WWE NXT Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from February 17

Controversy again reigned supreme at the conclusion of a No. 1 Contender's match, as fans of WWE NXT witnessed Wednesday night.

Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe battled for the right to challenge Finn Balor for the brand's heavyweight championship, but a screwball finish, which saw both men's shoulders pinned to the mat, left fans and general manager William Regal again without a top contender.

While no winner was declared, that was not the case elsewhere on the card.

Asuka scored another impressive victory—this time punishing Deonna Purrazzo.

Tye Dillinger netted an upset win over the frustrated Alex Riley, while Enzo Amore and Big Cass, along with American Alpha, each staked their claims to a future tag team title match against Dash and Dawson.

How did each match grade out, and what does the outcome of each bout mean to the current state of NXT, not to mention the future?

Let's take a look.

Eight-Man Tag Team Match

NXT tag team champions Dash and Dawson found themselves in the middle of an Eight-Man Tag Team match, with their partners former tag titleholders Blake and Murphy and their opponents—the top two contending teams, American Alpha and Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady.

The ever-popular Chad Gable was isolated from his team but, true to the formula that has worked so well for them, he made the hot tag to Jason Jordan as the match broke down. The former collegiate wrestler unleashed a flurry of offense before tagging Gable back into the match and delivering Grand Amplitude.

Dash broke up the pin, preventing his partner from the loss, at least momentarily.

Moments later, Big Cass sent partner Amore off the top rope with the Rocket Launcher onto Dawson, putting the heels away this time.

Result

Amore, Big Cass, Gable and Jordan defeated Dash, Dawson, Blake and Murphy.

Grade

B

Analysis

Not only was this a tremendously fun way to kick off Wednesday night's broadcast, but it was also a great way to continue the narrative of both babyface teams chasing heel tag champions Dash and Dawson. Both can make the claim that they were responsible for beating the opponents, even if Amore got the nod for the actual pinfall, because American Alpha delivered their finish that weakened Dawson.

The crowd popped, proving the babyface side of the tag division's strength, but the heel side of things is in desperate need of help. As great as Dash and Dawson are, and as nostalgic and old school as their approach to in-ring action may be, they have developed zero on-screen presence.

Ditto for Blake and Murphy, who are two more really solid wrestlers but need to be allowed the opportunity to present their personalities to the audience.

If that happens, NXT could be looking at a tag team boom period.

If not, the division will struggle to reach its true potential.

Asuka vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Credit: WWE.com

It was not all that long ago that Deonna Purrazzo was knocked unconscious by Asuka, losing a match without ever being pinned or made to submit.

Wednesday night, she had her second opportunity to deal the Japanese sensation her first loss.

It did not go so well, again.

Despite dishing out her own fair share of offense, including a cross body block and a flurry of forearms (which went unsold), she still fell prey to Asuka's furious and ferocious arsenal.

An ankle lock, armbar, vicious backhand and a kick finished Purrazzo off and netted her opponent the pinfall victory.

Result

Asuka pinned Deonna Purrazzo.

Grade

C-

Analysis

The key to the success of this match was the pre-match promo from Purrazzo, who mentioned the fact that she had been knocked out in the past and had learned from the humbling experience. By doing so, she gave this match meaning when it would have otherwise been an extended squash.

Asuka continued to look like a world-beater, tearing through the determined Purrazzo and scoring the pinfall victory.

This was a strong followup to last week's show-closing angle that saw Asuka eyeing up the NXT Women's Championship, if only because it reminded fans of just how dangerous an in-ring performer she can be and how much of a contrast she is to the friendly and lovable Bayley.

Tye Dillinger vs. Alex Riley

Alex Riley returned to action after his uninspiring performance against Bull Dempsey a few weeks back, battling the fan-favorite "Perfect 10" Tye Dillinger this time.

The action consisted mostly of punches and kicks, with an arm ringer thrown in for good measure. A hard right hand had Riley rolling late, but a rollup from Dillinger out of nowhere scored him an upset victory.

Result

Tye Dillinger pinned Alex Riley.

Grade

D+

Analysis

The match itself was fairly basic, with nothing much in the way of inspired action.

With that said, this felt like a chapter in a story rather than something designed to be a great match— especially when the performers have only thee minutes to work with.

The narrative with Riley is an interesting one. Corey Graves put over the frustration he feels having been involved in the WrestleMania 27 main event five years ago, only to be fighting for his livelihood in NXT. It is a compelling story that was only intensified Wednesday night via the upset loss to Dillinger.

How Riley responds and when he completes the inevitable heel turn bears watching.

No. 1 Contender's Match: Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe

The right to challenge Finn Balor for the NXT Championship was on the line as Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe did battle in the night's main event.

Zayn frustrated Joe early, cutting off all his early attacks. Joe responded, taking over control of the match and putting Zayn down with a leg sweep.

Joe countered his opponent's first attempt at the Blue Thunder Bomb but fell prey to the move seconds later. He fought back, though, using a reverse atomic drop and a senton to net a two-count.

Late in the match, Zayn delivered the Helluva Kick and pinned Joe for the apparent victory.

On second glance, though, both men's shoulders were down, resulting in a screwy finish and everyone from the competitors themselves to general manager William Regal looking frustrated and confused to close out the show.

Result

Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe ended in a draw.

Grade

B+

Analysis

Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe looked like a hell of a match on paper, and, for the most part, it lived up to the reputation that preceded it. At the same time, it felt like there was room for improvement, as if they knew not to give everything away for a match with such a screwy finish.

Speaking of that finish, it was bold booking from NXT Creative given how the Triple Threat match, also involving Baron Corbin, wrapped up a few weeks back. It could have been a finish panned by the fans in the stands but, instead, it worked. Most of that can be attributed to the fact the workers pulled it off as well as it could have been.

At the very least, the finish sets up an intriguing next couple of weeks, with Regal left to sort out the mess.

And where does Baron Corbin fit in the equation? The number of times he was mentioned on commentary seems to suggest he is not out of the picture, either.