WWE NXT Review - September 1, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Isiah "Swerve" Scott and NXT Tag Team Champions Breezango def. Legado del Fantasma (NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza) in a Street Fight

These six stars have been at odds for a while now, so the Street Fight stipulation felt fitting. It was also a hell of a way to kick off the evening and send the message that it was a major show. Everyone played their roles well, they worked a frantic pace, and there were enough exciting spots to make it memorable. It was also the best Breezango match I've seen in some time. I'm happy Scott finally won as Legado del Fantasma has been unstoppable up to this point and this sets up Scott vs. Escobar in a rematch for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship.

Candice LeRae def. Kacy Catanzaro

I believe these two faced off originally earlier this year when LeRae first turned heel and I praised the decision to put Catanzaro up against LeRae because of how well she sells. That was once again the case here. They had a nice little match that essentially served as a showcase for LeRae. Catanzaro has been great in the enhancement role, but I'd like to see her get a push of her own eventually. In response to what Tegan Nox said about her, LeRae invited Nox over to her house in an attempt to hash things out. Obviously, that won't end well.

Timothy Thatcher def. Bronson Reed

Both of these guys want the next shot at the NXT North American Championship. I almost wish NXT waited to bring back Austin Theory until now because of how he interrupted Reed in that backstage segment a week ago. That made the finish to this match fairly predictable, but I enjoyed the outing, nonetheless. Reed hasn't been pinned in a while, so the interference from Theory at least protected him in defeat. As for Thatcher, expect him to contend for Damian Priest's North American title sooner rather than later.

Adam Cole vs. Finn Balor vs. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano in a 60-Minute Iron Man Match for the NXT Championship Ended in a Draw Between Balor and Cole

As entertaining as this was on the whole, the constant commercial breaks were a big problem. It's why we don't tend to see many 60-minute Iron Man matches on TV. I especially hated when they went to commercial with seven minutes left. That was annoying. The layout was strong and there was never a dull moment, but it felt like it didn't reach that next gear until the final stretch. Worse yet, the draw finish was a letdown. Why hype this up as one of the greatest matches in the history of NXT TV only to do a draw and save Balor vs. Cole for next week? I understood why they did it with next week's episode also taking place on a Tuesday, but surely they could have gone with a more satisfying conclusion than that. It's also obvious that Balor is winning since there's virtually no chance Cole regains it so soon. It should be Balor vs. Ciampa next week instead of Balor vs. Cole, unless the former is being saved for the next TakeOver special.

Overall Show

Obviously, this show centered around the Iron Man match, but the first hour of the episode was solid between the Street Fight, LeRae's quick win, Reed vs. Thatcher, and the build for Rhea Ripley vs. Mercedes Martinez inside a steel cage next week. It's just a bummer that the main event ended in such anticlimactic fashion, even if it was to set up Cole vs. Balor for next Tuesday night. It was a quality edition of NXT and the Iron Man matchup lived up to its billing for me, but that lame ending is all anyone will be talking about coming out of it.