Original Air Date: July 5, 2017
Event Date: June 23, 2017
City: Winter Park, FL
Venue: Full Sail University
Commentary: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
Video
Roderick Strong faces Bobby Roode for the NXT Title tonight.
Intro Video
“Resistance” by Powerflo
Match 1
Kassius Ohno & Hideo Itami vs Alexander Wolfe & Killian Dain
(referee: Tom Castor)
Result: Killian Dain pins Hideo Itami after a running crossbody
Time: 6:09 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. I liked how SAnitY used teamwork to pull Itami and Ohno apart through distractions and superior unity. It played into the ongoing story between Itami and Ohno as well as working well within this match specifically. The action was good and could have gone on even longer, but it worked as a nice TV match that helped develop stories for both teams.
WWE Performance Center
Earlier today, Ember Moon told the media that she is ready to earn another NXT Women’s Title match. Ruby Riot interrupts, saying that she hasn’t gotten her chance yet, so Moon needs to get in line.
Video
Clips of last week’s Last Woman Standing match are played, followed by the image of a tweet from Asuka saying that she’ll return to NXT when they find her a worthy opponent.
Backstage
Christy St. Cloud asks Drew McIntyre what he thinks about tonight’s title match. He thinks it’ll be fantastic, but the next time she asks him that question he’ll be talking about his own title match. All roads lead to McIntyre becoming the NXT Champ.
Video
Clips of Ciampa attacking Gargano at Takeover: Chicago are shown. Ranallo announces that Johnny Gargano will be on NXT next week to address the situation.
WWE Performance Center
Earlier today, Kayla Braxton begins to ask Peyton Royce and Billie Hay about the Mae Young Classic, but they interrupt her. They are upset that no one acknowledged Kay’s birthday. In the background, Andrade Almas argues with Thea Trinidad (though her name is still not given), but Almas doesn’t want to talk about it.
Video
Last week (and unaired), Bianca BelAir defeated Aliyah in a Mae Young Classic qualifying match.
Video
Roderick Strong’s promo package featuring his family and his journey to tonight’s NXT Title match with Bobby Roode.
Backstage
Kayla Braxton asks Roderick Strong what’s on his mind just before his title match. He’s only thinking about “victory.”
Backstage
Kayla Braxton asks Roode the same question she asked Strong. Roode says Strong has been talking about his dreams lately, but he is about to have to face a glorious reality.
Match 2
NXT Title Match
Roderick Strong vs Bobby Roode (NXT Champ)
(referee: Drake Wuertz)
Result: Bobby Roode wins via pinfall after a Glorious DDT and retains the title
Time: 18:37 (2 breaks)
Match Thoughts
Very good match. I really enjoyed the story created by this matchup. Strong started, well, strong, and he dominated the first part of the match. It wasn’t until he accidentally got his leg caught in-between the ring steps and the post that things started to go Roode’s way. Roode capitalized on the fluke and controlled the majority of the match from then on. Strong managed to get some bursts of offense, but his leg was always a problem. On top of that, Roode wrestled a very smart match, picking his spots well and using every advantage he could.
I like that this sets it up as more of a heartbreaker for Strong. Had he just been straight up beaten by Roode that would have been one thing, but he lost in large part because he was dealt a bad hand with the unfortunate mistake on the steps. It keeps things very interesting for a rematch, and it fits with Strong’s story of overcoming life situations that have been out of his control.
Show Impressions
This was a very good show. Two highly entertaining matches and some good story moments. I like how NXT is able to pack in a lot of story into short segments, like the Royce/Kay segment building their characters while at the same time touching on the Almas/Trinidad thing. And using the opening tag match to build SAnitY’s dominance and the rift between Itami and Ohno. The writing has been good on NXT lately.
Match of the Night
NXT Title Match
I expect Roode and Strong wil face each other again, but the way this match went I think Roode has a legitimate claim for not facing Strong any time soon. It was more about bad luck for Roddy than Roode doing anything underhanded. Strong should have to re-qualify for a title match, and I think his journey back to this spot should take a while. It will make his eventual victory mean more.