WWE’s long-anticipated premiere of NXT on The CW finally arrived, and it wasted no time hitting the ground running. After an introduction from Shawn Michaels and Triple H that introduced new Championship titles into the mix, the first match of the night was for one of those newly minted Titles. Roxanne Perez would defend her NXT Women’s Championship from Giulia to start the show in a rather epic way, and the match was as thrilling as many had hoped it would be. It didn’t end like fans expected though, as by the end it also featured the shocking return of Cora Jade, who helped Perez retain her Championship.
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A Long-Awaited Showdown
Giulia and Perez locked up right after the bell and Giulia was able to back Perez into the corner, but the Champ pushed back and got in a wrist lock before they backed up. They then started hitting the ropes but Giulia was able to knock Perez down for a cover, and then they traded covers back and forth until Giulia knocked the Champ to the mat.
Giulia knocked Perez down again and then went for a move but Perez countered. Giulia countered Pop Rocks and then Giulia got Perez to the mat and locked in a submission, though Perez countered into one of her own. That led to a near fall when Giulia countered, and then both women got to their feet.
Perez and Giulia exchanged strikes and then Giulia hit Perez with headbutts before she started throwing Perez around and knocking her to the floor with a big strike. Giulia got the hammerlock cinched in and hit the suplex, but Perez was right back with more strikes to the face. Giulia came back with several of her own, though got pushed away and tossed out to the floor shortly after.
Close Calls
Perez rolled Giulia back into the ring and tried to go up top but got rocked by a big boot to the face. Giulia climbed up and then hit the underhook superplex into a cover, but Perez kicked out. Giulia then tried to lock in a submission but Perez countered into a near fall. Perez went for the crossface again and got it this time, keeping Giulia from the bottom ropes.
Giulia then countered with a crossface of her own but Perez got to the bottom rope to break the hold. Perez got hit with a slam but evaded a kick and got a near fall. Perez went for Pop Rocks but Giulia countered again, only to get hit with a knee strike into a pin, but Perez kicked out.
A Shocking Return
Giulia tried to slam the Champ but she countered and finally hit the Pop Rocks, but Giulia managed to roll out of the ring to keep herself from getting pinned. Giulia then hit the Northern Lights slam on the floor, and both women were down as the count hit 7. They got to their feet and broke the count right before 10, but Perez then headed back outside.
Perez went and grabbed the new Championship and came in the ring with it. Then a masked person hit Giulia with a slam on the floor and rolled Giulia back into the ring, all while the referee was distracted. Perez hit Pop Rocks a second time and got the win, retaining her NXT Women’s Championship. The mystery person then took off her hood and revealed herself to be Cora Jade, who has now helped her former friend and enemy retain her Title.
What did you think of the match and Jade’s return? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!
