This was the 400th episode of NXT everybody! Who would’ve thought that a show that started off as a game show would end up rebranding itself before becoming one of the most beloved bits of WWE programming available. We started with Eli Cottonwood and now we’re here! Let’s get into it.
Hideo Itami & Kassius Ohno vs. Alexander Wolfe & Killian Dain –
Percy Watson claimed that he liked to address Ohno as Kassius “Money Ohno. “Do you know why?” he asked, “Because his rolling elbow is money.” No one at the table said a word for nearly ten whole seconds.
Anyway, the animosity between Hideo and Ohno was further exploited here in this match. Ohno got in the ring with Wolfe at first, but then Itami was tagged in. For most of the match, Itami was being beaten down by Killian Dain. Wolfe tagged back in, but then Itami hit a Fisherman’s Suplex for a near fall. Itami was trying to get the bigger Dain down. Ohno was begging for a tag during this match, as Itami went to go give him one, he changed his mind and kept wrestling. Itami hit the Falcon Arrow before receiving a senton from Dain. Ohno fought him off. Itami then kicked Wolfe and got him up for the GTS, but Dain tagged Wolfe while Itami wasn’t looking. Hideo hit the GTS on Wolfe, but Dain ran in and hit a crossbody on Itami for the victory.
Winners: Alexander Wolfe & Killian Dain
Ember Moon was being interviewed (with four different microphones being held in front of her face for some reason) at the Performance Center. She said that she wanted to face Asuka for the title again, but Ruby Riot was greatly upset because she wanted a title shot. She demanded that she should get a singles match against Asuka for the title next.
Drew McIntyre was asked backstage what he thought of the Roderick Strong vs. Bobby Roode main event that was taking place in the main event. He said that he respected both men but he wanted the next title shot. He said that Rollins, Owens, Balor, and Nakamura were all champions who became industry leaders, and now he wants to be one of those guys. The interviewer asked him about Killian Dain, of all people, challenging for the title next. Drew said that he doesn’t care who he has to face, but he will be NXT Champion very soon.
A full video package showing Tommaso Ciampa turning on Johnny Gargano at the recent Takeover show was shown again. Johnny Gargano will be returning for the first time since the #DIY breakup on next week’s show.
At the Performance Center, Kayla Braxton interviewed Billie Kay and Peyton Royce. The two of them were upset because Kay’s birthday had recently occurred, she received no celebration, and the only person to give her a present was Royce. This was all just a setup because Andrade “Cien” Almas walked in and started arguing with Thea Trinidad once again. Braxton asked who the woman was, but Almas gave her no answer.
They aired some highlights of a Mae Young Classic qualifying match featuring Bianca BelAir and Aliyah. BelAir won the match and will be taking part in the tournament in August.
Bobby Roode vs. Roderick Strong for the NXT Championship –
Oh boy! Here we go! After all of the months and months of buildup, the match is finally about to begin. Roode did not take Roddy very seriously at all at first, he did a waistlock takedown and began to show off. Roode then setup to do his “Glorious pose” that he does in the ring, but Strong dropkicked him before he had the chance. Roode attempted to roll out of the ring and avoid Strong, but he successfully attempted to block him from doing so. Eventually though, Roode did roll to the outside, and this was when the dynamic of the match began to change.
Roode began to take control as he beat Strong around every single inch of the ring. He punched and pounded Strong, and he even sent him flying into the steel steps at one point. Roode sort of began to mock Strong’s wife (Marina Shafir) and his mother, who were both sitting ringside for this match. Strong got back into the ring and took some more punishment. The story from this moment on was that Roode knew that Strong couldn’t hit a Backbreaker if his legs didn’t work. Roode spent a long time targeting the leg. Roddy sold it like he was in severe pain each time, and the crowd began to chant his name. Strong then hit a Backbreaker out of nowhere at one point, but did not score the win.
Back at it again with the stomping of the leg. Roode began to toy with Roddy for a bit, and it seemed as if Strong’s leg was never going to work again based off of how much attention Bobby gave it. That all changed though when Strong went for a rollup that almost got him the win, but Roode hit a spinebuster for a near fall immediately afterwards. Following this, Roode setup for a Glorious DDT, but Roode reversed it into a gutbuster. Bobby then started to ram the leg into one of the ring posts. Strong tried to get back into the match, and he even got another near fall, but Roode eventually was able to nail the DDT.
That’s it! It’s over! “Who could ever kick out of the Glorious DDT?” you may be asking. Well, Strong did and it got a nice reaction from the crowd as well. Roode was shocked that this kid was still in it after that DDT. Roode picked up his lifeless body and began to taunt his family. This triggered Strong to come back to life and start hitting Roode with knee strikes. He slammed Roode down to the canvas before hitting a second Backbreaker. One, two three! Roddy wins!
Winner: Roderick Strong… Or is he?
Roderick Strong very briefly went over to celebrate his big win with his family. Right off the bat, something seemed very suspicious about Strong’s victory. In fact, it was revealed that Roode clearly had his foot underneath the bottom rope as he was pinned. The match was restarted and Roddy won for real this time! Ha! Ha! Just kidding! The referee had his back turned to inform someone that the match was being restarted. As this was going on, Strong was getting back into the ring, but Roode violently shoved him back down, destroying his injured leg in the process. The match started again, and Roode immediately hit the Glorious DDT at ringside in front of Strong’s family, then he threw Strong back into the ring. Once they were back in, Roode gave him another Glorious DDT and pinned him.
Actual Winner: Bobby Roode
That was episode 400 of NXT! Who knows what will happen over the course of the next 400 episodes? Will Kassius Ohno and Hideo Itami STILL not be feuding with each other yet? Will Johnny Gargano get his revenge on Tommaso Ciampa? Will Andrade “Cien” Almas’ partying turn him into a homeless bum eventually? Will The Velveteen Dream be forced to give up his 16th NXT Championship reign in favor of the main event spot of Wrestlemania? We’ll be covering it all as the NXT reports continue right here. I’ll see you NXT time.