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The April 22 episode of NXT marks more than a month of shows without the WWE Universe in attendance.
Due to travel restrictions at the moment, WWE has been running a tournament to crown an interim cruiserweight champion until Jordan Devlin can defend his title again.
This week's show featured more matches in the tourney as Jack Gallagher took on the newcomer, Fantasma, Tony Nese took on Kushida and the recently released Drake Maverick battled Jake Atlas.
The women's division was also in action as Tegan Nox teamed up with Shotzi Blackheart to take on Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai.
Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's episode of NXT.
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As soon as the bell rang for the first match, Gonzalez propelled herself across the ring and took out Nox with a boot to the face in one fluid movement.
Blackheart helped her partner regain the upper hand as the show went to a commercial. When we returned, Kai's enforcer had the green-haired grappler in a submission.
Kai played the heel well by not tagging in unless she had an advantage. Nox was only able to get her hands on her former best friend once or twice.
Despite a late rally from Blackheart and Nox, Gonzalez scored the win for her team with a one-armed powerbomb.
Grade: B-
Analysis
Kai has adapted the role of a heel well after spending her entire NXT run as a babyface. She uses dirty tactics and has great facial expressions.
Performing without fans is still harder for some talents than others. Blackheart is a lot of fun to watch but her shtick would be better if she had a crowd around her.
Gonzalez is still new but is already establishing a reputation as one of the tougher stars in the division. This was a solid match but it didn't do much to stand out.
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Atlas is still new to NXT and he got a big opportunity by getting a spot in the cruiserweight title tournament with a first-round match against Maverick.
WWE released Maverick along with dozens of other employees last week, so it surprised a lot of people when he announced he would still be part of this tournament.
This was a hard-fought contest with a lot of back and forth action. Atlas looked good as the aggressor, but Maverick was the star with his subtle performance of a man desperate to do something to keep his job.
A failed hurricanrana from Maverick led to Atlas hitting a beautiful DDT from the top turnbuckle for the win.
Grade: B
Analysis
WWE rarely acknowledges when somebody is released, but Maverick was given a video package showing the video he made following the news.
The former 205 Live GM looked desperate. He was treating this bout like his job depended on it because that is what the storyline called for.
Some people might think WWE is wrong for releasing him and still asking him to work during a pandemic, but if this gives Maverick more exposure before he has to look for a new job, he was probably grateful for the opportunity.
Maverick is a great performer and he made Atlas look good for somebody who has only been in the business for a few years. It’s too bad this could be the last time we see the former Rockstar Spud in a WWE ring.
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The second cruiserweight title tournament match of the night featured the former champion, Nese, taking on a man looking to win his first gold in WWE.
Kushida came into WWE with a lot of fanfare but has yet to have the kind of success it takes to win championships. This tournament could be his time to shine.
He and Nese kept the match grounded for the first few minutes with a series of takedowns and submissions.
The Premier Athlete had a significant power advantage and he used it to throw Kushida out of the ring and into the barricade.
They picked up the pace after the break. Kushida unloaded on Nese with a flurry of strikes before he finished off his opponent with his trademark submission.
Grade: B+
Analysis
The Premier Athlete and the Japanese Superstar each received a short video before the match where they talked about how much winning the title would mean to them.
This was a great match that allowed both men to show off what makes them special. Nese, even in defeat, looked better than he has in months.
Even though this is a round-robin tournament, this is a combination WWE should keep in its back pocket for the future. They had great chemistry.
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Jessi Kamea is a relative newcomer to WWE and she was given a big opportunity to face one of NXT's rising stars, Mia Yim.
The Blasian Baddie was very vocal during the match. She taunted her opponent while almost treating her like a rookie she didn't need to worry about.
Kamea showed her why that was a mistake with some stiff strikes. However, Yim turned things around with the Protect Ya Neck for the win.
Charlotte Flair made her way to the ring after the match was over. She said she wanted to face Yim as her first opponent in NXT because she respects her.
Grade: C+
Analysis
Kamea still has some work to do but she looked good working with Yim. She had a few nice spots and played the role of a heel well.
Yim is someone is just waiting for the right opportunity to have a breakout moment. She is a unique character with great charisma.
This was a short match but it was long enough for both women to get in some offense. Charlotte and Yim had an interesting interaction after the bout was over.
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Fantasma made his NXT debut this week in another first-round match in the cruiserweight title tournament against Jack Gallagher.
The Gentleman Fighter has undergone a lot of changes recently. He added some tattoos, changed his facial hair and is trying to be taken more seriously as a performer.
His new attitude served him well as he controlled the early part of the match with some ground-based offense. His comedic tactics were gone and he was focused on inflicting as much pain as possible.
The second half was more competitive as Fantasma made a comeback and scored the win with a Samoan driver.
Grade: B-
Analysis
This was a good match but it didn't feel like the debut WWE had planned for Fantasma. Instead of establishing himself right away with a few decisive wins, he and Gallagher were evenly matched.
Gentleman Jack's transformation is a bit jarring but his old gimmick had worn out its welcome. It's nice to see him getting an opportunity to build himself back up.
Fantasma is going to be a great addition to the WWE roster but he will need to do something to set himself apart from the other masked luchadors who work for the company already.
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As soon as the ref called for the bell, The Undisputed Era attacked Dream and Lee. While the referee was getting rid of Bobby Fish, Damian Priest appeared and hit Lee with his nightstick in the throat.
Dream continued the fight while officials checked on the North American champion at ringside. When we returned, Lee had been taken to the back while Dream stayed in the fight.
A few minutes later, Dexter Lumis appeared on the apron in Dream's corner. With no other options, the former North American champion was forced to tag in his impromptu partner.
Lumis took out Strong while Dream hit The Purple Rainmaker for the win.
Grade: B
Analysis
The storyline between Lee and Priest robbed us of a full match from The Limitless One but it ended up being good for Lumis.
The odd man with a mustache has come across more as a heel in his first few appearances, but this may indicate he will be a babyface or tweener character.
This was a fun main event with a lot of different things going on at once. It will be interesting to see if this leads to Lumis getting a big push or if this was a one-time thing.
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2020-04-23 00:22:26Z
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