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NXT Recap: Who Will Adam Cole Choose To Face Tonight?

Hey gang!  After another brawl last week between Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly, NXT Commissioner William Regal set up a match between them for The Great American Bash on July 6.  But first, each man must select an opponent to challenge tonight.  O'Reilly selected NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida, but Cole has yet to announce an opponent.  Let's see who Cole will pick to square off with tonight!

Adam Cole hits the ring dressed in full gear to start us off tonight.  He grabs a mic and complains about the happenings of last week and how Regal and his enforcer Samoa Joe have treated him.  He says he refuses to pick someone and it's not happening.

Carmelo Hayes hits the ring and says he'll change Cole's mind. Cole asks him how he'll do that and Hayes quotes John Cena's famous Smackdown debut line about "ruthless aggression".  He then smacks Cole across the face and we've got a match!

Adam Cole vs Carmelo Hayes

Hayes lights up Cole with punches and then hits a springboard clothesline and a vaulting crossbody to Cole on the outside.  Cole recovers and big boots him off the apron.  Cole gets him in the corner and stomps Hayes before hitting a snap suplex.

Cole hits a spinning neck breaker and then chokes Hayes on the bottom rope.  Hayes rallies and hits a lifting facebuster and a clothesline for two.  He works on Cole in the corner, but Cole drops him into the turnbuckle.  Cole knocks him to the outside and then tosses him hard into the barricade twice.

Cole throws him into the barricade again and then back into the ring.  He gets Hayes in a head scissors hold, but Hayes is able to roll to the ropes for a break.  Cole slams him into the corner and then whips him into the opposite one.  Cole hits a backdrop for two.

They get to their feet and Hayes fights back with kicks and chops, but Cole suplexes him.  Cole crashes him into the corner again and tosses him out of the ring for the ref to count to seven before Hayes gets back in.  Cole talks trash, but Hayes fights back now and hits a Brogue Kick, but Cole big boots him.  Cole tries a suplex, but Hayes reverses into a cutter.  Cole tries an inside cradle for two and then Hayes hits an enziguri for two.

They reverse holds until Cole hits a backstabber for two.  Cole goes for a jumping strike, but Hayes superkicks him.  Cole superkicks him himself and then hits Panama Sunrise for the pinfall.

Winner: Adam Cole

We now see earlier, where Franky Monet is chatting with Aliyah and Jessi Kamea until Robert Stone interrupts and they all look pissed.  Monet's dog snaps at Stone and he screams.

Next, we get McKenzie Mitchell interviewing Zoey Stark about her match tonight.  Io Shirai approaches and says she respects her but doesn't like her.  Stark says mutual respect is all they need to win.

We now go to a video package of LA Knight bragging about his Million Dollar title win and his destruction of Ted DiBiase last week as he sits by a pool smoking a cigar.  He talks trash about DiBiase and Cameron Grimes and promises Grimes he's going to drop him on his head.

Austin Theory and Johnny Gargano hit the ring now.  Gargano says since there's new management in the brand, NXT needs a new champion too.  He says Karrion Kross is a bad image for NXT and instead, they need someone like himself as the face of the brand.  He claims when he was champion, things were the best they have ever been and at In Your House, he outdid Kross in every way and he proved he can outwrestle him on his worst day.

This brings out Pete Dunne and Oney Lorcan.  Dunne says Gargano is mad if he thinks he's the number one contender over him.  He then tells Theory to shut up and they all get in each other's faces.  Gargano breaks it all up though and says this isn't how they all do things anymore and they should all follow the rules.  He tells them that if they're looking for a fight, they won't get it from them.  As they leave, Theory talks trash to Dunne, who then grabs his finger and snaps it.

We now see earlier in the day, when Cameron Grimes arrived at the arena and is chatting with everyone and throwing them cash. Someone makes fun of DiBiase and Grimes takes him out and walks off.

Next, we have McKenzie interviewing Adam Cole backstage.  As he rants, William Regal approaches and says there are no hard feelings for what happened last week.  Cole lectures him on what Samoa Joe did last week, but Regal reminds him that he put his hands on him first.  Cole says he's done with this and grabs his stuff to leave.

Backstage we see Gargano and Theory head into Regal's office and show him what happened to Theory's finger and remind him that they're being model citizens.  Gargano gives Regal a pencil as a gift and says they need consequences for this, to which Regal agrees and tells them they're facing Dunne and Lorcan in a tag match next.

Zoey Stark & Io Shirai vs Aliyah & Jessi Kamea

Shirai and Aliyah lock up, but Shirai hits her with chops and then a flapjack followed by a dropkick.  Stark tags in and gets her in an armlock.  Aliyah breaks out and tries a takedown, but Stark flips out of it.  Kamea tags in and kicks Stark down for two.  Stark grapples her down for two.  Kamea drops her and hits a vaulting elbow drop for two.

We see Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae hit the stage.

Kamea works on Stark in her corner and tags Aliyah.  She hits Stark with a running elbow for two.  She and Kamea hit a double-team slam for two.  Aliyah locks Stark in a leg waist lock, but Stark fights out and slams her.  She tags Shirai and Kamea tags in.  Shirai takes over and wipes them both out before hitting a 619 on Kamea, followed by a top rope missile dropkick for two.

Kamea breaks a hold and kicks Shirai to tag Aliyah, who hits a Northern Lights Suplex with a bridge for two.  She tags Kamea and they double suplex Shirai, but she flips out of it and tags Stark, who hits a top rope dropkick on them, followed by a chicken wing suplex on Kamea.  She tags Shirai who hits a top rope moonsault on Kamea for the pinfall.

Winners: Io Shirai & Zoey Stark

After the match, Hartwell and LeRae hop to the apron to face the winners, but then Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai show up and hop onto the apron across from them.  Kai says if they think they're hoping ahead of them for the tag titles, they're crazy.  Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart then hit the stage and they remind Kai and Gonzalez that they beat them and say they should remind them.

Everyone floods the ring and a brawl is on.  Samoa Joe arrives and calls security down.  The guards and Joe break them all up.

We now see that at the Great American Bash, MSK will defend their NXT tag titles against Tommaso Ciampa and Timmothy Thatcher.

Johnny Gargano & Austin Theory vs Pete Dunne & Oney Lorcan

Gargano and Lorcan start off with Gargano hitting a series of kicks.  Dunne tags in and Gargano gets him with some arm drags and a wristlock.  Theory tags in and Dunne clotheslines him down.  Lorcan tags in and they double team Theory before Lorcan chops him into the corner.

Dunne tags in and goes to work on Theory's hurt fingers.  He stomps on his hand and puts it in a hold.  Lorcan tags in and also works on Theory's fingers, but Theory fights back and hits him with a snap suplex.  Gargano tags in and they hit Lorcan with a double elbow.

Dunne tags in a Gargano hits him with an inverted atomic drop.  Theory tags in and Gargano holds Dunne for Theory to dropkick him for two.  Dunne rallies and again works on Theory's fingers and hits them with a knee drop.  He gets him in an armbar and twists his fingers in the hold.

Theory reverses a whip to the corner and dropkicks Dunne.  They go outside and Dunne clotheslines him.  He then tags Lorcan and they go outside to double slam Theory onto the apron.  They get back inside and Dunne gets Theory in a Mexican Surfboard stretch as Lorcan chops him.

Dunne hits a leaping stomp on Theory.  He tries another, but Theory rolls him up for two.  Theory punches Lorcan and tags Gargano, who bulldogs both opponents.  He hits a slingshot spear on Lorcan and then a dive through the ropes at Dunne to the outside.

Theory tags in and hits a springboard Spanish Fly on Lorcan for two.  Dunne lariats Gargano down as Lorcan and Theory exchange chops.  Lorcan hits a blockbuster and tags Dunne, who pulls down Theory and gets an armbar in.  Gargano kicks Lorcan into them to break it.

Dunne German suplexes Gargano.  Gargano tries the spear, but Dunne dodges and tags Lorcan.  They hit a double side slam, but Theory breaks the pin.  Dunne enziguris Theory and then Lorcan uppercuts him.  Gargano superkicks Lorcan and tosses Dunne out, before hitting him with a diving tornado DDT to the outside.

Gargano hits One Final Beat on Lorcan for the pinfall.

Winners: Johnny Gargano & Austin Theory

Gargano is celebrating outside, when Karrion Kross smashes him from behind, slamming Gargano's head into the ground and knocking him out.  Theory runs over and tries to wake him as Kross and Scarlett laugh looking at them.

Kross is confronted backstage by Samoa Joe.  Kross reminds him he can't touch him unless provoked and Joe lets him pass.  He then turns around to have yet another staredown with Pete Dunne.

Elektra Lopez vs Franky Monet

Monet grabs her in a strong side headlock.  Lopez kicks her and hits a scoop slam followed by some elbow drops.  Monet pummels her and whips her around.  Lopez hits a back elbow.  Monet punches her and hits a front sidewalk slam for the pinfall.

This "match" was god awful by any standard.  Monet has had two matches so far in NXT and two contenders for the worst match of the year.

Winner ( I guess): Franky Monet

McKenzie interviews Bronson Reed backstage.  They're interrupted by Hit Row and Top Dollar insults his size (??????)

Ever-Rise vs Hit Row

Total squash.  Both Top Dollar and Ashante just destroy NXT's resident clowns and it's over in like three minutes.

Wait.  Did I say three minutes?!

Next, we get McKenzie interviewing Mercedes Martinez backstage, who learns she's in a mixed tag match next week on NXT against Xia Li and Boa.  Martinez is saying she'll have a problem finding a partner when Li kicks her down from behind.  Security floods in to hold her and Boa back.  Boa is screaming at her when Jake Atlas kicks him in the head and says he's joining the fight.

Kyle O'Reilly vs Kushida – Non-Title

They grapple right away and exchange reversals and takedowns.  Kushida works in an armbar, but O'Reilly sneaks out quickly.  They get back to grappling, both on their feet and then on the mat.  Kushida tries a springboard elbow, but O'Reilly reverses into an armbar, which Kushida escapes.

Kushida gets a waist takedown followed by a dropkick.  Kushida twists O'Reilly's elbow and applies a wristlock.  They try takedowns on each other and go to tackle one another, but bash heads.  Kushida snaps O'Reilly's arm on the ropes and applies a step-over wristlock.  He then turns that into a bridge, holding the hold with his legs.

O'Reilly takes him to the mat and hits a running knee drop.  He then locks in a seated abdominal stretch, which Kushida rolls into a pin attempt.  They exchange seated kicks on the mat and then get to their feet and exchange kicks.  O'Reilly hip tosses him down and into a body scissors hold.

They get to their feet and O'Reilly tries some kicks, but Kushida takes him down and goes for the Hoverboard Lock, which O'Reilly breaks out of.  They try a bunch of reversals over and over before Kushida hits an underhook suplex with a bridge, but O'Reilly gets his foot on the ropes.

O'Reilly tries a heel lock, but Kushida reverses into a pin for two.  They exchange blows, with Kushida hitting a Pele kick and O'Reilly hitting a bounce-back elbow.  O'Reilly hits a brainbuster for two.  O'Reilly goes to the top rope, but Kushida knocks him off to the apron.  He then slams O'Reilly into the ring post.

They exchange kicks on the apron until Kushida hits a suplex onto the apron.  They get in the ring and O'Reilly rallies with a tilt-a-whirl facebuster.  Kushida tries the Hoverboard Lock again, but O'Reilly rolls him up for the pinfall.

Winner: Kyle O'Reilly

They hug after the match to show respect, but Adam Cole charges in.  O'Reilly tackles him out of the ring and onto the announce table.  They fight on the announce table as security arrives to separate them.

Back in the ring, three guys in hoodies assault Kushida.  The main one pulls back his hood to reveal he is Roderick Strong.

They grab Kushida's title and pose over him as NXT ends.

Apparently, this is a new faction called Diamond Mine consisting of Strong, Tyler Rust, Hideki Suzuki, and being managed by Malcolm Bivens.

Well, interesting show.  Things happened and stories were furthered, but I'll be honest, something just felt a bit off.  There was a lot of dead space on the show (some of the backstage interviews, the Cameron Grimes segment, anything with Franky Monet) that could have been given to the matches or to something more important.  I don't know.  I guess they all can't be winners, but they don't have to be losers either.

Till next time friends!

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