- We kick off NXT with Nigel McGuinness introducing us to the newest member of the NXT commentary team...Mauro Ranallo! Man, it's so great to hear Ranallo on commentary again.
- The Velveteen Dream vs HoHo Lun-The two trade holds to start before Lun strikes away at the Dream. The Velveteen Dream quickly fires back with a big boot before hitting a delayed vertical suplex. The Velveteen Dream finishes Lun off with the diving elbow drop, which he calls the Purple RainMaker. Wonder where he got that name from?
- In a clip prior to the show, Asuka gets interviewed in her car. She says she's confident heading into her match against Nikki Cross tonight, only for Cross to hop up on the hood of her car. Security pulls her off and takes her away from the car.
- William Regal informs the Authors of Pain & Heavy Machinery that they will face off for the NXT Tag Team Championships in two weeks. Otis Dozovic says something that is barely English before he & Tucker Knight leave. Like, the WWE Network doesn't even attempt to add captions.
There are like seven words before "big showdown." - Hideo Itami vs Oney Lorcan-Lorcan starts off right away with a huge running uppercut before beating Itami down in the corner. The referee pulls him off as we see Itami is bleeding pretty badly. The medical team tends to Itami as the referee calls off the match. However, after a vignette hyping up Bobby Roode & Roderick Strong's title match next week, Itami comes back out and calls out Lorcan. Lorcan comes back and gets back in the ring, only to instantly eat a running big boot from Itami. The bell rings as Itami lays Lorcan across the top rope and drops a knee across the back of the head. Lorcan fights back and goes to the top rope, but Itami pushes him down to the outside before the commercial break. We come back to the two trading strikes in the ring. Lorcan hits two running uppercuts before hitting a standing Blockbuster, but Itami kicks out. Itami goes over to the corner and calls over the ref but kicks Lorcan in the knee when he brings him over. Itami goes for the GTS, but Lorcan slips out. Itami is able to follow up with a tornado DDT into the top rope before hitting a diving clothesline for a near fall. Itami goes for the GTS again, but Lorcan slips out again but injures his knee in the process. Lorcan says he wants to continue, so Itami picks him up and hits the GTS for the three and the win. This was a good match, I enjoyed this. After the match, Itami asks Kassius Ohno to come down to the ring. The two go face to face in the ring, only for Nikki Cross to pop up out of the crowd and yell at them to leave. Suddenly, Alexander Wolfe & Killian Dain pop up and attack Itami & Ohno. Dain tosses Itami out of the ring before he & Wolfe hit an assisted powerbomb on Ohno. Wolfe takes the mic and says they need to end the forced friendships & lies. Dain says the best way to end it chaos before Wolfe says Eric Young is working on his master plan. Cross then yells at Wolfe & Dain, telling them to leave the ring because this is her time.
- Asuka (c) vs Nikki Cross in a Last Woman Standing match-NXT Women's Championship-The two feel eachother out to start before fighting into the ropes. Asuka gains the advantage by kicking away at Cross, only for Cross to come back with a crossbody. Asuka dodges the second attempt and hits a sliding kick, sending Cross out of the ring. Asuka goes for a baseball slide, but Cross pulls the ring apron up and traps Asuka, leaving her prone for Cross to beat her down. Cross goes to the other side of the ring and pulls out six steel chairs before the commercial break. We come back to see each woman trying to suplex the other onto the pile of chairs. Both women block the other's attempts before Cross throws Asuka into the steel stairs. Cross tries to do it again, but Asuka reverses it and throws Cross into the steps. Asuka rams Cross' head into the steps before throwing her back in the ring. Asuka pulls a trash can out from under the ring and hits Cross with it before putting it on Cross' head. Asuka kicks away at Cross before hitting a missile dropkick. Cross gets to her feet at 8, so Asuka goes back to the kicks. Asuka pulls out four more chairs from under the ring, only for Cross to shove her back into the ring. Cross jumps off the apron, only for Asuka to catch her with a knee strike. Asuka continues to pull chairs out of the ring and throw them into the ring. The two fight on the apron until Cross hits an inverted DDT on the apron. Cross stacks up the chairs as Asuka beats the referee's count. Cross goes to the top rope, but Asuka meets her there and hits a spin kick. Asuka then throws Cross down onto the pile of chairs with a hairmare, only for Cross to come back with a back suplex onto the chairs. Both women are able to beat the referee's count before the commercial break. We come back to Asuka kicking away at Cross, who keeps smiling & laughing off Asuka's strikes. Asuka goes for a spinning back fist, but Cross blocks it and hits a neckbreaker. Cross then dodges a spin kick and goes for the fisherman's neckbreaker, but Asuka counters it. Cross hits three big forearms before successfully hitting the fisherman's neckbreaker. Asuka beats the count, so Cross hits three more fisherman's neckbreakers. Cross leaves the ring to grab the NXT Women's Championship as Asuka gets up at nine. Cross tries to hit Asuka with the title, but Asuka kicks it into Cross' face. Asuka follows up with a spin kick, but Cross gets to her feet before ten. Cross sends Asuka onto the ropes, but Asuka attempts to suplex her to the outside. Cross avoids it and yanks Asuka's face down across the top rope and powerbombs Asuka onto the pile of chairs Cross set up earlier. Asuka barely beats the referee's count. Asuka tries to German suplex Cross off the ring ramp, but Cross blocks it. Asuka manages to shove Cross off the ramp before hitting a diving hip attack. Cross gets to her feet at eight and avoids a roundhouse kick by Asuka, causing Asuka to inadvertently kick a stage light. Cross drapes Asuka across a guardrail and hits a draping swinging neckbreaker, but Asuka manages to beat the count. Asuka manages to hit a back fist, only for Cross to find a ladder and hit Asuka with it. Cross sets up a table before setting up the ladder next to the announce table and laying Asuka across the regular table. Cross climbs the ladder, but Asuka gets off the table and climbs the other side of the ladder. The commentators leave as Asuka superplexes Cross through the announce table. Asuka manages to get to her feet before the count of ten as Cross stays down, giving her the win & retaining her title. Awesome match, one of the best women's matches NXT has had since Takeover: Brooklyn II
(Special thanks to an anonymous user for suggesting this match. If you'd like to see a match covered on the Worst in the World, leave a comment down below.) An often discussed aspect of professional wrestling is the backstage politicking of Hulk Hogan. Throughout his career as a major attraction in wrestling, Hogan's philosophy has always been to protect Hulk Hogan...OK, sometimes he'd help Ed Leslie, but most of the time it was to protect Hulk Hogan. Because of that philosophy and Hogan's influence as a top guy, there have been multiple instances where a company's booking and other wrestlers have suffered as a result. Would having Mr. Perfect win the 1990 Royal Rumble made sense and could have elevated a rising star and potentially created a new main event player? Yes, but that would require Hogan to not win, and that doesn't work for Hogan, so he wins the Rumble even though he doesn't need elevating. Would booking Randy Orton to beat Hogan at SummerSlam 20...
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