We had a solid NXT show last week, but no indication of the championship scenes. Does that change this week?

As the fallout of TakeOver XXV continues, how is the NXT Universe getting ready for the future?

NXT Championship: I had a whole big complaint about it being two weeks without any word from the new NXT Champion OR the former champ, but it looks like that’ll be fixed NEXT week!

NXT North American Championship: So, Dream is looking for a new opponent, but there doesn’t seem to be any hint of who would be stepping up to try and take the title from him.

NXT Women’s Division: What a match! That match brought back a lot of memories of the REAL Four Horsewomen’s run in NXT. I loved that LeRae and Shirai got to show what legit badasses they are! Duke and Shafir have improved a little, but they are still rough to watch. The brawl between Shirai and Baszler was fabulous, as was the brawl between LeRae, Duke, and Shafir. Give me Shirai and LeRae as no fucks given tweeners, Triple H!

I also love that we’re getting a steel cage match for the Women’s title in two weeks. I don’t know if that’s ever been done in NXT and I can’t wait to see it!

I’ve been very vocal about how much I like Aliyah and I love her partnership with Vanessa Borne, but what the hell are they thinking picking a fight with Mia Yim?! I’m fully on board with Aliyah getting more screen time than she has been getting, but doing it this way is stupid and cringe-worthy, especially saying stuff like Yim is illiterate and offering her a book on how to speak English. Seriously, be better than this, guys.

NXT Tag Team Division: There’s nothing worse than a sore loser to ruin a great match. The match between the Bald Brawlers and Undisputed Era was FABULOUS and really makes a case for both teams getting a crack at the Street Profits down the road. The intrusion of Ryker from Forgotten Sons wasn’t a total shock, but it also seemed very strange. Also, does that mean UE are faces now? I guess we’ll find out next week when Cole comes back but that was an odd way to end that match.

Drew Gulak vs KUSHIDA: Well, it was put up or shut up for Drew Gulak and he got shut up, big time. There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a jackass have to eat his words. All that gloating aside, that was a really good submission match, but I’m a little disappointed that it seemed so short, but I think it was more about making KUSHIDA look good than anything else. I did appreciate Gulak’s sportsmanship, even though it seemed quite reluctant.

Overall Thoughts: So, how was NXT this week? It was pretty good. It was still a pretty light episode as the first couple of weeks after a TakeOver usually are, but there were definitely ducks being put into place for the show going forward.

I LOVED the Women’s Tag Match. I loved LeRae and Shirai showing what badasses they are and I can’t wait for that cage match in two weeks.

Gulak vs KUSHIDA was good, but it seemed awfully short, but it seems KUSHIDA is being groomed for the title, probably against Cole, down the road, so he needed to look really strong.

I loved the tag team match, but the ending was confusing and my biggest question is: Did Undisputed Era just turn face or is it just Strong and O’Reilly? Guess we’ll see next week when Cole comes back.

That’s it for Tiffany’s NXT Takes! Tune in on Monday as we take on the go-home show for Stomping Grounds!