This week’s episode of WWE NXT was all about the new NXT Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura. The show opened with news about Samoa Joe’s jaw injury and concluded with the King of Strong Style looking as strong as ever since coming to NXT. The entire show featured highlights of Nakamura’s short tenure in WWE’s developmental system, and he was warmly received at Full Sail University.
The rest of the card featured mostly action among mid-card talent, with guys like Tye Dillinger and No Way Jose getting the biggest victories of the night. The WWE Network’s synopsis for this week’s episode of WWE NXT didn’t advertise much other than Nakamura’s return, so in that respect, they didn’t disappoint.
“NXT returns from Brooklyn to Full Sail University with a new NXT Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura.”
Of course, NXT is taking full advantage of the incredible response that Bobby Roode’s NXT entrance theme has received on iTunes and YouTube. He crosses paths with No Way Jose on WWE NXT this week, while Austin Aries approaches Roode’s TakeOver adversary, Andrade Almas.
Note: The following contains the full results and spoilers for the episode of WWE NXT that first aired on the WWE Network on August 31.
Samoa Joe Was Not Cleared By NXT Doctors
This week’s WWE NXT opened backstage at Full Sail University with Samoa Joe, William Regal, and a doctor. Not only did the doctor acknowledge the fact that he suffered a jaw injury, but also claimed there were additional injuries the former NXT Champion failed to disclose prior to TakeOver: Brooklyn . The doctor refused to clear Joe to compete, which obviously didn’t sit well with the Samoan Submission Machine.
. @WWENXT is ON THE AIR on @WWENetwork , as trainers refuse to clear @SamoaJoe for action, due to injury. pic.twitter.com/p95nX6FkgR
— WWE (@WWE) September 1, 2016
Tye Dillinger Defeated Buddy Murphy
Last week, in a match that was taped in Brooklyn, Tye Dillinger defeated Wesley Blake. This week, at Full Sail University, he defeated Blake’s former tag team partner, Buddy Murphy. He finished the former NXT Tag Team Champion with the Tye Breaker. The Perfect Ten remains the NXT equivalent of Dolph Ziggler. Victories like this are used to build Dillinger up so that he can put over bigger talent later.
Looks like @FullSail has just become a #Perfect10 , courtesy of #WWENXT Superstar @WWEDillinger ! @WWENetwork pic.twitter.com/kimkFBwLlT
— WWE (@WWE) September 1, 2016
Tommaso Ciampa Interrupted By The Revival
After Johnny Gargano suffered his kayfabe knee injury at the hands of Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder, Ciampa was prepared to give an update on his tag team partner in a backstage promo. However, he was interrupted by The Revival, and all three of them ended up brawling in the ring. When Ciampa refused to stay down and interrupted The Revival as they cut a promo in the ring, they hit him with the Shatter Machine. Several referees attended to Ciampa as the NXT Tag Team Champions returned to the backstage area.
Don’t back @ProjectCiampa into a corner … as he comes out swinging at @DashWilderWWE & @ScottDawsonWWE! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/iAcPOfDxqy
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) September 1, 2016
Steve Cutler Defeated Kenneth Crawford
Neither of these NXT Superstars has had much of an impact in WWE’s developmental league so far. Steve Cutler’s prerecorded promo that aired as he got to the ring was mediocre at best. The match was easily the most forgettable of the night. If the creative team at NXT has something in store for Cutler, it will be interesting to see what they do with him.
Your opinion means NOTHING to @SteveCutlerWWE… all he cares about is WINNING tonight on #WWENXT on @WWENetwork ! pic.twitter.com/VTJcPQjqA5
— WWE (@WWE) September 1, 2016
No Way Jose Defeated Angelo Dawkins
A televised match against Angelo Dawkins seems to indicate that you’re still a relevant part of NXT’s mid-card talent. After losing to Austin Aries at TakeOver , a solid win over Dawkins is just what No Way Jose needed. After the Fastball Punch, he hit Angelo with the Cobra Clutch Slam and earned the pinfall victory. Just before the match, they aired another cryptic video that ended with the word “sanity.”
Who is #SANITY ? #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/3ohdl7ezfd
— WWE (@WWE) September 1, 2016
Austin Aries Interrupted Andrade “Cien” Almas
Being interviewed about his loss to Bobby Roode at Brooklyn II , Andrade Almas was interrupted by Austin Aries. The former TNA World Heavyweight Champion was complaining about the fact that Hideo Itami ruptured his eardrum. When Almas challenged Aries, Austin claimed he couldn’t hear the what was said and simply left.
Liv Morgan Defeated Aliyah
With the NXT Women’s Champion Asuka absent — and the former champion Bayley no longer a member of the NXT roster — both Liv Morgan and Aliyah had the chance to prove that they deserve some serious attention within the competitive NXT women’s division. While neither of them will likely be the one to take the title from Asuka, they put on a solid match for this week’s WWE NXT .
. @YaOnlyLivvOnce is ready to reach the top of the #WomensDivision as she heads into action on @WWENetwork ! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/izCJeh3iJs
— WWE (@WWE) September 1, 2016
Bobby Roode Interrupted No Way Jose
While being interviewed about his victory over Angelo Dawkins from earlier in the show, Bobby Roode lived up to his last name when he brought the interview to a halt and simply said to Jose, “Nice head.” Whether Roode and Aries are simply trading opponents from TakeOver or they are building to a tag team match, it appears that both No Way Jose and Andrade “Cien” Almas will continue to work with the recent transplants from TNA.
Shinsuke Nakamura
Throughout WWE NXT this week, highlights were shown of Nakamura’s meteoric rise to the top. He defeated Sami Zayn at TakeOver: Dallas , defeated Finn Bálor on WWE NXT , and defeated Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship at TakeOver: Brooklyn . He claimed the era of Samoa Joe is over in NXT and that the Era of Strong Style has begun.
Out of all the championships @ShinsukeN has held, the #NXTChampionship MEANS the MOST! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/jtSomwhTJJ
— WWE (@WWE) September 1, 2016
These results have been confirmed by WWE’s official NXT page .
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Next Week On WWE NXT
The only announcement that was made about next week’s episode of WWE NXT was that NXT Women’s Champion Asuka would return to Full Sail University for an interview with Tom Phillips. Given that Ember Moon wasn’t present on WWE NXT at all this week, it will be interesting to see if she comes into contact with Asuka next week.
TONIGHT: The #KingOfStrongStyle is the KING of @WWENXT ! @ShinsukeN returns to NXT Arena as Champion @WWENetwork ! pic.twitter.com/qAGvxAVOKA
— WWE (@WWE) September 1, 2016
Where To Watch
The WWE Network airs new episodes of WWE NXT on Wednesdays at 8/7c. It is available for streaming on-demand immediately. Additionally, on Thursdays, replays of WWE NXT are available to stream on-demand with a Hulu Plus subscription.
[Image via WWE]