October 2, 2019, was a huge night for the world of professional wrestling, as it finally brought about the return of the wars. While some may not think that NXT vs. AEW is exactly what everyone had in mind, it’s hard to say that it wasn’t fun. WWE decided to do whatever it could to counteract the debut of All Elite Wrestling on TNT, and that is why there were two huge former champions making their big returns on NXT .
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , there was going to be a big episode of NXT no matter what. Matt Riddle had earned the opportunity to face Adam Cole for the NXT Championship, and that match actually opened up the show on Wednesday night.
Riddle has been part of the spotlight in NXT for a while now, but the match was quite quick and not exactly pay-per-view worthy. It wasn’t a bad match, but Cole handled his own and retained his title in a fashion that kind of said he was ready to move on to the next challenger.
Little did anyone know that the next challenger would be a blast from the past for NXT fans, as Finn Balor shockingly showed up, as recapped by the official website of WWE .
The fans went crazy as Balor walked out from backstage and down the ramp to the ring. He stepped inside, asked for a microphone, and stood directly in front of Cole. The former WWE Universal Champion only had one thing to say.
“As of now, Finn Balor is NXT.”
Once again, the fans lost it and began chanting for the yellow-and-black brand. Balor didn’t specifically say anything about wanting to fight Cole or wanting the NXT Championship, but the message had clearly come across.
Later in the night, the Undisputed Era retained their NXT Tag Team Titles when Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish defeated the Street Profits. They did receive a bit of assistance from Roderick Strong, but the match went in their favor and they retained.
After it was over, the three members of the UDE posed in the ring as Cole walked out onstage and held up his title to celebrate with them. Little did he know that yet another challenger was going to confront him, as another former champion returned in the form of Tommaso Ciampa.
If this is the first step for WWE in the “Wednesday Night Wars,” it was a pretty good one with a very hot show and some incredible returns.