WWE NXT Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights From September 15

In the wake of an eventful weekend for WWE in Mexico City, tonight's NXT looks to keep the momentum going as the talent of tomorrow takes center stage.

Grayson Waller's first NXT Championship challenger will be determined as Saquon Shugars, Mason Rook and Tony D'Angelo collide in a Triple Threat match. D'Angelo is gunning for a rematch for the title he lost at Heatwave while Shugars and Rook are eyeing their first shot at the strap.

Myles Borne will also apologize to Tavion Heights for laying him out at Heatwave, but there's no guarantee that they'll be back on the same page. The segment could lead to an official betrayal from one of them and a heated one-on-one encounter.

In other action, Lizzy Rain will do battle with Kali Armstrong and DarkState will attempt to get back on the right track by taking on Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux in tag team warfare.

Here are the complete results, grades and reaction for the Sept. 15 edition of WWE NXT as it airs live on The CW.

Lizzy Rain vs. Kali Armstrong

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Last Time in Action: Lizzy Rain and EK Prosper def. The Culling (NXT, Aug. 11); Zaria def. Kali Armstrong and Wren Sinclair (NXT Heatwave, Aug. 30).

Kali Armstrong came into this contest looking to bounce back after failing to win the championship unification match at Heatwave. Meanwhile, Lizzy Rain has made quite the splash since arriving in NXT earlier this year but hasn't been involved in anything of note as of late.

A dropkick to Armstrong on the outside of the ring gave Rain the advantage going into the commercial break. In the second half of the bout, Armstrong landed an emphatic spinebuster on Rain for a close two count.

Following a flurry of kicks from both women, Rain reversed a move of Armstrong's into an impressive cutter. Armstrong secured the victory not long after with her signature shoulder block.

Skylar Raye, the female winner of WWE LFG Season 2, emerged afterward to attack Armstrong.

Result

Kali Armstrong defeated Lizzy Rain.

Grade

B

Notable Moments and Observations

• These are two tremendously athletes with bright futures, so it was no surprise that they had a quality contest here. Both Armstrong and Rain need wins right now, but it made more sense for Armstrong to go over.
• Rain wrapped up a rivalry with The Culling last month but has been on the back burner since then. She's shown a ton of upside on NXT this year and will be fine despite the loss, but she should end up in another storyline soon.
• Skylar Rae returning was a rather random development. She has been a total non-factor on NXT this year and has no memorable history with Armstrong (at least on NXT TV), so a lot will need to be done in order to get viewers to care about a match between her and Armstrong if it isn't going to be a straight-up squash.

Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux vs. DarkState

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Last Time in Action: Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux lost to Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno (NXT, Aug. 11); DarkState def. Saquon Shugars, Dar and Moreno (NXT, July 21).

Cutler James and Osiris Griffin represented DarkState here. They were without Dion Lennox, at least up until the ending.

Sean Legacy landed awkwardly during a sliced bread spot early on, but he appeared to be fine for the rest of the match. The babyfaces had the crowd behind them throughout, especially whenever they were hitting their exciting aerial offense to the outside.

Legacy and Dorian Van Dux hit a slew of tag team maneuvers, including a double moonsault to Griffin around the halfway point. Legacy's double cutter to DarkState wasn't enough to put them away, and thanks to an assist from Lennox, DarkState won with a dominant powerbomb.

Post-match, Birth Right rushed the ring and targeted Legacy and Van Dux before Zilla Fatu, who turned down Birth Right's two different offers to join them, made the save and cleared the ring.

Result

DarkState defeated Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux.

Grade

B-

Notable Moments and Observations

• Tag team wrestling has clearly been on the rise in recent weeks in NXT and this was another example of that. Legacy and Van Dux are always a blast to watch and can afford a few losses while looking good in defeat.
• DarkState simply aren't an interesting faction at this point, though that would imply they were ever actually interesting. Their matches are solid, but they don't have much upside in NXT and don't need to be chasing the NXT Tag Team Championship again anytime soon.
• The post-match angle was an effective way of furthering the feud between Fatu and Birth Right. It still feels like a step back for Fatu to be working with a faction that was largely exclusive to the Speed division until a few weeks ago, but it will keep him busy for a bit, if nothing else.

Myles Borne Apologizes to Tavion Heights

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Myles Borne brought out Tavion Heights to explain that he only laid him out at Heatwave because he acted out of fear and paranoia. He only wanted Heights to understand why he did what he did and asked that accepted his apology.

Heights wasn't willing to forgive him so easily, even though Borne said that he was in a similar situation at The Great American Bash where Heights nearly turned on him. Borne recalled them winning the NXT Tag Team Championship together and mentioned that they're unstoppable when they're on the same page.

Heights admitted to planting seeds of doubt at that point but they're brothers for life. Immediately after embracing, Borne attacked Heights with the same move he hit him with at Heatwave to a chorus of boos.

He inflicted further punishment on Heights, putting a permanent end to their alliance in the process.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Needless to say, if Borne's heel turn wasn't official before, it's set in stone now. Dragging out the betrayal was slightly unnecessary, but the betrayal did pack a punch here because of how it was executed.
• The mic work from both men was solid. This benefited from having plenty of history behind it and their upcoming feud should feel like a big deal.
• Both of these guys have had a great year as singles stars and the goal of this rivalry should be to elevate them to the next level. Borne has the potential to be a great heel and Heights can get more over as a fan favorite if he continues to flesh out his character.

Cruz Montana and EK Prosper vs. The Vanity Project

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Last Time in Action: Cruz Montana, EK Prosper and Keanu Carver lost to Mason Rook, Saquon Shugars and Tony D'Angelo (NXT, Sept. 8); The Vanity Project def. Myles Borne and Tavion Heights to win the NXT Tag Team Championship (NXT Heatwave, Aug. 30).

This match came together earlier in the evening when Cruz Montana and EK Prosper confronted Robert Stone about losing last week's six-man tag team main event and were interrupted and challenged by The Vanity Project.

The NXT Tag Team Championship wasn't on the line here, but Montana and Prosper fought as if they were. This was a hotly-contested clash with a handful of highlights, starting with a stellar springboard moonsault from Prosper.

Prosper followed that with a blockbuster off the top rope to Brad Baylor, but Vanity Project quickly regained the upper hand when Jackson Drake wiped out Montana on the outside. Myka Lockwood nearly got involved as well but was ejected from ringside alongside Drake.

The finish came when Ricky Smokes pinned Prosper with Baylor offering an assist from between the ropes.

Result

The Vanity Project defeated EK Prosper and Cruz Montana.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Prosper and Montana made for a terrific tandem in last week's main event and once again worked well together here. That said, it was logical that they came up short here since Vanity Project are the reigning NXT Tag Team champions.
• Vanity Project can always be counted on for an above-average outing, regardless of who they're in the ring with. It's smart to keep the tag titles on them so they keep having matches of this caliber.
• It was subsequently announced by Robert Stone that the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will be returning on next week's episode. The Creed Brothers are the only team confirmed for it so far and it wouldn't be shocking to see Vanity Project or the duo of Montana and Prosper in it as well.

Kelani Jordan Addresses the Audience

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One night removed from making her Raw debut, Kelani Jordan appeared on NXT to boast not only about that but also successfully defending her NXT Women's Championship against Jaida Parker last Tuesday night.

Of all people, La Catalina interrupting her was certainly a surprise. She just won the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship at Triplemania 34 and came to NXT to step up to a fellow champion.

NXT Women's North American champion Zaria had other intentions, as she surfaced to tease the possibility of another unification match involving her, Jordan and Catalina. Thea Hail was the fourth person to make her presence felt and stake her claim at the NXT Women's North American title.

A brawl broke out to set up a tag team match for next week with Catalina and Hail joining forces to take on Jordan and Zaria.

Grade

C

Notable Moments and Observations

• Kelani Jordan has become far more confident on the mic this year, but this wasn't one of the strongest segments she's been a part of. That has less to do with her and more with NXT putting her and other champions in segments where they're overshadowed by a bunch of potential challengers.
• The promos here were serviceable, but only Zaria and Hail are feuding at the moment, so the involvement of Jordan and Catalina felt forced. The tag team match should be fine and will likely lead to Hail picking up another big win over Zaria, but more of an issue should have been established between Jordan and Catalina to justify them being in there as well.
• There's no shortage of credible challengers waiting in the wings for Jordan after next week. Perhaps Jaida Parker will get involved to rekindle her rivalry with Jordan and create the need for a rematch with the gold up for grabs.

NXT Championship No. 1 Contender's Triple Threat: Tony D'Angelo vs. Mason Rook vs. Saquon Shugars

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Last Time in Action: Mason Rook, Saquon Shugars and Tony D'Angelo def. Cruz Montana, EK Prosper and Keanu Carver (NXT, Sept. 8).

These three won a six-man tag team match last week to advance to this Triple Threat, where the winner would be named the new number one contender to Grayson Waller's NXT Championship.

A massive suplex took out Tony D'Angelo, Mason Rook and Saquon Shugars simultaneously along with a suplex off the top rope mere moments later. All of this transpired prior to the commercial break.

The second half got even more chaotic with Rook enduring a springboard legdrop from Shugars and a Jackhammer from D'Angelo. There was a ton of innovation from start to finish, almost to a fault with some spots looking a little less polished than others.

Shugars hit a tornado DDT on Rook so he fully focus on D'Angelo, but before he could score the three count, the referee was ripped out of the ring by Tristan Angels, who confronted Shugars backstage earlier in the night.

With Shugars removed from the equation, Rook capitalized on D'Angelo's injured back to hit him with a super splash and pin him for his biggest victory yet.

Result

Mason Rook pinned Tony D'Angelo to become number one contender to the NXT Championship.

Grade

B

Notable Moments and Observations

• NXT does so many multi-person matches (especially ones with stakes), so this one isn't bound to stand out from the rest when all is said and done. Nonetheless, this was a good match with the best part being that none of the three guys were out of the action for an extended period of time.
• Rook went from being involved in a forgettable midcard feud with Kam Hendrix just two weeks ago to now becoming the number one contender to the NXT title. No one actually expects him to take the title from Grayson Waller when the time comes for them to have their match, but it's a big spot for him to be in, and it's better than D'Angelo getting a rematch right away.
• Shugars vs. Tristan Angels doesn't feel like it needs to be a full-fledged feud since Angels has been a glorified stepping stone for everyone else on the roster so far in his run, but it can be more than that if he's booked better. Shugars has been making the most of the opportunities he's been afforded on his own and this will give him a chance to keep that momentum going.

Overall Show

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From an in-ring standpoint, this was one of the better editions of NXT we've seen in some time. The wrestling on the whole was enjoyable with more time being devoted to meaningful matches with minimal filler.

Grayson Waller vs. Mason Rook being set up as the next NXT Championship match gives the brand something to build around for the next several weeks with a few other feuds bubbling up in the background.

That's in addition to the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic being brought back for the first time in three years and that giving the tag team scene some new life.

This was a rare episode of NXT where the men's matches and segments outnumbered the women's, which did force the powers that be to make the men's side of the roster more compelling for a change. How they choose to follow up what happened on this show will determine how worthwhile the road to Halloween Havoc will be.

Final Grade

B

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.