Powell’s NXT Hit List: Bronson Reed vs. Isaiah Scott for the NXT North American Championship, Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon vs. Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai vs. Io Shirai and Zoey Stark for a shot at the NXT Women’s Tag Titles, Xia Li and Boa vs. Mercedes Martinez and Jake Atlas

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

NXT Hits

Bronson Reed vs. Isaiah Scott for the NXT North American Championship: An interesting title change. Reed has been working WWE Main Event and main roster tryout matches, so the timing of his loss could be telling. Either way, I like the call of putting the strap on Scott. It gives him and the entire Hit Row faction a nice boost.

Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly: Both men created good intensity for their latest verbal sparring session. O’Reilly has wisely toned down his regular attire. The basic jeans and t-shirt look works for his persona more than the distracting hat and Triple H starter kit jean jacket. Samoa Joe was perfect as the peacekeeper who ended up taking his sweet time before sending in security after O’Reilly put Cole in a heel hook.

Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon vs. Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai vs. Io Shirai and Zoey Stark in a Triple Threat tag match for a shot at the NXT Women’s Tag Titles: A really good opening match that easily could have closed the show. Shirai and Stark were the logical team to go over given that Gonzalez holds the NXT Women’s Championship, and Blackheart and Moon were the previous tag champions. This puts Shirai in something meaningful coming out of her own NXT Women’s Title reign, and it’s a really nice spot for rising star Stark.

Cameron Grimes vs. Ari Sterling: A nice showcase win for Grimes, who showed strong babyface charisma in the post match angle with LA Knight. Sterling stood out in a big way during his ROH appearances as Alex Zayne. Here’s hoping that he’s in the Breakout Tournament, and even a candidate to win the tournament.

NXT Misses

Roderick Strong vs. Asher Hale: There was nothing wrong with the ring work. Strong always delivers in the ring, and Hale is a nice addition to the NXT and 205 Live rosters. But this was a forgettable week two for the new Diamond Mine faction. At the very least, I was hoping for a mission statement promo from Malcolm Bivens.

Xia Li and Boa vs. Mercedes Martinez and Jake Atlas: The Li kick to Martinez’s head was brutal and one can only hope that Martinez is okay. On a lighter note, Boa’s ring work continues to be rough. He’s been in the system for a long time and while he’s surely made some improvements, he still seems very unsure of himself.