There was triumph and heartbreak felt at TakeOver!

NXT is still trying to calm down from the history made by Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez as well as the shock of Adam Cole SUPERKICKING Kyle O’Reilly!!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon VS The Way’s Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell; Blackheart & Moon win.
• Isaiah “Swerve” Scott VS Leon Ruff; Ruff wins.
• Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter VS Jessi Kamea & Aliyah w/ Robert Stone; Catanzaro & Carter win.
• Tyler Rust w/ Malcolm Bivens VS KUSHIDA; Kushida wins.
• Zoey Stark VS Valentina Feroz; Stark wins.
• Six Man Tag: Finn Balor, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly VS The Kings of NXT; The Kings of NXT win.

PLAY BY PLAY

Kyle O’Reilly goes to the ring!

No music, no introductions, he just wants a mic. “You all saw what happened Sunday at TakeOver. I keep replaying the moment over and over in my head in my head, trying to make sense of it, but I can’t.” Kyle is shocked, confused, pissed off and disappointed. The Undisputed Era was supposed to be unlike every other group that ever came and went in the business. They were special and you ruined that for all of us, Adam Cole. Cole kicked Kyle in the face but stabbed him in the back. The thing is, Cole is still Kyle’s brother, and so that is why he’s giving Cole the benefit of the doubt. Kyle needs Cole to come out and explain himself. And when it’s done, Kyle might punch Cole in the face, but he’s willing to hear Cole out.

Kyle waits, and the UE music plays for Cole’s entrance. Wait, no, it’s Roderick Strong coming out! The UE IS special! But Kyle, they both know Adam. Strong is speaking for himself, he says Cole did that out of emotion. But right now, in this moment, Strong knows Cole regrets it. Kyle doesn’t need Strong to say it! He needs Cole to say it! Stop wasting everyone’s time! Strong and Kyle argue but Kyle tells Strong to stay out of the ring. Not that Kyle doesn’t trust Strong, but maybe it is! Kyle doesn’t know who to trust! Kyle says it one more time: He doesn’t need to hear Strong’s BS, he needs COLE to be here! “Adam Cole, get your ass out here!!”

But instead, it’s Finn Balor who makes his way out! Kyle is angry because he’s not here for Finn, but Finn is angry because he IS here for Kyle. If Kyle wants Cole, he has to get in line behind Finn! Finn and Kyle have business to address. On Sunday, Kyle offered Finn a hand in friendship. Finn shouldn’t have accepted but he did, and then we saw what happened! Strong defends Kyle to Finn, Kyle had nothing to do with what Cole did. But then wait! The Kings of NXT attack! They throw Finn and Strong around, then Kyle goes out to get mugged by them, too! The brawl is all over ringside but the referees hurry out to stop it! But they can’t, The Kings of NXT just blow past them to go after Finn, Kyle and Strong!

Fans boo as Dunne, Oney and Burch finally let off, only for Dunne to go after Finn again! Dunne finally stops stomping the NXT Champion to leave with the NXT Tag Team Champions. Will they all be back for more soon enough? And what about Adam Cole’s explanation?

William Regal has an update on tonight’s match card.

He received a message from Santos Escobar: Escobar was to be in a match with Kross, and Kross made threats to Escobar, but no one threatens Escobar. Escobar says he will… GO HOME! The NXT Cruiserweight Champion won’t do this on Regal’s time but his own! Regal says the match won’t happen this week, but it will happen next week. And though the title is not on the line, if Escobar stays away again, he will be suspended AND stripped of the championship! As for tonight’s new main event, it will be a Six Man Tag! Finn Balor, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly will take on the Kings of NXT to settle the scrap we just saw!

Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon VS The Way’s Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell!

Johnny Gargano accompanies Mrs. Wrestling & Indi to the ring, and they all have missing person posters for Austin Theory, because no one has seen or heard from him since TakeOver! Is there no way for The Way to focus with a part of their family missing?

Gargano also joins commentary to say there is an ATAPB, Austin Theory All Points Bulletin. The teams sort out, Shotzi and Candice start, and Shotzi dodges Candice to shotgun dropkick her down! Shotzi runs in to corner clothesline, tags in Ember, and Ember runs in to back body block! Tag back to Shotzi, Ember runs side to side to dropkick Candice! Shotzi runs side to side to WRECK Candice with a dropkick! The Way is reeling as NXT goes picture in picture.

Ember throws Candice back in for Shotzi, cover, TWO! Shotzi keeps on Candice with clubbing forearms, then brings her around to tag in Ember. They mug Candice, Ember drags Candice up and snap suplexes, una amiga! Ember snap suplexes again for dos amigas, then covers, TWO! Ember keeps on Candice with another facelock but Candice shoves her away. Candice runs back to her corner to tag in Indi, so Shotzi tags back in. They tie up, Shotzi wants a leg but Indi holds her off with a gut wrench. Shotzi rolls Indi to a cover, TWO! Shotzi keeps Indi down with a facelock, clubbing forearms, and then brings her over to tag in Ember. Ember rolls Indi, TWO!

Indi crawls away and tags in Candice. Ember dares Candice to bring it, and then dodges her to waistlock and throw her around. Tag to Shotzi, Ember whips Candice for Shotzi’s sweep, then Ember adds a basement dropkick! Shotzi runs to drop an elbow and cover, TWO! Gargano gets worried on commentary as Shotzi puts on a headlock. Candice pulls hair and powers Shotzi to a corner, but lets off as the ref counts. Candice RAMS into Shotzi, and again, and again! Candice digs her shoulder in, lets off as the ref counts, then snapmares Shotzi to neck snap! Cover, TWO! Candice keeps on Shotzi, tags in Indi, and The Way stomps her at the ropes.

Indi drags Shotzi from the ropes to stomp the legs, then covers, TWO! Indi keeps her eyes on Ember, has Shotzi at the ropes, but Shotzi hits back with body shots. Indi clubs Shotzi, tags Candice, and Candice runs in to back elbow Shotzi in the corner. Tag back to Indi as NXT returns to single picture, and Indi scoops. Shotzi slips off and shoves Indi to ropes. Candice runs in but Shotzi shoves her to ropes, too! Shotzi tags Ember and the two coordinate, BALL PIT ENZIGURI COMBO! Then a KNEE for Indi! Ember slingshot SPLASHES, covers, TWO! Ember drags Indi up, tags in Shotzi, and they mug “Indi Freakin’ Wrestling.” Gargano claims there was a semifinal screwjob as Shotzi covers, TWO!

Shotzi tags Ember back in, they coordinate again, and Ember wrenches Indi to feed to Shotzi’s HANGING HEADSCISSOR! Candice CLOBBERS Shotzi on the outside, Indi BOOTS Ember down! Tag to Candice and she hurries to cover Ember, TWO! Candice facelocks Ember and grinds her down, but Ember endures as fans rally up. But wait, there’s a van pulling in outside? A familiar white van… Candice and The Way see it on screen, and Ember back drops but Candice sunset flips! TWO, Candice CLOBBERS Ember! Cover, TWO! Candice kicks Ember, Ember shoves back. Candice DECKS Ember, stomps away on her at the ropes, then tags in Indi.

Indi drags Ember up, brings Ember around to whip and CLOBBER her! Cover, TWO! Indi grows frustrated, she drags Ember up but Ember hits back. Indi bumps Ember off buckles, RAMS shoulders into her over and over, then hoists her up to a fireman’s carry. Ember slips off, shoves Indi to the corner, but Indi catches up to Ember for a SIDEWALK SLAM! Cover, TWO! Indi drags Ember away, tags Candice, and Candice stomps Ember down! Candice drops down on Ember, then stands on Ember’s back. Candice grabs the arms and pulls Ember back into a half surfboard. Fans taunt The Way with “Where is Theory?” but Gargano tells Indi to ignore them.

Ember endures and fights her way up but Candice throws her down by her arms! Candice whips Ember into the corner, tags to Indi, but Ember fights back! Indi kicks and ROCKS and CLUBS Ember, then stomps her to the corner. Ember fights back again with big forearms, but Indi smothers Ember to whip her to the apron. Indi EuroUppers Ember in the ropes, tags Candice and then BOOTS Ember to the floor! Candice goes out to springboard CROSSBODY Ember down! But back to that van, Gargano is getting annoyed that it’s just idling outside. Gargano leaves commentary to go investigate, and NXT goes to break.

NXT returns and Ember enziguris Candice away! Hot tags to Indi and Shotzi! Shotzi enziguris Indi to a corner! Shotzi runs in, blocks the boot and elbows Indi down! Shotzi rolls and comes back, SHINING WIZARD! Shotzi snapmares Indi to hit a SLING-DOG! Cover, TWO! Shotzi is after Indi’s arms, and gets CATTLE MUTILATION! Indi endures, Candice gives Shotzi a step-up senton! Ember gets in, blocks Candice’s kick to get her with a half hatch suplex! Indi hits a SPINEBUSTER on Ember! Shotzi hits a ROLLING ELBOW, but Indi comes back with a LARIAT! All four women are down, and Gargano has found the van!

Gargano shouts for Theory but is anyone even in this van? There isn’t a driver so who brought it here?! Back to the match, Shotzi and Indi rise, and Indi brings Shotzi over. Tag to Candice, Indi chicken wings Shotzi for a GLAM SLAM! Not the prettiest, but Candice adds on with a SUPERKICK! Cover, TWO!! Shotzi survives and fans fire up! Candice brings Shotzi up, Shotzi jawbreakers free! Tag to Ember, Shotzi fireman’s carries Candice, but Indi runs in! Shotzi uses Candice’s boots against Indi, then hits the swinging STUNNER, and Ember gut wrenches for the AK CODE BREAKER! Cover, TWO!! Candice survives and fans fire up again!

Shotzi and Ember coordinate and go to opposite corners. They climb up, but The Way trip them each up! Tag to Indi and Candice hurries up top. Indi sets Ember up, but Gargano has FOUND Theory! What is he wearing? Ember gets Indi with a roll up and bridge! Ember and Shotzi win!!

Winners: Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon, by pinfall

The Way is 0-2 against the wild child and Shenom, but they don’t even seem to care because at least they have Theory back! Will Shotzi and Ember move on towards bigger and better things? Will The Way make sure Dexter Lumis does not get away with what he did to Theory?

NXT hears from Pat McAfee.

“Hello, Internet Wrestling Community. It’s your favorite wrestler of all time,” on his plane to travel to warmer climates. But he says we finally saw what he’s known all along: We were bamboozled that Adam Cole “protecting wrestling” form McAfee was a scumbag all along! And McAfee knows fans are way too dumb to know that so he is here to tell us all. #PatWasRight, and Cole will be a bum while McAfee will always be the greatest thing to happen to wrestling. He’s going to go get some sun and some Mai Thais while all the fans stay stuck inside like a bunch of bums.

Backstage interview with Kushida.

The Time Splitter is in the trainer’s room after the epic match with Johnny Gargano. What are his thoughts about his NXT North American Championship match at TakeOver? Kushida says it was an honor to compete at TakeOver, but he’s not done with Gargano or the North American title. Bronson Reed walks over and asks if Kushida is alright. He is. Good, because Kushida had one hell of a match at TakeOver. And while Bronson knows Kushida isn’t done with Gargano, Bronson isn’t, either. Bronson wants another shot at the North American title, and if it comes down to him and Kushida, Bronson will cross that bridge when they get there. For now, heal up and get better. They fist bump, and Bronson takes his leave.

But also in the trainer’s room, as if waiting for this moment, is Malcolm Bivens! He wonders what Kushida is doing here. Bivens is a big fan, Kushida was very impressive going 25 minutes with Gargano. But do you know what would be even more impressive? Competing here tonight! And Bivens has the perfect opponent in mind! Bivens asks the trainer if Kushida is medically cleared for tonight. He is. Then Bivens is very excited to talk with Mr. Regal about his match idea. Is Bivens trying to serve up a banged up Kushida to his client for an easy win?

Isaiah “Swerve” Scott VS Leon Ruff!

The Capital Wrestling Center again becomes Swerve’s House as the contender’s race continues! But will Swerve have a rough go of handling Ruff, who is just as hungry for another shot of gold?

The bell rings and the two circle. Ruff and Swerve tie up, Swerve puts Ruff in a corner but lets off as the ref counts. Swerve fakes Ruff out and then laughs at him. Swerve puts up his dukes and dares Ruff to take a shot. Ruff starts swinging but Swerve starts weaving, then he gets Ruff in a elbow ‘n’ collar. Ruff uses that to arm-drag Swerve, then arm-drag again! Ruff runs in but Swerve dodges, only for Ruff to land on ropes and go up and over! Swerve avoids the arm-drag to have another little laugh. Swerve rolls, brings Ruff up and whips him to a corner, but Ruff goes up and out and ROCKS Swerve! Ruff goes up, around, under and dropkicks Swerve to the corner, then arm-drags again!

Ruff clamps onto the arm as fans fire up, and he cranks on the shoulder. Swerve scuffs Ruff and gets to his feet. Ruff forearms and whips but Swerve reverses. Ruff dodges but runs into a JUMPING KNEE! Swerve drags Ruff up, POWER BREAKER! Ruff writhes and Swerve swaggers about. Swerve runs around the world to dropkick Ruff out of the ring! Ruff flounders around, Swerve aims from the apron, and Swerve BOOTS Ruff back down! Swerve smirks as he drags Ruff up and puts him in the ring. Cover, TWO! Swerve slaps Ruff around, sits him up and reels him in for a body scissors! Swerve hooks Ruff’s face but the ref reprimands.

Swerve squeezes tight, Ruff elbows at the leg, then CHOPS Swerve! And CHOPS again! Swerve shoves Ruff away and taunts Ruff. Ruff throws body shots, some chops, but Swerve CHOPS Ruff back! Swerve full nelsons, Ruff breaks it and elbows back hard! Ruff kicks low, throws forearms, then starts rallying! Ruff whips, Swerve reverses but Ruff twists to rebound and LARIAT! Ruff headlocks, Swerve powers out of the bulldog but Ruff goes up for a FLYING CUTTER! Cover, ROPEBREAK! Ruff goes to the corner again, climbs up, but Swerve yanks him back. Ruff throws forearms, Swerve throws body shots! Swerve is seething but Ruff throws more forearms!

Swerve shoves Ruff, fakes him out to kick out the legs, but Ruff avoids the House Call to DOUBLE STOMP Swerve down! Fans fire up but Swerve grits his teeth as he CLOBBERS Ruff! Swerve whips, reels Ruff in, but Ruff rolls up and around to a crucifix takedown! Cover, RUFF WINS!!

Winner: Leon Ruff, by pinfall

Swerve is shocked that he got caught! Swerve manages to smile and laugh it off, perhaps impressed that Ruff got the better of him. They shake hands, but then Swerve DECKS Ruff! Swerve rains down fists and stomps away on Ruff, and fans boo how sore of a loser he’s being! Swerve drags Ruff up because he’s not done with him. Swerve drags Ruff up by his face to a fireman’s carry, and gives him a CORNER DEATH VALLEY! “I’m tired of you getting handed everything, while I’ve gotta scratch and claw for everything!” Swerve says this isn’t just his house, this is his time! What will Swerve do to get what he wants?

Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter VS Jessi Kamea & Aliyah w/ Robert Stone!

KC Squared are back to not just rebound from their loss in the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Classic, but the loss of their friend, Xia Li, to the dark side that is Tian Sha. Will they be able to break through against the Robert Stone Brand and worry about Xia later?

The teams sort out and Kacy starts with Jessi. They circle, approach, and Kacy gets around to waistlock. Jessi throws Kacy off and then taunts little Kacy. Kacy tries a toehold but Jessi stays standing. Jessi drags Kacy up to reel her in, but Kacy slips out of the bomb lift to arm-drag Jessi to the corner! Kacy storms over, tags in Kayden, and KC Squared whip Jessi into the ropes! KC Squared to the apron to DOUBLE BOOT Jessi back in! Kayden covers, TWO! Kayden brings Jessi up but Jessi knees low and whips Kayden away. Kayden holds ropes, boots Jessi, then tags in Kacy. Kacy shoulders into Jessi, then uses her gymnastics to slingshot headscissor! Cover, TWO!

Kacy tags Kayden back in, but wait! Boa is lurking in the shadows! Jessi sucker punches Kayden, drags her away and tags in Aliyah. The Brand mug Kayden, then Aliyah fires off in the corner. Tag back to Jessi. they coordinate to wheelbarrow CUTTER! Cover, TWO! Jessi drags Kayden into a chinlock but Kayden rolls her off. Kayden hits a jawbreaker, then ROCKS Jessi with a right! Hot tags to Aliyah and Kacy! Kacy trips Aliyah, fires off in the corner, but Aliyah shoves her away. Kacy comes back to A-List Lariat! Then handspring AX KICK! Cover, TWO! Kacy tags Kayden in and they coordinate, NECKBREAKER SPLASH! Cover, KC Squared win!

Winners: Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter, by pinfall

But now Xia Li is on stage! She and Boa storm down to the ring, and Kayden is ready to fight! Kacy keeps Kayden calm and wants to talk to Xia. This doesn’t have to be this way! They’re just friends worried about her! But Xia grabs Kacy’s arm, to mark it with black ink! The same warning Xia and Boa were given! “Next week, I will hurt you!” Xia has given her former friends an ultimatum, what is going to happen to Kacy on behalf of Tian Sha?

Malcolm Bivens speaks.

“It has already been established that at TakeOver, Kushida was impressive. But do you know who is even more impressive? Tyler Rust.” Kushida is great but Rust is a superstar that only comes once in a generation. Kushida doesn’t have Rust’s determination or ambition. And Kushida may not be 100% but he’s cleared. Bivens says Rust will take good care of Kushida. Rust isn’t a rookie, he’s a #DiamondintheRust. But will Bivens’ client be able to take advantage of a sore Super Junior as easy as he thinks?

NXT returns and Beth Phoenix is in the ring!

She stands with THE Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic trophy as she quotes Dusty, “When you’re a walk-behinder, the view never changes.” What that means is that to be great, you have to take risks, step up, and lead. And we can all agree every single team in the Men’s and Women’s Dusty Cup tournaments did just that. Phoenix cues up the highlight reel of both tournaments from this year. Raquel Gonzalez was dominant and Dakota Kai was savvy, while MSK were surely #MustSeeKids. And in the end, in epic battles with equally impressive teams, history was made both ways! Kai & Gonzalez win the first-ever while Carter & Lee go 4-0 from debut to winners!

“Two tag teams stood head and shoulders above the rest,” so now we welcome out the winner of the 2021 Men’s Dusty Cup, MSK! Nash Carter & Wes Lee apologize to Beth but they need a moment. They run around and Carter says this is the best feeling ever! The trophy is so beautiful! They hug Beth, admire the boots and the plaque, and say they are THE 2021 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic CHAMPIONS! That feels good to say and great to hear! And what makes it even better is the opportunity they have. Carter tells Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan that on March 3rd, they will step in the ring with MSK with the NXT Tag Team Championships on the line!

Lee says that does feel good. But it’ll be even better when we hear… “AND NEW~ NXT Tag Team Champions…! M S K!!” Okay, back to you, Beth. Beth says that does sound great, but let’s all welcome two women who have etched their names in history for ever: The inaugural Women’s Dusty Cup winners, Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez! #CapKota and #BigMamiCool make their entrance and MSK are gentlemen enough to hold the ropes for them and hand over their mics. Beth welcomes them here and the fans chant, “You Deserve It!”

Beth asks how they’re feeling, and Dakota says they feel awesome! Crushing the competition always takes our breath away, but a moment like this is why they do this! And they were clearly the best tag team in the tournament by far! So it is no surprise that- Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax are here?! Well, as WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, they are allowed to be on any show they want. The Queen of Spades says, “Look! It’s Dakota Kai and Raquel. They just won the first-ever Women’s Dusty Cup. On that night, they were on the right side of history.” So now they get to face the women’s tag champs for the titles!

MSK again hold ropes as gentlemen as Nia and Shayna enter the ring. Nia and Shayna say on that night, Kai and Gonzalez will be on the wrong side of history. Dakota knows Raquel wasn’t here when these two were, here are introductions. Nia is big, and beats people up. And Shayna… Well she still has fans, apparently. Shayna ran away after Rhea beat her ass! Oh, the same Rhea that Raquel beat in a Last Woman Standing? Yep, one in the same! MSK has some popcorn to watch this one, and are sharing with Beth. Shayna says this is the same ol’ Dakota that cried and whined, scared of Shayna after she broke her arm.

Dakota smirks and says she’s not the same person she was then. But if Shayna wants to find out, Dakota will happily kick her head off! Raquel says it’s been a long time since Shayna left, and she doesn’t run this anymore! It’s Raquel and Dakota. And in two weeks, when they face off for those titles, they will make sure Nia & Shayna know that! Nia says they should all take it down a notch. This is really feisty right now. Nia just came here to honor the late, great Dusty Rhodes. Nia worked with Dusty while she was in NXT, and when she closes her eyes, she’ll never forget how he’d say, “Babay, you are one big, beautiful badass bitch.”

And Dusty was right: Nia is the biggest, baddest bitch. And Shayna and Nia are the most dominant force in all of the WWE. Raquel tells Nia that Dusty, God rest his soul, never got to meet Raquel! Oh? Well yeah, duh. Shayna says either way, in two weeks, March 3rd, the tag champs come to the challengers’ home turf to humiliate them! Double mic drop and the champs head out! But Raquel tells “hermana” Nia, “Be careful what you say.” Raquel is gonna take that silver boot and shove it up Nia’s hole! MSK is dead from that line! Will Ricky Desperado and Cobra Kai end the most dominant reign in the Women’s Tag Division? And what of MSK going after the One Two of Lorcan & Burch?

NXT Media spots Strong and Kyle arguing in the parking lot.

Clearly there’s a lot for the UE to sort out with Adam Cole and the main event tonight, but is this just going to add to the team falling apart?

NXT encores the Cameron Grimes Wrestle & Flow music video.

It’s still just as ridiculous as the first time. Will Grimes take them GameStonks #ToTheMoon? Oops! Grimes went and done wrecked his lambo! But that’s okay, he can just buy another!

NXT shares photos from after TakeOver.

Specifically, it was the post match photoshoot with Io Shirai, as she is still NXT Women’s Champion! But one of her challengers came back for revenge and it was Toni Storm! Toni BOOTS Shirai down, goes after her more, and referees hurry to pull her away! Is the Lightning From Down Under doing to strike twice and go after the Evil Genius again?

Tyler Rust w/ Malcolm Bivens VS KUSHIDA!

Bivens Enterprise’s best (and only) client is going to take on one of the best in the world, but while he’s not at his best! Will the damage done by Johnny Freakin’ TakeOver be too much for even Kushida to overcome?

The bell rings and fans are fired up already. Rust and Kushida circle, feel out the grapple, and tie up with knuckle locks. Rust rolls, gets a leg, and shifts. Kushida slips away and resets with Rust. They tie up again, Kushida gets an arm but Rust gets the ropebreak. Rust gives a swipe as the two break and go again. Kushida wants a leg but Rust backs away to a corner. Rust and Kushida circle, tie up, and Rust wrenches to a wristlock. Kushida rolls, wrenches back, but Rust spins and spins and rolls to wrench back. Kushida rolls with the momentum and he holds that elbow. Rust and Kushida go again and Kushida starts throwing big kicks!

Kushida leap son, body scissors and knuckle locks to then wrench Rust. Rust spins and slips around to get an arm-drag takedown. Kushida endures, fights up, works against the hold and hammerlocks Rust. Rust gets around to hammerlock back, but Kushida gets to the ropes. Kushida then waves Rust into the ropes and kicks the ropes to jam the arm! Bivens protests but Kushida and Rust tie up again. Rust headlocks, Kushida shifts to his own headlock, Rust powers out but Kushida handspring back elbows Rust down! Kushida hurries up to arm-drag Rust around but Rust headscissors. Kushida kips free, drops under the boot and double pump handles to the EuroClutch, TWO!

Kushida argues how close that was but Rust ROKCS him with that sucker punch! Rust throws EuroUppers, Bivens coaches him up, and Rust whips Kushida to ropes. Kushida holds ropes, boots Rust back and goes to the apron to enziguri back! Kushida has the arm, wrenches, and hotshots it! Rust clutches that elbow, Kushida climbs up top, but Rust trips him up! Kushida tumbles hard against buckles, Rust is right on him with an omoplata and armbar! Kushida endures, fights but Rust rolls him to body scissors. Rust has the sleeper, but Kushida has the ropebreak! The ref counts, Rust lets go and Kushida gets out, clutching his shoulders while NXT goes to break.

NXT returns and Rust grinds Kushida with a cravat. Fans rally up and Kushida fights out with body shots. Kushida arm-drags Rust, then hits an atomic drop to a whip. Hip toss and cartwheel to basement dropkick! FAST BALL! PENALTY- No, Rust dodges the kick but Kushida wrenches the arm to the ARMBAR BULLDOG! Bivens is panicking as Kushida drags Rust up. Kushida gives Rust Kowata Kicks, then reels him into underhooks. Rust resists but Kushida adds a hammerlock. Rust back drops free, Kushida staggers over into Rust’s BOOT! Rust reels Kushida into a sleeper, then shifts around to a guillotine, SNAP SUPLEX!

Rust AX KICKS the neck, covers, TWO! Kushida has the ghost pin, TWO! Rust switchblade kicks and BUZZSAWS Kushida down! Cover, TWO!! Kushida is still in this and Bivens is fuming! Rust grits his teeth as Bivens coaches him and fans rally for Kushida. Rust drags Kushida up to a waistlock dead lift, but Kushida elbows free! Kushida switches to lift but Rust resists. Kushida full nelsons, Rust breaks it, rolls, EuroClutch but Kushida switches it to his own! Rust makes it a REAR NAKED CHOKE! Kushida grabs at Rust’s hands but Rust clubs away with crossface forearms! GROUNDED BOW ‘N’ ARROW!? Kushida endures Rust’s innovation, and he shifts to a cover! TWO!!

Kushida dropkicks the arm! Rust swings but misses, PENALTY KICK! Kushida fires up, runs in, but Rust gets around to waistlock. The bad arm is no good, Kushida swings, but Rust fireman’s carries! Kushida wants the bad arm, Rust has to drop Kushida and Kushida drags Rust down to a mounted double wristlock! HOVERBOARD!! Bivens starts waving at the ref but Rust taps, Kushida wins!

Winner: Kushida, by submission

The Time Splitter wins but Bivens claims he was protecting his investment in Rust. Either way, Kushida wins, so how much better will he be back at 100%?

NXT Media catches up to LA Knight.

He asks what the hell they want, but then says while the cameras are here, he wants to speak. It was only a few days ago that Knight showed up at TakeOver to put NXT on its ear. With the signing of Knight, people are already wondering if he’s the greatest NXT star of all time. If you knock on his door again, he’ll knock your damn head off. But everyone who comes in as “the hottest free agent,” if they’re not Knight, they aren’t it. Knight is going to claim his perch, and who is gonna stop him? NOBODY! NXT already belongs to Knight. No one can take it from him, not because they’re not good, but because he won’t let you! It’s the Knight’s Game now!

Zoey Stark VS Valentina Feroz!

Though she didn’t get out of the first round of the Women’s Dusty Cup, the newest addition to the Women’s Division did impress. Now she has her 1v1 debut, will she impress even more with a win? Or will Feroz’s own debut overshadow Stark’s?

The bell rings, the two circle and tie up, and Stark waistlocks to a slam! Starks stays on Feroz with a facelock and hard snap suplex! Stark picks Feroz up to RAM her into the corner, stomps her then reels her in to CLOBBER her! Fans rally, Stark wrenches an arm but Feroz throws a forearm! Feroz uses ropes to flip through then she gets a headlock. Stark powers out but Feroz comes back to sunset flip! Stark stays up but Feroz avoids the stomp to kick Stark to the corner! Feroz fires up to judo throw Stark down and cover, ONE!! Feroz is furious, Stark throws big knees and clubs away on her as she fires up in return!

Stark drags Feroz up, suplexes, but Feroz slips off to shove her away. Feroz runs but into Stark’s arms for a SNAKE EYES! Stark SUPERKICKS Feroz and then reaches a boiling point. HALF ‘N’ HALF!! Feroz writhes, Stark runs and SLIDING KNEES Feroz back down! Stark grins as she looms over Feroz. Stark says this is done, and she hoists Feroz up for a flip and a knee, GO TO STARK! Cover, Stark wins!

Winner: Zoey Stark, by pinfall

Ferocious and without slowing down, Stark dominates in her singles debut! Will Stark storm up the ranks sooner rather than later?

Karrion Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux speak.

“You like to play games, Santos?” Playing with time is not Escobar’s forte. Escobar doesn’t have that power. “There is no pause button on this nightmare.” Kross tells Mr. Santos that his destiny has already been decided and there’s no going back. Escobar has a big decision. A) Escobar shows up next week, stands in the ring like he was supposed to, and Kross takes his arm to drive it through Escobar’s head. B) Escobar doesn’t show up, he loses his title, and then Kross still finds him to leave him wherever he finds him. There is on easy way out, just the hard way. Tick-tock. What happens when Escobar’s time is up?

Six Man Tag: Finn Balor, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly VS The Kings of NXT!

While the Prince and the Undisputed Era tried to sort things out, Pat McAfee’s boys pounced! But will the Bruiserweight and the BritAm Bruisers come to regret that move?

NXT returns once more, the teams sort out, and Kyle starts with Oney. They tie up, fans fire up already, and Oney puts Kyle in a corner. Kyle dodges Oney’s chops to fire off forearms! The ref counts, Oney turns things around but Kyle turns them right back around to fire off more! Oney headlocks, Kyle powers out but Oney runs him over! Things speed up and Kyle kitchen sink knees Oney down! Strong wants the tag but Kyle tags Finn! Finn and Kyle mug Oney, Finn wrenches Oney’s arm then tags Kyle back in. Kyle hops up and drops ax handles on Oney’s arm! Kyle wrenches the arm to elbow breaker, then he tags Finn back in. Finn hops up, he drops an ax handle now!

Finn wrenches Oney’s arm to drag him down as fans rally up. Oney fights up, Burch tags in, but Balor fights back! Finn snapmares Burch to the armlock and fans fire up. Burch fights up, Strong tags in and he goes after Burch. Strong wrenches to hit an elbow breaker! Burch endures, fights up, and pulls on Strong’s ear to put him on ropes. The ref counts, Burch lets off but Strong has to worry about Oney. Burch ROCKS Strong, tags in Dunne and Dunne wrenches Strong’s arm to twist the wrist and elbow! Dunne grinds the elbow into Strong’s shoulder, Strong gets up but Dunne wrangles him back down. Strong whips Dunne away to dropkick him down! Cover, TWO!

Strong keeps on Dunne, Dunne resists the lift to get the ropebreak. The ref counts, Strong lets go, Dunne DECKS him! Dunne drags Strong up but Strong CHOPS and CHOPS! Dunne throws Strong out, sucker punches Kyle, and then the tag champs pull steel steps apart! They throw the top half away and then go after Strong. Strong fights them off, the ref reprimands but Strong gets up to hotshot Dunne! Strong runs but into Dunn’s kick! Dunn brings Strong in but Strong slips out of the suplex to HALF NELSON BACKBRAEKER! Hot tag to Kyle and Oney! Kyle BOOTS Kyle, rallies with kicks, but Oney blocks to ROCK Kyle!

Tag to Burch, but Kyle dodges to fires off strikes! Leg sweep and Burch goes rolling away! Dunne tags in but Kyle gets the leg for a DRAPING DRAGON SCREW! Then DRAPING DRAGON SCREW to Oney! Kyle is on the apron, he leaps but Burch dodges and Dunne BLASTS Kyle with a forearm! The ref goes out to check on Kyle while NXT goes picture in picture.

Dunne stomps Kyle, the ref reprimands, and Dunne drags Kyle up and into the ring. Dunne has Kyle on the apron, wrenches the arm and pulls, but the ref counts. Dunne stops at 4, goes back in the ring and he wrenches Kyle’s arm around to pull on it from finger to elbow. Kyle endures, Dunne stomps him on the back! Dunne wrenches, tag sin Burch, and wrenches again to hand off to Burch. Burch hits the elbow breaker, then wrenches again to chinbar and wrangle Kyle down. Burch stomps the arm! Burch drags Kyle back up, tags in Oney, and they double wrench to double CHOP Kyle! Oney snap suplexes Kyle and covers, TWO! Oney gets in Strong’s face before going back to Kyle.

Oney drags Kyle up to CHOP him to the Kings’ corner. Tag to Burch, Burch brings Kyle around to throw EuroUppers, but Kyle hits back! Burch drop toeholds Kyle down and clamps onto the arm! Dunne tags in, he gets the legs and hooks those up to then go after Kyle’s arms. Kyle endures, Dunne digs knuckles into his ribs and shoulders to then STOMP both legs! Dunne clamps onto Kyle with a chinbar and cranks hard on the neck as NXT returns to single picture.

Fans are fired up as Kyle endures and Dunne pulls harder. Kyle fights up, throws body shots, but Dunne ROCKS him! Dunne sucker punches Finn and Strong, but Kyle gets Dunne with a DRAGON SCREW! Hot tag to Burch and he drags Kyle away to throw EuroUppers! Kyle counters to a backslide, TWO! Burch gets Kyle’s leg and drags him down to a HALF CRAB! Tag to Dunne, Dunne stomps Kyle back down! Dunne goes after Kyle’s legs again, ties them up then tags in Burch. Burch stomps Kyle, brings Kyle up and whips him corner to corner. Kyle boots back and throws an elbow, but DOUBLE CLOTHESLINES take both men down!

Fans fire up as Burch and Kyle slowly crawl. Hot tag to Dunne, and Dunne DECKS Strong! Dunne drags Kyle back by a foot for an ANKLE LOCK! Kyle flails, reaches, rolls and kicks Dunne away! Kyle kicks Dunn’s leg, Dunne ROCKS Kyle with a forearm! But Kyle yo-yos, dodges Dunne and tags in Finn! Finn rallies, Dunne reveres but Finn dropkicks the legs out! Finn CHOPS Dunne in the corner, Oney runs in but Finn trips and DOUBL ESTMOPS him! Finn goes after Burch, then he trips Dunne up! Dunne counters to a cradle, TWO! Dunne runs, Finn gets around, elbow drop DDT! Cover, Lorcan breaks it!

Strong throws Oney into Burch then WREWCKS them with a dropkick! Burch DECKS Strong, fans are thunderous and Finn drags Dunne up by his leg. But Dunne is after Finn’s fingers! Finn gets free but gets an ENZIGURI for it! Dunne pump handles, but no Bitter End as Finn facelocks. Dunne rams Finn into a corner but Finn BOOTS back, then SLINGBLADES! Finn takes aim from the corner, but Burch gets in with a title belt! The ref is busy going after Burch, Finn shotgun dropkicks Dunne into the ref! Finn DECKS Burch, climbs up top and aims at Dunne, but Adam Cole is here!! He SHOVES Finn into the ref! Fans boo but then Cole BOOTS Kyle down!

Cole drags Kyle over to the steel steps that the Kings set up, to BRAINBUSTER Kyle onto them!! Cole snarls as he storms off, but we still get no answers as to why! Oney crawls into the ring but Strong hurries after him! Oney has the belt but gets a STRONG KNEE! Strong has the belt, he goes over to Finn but Finn PELES out of instinct! Finn had no idea who it was, of course, but the damage is done! Dunne gets Finn with a BITTER END!! Cover, The Kings of NXT win!!

Winners: The Kings of NXT, by pinfall

The Bruiserweight finally pins the NXT Champion! But it was far from fair with everything going on! Is this still grounds for another battle between Finn and Dunne? And what does this mean for Cole’s friendship with Kyle and Strong? Wait, Cole returns to SUPERKICK Finn!! The Prince just got blindsided, and Cole stands over him and Kyle! Cole picks up the NXT Championship, because he clearly wants it back. Is Cole moving on from being undisputed to being the only one at the top?

My Thoughts:

This was a very intense episode and a great follow-up to TakeOver. I’m a little disappointed we didn’t get more out of Lumis abducting Theory, and that the white van pulling up overlapped with the tag match. I guess it was a way to keep The Way strong while losing to Shotzi & Ember, and it did save time on the episode, but I feel like we would’ve gotten a lot more fun if the tag match was allowed to end cleanly, and if we got messages from Lumis about where he put Theory and what he was doing to him. Lumis’ art skills should’ve been used to create illustrated ransom letters, where Lumis will return Theory only once Gargano gives him a North American Championship match.

The Dusty Cup Trophy Presentation being a segment tonight was interesting. The winning teams got to see the trophy during the entire tournament and at TakeOver, but I suppose pointing out the names on the plaque was kayfabe reason enough to have this happen. The real reason was to formally announce when the tag title matches would be happening, and to give us a great promo segment. It seems NXT is already planning counter programming for March 3rd, aka AEW’s go-home to Revolution. Two tag title matches in one night as just the beginning of the card is a great move either way, and the timing makes it clear why it’s happening.

Dakota and Raquel did great being Faces with Attitude, as they’d be the Faces by comparison against Nia & Shayna anyway. MSK also did a good job playing support to the women’s tag teams, Wes Lee’s reaction to the line about Nia’s hole was a great detail. KC Squared VS Robert Stone Brand was pretty good, and KC Squared wins to have momentum going into what I’m sure will be a series of matches with Xia Li. I still say this ends up with a tag match where “Tian Sha” has her in-ring debut, meaning Karen Q and Xia Li are going to be a tag team. Surely this all stems from the match we saw of Xia Li VS Karen Q back in the second Mae Young Classic, and I think they’re going to be a great addition to the Women’s Tag Division.

Swerve VS Ruff was good, and Ruff winning and Swerve being a sore loser, this is just the start of what already feels like a really good feud. Escobar basically chickening out of his match with Kross tonight is a bit lame but Kross has a good response promo. The one disappointment is that, at least to me, it feels like the only reason Escobar still has the belt right now is to use it against him in this story. And I noticed Curt Stallion’s feelings after losing were just a video on social media when they should’ve been aired somewhere on programming. I still say the title should’ve been handed off to Stallion while we have this Kross VS Escobar non-title story.

Bivens trying to take advantage of a less than 100% Kushida was very clever, and we got a great match between Kushida and Rust. I was a little confused at the end there but it seems Bivens threw in the towel without having a towel, but it also felt like he was trying to distract the ref so Rust’s tap-out wasn’t noticed and the match could continue. I’m thinking the Bivens-Rust story goes until Bivens gets fed up with Rust always falling short, he gets a new client, and Rust beats the new client to prove he didn’t really need Bivens, or something similar. Zoey Stark had a good singles match with Feroz, but it seemed pretty clear Stark was going to win with how they hyped her up tonight.

The main story with the Undisputed Era and NXT Champion was very good stuff. Kyle wants answers, Finn wants answers, Strong defends Cole only to be proven wrong, and all the while McAfee’s guys take advantage because they don’t like any of them. The Six Man was a lot of fun, Cole’s interference was pretty logical since he hates Kyle and Finn equally now. The only downside is that after everything was said and done, Kyle suffered a seizure and had to be rushed out of there. I had a feeling something was wrong with that steel step spot, but that’s very scary stuff. On behalf of The Chairshot, I hope Kyle makes a speedy recovery.

My Score: 9.4/10