WWE NXT Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from July 8

In the first episode of NXT post-Kevin Owens' reign of terror, the focus was on women's wrestling, tag teams and the rebuilding of a former indy darling.

Sasha Banks was forced to seek out a partner as the issues between the NXT Women's champion and the duo of Dana Brooke and Emma intensified. After alienating the majority of the locker room, however, who would she find willing to stand alongside her as she battled the new mean girls of NXT?

The allure of tag team gold fueled Enzo Amore, Colin Cassady and the Vaudevillains, leading to a passionate No. 1 contender's main event. Which team emerged victorious, their sights set on dethroning Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake? 

Solomon Crowe returned to action, and we relived the NXT Championship match between Finn Balor and Kevin Owens from WWE's Beast In The East special.

Now find out everything that went down on Wednesday's broadcast with this exclusive look at winners, grades and analysis from the July 8 episode.

Charlotte and Sasha Banks vs. Emma and Dana Brooke

Dana Brooke and Emma continued their quest to dominate the Divas division in NXT Wednesday night, opening up the show and waiting to see who women's champion Sasha Banks found as her tag team partner.

Banks entered the arena to a huge reaction, the heel respected for her in-ring performances and character development. She was not accompanied by anyone, leading her rivals to assume she had no partner. Charlotte appeared and pledged her allegiance to Banks, with the stipulation being that she was owed one.

The champion took the fight to Dana early and then rewarded the NXT fans' loyalty with a high five to Charlotte that harkened to the days of the BFFs.

Dana and Emma isolated and worked over Charlotte until a hot tag signaled Banks' entry into the match.

The Bank Statement by the champion forced a tapout from Dana, while Charlotte prevented Emma from breaking up the submission hold by locking in the Figure Eight.

Result

Sasha Banks and Charlotte defeated Dana Brooke and Emma.

Grade

C

Analysis

The tease of the BFFs was a treat for the NXT faithful, but this was little more than a chance to reunite two of the most celebrated women in the history of the brand ahead of Charlotte's impending call-up to the main roster.

Emma and Dana Brooke continue to be non-threats, placed in a position to challenge for the title without really convincing the fans that they will actually win it.

A fun match, if nothing else.

Solomon Crowe vs. Marcus Louis

Solomon Crowe returned to the squared circle Wednesday night, facing Marcus Louis in a match between two guys in desperate need of a win.

Louis, still playing the deranged character, yelled and rambled as he controlled the early portion of the match.

Crowe mounted the comeback late, delivering a Twist of Fate and a dropkick to the knee that set up the finish. The Crowbar, a leg-based submission alternately referred to as the Stretch Muffler, finished off Louis.

Result

Solomon Crowe defeated Marcus Louis.

Grade

D

Analysis

This was a nondescript match between two guys who have been unable to maintain WWE Creative's attention.

Crowe received a new nickname (Little Monster) and picked up a rare win. While that may indicate he is in line for a push of some sort, history indicates that those in power may not be his biggest fans, making any hope of a sustained push more of a "believe it when you see it" scenario.

Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady vs. the Vaudevillains

Last week, general manager William Regal announced that Enzo Amore and Big Cass would battle the Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch) for the right to challenge Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake for the NXT Tag Team Championship.

Wednesday night, the two teams did battle, championship aspirations fueling them. So serious was the situation that Big Cass did not deliver the "S-A-W-F-T" that fans have come to expect from his and Amore's mostly comedic act.

Amore and Cass started hot, dominating the opening minutes of the match.

Back from break, though, Enzo found himself on the receiving end of numerous double-team maneuvers at the hands of English and Gotch. Amore made the hot tag, and Big Cass exploded into the contest. 

The Rocket Launcher was interrupted when Gotch pulled Cassady out of the ring. English was able to roll through Amore's high cross-body-block attempt for the pinfall victory.

Result

The Vaudevillains defeated Colin Cassady and Enzo Amore.

Grade

 B-

Analysis

The outcome of this one was interesting in that all signs seemed to point toward Enzo and Cass winning and blowing off their feud with Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake. Instead, Creative opted to go another direction with Gotch and English serving as the next challengers to the titles.

This was a fun tag match, much better than the standard fare. The ending was hot, especially with Big Cass exploding into the bout, and the finish was unexpected. That makes for a fun and entertaining main event, and there is never anything wrong with that.

For English and Gotch, it was the culmination of their journey back to relevance after months sitting on the sideline, waiting for an opportunity.