NXT 456

June 27, 2018 – Winter Park, Florida

Amsterdam Black starts the show, giving Lars Sullivan credit for being a tough obstacle but one that he was able to overcome. Tommaso Ciampa comes out and subtly rubs in that even though Black is champion, he wasn’t in the main event at Takeover. He says Black barely got through Sullivan, but he was able to beat Johnny Gargano with his hands tied behind his back. He makes it clear that he’s coming for the title. Sidenote: Sullivan is now on the shelf with a broken jaw.

Vanessa Borne doesn’t understand why Kairi Sane dresses like a pirate. There’s an explanation, but it’s not really a good one. Borne hates it, and she’s going to beat up Sane next week.

Kona Reeves def. Max Humberto
I don’t review squashes. N/A

Candice LeRae def. Lacey Evans
This was a stellar little showcase for both women. Evans looked like a killer early on, and then LeRae showed the kind of fire that made her a favorite in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. I liked this every bit as much as Evans’ best match against Sane. ***

Johnny Gargano is still obsessed with Ciampa. William Regal doesn’t like that, so he tweets out that Gargano is going to face EC3 next week so he can move on.

Trent Seven & Tyler Bate nc. Dave Dixon & Carl Axelrod
The match never happens because the Undisputed Era beats the ever-loving crap out of the jobbers during their entrance. They’re furious. They circle the ring and look to attack, but Ricochet runs out to back up the Brits.

Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong def. Trent Seven, Tyler Bate & Ricochet
These guys do so many little things great; from Cole screaming, “No no no no no!” when Strong is getting suplexed, to Ricochet keeping an eye on O’Reilly while he beats on Strong and Cole, to all the creative ways the Undisputed Era prevented our heroes from making tags. This was the third Undisputed Era match that made me think of some of Dragon Gate’s craziest six-man tags, and I don’t understand why they haven’t done more like this. This was, when it aired a few months ago, the best match in the history of the show. But it would receive serious competition for that distinction a few times over very, very soon. ****½