NXT – AUG 22
Dom & Rhea Backstage Segment
Dom & Rhea are stretching backstage, and Mustafa interrupts them. He wishes them luck saying, "Break a leg, especially you," signaling to Dom, "Like, actually. Like, in a million pieces, that way you can go away and NXT can finally have a North American champion that they can be proud of." Dom says, "I don't care about NXT, I just care about Mami." Rhea says, "Exactly and Dom is a champion that everyone can look to. You have ten seconds to get out of our locker room before we show you a preview of what's going to happen to Lyra and Dragon tonight." Mustafa responds, "Just ten seconds? Sounds like something you're used to."
Astrid’s Point
I have been enjoying this version of Mustafa as he finds a way to express how NXT deserves a better champion than Dom.
Ivy Nile v Ava (With Schism)
Ava goes for several over-the-shoulder takedowns, cornering Ivy too. Ava throws Ivy to a corner, then Ava runs towards her but Ivy moves, Ivy begins to show her power and quick strikes. Ava throws Ivy toward the ropes, hitting her with a kick as Ivy bounces off the ropes. Ava has Ivy ready to go but Ivy reverses it into her submission, Ava taps.
Schism's followers jump on the apron, Ivy takes them down one by one. Two members of the Schism movement saved Ava. Ava yelled for Nile to come find her at the Schism tree in two additional episodes. Nile would eventually arrive, but when Ava attempted to warn the two Schism followers to find her, they turned out to be The Creed Brothers. While the Creed Brothers declared they wanted a final match with the Dyad and that if they won, they would be reinstated to NXT, Nile attacked Ava.
Astrid’s Point
I was mostly disappointed that this match was too short, being less than five minutes. I begin to think that they are not confident that Ava can have longer matches for the time being as she is in her early training stages. I did like how this match was followed up by segments after it. I did wonder if they could have done Ivy, Stacks & Tony v Ava and Dyad which probably would have resulted in a longer match.
Tiffany Stratton Promo
During the champion's return, the match was initiated. Tiffany Stratton entered the ring and extolled the virtues of Tiffy Summer. how she won the championship and twice successfully defended it against Thea Hail.
The NXT Women's Champion, according to Stratton, would be the best and most successful ever. superior to Asuka, Becky Lynch, Bayley, and Charlotte Flair. That statement was incorrect in one respect—Lynch was never the NXT Women's Champion.
In any case, this prompted the four women who will compete for the title to emerge one at a time. Once Perez entered the ring with the women, a fight broke out. Although she claimed to have something to tell Stratton, all she delivered was a forearm to the face. As the competitors fought, Stratton rolled out of the ring to flee for his life.
Lynch criticized Stratton on social media after she identified herself in her promo as a former NXT Women's Champion. She may have misspoken, but Lynch is irrelevant regardless, Stratton said in response.
Astrid’s Point
One thing I have liked about the NXT Women's division especially compared to the main roster is that I knew the moment Tiffany became champion that there were so many possibilities for her next opponent, this segment really showed that. I do believe Blair has the strongest case for being a contender due to her recent victories and Roxanne due to her victory over Blair. I do like seeing a fatal four-way as it'll get decent time and it would be interesting with the time frame for the build towards the match against Tiffany. I'm glad they showed Becky's response to Tiffany mentioning her. I was thinking either this shows in character that Tiffany doesn't care about the division since she didn't have knowledge that Becky hadn't been NXT Women's Champion or she was just naming former champions in general rather than just NXT Women's Champions. I would really love to see Becky getting involved in NXT especially when she hasn't been NXT Women's Champion yet, It's one of the few accomplishments she doesn't have in WWE, and it'll be cool for the women in NXT to learn from her as well.
Jacy Jayne & Thea Hail backstage segment
Thea Hail and Jacy Jayne had a conversation in the backstage area. It was recorded following their match from the previous week, in which Jayne defeated Hail after Andre Chase unintentionally cost Hail the match. Hail received advice from Jayne, who assured her that she would survive.
Astrid’s Point
I did wonder what Jacy meant when she said, "People like us." This segment was so interesting though, are they going to be a team soon? Is Jacy going to help Thea find a darker side or just a way to get over what Mr. Chase has done? This really sparked my interest in what's happening with both of them moving forward.
Dom & Rhea v Lyra Valkyria & Dragon Lee
Dom tries to corner Dragon Lee so he can chop him, but Lee manages to undo it and chops Dom instead. Dom runs toward Lee, who knocks him to the ground. Dom is able to get to his feet and makes a few pin attempts, which Lee counters with a roll-up.
When Lee has the upper hand, Dom goes to his corner to tag in Rhea, which brings Lyra into the fight by default. They argue before pushing each other. Lyra briefly has the upper hand, but Rhea quickly wins the advantage. Lyra kicks Rhea before attempting three roundhouse kicks, but Rhea is able to avoid them all.
They trade blows before Lyra launches Rhea toward the ropes, where she takes the opportunity to tag in Dom, preventing Lyra from attacking Rhea for the time being. Dragon Lee kicks Dom, Rhea is aiming for Lyra but she avoids her, and Lyra uses the ropes to land a crossbody on the couple but Rhea moves, and Lyra only lands on Dom. Rhea warns that Dom is behind Lyra.
Rhea has a submission on Lyra, who shifts her weight to try to pin Rhea, but Rhea is able to overcome her and land on Lee and Lyra. When Lyra starts to fight back against Rhea, she manages to escape, and the two of them are standing when Rhea kicks Lyra and then slams Lyra's face against her knee.
Rhea can transition with ease, demonstrating her control over Lyra. Rhea attempts to subdue Lyra, who counters with a DDT, and moves aside so that Dragon Lee can be tagged in while Lyra is fighting to get to her corner. Dom tags himself in after Lyra ducks and hits Rhea with a roundhouse kick. Rhea is knocked out but manages to get to her corner. With Dom in mind, Lee climbs the top rope to give him a double stomp to the spine. Dom sets up for the 619, but Lee manages to avoid it. Lee then plants Dom with a powerbomb and attempts to pin him. Rhea breaks it up, and Lyra then throws Rhea outside.
Raquel, who has challenged Rhea for the title, attacks Rhea while Lyra is caught and slammed against the barricade. As events divert Dom, Dragon Lee drops him for the win and the pin. Dragon Lee and Lyra rejoice over their accomplishment.
Astrid’s Point
I really loved this match, it had such good back-and-forth action between both teams. I did wonder why Lyra doesn't have this chemistry with anyone else but Rhea because I would love to see more of this on a weekly basis. I did love the touch of having Raquel arrive here to attack Rhea as it was unexpected but fueled the fire between the two and their upcoming match. I also noticed how well Rhea was booked during this match that she was overpowering Lyra while also not having a squash match the way she does on RAW. I would love to see Rhea's matches be like this during RAW as well, showing off her power while also giving the match some time.
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