Tonight's episode of WWE NXT was chock full of setting up future challengers for different champions, and a few of those matches have been actually announced.
Next week, we'll see Oba Femi defend the NXT Championship against Eddy Thorpe and Tony D'Angelo put his NXT North American Championship on the line against Ridge Holland. We also know Shotzi is set for a Women's North American Championship match at some point, and the next challengers for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship will be Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson. The tag team division and Heritage Cup also have been moving in certain directions, so let's explore what really went down!
When it comes to the two matches booked for next week, those were set up largely by the opening promo segment. There, Oba Femi was interrupted by Tony D'Angelo, who reminded Femi that he's beaten him twice. As he sees it, whenever he decides to win the NXT Championship, he'll do it. (Note: Later on, Dion Lennox also congratulated Femi backstage and quickly said some day, he'll challenge him for the title, too).
D'Angelo was interrupted by Ridge Holland, whom he'd eventually brawl with throughout the night, setting up their bout for next week, which interrupted a segment where Charlie Dempsey and Wren Sinclair were pitching to Ava to have a rematch for the NXT Heritage Cup, while Lexis King was getting his name plate attached to the trophy. Ava didn't mention when that rematch would happen, though, so while it might also take place next week, it seems likely it will be pushed to at least the week after next.
While D'Angelo and Holland were fighting in the opening segment, Oba Femi was attacked from behind by Eddy Thorpe, who was wielding a leather strap. Femi would later barge into Ava's office and demand that Thorpe gets the title match he wants. Thorpe was pleased about this news. Strangely, nothing was indicated that this will be a strap match, despite the use of the leather strap in that attack.
Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend defeated Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn to earn a shot at the women's tag team titles, and Shotzi defeated Stephanie Vaquer to steal away her opportunity at the NXT Women's North American Championship. In the latter's match, Shotzi was unaware that she won the fight with a roll-up that came out of Vaquer being hit from behind by Fallon Henley, who struck her with the title belt while Shotzi and the referee were distracted dealing with Jacy Jayne. Whether this means that No. 1 contender's spot will be held up remains to be seen, as both this and the women's tag title match weren't announced for any particular time frame.
Also, as far as the tag team division is concerned, Axiom and Nathan Frazer retained their titles over OTM. Bronco Nima and Lucien Price had gotten into a brawl earlier with Josh Briggs and Yoshiki Inamura, who were looking to become the next in line for a title shot. Also, #DIY appeared on this episode, as Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa are looking 10 steps ahead and know that they're eventually going to have to face The Super Sonic Duo, which could possibly set up a Title for Title match down the line that, again, has not yet been made official in any way.