NXT Women’s Title Match: Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai
We go back to the ring and out first comes Candice LeRae. NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai is out next. Taylor does formal ring introductions.
The bell rings and they face off. Shirai shoves LeRae after some trash talking. They go at it and run the ropes. Shirai shows LeRae up and hip tosses her, then dropkicks her on the mat. LeRae rolls to the floor to regroup and she’s angry as fans boo. The referee counts and LeRae runs back in. They go at it again and tangle in the middle of the ropes. LeRae side-steps and goes for a monkey flip from the corner but Shirai lands on her feet. Shirai looks to follow up with a boot in the corner but LeRae quickly rolls to the floor to avoid it.
LeRae comes back to the apron but Shirai grabs her and thrusts to the gut. Shirai tries to hit the sunset bomb to the floor but LeRae holds on. LeRae ends up springboarding from the bottom rope, sending Shirai into the barrier. LeRae brings Shirai back to the apron but gets kicked in the face. Shirai with a big moonsault from the middle rope to the floor. Shirai brings it back in for a 2 count. Shirai kicks LeRae around now. Shirai with strikes in the corner as the referee warns her. Shirai with more offense in the corner, driving the knees into LeRae. Shirai with another 2 count.
Shirai continues to dominate until LeRae hits a big Backstabber out of the corner from the middle turnbuckle. Shirai kicks out at 2. LeRae grounds Shirai with a chinlock now. LeRae fights off Shirai and they tangle some more. LeRae levels Shirai with a lariat for a 2 count in the middle of the ring. LeRae grinds Shirai across the middle rope. LeRae laughs at Shirai before going back to work. LeRae with a Blockbuster for another close 2 count. Shirai is still holding her nose from having it ran across the rope earlier. LeRae smirks and grounds Shirai in the middle of the ring again. The crowd continues to rally for the champ but LeRae slams her back down by her hair for another 2 count.
LeRae kicks Shirai while she’s down. LeRae with a backbreaker in the middle of the ring. Shirai kicks out at 2. LeRae rams Shirai into the turnbuckles and then wastes some time showing off. LeRae with a running uppercut into the corner. LeRae taunts Shirai against the ropes now. LeRae drops Shirai and keeps pounding on her as fans rally. LeRae beats Shirai into one corner and then slams her face-first into turnbuckles in another corner as the referee warns her. LeRae stomps away on Shirai, putting her back down in a corner. LeRae taunts Shirai and shoves her face while she’s down. LeRae tosses Shirai across the ring a few times. Shirai keeps control and delivers a suplex from the corner for another close pin attempt. LeRae goes right into another pin attempt and now she looks frustrated.
LeRae continues to dominate, grounding Shirai in the middle of the ring. Shirai mounts some offense for her comeback now. Shirai with a double stomp out of a pin attempt. The referee counts while they’re both down and the crowd rallies. They get up and Shirai knocks her down with shoulder tackles. Shirai with a Flapjack in the middle of the ring. Shirai hits 619 while LeRae is dazed on her feet.
Shirai springboards in from the apron, nailing the missile dropkick. LeRae kicks out at 2. Shirai looks to finish LeRae off but she blocks it and drops Shirai on her face. LeRae with a senton to the lower back. A springboard moonsault turn it around but doesn’t hit all the way. Shirai with a double underhook into a backbreaker. Shirai goes to the corner but gets slammed to the mat. Shirai comes with a Meteora in the corner. LeRae counters a move and rolls Shirai for 2. Shirai comes back with an open palm thrust. Shirai with a German suplex. LeRae comes back with a snap German of her own. LeRae with a Backstabber in the middle of the ring. LeRae with a second rope moonsault for a close 2 count and LeRae can’t believe it.
LeRae smacks Shirai around and taunts her. Shirai takes a shot and pulls LeRae down into the Crossface in the middle of the ring. LeRae struggles and screams out. LeRae turns it into a 2 count as Shirai kicks out. LeRae with a submission now. Shirai tries to make it to the bottom rope but LeRae avoids it and keeps it locked. Shirai finally grabs the bottom rope for a pop. Shirai looks to deck Shirai but accidentally hits the referee with an elbow. She sees an opportunity and goes for Shirai but Shirai counters and lands the Air Raid Crash. Shirai goes to the top for the moonsault but LeRae gets her knees up. Shirai lands on the knees and gets knocked into the referee. The referee has been hit twice now and ends up on the floor, possibly taken out for good. LeRae ends up hitting the Wicked Stepsister. LeRae covers but there is no referee. Johnny Gargano runs down wearing a referee t-shirt as fans boo.
Gargano counts the pin but Shirai kicks out. LeRae and Gargano aren’t happy. Gargano goes to ringside and grabs the title belt, saying it belongs to his wife. He returns to the ring with the belt but the original referee has recovered, but is hurting. He argues with Gargano for the title and it gets dropped. The two referees argue about who needs to leave now. LeRae picks the title up and nails Shirai in the face with it. Gargano stops arguing and exits the ring. The referee turns around to count LeRae’s pin attempt but Shirai kicks out at 2.
The Garganos are furious now. LeRae goes to the top but Shirai rocks her in the jaw with an open palm strike. Shirai climbs up and hits the super Spanish Fly on LeRae. Shirai leaps back to the top and hits her big moonsault for the pin to retain.
Winner: Io Shirai
– After the match, the music hits as Shirai recovers. We go to replays. Shirai raises the title in the middle of the ring now. NXT UK Superstar Toni Storm suddenly appears on the big screen and congratulates Shirai. Storm also wants to make sure Shirai and everyone else has their head on a swivel because as of right now, Storm is back in NXT. She promises to turn NXT upside down and inside out, and reminds everyone that NXT has, and always will be, Toni Time. She will see us soon. Shirai nods her head and gives a thumbs up to end the segment.
We see the mystery figure arrive to the building on a motorcycle, with the same interface we’ve seen over the past few weeks in the teaser promos. Shirai is shown watching in the ring. The mystery person enters the arena and stands on the stage as the lights come up. They remove their helmet and it’s Ember Moon, making her return to TV. She stares back at the ring and acknowledges the crowd as Shirai looks on to end the segment.