It's becoming increasingly difficult to find positive aspects of NXT 2.0 to write about. The show is just a mess. There are a few saving graces here and there but for the most part, barely anything makes any sense. Worst of all, it's not even "so bad it's good" ... it's just bad. Sadly, the shine is starting to wear off on some of the brand's most exciting talents. Bron Breakker rules but he's losing momentum because they're having him go out there and say the same thing every week. And The Grizzled Young Veterans are basically Del Boy and Rodney (Google it). Some will call it growing pains, but the end result of growing pains is some type of growth, which is tragically nowhere in sight ... for now at least.

Winner: Tony D'Angelo

Dexter Lumis is sleeping with the fishes! This week's edition of NXT 2.0 kicked off with WWE's resident mobster Tony D'Angelo scoring a big pinfall victory over the automatonic Dexter Lumis. Of course, D'Angelo couldn't get the job done without breaking the rules, but all that matters is that big W next to his name.

The match was barely five minutes long and never really got into second gear, but it was fine for what it was. NXT 2.0 is home to some of WWE's most cartoonish characters, and there are few who represent the cartoony side of the company more than Lumis and D'Angelo.

Loser: Diamond Mine

Odyssey Jones teamed up with Jacket Time (Ikemen Jiro & Kushida) to take on The Diamond Mine (Brutus Creed, Julius Creed & Roderick Strong) in the second match of the night. Shockingly, Jones and Jacket Time got the win when Jones pinned the NXT Cruiserweight Champion clean in the middle of the ring!

The Diamond Mine's booking has been all over the place and it really seems like WWE can't decide whether they want the group to be a genuinely formidable stable or a comedy troupe of jobbers.

Winner: Santos Escobar Returns

Santos Escobar returned from an unexplained absence to reunite with his Legado Del Fantasma teammates as they delivered a violent beatdown to rising star Xyon Quinn. While Escobar was gone, Elektra Lopez served as the de facto leader of Legado ... will Excobar try to reclaim his position, or will he cede power to the group's only female member?

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Loser: Duke Hudson

Duke Hudson's new gimmick is that he's a guy who plays poker badly. The initial vignettes presented him as a suave and skilled player, but over the last few weeks, he's made himself look like a chump while losing the game he's meant to be good at to a guy who doesn't even know how to play it.

Anyway, Hudson lost to Cameron Grimes AGAIN this week, but then he got mad and put Grimes through the poker table and then cut Grimes' beard off ... as one does.

Winner: War Games Takes Shape

Dakota Kay and Raquel Gonzalez were having a decent main event until Toxic Attraction got involved and caused a DQ. After that, Cora Jade, Zoey Stark, and Io Shirai got involved too. Io yelled "WAR GAMES" into the mic as the show went off the air.

Another WWE TV main event and another DQ finish. Luckily the chaos that ensued after the bell was fun and will have major repercussions in the build-up to War Games.

Full Results And Noteworthy Moments

  • Tony D'Angelo def. Dexter Lumis via pinfall after an eye gouge followed by a modified fisherman buster
  • Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams attacked Lumis after the bell until Johnny Gargano made the save
  • After an ad break, Gargano cut a promo in the ring in which he stated that Hayes had made their rivalry very personal by attacking Gargano's son-in-law Dexter
  • Pete Dunne interrupted and informed Gargano that he was next in line for a North American title shot because he beat Hayes last week
  • Hayes and Williams came back out and Hayes said they could have a shot at his title at the same time in a triple threat next week
  • In a backstage segment, Joe Gacy approached The Diamond Mine. Malcolm Bivens informed Gacy that he can try out for the group if he pays the $837.50 fee
  • In a pretaped promo package, LA Knight put Grayson Waller on notice
  • Odyssey Jones & Jacket Time (Ikemen Jiro & Kushida) def. The Diamond Mine (Brutus Creed, Julius Creed & Roderick Strong) (w/Hachiman, Ivy Nile & Malcolm Bivens) via pinfall after Odyssey Jones hit a splash on Strong
  • In a backstage skit, The Grizzled Young Veterans Facetimed with Zack Gibson's grandma (nanna) and pretended to be the NXT Tag Team Champions (using the NXT women's tag belts) so she would include Gibson in her will
  • Another MSK road trip video aired
  • Xyon Quinn def. Andre Chase via pinfall with a Jackhammer
  • Legado Del Fantasma attacked Xyon Quinn after the bell, Santos Escobar returned to assist his crew
  • In a backstage promo, Raquel Gonzalez said she was going to bury Dakota Kai in the main event
  • Cameron Grimes beat Duke Hudson at poker by being too cretinous to realize he had an awful hand. Hudson got mad and put Grimes through the poker table and cut off Grimes's beard
  • Backstage, Von Wagner assured Kyle O'Reilly that he was focused on NXT despite appearing on SmackDown last week
  • Von Wagner & Kyle O'Reilly def. Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen via pinfall when Wagner pinned Briggs
  • Grayson Waller went on Lashing Out With Lash Legend and said something about wins and losses not mattering
  • Persia Pirotta urged Indi Hartwell to tend to Dexter Lumis, which meant that Pirotta would compete in a handicap match later
  • Persia Pirotta def. Jenna Levy & Gabby Stephens via pinfall with a modified F5
  • Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro debuted a new raver/festival chick gimmick in a pretaped vignette
  • NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa came to the ring and called out new blood like Grayson Waller and Carmelo Hayes
  • Bron Breakker interrupted Ciampa and said the same thing he's been saying for like three months now: "I'm gonna run through you and take that title"
  • Ciampa referenced the famous Steiner math promo then left Breakker in the ring
  • Olympic gold medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock is shown in the front row
  • Raquel Gozalez vs. Dakota Kai ended in a DQ when Toxic Attraction interfered
  • Cora Jade, Zoey Stark, and Io Shirai arrived to level the score. The who went off the air with Io yelling "WAR GAMES"