411’s WWE NXT Report 8.22.18

The show kicks off with clips from TakeOver: Brooklyn IV.

Bianca Belair vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Deonna got a nice pop. She works the arm but gets taken over in a headlock. Bianca kips up out when it gets counters. Deonna ends up in the same position, but surprises Bianca by doing a handstand to get free. Deonna takes a bow. Knee and headlock by Bianca. She leaps over in the corner, cartwheels, flips over Deonna and hits a dropkick. It’s time for Bianca to taunt. Deonna nearly applies her Fujiwara Armbar, but Biance blocks and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. She shouts for Deonna to respect her and works the midsection. Seated full nelson locked in. Deonna gets free but is put right back in the hold. Shots to the midsection. Bianca blocks a rollup and misses a stomp. Shoulder block sends Deonna to the mat. Three elbow drops from Bianca. She bows and the taunting is a problem because she misses a standing moonsault. They trade chops. Bianca kicks her in the gut, Deonna escapes a slam and hits a bicycle kick. Backflip and dropkick by Deonna. Deonna catches a boot and goes to the armbar. Bianca struggles and prevents her from fully locking it in. She sends Deonna shoulder first into the post. Torture Rack Driver ends it.

Winner: Bianca Belair in 5:38 [**]

We get clips of EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream. After the match, Cathy Kelley interviewed Dream about what the win means. He put his crown on her head and called her Queen Cathy. He asked what she was doing this Wednesday. She said nothing, so he told her to use the time to watch NXT on the WWE Network and find out like everyone else. EC3 said Dream was simply the better man. He’s made big proclamations but is mixing in too many losses with his wins. The top 1% is a state of mind and said these losses are not over, because things aren’t over until he wins. One of the names he brought up was Aleister Black. When asked about the attack, he say nothing but chaos. He insinuates that Lars Sullivan seems like the most likely suspect.

Time for clips of the NXT Tag Team Title match. Then, they go into the North American Title situation. Ricochet gets interviewed about the win. He talks about Adam Cole until Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly show up to threaten him. Pete Dunne walks in and evens it up. Undisputed backs up. Ricochet calls Dunne “mate,” but Dunne says that’s not the case. he just doesn’t like Undisputed. He also mentions he wants the North American Title.

New work on the parking lot footage of Aleister Black’s attack shows someone watching the carnage from the roof. It’s grainy, but they believe it’s Nikki Cross.

Zack Gibson prepares for his UK Title match backstage. That sets up a video package to hype him.

Highlights of Kairi Sane’s NXT Women’s Title win over Shayna Baszler airs. Shayna, standing with her fellow Four Horsewomen, is asked about the loss. Shayna says Kairi didn’t beat her, she lost. Nothing about Kairi’s skill had anything to do with that. She’s the better fighter.

Now we get a look at Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa.

We get to see some of the WWE out in New York for SummerSlam week.

Matt Riddle’s signing is mentioned.

Next week, Ricochet and Pete Dunne will face Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong.

WWE United Kingdom Championship: Pete Dunne [c] vs. Zack Gibson

Dunne wins an early exchange, but leaves himself open for a cheap throat chop. Gibson goes after the wrist. Dunne escapes, they run the ropes and Dunne lays him out with a forearm. He gets him in a grounded hammerlock and starts with the finger manipulation on the other hand. Stomp the ear. They paintbrush each other, bringing an aggressiveness already. They end up in a double crab, where they lock up their legs into handstands and slap one another. Dunne stomps on Gibson’s arm. Gibson turns it around with a Keylock Driver, helping to set up the Shankly Gates. Forearm shot and Gibson rips at the arm on an Irish whip. Gibson wears him down a bit before a back suplex onto the arm. That gets two and he goes back to the arm. He shouts that he’s “Liverpool’s number one” as he hits another suplex with the arm targeted. Dunne fires up after some forearms, asking for more. He knocks Gibson down with one of his own. Dunne flips over Gibson and nails a step up enziguri. Dunne lands on his feet on a German and kicks Gibson in the ear. Explex into an armbar, but Gibson gets to the ropes. He escapes outside, so Dunne follows with a moonsault off the middle rope. Double stomp inside by Dunne and he gets two on a sitout powerbomb. Gibson counters Dunne’s next flip attempt with a boot. Leaping lungblower gets two. Dunne gets the arms and crosses them on the mat. he stomps on both hands but runs into Ticket to Rites. Dunne doesn’t go down and hits another move before they both kick each other and go down. When they get up, the fight goes up top. Gibson hits a twisting superplex for a near fall. Shankly Gates attempt but Dunne fights it off. Gibson finds a creative way to roll back into the hold and gets it completely locked in. Dunne fights to the ropes and when his arms are taken away, he bites the ropes to save himself. Gibson stomps on the back of his head and then puts the boots to him. Gibson talks smack and adds a vicious lariat.Having knocked Dunne’s mouthpiece out, Gibson picks it up and stares at it. He goes to throw it in the crowd, but takes a while. Dunne stops him and snaps his fingers. Bitter End connects for the win.

Winner and Still WWE UK Champion: Pete Dunne in 13:43 [***1/2]