NXT HITS & MISSES (8/29): Women’s No. 1 Contender Fatal Four Way, Two Global Heritage Invitational Matches, Creeds vs. Dyad, Vice & Lopez vs. Brook & Jordan, more.

CREED BROTHERS vs. DYAD – CAGE MATCH

Last week The Creeds were revealed as hiding in plain sight, donning the yellow masks and blending into Schism for weeks until they were able to kidnap Ava. You know, like good babyfaces do. They challenged Dyad to a cage match this week. If Dyad wins, they get Ava back. If the Creeds win, Dyad gets Ava back… and the Creeds are reinstated into NXT.

To start the matchup, they killed the stipulation right off the bat when Ava just came to the ring with Schism. Then Schism and their followers took Brutus backstage, leaving Julius to fend for himself inside the cage.

Eventually Brutus made his way back ringside, took out every yellow masked member of Schism before ripping the cage door off to get inside. And he did it more easily than Kane did it in 97.

While this was a fun cage match, the story has been wonky. The Creeds are now reinstated back into NXT, and we expect to see Dyad leave the WWE entirely in September when their contracts expire. Surprising that they’ve been pushed this hard when we know they’re leaving the company.

Verdict: I’ll give it a HIT but by the skin of it’s teeth.

BUTCH vs. CHARLIE DEMPSEY – GLOBAL HERITAGE INVITATIONAL

Contested under the rules listed above, the first match of this invitational saw Pete Dun…err… I mean Butch, return to NXT to face Charlie Dempsey for a chance at the NXT Heritage Cup at No Mercy.

What a treat to see Butch back on the black and gold brand, he was always one of my favorite competitors before his time as a Brawling Brute on Smackdown.  He and Charlie Dempsey had a technical classic to set the tone for this tournament. Butch picked up the dominant win giving him the first two points in the invitational.

Verdict: HIT

ELEKTRA LOPEZ & LOLA VICE vs. DANA BROOKE & KELANI JORDAN

In an angle that happened over the weekend on social media, these two teams wound up getting into it which carried over into tonight’s show. The four women were found brawling during a backstage segment, leading to this match tonight.

I need to give a lot of credit to Elektra Lopez and Lola Vice, looking like the monsters here in this match. Lopez has had a few rocky matches under her belt, and it felt like she was finally comfortable between the ropes.

Brooke & Jordan’s loss plays into their story seemingly inevitably leading to a feud between the two.

Verdict: HIT

DIJAK vs. EDDY THORPE

These two have been at each other’s throats backstage for weeks, finally coming to blows inside the ring tonight. Thorpe and Dijak put on an explosive match with both men showcasing the best of their offense. Dijak, unable to  defeat Thorpe cleanly, kept trying to cheat to win. First with a belt around his fist, then with a chair, and then eventually landing a blow with the belt around his fist behind the ref’s back.

Dijak picked up the win, but considering the circumstances around that win, I’d expect that this is not the last of this feud.

Verdict: HIT

JOE COFFEY vs. NATHAN FRAZER- GLOBAL HERITAGE INVITATIONAL

The former Heritage Cup champion, Nathan Frazer, competed against Gallus’ Joe Coffey for a chance to face Noam Dar and reclaim the Cup. With Gallus ringside Frazer was outnumbered, but showed no fear.

The first Invitational match was a little more bombastic than this one, which could be attributed to Nathan Frazer getting seemingly injured early on. He was running the ropes and his shoulder missed the top rope causing his head to bounce awkwardly off the rope. He seemed to miss a step or two afterwards.

Joe Coffey was able to capitalize and pick up the win, earning himself two points in the invitational.

Verdict: HIT

ROXANNE PEREZ vs. GIGI DOLAN vs. KIANA JAMES vs. BLAIR DAVENPORT

Tiffany Stratton doesn’t have a clear competitor to challenge her for the NXT Women’s Title, so the four women who feel they have a claim to the title competed in a fatal four way for that honor.

For me, there were only two clear winners here. Roxanne Perez is a former NXT champion who never got her rematch, a clear fan favorite who could be a rare two time champion. Then there’s Blair Davenport. Davenport comes into NXT with a reputation and is the only women in the match who, if this was a legit fight, I’d think could actually win.

I give the women in the match credit for trying to pull off a few unique spots, including a spot where each woman had each other in a submission hold. However, they could have done without the overused Tower of Doom spot.

When Kiana James pulled off the upset win, I was certainly surprised. She’s come a long way in the last year, and I look forward to her first match to attempt to taste NXT gold.

Verdict: HIT