This episode of NXT begins with a video package recapping
Wes Lee journey in WWE, before being sidelined with a
terrible injury and forfeiting his championship. The former
North American Champion says he is ready to get back to
work.


Other wrestlers from the roster surround Lee backstage to
show their support. They cheer him on as Lee wipes away
tears. Lee breaks the fourth wall by looking directly into
the camera.

"I missed this," says Lee. "It feels good to be home."

Lee then walks through the curtain, entering the sound stage
for his return match.

Wes Lee defeated Josh Briggs

Lee pinned Briggs in a triumphant comeback, and Lee looked
as if he never missed a beat. A post-match brawl with Ivar
seems to set up a triple threat with all three.


Lee got to shine early on, until he is cut off by Briggs.
Lee fights back with a flying headscissors. He is cut off
again by the brute strength of Briggs, only for Lee to
counter by posting Briggs. Lee also flings Briggs into the
barricade with a another flying headscissors.

Briggs blocks Lee's Cardiac Kick finisher with a
backbreaker. Briggs ragdolls Lee, as Ivar enters the scene.
Ivar watches the match from the aisle. Briggs glares at Ivar
as the show cuts to a split-screen commercial break. When
the show returns from the break, Ivar is doing guest
commentary at the announce desk.


Babyface in peril with Briggs targeting Lee's back, playing
on the injury that caused Lee's exit many months ago. Lee
soon makes a comeback, and he does a dive through the ropes
on Briggs. They land and at the feet of Ivar, who then
stands up. Briggs is dropkicked into Ivar, as they collide
at ringside.

Briggs is selling the collision with Ivar while Lee rolls
him into the ring. Lee climbs the turnbuckles and leaps off
into a wicked corkscrew senton. Lee then covers Briggs for a
three count.

More action after the bell, as Briggs and Ivar start
brawling at ringside. Lee then wipes out both of them with a
running flip dive out of the ring. The post-match melee
would seem to set up a triple threat match.


As notable is the currentvNXT North American Champion, Oba
Femi, watching the match and angle from a perch overlooking
the ring. He smiles, seemingly enjoying the sight of the
brawl.

A recap highlights the NXT Underground match from last week,
which plays into the next match.

Shayna Baszler (with Lola Vice) defeated Karmen Petrovic
(with Natalya)

Baszler submitted Petrovic with a Kirifuda Clutch. Both
having a martial arts background made it an interesting
match-up from the start.


Baszler targets Petrovic's arm early on, and Baszler using
the ring itself to help dismantle the arm. Baszler traps the
arm in the metal support beam that is usually hidden by the
ring skirting. Baszler wanks on the arm, all while working
over Petrovic.

Petrovic makes a brief comeback and evens gets a near falls
on Baszler. Not for long, she climbs the turnbuckles.
Petrovic leaps off the top rope into the clutches of
Baszlers. Kirifuda Clutch applied by Baszler, and Petrovic
taps out.

Fallon Henley and Kelani Jordan get into a brief scuffle in
a locker room skit, playing off Henley's heel turn from last
week.


A slickly produced vignette features the combine, which
determines the qualifiers that will get a shot to become the
first ever NXT Women's North American Championship.

The combine is testing four categories -- speed, power,
strength and conditioning. It began with a 10-yard sled
push. From there was the 10-yard sprint. Next was the in-
ring shuttle drill.

Thea Hail and Kelani Jordan broke out as the early front-
runners of the combine. To be continued later in the show.


Tyson Dupont & Tyriek Igwe defeated No Quarter Catch Crew
(Charlie Dempsey & Myles Borne with Damon Kemp)

The assigned referee for the match was announced as
"unavailable", and the D'Angelo Family was apparently
responsible for the disappearance. Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo
was then announced as the guest referee.

To set up the finish, Dempsey gets mad at Stacks for not
counting a fall. Stacks then hits Dempsey with a right hand,
and Dempsey is rolled up for a pinfall. The D'Angelo Family
is there to watch from ringside, and the Catch Crew are
rather upset at the result.

Kelly Kincaid interviews NXT Women's Champion Roxanne Perez
about her title match tonight. Perez cuts a promo on Chelsea
Green.

Michin defeated Arianna Grace

Michin pinned Grace to win the match. Grace got some
offense, but this match seemed more of a showcase for
Michin. T

hey had a competitive match, but it is hard to take Grace
seriously with her current persona. She did some comedy
spots early on. Setting up the finish, Grace was yelling at
the referee when Michin executed a German suplex. Michin
follows up with her finisher, and she pinned Grace.

Thea Hail is talking with Ridge Holland. In walks Andre
Chase and Duke Hudson. Lexis King then barges in to
interrupt and insult. King as words with King, but Duke
Hudson steps in to cut a promo on King. This clearly sets up
a match.

Now for a talk show segment.

Supernova Sessions with NXT Champion Trick Williams

Meta-Four (Noam Dar, Oro Mensah, Jakara Jackson & Lash
Legend) host Supernova Sessions with the newest champion of
the brand.

They throw to a video package highlights Williams being a
modern day traveling champion, meaning he doing media
appearances.

Williams says he is out here for one reason only, which is
to see what is in the envelope. Lash Legend opens the
envelope to reveal a photograph of Williams supposedly
pinning Dar in a match weeks ago.

The photo reveals that Dar's foot was underneath the plain
of the ropes, meaning the deciding pinfall should not have
counted to end the match. Dar says that Williams' title
reign is built on a lie. Dar vows to "expose" Williams.

Williams stands up and says, "That's all you got for me?" He
is right, ya' know. That was a lackluster reveal.

Williams goes on to say that all Dar had to do was ask for a
title match, instead doing this. Williams gets in a Maury
Povich reference in a remark aimed at Legend.

Williams hints at something between himself and Legend. He
asks Legend if she wants to tell them, or does she want him
to tell them.

Legend goes to address Williams, but she accidently calls
him "babe" instead of his name. Williams says they should
tell everyone her other pet name for him. Legend goes to
leave, and Williams stops her.

As she is saying this is not the time and place, Dar
ambushes Williams. The champ is out cold, and Dar poses with
the championship. Trick's first challenger is apparent.

Back to the combine for the "power" portion. First is the
vertical jump, then the broad jump, followed by the
rotational punch. Jaida Parker shined in this portion. To be
continued...

Fallon Henley defeated Kelani Jordan

Henley pinned Jordan after a shining wizard. Thanks in part
to an exposed turnbuckle for the finish.

Jordan showed a lot of fire at the start, underscoring the
bout being a grudge match. She also got to shine in the
match, as she got a lot of offense.

Henley viciously cut her off, showcasing her new rough heel
persona. The lucha libre term "rudo" fits well in describing
the Henley's character shift.

Very competitive match, with Henley carrying things. The
padded cover is inadvertently pulled off a turnbuckle by
Henley. Moments later, Jordan is launched into the exposed
metal. Henley follows up with a shining wizard, and Henley
scores a three count.

Charlie Dempsey announces that No Quarter Catch Crew will
accept Tony D'Angelo's challenge for a shot at the Heritage
Cup. Dempesy puts over the "Catch clause", which is a take
on the the "Freebird rules" gimmick. "The Don" does no know
which one of the Crew he faces in the Cup match next week on
NXT.

The combine continues with strength and conditioning
portions. The medicine ball challenge was dominated by Lash
Legend. Wren Sinclair also had a "good showing" with the
medicine ball. Michin was highlighted with the iso mid thigh
pull, but Izzi Dame had the best numbers in that event.

The last portion of the combine was the conditioning
gauntlet, which consisted of "several different
cardiovascular fitness drills." Ivy Nile shined in the
gauntlet.

The 12 women advancing from the combine to the qualifiers
are (in order of how they placed in the worked combine) Sol
Ruca, Thea Hail, Jaida Parker, Brinley Reece, Michin, Fallon
Henley, Lash Legend, Ivy Nile, Izzi Dame, Kelani Jordan,
Tatum Paxley, and Wren Sinclair.

Lexis King defeated Duke Hudson (with Thea Hail & Andre
Chase)

King pinned Hudson in a match where Ridge Holland got
involved to cause an inadvertent distraction.

Moments before the finish, King ends up outside the ring on
the floor. He trades barbs with Thea Hail. Andre Chase walks
over to backup Hail and confront King. Begging off and
backpedaling, King keeps looking backwards towards the
entrance ramp. That foreshadowed and telegraphed Ridge
Holland entering the sound stage with a metal folding chair.

Holland chases King into the ring. Andre Chase pulls Holland
away as he tries to get in the ring with the chair. As
Holland is pulled out and away from the ring, Hudson is the
squared circle. He goes to pick up the chair, but the
referee takes it from him. As the ref is tossing the chair
outside, Hudson is distracted with that. King swoops in to
strike with a superkick. King follows up with The
Coronation, and King covers Hudson for a pinfall.

In a nod to Chelsea Green's history in NXT with Mr. (Robert)
Stone as her manager, she passes Stone on her way to the
ring for the main event. They nod at each other.

In a skit outside the building, Je’Von Evans has a
confrontation with Meta-Four where they try to intimidate
them.

Jazmyn Nyz cuts a promo on Thea Hail, over the injury angle
where Hail injured Jacy Jayne. Nyz basically vows revenge.

In a backstage skit, Ridge Holland apologizes the Chase U
faction for costing Hudson the match earlier on. Hudson
accepts the apology on the condition Holland buy them
dinner. Riley Osborne on the other hand, he clearly is not
convinced. Nonetheless, Holland vows to earn their trust.


NXT Champion Roxanne Perez defeated Chelsea Green to retain
her title.

Perez pinned Green, and still...

Lots of pomp and circumstance, which includes ring entrances
and the introductions by ring announcer Alicia Taylor.

No real protagonist here, as both worked as heels. That hurt
the psychology of the match with no clear crowd favorite.
Regardless, both worked hard in trying to have a good match.

The pace was quick early on, leading into a split-screen
break. They wrestle through the commercial break, with Green
getting heat on Perez. Fighting back, Perez comes back with
a flurry of offense.


Back-and-forth down the stretch. In a nod to Green's husband
Matt Cardona, she executes a Rough Ryder. Green is looking
dominate at times, but Perez kicks out for a near fall.

As they near the homestretch, Green is tripped up while
trying to climb the turnbuckles. That led to Green taking a
big bump when Perez does a Super Frankensteiner off the
ropes.

Missile dropkick by Green for the last near fall. Perez
counters an Unprettier, and Green in turn counters Pop
Rocks. They trade near falls after each reversed an O'Connor
Roll. Perez is sent into the ropes. She bounces off the
ropes and looked to deliver Pop Rocks. Somewhat botched, but
they went home anyway. Perez covers Green for the deciding
pinfall, and still...

Concluding the show is a cliffhanger angle where The
D'Angelo Family engages in more organized criminal activity.
Tony D'Angelo and company assault and kidnap Damon Kemp and
Myles Borne. That leaves Charlie Dempsey as the lone member
of the Catch Crew, ahead of the Heritage Cup match next week
against D'Angelo.

• F4wonline.com