WWE NXT: Damian Priest defeats Timothy Thatcher

Damian Priest successfully defended his WWE NXT North American title against Timothy Thatcher in the main event.

NXT action kicked off another week in the WWE Performance Center. With a new champion at the helm in Finn Balor and two important announcements coming from William Regal, there was a lot to look forward to Wednesday evening.

Women’s action kicked off the night with Shotzi Blackheart and Io Shirai competing in one-on-one, non-title action. Blackheart and Shirai had an interaction last week where it was clear that Blackheart had her eyes on the NXT women’s title. Early in the match, Blackheart had Shirai on her heels, catching the champion off guard with her unorthodox offense.

It would not take long before the champion took over, showing why she holds the belt on the black and yellow brand. Blackheart had her comeback moments, even landing a close pin fall attempt with a double-over hook suplex. She held onto the position to hit an innovative submission but could not put the champion away. Shirai could not finish Blackheart as well, even after a nasty German suplex on the apron. Blackheart put up a great fight but still ate the Over the Moon sault and fell to the champion.

Tommaso Ciampa had a one-on-one match with a PC talent. The former champion dominated the young individual, reminding everyone how much of a violent man he is. Desmond Troy did not have much of a chance, and that expectation came to pass when he ate the Willow’s Bell, allowing Ciampa to pin him for the win.

Kushida is looking for blood

Austin Theory had something to say, issuing an open challenge that was answered by Kushida. Kushida did not have much to say but kicked Theory in the mouth to make a statement. Kushida was firing on all cylinders in this match. Theory had a bit of offense, but he couldn’t slow down his opponent at all. Kushida’s rampage came to an end when he locked on the Hoverboard Lock, forcing Theory to submit.

Breezango and Imperium did not wait for the bell to sound, as they jumped right into a fist fight as soon as they laid eyes on each other. The ref stepped in and Imperium used that as an opportunity to get the jump on the tag team champions. Imperium had the champions at a disadvantage, forcing Fandango to take a lot of damage from the challengers.

Fandango attempted to rally to make the tag to Tyler Breeze, but Imperium kept cutting him off. Breeze would finally get the tag and go on a run by himself, dispatching both men in a wave of offense. Fandango got involved again to help his partner, keeping the odds even. It looked like Imperium were going to find a way to beat the champions, but Fandango helped Breeze reverse the final maneuver, hitting a roll up to secure the victory.

Women’s tag team action was up next. Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro faced off against Xia Li and Jessi Kamea. Both Kamea and Li started off strong, beating Catanzaro up for majority of the match. Once Carter got in the ring she took over, dismantling both opponents, until she tagged Catanzaro in to finish things off, getting the pin for the team.

Drake Maverick has been having issues with the Undisputed Era for weeks. It looked like he had a tag team partner in Killian Dain, but things did not start out that way. Without a partner he had to face the former tag team champions in a two-on-one match. As Dain sat in back, Maverick was destroyed by one of the most dangerous tag teams in NXT history. That is, until General Manager William Regal talked to Dain in the back, convincing him to go out and help Maverick. Dain started to walk away until Undisputed Era said something a bit more hateful that caused Dain to come back and wreck house.

Damian Priest defends his title

Timothy Thatcher has had his eyes on Damian Priest and the NXT North American title. Their growing feud was the main event of the evening, with Priest defending his title against the grappler. Thatcher brought the heat for Priest’s first title defense, using a healthy mix of hard-hitting attacks with submission attempts to keep Priest on the defensive.

After taking much of the damage early in this match, Priest would rally, landing a wealth of offense of his own. He hit Thatcher with a series of kicks, but missed a springboard senton, allowing Thatcher to jump right back on his arm. Priest would not submit to the pressure. He eventually landed a spinning heel kick from the top and followed up with his finisher to get the victory and keep his title.

September 16 WWE NXT results

• Io Shirai defeated Shotzi Blackheart via pin fall
• Tommaso Ciampa defeated Desmond Troy via pin fall
• Kushida defeated Austin Theory via submission
• Breezango defeated Imperium via pin fall
• Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro defeated Xia Li and Jessi Kamea
• Killian Dain and Drake Maverick defeated Undisputed Era via disqualification
• Damian Priest defeated Timothy Thatcher via pin fall