WWE NXT: Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae win main event tag match

Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae defeated Damian Priest and Io Shirai heading into their title matches at NXT TakeOver 31 on Sunday.

NXT TakeOver 31 is a few days out. Titles are on the light along with bragging rights and everyone wants momentum heading into the PPV. On Wednesday, all the major storylines involved in the PPV were pushed front and center, setting the stage for yet another night of wrestling action.

Shotzi Blackheart and Dakota Kai kicked off the action on Wednesday’s edition of NXT. Kai was accompanied by Raquel Gonzalez, but Blackheart did not back down from either woman. The two women had an intense battle without either being able to get the victory initially. Gonzalez tried to step in, but her distraction caused Rhea Ripley to come out with referees to break them up. Kai tried to use that opportunity to land a big kick in the corner, but Blackheart avoided it, rolling Kai up to get the pinfall.

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Cameron Grimes came to the ring for some sort of invitational. He started beating up on some jobbers, but his act brought out Ridge Holland. Holland beat Grimes up relentlessly, completely ignoring the referee’s count and ended up getting disqualified.

Kushida is preparing for a match against Velveteen Dream on Sunday, but before he gets to that point, he had to face Tony Nese in one-on-one action. Kushida continued going on the offense quickly as he kicked Nese right in the head at the start of the match, then focusing on the arm. He stomped Nese to the point of lifelessness before locking in the Hoverboard Lock to force the submission.

Adam Cole takes out Austin Theory

Austin Theory had some harsh words to say about Kyle O’Reilly, but they were answered by the leader of the Undisputed Era, Adam Cole. Cole went on the offensive early, forcing Theory to even try to escape the ring. That would not work though, as Cole caught him with a pump kick, tossing him back into the ring to keep the damage coming. Theory was not getting beat up for the whole match however, he found a way to come back, landing a pretty dropkick going from outside the ring to the inside.

Theory continued to put on a display, but the former champion would not go away. Both Theory and Cole would exchange moves with Theory hitting the Blue Thunder Bomb with a close call. Theory got some more offense off before Cole landed a counter super kick and hit the Last Shot to get the pin fall win.

Kayden Carter and Xia Li were in a tag team match last week that did not end in a good sportsmanship way, leading to a singles match between the two a week later. They started out on good terms until Li started to break out some dirty tactics. Carter had her own comeback moments, picking up the pace. That speed allowed Carter to roll Li up and get a unique pin on her opponent, beating Li for the second week in a row.

In the main event, the husband and wife duo of Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae faced off against champions Damian Priest and Io Shirai. The champions did not wait for the bell to ring, charging the ring to face off with their challengers immediately. Priest and Gargano started out with a basic fist fight until LeRae and Shirai entered with a more traditional wrestling affair. LeRae was in control for much of their back and forth. She would not be able to hold Shirai down for long as the champion fought back and got the tag to Priest.

Priest went back to the beat down on Gargano, but he was able to weasel out of the position and plant Priest face first on the mat. The women would exchange with the men once again, after Shirai hit the Moonsault on Gargano. With the ref distracted, LeRae would kick Priest in the groin, allowing Gargano to hit the One Final Beat and get the victory.

September 30 WWE NXT Results

• Shotzi Blackheart defeated Dakota Kai via pin fall
• Cameron Grimes defeated Ridge Holland via disqualification
• Kushida defeated Tony Nese via submission
• Adam Cole defeated Austin Theory
• Kayden Carter defeated Xia Li via pin fall
• Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae defeated Io Shirai and Damian Priest