WWE NXT Gold Rush Week 1 Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights
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NXT Gold Rush has begun. Week One, the June 20 edition, would feature a pair of major championship clashes as well as rivals fighting for their own future opportunity at gold.
Bron Breakker called his shot, challenging Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. After a brutal brawl with Finn Bálor on Raw, was The Visionary up to defending his title against the young upstart?
Wes Lee has set the record for the most successful defenses of the NXT North American Championship,but his next challenge, former two-time NXT UK champion Tyler Bate, might be his toughest. How would special guest referee Mustafa Ali play a role?
Carmelo Hayes and Baron Corbin came face-to-face, and Duke Hudson held a pep rally for Thea Hail ahead of her match with Tiffany Stratton next week. Who would come out of these segments more ready for their title matches?
The top tag teams in NXT fought for a shot at Gallus next week. Dana Brooke wanted to rewrite her story by defeating Cora Jade in NXT. Who would emerge with future momentum?
This was a chance to be the gold brand’s biggest show of the summer, made particularly important thanks to the return of the first NXT champion Rollins.
NXT North American Championship: Wes Lee (c) vs. Tyler Bate (w/ Ref Mustafa Ali)
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Mustafa Ali got involved in the action often, seemingly making the match about himself.
After Tyler Bate connected on Bop and Bang to send Wes Lee to the floor, Ali pulled the champion back into the ring. Lee hit the Cardiac Kick to win.
While it was fun to have Ali’s antics as referee, he did take away from the action in moments. This is likely fueling the story of his obsession with gold, but it did stop two of NXT’s best from having a great title bout.
In particular, the pacing of this contest was sloppy. Both men would go down in moments just to let Ali play to the crowd. This led to a 13-minute match that felt like it needed a lot more time to reach top gear.
Still, the two men did their best with the story and continued one of NXT’s most compelling angles. This is far from the end for these three.
Result
Lee def. Bate by pinfall to retain the NXT North American Championship.
Grade
B-
Notable Moments
Ali pulled out two fast counts to start the match and then a slow count, causing both Lee and Bate to look at him with skepticism.Bate ducked the Cardiac Kick and hit a rebound clothesline for a near-fall.NXT showed a colorful vignette to highlight Gigi Dolin’s art. Kiana James responded with a mocking interview.
Thea Hail Makes Tiffany Stratton Tap Out at Her Pep Rally
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Duke Hudson gave Thea Hail a big introduction, and Chase U came out to celebrate with her.
However, Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey stood miserably on the side.
Tiffany Stratton mocked the whole pep rally, but she got too close to Hail, who made her tap out to the Kimura Lock.
NXT has set up Hail as the ultimate underdog against the NXT women’s champion. She will be at a severe disadvantage, but the image of Stratton tapping out to the Kimura Lock gives Chase U some hope.
Even if the result of the match is inevitable, NXT has done a lot of good work in a short time to sell Hail as a viable challenger. Hopefully, she will have the match of her career next week against The Center of the Universe.
Grade
B
Notable Moments
NXT showed a colorful vignette to highlight Gigi Dolin’s art. Kiana James responded with a mocking interview.Joe Gacy promised to reevaluate after another loss, as Schism found common ground again. Diamond Mine watched the talk and promised to boot them from NXT.Backstage, Lyra Valkyria warned Jacy Jayne about talking smack about her.
No. 1 Contender: Jensen and Briggs vs. Hank and Tank vs. Enofé and Blade
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After taking out Hank Walker, Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen hit Tank Ledger with a Hart Attack. Edris Enofé broke up the pinfall.
Malik Blade then hit Tank with a frog splash to take the surprise victory.
This was a chaotic sprint, which made it fun. It could have used a few extra minutes as the ending felt abrupt, but everyone brought their best to make the most of the spotlight.
Blade and Enofé are good stop-gap challengers to Gallus until The Family is back together. However, they have little chance of winning.
Hopefully, NXT has more plans to rebuild Blade and Enofé soon, as they have lost too much momentum recently. Briggs and Jensen remain the only credible team of these three, but the other two can rise with time.
Result
Blade and Enofé def. Hank and Tank and Briggs and Jensen by pinfall to earn a shot at the NXT Tag Team Championships next week.
Grade
B
Notable Moments
Briggs and Jensen dominated the action in the ring for much of the match, requiring the younger teams to work around them.
Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo confronted Gallus backstage, promising to take their NXT Tag Team Championship.Backstage, Damon Kemp told Eddy Thorpe that he wanted to face him in a Raw Underground match. Roxanne Perez charged past them and laid out Blair Davenport.Later, Gable Steveson agreed to help Thorpe train for his fight with Kemp.
Cora Jade vs. Dana Brooke
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Cora Jade caught Dana Brooke with a knee in the ropes that caused her to overextend her right knee. When she attempted a cartwheel, she fell hard on her knee. She had to be carried out by officials.
Brooke seemed to find her footing, though, slapping Jade in the face to get the match going again. The Generation of Jade dominated her fiery rival and forced a referee stoppage with a single-leg Boston crab on the right knee.
Jade did the heavy-lifting in this match after an awkward injury angle. She focused on playing the taunting heel to the point that it made sense Brooke would risk it all to get back into the match.
It wasn’t much of a contest, but assuming the injury is kayfabe, this was a better way to handle it than a traditional bout. Brooke needs more character, and Jade came off better than she has in a while as the unsympathetic heel.
Result
Jade def. Brooke by referee stoppage.
Grade
B-
Notable Moments
Jade continued to mock Brooke as officials came in to help her.Despite the extended stretcher sequence, the dueling crowd chants for both competitors still favored Jade.Von Wagner finally opened up to Mr. Stone about his childhood surgery. This was a smart segment that put over Wagner better than anything else to date.
Baron Corbin Promises to Make Example of Carmelo Hayes
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Baron Corbin was not impressed by Carmelo Hayes’ insults of his Happy Corbin gimmick, and he talked up everything that got him his money and success.
After saying his piece, The Lone Wolf threw the microphone at Melo and walked out with confidence for next week.
After two weeks of unimpressive matches, Corbin needed this moment. He won this round with a cold and confident promo, refusing to give into any taunts about his history.
Hayes sold it well, making his rival look more dangerous than he has in a long time. The match needs to live up to the promo, but it set a strong expectation for the main event next week.
Grade
A
Notable Moments
In a private locker room, Seth Rollins told Nathan Frazer he was proud of him. He then met Melo and Trick, warning them to be careful against Corbin.Corbin ended his speech calling Melo “insignificant” with a tone so serious that it genuinely cut deep.
Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson vs. Valentina Feroz and Yulisa Leon
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After a distraction from Oro Mensah and Jakara Jackson outside left Yulisa Leon laid out, Lash Legend got the win on Valentina Feroz with a big boot.
This was a solid squash-match introduction for the new team of Legend and Jackson. The two have some chemistry, and the latter especially showed out in the ring with her time.
Meta-Four needed this win to start rebuilding momentum. With Noam Dar hurt and Oro Mensah lacking credibility, the women will have to take over their division to make the stable stand out.
Result
Legend and Jackson def. Feroz and Leon by pinfall.
Grade
C+
Notable Moments
Before the match, Dragon Lee talked up Leon and Feroz. Nathan Frazer arrived to give Dragon the first shot at the NXT Heritage Cup next week.Elektra Lopez and Lola Vice arrived to watch this closely.
Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo caught Joe Coffey in the parking lot and threw him into his car’s trunk, driving off with the Gallus leader.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Bron Breakker
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After a tough fight where both men nearly felt a painful loss, Seth Rollins superkicked Bron Breakker and connected with a pair of Stomps to win.
As the show looked ready to close, Finn Bálor attacked Rollins and struck him with a steel chair. Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams barely made the save in time to save the world heavyweight champion from taking a Coup de Grace.
Avoiding unnecessary interference, this match did not slow once it got going. The first 10 minutes could have moved faster, but the final five made up for it with a great showcase of what Breakker can do in big matches.
It was the best the former NXT champion has looked in a long time. In a very traditional WWE main event, they traded big moves, and Breakker nearly got the win off a Spear and military press slam. However, it was not quite enough.
It is a shame after putting over the abilities of the challenger that he was shoved aside for Rollins’ next opponent. Post-match would have worked better as a moment for Ilja Dragunov to get some welcome revenge.
Still, as a whole, the main event was the saving grace of the night and may be enough to get more people to tune into next week NXT’s more impressive Week Two card at Gold Rush.
Result
Rollins def. Breakker by pinfall to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Grade
A
Notable Moments
Rollins made Breakker wait and basked in the crowd singing until the bell rang to signal the in-ring introductions for the match.The champion was working a little slow as he sold his rib injury from Monday.
Breakker went for a Spear, but Rollins ducked and sent his challenger shoulder-first into the steel post.The champion went for The Stomp, but Breakker ducked outside. Rollins caught him outside with a clothesline then frog splashed him through the announce table.Two commercial breaks broke the match up. It is a shame WWE could not get limited advert time for the main event.Breakker ducked a frog splash and locked in a Steiner Recliner. Rollins made it to the ropes but then took a Frankensteiner into the military press powerslam to nearly lose.Rollins countered the Spear with a knee then hit a Pedigree for a near-fall. The second attempt at a Spear hit, but he still could not get three.
Overall Show
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The bar was set high for Gold Rush. While Week One could not quite meet those lofty expectations, this was still a marked improvement on recent weeks.
On a night with multiple big matches promised, it was a surprise how much the segments and vignettes trumped the in-ring action.
Von Wagner only got two minutes to speak with Mr. Stone during the show, yet he may have gotten more over in that time than any other moment in his career to date.
Baron Corbin made a statement at the expense of Carmelo Hayes, building himself up as a serious challenger for the first time in years.
Meanwhile, Wes Lee vs. Tyler Bate could not live up to the hype. Cora Jade vs. Dana Brooke was more of an angle than a match. Even the tag team Triple Threat was rushed.
However, it all came down to the main event, which delivered in spades. Bron Breakker looked like a world-beater, elevated to the role of main roster threat by the end of his big title bout.
Next week, Gold Rush will hope to deliver in a bigger way thanks to a strong Week Two card that includes Melo vs. Corbin, Tiffany Stratton vs. Thea Hail and Nathan Frazer vs. Dragon Lee.
Overall Grade: B-
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