WWE NXT Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from February 28

The championship picture is heating up in NXT, as evidenced Wednesday night by Aleister Black and Killian Dain's interest not only in beating the unholy hell out of each other but also in their interruption of Andrade "Cien" Almas' exit from the arena.

Black and Dain came to blows to close out a broadcast that also saw Kairi Sane and Shayna Baszler rekindle their rivalry and Velveteen Dream knock off Tyler Bate to keep his winning streak alive.

The Undisputed Era's Adam Cole battled Cezar Bononi to round out the night's action.

Relive the in-ring action of the February 28 episode with this recap of the WWE Network presentation.

Tyler Bate vs. Velveteen Dream

Credit: WWE.com

Velveteen Dream took exception to Tyler Bate winning the Match of the Year award for his war with Pete Dunne, and Wednesday night he sought to prove why he is the superior Superstar.

Dream worked over Bate early, grounding him. However, the first United Kingdom champion fought his way back into the match and rolled following a lariat clothesline.

Dream withstood the intense offense of his celebrated opponent and extended Bate's losing streak, catching him with the Purple Rainmaker elbow drop for the win.

Result

The Velveteen Dream defeated Tyler Bate

Grade

B+

Analysis

The key to continuing to build momentum for Dream is to put him over guys such as Bate, whose credibility is undeniable.

This was another hard-fought victory for Dream and one that will ensure he remains an integral part of NXT's future plans.

Cezar Bononi vs. Adam Cole

Credit: WWE.com

Adam Cole dropped a high-profile Extreme Rules match to Aleister Black at TakeOver: Philadelphia in January. Wednesday night, he sought the opportunity to reverse his fortunes, as he lined up against Cezar Bononi, with Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly accompanying him to the squared circle.

First, Cole would try to get in Bononi's head, offering him a spot in The Undisputed Era. When the big man turned it down, he took the fight to the former Ring of Honor franchise star.

A late distraction from Fish and O'Reilly allowed Cole to catch his opponent with a superkick and score the win.

After the match, The Undisputed Era posed over the fallen Superstar.

Result

Adam Cole defeated Cezar Bononi

Grade

C

Analysis

Yes, it was nice to see Cole tease the growth of Undisputed Era, but singling out Bononi, who is by and large an enhancement talent, felt a bit strange.

Forced even.

Unless the idea is to book him as an opponent of The Undisputed Era going forward, it felt out of place, and the entire ordeal felt beneath the trio, which has been built to be the elite faction in NXT.

Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler

Credit: WWE.com

Shayna Baszler lost the Mae Young Classic this past September to Kairi Sane. She debuted in NXT by choking The Pirate Princess unconscious at the top of the ramp. Wednesday night, the differences between the two resurfaced as they battled in one-on-one competition.

The dominant, ruthless, cerebral and unforgiving Baszler presented a focused attack to Sane, targeting her midsection.

Sane fired off a spear that got her back into the match, but her back was still clearly a concern. The sliding forearm to the chest of Baszler had the heel reeling. The flying elbow by Sane only scored her a count of two, though, as Baszler powered out of the pinfall.

Baszler caught Sane with a roundhouse kick to the face and suplexed her into a choke out, earning back her win from the Mae Young Classic.

Result

Shayna Baszler defeated Kairi Sane

Grade

B+

Analysis

Baszler continued to look like a total, dominant badass while Sane did a superb job of building sympathy as the likable babyface.

They have an in-ring chemistry that will likely result in extraordinary matches later, but for now this was the right outcome given Baszler's march toward the NXT Women's Championship.

Andrade 'Cien' Almas Addresses NXT Universe

Credit: WWE.com

The braggadocios Andrade "Cien" Almas and Zelina Vega made their ways to the ring to close out this week's show, still celebrating their tainted victory over Johnny Gargano from last week's broadcast.

Vega asked if Gargano is known as Johnny Wrestling, what that makes Almas now he has defeated him four times in a row.

The rather one-dimensional promo ended with the power couple of NXT walking out, only to be interrupted by Aleister Black's music.

Before Black could address them, Sanity's Killian Dain appeared, furthering his rivalry with The Dutch Destroyer and insinuating the next top contender will be one of the two of them.

Dain attacked Black and laid him out to close out the show.

Grade

C

Analysis

This was about as cookie-cutter a closing segment as you get.

Nothing was really accomplished other than to tease that Black or Dain will compete against Almas at the next TakeOver.

Vega is phenomenal on the mic, and Black appears poised to become the top contender his victories over top-tier talents have been hinting at for the better part of six months. The future is bright, but this segment was not reflective of the talent involved.