WWE NXT Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights from August 15

The Family stepped up to Schism after a confrontation last week. They were ready to give The Dyad a title shot.Credit: WWE.com.

With just one week before Heatwave, WWE NXT ramped up with a big show for August 15.

Wes Lee and Dijak fought for an NXT Championship opportunity at Heatwave against Carmelo Hayes. The Dyad hoped to finally capture the NXT Tag Team Championships by challenging Tony D'Angelo and Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo.

Trick Williams warmed up for Ilja Dragunov by taking on the crafty technician Drew Gulak, while Dana Brooke wanted to prove a point by fighting Blair Davenport.

North American champion Dominik Mysterio and women's world titleholder Rhea Ripley were focused on Dragon Lee and Lyra Valkyria, and Mustafa Ali promised a big announcement. His eyes remained firmly on Dirty Dom's gold.

This was just the beginning of a night certain to set the rest of the card for Heatwave with a few surprises along the way.

After a competitive tag team match, Ivy Nile arrived to distract Schism at ringside. This allowed The Creed Brothers in masks to sneak in. They took out Rip Fowler and Jagger Reid to set up Tony D'Angelo to steal the win with a uranage.

This was a predictable contest from open to close. The Creeds were always going to be two of the men under the yellow masks who cost The Dyad another big opportunity.

The action was solid. Fowler and Reid remain very good at tag team wrestling unsurprisingly. The Don and Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo get better together in each match, but the distractions took away from the focus inside the ring.

Hopefully, this Schism vs. Diamond Mine feud will finally reach its ending soon, but The Family need more tag teams to step up to them.

Result

D'Angelo and Stacks def. Fowler and Reid by pinfall to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• Masked men at ringside protected The Dyad whenever the heels headed outside for a breather. There were even more in the crowd.
• Reid knocked Stacks off the apron onto the announce table, and the snap of the impact sounded bad. Luckily, he looked fine after the commercial break.

Dana Brooke got a little too angry in this bout. After Kelani Jordan stopped her from getting disqualified, she stumbled into a running knee strike from Blair Davenport followed by a second to seal the win.

This started out fine but ended with a near-disastrous series of miscues between the wrestlers. They were not on the same page before Davenport forcibly pushed her way to the finish.

Brooke is trying too hard to sell this turn to the dark side. The overacting is already too forced, even before her inevitable heel turn. NXT is giving her a platform to rebuild herself, but it just hasn't worked out yet.

Davenport picked up her second needed victory in as many weeks, which should quickly set her up as a title contender despite her loss to Roxanne Perez.

Result

Davenport def. Brooke by pinfall.

Grade

C-

Notable Moments

• The NXT Universe was more favorable to Brooke than usual but still louder for Davenport in dueling chants.
  
• Brooke got angry after a big sit-out powerbomb could not win it. She then planted Davenport with a running lariat. 
• Brooke went for the ring bell, but Jordan stopped her. When Brooke got back in the ring, she ducked Davenport and caught her with an awkward pin attempt.
  

After Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs took out Charlie Dempsey and Damon Kemp at ringside, Drew Gulak was no match for a motivated Trick Williams. He sealed his win with Whoop That Trick.

This was a fairly dominant victory despite the potential distractions at ringside. It was just what Trick needed ahead of an important match with Ilja Dragunov.

While he is an obvious star, Trick still needs to show he can work at a high level without Carmelo Hayes in his corner. This was a chance for him to show a few of the big moves in his arsenal, but Heatwave will be the major decider.

Result

Trick def. Gulak by pinfall.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• Trick caught Gulak with a clean dropkick and uppercut to show his striking potential.
• Later, The Mad Dragon warned Trick that he still was not ready for Dragunov.
  

Baron Corbin made fun of Gable Steveson and the rest of the NXT locker room. Mr. Stone and Von Wagner came out to confront him on his comments.

Wagner talked a big game but could not put his rival through the announce table before officials intervened.

While Corbin's "new gimmick" has not made much of an impact, he has done well in NXT, elevating the talent around him. He did it again here, pushing Wagner into cutting his best promo to date.

That may be a low bar, but the big man continues to show more of his personality as a babyface monster. He and Corbin may not have the best match at Heatwave, but it should be a good spotlight on Wagner.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Stone talked big to start until Corbin demanded he gave Wagner the microphone. The big man told the former Lone Wolf that he talks too much.
• By the end, the crowd was completely behind letting Corbin and Wagner fight.
• Bron Breakker warned Corbin in the parking lot to get out of his way as he was not done with Wagner yet.
  
• Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio challenged Lyra Valkyria and Dragon Lee to a mixed tag team match at Heatwave.
• Valkyria and Lee tried to get on the same page as a tag team for Heatwave.
  
• Mustafa Ali cut a pre-taped promo in the style of a politician, promising to elevate the North American Championship to new heights.
  

Wes Lee and Dijak brutalized each other throughout this fight. Both were limping and vulnerable.

Eddy Thorpe made the difference, though, distracting Hard Justice enough for Lee to hit the Cardiac Kick and a corkscrew senton to win.

WWE has magic with Lee and Dijak. They never miss. This was physical and intense. Both men sold their battle wounds to set up big moments of vulnerability.

The Thorpe interference took some of the momentum of the match but not enough to take away from what the two did up to that point.

Hopefully, Hard Justice will get his own chance in the sun after his feud with Thorpe is over. He remains one of NXT's most underrated performers.

Lee winning sets up a money match. It is important that this is not one-and-done, though, as this is a story that deserves a spotlight. Heatwave is not a big enough stage, especially with only one week of hype.

Result

Lee def. Dijak by pinfall to become the new No. 1 contender to the NXT Championship.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• In a pre-taped promo, Thorpe promised Dijak they would fight again.
• During a picture signing, Lee warned Melo to worry about him as the next challenger. Dijak gave him a similar warning later.
• Lee targeted the left leg of Hard Justice, charging at his knee and twisting it in the corner. This remained a target throughout the match.
• Lee managed to powerbomb Dijak then plant him with a meteora for a near-fall.
• The former North American champion went for the Cardiac Kick, but his leg gave out. Hard Justice went for Feast Your Eyes, and his own leg gave out on him.
  

Tyler Bate was rolling against Joe Coffey, but Dabba-Kato arrived to steamroll The Big Strong Boi.

He threatened Gallus, and they backed off. This left Bate to take a chokebomb in the center of the ring.

Despite the history between Bate and Joe, this match was not going anywhere before the interference. The crowd was timid despite the best efforts of The Big Strong Boi. It was on the verge of a squash.

Kato has tried to get on the right track since his return to NXT, but the brand has done a poor job booking him as a monster. Losses have taken away his aura as a dominant force.

A true feud with The Big Strong Boi could get him back on track. With time, the two could have the genuine best match of Kato's career.

Result

Bate def. Coffey by disqualification.

Grade

C-

Notable Moments

• Kato resurfaced in a vignette promising to return to NXT soon. It did not take long.
  
• NXT Anonymous taped a confrontation at a live event between Bate and Coffey.
• Joe caught Bate diving for a German suplex, but The Big Strong Boi responded with Bop and Bang and a rebound clothesline.

Thea Hail could not overcome her own emotions throughout this match. When Andre Chase got on the apron to stop Jacy Jayne from using it as a weapon, Hail was distracted, setting up a roll-up victory for Jayne.

This was a long but uninvolved match, going significantly longer than it probably needed to. There was nothing offensive here, but Jayne's standing has fallen too much to get this much offense without adding more moves to her arsenal.

Hail has lost some of her spark as well since losing to Tiffany Stratton. Her overacting needs to tone down if she wants to be taken seriously.

Result

Jayne def. Hail by pinfall.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

• Backstage, Chase could not get on the same page as Hail, and Duke Hudson just sat on the fence.
  
• Hail nearly got the win off a springboard senton and then locked in the Kimura Lock. Jayne got to the ropes quickly to escape.
• Commentary sold this match like Jayne was the underdog, which should not be true given the history of both.
• Meta-Four interrupted Hard Hitting Home Truths with Nathan Frazer for Supernova Sessions. The real Heritage Cup champion called Noam Dar a fraud repeatedly.
• NXT showed a dramatic vignette about Los Lotharios, framed by the words of Humberto Garza from whom both were given their names.
• Stratton promised to appear at Heatwave.
  

Wes Lee kept heckling Carmelo Hayes until The A Champion walked out. The two exchanged words before signing the contract for their NXT title match at Heatwave.

This was rushed, but Melo and Lee brought everything they could to these last promos before Heatwave. While The A Champion always has solid zingers, Lee's determination was clear.

Despite the build selling Lee as the heel, this exchange ended with the challenger sounding like the babyface. That will not stop the crowd chanting for Melo, though.

This will be a great match, but is it the right time? Lee is the rare man in NXT that could legitimately dethrone Melo, but it probably won't happen at Heatwave. It may happen in a rematch at No Mercy if that happens.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Lee stole the table from Melo's picture signing and dragged it to the ring, demanding the champion see him in the ring.
• Lee called himself his own biggest doubter, but he refused to fail again.
• After the contract was signed, Lee stomped straight through the table.
  

This was a building show. The action was not outstanding beyond Wes Lee vs. Dijak, and that is an inevitable great match no matter when it happens.

However, the stories continued to advance forward toward Heatwave. The card NXT has put together looks good and highlights fresh talent.

If what NXT has built pays off at Heatwave, that could be a true breakout night for NXT. The show continues to rise in the ratings, aided by the presence of Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley, who will be back in the building next week.

NXT must be ready to go big. Let the rising stars shine and create moments that can last to No Mercy and beyond.

That is the legacy of this night, setting the stage for greater heights to come. Sprinkle a phenomenal Mustafa Ali promo on top because that should not be forgotten.

Overall Grade: C+