WWE NXT 2.0. Results (7/19/2022)

Here are your WWE NXT results for July 19th, 2022: courtesy of our friend Mike Hogan of Rajah.com!

Last Week: Cora Got Jaded

We open with clips from last week's pre-show attack on Roxanne Perez by an unknown assailant. We see clips throughout the night where Cora Jade accuses Toxic Attraction, who wanted a modicum of revenge for losing their tag titles the previous week to Jade & Perez. We see where Jade volunteers to fill in for Perez if she's not good to go for the main event but, luckily, Perez was able to go. Just as it seemed Roxanne Perez might pull the upset, her tag partner Cora Jade--blinded by jealousy--turned on her. We cut to the arena where Wade Barrett and Vic Joseph welcome us to NXT 2.0.

NXT 2.0 Debut Match: JD McDonagh(d) vs Cameron Grimes

Out first to a decent pop is Cameron Grimes. The former Jordan Devlin is making his official NXT 2.0 debut. Last week saw Grimes cut a sad promo, only to be interrupted by McDonagh and eventually blindsided by the mini-prince. Wade Barrett gives some B.S. etymology of Jordan Devlin's new surname, McDonagh. The crowd seems mostly behind Grimes as the bell rings and we start our show off! Grimes takes the first lead of the night and punishes McDonagh with stiff kicks. JD seems to come up short on defense as Grimes controls the first three minutes. Grimes stands tall as JD attempts a comeback and rocks the pocket-sized powerhouse with a forearm upper cut. JD's comeback doesn't measure up as Grimes runs him off the ropes and uses a back drop to lay out McDonagh. Grimes with a punishing knee strike to JD's face is followed up with a whip to the corner. JD flips over the ramp and lands on the apron, celebrating--and allowing Grimes to catch him with a running kick that sends the action, briefly, to the outside. JD takes control as he enters the ring, using a unique set of rope-based moves to drop Grimes!
We head to break and throughout it, JD begins to fight back. The technical Irishman begins to unleash a series of holds and strikes, targeting Cameron Grimes' left knee. Throughout the break the two brawl in and out of the ring, but JD maintains control. We return from break and Grimes gets a few moves in but, again, JD focuses on the knee. Grimes finally starts his comeback sequence, rebounding off the ropes and hitting a pair of forearms before a modified spinning sit-out side slam that gets a pop from the crowd. Grimes grabs JD and two build towards the end of our match as they both get their second winds and unleash blows. Grimes takes lean, rapid-firing dozens of strikes as he battles JD inch by inch across the mat. The crowd's on their feet as the NXT fan favorite continues to pummel JD back towards the ropes, shutting down any attempt from McDonagh until finally he hits a collision move and they're both down! The crowd thanks them for the impressive display with a vocal and long "this is awesome" chant! JD rallies quickly, however, and puts away Grimes to hand the superstar yet another loss in a rather-lengthy string of them.
Your Winner, JD McDonagh!

Cora Jade Explains Herself

One-half of the NXT Women's Tag Team Champions is shown walking backstage, smirk on her face. We're told she'll explain her recent betrayal after a word from their sponsors. Welp, here we go, time to see if Cora Jade can pull off a heel. She comes out in black with her title and then lays into the crowd, pointing out all the praise she's received--a future star, the face of the division, and such. "So what do I want to do?" She states she wanted to bring her best friend, Roxanne Perez, into NXT. And jealousy took hold in Cora Jade as she saw the fans turn their attention to the new girl. She points out at the Great American Bash, they finally won championships "but not thirty minutes later, Roxanne decides she wants to cash in her contract and beat Mandy for the NXT Women's Championship. What the hell are you thinking, Rox? I wanted to make these (Women's tag) titles the most important in NXT" and she feels Roxanne is over it.
She tells the booing fans to go to hell. She goes on to state Roxanne betrayed her,w as never her friend, used her, and calls Roxanne a selfish bitch. She even bragged that Perez was in her own little world last week so much she didn't see her own partner attack her. She then explains her plan to take on Mandy, who wasn't expecting Jade, and win the title. But Perez ruined the plan and Jade states it felt so good to smash her already-broken, self-exploding skateboard across Perez's back last week--but the look on her face was priceless. She goes on to state that the tag title she has is now useless as it's built on a lie (Perez's alleged betrayal). She then trashes it in a trashcan by the commentary area and we head to break.

Singles Match: Damon Kemp vs Roderick Strong

The discord amongst the Diamond Mine continues this week as team leader Strong takes on Kemp. Both men spend the opening moments generally countering each other. Kemp looks for pin attempts early and often but Strong's experience gives him an early lead. He works Kemp's neck as he sets him up for a chop and kick combination. Commentary praises the Creed Brothers, our current tag champions and companions of both men in the Diamond Mine. Strong uses a suplex lock to wear down Kemp. The action continues back and forth with neither man truly dominating. Eventually we see the D'Angelo Family backstage, on the tron, beating the tar out of the rest of the Diamond Mine. Strong takes advantage of the distraction and catches Kemp off guard with a rising knee strike to pick up the win. After the win, both men scrambled to get to the back.
Your Winner, Roderick Strong!

Backstage: the Diamond Mine

Roderick comes across Brutus & Julius Creed and screams at them about letting their asses get kicked. They point out it was 4-on-2 but he says that's no excuse. He then criticizes Damon Kemp for not getting back there in time, despite it being pointed out that Strong had just hit Kemp with his finisher. He says "I know (that)" because he did it.

NXT UK Tag Team Championship Match: Briggs & Jensen(c) w/ Fallon Henley vs Pretty Deadly

If I'd read that title a year ago, I'd have assumed I finally had that brain aneurysm I've been expecting. Welp, welcome to NXT in 2022! Pretty Deadly come out first wearing cow-printed flamboyant gear and cowboy hats. The champs are out next with Fallon Henley and we get our official introductions ahead of the bell. Both teams spend the opening moments brawling and exchanging the lead. Pretty Deadly work better as a duo, utilizing quick tags to keep a fresher man in. The action spills to the outside where Fallon Henley takes a bump, enraging the dynamic duke-o's and sending us to a break. When we return, we get replays and see where Kit Wilson was thrown out of the ring and spilled into the unsuspecting Henley. We return to find Pretty Deadly in control. The duo execute a double rope-hung suplex drop and cover for two. Wilson and Prince control Jensen for a few lengthy moments, preventing him from tagging out. Finally Brooks gets the hot tag and clears house. He runs over both members of Pretty Deadly. Elton Prince throws a tag title in the ring and the ref is briefly distracted. Briggs & Jensen ignore it and another sneak attack, this time from the other side of the ring and with a belt, by Kit Wilson. They roll up Prince and pick up the win.
Your Winners and STILL NXT UK Tag Team Champions, Briggs & Jensen!

NXT Champion Bron Breakker Addresses the NXT Universe

Breakker makes his way out in his new blue tank-top merch to a decent pop. We're told he's got JD McDonagh on his mind. He's given a mic and soaks in a woof'ing from the crowd before speaking. "At Great American Bash, I went toe to toe with one of the very best here in NXT, Cameron Grimes. He tried to make things personal (but) he stood up to me and that I can respect. Then there's JD McDonagh, who attacked me from behind and put me through a table." He admits he knows its part of the process, and it's gonna happen. He states he knows who the Irish Ace is. "JD, you wanted my attention? You got it. And you're gonna pay for what you did to me!" JD McDonagh is shown on the screen. JD asks how Breakker's shoulder is; Breakker tells him to come out and find out for himself. JD briefly talks about competing against great guys in NXT UK. He states he's not going to beat Breakker, he's going to dissect Breakker. He uses a dummy/mannequin, written on with sharpies, as he states there are eight muscles/tendons in the shoulder. He states he's going to tear the tendon from the bone and draws on the mannequin. Bron interrupts JD and tells him if he doesn't have the balls to face Bron now, he should take some from the mannequin. JD calls himself a "necessary evil" and warns Breakker to mind his shoulder. Breakker tells him to go ahead and rip his shoulder off, as Breakker will take it back and beat JD over the head with it. The champ walks off angrily.

Singles Debut Match: Axiom (fka A-Kid) vs Dante Chen

Axiom comes out with a weird filter on the camera, attempting to blur his motion as if he's a superhero. His outfit looks like a lucha power ranger. Pics will be up later tonight. Chen and Axiom start off hot, each man using an arm bar and a series of counters to try to gain an advantage. After an impressive, and lengthy, opening sequence, it's Axiom who draws first (proverbial) blood. Axiom hooks an arm behind Chen's back but Chen counters by rolling and sending Axiom flying out with a reverse arm drag. Chen uses a ripcord back breaker to pick up a two on Axiom. Chen whips Axiom to the nearby ropes and clubs his back with a series of forearms. The NXT Universe is full of love as they loudly chant for both Superstars. Axiom takes advantage of Chen's misstep and takes a turn in charge of the offense. Axiom shows off some impressive speed and scurries up top, hitting a Superman cross body splash. Axiom follows it up with a Superkick and covers Chen for the pin and the win.
Your Winner, Axiom!

Number One Contender's 20-Woman Battle Royal Main Event Match

As with all mass matches, hang in there with me as I attempt to apply written order to the visual chaos. Our competitors are Nikkita Lyons, Tiffany Stratton, Lash Legend, Alba Fyre, Tatum Paxley, Ivy Nile, Kiana James, Yulisa Leon, Sloane Jacobs, Elektra Lopez, Arianna Grace, Valentina Feroz, Sarray, Wendy Choo, Amari Miller, Fallon Henley, Indi Hartwell, Cora Jade, Katana Chance and Kayden Carter. We head to break before this match. We return as Cora Jade makes her entrance then we're surprised with the return of Zoey Stark! Zoey's not been seen since an injury back in November! The bell rings and all the competitors start to encircle Jade. Jade exits the ring legally as does Ivy Nile, who chases Jade off to the back. All hell breaks loose in the ring and we're off! Ivy Nile eliminates Amari Miller. Indi Hartwell eliminates someone (didn't catch the name). Lash Legend and Alba Fyre eliminate each other and brawl up the ramp. Valentina Feroz and her partner, Yulissa Leon, are both eliminated in quick repetition. Fallon Henley brawls on the apron with Kiana James but is eliminated. Wendy Choo shows off some Kofi Kingston skills as she uses her pillow to avoid elimination, but quickly is eliminated. During the break, Carter & Chance work together to eliminate Elektra Lopez and Sloane Jacobs. Lyons finds herself double-teamed by KC2 in one corner; Ivy Nile and Tiffany Stratton brawl in a corner.Cora Jade survives an elimination attempt as we return from break. Toxic Attraction are shown looking on from the Toxic Lounge. Nikkita Lyons gets tired of the double-team from KC2 and eliminates both Kayden Carter & Katana Chance.
The eliminations pick up as we run into overtime, leaving us with a final four of Tiffany Stratton, Nikkita Lyons, Kiana James and Zoey Stark. Lyons picks it up and eliminates Kiana James--but Tiffany Stratton uses the opportunity to eliminate Lyons! The crowd is in shock! It's down to Zoey Stark and Tiffany Stratton! Zoey attempts to eliminate Tiffany but she holds onto the ropes and avoids the bottom floor. Stratton rises and again Stark attempts to eliminate her; and yet again Stratton manages to barely avoids eliminate! Both women fight at the apron and nearly eliminate each other. Stratton whips Stark into a corner and back-flips all the way across the ring, only to be struck down by Stark. Stark dumps Stratton over the ropes and picks up the win! ...or not! Cora Jade hits the ring, having run off to the back before, and attempts to eliminate Stark! Stark sidesteps and sends Jade out of the ring, picking up the win (for real this time!) Mandy Rose glares at her latest contender and we end our program!
Your Winner and NEW Number One Contender, Zoey Stark!