NXT Columbus, OH, live results: Nakamura and Tye Dillinger vs. Bobby Roode and Andrade Almas

Submitted by readers Gregory Dennis & Shawn Dunagan

– Before the show, ring announcer Andrea D’Marco updated the crowd that The Drifter recently lost to Kassius Ohno in a “Loser Leaves NXT” match and would not be here tonight.

– No Way Jose def. Kona Reeves

No Way Jose worked his tail off to get the crowd into it, but it was an uphill battle. About a third of the crowd responded to Jose out of appreciation for the effort. The rest of the crowd was flat. Jose won clean with his finisher and by the end, he had about half of the crowd warmed up.

– Liv Morgan def. Macey Estrella

This devolved into a clunky comedy match. After a few back-and-forth submission holds, Morgan won clean after a bulldog.

– Kassius Ohno def. Patrick Clark

Clark looks like a cross between Prince and Bootsy Collins. Ohno is originally from Dayton, Ohio (about 60 miles away) so he got a big pop and a “Welcome Back” chant. At Ohio State sporting events, it’s common for someone to yell “O-H” while the crowd follows with “I-O.” Here the someone would yell “O-H” and the crowd would respond with “Oh-No.” Unfortunately, this was the highlight of the match. Ohno won with an elbow to the side/back of the
neck.

– DIY had a promo video discussing the “O-H”, “I-O” chants. 

– Despite being told earlier that The Drifter would not be there, out he came wearing an ill-fitting mask. Nobody cared. When he got to the ring, he asked, “Who wants to walk with..The Rambler?” He started singing a song about how Columbus sucks and the crowd should shut up. This did generate some heat from the crowd. Aleister Black’s music hit and the former Tommy End walked out to cut a pretty good promo. A beatdown ensued which turned into…

– Aleister Black def. The Rambler

Short match. Black had most of the offense and finished with a superkick and a pin. I’m not sure if this was intentional, but the super kick spun Sampson’s mask sideways, which was a nice touch. Black looked very good.

The crowd chanted “one more song,” so Sampson continued his ditty about how Columbus sucks and the crowd should shut up before drifting off to the back. 

– SAnitY (Killian Dain & Eric Young) wAlexander Wolfe def. DIY

This was a very fun match, and noticably better level of wrestling than we’d seen up to this point. Young plays the role of the crazed lunatic exceptionally well. Ciampa & Gargano did suicide dives and flying knees to the outside despite very close quarters between the ring and a concrete wall. At one point, Ciampa actually botched a spot, but transitioned it immediately into a cool spot like a true vet. This was just an very entertaining pro wrestling match.

At one point, the referee ejected Wolfe from ringside for interfering. Shortly thereafter, Gargano got caught in SAnitY’s corner when Nikki Cross emerged from under the ring and holds Gargano’s arms in the corner while Dain recovered. Dain hit Gargano with a big crossbody into the pin. 

As SAnitY celebrated in the ring, Cross demanded microphone and calls out Asuka. Asuka’s music hits and she comes out for what is announced as a title match.

– NXT Women’s Champion Asuka def. Nikki Cross to retain

Young and Big Dain stayed out and stalked ringside. This was a very good match as Asuka was so quick with her movements and athleticism. At one point, she hit Cross with a dropkick from the top. Cross did get in some offense and did a great job selling. Asuka got Cross in a rear naked choke and Cross tapped, but Young distracted the ref and didn’t see the tap. Asuka released Cross thinking she won. Young & Damo threatened to enter the ring when DIY raced out to clean house. Asuka hit Cross with a kick and pinned her in a very fun match.

After the match, Young and Asuka had a staredown in the ring. DIY distracted Young and with his back turned, Asuka fired up behind him. Young turned into a superkick from Asuka which Young sold brilliantly.

– Tye Dillinger & Shinsuke Nakamura def. NXT Champion Bobby Roode and Andrade Cien Almas

Almas came out to zero fan reaction, but when “Glorious” hit, the crowd came alive. The crowd ate up Roode’s slow entrance. Dillinger came out to a chorus of “ten” chants. Nakamura’s music hit and the place went nuts. 

The match started with Almas vs. Dillinger and a lot of chain wrestling. Dillinger tagged Nakamura who immediately went on the offensive. As Almas was selling, Nakamura tried to goad Roode into the ring. Roode teased the crowd and then eventually tagged in. Roode & Nakamura circled the ring and then Roode tagged out without touching one another. Roode then laughed at the crowd, drawing heat. 

Dillinger tagged back in and proceeded to get the hell beat out of him for a good 8-10 minutes. Roode and Almas traded off working on Dillinger’s left knee. Eventually, Dillinger escaped. Nakamura got the hot tag. After several near falls, Nakamura hit Almas with his finisher and got the pin. 

Overall, it was a good show, but not great. The first half was clearly developmental and the second half was high quality.

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– Venue is a bar that hosts mid-level music acts. NXT has been here on a few occasions including its first show outside of Florida 3 years ago. 

– The show was not a sellout.