WWE NXT Results: Winners, News And Notes On August 19, 2020

WWE NXT featured a scary bump from Johnny Gargano, who appears to be doing okay after recovering to finish the match amid reports his last-chance qualifying match against Ridge Holland being stopped.

The main event saw Velveteen Dream take on Finn Balor in the second and final last-chance match for a right to compete for the NXT American Championship at WWE NXT TakeOver XXX.

AEW Dynamite and WWE NXT were both down last week as Dynamite garnered 792,000 viewers compared to 619,000 for WWE NXT. AEW Dynamite was pre-empted tonight, and will air this Saturday, August 22, after the NBA playoffs on TNT.

• August 12, 2020—19,000
• August 5, 2020—753,000
• July 29, 2020—707,000
• July 22, 2020—615,000
• July 15, 2020—631,000

WWE NXT Key Competition 

• The Democratic National Convention
• MLB Regular Season Slate
• NBA Playoff Slate

Pro Wrestling Bits—WWE ThunderDome and all the Short-Term Gimmicks Used to Boost Ratings

WWE NXT YouTube Viewership Last Week

2,276,124 views (Up from 2,239,522)

• Most-Viewed: Finn Balor Crashes Velveteen Dream’s Return (463,402 views)
• Least-Viewed: The School of “Thatch-as-Thatch-Can” Returns (48,161 views)
• Median Viewership: 103,574

WWE NXT Results—Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Johnny Gargano def. Ridge Holland

There were reports of this match being stopped after a nasty bump and it was just as bad as advertised as Gargano landed a power slam right on his face.

Between Johnny Gargano’s scary landing and Ridge Holland throwing him all around the ring, it was almost impossible to view him as the heel in this match.

If this administration is so high on Ridge Holland and views him as a star, this is the type of match he needs to win as opposed to losing his first two NXT matches on TV.

Dakota Kai def. Jessi Kamea

Dakota Kai insisting she can beat Io Shirai by herself only to be saved by Raquel Gonzalez was textbook heel work.

Dakota Kai feels like she’s trending toward a heel championship run in the women’s division.

It appeared that Tegan Nox challenged Dakota Kai to hash out their differences over a glass of wine, which is one of the least-climactic, yet most messy, settings for a showdown she could have chosen.

Legado del Fantasma def. Breezango and Isiah “Swerve” Scott

The fact that Breezango has made such a serious turn is great for their careers, but bad news for their entertainment value.

Legado del Fantasma is being booked like the NWO in its first few months in WCW, and it’s odd to think it can expertly protect these up-and-comers on the same show where they’re completely fumbling Ridge Holland.

Isiah “Swerve” Scott got a visual pinfall over Santos Escobar, and that’s about as quality as visual pinfalls get.

Adam Cole Confronts Pat McAfee

Pat McAfee is such a natural heel and a has more poise on the mic than most of this roster.

If Adam Cole vs. Pat McAfee doesn’t involve a football it will be a missed opportunity.

A lot of the developmental wrestlers appeared to take offense to Pat McAfee dissing the Internet Wrestling Community, and if it’s because these professional wrestlers consider themselves part of that community, that might be part of the problem of WWE’s ability to make a transcendent star.

I’ll be leaning toward Pat McAfee in this one simply because former Green Bay Packer AJ Hawk is in his entourage.

WWE only has to hold on for a few more months for this feud to develop into an NFL vs. NXT Survivor Series elimination match between Pat McAfee and his goons and The Undisputed Era.

Rhea Ripley and Shotzi Blackheart def. Aliyah and Mercedes Martinez

Rhea Ripley and Shotzi Blackheart make a very good tag team.

Rhea Ripley power bombed Mercedes Martinez onto the pavement and the way Robert Stone jumped over the barricade to check on his meal ticket was as good advertisement for just how much he cares about his clients.

Velveteen Dream def. Finn Balor

It remains extremely unclear as to whether or not Velveteen Dream is a babyface or heel, but NXT appeared to pipe in boos during his entrance and he wrestled in black tights so that might make things clearer.

Velveteen Dream squeezed in as many NWO Wolfpac references in one match as he could.

Both of these men worked this match as the heel when they were in control.

Cameron Grimes cares more about this match than anybody because even though he already clinched a spot he still insisted on being the first person to come out and screw with his potential opponents.

Finn Balor had no business climbing a ladder in a match that was literally his last chance at competing in a Ladder Match.

I don’t think any of these men understand that an NXT American champion will be crowned only when they retrieve the belt this Saturday.

Tim Thatcher or no Tim Thatcher, Finn Balor was too easily distracted to deserve to win this match.