One night after American Alpha was drafted to SmackDown Live from NXT in the WWE Draft, what was potentially their final match at Full Sail University aired on this week’s WWE NXT . Since the result of their match with The Authors of Pain did little to resolve the feud, American Alpha will likely finish up the program at NXT TakeOver: Back to Brooklyn as they transition to full-time SmackDown competitors.
Nia Jax was drafted to WWE Raw , so her match against Bayley this week was possibly her last in front of the NXT Universe. Many were surprised that Bayley wasn’t one of the six NXT selections from Tuesday night’s WWE Draft on SmackDown Live , especially considering Carmella and Alexa Bliss moved up to the main rosters as well. Samoa Joe — another valuable NXT commodity that remains undrafted — was also in action this week in a non-title match against Rhyno. Austin Aries faced off against Tough Enough alumnus Patrick Clark in his WWE NXT television debut.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQd-HvrM2oM
Note: The following contains the full results and spoilers for the episode of WWE NXT that first aired on the WWE Network on July 20.
NXT Champion Samoa Joe defeated Rhyno
Despite being the current NXT Champion, Samoa Joe was not one of the six NXT Superstars to get drafted during SmackDown Live . While Finn Balor moves on to Monday Night Raw , Samoa Joe will continue to dominate at Full Sail University for the time being. This week, he put away Rhyno, who just recently made his return to NXT.
Nothing better than watching two SUPER heavyweights go toe-to-toe in an #WWENXT ring! @SamoaJoe @Rhyno313 https://t.co/5tlPxNjbcu
— WWE (@WWE) July 21, 2016
Backstage promo: NXT Women’s Champion Asuka
Asuka was asked who she would rather defend the NXT Women’s Championship against: Bayley or Nia Jax. Although her broken English made the statement less than 100 percent clear, she seemed to indicate that she would be fine facing either of them — or both.
WWE Draft: 6 NXT Selections
A recap aired of the six NXT Superstars selected in the WWE Draft on SmackDown Live . Finn Balor (No. 5 overall) was Monday Night Raw ‘s third pick. American Alpha (No. 22 overall) was SmackDown Live ‘s ninth pick. Also in the fifth round, Nia Jax (No. 25 overall) was Raw ‘s fifteenth pick. After SmackDown Live went off the air, three more NXT selections were announced on the WWE Draft Center Live , which aired on the WWE Network. In the ninth round, Alexa Bliss (No. 47 overall) went to SmackDown . In the eleventh and final round, Mojo Rawley (No. 57 overall) was drafted to SmackDown , as was Carmella (No. 59 overall) with the final selection of the WWE Draft.
And congratulations to the fabulous @CarmellaWWE on joining #SmackDownLive in the #WWEDraft ! pic.twitter.com/XtGKO7LI9A
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) July 21, 2016
The Authors of Pain defeated American Alpha
As Chad Gable and Jason Jordan made their way to the ring, they were attacked from behind by Paul Ellering’s new tag team, The Authors of Pain. Despite the obvious disadvantage, American Alpha went ahead with the match. The former NXT Tag Team Champions couldn’t put the mysterious new tag team away, however. It seems likely that American Alpha vs. The Authors of Pain will get booked for NXT TakeOver: Back to Brooklyn as American Alpha’s send-off match.
Go inside the @WWEPerformCtr to see the @WWENXT Superstars react to #AmericanAlpha being drafted to #SmackDownLive ! https://t.co/kKbrW6uy8U
— WWE (@WWE) July 20, 2016
Backstage promo: NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival
Dash and Dawson were asked what was next for the current NXT Tag Team Champions. After explaining that no one in NXT could defeat them, they were interrupted by Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano, who reminded The Revival, the up-and-coming duo, already have a win over the two-time champs.
They may be the best of friends, but they are going to do battle in the @WWE_CWC ! @ProjectCiampa @JohnnyGargano https://t.co/nCoVSLiZMD
— WWE (@WWE) July 13, 2016
Austin Aries defeated Patrick Clark
The former WWE Tough Enough contestant Patrick Clark made his WWE NXT television debut, sporting an American flag cape and an overtly patriotic pair of tights. The former TNA World Champion made short work of Clark. After the match, Austin Aries was attacked by No Way Jose, who was retaliating from Aries’ attack several weeks ago.
EXCLUSIVE: @WWENoWayJose was in NO MOOD to dance with @AustinAries on tonight’s #WWENXT https://t.co/J0u7FctnMe
— WWE (@WWE) July 21, 2016
Bayley defeated Nia Jax
Although this wasn’t a No. 1 contender’s match, the feel of Bayley vs. Nia Jax was that the winner would be the next challenger for Asuka’s NXT Women’s Championship. With Nia Jax officially headed to Monday Night Raw , it seems appropriate that Bayley would get one more match with Asuka at NXT TakeOver . Bayley was one of the NXT Superstars expected by many to go to Raw or SmackDown as part of the WWE Draft. WWE may be waiting until after another amazing performance at Back to Brooklyn .
.@NiaJaxWWE is vicious as ever, but @itsBayleyWWE is in NO MOOD to give up tonight on #WWENXT ! https://t.co/p5u2mjcYVC
— WWE (@WWE) July 21, 2016
These results have been confirmed by WWE.com’s official NXT results page .
RELATED REPORTS BY THE INQUISITR
- WWE News — ‘NXT TakeOver: Dallas’ (The Live Experience & Results)
- Who are ‘The Bullet Club’ And Why Do They Matter?
- ‘WWE Thursday Night SmackDown’ Results and Updated ‘WWE Battleground 2016’ Card
- WWE Network Preview: July 13 ‘WWE NXT’ & CWC Tournament (‘WWE Cruiserweight Classic’)
- ‘WWE Monday Night RAW’ Results: Roman Reigns Suspension Addressed, Match Added to ‘Battleground’
- ‘WWE NXT’ Results & Updated ‘NXT TakeOver: Back To Brooklyn’ Card
Hideo Itami returns to WWE NXT in two weeks
While no matches were announced for next week’s episode of WWE NXT , it was made official that Hideo Itami will return on the episode airing August 3. Itami has been out of action since suffering an injury in May of last year.
Witness the return of @HideoItami in TWO WEEKS on #WWENXT ! pic.twitter.com/Hhi0e8SErB
— WWE (@WWE) July 21, 2016
Updated NXT TakeOver: Back To Brooklyn Card
Nothing has been made official about this year’s NXT event in the Barclays Center except that it will be named NXT: Back to Brooklyn and that tickets sold out in less than one hour. However, given the current storylines and the results of the WWE Draft, the following matches seem likely for the August 20 event.
- NXT Championship — Samoa Joe (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
- NXT Tag Team Championship Match — The Revival (c) vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa
- NXT Women’s Championship Match — Asuka (c) vs. Bayley
- American Alpha vs. The Authors of Pain
- Austin Aries vs. Finn Balor
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. NXT TakeOver: Back to Brooklyn will air exclusively on the WWE Network on August 20.
Additionally, on Thursdays, replays of WWE NXT are available to stream on-demand with a Hulu Plus subscription.
[Photo via WWE]