Date: 05/11	7:00 PM
Views: 356

Nickolye's WWE NXT recap for May 11, 2021 at 8 PM ET. Tonight, Kushida will defend the NXT Cruiserweight Championship against Santos Escobar in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match. Austin Theory takes on the NXT Champion Karrion Kross in a non-title match. Also, Mercedes Martinez challenges Raquel González for the NXT Women's Championship! NXT is back in the Capitol Wrestling Center, now on Tuesday night! Hit F5 or refresh as often as you like for the latest updates!

* Austin Theory vs. Karrion Kross {NXT Champion}
  [non-title match]

Austin Theory and Johnny Gargano are mesmerized by Kross's entrance, and Johnny has to get his buddy hyped up for the match. The bell dings and Kross corners Theory, shoves him away, and brushes off a dropkick just to boot him in the face. Kross is barely affected by a clothesline, and blasts him with one of his own. The champ is in control of this match from the get-go, laughing in Gargano's face as he holds his young apprentice down and hits a T-bone suplex. Gargano distracts the referee so that Theory can rake Karrion's eyes and gain an advantange, he shoves him into the barricade, and plants him with a DDT on the floor. Theory shoves him into the ringpost and stomps him down in the ring, hits the rolling dropkick, and covers for a 1-count. We just learned that Johnny Gargano will defend his NXT North American Championship against Bronson Reed next week. Kross regains his faculties with a couple of Doomday Saito suplexes, hits him in the back of the head with a big forearm, hits forearm smashes to an unconscious Theory in front of Gargano, and locks in the Kross Jacket for the win. WINNER: KARRION KROSS!

Kross and Gargano have a staredown, but then Finn Bálor is standing in the ring next to Kross! Bálor: "I don't wait in lines. I want my rematch." Kross: "I want it just as bad as you do. Let's do this." Looks like we're in agreement! Time for the first commercial break.

Earlier today, Leon Ruff went to Mr. William Regal for a match tonight. It got so intense they got into a heated argument with Regal ultimately telling him that he will not compete tonight, even though he was medically cleared to.

* Breezango vs. MSK {NXT Tag Team Champions}
  [non-title match] 

Tyler Breeze and Wes Lee start the match for their respective teams, Breeze gets an armdrag, and takes a rest on the ropes. Lee hits a shoulder block, ducks and flips over him, lands on his feet from a suplex, both go for a superkick, and we're at a stalemate. Fandango and Nash Carter both tag in, they lock up collar-and-elbow, Carter gives him an armdrag, Fandango does one of his own and dances, Carter dropkicks him and does his own wacky dance. Breeze tags in, Carter outsmarts them making them collide, even the REFEREE gets caught in the middle of the action doing a drop-down and leapfrog and he's fired up as well! Both teams are looking at him like "Dude, WTF was that about?!"

When we come back from break, Lee kicks Fandango in the back of the head, but then Fandango does a Japanese armdrag into the turnbuckles and delivers the falcon arrow, and Carter has to break the count. We get word that Alexander Wolfe has a stomach flu diagnosis, meaning that he cannot compete against Killian Dain tonight as was scheduled. Lee fights off both men to tag in Carter, they hit a kicking combination ending with a double stomp to the back, they do the pushing moonsault onto Breeze, and Fandango forces a collision to break the count. All four men are down, they all start throwing punches, Lee kicks Fandango in the head, Breeze superkicks both of MSK, and makes the tag. Carter cuts off Fandango on the top, Fandango blocks a superplex, but Carter drops him with a running knee and wipes them out with a diving moonsault to the floor! Lee tags in, Breeze is back in, Carter superkicks Breeze, they hit the assisted running blockbuster, and that gets the 3-count! WINNERS: MSK!

Breezando and MSK show sportsmanship post-match, and they turn their attention to Legado Del Fantasma telling them to step up because they're ready. Backstage, Gargano storms into Regal's open office complaining about defending his title next week. Regal tells him that he doesn't hate him; in fact, he values him as the North American Champion and the marketing department made him his own headband. He still has to face Bronson Reed next week, so Gargano breaks his pencil in frustration. Breaktime.

We come back to see Mercedes Martinez warming up for her big title match. We learn that the next big event will be NXT TakeOver: In Your House 2021 live on Sunday, June 13th, once again hosted by Todd Pettengill! Ever-Rise show up behind the commentary table with a sign.

Pete Dunne: "So Karrion Kross has chosen Finn Bálor. You know what, I don't blame him because we both know that I'm the toughest matchup there is. So Karrion, keep ducking me mate, 'cause sooner or later that title is mine. I'm the baddest man in NXT, and see if any man in the back thinks otherwise. Here's your chance, try and prove me wrong, I dare ya! Here's your chance, step up! Come on, I'm right here, step up. Exactly." LEON RUFF attacks Dunne! I was just thinking that Dunne can make an open challenge but Ruff can't compete, it was only a matter of time for him to make a statement. And he's doing just that with a dropkick all fired up! Oney Lorcan is with Dunne at ringside as Dunne puts in his mouthguard with a smile, and here we go!

* Pete Dunne vs. Leon Ruff

Dunne plants him down with mounted punches, and Ruff kips up into a quick kick. Ruff gets tossed onto the apron, but he springboard back in evading him, but Dunne catches his arm, hooks onto his back, bends his fingers back and works on the joint manipulation while punching him in the face. Ruff does a springboard hurricanrana, but Dunne clotheslines him, bends his arm back and stomps on his ribs. The concern from the commentators is that Ruff is not well enough to compete, but Ruff thinks otherwise with hard punches and kicks, does a backbreaker, hits a missile dropkick, Dunne drops him with a step-up enzuigiri, and Ruff comes back with a rebound dropkick. Dunne hits a big forearm in mid-air, does a figure-4 headlock and elbows him on the top of the head until the referee calls the match. WINNER via ref stoppage: PETE DUNNE!

Dunne further makes his point by breaking Ruff's fingers snapping them back. Legado Del Fantasma are in the back wth a message. Raul Mendoza says the real champ is here, Joaquin Wilde adds that the Cruiserweight Title is coming home, and Santos Escobar finishes by saying Kushida is the champ because Escobar likes him, but that ends tonight and he claims he will become a 2-time champion. The women's title is on the line when we come back from break. We get a promo for Franky Monet in action live in two weeks. Also in two weeks, Bálor challenges Kross for the NXT Championship!

* NXT Women's Championship: Mercedes Martinez vs. Raquel González {C}

Martinez attacks right away and clotheslines the champion out the ring followed by a running cannonball off the apron! She scares off Dakota Kai before hitting a running knee to González and breaks the ref's count. They end up back in the ring as we take a commercial break...

... but the match continues during picture-in-picture. González takes control of the match keeping her challenger down with a chinlock and slams her down. Martinez fights back with forearms, stomps her down in a corner, González ducks a clothesline and hits a big forearm to the jaw, then does a scoop slam for a 2-count. González delivers a suplex, 2-count, then applies a half-nelson chinlock, elbows her on the back of the neck, and covers for 2.

Martinez starts fighting back when we return to full-screen, but González clotheslines her and gets a near-fall. The champ hits an avalanche in a corner, another scoop slam, another near-fall, and puts her in another chinlock. Martinez fights out then takes her down and starts swinging! She gets on González's back with a sleeper hold, hits a forearm smash, sets her on the ropes, hits a hangman's neckbreaker and covers for a near-fall! Martinez spears her on the apron, the referee is counting them out, Martinez throws her back in the ring, covers for a 2-count, kicks and punches, but González drops her on the ropes. González lawn darts her into the ringpost, covers for a near-fall, Martinez with a jawbreaker, hits a European uppercut, González clotheslines her for 2, hits a backbreaker for 2, Martinez counters the powerbomb with a sunset flip, knees her in the face, and connects with the fisherman's buster for 2.9! Martinez knees her in the jaw, González boots her in the face, hits the SINGLE-ARM POWERBOMB, and covers for 3! WINNER and STILL NXT Women's Champion: RAQUEL GONZÁLEZ!

Isaiah "Swerve" Scott and his crew pull up in the parking lot before the break. When we come back, Austin Theory and Johnny Gargano are getting kicked out of a room. The camera pans around to see Bronson Reed stumbling back to his feet shouting "Johnny's a dead man!"

Swerve is on the stage saying things are about to get spooky in NXT, then music plays for "Hit Row" and the crew show up with him. Swerve admits that he made mistakes in NXT, but the biggest one was pretending to be a different person than he really is. He mocks the "Swerve House" chant that he used to run with, but calls himself a savage, disrespectful, and a dangerous man. So he decided to recruit people who think the same way as him. Top Dolla is the first introduced and says he went from the NFL to A&E to XXL Magazine and now to NXT on USA. Ashante Adonis steps up to the mic next and he's the scrappy one of the group. Next up is B-Fab and she mentions that she's rapped on tour with Juicy J and lived overseas. This group is known as Hit Row, and now you know.

Earlier today there was an auction for a lakefront home and it started at $2,000,000. Cameron Grimes shows up to buy it, but is asked to sit down and bid, then asks why is Alan the Auctioneer talking so fast. The count goes up to $5,000,000 and Grimes asks who keeps bidding with him. Grimes calls for $8,000,000 and it's almost up, but then we hear "20 million!" Grimes doesn't like that so he's out and shouts "Who spends 20 million on a house!?" TED DiBIASE, that's who! Grimes loses his mind once again as he's outdone by Ted DiBiase.

We get a video package for the feud between Toni Storm and Zoey Stark, and their match is set for next week. Oney Lorcan is already in the ring for the next match with Pete Dunne standing with him on the apron. This match is a result of earlier when Lorcan challenged O'Reilly in the parking lot.

* Oney Lorcan vs. Kyle O'Reilly

The scuffle at the start of the match trying to outwrestle each other, Lorcan puts him in a head scissors, O'Reilly counters to a headlock, they scrap in a corner, O'Reilly hits a shoulder block, and Lorcan hits a running back elbow. Lorcan hts a forearm to the kidney, O'Reilly traps him with an armbar in the ropes, Dunne backs off, and Lorcan attacks O'Reilly from behind before a commercial break.

When we come back, Lorcan is in control with mounted punches and knife edge chops to the chest. O'Reilly tries to fight back through the chops, hits a running knee to the stomach, combo Muay Thai strikes, legsweep, forearm smash in a corner, armbreaker, back suplex into the heel hook, and Lorcan rolls to the ropes. O'Reilly kicks him in the hamstring, Lorcan chops him, O'Reilly goes for a guillotine, knee to the side of the face, hits a BRAINBUSTER, and connects with the DIVING KNEEDROP TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD for the win! WINNER: KYLE O'REILLY!

Pete Dunne jumps O'Reilly from behind and Lorcan holds him down for the attack. BOBBY FISH IS BACK AND MAKES THE SAVE! Fish fights off Dunne and Lorcan, and O'Reilly gets back to his feet as the two former Tag Team Champions and ex-Undisputed Era stablemates clear the ring. As they going to reunite? Will they fight each other like Adam Cole did when he broke up the group? O'Reilly is happy to see him back, Fish is glad to be back, O'Reilly says he's doing his own thing right now, and Fish says he's got a score to settle with them. "I'll see you when I see you." That was nice to see an amicable split.

We get a faux superhero promo for The Way. Bronson Reed is sick to death of Gargano and Theory, so he spoke to Mr. Regal, and he gets Gargano inside of a steel cage for the title next week!

* NXT Cruiserweight Championship - 2 out of 3 Falls Match: Santos Escobar vs. Kushida {C}

Escobar heads to the ring alongside Mendoza and Wilde by his side. Kushida rushes the ring, the fighting champion is ready to go, but the referee separates them for the proper championship match introductions. The NXT Cruiserweight Championship is presented, the bell dings, and this main event 2-out-of-3 Falls title match is underway! Escobar strikes at the bell, throws him out the ring, Kiushida evades Legado Del Fantasma, and MSK wipe them out at ringside! Legado and MSK fight each other and they're ALL ejected from the area! Kushida wipes out Escobar with a swanton from the top to the floor before a commercal break!

Escobar dropkicks the champ when we come back and puts him in a single leg crab. During the commercial break, Escobar threw Kushida into the plexiglass barricade, but there were no falls yet. Escobar sets him up on the top rope, puts him in the fireman's carry, drops him chest first on the top turnbuckle, then puts him in a Boston crab against the ringpost. He applies the Mexican surfboard, flips him over into a modified camel clutch, rolls him over for a 2-count, keeps control over the champ, and hits running knees to the chest. Kushida fights him off the ropes, Escobar pummels him on the forehead, hits a hurricanrana from the top, Kushida rolls through for a 2-count, hits a handspring back elbow, hiptoss, and cartwheels into a dropkick. Escobar hits a knee, connects with the Phantom Driver, and covers for 3! WINNER of the 1st Fall: SANTOS ESCOBAR.

Escobar is now up 1-0. Kushida catches him with the cross armbreaker in the middle of the ring, and Escobar taps!! WINNER of the 2nd Fall: KUSHIDA.

We are at 1-1 as we go picture-in-picture in the final commercial break. Kushida hits a running dropkick in a corner and starts striking him to wear him down, hits a bulldog armbreaker, does an armbreaker over the shoulder, and works his arms behind his back. Kushida covers for 2 then tries to put him in the kimura.

When we come back full-screen they spill to the floor, and Escobar shoves him into the barricade. Kushida grabs his arm, Escobar drops him on the top rope, hits the tope suicida, throws the champ back in and covers for a near-fall. Kushida blocks the double-underhook, hits a tilt-a-whirl DDT, both men are down, Kushida goes up top, hits a diving knee to the elbow, connects with the wind-up punch, soccer kick to the arm, Escobar ducks the baseball slide, but Kushida hits the bulldog armbreaker on the floor. Kushida brings him back into the ring, rolls him up for 2, goes for the Hoverboard Lock, Escobar counters with an inside cradle for a near-fall, hits a jumping leg lariat, Kushida blocks the Phanton Driver, pins him for 2, Escobar counters for 2, Kushida with a jackknife pin for 2, Escobar reverses for 2, Kushida counters for 2.9, and both collide with a double clothesline! Escobar places the champion on the top rope, goes for the Phanton Driver, but Kushida blocks it, brings him down into the Hoverboard Lock in the middle of the ring, Escobar crawls to the ropes, and breaks the hold! Kushida goes for the hold again, delivers a brainbuster into the turnbuckles, hits a hammerlock butterfly suplex, and bridges for 3! WINNER and STILL NXT Cruiserweight Champion: KUSHIDA!!

Kushida retains the Cruiserweight Championship in the main event! See you next week featuring a steel cage match for the NXT North American Championship!