NXT: Adam Cole and Finn Balor tie with two falls in main event

Finn Balor and Adam Cole tie in the main event, setting up a one-on-one match for next week.

NXT was moved to Tuesday due to the NHL playoffs, but that did not stop the show from having a series of important matches across multiple storylines. The main angle was the 60-min, Ironman match to crown a new NXT champion. Karrion Kross was forced to relinquish the belt because of his injury. That created the space for Finn Balor, Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa and Adam Cole to each have their shot at their second title reign in the main event.

The night started off with a six-man street fight. El Legado del Fantasma faced off against the new tag team champions, Breezango and their partner Isiah “Swerve” Scott. This match was as hard-hitting as it sounds from the very start, with Joaquin Wilde flying over the top rope to attack the opponents before the bell even rung.

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This match completely broke down as Imperium ran out to assist LDF midway through. It seemed like the numbers game would come out on top, until Scott and Tyler Breeze jumped from the scaffolding and crashed down on all the men inside the ring. The ending came when Scott got the pin on Santos Escobar.

Candice LeRae continues to look for her push up the women’s division ladder. On Tuesday she had a one-on-one match against Kacy Catanzaro. This was one of the rare times LeRae was the bigger woman and she used that advantage to bully Catanzaro around the ring. Even though Catanzaro had some offense in spurts throughout the bout, she could not do enough to keep LeRae from laying her out, securing the victory.

Bronson Reed was back in action on Tuesday, but he had an uber-tough opponent in front of him in Timothy Thatcher. Thatcher attempted to implement his grappling-first game, but it was difficult to do so against a man against Reed’s size. Early in the match, Reed was bouncing Thatcher around the right, using his strength to keep Thatcher off him. But Thatcher found a way to ground Reed, allowing him to twist the bigger man into pretzels.

The finish came due to Austin Theory. Theory ran in and attacked Reed, rolling him back into the ring. Thatcher used that opportunity to put Reed into an arm lock, forcing the submission.

Fatal-Four Way, Iron Man Match

Four former champions stepped into the ring in the main event with the NXT championship on the line. They had an hour to earn as many wins as possible, with the man who has the most taking home the title.

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For sixty minutes, these four veterans came in and put in work that they have been known to produce. A half-hour would pass and none of the wrestlers were able to gain that valuable first fall. Balor changed that after landing multiple shotgun dropkicks and hitting the double stomp to pin Cole for the first fall.

Gargano earned the second pin fall of the match, but he did so off the back that Ciampa did as he put Balor in position to take the pin fall. From that very moment the paced picked up as it was Cole who earned the next pin immediately after, pinning Gargano with the Panama Sunrise. Ciampa was the last guy to pick up his first pin fall, tying everyone up at one.

With one win each all four of the men kicked it into overdrive. It looked like Balor was going to pick up the win and take the title home after he secured his second pin fall. However, Cole hit the Last Shot with seconds left and pinned Balor just as the clock expired, tying them at two each. This set the stage for a one-on-one match next week where Balor and Cole will compete for the title.

September 1 NXT Results

• Isiah Scott and Breezango defeated Legado del Fantasma via pin fall
• Candice LeRae defeated Kacy Catanzarao via pin fall
• Timothy Thatcher defeated Bronson Reed via submission
• Finn Balor and Adam Cole tie with two wins each to set up a one-on-one match for the NXT title next week.