WWE NXT Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from May 4

Eric Young's debut shook the NXT Universe Wednesday and set up a gigantic main event against world champion Samoa Joe, who was fresh off a history-making victory over Finn Balor.

The former TNA co-workers showed no signs of friendship or excitement to see one another again. Instead, they traded a few words, and then fists, as NXT delivered another of its outstanding episodes.

The Revival was also in action Wednesday night. Former tag team champions Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder battled The Hype Bros one week after attacking them from behind. Would they be able to continue their climb back to championship glory, or would Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley attain the vengeance they sought?

With Nia Jax, No Way Jose and Austin Aries vs. Tye Dillinger rounding out the rest of the card, the show was stacked from top to bottom.

Who emerged victorious, how did each bout grade out and how did the outcomes affect NXT going forward?

Take a look for yourself with this recap of the May 4 episode of the hottest brand in professional wrestling.

Samoa Joe Promo

Samoa Joe returned to the NXT Arena at Full Sail University for the first time since defeating Finn Balor to capture the brand's heavyweight championship, and he had a few words for the fans, for Balor and the entire NXT locker room.

"What stands before you is a man that keeps his word," Joe started off, recalling all of the times he promised to take the NXT Championship from the leader of the Balor Club.

Just as Joe claimed no one could do anything about his reign as champion, Eric Young made his debut, arriving to NXT to a thunderous ovation.

"I collect those," Young said, pointing at Joe's championship.

Young touted change, Joe claimed he did not belong in the same ring as the champion,and the two stared each other down to end the segment. 

Grade

B+

Analysis

This was the perfect way to promote change in NXT. With the era of Balor coming to an end, debuting a hot free agent right out of the gate was the right move on the part of management.

The exchange was short, sweet and to the point and set up a major main event match for the show. If only those in charge of the main roster would get that formula down, episodes of Raw may be more tolerable.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Nia Jax

Credit: WWE.com

Tessa Blanchard made her second appearance in NXT—this time Nia Jax's unfortunate opponent.

The daughter of the great Tully, Blanchard fired off a few hard shots but found herself the recipient of a big corner splash and a series of elbow drops. The Samoan Drop followed, and Jax's trademark leg drop finished the legacy competitor in short order.  

Result

Nia Jax defeated Tessa Blanchard.

Grade

C 

Analysis

There was not much to this match, and there should not have been. Nia Jax is clearly headed back to the NXT Women's Championship picture and a date with Asuka. Having her tear through someone like Blanchard who, while talented, is not a member of the main roster is exactly how she should be built back into a contender.

Jax has undeniable presence, and if her match with Bayley in London last December taught us anything, it is that she can hang with the best workers and in the highest profile of spots. This is just the beginning of great and monumental things Jax will enjoy.

Austin Aries vs. Tye Dillinger

For Tye Dillinger to truly prove himself The Perfect 10, he would have to score a monumental upset over The Greatest Man That Ever Lived—Austin Aries.

Aries did a fine job of avoiding Dillinger's offense early, but a big backbreaker put him down for two and shifted control to The Perfect 10.

The Superstars traded chops and forearms until Aries delivered a short clothesline and tope con hilo. Aries followed up with a corkscrew dive over the top as the former Ring of Honor and TNA heavyweight champion rolled.

Dillinger fought back with a nasty neckbreaker that nearly netted him that elusive signature win. Aries' roaring elbow and corner dropkick left Dillinger lying in the ring, and the 450 splash secured his victory. 

Result

Austin Aries defeated Tye Dillinger.

Grade

B

Analysis

Perhaps it was the quality of his opponent but this was, by and far, Aries' best performance in NXT to date. The action was fast, furious, stiff and believable. More importantly, it felt like a win he deserved, with the 450 splash being the exclamation point of a finisher that he had been lacking.

Dillinger is such a strong worker, it is still amazing that he has not been given a greater role in NXT than glorified enhancement talent. Aries would confirm The Perfect 10's skills in a promo later in the night, referring to him as an A-plus talent.

If he can see it, and the fans respond so favorably to him, management has to see it.

Right?

The Hype Bros vs. The Revival

One week after a sneak attack left them just lying there, The Hype Bros sought revenge as they battled former NXT tag team champions The Revival.

An early distraction doomed Zack Ryder, leaving him isolated from his partner and at the mercy of Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson. They worked him over, displaying an intensity fans had not seen out of them to that point in their history as a team.

Mojo Rawley received the hot tag but ultimately fell prey to the Shatter Machine as The Revival continued to make its case for a rematch against American Ultra for the tag titles.

Result

The Revival defeated The Hype Bros. 

Grade

C-

Analysis

This was far too one-sided to really amount to much. What looked like a grudge match on paper was, instead, an enhancement match designed only to get over Dash and Dawson's seething anger as they hunt their second reign as tag champions. 

Ryder took the majority of the beating, essentially confirming his flirtation with the Intercontinental Championship picture on the main roster was strictly short-term.

No Way Jose in Action

The crowd inside the NXT Arena were much more receptive of No Way Jose than the fans in Dallas were when he made his debut.

Jose worked the arm early and delivered a big bulldog. From there, he delivered the windup punch and finished his opponent off with a full nelson slam for the pinfall victory.

Result

No Way Jose defeated Noah.

Grade

D

Analysis

No Way Jose is a character defined by his entrance and nothing else at this point. As it stands now, he has a very definitive ceiling as a midcard act. 

Is the character fun? Does it incite energy? Sure, but that fun factor will only characterize the gimmick so far without the in-ring product matching it. Unfortunately, there is nothing in the two performances that suggests he is near the level of his counterparts.

Eric Young vs. Samoa Joe

It did not take Eric Young or Samoa Joe long to start throwing punches, with their main event match devolving into a fight early.

Young caught Joe with a neckbreaker and had the NXT champion reeling until Joe simply picked him up and tossed him to ringside. A suicide dive through the rope followed, with Joe flattening his opponent with a forearm to the face.

Joe continuously cut Young off; his smaller opponent was no match for his fury and intense focus. An enzuigiri furthered the newcomer's introduction to NXT's considerable pain and suffering. He trapped Young in a nerve hold, sending pain shooting down his opponent's neck and shoulder.

Hard rights were key to Young's comeback, as were a flying forearm and a big suplex. The jumping elbow, a signature move of his during his TNA days, failed to secure Young a win.

A frustrated Joe unloaded on Young with a series of open-handed strikes, the Muscle Buster and the Coquina Clutch, to defeat his longtime acquaintance.

Result

Samoa Joe defeated Eric Young.

Grade

B+

Analysis

Two former TNA champions competed in the main event of NXT on WWE Network.

Read that sentence back to yourself and imagine saying it a year ago.

This was a really strong match, enhanced by some superb storytelling. On one hand, Joe proved why he's champion with his relentlessness and intensity. He cut Young off at every turn and showed no mercy as he locked in the clutch for the win.

Young, on the other hand, was put over as the resilient competitor who never quit until he was left with no other option. He kept fighting, an admirable trait, and came away looking better for having endured as much as he did from the NXT champion than he would have if the match would have lost five minutes or so.

It was a quality main event to cap off another really solid presentation from NXT.