NXT Preview – July 25, 2020 – Black vs Ciampa

With one of the biggest main events in NXT TV recently, Tommaso Ciampa challenges NXT Champion Aleister Black for the strap tonight.

As always, a recap of last weeks episode:

• Lacey Evans defeats Dakota Kai
• Kassius Ohno defeats Rick Ramirez
• Kairi Sane defeats Nikki Cross & Candace LeRae to become the #1 contender to the NXT Women’s Championship

I’m @Parkman15love, here with your weekly NXT spoiler free preview!

NOTE: Spoilers are out there for these tapings, but most fans choose not to participate. For spoilers, click here!

The Main Event

 As much as we’d all love to see Heavy Machinery versus the Mighty for the 1008^th time - which, admittedly, is still a better rerun than Brock /Roman! - the NXT Championship takes centre stage tonight. Aleister Black defends his belt against NXT’s top heel, Tommaso Ciampa.  After defeating Johnny Gargano in Chicago - and turning Johnny into what he hated in the process - Ciampa quickly turned his attention to NXT’s top prize. After a scathing promo, fantastic social media feud, and an elevated DDT, Ciampa has all the momentum in this feud.

Black does need a signature win here to help establish his title reign. His victory over Almas is definitely not talked about enough, and his match with Lars Sullivan was whelming. While I do think Black needs a big win, Ciampa is on absolute fire. He’s the only other true heel in WWE other than Miz, and is arguably a legitimately despised villain. Think about the heat he would get as champion. Whoever wins, the fans win. Expect an extremely physical match.

Other Segments

WWE.com has an extremely short preview for today, mostly focusing on the Championship match for some reason. The only other thing of note is a response from Adam Cole. He was called out by none other than Ricochet for being an undeserving champion. Ricochet wants a shot at the North American Championship, but will he get it? This has been a match constantly featured on the NXT house show circuit, and apparently it’s torn the house down. This author is definitely hoping so.

Also in action tonight, as per match spoilers:

• Lacey Evans vs Tenilla Price
• Heavy Machinery vs The Mighty (I wasn’t joking about this earlier)
• Moustache Mountain vs Local Talent
• EC3vs Kona Reeves

The Championship Scene

After a hell of a main event last week, Shayna Baszler has a new #1 Contender as Kairi Sane beat out both Nikki Cross & Candace LeRae in order to earn her shot. A rubber match for the MYC finalists with the belt on the line? Sign me up. Baszler has shone as a cocky heel thus far, and I’m quite a fan of her title reign.

The NXT Tag Team Championships are back on the waists of Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly. The Undisputed Era won their contractual rematch against Tyler Bate & Trent Seven.  The question is not “how successful will their title reign be?”, but moreso “what’s next?”. Moustache Mountain does have their rematch as well, but they don’t need the belts when NXT UK is just getting ready to take off.

My Thoughts

• Matt Riddle is rumored to have signed with NXT, and all of me hopes to see him in Brooklyn. The King of the Bros would be a fantastic fit on NXT.
• While excited to see the announcement of Evolution, is it selfish of me to want to see the NXT women’s division compete against the main roster? This is arguably the deepest women’s division ever in NXT. However, what a time for women’s wrestling.
• EC3 on my TV is always fantastic. 

As the match card begins to take shape for Brooklyn, NXT is sure kicking it off with some high stakes. Check out the full match card for Brooklyn on Win Column Sports here!

Thanks for reading as always! Feel free to tweet me @parkman15love for anything NXT, and be sure to follow Win Column Sports on Facebook and Twitter!

Last 5!

• BREAKING: More Names Added for Mae Young Classic
• Smackdown Live Preview - July 24
• BREAKING: WWE Announces First All-Women’s PPV on October 28
• Stephanie’s Announcement: What Can We Expect on Monday Night RAW?
• Over the Top Rope: Episode XIV | 90’s Movies and Tommaso Ciampa feat. Colton Kelly