Trick Williams defends the TNA World Title against Mike Santana
The TNA World Championship will be on the line in an NXT ring when Trick Williams defends the storied title against TNA's Mike Santana. Williams stunned the wrestling world by defeating Joe Hendry to win the championship at Battleground, marking the first time that an active WWE Superstar won the top prize in TNA. Santana has pursued the title long before Williams won it, and after impressively defeating Tavion Heights, he confronted Williams and was granted the championship opportunity. Will the era of Trick-NA be short-lived, or will the TNA World Title stay in NXT?
We kick off tonight's NXT with clips from last week.
Jacy Jayne with Fallon Henley & Jazmyn Nyx, Mike Santana, and Trick Williams are shown arriving to the Performance Center.
Vic Joseph, Booker T, and Corey Graves greet audiences at home as Je'Von Evans then makes his way to the ring. Laredo Kid is already waiting inside, and Ethan Page follows.
Page calls the meeting between all four men a farce, then says Fenix won't show up while Evans and Kid are standing in the ring that he should be celebrating his North American Championship win inside. He vents his frustrations with having to defend his title in a Fatal Four-Way Match at Worlds Collide this Saturday and defend it once again against Sean Legacy.
Evans promises to dethrone Page as titleholder on Saturday, but Page says he doesn't have to leave with this and looks to leave.
Legacy's music hits, and he makes his way out to put Page on notice, tell Evans he doesn't think he's done with him, and promote his Men's Evolve Championship match tomorrow night. The Vanity Project's music hits then appears to share that they don't view Legacy as a major threat, and begin beating down Evans, Kid, and Legacy. Legacy, Kid, and Evans gain the upper hand and fly to level The Vanity Project and Page on the outside.
Andre Chase, Kale Dixon, and Uriah Connors then all make their way to the ring. DarkState follows.
DarkState (w/ Saquon Shugars) vs. Andre Chase, Kale Dixon, and Uriah Connors
DarkState wastes no time and goes right after Dixon, Connors, and Chase. Connors slides back in the ring, but Chase tries to stop him and holds back Dixon. Saquon Shugars dumps Connors in the ring, and Cutler James sends him crashing into the mat as the bell sounds. He fires off shoulders on him in the corner, then tags in Dion Lennox.
Lennox connects with a backbreaker on Connors, then locks in a Boston Crab on him. Connors fights his way out and tags in Dixon. Dixon fires off a clothesline on Lennox in the corner and sends him crashing into the mat, but Lennox levels Dixon with a clothesline. Connors and Osiris Griffin tag in, and Griffin levels Connors with a shoulder tackle. He follows it up with an elbow drop, but Dixon tags back in and rocks Griffin with a double superkick alongside Connors.
Connors and Dixon look to land a double suplex on Griffin, but Griffin delivers a double suplex to both men. Lennox then tags in, and Griffin and James toss Dixon over to Lennox who lands a powerbomb on him for the win.
Winners: DarkState
Ava is backstage with Laredo Kid, Je'Von Evans and Sean Legacy. Ava says they'll have a four on four match and they need to find a partner. Dragon Lee takes the fourth spot.
Sarah Schreiber talks to Trick Williams about his match with Mike Santana. Williams says he calls the shots now and he's what TNA was looking for for over 20 years.
Tyra Mae Steele is backstage talking to the LFG girls. Arianna Grace comes in and gives Steele a pro tip and tells her not to talk about herself so much. Steele says she's found her first opponent.
No Quarter Catch Crew then makes their way to the ring.
British Rounds Match: Myles Borne w/Tavion Heights vs. Charlie Dempsey w/Wren Sinclair
Round one kicks off, and Dempsey targets Borne's arm with a submission hold. Borne levels Dempsey with a shoulder tackle, then locks in a submission of his own on Dempsey's arm. Dempsey returns the favor and locks in another arm submission on Borne. Borne looks to escape, but Dempsey keeps the hold cinched in. Dempsey then pins Borne, but Borne reverses into a fall of his own. Dempsey kicks out, but Borne pins Dempsey again to score a fall.
Round One: Borne 1-0 Dempsey
Round two begins, and the pair lock up once again. Borne looks to whip Dempsey into the corner, but Dempsey stops his own momentum. Borne cinches in a submission on Dempsey, but Dempsey kicks out and levels Borne with a shoulder tackle. Dempsey cinches in a modified Bow and Arrow on Borne, but Borne counters into a pinfall. Dempsey kicks out, but Borne lands a shoulder tackle on him. Dempsey then runs over Borne with a shoulder tackle, and the two continue brawling until Dempsey lands a low blow on Borne as round two comes to a close.
Round Two: Borne 1-0 Dempsey
Dempsey charges at Borne as round three starts, but Borne moves out of the way and fires off uppercuts on Dempsey. Dempsey then delivers a German suplex to Borne to score a fall.
Round Three: Borne 1-1 Dempsey
Dempsey lands a shotgun dropkick on Borne's knees as round four starts, and he fires off knees on his midsection. He goes for a pin, but Borne kicks out. Dempsey then rains down Hammer and Anvil style elbows on Borne's oblique before Borne delivers a series of belly-to-belly suplexes to Dempsey and follows it up with an Angle Slam. He goes for a pin, but Dempsey kicks out. Dempsey pins Borne, but Borne kicks out and reverses into a fall of his own. Dempsey kicks out, but Borne pins him once again. Dempsey kicks out, but Borne lands a dropkick on him and pins him to win the match.
Round Four: Borne 2-1 Dempsey
Winner: Myles Borne
We then head backstage, where Izzi Dame hits Brooks Jensen with a chair across his spine. A confused Shawn Spears and Niko Vance ask Dame what she's doing considering that they have a match later tonight, but Dame explains that Jensen wasn't fully committed to The Culling and she got the match pushed back to next week. Spears agrees with her and the pair leave along with Vance.
Tyra Mae Steele then makes her way to the ring. Arianna Grace follows.
Tyra Mae Steele vs. Arianna Grace
Steele goes to shake Grace's hand but Grace declines. Steele knocks down Grace and Steele crocodile spins Grace. Steele slams down Grace and Grace kicks Steele in the face and slams her into the corner. Grace clotheslines Steele and then hits a big boot on Steele and covers for two. Grace slaps Steele and then Steele clotheslines Grace a couple times and hits an F-5 sort of move on Grace. Steele hits a German Suplex with a bridge to get the win.
Winner: Tyra Mae Steele
Sarah Schreiber talks to Mike Santana about his main event match tonight with Trick Williams. He tells Schreiber he will reflect on all this once he's won the title. He tells Williams tonight he's fighting for the legacy of TNA.
Fatal Influence then make their way to the ring.
Jayne says the fans haven't supported her for the last four years and can't get on the bandwagon now that she's NXT Women's Champion. She says all is right in the universe because Fatal Influence is on top where they belong. She says she pulled off the most shocking victory in "NXT" history last week when she dethroned Stephanie Vaquer, but she wasn't shocked that she won the NXT Women's Championship. She says everyone has underestimated her for years, but she's been putting in the work, got better, and stayed ready. She says herself and Fallon Henley started in the business together and are like sisters, then made a plan.
Lainey Reid interrupts Jayne and says Jayne is proof that anything can happen. She says she wanted to wait her turn, but she decided to jump the line. Lola Vice, Jordynne Grace, Jaida Parker, Kelani Jordan, and Lash Legend all follow behind Reid, and make their own cases as to why they should each get a shot at Jayne's NXT Women's Championship. Thea Hail then attacks Parker from behind, and everyone begins brawling with one another except for Reid and Fatal Influence.
The lights go out, and when they come back on, Mariah May appears. She says she's finally arrived, and tells everyone at ringside that they can call her the next NXT Women's Champion. She says the best women's division in the world just got a lot more glamorous.
Stevie Turner is backstage with the women's Evolve roster. They talk about being ready for NXT in the near future.
Ethan Page is backstage with The Vanity Project. Page says he took Saints' neck and Evans' smile and it's time to take care of the luchadors' masks.
Je'Von Evans, Laredo Kid, Sean Legacy, and Dragon Lee then all make their way to the ring. Ethan Page and Vanity Project follow.
Je'Von Evans, Laredo Kid, Sean Legacy, and Dragon Lee vs. Ethan Page and Vanity Project
Jackson Drake and Kid begin the action. The bell rings and the two lock up. Kid levels Drake with a shoulder tackle, then follows it up with a hurricanrana and tags in Lee. Lee fires off a chop on Drake's chest, then runs him over with a back elbow and lands a double superkick on him with Kid. He goes for a pin, but Page breaks the fall.
Legacy and Ricky Smokes tag in and Legacy lands a kick on Smokes. He follows it up with a standing moonsault before Page, Brad Baylor, and Drake take cheap shots on him from the apron. Legacy clotheslines an interfering Baylor out of the ring and sends Smokes to join him, then flies to level them. Evans then sends Drake out of the ring, then flies over the top with Lee to level Vanity Project on the outside. Kid looks to take flights as well, but Page levels him with a boot.
Smokes tags in and clocks Legacy from behind, then tags in Drake. Drake lands a boot on Legacy's midsection, then follows it up with a bodyslam to him and looks to land a senton. Legacy gets his knees up, then tags in Evans. Evans lands a flying right hand on Drake and follows it up with a springboard kick to him, but Drake rains down right hands on Evans and tags in Page.
Baylor tags in and jams his knee into the back of Evans' neck. Drake tags back in and continues to wear down Evans, then stomps on his hand. Drake rakes Evans' spine and delivers a stomp to it, then follows it up with a standing moonsault and goes for a pin. Evans kicks out.
Legacy and Page tag in and exchange right hands with one another. Lee and Baylor then tag in and Lee catches Baylor with a boot. The two men teeter on the top rope, but Lee drapes Baylor off the top by his knees and connects with a double stomp on him. He follows it up with a standing Sliced Bread for the win.
Winners: Je'Von Evans, Laredo Kid, Sean Legacy, and Dragon Lee
Trick Williams warms up backstage and we also see Mike Santana pacing ahead of their match.
Oba Femi is with Stevie Turner and Robert Stone and they tell Femi that Ava is on her way. Jasper Troy comes in and tells Femi his time is up. Stone and Turner stand there with their contract for their match.
Sol Ruca and Zaria ask Tatum Paxley when she didn't put her name in for the NXT Title. Izzi Dame comes in and tells Paxley that Ruca and Zaria aren't her friends.
Luca Crusafino comes up to Tony D'Angelo and tells D'Angelo that he knows D'Angelo doesn't trust him, so he's done something to prove his loyalty. He's got them a match against High Ryze. D'Angelo asks why he didn't ask for his permission if this concerns The Family. Crusafino says they're not really a family anymore.
TNA World Championship Match: Trick Williams (c) vs. Mike Santana
The bell rings and Williams sends Santana crashing into the mat. He lands an open palm strike on him, but Santana sends Williams crashing into the corner and fires off right hands and left hands on him. Santana sends Williams crashing into the mat and connects with a senton on him, then levels him with a dropkick and looks to fly out of the ring. Williams moves out of the way to take a breather, but Santana surprises him on the adjacent side of the ring when he takes flight over the top rope.
Santana sends Williams' head bouncing off the announce desk twice, but Williams cinches in a Half Boston Crab on Santana when the pair return to the ring. Santana escapes and looks to rain down right hands on Williams in the corner, but Williams counters into a flapjack that sends Santana crashing into the top turnbuckle. He follows it up with a spinning pump kick and rains down right hands on Santana.
Williams lands a couple of strikes on Santana, but Santana responds with a Death Valley Driver to him. Santana levels Williams with a back elbow and follows it up with a cutter, then connects with a 450 Splash and goes for a pin. Williams grabs onto the bottom rope to break the fall.
Santana looks to deliver a discus lariat to Williams, but Williams rolls out of the ring. Williams spots Elijah in the crowd and grabs his guitar. He breaks it in front of him, and an enraged Elijah hops the barricade. As the referee tries to keep Williams and Elijah from brawling with one another, First Class Money appears out of nowhere and blindside Santana with an attack. Williams takes advantage and delivers a Trick Shot to the back of Santana's neck, then delivers a second one to him for the win.
Winner and STILL TNA World Champion: Trick Williams
After the match, Williams leaves with AJ & Casey as we get the end credits.