Happy St Patrick’s Day from the Capitol Wrestling Center! NXT 3/17 kicks off with the Irish-born NXT champ is in ring and still with the belt. Finn Bálor’s beaten Kyle O’Reilly, Pete Dunne, and Adam Cole. But he hasn’t beaten Karrion Kross … yet. He says that changes at Takeover: Stand & Deliver. Kross and Scarlett come out to object. Kross says that they had to settle their separate affairs but now it’s time to settle business about the belt he never lost. Scarlett says that the cards have foretold two champions draped in gold. Finn Bálor and Kross seem confused but Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch come out to make a case for Pete Dunne. Scarlett ignores this and instead entices Burch & Lorcan to put their tag team titles on the line against Kross and Bálor.
Dexter Lumis vs Austin Theory
Austin Theory is talking with Johnny Gargano and Candice LaRae via video chat and finds out that they won’t be there at ringside. It’s the final part of his therapy to face Dexter (and what he supposedly said about Theory’s abs) on his own.
Theory goes in hard and fast at Lumis. Both are at the beefier end of the NXT spectrum but, because of that, many overlook Austin Theory’s athleticism. In addition to fallaway slams and suplexes, he gets major air for his dropkicks and elbow drops. He’s nearly Silenced early, though, and a rolling attack is caught for a big spinebuster. It’s a short rally when Theory is unfazed by Lumis’ creepy crawl and hits some Strong Zero/Muscle Buster type of move. Lumis seems to win Theory over with a hand up and a hug but tries to lock in Silence! Theory says that Gargano was right and hoists him onto his shoulders but Lumis slips out. Uranage into Silence.
Winner: Dexter Lumis
McKenzie Mitchell is looking to speak with NXT GM, William Regal, but Tomasso Ciampa cuts in line to talk about Imperium. Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel may want to ask themselves if they’ve seen Alexander Wolfe lately. The answer is “no” and they should realize that they’ve messed up.
Adam Cole is of the opinion that Kyle O’Reilly messed up even worse last week. He says that O’Reilly cost him the NXT championship and it’s hard to argue. Medically cleared or not, O’Reilly is a marked man. William Regal says that Kyle is not medically cleared and banned from the building as their altercation last week has further delayed his return to action. O’Reilly shows up on the screen and says that he is outright threatening Cole and knows everything about him. Cole tells Regal and the WWE Universe that this is not over by a long shot.
Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon are still riding high after winning the newly minted NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship last week. But here comes The Robert Stone Brand to throw last week’s words back in their faces: “Champions need challengers.” They accept and will face Jessi Kamea & Aliyah with the titles on the line next week.
Speaking of titles, a car pulls up outside the CWC with Jordan Devlin, carrying what he has been calling the real NXT Cruiserweight Championship!
Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde vs Breezango
Currently recognized cruiserweight strap holder, Santos Escobar, accompanies Legado del Fantasma to the ring. Fandango is one step ahead of everything his opponents have and makes them look silly for a bit. Tyler Breeze gets a short Shining Wizard to slow him down, though. Fandango starts to get momentum back but gets a leaping switch kick while he’s perched on the top turnbuckle! Breeze is the freshest man in the match when gets tagged in but some clever tag work gets him guillotined on the top rope and then the Russian legsweep/flying kick combo that Legado is making famous.
Winners: Legado del Fantasma
After the match, Santos Escobar tells the announce table that NXT belongs to Legado and that Jordan Devlin is full of false claims. Devlin comes to the center of the ring and says that he didn’t come to blindside Escobar but rather that he came to call him out. Escobar says that he’s no placeholder and proved it time after time. “The Emperor of Lucha Libre” is happy to face Devlin at Takeover to clear up the controversy. “The Irish Ace” is happy to give Escobar a headbutt and a ripcord Saito suplex before evading Wilde and Mendoza!
Adam Cole tells McKenzie Mitchell that he’s not worried about Kyle O’Reilly’s threats and looking forward to ending him.
Zoey Stark vs Dakota Kai
Dakota has the savvy but Zoey has the size and athleticism to keep up. Every time Kai tries to brawl, she gets folded, but smart grappling (and a handful of hair) makes it even. Zoey flies for a slingshot plancha, bringing Raquel Gonzalez to that side of the ring to slow down the action. Dakota catches Zoey in mid-air with a superkick and follows through with the corner kick but can’t get more than a two count! The Kiwi survives a rolling slam to nail Zoey with the Go 2 Kick from the top turnbuckle.
Winner: Dakota Kai
Dakota starts to gloat at Zoey with Raquel backing her up but the music for Io Shirai plays. The NXT Women’s Champion walks right up to Raquel Gonzalez and shoves the contract for a match into her chest.
McKenzie Mitchell finally has Regal at her disposal. She asks about the cruiserweight title picture but a producer comes up to tell Regal that something has happened to Adam Cole in the parking lot.
The Grizzled Young Veterans shout the loud angry words at MSK for the smoke and mirrors and hand-bashing they pulled last week. No mention about how it was receipt for their own actions in prior weeks.
Marcel Barthel vs Tomasso Ciampa
Marcel Barthel comes out for singles competition but is immediately attacked by Tomasso Ciampa who levels Fabian Aichner first. Barthel recovers enough to match Ciampa for a few minutes of what Wade Barrett called “brutality personified.” Aichner saves Barthel from Willow’s Bell once but a another minute of rage from Ciampa ends it just the same.
Winner: Tomasso Ciampa
A bit of the old Ludwig Van plays and the NXT UK Champion, WALTER, emerges! Ciampa has a staredown with Walter but the rest of Imperium comes up behind and sets him up for a big powerbomb!
Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly are handcuffed and screaming at each other stemming from what looks like a road rage incident as William Regal tries to sort it out with law enforcement.
LA Knight says that the superstars need to watch out for “the megastar.” Bronson Reed seems unconvinced. (Maybe because he’s still wearing his “Eli” logo?)
LA Knight vs August Grey
It’s showtime for LA Knight and he’s dominant from the get-go. Slight disruption in the flow, however, when Bronson Reed plays “thick boi in a leather coat,” bursting LA’s custom Eddie Murphy threads. This gives August Grey a chance to hit some rapid fire offense but he misses with a twisting press off the top rope. Snapmare driver ends his (k)night.
Winner: LA Knight
McKenzie is speaking with Raquel Gonzalez when Dakota come sup with an offer to take on Io Shirai and Zoey Stark in a tag match. She says that they’ve lost two in a row as a team and that they need to put the women’s division on notice. Raquel is sold and it is on.
In a creepy (and otherwise off-putting) bump, Xia Li promises that “all obstacles will be removed.”
William regal returns to the CWC to report that the situation between Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly has gotten out of control and they are to report to him next week so that they can find a way to settle this.
NXT 3/17 Main Event: Karrion Kross & Finn Bálor vs Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch (c) for the NXT Tag Team Championship
Danny Burch loves to scrap but Karrion Kross loves to destroy. Oney Lorcan decides to help out in a should-have-been-disqualified kind of way but the champs get a double suplex from Kross. Despite a scary landing for Burch, he’s able to tag Lorcan in against Bálor when he tags himself in. Finn’s got the championship pedigree but Oney do like a squabble. He’s bringing the fight to Finn but Danny Burch is still being attended to by a medic at ringside. Jawbreaker and Pele kick from Balor leave him with no one to tag. Lorcan solves this by knocking Kross off the apron and keeping it one-on-one. Finn takes aim and hits Lorcan with a running dropkick on the outside that blasts him right into Scarlett! Finn sends his opponent back to the ring while looking over Scarlett in concern. Kross comes over in a rage, and uses Balor’s face to clean the barricades. He sends Balor back into the ring to get a running uppercut from Lorcan.
Winners and still champions: Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch
Not a heartbeat after Lorcan gets the three count, Kross hits him with two Saito suplexes. He pulls Finn in tight for a sleeper hold but he’s saved by… Scarlett? She pleads his release and pulls him to his feet. It’s the perfect position for the running forearm to the back of the head. Scarlett drapes the NXT title belt over the champion’s body and echoes her words from earlier in the night: “Everything happens for a reason. You can’t escape fate.”
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