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NXT ON USA PRIMER 10/23: Strong defends North American Title against Dijakovic and Keith Lee, Belair vs. Ripley, Finn Balor speaks about return to NXT

By Amin Ajani, PWTorch contributor

October 23, 2019

SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

NXT ON USA PREVIEW
OCTOBER 23, 2019
WINTER PARK, FLA. AT FULL SAIL
AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK

Roderick Strong has a huge challenge on his hands as he will defend the NXT North American Title against Dominik Dijakovic and Keith Lee in a Triple-Threat match. Bianca BeLair and Rhea Ripley look to move up the ladder in the NXT Women’s division. Finn Balor will look to further explain his return to NXT. Pete Dunne might have double trouble in the form of Damian Priest and Killian Dian. The slow build to NXT TakeOver: WarGames should begin soon as Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuiness and Beth Phoenix will call the action as NXT will air live from Full Sail University on the USA Network.
Here’s what currently advertised for tonight’s show:

  • Roderick Strong to defend NXT North American Title against Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic
  • Bianca BeLair and Rhea Ripley clash as NXT Women’s division heats up
  • How is Finn Balor’s past his future?
  • Can Pete Dunne deal with both Damian Priest and Killian Dain?

Matches and Segments

Roderick Strong to defend NXT North American Title against Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic

Velveteen Dream was originally scheduled to challenge Strong for the NXT North American Title but was taken out in a backstage angle. Not going to be outsmarted by the Undisputed ERA, William Regal announced the winner of the Dijakovic and Lee rubber match will challenge for the title. Strong interrupted the rubber match as no decisive winner was announced. Strong will look to keep the NXT North American Title in the Undisputed Era possession as he defends his championship tonight on NXT.

(Amin’s Analysis: This took an interesting turn as now NXT can hold off the Dream rematch for a bigger show and also prolong the Dijakovic and Lee program. I would expect Strong to leave with the title in a great match as Dijakovic and Lee will come in each other’s way.)

Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley clash as NXT Women’s Division heats up

The time for talk is over as the rivalry between BeLair and Ripley has reached a boiling point as they will clash tonight on NXT. The question is who step closer to challenge Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s Title in a crowded division full of challengers.

(Amin’s Analysis: This should be good match and I can see the winner get a championship match on NXT TV. With Io Shirai adding herself the championship picture and Baszler confronting both Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox you can see NXT possibly building up to a first ever Women’s War Games match.)

How is Finn Balor past his future?

Finn Balor has been a man of few words since returning to NXT and in a brief video package he explained “Next week, my future will be my past.” The question is did Balor mean by that and what does he have in store for the black and yellow brand?

(Amin’s Analysis: NXT has done a great job featuring Balor as one of the centrepieces of the show while not rushing him onto TV. It seems like they are refreshing his character up and I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a heel run in NXT at some point as well.)

Can Pete Dunne deal with both Damian Priest and Killian Dain?

Last week Priest picked up a hard fought victory over Dunne after attacking his rival below the belt line. After using an underhanded tactic it’s clear that Dunne’s issue with Priest is far from over. However, Dunne may have some more problems on his hands after snapping the fingers of Dain in a pre-match confrontation. The question is will Dunne have double trouble in the form of Dain and Priest?

(Amin’s Analysis: I liked how NXT created two programs for Dunne in one match. Like I mentioned last week Dunne is a superstar and I don’t mind him being placed in a program below the championship to help elevate NXT stars. I’m interested to see where this leads as we could see some NXT UK stars come to Dunne’s aid if needed.)

The Big Takeaway from last week’s show

Tommaso Ciampa defeated Angel Garza in his return match and had a stare down with the Undisputed ERA slowly building to a huge showdown. Io Shirai and Tegan Nox want in the NXT Women’s Championship picture as this could be leading to first Women’s WarGames match.

Closing Thoughts

Wednesday night is my favourite night as a pro wrestling fan as I always look forward to watching NXT. I liked how the show flows as we always get a couple of great wrestling matches added with some quick showcase matches. Also the recent use of video packages have been fantastic as it presents the NXT wrestlers as superstars and also used to build up programs.

CATCH UP… NXT ON USA PRIMER 10/16: Tomasso Ciampa returns after neck surgery recovery to face Angel Garza, Tegan Nox returns, Keith Lee vs. Dijakovic, Dunne vs. Priest

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