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WWE NXT 8/5/20 – NXT Unfortunately Becomes the Pat McAfee Show

It's been a long, long night, but we've finally neared the end. WWE NXT continues, and our Wednesday Night Wars report does as well. The big angle tonight is a radio host feuding with Adam Cole, which overshadows a night of otherwise great matches. Let's wrap this thing up and move on.

WWE NXT 8/5/2020 Report Part 3

The announcers run through the NXT Takeover XXX card as it stands. Go and google it. In a prerecorded video, William Regal says that Dexter Lumis has an ankle injury and can't compete at Takeover, so some of the people who lost will get a second chance to compete for a spot in the ladder match.

Legado del Fantasma comes out with an unconscious Fandango. Santos Escobar lectures the crowd on not taking Lucha Libre seriously. He says it's not just a cheap gimmick to sell merch. Bro, you're in the wrong company. Escobar complains about Breezango's antics, particularly mocking Lucha Libre at Great American Bash. Tyler Breeze runs out to try to save Fandango but gets beat down by Wilder and Mendoza. Santos Escobar calls out Swerve. He says if he speaks Escobar's name again, Breezango's fate will be his. Video package for Undisputed Era vs. Imperium, focusing on UE's past tag team championship wins. NXT goes to commercials.

Damian Priest talks the North American Championship in the parking lot. It doesn't matter who's in the match with him. He's winning at Takeover XXX. Asked about Lumis being taken out of the match, Priest says that sucks for him, but… Bronson Reed interrupts and congratulates Priest on his victory. Priest walks over to Reed to inform him that Priest is winning at Takeover. Reed asks if he wants to fight. Priest says a one on one match sounds good. So next week, probably?

Pat McAfee joins Tom Phillips at the announce table. Tegan Nox comes to the ring, then Indi Hartwell.

Tegan Nox vs. Indi Hartwell

Hartwell beat Shotzi Blackheart, which she lets Nox know. Of course, that was with interference from the Robert Stone Brand. Nox nails her in the face and chops her in the corner. Hartwell fights back and drops Nox on the top rope. She slams Nox and gets a two-count, then puts on a headlock. Pat McAfee is blathering over this match about his angle with Adam Cole, so I guess that's what we've supposed to pay attention to here? Mauro is doing his best to call the match, but Phillips and Phoenix only want to talk about Pat. So since I have to know about this guy, I googled him. Apparently, he was a football kicker, and now he hosts a radio show or whatever. Why he needed to be the focus of commentary for the whole show, and now for this entire match, I don't know. IS this putting butts in the seats? Is it going to lead to a match? McAfee promotes his show and talks about how glad he is that he made up with Adam Cole. Nox wins the match with The Shiniest Wizard.

Winner: Tegan Nox

Imperium are getting warmed up backstage. That match will happen after some commercials. Oh god, McAfee is gonna stick around for that match too. Commercials.

Next week, Kushida, Cameron Grimes, and a mystery opponent will have a North American Championship qualifying match, and Damian Priest will have that one-on-one with Bronson Reed. Also, Danny Burch will fight Karrion Kross. Guess Kross didn't kill him earlier after all. Imperium comes out. Is McAfee looking for a commentary job here? Is that what's happening? Undisputed Era head out. It looks like Adam Cole and Roderick Strong will be at ringside for this match. McAfee talks about his history with Adam Cole. He keeps saying that's all in the past, which, of course, means it is not.

Undisputed Era vs. Imperium – NXT Tag Team Championship Match

Kyle O'Reilly and Fabian Aichner start off the match by exchanging strikes. O'Reilly takes Aichner off his feet first. He backs Aichner into his corner and tags in Bobby Fish. Fish works a headlock, but Aichner whips him into the ropes and hits a backbreaker. He works an armbar on Fish. Fish fights back, but Marcel Bartel gets a blind tag. He goes after Fish's arm too. Fish fights back and tags on O'Reilly.

Once again, Pat McAfee is overshadowing the match. He starts insulting Adam Cole. He says he has a child's body with a big head. Beth Phoenix is outraged that McAfee would talk bad about an NXT star when he was invited to the show. Some stuff happens in the ring that I've stopped paying attention to, and NXT goes to commercials.

Back from break, and Adam Cole is staring at Pat McAfee from ringside. McAfee insists he's just joking around, but Tom Phillips thinks McAfee is going too far. McAfee insults Cole's height. Even McAfee is starting to feel guilty about distracting everyone from this match and calls a back body drop. Mauro, in a, swerve I didn't see coming, turns the conversation back to McAfee. It seems Beth Phoenix walked off commentary because of McAfee's antics. Can't say I blame her. Mauro sticks up for his broadcast partner. McAfee keeps playing innocent as he fights with Mauro.

Adam Cole has had enough and heads over to the announce table. He can hear McAfee talking trash, and he doesn't find it funny. He tells McAfee to chill out. McAfee calls him an angry elf. Cole splashes water in McAfee's face. Officials come out to break up this fight. Shawn Michaels and Triple H get involved. Even Fish and O'Reilly are distracted by this. Fish gets pinned off a European Bomb.

Winners: Imperium

Officials usher McAfee out of the arena, but he turns around, runs back, and calls Cole a tiny itty bitty short little bitch. Cole tries to go after him, but McAfee kicks Cole in the head and knocks him out. McAfee calls NXT unprofessional and leaves the arena. Shawn Michaels calls for a doctor as NXT goes off the air. What a shitshow.

Look, some advice for Adam Cole. Never get involved with a radio host in a wrestling show. We all know how this ends. A year from now, you're banging McAfee's wife, and someone leaks audio of you dropping the n-word from a secretly recorded sex tape. It happened to Hulk Hogan. It can happen to you.

In all seriousness, I think WWE involving celebrities in matches is 99% of the time a big mistake. I get that McAfee is an athlete (though only a kicker), but he laid out the former NXT Champion, who has beaten most of the roster with one shot—knocked him out cold. And this will, presumably, lead to a match. Then what? Is McAfee gonna job? That's usually not how WWE does it, so most likely, Adam Cole will lose to McAfee at NXT Takeover XXX. And then McAfee goes back to his radio show. But WWE will get that sweet, brief mainstream attention, I guess.

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