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Welcome, fellow NXT watchers! It’s Tuesday evening, thus we are here for a new episode of WWE NXT. I’m Jeremy Thomas, here as always, and tonight we are at the final stop before NXT Stand & Deliver on Saturday. Tonight’s show will see one last chance for Cameron Grimes, A-Kid and Roderick Strong to earn their way into the NXT North American Championship match at the PPV via a triple threat match. In addition, LA Knight and MSK will face Imperium in six-man tag team action while Briggs and Jensen will (hopfully) take a week off from “comedy” to take on Legado del Fantasma. Ivy Nile will battle Tiffany Stratton, Bodhi Haywood will be murdered by battle Von Wagner, Draco Anthony will take on Joe Gacy and more. It’s a busy show tonight and NXT has been good when focused on prepping for a major show, so here’s hoping!

Here at Thomas HQ, I’ve taken it a bit easy so I don’t burn myself out ahead of WrestleMania week. That means a bit less movie-watching, but I still managed to get a few in. I did a rewatch of Inception for the first time since it released in 2012 and was delighted to see how much it holds up, then moved onto the Netflix documentary The Great Hack about the Cambridge Analytica and Facebook scandal. That was a surprisingly good watch with how it focused on the human side of some of the whistleblowers. I then watched the shark movie The Requin which was the dumbest (and most boring) shark movie I’ve ever seen — and that’s a high (low?) bar. I finished the past week off with the adventure romcom The Lost City (which was perfectly fine) and the incredibly dumb and not nearly fun-enough Moonfall.

Outside of film, I watched the South Korean docuseries The Raincoat Killer on Netflix which was a pretty well-done piece of true crime. And that was about it for me.

Anyway, we’re gonna have a lot to cover tonight so let’s hop right in.

As a reminder, the GoFundMe for Larry’s daughters is still active and if you can make a donation, that would be awesome. Thank you so much to everyone who’s done so thus far.

* We’re LIVE in the Capitol Wrestling Center and Imperium is coming to the ring for their match — but LA Knight and MSK attack in advance!

Imperium vs. LA Knight and MSK

KNight is in the ring with Aichner and they trade some offense. Knight gets run over by Aichner off the ropes and gets taken down with a headlock. Knight back up and goes into the ropes but Barthel tagged in and arm drags Aicher into a standing shoulderlock. Knight reverses it and wrenches on Barthel’s arm, but gets taken down and Barthel goes right back to the shoulder. Barthel sends Knight into the ropes but gets taken down, Wes Lee tags in and catches Barthel, Carter with a dropkick.

Knight back in now but gets nailed with a punch. Knight with a backdrop, Barthel nearly turns it into a sunset flip. Aicher comes in and trips LA up, Barthel in and starts to work Knight over. Fist to the face and GUNTHER is in! Knight fires off and ducks a couple of chops, but the third one gets him and he’s down. Gunther stomps on Knight, then tags in Aichner who bodyslams Knight and covers for two.

Aichner pounds on Knight and then locks in a chinlock. Knight to his feet and fights out of the chinlock but gets pushed into the ropes and hit low in the gut. Aichner with a shot to the head and a rake to the back, big slap by Aichner. Knight is fired up, he flips out of a back suplex and tags in MSK! They pound on Aicher with kicks, send Barthel over the top, kick Gunther — Carter dives on Aichner! But Gunther runs over Lee and Knight is in the ring as we go to PIP break.

We’re back and Lee is fighting off Aichner, he hits an enzuigiri in the corner. Lee crawls for the tag, Aichner does the same, Barthel tags in and so does Knight. Knight with a big clothesline, he knocks Gunther off the apron and hits a neckbreaker, bodyslam, and elbowdrop for two until Aichner breaks the count.

Knight tosses Aichner, Carter tags in and is thrown by Knight into Barthel. Lee goes to the apron to leap up top but he gets yanked down by Gunther and Knight brawls with Gunther! LA and Gunther fight to the back, Carter goes for a jackknife on Barthel but he’s not the legal man. Aichner lays out Lee and covers for three.

Winner: Imperium (12:11)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: Very solid starter. This was a bit too chaotic for my tastes right from the get go, but everyone performed well. They kept Gunther and Knight mostly apart until they fought to the back which was smart.

After the match, The Creed Brothers come out to talk some shit.

* We get a recap of Io and KLR winning the Dusty Cup and Ray says Rose believes she’s the greatest women’s champion in history which is why they knew she’d agree to a Fatal Four-Way for the NXT Women’s Champion. IO says they’re going to get payback and it’ll be hilarious. KLR says they’re no strangers to being champions and run down their title reigns, and she says when she’s champion here she won’t need help to win like Mandy does. She’ll make sure the title is around the waist of the best competitor. Io says that’s true: it’ll be her. KLR looks forward to seeing her try and wishes her luck; Io says may the best woman win.

* Dakota Kai is backstage looking for Wendy Choo. She walks over and sees Wendy’s pillow torn apart and is worried for her.

* We get a recap from earlier this week of Tatum Paxley trying to help at Diamond Mine before getting berated by Ivy Nile and thrown out of the gym.

Ivy Nile vs. Tiffany Stratton

They start off with a test of strength, which Nile turns into a suplex. She locks in a wristlock but Stratton flips out of it, armdrags Nile down and hits a standing moonsault. Stratton with a hiptoss attempt but they reverse it a couple times before Stratton gets knocked down, but Stratton turns it around and hits a splash into the ropes. She takes Nile down with a headlock and locks in a Million Dollar Dream before eventually slamming Nile to the mat.

Stratton talks trash but that backfires as Nile gets up, batters Stratton and nails her in the corner. She backs up and hits a leaping kick in the corner, then locks in a bow and arrow hold into a stomp. Stratton out of the ring but Nile brings her back in — Stratton with a clothesline. There’s fog in the entrance and suddenly Sarray is on the apron, that distraction allows Nile to lock in the dragon sleeper for the win.

Winner: Ivy Nile (3:31)
Rating: **
Thoughts: As good as a three and a half minute match with an obvious result (including the distraction) can be.

* Tommaso Ciampa is backstage and says this has been his sanctuary to connect with fans. He says he’s had a lot of prove since he arrived to a lot of people including himself, and it’s been a lot of highs and lows and the fans have been a big part of it, whether it’s as public as his title wins or private as his wife’s miscarriages. The fans were their constant and together they created Black & Gold Magic. He’s heard the whispers that Stand & Deliver may be the end of an area, and he’ll create that magic one last time. He sets his chair up which lists his start date (9/22/15) and the date of Stand & Deliver.

* We then get a vignette of Dolph Ziggler with him running down his many accolades including his NXT Championship win. Ziggler says this isn’t just NXT 2.0; it’s DZ 2.0.

We then get a video of him having gotten in from Raw and how it’s normally him going in and out, but this week he’s spending an extra day here. He says Bron is excited for his first WrestleMania but it’s his 18th. He says he’ll be doing the media, not Bron, and that Bron wasn’t ready to win the NXT Title. He is in the studio and says he was doing all the media because no one knows who Bron is. A montage of his media appearances shows. He talks about how if he had as many resources as Bron, we never would have seen the Caddy or Nikki of Spirit Squad.

Dolph says he knows people think Bron lost the title and so he’ll win it at Stand & Deliver, but they thought that at Roadblock. He says this is the Ziggler everyone’s been waiting for, and he wants everyone to leave S&D with shocked looks on their faces.

* Cora Jade gets the Bayley treatment of this being her dream as a kid. She talks about all the champions (and takes a moment to say she doesn’t like Charlotte) but says they all held it with dignity. She says her job got harder last week now that she also has to face Io and Kay Lee Ray. She’ll give everything she has and the odds are against her, but math was never really her thing.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Briggs & Jensen

Jensen and Wilde start off, and they jockey for position. Jensen catches Wilde off the ropes and lifts him into the air, then puts him in the corner for a few shots. Whip across the ring and a clothesline, then a powerslam. Who had 45 minutes until the first Will Smith reference by Wade?

Briggs is in and Wilde gets a shot on him, then tags in Mendoza. Briggs does a lot of chasing of Mendoza, who does a ton of acrobatic dodging until he gets caught in a bearhug. Briggs tags in Jensen, they take him down then slide out of the ring for a double shot to Mendoza.

Jensen sends Mendoza into the ropes but Mendoza with a dropkick, then another one once Jensen goes out of the ring. Wilde tagged in and he holds horizontally against the turnbuckle before dropping into an elbowdrop against Jensen. They start working Jensen over in the corner with quick tags and clotheslines in the corner, Mendoza with a big kick followed by a double suplex. Wilde covers for two.

Wilde with a sleeper but Jensen hits the corner to break it. Wilde jumps on his back, Mendoza comes in and is hit with a body drop. Briggs in now and takes out both men, cover on Wilde but Mendoza breaks it up.

Briggs sends Mendoza to the outside and is distracted by Lopez, which lets Mendoza get the cheap shot. Wilde goes up top for a 450 as Fallon Henley attacks Lopez! Wilde comes off right into a chokeslam. Jensen in and Briggs wipes out Wilde for the pin.

Winner: Briggs & Jensen (5:36)
Rating: ** 1/2
Thoughts: A solid match like this drives me insane when you realize their silly “comedy” work. Briggs & Jensen are a solid team and performances like this can hopefully erase the stink of those segments.

* Indi and Persia are talking about Will Smith. Indi asks if the marks on Duke are gone after Gunther chopped it, but Persia’s been rubbing cream into his chest. The two squabble about DuSia vs. InDex, and Persia suggests a showdown at Stand & Deliver.

* We get a vignette hyping Stand & Deliver.

* McKenzie is backstage with Cameron Grimes, who says he’s usually pretty confident but tonight he’s nervous. He says it’s the biggest match of his career and puts over A-Kid and Strong, but he says they don’t need it like he does. It’s about more than holding that championship; it’s about delivering on the promise he made his father.

* Toxic Attraction is here! The ladies make their way to the ring for promo time. Mandy says this Saturday at S&D, she was supposed to face Cora one-on-one but instead Io and Kay Lee Ray took what she said out of context. Rose said she would fight any woman, but not at the same damn time! But she says she’s not scared; she’s never scared. She says we all need to remember who she is: the baddest bitch in the game with the greatest backup this company has ever seen. She says TA has been dominating the division and will continue to do so. She says she’ll rid NXT of Io Shirai once and for all and sne dRay back to the bridge she came from. Then she’ll cement her legacy of becoming the greatest NXT Women’s Champion of all time.

But before that, there’s business to take care of. She names Wendy and Dakota and says she did them a favor by taking out Cora and Raquel and practically handed them the tournament, but they failed to beat Shirai and KLR. She says Wendy “apologized” for not getting the job done, as Gigi and Jacy pull out the remnants of Wendy’s pillow and hat. Gigi says they’ve beat everyone and Dakota can’t find sleepyhead Wendy to challenge them. Jacy asks who’s left at this point? It’s a trick question: there’s no one left because they’ve beaten and embarassed everyone that’s stepped in front of us. She says on Saturday, they’ll walk in as Women’s Tag Team Champion and watch Mandy beat three other bimbos at the same damn time.

Mandy says they walk in with all the gold and will walk out with it because they’re not just Toxic Attraction; they’re THE Attraction. And here comes Dakota! Kai runs in and attacks Mandy but is quickly triple teamed — UNTIL RAQUEL IS HERE! Gonzalez comes in and takes oout Mandy and Jacy! Gigi rescues Mandy momentarily but Rose gets clotheslined down and TA bail.

Gonzalez and Kai look at each other and are conflicted as the crown chants “YES!” AND THEY HUG! THE REUNION IS COMPLETE!

Kai grabs one of the Tag Titles left in the ring and hold it up as Toxic Attraction flip out. Raquel gets the other and holds it up.

* McKenzie is backstage with Melo and Trick. Asked about the qualifiers so far, Melo says we need to put some respect on his skills in putting the matches together. He says he’ll be on commentary when Grayson Waller comes out and points out how far they’ve come. He says imagine what he’ll do when the title is on the line, and they snark at each other a bit before Waller says his is bigger than Melo’s and leaves.

Von Wagner vs. Bodhi Haywood

Bodhi goes in with punches but Von quickly takes over and levels Bodhi. Haywood picks Wagner up and they tumble over the ropes, Haywood gets a shot in on the outside. They go back into the ring and Wagner runs Bodhi over. Jacket Time are at ringside looking at Sophia Cromwell.

Inside the ring, Wagner avalanches Bodhi and then hits a double underhook suplex. Bodhi with a shoulder from the apron and he leaps into a sunset flip for two. Bodhi hits a knee off the ropes and goes for a crossbody but is caught for a fallaway slam. Bodhi with stomps off the ropes and he grabs Bodhi’s hair to bend him back first against the ropes. Bodhi fights back and dodges a running kick in the corner. Haywood takes out the knee, hits a running shoulderblock and a splash. He picks Wagner up for a snake eyes but Wagner slips off, hits an Angle Slam and covers for three.

Winner: Von Wagner (3:41)
Rating: * 3/4
Thoughts: Ruined by the Jacket Time stuff, not that it was great to begin with.

After the match Wagner attacks Jacket Time and gets Jiro in the ring. He takes him out, pulls his jacket off and rips it in half.

* Tony D is having some coffee and says Ciampa made a big mistake attacking him from behind. He talks about working your way up from the streets in the family and how you learn how to do what’s important for the family. He needs to remove Ciampa from the table and will move to the head of the table, controlling the family and the streets.

Joe Gacy vs. Draco Anthony

Joe tries for the handshake, Draco slaps it away and they go into some counter wrestling, with Gacy taking Anthony down. Draco backs Gacy up with a kick to9 the head and takes over, sending Gacy into the corner and being distracted by Harland. Gacy takes advantage and takes Dravo down, then lays in a couple stomps before applying a shoulder submission. Anthony gets to his feet but gets headbutted down, and Gacy says loneliness doesn’t have to be his only friend — and gets decked. Gacy quickly takes back over by hitting a uranage for two.

Gacy back to the shoulderlock, Draco goes to get him on his shoulder but Gacy slips off and locks in the sleeper. Draco fights back and sends Gacy into the ropes, he runs over Gacy who goes into the corner and eats a splash. Suplex by Anthony, cover for two.

Anthony goes for a suplex but Gacy floats over, grabs Draco and rolls him up, handspring elbow off the ropes for three.

Winner: Joe Gacy (3:57)
Rating: **
Thoughts: Repetitive as hell, and the only surprise is that Harland didn’t get involved outside of one brief stare.

* We get a vignette of Bron talking about how the whole world is descending on Dallas and he’s facing Ziggler for the title. He says you’re damn right it’s the biggest match of his life! His first run was about proving he can be The Guy. We get a recap of Ziggler winning the title. Bron says Dolph is a poison who acts like he’s bigger than the brand. He says Dolph comes in, does his segment, and leaves each week. He takes everything and gives nothing back while NXT is Bron’s life. He trains his ass off every single day and WM weekend, he promises Dolph Ziggler won’t leave with the NXT Championship because there’s too much on the line. He doesn’t care what Ziggler thinks of him, because the culture of this place means too much to him.

* The NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship match is official, with Gigi and Jacy taking on Raquel and Dakota. We also run down the rest of the card.

Nikita Lyons vs. Sloane Jacobs

Lockup to start, Lyons with a headlock. Sloan sends Lyuons into the ropes but gets run over, Lyons with a couple armdrags and a bodyslam. She picks Jacobs up, Jacobs tries to fight out but eats a spin kick for a two count.

Lyons puts Sloan on her shoulder but Jacobs slides off and hits an armbreaker. She begins working the arm with kicks in the corner, but Lyons escapes, dodges a kick and hits a release German suplex. Samoan Drop, series of kicks, split legdrop pin for three.

Winner: Nikita Lyons (1:47)
Rating: N/A
Thoughts: RIP Sloane.

After the match, Lash Legends appears on the Tron and talks some trash. She says they have unfinished business once Stand & Deliver is finished and she’s going to prove why she’s more athletic, more talented, and a bigger superstar.

* Malcolm Bivens is with Diamond Mine and says that everyone’s afraid to fight Diamond Mine alone, and says Roddy will win tonight, climb the ladder at S&D and win the North American Title, then the Creeds will win the Tag Team Titles. After that, Diamond Mine will have more gold than Mr. T himself. Diamond Mine starts to leave and Brutus gets a text from the 718 area code saying they’ll be watching S&D. They assume it’s the dudes that jumped them.

NXT North American Championship Qualifier
Cameron Grimes vs. A-Kid vs. Roderick Strong

They square off and circle to start, with Grimes going for A-Kid who escapes. They jo9cket for position and do a ton of counter-wrestling, A-Kid and Strong with a couple quick pin attempts. Strong rolls Grimes for the stronghold, A-Kid goes for his submission, Grimes teases the Cave-In and they part for a beat.

Grimes tells Strong to kiss his grits and kicks him when he charges, A-Kid dropkicks both men but gets attacked by Roddy in the corner. He hits a big chop on A-Kid, then whips Grimes toward A-Kid. Grimes leaps up, monkey flips Kid into a rana! And Grimes lifts Kid into a double knee to Strong’s face!

A-Kid with a shot to Grimes and he goes up top, taking out Grimes and Strong both with an armdrag/rana combo. Grimes kicks A-Kid off the rop but Strong nails Grimes. Everyone is down on the outside as Solo Sikoa comes out to watch and we hit PIP break.

Back from break and Strong hits a superplex on Grimes, followed by a frog splash on A-Kid. Waller is now in the audience watching as Strong gets up and throws A-Kid in the corner, then tries to lock in a Strong on Grimes. A-Kid laps on Strong but gets dropped on Grimes. Strong goes for a double crab but no luck, they trade shots and Grime shits a double rana! Forarm to Strong and another off the ropes, two forearms to A-Kid and a kick to both men in separate corners. He goes up top for a crossbody on Grimes, tilt-a-whirl sidealk slam on A-Kid and covers but Strong breaks it up.

Strong off the ropes with shots to Grimes, but Grimes with a superkick. He comes off the ropes with a 180 crossbody, then eats a BIG DDT from A-Kid! Everyone’s slow to get up, A-Kid with a chop to Strong, Grimes with a shot to A-Kid, Strong chops Grimes. They’re trading all sorts of shots, Strong batters Grimes but hets chopped by A-Kid. Strong with a backbreaker on A-Kid, he hits a high knee on Grimes and then hits another backbreaker on A-Kid. My feed went short a moment but A-Kid tries to roll Strong but and eats a BIG knee. Double knee to Strong’s back, but Grimes with a Cave-In! He covers, he gets it!

Winner: Cameron Grimes (10:55)
Rating: *** 1/4
Thoughts: A bit too chaotic for my tastes, this was all high spots and I expected a little bit more. But for what it was and the time given, it was good.

Melo congratulates Grimes but says there’s no way he walks out with the title. Santos appears in the crowd and says he will bring it back to the family; Waller says family doesn’t matter and his title win will become viral. Solo says the street champion will become the new North American Title. Grimes is taking the North American Title TO THE MOON and he decks Hayes, turning it into a brawl to close the show.