Breakker Survives Scare to Retain NXT Title Over Frazer
In the main event of last night’s edition of WWE NXT, NXT Champion Bron Breakker managed to retain his title against Nathan Frazer, but not without controversy.
The match started off fairly evenly with both men getting their signature moves in. Frazer came close several times after hitting Breakker with a couple of picture-perfect suicide dives. However, the champion stayed resilient.
Towards the end of the intense back-and-forth contest, Frazer attempted his patented shooting star press but seemed to land awkwardly when Breakker moved out of the way. Breakker capitalized quickly by hitting Frazer with a spear to get the pinfall victory.
However, replays showed that Frazer may have actually kicked out just before the three count. There was clear daylight between his shoulder and the mat on the pinfall, leading fans and commentators questioning if Breakker’s title reign should have ended.
Nonetheless, the record books will show Bron Breakker as still reigning supreme over NXT with his title reign now extending past 130 days. But the controversy surrounding his latest defense will certainly add fuel to those who say his run is living on borrowed time.
Dragunov Suffers Potential Career-Ending Injury
In a shocking turn of events, former NXT UK Champion Ilja Dragunov announced that he may have wrestled his last match ever after suffering a serious neck injury.
Dragunov was involved in a tag team match, teaming up with Xyon Quinn against Pretty Deadly. At one point, Dragunov was thrown head first into an exposed turnbuckle which seemed to reaggravate his long list of neck injuries.
Despite being in visible pain, The Unbesiegbar Warrior gutted through the match and picked up the win for his team after hitting Lewis Howley with a Torpedo Moscow. However, he collapsed once the bell rang and struggled mightily to even stand up.
Once backstage, a sobbing and emotional Dragunov stated the following:
“I felt my neck go crack. I don’t want this to be it but the doctor said it’s not looking good. We’re going to see more specialists but this might be it for my career.”
Dragunov had recently returned from a significant neck injury that had kept him out of action for over half a year. The courageous comeback story now looks like it might have a tragic ending if further evaluation confirms the worst-case scenario.
| Ilja Dragunov’s Major Neck Injuries |
|---|
| Initial neck injury from WALTER chop – October 2021 |
| Out 7 months – Returns June 2022 |
| Reinjures neck on exposed turnbuckle – December 2023 |
The 37-year-old may be forced into early retirement, cutting short one of the hottest acts NXT had built over the past several years. Dragunov made a name for himself in NXT UK where his gritty, never-say-die attitude earned him the “Unbesiegbar” moniker.
He brought that same energy into the reformatted NXT 2.0 brand and became one of its shining stars both in and out of the ring. His loss for however long would be a massive blow to the NXT locker room and its audience.
Dijak Returns for Revival of NXT Underground
Despite the deflating injury news, last night’s show provided fans plenty more to talk about – especially the return of the notorious NXT Underground fight club concept.
The idea of the no-rules, bare-knuckles matches taking place in secret underground locations away from the Capitol Wrestling Center has clearly still resonated with higher-ups. This week’s edition of Underground saw the returning Dijak take on upstart rookie Eddy Thorpe.
The two heavyweights beat the pulp out of each for ten grueling minutes with an array of brutal strikes and twisted submissions. In the end, it was Thorpe who shocked the NXT Universe by choking out the cold-blooded Dijak to pick up his highest profile win yet.
Thorpe has quietly strung together an impressive start since debuting only months ago, including wins over Channing Lauren and Javier Bernal. But downing a veteran monster like Dijak now firmly cements him as a breakout talent that could achieve big things moving forward.
Other Headlines
-
Noam Dar won a highly competitive match against Josh Briggs to retain his NXT Heritage Cup Championship. The ending sequence saw Dar surprise Briggs with a rollup pin after Briggs attempted a big powerbomb.
-
The semi-finals of the Men’s NXT Breakout Tournament were set with Andre Chase beating Duke Hudson and Dante Chen defeating Charlie Dempsey to advance. Chen vs. Chase in the finals will take place on next week’s show.
-
Gallus announced they will invoke their NXT Tag Team title rematch clause on next week’s show. It brings to question the status of team member Mark Coffey who recently entered a bitter feud with Joe Gacy and his druids.
-
Toxic Attractionhosted a championship celebration which was eventually crashed by Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne’s former best friend Mandy Rose. A brawl broke out ending with Rose standing tall holding Dolin and Jayne’s championship belts.
That wraps up a jam-packed episode of NXT filled with new plot twists and potentially landscape-shifting injuries. News will surely continue developing on these stories over the next week.
To err is human, but AI does it too. Whilst factual data is used in the production of these articles, the content is written entirely by AI. Double check any facts you intend to rely on with another source.
