WWE NXT Review - June 26, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Angel Garza def. Joaquin Wilde in an NXT Breakout Tournament First Round Match

I'm familiar with both of their guys from their time in IMPACT and knew going in that this would be a great match. Sure enough, it did not disappoint and ended up being an absolute blast. They impressed with their respective showings here and managed to leave a lasting impression in the seven minutes they were allotted. Garza was the right choice to advance seeing as how he is more of a complete package than Wilde, at least in my opinion.

NXT Tag Team Champions Street Profits def. Forgotten Sons by Disqualification (Non-title)

I've feel like I've seen this match multiple times in the past, so it was probably for the best that this was kept as short and as sweet as possible. Street Profits actually wanted to put their titles on the line here, but I don't think this was ever officially sanctioned as a championship matchup. Jaxson Ryker interfered before Street Profits could win it, leading to Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch coming out and making the save. Burch said to Angelo Dawkins that they "owed" them one, so expect them to get the first shot at the straps sometime soon.

Keith Lee def. Nykos Rikos

Lee is always so much fun to watch in the ring. Whenever he's up against a local athlete, he dominates them in about a minute and does so in spectacular fashion. This was no different, as he squashed Rikos with ease with the crowd solidly behind him from start to finish. It's worth noting that he screamed "This is my NXT!" before hitting his finisher, so he could be eyeing the winner of the Breakout tourney when all is said and done.

NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler def. Io Shirai in a Steel Cage Match

The TakeOver bout between Baszler and Shirai was excellent and this was equally entertaining. I'm a bit tired of the Steel Cage matches after seeing two in the last month at Money in the Bank and Stomping Grounds, but this was well worth the time. I wasn't a fan of all the interference from Marina Shafir, Jessamyn Duke and Candice LeRae, but it made sense with the story they've been telling throughout this feud and the finish protected Shirai in defeat. However, that didn't stop her from snapping afterward and beating the holy hell out of LeRae, turning heel in the process. This was terrific stuff all around.

Overall Show

NXT was already exciting to follow from week to week with TakeOver: Toronto II quickly approaching, but the Breakout Tournament gives viewers yet another reason to want to tune in. In addition to that, we had a top-notch Steel Cage main event, a showcase for Lee, and the tag team division heating up on this episode. There was also a Killian Dain teaser, a Kushida video package, and build for next week. The black-and-gold brand is on a roll right now and no other brand in WWE is remotely close to matching its momentum.