
Nikki launches her jacket at Ruby, the bell rings and she knocks Riot to the outside, turns her attention to the champion, sends her to the ropes and Asuka knocks Ruby back to the floor. The Empress of Tomorrow ducks a clothesline, takes down Nikki with a hip attack, plays to the crowd, turns around and Nikki tackles her, firing away with forearms. She drags Asuka back up, The Empress of Tomorrow tosses her to the outside, Ruby climbs to the apron, kicks Nikki back down the floor, then squares off with the champion. Collar & elbow tie-up, Asuka rolls Riot away with an arm drag and hits the ropes, they collide shoulders with neither gaining the advantage, Ruby hits the ropes to try again, but gets the same result. She goes back to the well and Asuka follows her in for a misdirection, Ruby sees it coming, surprises her with schoolboy for 1, looks to shoot the champion into the corner, but it’s reversed.

The Empress of Tomorrow charges in and gets elevated over the top, lands on her feet on the apron, Riot clocks her with a forearm and the champion spills to the floor. Ruby lines up for an outside dive, Nikki slides in, cuts her off with a right hand, dumps Riot to the floor and tries to send her into the steel steps. Ruby hops on top of them, leaps off with a fist to the champion, Nikki clobbers Riot from behind and we see Ember Moon watching on a monitor in the back. Nikki tosses Ruby into the squared circle and heads in, drives her head-first off the top turnbuckle, buries headbutts to the midsection in the corner, then grinds her forearm in Riot’s face. Nikki scores with a straight-jacket neckbreaker, Asuka heads upstairs behind her, takes out Nikki with a missile dropkick and splashes on top of Ruby in the process. Riot rolls to the outside, The Empress of Tomorrow with a flurry of kicks to Nikki, measures for a roundhouse kick to the head, Nikki ducks it, grabs a handful of hair for a neckbreaker and gains a count of 2.

Nikki laughs with joy and drags the champion back to her feet, Asuka surprises her with a spinning back kick to the abdomen, sends her out of the ring with a codebreaker, Ruby slides in and delivers kicks to the champion. Asuka blocks one, plants her with a powerbomb, hangs onto the foot and slaps on an ankle lock. Nikki comes in from behind, rakes the back to try and break the hold The Empress of Tomorrow maintains her grip, gets clocked by a forearm from behind, but makes Nikki pay with a kick to the chest. Nikki scurries to the apron and the champion goes after her, Riot grabs her from behind, rolls Asuka up for a near fall, gets sent into Nikki off the kick-out and Ruby is dropped by a forearm. The champion goes after Nikki and gets dumped to the floor, Nikki turns her attention to Ruby, starts toying with her and Riot fights back with chops.

She starts to build momentum with a clothesline then a back elbow, follows with a dropkick, Asuka rolls back in, tries to send her head-first into the top turnbuckle, but it’s blocked and the champion hits it instead. Ruby to the 2nd rope, comes off with a hurricanrana, rushes Nikki in the corner, Nikki tries to elevate her over the top, Riot hooks her by the head using her feet, then drives Nikki face-first into the 2nd turnbuckle. The Empress of Tomorrow kicks away at Ruby to take her out at the leg, misses a clothesline on Nikki and gets dropped to the floor, Nikki steps out to the apron, jumps off and eats a knee to the jaw. Riot watches from the ring, hits the ropes and flies outside with a suicide dive on the champion, rolls Nikki into the squared circle, then climbs to the top rope for a senton. She makes a cover, the champion slides in to break the count at 2, plants Ruby with a bridging german suplex for a near fall, turns to Nikki and looks to deck her with a spinning back fist.

Nikki blocks it, plants her with a arm-hooked neckbreaker for a 2 count, Ruby staggers to her feet and Nikki jumps on her back for a sleeper hold. Asuka rises back up, hooks Nikki for a german suplex, Riot delivers a superkick, the champion plants Nikki into the mat, but gets cracked by a roundhouse kick from Ruby. She ascends the corner to the top rope again, this time misses the senton, The Empress of Tomorrow grabs her in the Asuka-Lock, Nikki climbs to the top rope and delivers a splash to break the hold. Riot rolls to the apron, Nikki steps out and hits her with a falling reverse DDT, the champion tries to surprise her with a baseball slide, Nikki pulls up the ring apron, traps her and unloads with a flurry of blows.

She drags Asuka into the ring and props her on the top turnbuckle, plants her with a rope-assisted neckbreaker, hooks the leg and Ruby just barely makes it in to break the count at 2. Nikki gets angered and charges Riot, both ladies go for a crossbody and collide in mid-air, Asuka staggering to her feet. Nikki & Ruby clothesline her over the top, Nikki with a quick roll-up on Riot for 2, Ruby comes back with her own roll-up for a near fall, then sets for the Swinging Fisherman Neckbreaker. Ruby avoids it and connects with enzuigiri, makes a cover, Asuka rolls back in, hits the ropes for a sliding knee to break the count at 2, covers both challengers and retains.
Winner and STILL NXT Women’s Champion Asuka (Sliding Knee)

• EA’s Take: For me, this match was all about seeing more out of Nikki and Ruby than anything else. I’m not quite on the ‘Ruby Riot Train’ and have yet to understand her appeal outside of her very unique look. She seems to be pretty crisp inside the ring which is why I think we’re seeing so much of her so quickly, but I have a hard time believing that her look would get over on the main roster. She fits in with the NXT crowd which is primarily composed of smart, indy wrestling watching marks, but it’s going to be hard for her with a mainstream audience. I never expected Asuka to lose here once Ember Moon was taken out of the match and I don’t see anyone beating her outside of Ember. That is the big match for your Women’s Division, so anything less wouldn’t do.

Video: The Velveteen Dream…coming soon.

Match #4 for the NXT Championship: Hideo Itami vs. NXT Champion ‘The Glorious’ Bobby Roode
Collar & elbow lock-up to start, the champion backs Itami to the ropes and breaks clean, hits a ‘Glorious’ pose, Hideo lifts him up for the Go To Sleep, but Roode quickly slips away to the outside to take a walk. The Glorious One steps back in, ducks a tie-up for a side headlock, the challenger sends him away to the ropes, but gets knocked down by a shoulder block. Bobby goes back to the ropes, Hideo pops up with a back elbow for a 1 count, hooks on a side headlock of his own and brings the champion to the mat. The Glorious One finds his footing, backs the challenger to the corner, buries shoulders to the breadbasket, fires away with a chop that’s off-target and Itami unloads with stinging chops of his own. He shoots Roode to the ropes for a knee to the abdomen, follows with a kick to the back, connects with a soccer kick to the chest, snapmares him over and delivers multiple knee drops.

Itami fakes another, mule kicks The Glorious One, mocks him with a ‘Glorious’ pose, then catches Bobby with another knee to the midsection. He corners the champion and buries fists to the ribs, irish whip across is reversed, the champion charges in, eats a boot to the jaw and Hideo hooks him for a tornado DDT. Roode powers his way out of it, clobbers Itami with a back elbow, comes off the 2nd rope with a blockbuster, hooks the leg and gets a count of 2. He begins to pummel the challenger with right hands and boots, chokes him using the middle rope, kicks it into Hideo’s throat, then lights him up with heavy shots in the corner. The Glorious One whips Itami from corner-to-corner and follows in with clotheslines, plants him with a neckbreaker for a 2 count, then looks to wear the challenger down with a chinlock.

Hideo makes it back to his feet and hits the ropes, Roode cuts him off with a knee to the gut, sets for another neckbreaker, Itami counters with a backslide and almost steals it. Both guys back up quick, the champion flattens Hideo with a clothesline, starts toying with the challenger, Itami smacks him with a slap to the face, Bobby coming back with a big boot. The challenger absorbs it and scores with a series of kicks, hits the ropes, The Glorious One misses with a clothesline, Hideo levels him with a shotgun kick, pulls himself to his feet in the corner and starts to build momentum with clotheslines. He unleashes a flurry of blistering kicks, tosses the champion with a snap suplex, irish whip to the corner is reversed, Itami catches Roode charging in with a boot to the jaw, then goes to the 2nd rope and drops him throat-first across the top. Hideo heads to the high-rent district, scores with a flying clothesline for a near fall, calls for the Go To Sleep, The Glorious One fights it off, then shoves him sternum-first into the turnbuckles.

The champion rushes in for a shoulder to the ribs, Itami side-steps it, Roode hits the steel post instead and the challenger focuses on the shoulder with kicks. The Glorious One ducks under one for a schoolboy, his arm gives out on his, Hideo quickly slaps on a fujiwara armbar, but Bobby slips out of it. He ducks a roundhouse kick and tries for the Glorious DDT, the challenger drives him into the turnbuckles to avoid it, props the champion on the top and climbs up for a superplex. The Glorious One fights Hideo off, comes off the 2nd rope for another blockbuster, Itami avoids it, delivers a falcon arrow and hooks both legs, but still can’t finish it. The challenger goes back to work on the shoulder with stiff kicks in the corner, the referee backs him off, Hideo builds a head of steam, charges in, gets surprised by a spinebuster, but Roode only gets 2 off of it.

He calls for the Glorious DDT, can’t lift the challenger, Itami picks him up for the Go To Sleep, but Bobby grabs the ropes to block it and escapes to the apron. He catches Hideo with a hot shot, drags him outside, deposits Itami into the barricade, then looks to send him into the ring steps. The challenger turns the table, drives Roode into the steel shoulder-first, measures him for a Hesitation Dropkick into the steps, but The Glorious One avoids it. The official steps out to the floor to check on both competitors, heads into the squared circle and starts his count, the champion staggering back in. Hideo makes it inside at a count of 7, Roode looks displeased, they trade-off blows and Hideo sends Bobby to the corner with a barrage of strikes. Itami crushes the champion with a Hesitation Dropkick, wants to finish it with a Go To Sleep, his knee gives out, Roode spikes him with the Glorious DDT, but the challenger barely kicks out at 2.

The Glorious One very frustrated now, tries to haul Hideo back up, gets surprised by the Go To Sleep, but the champion spills to the outside. Itami heads out to retrieve him, rolls into a cover for a near fall, drags The Glorious One up for another Go To Sleep, but Bobby slips over for a sunset flip. Hideo blocks and drops down on top of him for a count of 2, both guys pop back up quick, the champion looks for another Glorious DDT, Itami counters out, clocks The Glorious One with open-hand slaps, then exposes his knee for another Go To Sleep. Roode lands on his feet, delivers a Glorious DDT, hangs on and spikes Itami with another, then covers for the 1-2-3.
Winner and STILL NXT Champion: ‘The Glorious’ Bobby Roode (Glorious DDT)

• EA’s Take: Yet another great match, these two veterans giving you the definition of a slow-building match that leads to a high to finish it off. I never really thought of Hideo as an actual threat to the title since he’s been injured for basically the last two years, especially with this supposedly being “Roode’s NXT” now. It was a great way to approach the angle with Roode referring to Itami as a leftover from the previous NXT, which isn’t entirely false. Personally, I don’t see how WWE brass could trust Hideo with the NXT Title and he’s never had a shot at it, so I think it was smart to stick him in this spot while some other things get built for Roode. Personally, I’d put Itami in the Cruiserweight Division. I see that being where he can make the biggest impact on the main roster and at this point, he’s in his late-30’s and I’d be trying to get him up as quickly as possible to that the investment in him wasn’t a complete failure.

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