WWE NXT Results courtesy of WWE.com.
WWE NXT results, May 8, 2019: Cole has no answer for Riddle, while rift with Strong deepens
The Undisputed ERA’s woes grew worse following another miscommunication between Adam Cole and Roderick Strong, this one occurring at the height of Cole’s showdown with Matt Riddle. Plus, Bianca Belair made a statement against Mia Yim, Raul Mendoza stunned the returning Riddick Moss and more.
Bianca Belair def. Mia Yim
Bianca Belair prides herself on her physical superiority, but she needed her wits — and the illegal use of her infamous braid — to beat Mia Yim by a hair.
The grudge match was evenly contested and, as expected, included intense exchanges and plenty of trash-talk between the rival Superstars. When Belair was in the driver’s seat, she let the world know it, showboating and openly mocking Yim.
Enraged over Belair’s arrogance, The Head Baddie in Charge fired back and eventually trapped Belair in a pinning predicament near the ropes, but Belair reversed the pin and, outside the referee’s line of vision, wrapped her hair braid over the middle rope. The crafty, if unscrupulous, tactic may have been a desperation move, but it worked, giving Belair leverage to keep Yim’s shoulders on the mat for the three-count.
The Forgotten Sons waylaid The Viking Raiders earlier in the day
Security footage revealed a heinous out-of-ring attack perpetrated earlier today by The Forgotten Sons against NXT Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders. As Ivar & Erik were leaving the building, a black pickup truck driven by Jaxson Ryker pulled up and blocked their exit. Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler then ambushed The Viking Raiders from behind, using a trashcan to batter The Viking Raiders. Ryker joined the fracas, giving the Sons a three-on-two advantage, and before Ivar & Erik could rise to their feet, the Sons packed into the truck and sped off, ensuring there’d be no retaliation on this day.
Raul Mendoza def. Riddick Moss
Competing in his first NXT TV match since tearing his Achilles tendon one year ago, there’s no question that Riddick Moss was in tip-top physical condition for his outing against Raul Mendoza. Whether the chiseled Superstar, who credits his remarkably quick recovery to his eponymous “Riddick Regimen,” was amply focused on the threat of Mendoza, however, is another matter altogether.
Mendoza welcomed Moss back with a flurry of fast-moving offense, prompting Moss to call for a break so he could use a cordless muscle massager on his boulder-like deltoid. (The massager was one of several accoutrements Moss brought to the ring, along with a Regimen-branded water bottle and a resistance band, the latter of which Moss used to sneak in a final pre-match pump). Proving that his time off hadn’t affected his strength, Moss later caught a springboarding Mendoza out of midair and curled his 200-pound frame for reps before throwing the luchador overhead.
As impressive as Moss looked, he was undone by his own hubris. Mendoza rejected Moss’ attempt to force him to drink from the Riddick Regimen water bottle, before rattling off a series of attacks that culminated with a twisting springboard splash for the upset win! Full Sail Live erupted in elation and Mendoza celebrated his triumph while a beaten Moss wallowed in despair on the ramp, visibly stunned over how quickly his return went south.
Io Shirai attacked Shayna Baszler at the WWE Performance Center
Io Shirai stole a play from the book of NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler to get one over on The Queen of Spades earlier today at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.
Baszler, who has made a habit of imposing her will at the Performance Center, was overseeing a sparring session between Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir when Shirai slipped into the ring unnoticed and went after the NXT Women’s Champion. Duke and Shafir tried to pry her off, only to get nullified by an intervening Candice LeRae. Performance Center officials quickly swarmed the ring and separated the quarreling Superstars, but after this latest salvo, it’s clear that Shirai has Baszler in her sights now more than ever.
Matt Riddle def. Adam Cole
Not only did Adam Cole, the self-appointed “uncrowned NXT Champion,” suffer a crucial defeat tonight at Matt Riddle’s hands, but he nearly came to blows with Roderick Strong after the bell, suggesting the tension between the two Undisputed ERA members is far worse than initially thought.
Cole took issue with Strong involving himself in the final moments of The Panama City Playboy’s battle with the fast-rising Original Bro. By the time The Messiah of the Backbreaker ran to ringside, Cole and Riddle had already unloaded enough high-power offense on each other to warrant “Fight forever” chants from the Full Sail faithful. Cole endured countless suplexes, countered Riddle’s Bromission and drilled the former UFC star with the Last Shot. Incredibly, Riddle kicked out of Cole’s signature strike and mustered the strength to knock Cole from the ring with the Flash Knee.
Strong, who hadn’t been at ringside until this point, tried to revive Cole, but wound up eating a knee from Riddle. That gave Cole an opening to superkick Riddle, but The Original Bro kicked out of the ensuing pin attempt and maneuvered Cole into the Bromission. Unlike the first application of the hold, Cole had no choice but to submit.
Following the loss, Cole blew up at Strong – and had it not been for Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish keeping both men apart, it’s hard to know just how far the situation would have escalated. With each week that passes, Cole’s prediction that the entire Undisputed ERA will be draped in championship gold by the time 2019 grows bleaker. At this rate, it might be a miracle if the group even makes it to the end of the year intact.