NXT

NXT scored its first ratings victory over AEW Dynamite in four weeks with Wednesday's pre-Thanksgiving episodes. 

Per Brian Alvarez of Figure Four Online, NXT averaged 712,000 viewers for its two-hour broadcast compared to the 710,000 people who tuned in to watch AEW. 

Dynamite was the final show before next week's "Winter is Coming" special that will be headlined by Jon Moxley defending the AEW World Championship against Kenny Omega. During a contract signing this week, Moxley attacked Omega and hit him with a Paradigm Shift onto the title belt. 

The show was headlined by The Butcher and The Blade defeating PAC and Rey Fenix after Eddie Kingston interfered. Hikaru Shida also retained the AEW women's title against Anna Jay but got a warning message afterward from Abadon. 

NXT featured a ladder match between Pete Dunne and Kyle O'Reilly to determine which Superstar's team would have the advantage heading into WarGames. 

Dunne got the win for his squad when a masked man hit the ring to knock over the ladder, sending O'Reilly tumbling over the ropes outside the ring. 

Other highlights from the show included Candice LeRae, Toni Storm, Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez attacking Rhea Ripley leading up to the women's WarGames match and William Regal setting up a Triple Threat match for the North American title between Leon Ruff, Johnny Gargano and Damian Priest at WarGames. 

Next week's NXT will be the go-home show for NXT TakeOver: WarGames on Dec. 6. 

Finn Balor confirmed he suffered a broken jaw in his main event victory over Kyle O'Reilly at NXT TakeOver 31 on Sunday. 

Balor shared a photo of his X-ray on Twitter and teased more information to come on Wednesday's installment of WWE NXT:

Balor successfully defended the NXT Championship, but the match exacted a physical toll on him.

O'Reilly landed a running knee on The Prince in the corner, at which point the champion's mouth began filling up with blood. Balor managed to still hit the Coup de Grace a little later, yet it was clear he had suffered a legitimate injury.

Triple H confirmed after TakeOver that Balor was scheduled to get an X-ray.

Perhaps his jaw fracture is serious enough to warrant him relinquishing the belt.

A separated shoulder forced Karrion Kross to drop the championship shortly after he had defeated Keith Lee on the second night of NXT's Super Tuesday special. This wouldn't be the first instance a Balor title reign coming to an abrupt end, either. His Universal Championship run didn't last 24 hours thanks to a shoulder injury.

Assuming Balor's recovery will require weeks rather than months, he could feasibly remain the NXT champion, especially given how NXT's big shows are spaced out further apart than WWE pay-per-views. The next TakeOver on the calendar isn't until Dec. 6.

Finn Balor was set for an X-ray on a possible jaw injury following his successful NXT Championship defense against Kyle O'Reilly at NXT TakeOver 31 on Sunday.

Triple H provided an update on Balor's status during his usual post-TakeOver conference call, per Pro Wrestling Sheet's Ryan Satin.

Toward the end of the main event, Balor received a vicious knee in the corner from O'Reilly. He immediately started holding his mouth and began bleeding.

Some fans are probably already imagining the worst.

Balor captured the NXT title for a second time on the second part of NXT's Super Tuesday special after a separated shoulder forced Karrion Kross to vacate the belt. Now, another champion is facing an injury, the extent of which is unclear.

Wednesday's installment of NXT should shed some light on whether Balor's reign can extend into the fall.

In his first title defense since winning the NXT Championship for the second time in his career last month, Finn Balor beat Kyle O'Reilly at NXT TakeOver 31 on Sunday to retain the title.

O'Reilly was a game challenger, yet he met the same fate as many who came before him as Balor's Coup de Grace was enough for him to keep the belt.

Balor is just over one month removed from beating Adam Cole to win the NXT Championship, which was vacated by the injured Karrion Kross.

After Kross beat Keith Lee at NXT TakeOver XXX and it was determined that he could not defend the title, it was held up, and a unique match was booked to determine a new titleholder. NXT general manager William Regal announced that Balor, Cole, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa would face off in the first Fatal 4-Way 60-Minute Iron Man match.

With Balor and Cole tied for the lead at two falls apiece when time ran out, Regal booked a singles match between them for the following week. Balor prevailed, making him only the third two-time NXT champion of all time.

After Balor won, another innovative match was booked to determine a new No. 1 contender. That match featured five Superstars who had never previously won a singles title in NXT.

The five-man Elimination Gauntlet included O'Reilly, Yujiro Kushida, Bronson Reed, Timothy Thatcher and Cameron Grimes. Despite entering first, O'Reilly went the distance and last eliminated Grimes by making him tap out to win.

O'Reilly has largely been a tag team wrestler with Bobby Fish and Roderick Strong during his NXT career, but that was his biggest victory as a singles star and provided Undisputed Era an opportunity to take back the NXT title.

It also created an intriguing situation since Cole is so synonymous with the NXT Championship. Cole congratulated O'Reilly when he won the gauntlet, but the possibility for jealousy and resentment was present.

On top of all that, Balor vs. O'Reilly was a dream match for some, as it had never happened before despite the fact that both have had lengthy careers.

O'Reilly was a top singles star at other stops during his career in ROH and PWG, so it was exciting and satisfying to see him finally get that chance in NXT.

While O'Reilly fell short, he turned in a remarkable performance on a big stage, which suggests an NXT title reign could still be in his future.

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Io Shirai beat Candice LeRae at NXT TakeOver 31 on Sunday night to retain the NXT Women's Championship.

LeRae hit the Wicked Stepsister but was unable to get a pinfall because the referee was out of the ring after catching the blowback when LeRae countered a moonsault from Shirai. Johnny Gargano ran down from backstage in an attempt to make an inconsequential count.

As if that weren't enough, Gargano distracted the official referee long enough for LeRae to slam the title belt into Shirai's head. Shirai somehow kicked out.

The stunned challenger clearly lost her focus as she was shortly the recipient of a Spanish fly and moonsault as Shirai maintained her spot atop the women's division.

The title match between Shirai and LeRae came into focus a couple of weeks ago when a Battle Royal was held on NXT TV to determine the No. 1 contender and Shirai's opponent at TakeOver.

LeRae entered the match as one of the top contenders, and she improved her chances of winning before the bout even started by attacking former friend Tegan Nox and rendering her unable to compete.

The Battle Royal came down to LeRae and Shotzi Blackheart. They fought to the apron and were both in peril, but the resourceful LeRae managed to launch Blackheart off the steel steps and to the floor to secure the victory.

It didn't take long for LeRae to assert herself, as she interrupted a Shirai backstage interview later that night and attempted to intimidate her opponent, although that didn't seem to work on The Joshi Judas.

With LeRae's husband, Gargano, challenging Damian Priest for the NXT North American Championship at TakeOver, a mixed tag team match pitting LeRae and Gargano against Shirai and Priest was booked for the go-home episode of NXT.

The Poison Pixie looked like a legitimate threat entering TakeOver not only because of what she has done recently but also because of how she performed against Shirai in the past.

Most notably, Shirai and LeRae faced off in a highly celebrated match at NXT TakeOver: Toronto last year. Shirai won the match, but LeRae pushed her to the limit in what was easily her best match in NXT to that point.

The roles were also reversed back then, as LeRae was a clear babyface and Shirai was a clear heel. Now, LeRae is the heel and Shirai is more of a tweener who leans face because of her popularity.

Because of the role reversal, Sunday's match felt fresh, and there was no shortage of excitement surrounding it within the WWE Universe.

Shirai managed to retain the title as most expected, but LeRae performed well again and may not be far off from finally capturing the elusive NXT Women's title.

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Santos Escobar defeated Isaiah "Swerve" Scott at NXT TakeOver 31 on Sunday to retain the Cruiserweight Championship.

Both men unloaded their full arsenals. Scott kicked out of the Phantom Driver, while Escobar survived after absorbing a House Call and 450 splash.

The turning point came when Scott and Escobar were battling on the edge of the ring apron. Scott fell backward and hit his head on the ring post. That allowed Escobar to connect with a modified ushigoroshi.

The two men have faced off in singles and tag team matches many times in recent months, but Sunday's bout was their first meeting on pay-per-view.

The first match between them was as part of the Cruiserweight Championship tournament back when Escobar was a masked wrestler known as El Hijo del Fantasma. Scott won that match, which marked Escobar's first and only singles loss in NXT ahead of Sunday's title match.

In the weeks after that loss, Escobar ditched the mask, turned heel and aligned himself with Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde. With his associates by his side, he went on a dominant run that included a title defense against Scott.

There was a great deal of controversy surrounding that win, though, as Escobar donned a loaded lucha mask that he used to headbutt Swerve. With his rival knocked out, Escobar was able to pin him and retain the title.

Scott got some level of revenge on Escobar the following week, though, when he teamed with Breezango against Escobar, Mendoza and Wilde in a six-man street fight.

Swerve won the match for his team after diving off of a forklift and once again established himself as a worthy No. 1 contender for the cruiserweight title.

Scott has been the anchor of the cruiserweight division for quite some time, putting on entertaining matches on both NXT and 205 Live. Entering Sunday's match, he fell short several times with the title on the line, though.

The TakeOver match was not only special for NXT fans but also for those who used to watch Lucha Underground since Scott and Escobar previously scuffled in that company under the names Killshot and King Cuerno, respectively.

Scott and Escobar have proved over the years that they have great in-ring chemistry, and the clash at TakeOver was no exception.

Unfortunately for Swerve, the result was the same, and the Cruiserweight Championship still eludes him despite the success he has enjoyed in WWE.

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Kushida scored one of the biggest wins of his NXT tenure Sunday night, as he defeated Velveteen Dream in a grudge match at NXT TakeOver 31.

Kushida purposefully targeted the arm that Velveteen Dream had injured months ago. The strategy paid off, as Dream was unable to make a timely pinfall after delivering the Purple RainMaker.

Once Kushida got the Hoverboard Lock applied, it was academic.

The issues between Kushida and Dream began about two months ago following a Triple Threat match for a spot in the North American Championship ladder match at NXT TakeOver XXX.

After Cameron Grimes won the match, Dream took out his frustrations by attacking Kushida. That cemented a heel turn for Dream, but it also gave Kushida the edge and purpose he has been missing for much of his time in NXT.

Following Dream beating Ashante Adonis in a squash match, Kushida got some revenge by attacking Dream and proving that he refused to be pushed around by the vicious and flamboyant Superstar.

With Kushida on a roll after attacking Dream and beating Austin Theory in a match, he was part of a five-man elimination gauntlet match with the winner earning the opportunity to face Finn Balor for the NXT Championship at TakeOver.

Kushida and Kyle O'Reilly were the first two entrants in a match that also included Bronson Reed, Timothy Thatcher and Grimes. The Japanese Superstar's hopes were dashed, however, when Dream interfered and caused him to get eliminated.

With Dream having attacked him after a match and having cost him a chance to compete for the NXT Championship, Kushida was out to gain retribution once and for all at NXT TakeOver 31.

Kushida has long been considered one of the top junior heavyweight wrestlers in the world primarily because of his success in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but Sunday represented his first true opportunity to shine on a big stage in NXT.

Although Dream hasn't been in a top spot in recent months, he is a former North American champion and vied for the NXT title on multiple occasions, making him a notable opponent for Kushida.

Kushida's win supports the notion that he is finally in for a big push, which should excite the many pro wrestling fans who have followed him since his days in NJPW.

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Damian Priest defeated Johnny Gargano at NXT TakeOver 31 on Sunday to retain the North American Championship.

Gargano went for One Final Beat with Priest on the proverbial ropes. Priest instead caught Gargano and countered into the Reckoning.

NXT general manager William Regal named Gargano the No. 1 contender for the North American title two weeks ago, and it didn't take long for his rivalry with Priest to get off to the races.

After Priest beat Austin Theory in a non-title match, Gargano attacked him from behind. Johnny Wrestling put an exclamation point on the beating by doing Priest's signature bow-and-arrow taunt in his direction as well.

Later in the show, Gargano and his wife, Candice LeRae, interrupted a backstage interview involving NXT Women's champion Io Shirai. Priest then showed up and laid out Gargano to exact some revenge for the blindside attack earlier in the night.

With Priest vs. Gargano and Shirai vs. LeRae scheduled for TakeOver, a mixed tag team match pitting Gargano and LeRae against Priest and Shirai was booked for the go-home episode of NXT prior to the pay-per-view.

Priest has been on the rise for quite some time, and The Archer of Infamy finally scored the biggest win of his career at NXT TakeOver XXX in August in a ladder match for the vacant North American Championship.

He went up against a pair of previous North American champions in Gargano and Velveteen Dream in that match, as well as two up-and-comers in Bronson Reed and Cameron Grimes.

After winning the title in a highly entertaining affair, Priest put it on the line for the first time a few weeks ago against Timothy Thatcher.

The hard-hitting submission specialist was a big-time test, but Priest prevailed and lent some credibility to his title reign in the process.

While Sunday's match was technically his second title defense, it was arguably the biggest match of his career since Gargano is a Grand Slam champion and unquestionably one of the biggest stars in the history of the NXT brand.

The fact that Priest was able to emerge from TakeOver with the title in tow says plenty about how the decision-makers view him, and it may suggest that he is in line for a long reign as well.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).