This week's show opened with William Regal backstage announcing that Bayley can't compete at Takeover: The End to face Asuka in her title rematch as she is injured from last week's match with Nia Jax, instead, we get a triple threat main event to claim a new number one contender.
Analysis: This is sad news as Bayley is the most popular women's star on NXT, yet it also keeps the build until the rematch. It is also a great way to use Regal, they do it so well in NXT by only having him appear to announce major matches rather than inject himself into the main stories which happens on the main roster.
Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa vs. TM61 (Shane Thorne and Nick Miller)
The first match of the night was tag team action that included one of NXT's newest teams in the form of TM61 as they faced Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa who have been in NXT for some time now and are finally getting to team together.
The match started off with great agility by Thorne who flipped out of an arm lock to drop kick johnny wrestling before double team action which put TM61 firmly in charge. A huge uppercut took Gargano out and the new team looked impressive in the early stages. Ciampa eventually got tagged in and got the upper hand but Miller quickly reversed which allowed double team work as TM61 cleared the ring. Thorne then teased jumping over the ropes but stopped and flipped back in similar fashion to what Sami Zayn does.
A sharp elbow from Ciampa saw the popular independent team come back into the match with Gargano spearing Throne through the ropes before hitting a clubbing blow to the back of his head. Gargano then locks in an excellent submission after attempting a roll-up on Thorne, but the new star makes it to the ropes just in time. Ciampa tags back in and immediately worked some huge chops, Thorne attempts to fight back but Ciampa takes both men out until Thorne hits a huge dropkick to slow down his momentum. Miller got back in and Ciampa and Gargaona hit each other by mistake and a huge double team move made it seem like that match was over until Gargano broke it up. Ciampa then attempted a sunset flip over the ropes but got caught, Miller was throw out of the ring and Gargano dove through the ropes to take him out in an excellent move.
Thorne missed wildly with a punch before getting hit with a massive knee to the face, and then a superkick and running knee at the same time and Ciampa and Gargano got the win. Post match the winners show respect to the newer team.
Analysis- This was an excellent match between four very talented wrestlers, it worked to get TM61 established and continued the push of Gargano and Ciampa. The brand is in the need for some new top level teams and both of these have the potential to do that if they are developed correctly.
Backstage interview with Bayley
Bayley says it sucks not being able to fight at Takeover but believes that Regal made the right decision as she's not 100%. Nia Jax comes and says she broke her and she will never be the same, Carmella then interrupts and tells her to back off. Jax promises to run through her and Alexa Bliss. Bliss turns up and says it's her opportunity tonight, both women leave but Bayley tells Carmella it is her night.
Analysis: This was a good way of building the main event with all three women staking their claims to become the number one contender whilst also reminding fans that Bayley is waiting in the background.
Austin Aries and Shinsuke Nakamura segment
Austin Aries made his way to the ring and vented some frustrations at the fact that he is great, yet when he entered NXT he was overshadowed by other stars, to which the crowd began to chant "Nakamura" which Aries acknowledged before stating he will be the NXT champion in the future. The lights went out and Shinsuke Nakamura made his way to the ring, telling Aries that greatness wouldn't be the next champion, instead, it would be the King of Strong Style. William Regal then came out and made the huge announcement that at the upcoming Takeover event it will be Aries - Nakamura.
Analysis: That is a blockbuster announcement with two of NXT's biggest stars going against each other, it is sure to be an amazing match.
American Alpha interview
American Alpha was backstage talking about their Takeover opponents, The Revival and said that whilst they're good this isn't boxing and smashing them in the face won't be enough as they will be "Ready,willing and gable."
Analysis: A simple interview to remind fans that they will be in a match at Takeover, it wasn't anything brilliant but it's god to keep pushing the story.
No Way Jose - Johnathon Ortagun
This was a simple squash match to continue the build of No Way Jose, he brought plenty of atmosphere to the ring and the crowd fully bought into everything he did, he got the win with the baseball pitch punch followed by the cobra clutch slam before he danced with the commentary team to celebrate.
Analysis: This was a very quick match where Ortagun gained very little offense, it is no surprise as they are building a new star in Now Way Jose. His gimmick is working with fans buying into it and he brings a great energy to the ring, we will see how this develops over time.
#1 Contender triple threat - Carmella v Alexa Bliss v Nia Jax
All three former number one contenders going at it in the main event means that fans can take them all seriously to win which shows the strength in booking down at NXT.Alexa Bliss rolls out of the ring to start the match as a singles match and Nia Jax immediately uses her power, to dominate Carmella. Bliss goes to the top rope whilst Jax isn't looking hoping to take advantage but gets caught and so she just goes back to the outside, which was great comedic but also heel like behavior.
Jax continued to make easy work out of Carmella, but she tries to fight back and sent Jax into the ring post and out of the ring and then Bliss came in to take advantage of Carmella. Alexa grabbed Carmella by the throat and planted her to the floor, followed by a double stomp to the chest with Jax breaking it up, but Bliss hits her with her knees and hits the Sparkle Splash on Jax and this time Carmella broke up the pin.
Both Bliss and Carmella attempted to suplex Jax, instead, she suplexes both of them at the same time, which showcased her amazing strength and power. Bliss and Carmella then began fighting and Jax ran at then but they both moved, sending Jax to the outside. Carmella dove through the ropes but gets caught by Jax, on the way back into the ring Bliss takes out Jax, but Carmella quickly deals with Bliss and attempts to run through the ropes again and this time takes out Jax.
Back in the ring and Carmella locked in the triangle choke on Bliss, but Jax pulls her away and hits a huge headbut on Carmella. But Carmella locks in the submission choke that Bayley beat her with which took her down to one knee, Jax fell to the corner to break it up. Jax would then hit her leg drop finisher to get the victory and become the new number one contender. Post match Asuka came out and posed with her title on the ramp before heading to the ring with Jax telling her if she steps this close to her again she will drop her where she stands as NXT went off the air with another big match set for Takeover.
Analysis: A great match between three of NXT's brightest future stars, they all got to shine and show their strengths and put on a main event worthy match. Asuka heading straight into the ring showed she has no fears facing Nia Jax which fits her character and the match between them should be strong.
Overall it was a very impressive episode of NXT which had two very good matches as well as two big announcements heading into Takeover:The End.
Match of the night: The main event stole the show this week, despite the opening tag team bout also being very entertaining. The three women gave everything they had which shows how much the Women's title means to them and the fans bought into everything that happened.
Star of the night: Nia Jax, she has been booked brilliantly ever since debuting and the way she has been presented as a monster makes her stand out on the roster, she provides a very believable threat towards Asuka at Takeover.
Rating: 8.5/10