WWE NXT Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From July 29
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE NXT on July 29.
SummerSlam is this weekend, and while the developmental brand won't have much of a presence at the event, it still had to do some groundwork to build up Heatwave on August 24.
This week's show featured a couple of matches from the women's division, with Jazmyn Nyx taking on Jaida Parker, and Fallon Henley going up against Lash Legend.
However, the big advertised attraction this week was TNA director of authority Santino Marella challenging Ethan Page for the North American Championship.
Let's take a look at what happened on Tuesday's episode of NXT.
Jaida Parker vs. Jazmyn Nyx
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NXT opened with the roster in and around the ring as the announcer called for a 10-bell salute to honor Hulk Hogan, who died last week.
After a break, we got a video recap of last week's show.
Parker was out first for her match against Nyx, who had Henley and Jacy Jayne by her side. As soon as they locked up, Parker asserted her dominance by pushing Nyx to the corner and patting her on the head condescendingly.
A springboard enziguiri took Parker down for the first two-count of the match. From that point forward, this was a competitive contest that didn't seem to have an obvious conclusion.
One of the best parts of the NXT women's division is no matter the level of experience, it feels like everyone wants to make sure every performance stands out in some way. Nobody ever phones it in.
Parker scored the win while the rest of Fatal Influence watched with disappointment in a short but energetic match.
Result: Parker defeated Nyx
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
—It took about 13 minutes before the first match got underway.
—Booker T was very excited for this match, as expected.
—Using the bottom rope for a springboard kick is a simple and effective way to make it look cool without adding a ton of risk.
Setting Up a Match
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Je'Von Evans came to the ring looking to call out a champion, but he was interrupted by Trick Williams before he could get too far into his promo.
Evans let him know he wasn't talking about Trick. He wanted to challenge Oba Femi.
The High Ryze came out to back up Williams and say it should be him getting an NXT title shot. Evans knew his time was up, so he took the first shot at Wes Lee before everyone else pounced on him.
This was a pretty predictable segment, but everyone did their job well. Evans vs. Lee was a good match to add to the card.
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
—Taking the clip of Evans' voice out of his entrance music would make it infinitely better.
Tavion Heights vs. Charlie Dempsey
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Tavion Heights had another chance to get out of NQCC this week when he took on Charlie Dempsey.
Wren Sinclair came out with both men but stood in Dempsey's corner.
The first few moments saw both men hit a few takedowns and counters as they struggled to get the upper hand.
Heights began to take control using his superior power, but both competitors went down when they went for a crossbody at the same time. We returned from a break to see Heights starting to build up a head of steam, but Dempsey began focusing on his leg to keep him grounded.
This was a fun and competitive match that was just as good as their first encounter, possibly even better. Heights was able to get the win with a textbook belly-to-belly suplex to get the pin.
Demspey begrudgingly shook the victor's hand before leaving him to celebrate.
Result: Heights defeated Dempsey
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
—There was a segment with Chase U trying to get a tag title shot backstage. It was hilarious and worth checking out.
—There was a random shot of Joe Hendry in the middle of the match for some reason.
—The double crossbody spot was just a tad too slow, but otherwise it looked good.
Everyone Wants a Title Shot
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Blake Monroe was out after the break to talk about why she turned on Jordynne Grace at Evolution.
She showed some pics of Grace from very early in her career before she had the bodybuilder physique we know today. She mocked Grace and said she herself is the one WWE should be building a brand around.
Lola Vice and Parker eventually came out to voice their opinions and stake their claim at a title shot. Kelani Jordan used Jordynne's music to scare Blake.
Predictably, a fight broke out among all four women. Vice and Jordan sent Parker and Monroe out of the ring to end the segment. Parker shoved Monroe to show they were not allies.
This segment not only had body-shaming, but it also ended without a match being booked or any kind of resolution to anything going on.
Grade: D
Notable Moments and Observations
—Monroe's entrance has some creativity, but it feels like it's missing something to take it over the top.
—Parker shoving Monroe was hilarious.
Lash Legend vs. Fallon Henley
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Henley and the rest of Fatal Influence were in the ring when we returned from a break during Legend's entrance for this bout.
Henley tried to play some mind games and immediately regretted it when Legend unloaded on her and then picked her up above her head for a press slam.
Nia Jax showed up to attack Legend while the ref was distracted, giving Henley the advantage she needed to win.
The match itself didn't have much to it. It was all designed to bring Jax into the fold and set her up for a future contest with Legend, which became clear after she kept attacking Legend following the end of the match.
Result: Henley defeated Legend
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
—We got another one-second Joe Hendry appearance during this match.
Wes Lee vs. Je'Von Evans
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Evans wasted no time getting the fight going when he hit a suicide dive while Lee was still making his entrance.
The Young OG took it to the former North American champion and hit a big springboard clothesline for a two-count right away.
Lee kept trying to make a comeback, but it felt like Evans had his number at every turn. It wasn't until right before the break that Lee finally started to build some momentum.
This was an entertaining and highly competitive match. Both of these guys can do some incredible aerial moves, and they made sure to bring their best to this one.
Both men came close to winning a few times, but in the end, Evans fended off High Ryze and hit a springboard cutter for the pin and the win.
Result: Evan defeated Lee
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
—Evans has the kind of agility you can't train to get. You either have it or you don't.
—The chop Evans hit echoed. Lee sold it perfectly.
—Williams was pretty funny on commentary.
—The Cardiac Kick looked better in this match than it has in a long time.
Santino Marella vs. Ethan Page
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Marella was out first to take on Page for the North American Championship in the main event of Tuesday's show.
While Santino is still mostly a comedic character, he did not try to be funny when he and Page began grappling. Both men showed off their technical ability with some reversals and counters.
This ended up being a much more competitive contest than expected, but it never once felt like Page was in danger of losing the title.
This is one of those bouts booked solely to give the champion a win while simultaneously giving a veteran one last shot at success. We have seen this kind of thing many times, like when Jerry Lawler challenged The Miz for the WWE title.
Unsurprisingly, All Ego retained his title in the end, but this was a fun way to bring in Santino for a match.
Result: Page defeated Marella
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
—Hearing Santino's music is always a little nostalgic. He was always so much better than his booking, so it's great to see the fans loving him in this role.
—The crowd chanting Page's name the way Santino pronounced it was hilarious.
The Final Word
8 of 8Tuesday's episode of NXT addressed a lot of different feuds and storylines while setting up a couple of future matches such as Chase U vs. Hank and Tank, and Jax vs. Legend, but a lot of what we got also felt like filler. Especially the Monroe segment.
The main event this week saw Marella return to the ring for WWE for the first time in five years to take on Page for the NA title.
However, the match that stole the show was Evans vs. Lee. The two high-flyers had the fans on their feet with every big spot and outshined everyone else on the show.
NXT has become surprisingly good at having a lot of stories and feuds at once, but sometimes it feels like if it put more focus on a handful of stories, they might have more meat on the bone.
Grade: C
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