WWE NXT Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from May 27

Wednesday night, NXT hit the WWE Network determined to follow up last week's Unstoppable special with a show that maintained the excitement coming out of that show.

Kevin Owens was all over the broadcast, as he prepared to battle John Cena at Elimination Chamber, and that was the absolute right decision. Few performers are hotter than the current NXT champion, so spotlighting him this close to the biggest match of his career was booking brilliance.

Finn Balor scored an impressive victory over Tye Dillinger to continue building momentum ahead of his upcoming title match, while Alexa Bliss demonstrated a new attitude while leading Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy to a win in a tag team bout.

Emma and Dana Brooke looked to demonstrate their domination over the Divas division, not only with the Aussie's win over Bayley but also their combined effort to leave Charlotte lying in a heap after the match.

While not necessarily the strongest show from an in-ring perspective, the broadcast introduced the audience to the cast of characters that will help shape the coming weeks and months in NXT.

And that makes an effective use of television time.

Relive Wednesday's broadcast now with this look at the winners, grades and highlights from the May 27 episode of NXT.

Kevin Owens Promo

Credit: WWE.com

NXT champion Kevin Owens made his way to the ring to Sami Zayn's music, mocking the man he put out of action at last week's Unstoppable special.

Owens poked fun at John Cena's U.S. Championship Open, saying he prefers Superstars to earn their shots against him.

He went on to call himself a good man, pointing toward the destruction of Zayn last week and the fact that he let fans "live in that moment" when Samoa Joe made his NXT debut.

Owens vowed to drop Joe if they ever crossed paths again.

William Regal interrupted, warning Owens that he was walking a thin line. Regal confronted the champion, mentioning the guys whom Owens has put on the shelf. The champion took credit for injuring Zayn, Neville and Alex Riley but denied having anything to do with Hideo Itami's injury.

Solomon Crowe interrupted, and a match between the two was booked for later in the evening.

Grade

B

Analysis

This was merely OK. Owens is still the best character and most well-booked Superstar on the roster and was compelling as he ran down his attack on Sami Zayn last week, the impending rivalry with Samoa Joe and the fact that he had nothing to do with Itami's injury suffered prior to last week's show.

Crowe's involvement neither helped nor hindered his place in NXT, making him an odd choice for the main event spot.

The dynamic between Owens and Regal is outstanding and could make for an awesome one-off match between two-hour specials, if the writing staff opted to head in that direction.

Bayley vs. Emma

Emma entered the arena to new music and was accompanied by Dana Brooke, erasing any traces of the bubbly woman she once was.

The Aussie controlled the majority of the bout early, using Bayley's hair to punish her. She broke just early enough to avoid disqualification.

Bayley mounted a comeback, delivering a big suplex. Emma cut her off, though, and trapped her in the Emma Lock for the submission victory.

A post-match beatdown was cut off by Charlotte, who made the save for Bayley.

The numbers game proved too much for the former NXT champion, who was left lying at the feet of Emma and Dana Brooke.

Result

Emma defeated Bayley.

Grade

C

Analysis

It is not every day Emma benefits from a squash match, but that was essentially what this was. And she needed it more than any other Diva on the roster.

After undergoing a character transformation, she lost cleanly at Unstoppable last week. Here, she was able to make up for that questionable booking with a win over her former friend, who just happens to be one of the most perpetually over characters in all of NXT.

Non-Title Match: Elias Samson and Mike Rallis vs. Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake

One week after shocking the world by turning her back on the fans and assisting Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy in victory over Enzo Amore and Big Cass, Alexa Bliss accompanied the tag team champions to the squared circle for a match against Elias Samson and Mike Rallis.

The champions isolated and punished Rallis until a hot tag to Samson resulted in a fiery babyface comeback that lasted all of 15 seconds.

Murphy delivered the brainbuster, and Blake launched himself off the top rope with the frog splash for the pinfall victory.

After the match, Bliss delivered the Sparkle Splash to further humiliate the losers.

Result

Blake and Murphy defeated Samson and Rallis.

Grade

C-

Analysis

As an introduction to the new trio, complete with Bliss, this was fine. As a match, it was the second squash bout of the evening.

Murphy and Blake are solid in-ring competitors but are in desperate need of character development. The addition of Bliss will help garner heat, but fans will never fully accept the champions as long as they remain voiceless.

Bliss was really effective as a heel here, something that should help her gain more screen time going forward. The post-match splash was a nice touch.

Finn Balor vs. Tye Dillinger

Credit: WWE.com

New No. 1 Contender Finn Balor squared off against Tye Dillinger in singles competition Thursday night.

Dillinger never really stood a chance, even after blasting his opponent with a nasty chop to the chest to kick things off. He even stomped away at Balor and applied a modified headlock, attempting to wear the self-proclaimed demon down.

Those attempts failed as Balor caught him with a chop of his own and then a dropkick to the face.

Balor finished the match with the Sling Blade, corner dropkick and Coup De Grace.

Result

Finn Balor defeated Tye Dillinger.

Grade

C

Analysis

There was some strong technique here for such a short match, particularly from Dillinger, who is a criminally underrated professional wrestler.

This was merely a showcase for Balor, though, who will be next in line to challenge Kevin Owens for the NXT Championship.

Unfortunately, this was yet another squash match on a night filled with them.

Non-Title Match: Solomon Crowe vs. Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens suckered Solomon Crowe in, attacking him at ringside to kick off the match.

The fans erupted into a "get the stretcher" chant in support of Owens, who ran over his opponent. He wore Crowe down with a headlock, all the while his opponent tried to wiggle free, screaming in agony as the champion tried to put him away.

An intense and aggressive Owens pummeled away at Crowe and then tossed him to the arena floor repeatedly.

After nine minutes of action, the popup powerbomb scored Owens the victory.

Result

Kevin Owens pinned Solomon Crowe.

Grade

C

Analysis

If Crowe was not dead in the water after his recent loss to Baron Corbin, he certainly is now after a decisive squash loss to Owens. It is a shame because there is clearly talent in Crowe and potential for him to do so much more, but to this point, he has not been able to make the impact many fans of his Indy work thought he would in NXT.

Owens is an absolute joy to watch. A performer at his peak in terms of understanding and perfecting his character, as well as his ring work, the champion is the most captivating element of any WWE program at this point.

The staredown with Samoa Joe was fine but felt a bit too much like Unstoppable. Though the "you should have stayed in oblivion" line from Owens as he backed up the ramp was outstanding.