WWE NXT 2.0 Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from April 19

The talent of WWE NXT 2.0 is constantly looking to make an impact by competing at the highest level. The April 19 edition did not include a big match but it did have plenty with interesting potential.

Santos Escobar has continued to make his case for an NXT North American Championship match, but Carmelo Hayes refused to let anyone get that shot before him. He challenged the leader of Legado del Fantasma to a one-on-one match.

Sarray and Tiffany Stratton have feuded for a while and would finally fight on fair terms. Natalya made her NXT in-ring return against Diamond Mine hopeful Tatum Paxley just one week after her shocking attack of Cora Jade.

Pretty Deadly proved themselves in their NXT 2.0 in-ring debut by capturing the NXT Tag Team Championships last week. In the aftermath of that five-team gauntlet match, Grayson Waller challenged his bodyguard, Sanga, after losing the titles.

This show may have looked great on paper, but NXT 2.0 had plenty up its sleeve in continue creating big stories for the future of the promotion.

Pretty Deadly mocked the tag team division until Grizzled Young Veterans and Legado del Fantasma arrived to demand a title match. A brawl broke out that cleared the ring.

Bron Breakker took the ring and called out Joe Gacy. The heel mocked the NXT champion and told him to come find him.

This was an awkward opening. So much was happening without time to breathe. There was no real reason for the tag teams to start brawling, particularly with The Creed Brothers not involved.

Breakker vs. Gacy is the same story every week. The former stands in the ring while the latter mocks him from the titantron.

It makes no sense that the NXT champion continues to play by Gacy's rules for weeks without any results.

Grade

D

Notable Moments

• Grizzled Young Veterans justifiably questioned why they were not involved in the gauntlet match last week only for Legado del Fantasma to jump them without warning.
• Gacy's face was shown repeatedly on the screens around the arena with an echoing laugh.
• Throughout the night, Breakker searched, and he found a cage and a room full of mirrors set up by his rival.

Tiffany Stratton attacked Sarray early and ground her into the mat. The Buff Barbie caught her opponent with a headbutt to set up a Vader Bomb for the victory.

This was bad for multiple reasons. Stratton still doesn't look like she is ready to compete on live television each week. Despite this, she beat a veteran clean in a match that did not even go five minutes.

The finish was particularly egregious. Stratton poorly sold Sarray's dropkick despite it looking painful and then forced The Warrior of the Sun to sell an awkward headbutt and Vader Bomb. It invalidated all of the work done in building Sarray's new character and this feud.

Grade

D-

Notable Moments

• Stratton hit a springboard somersault knee drop and then freaked out because it only got a two-count.
• The Warrior of the Sun planted Stratton with an exploder suplex and diving double foot stomp to set up the basement dropkick. On impact, The Buff Barbie fell out of the ring, saving her from a loss.

Andre Chase and Bodhi Hayward told Grayson Waller he had made a mistake agitating Sanga, who arrived to chase his former employer. The two fought all the way to the ring.

The big man dominated Waller throughout the contest, but his former employer tricked him into heading outside. Waller sent him into the steel post to set up his running return cutter for the win.

This match was fine for the in-ring action, but it was always rushed. Sanga barely got to enjoy beating down Waller before he fell to just one move.

It makes no sense to break up Waller and Sanga this early. The two only started in January and looked to be set up as an interesting tandem. Instead, Waller is back to ground zero as a loudmouth heel, and Sanga will probably disappear again.

Grade

C-

Notable Moments

• As he ran away, Waller threw trash cans and crates at Sanga to escape him.
• Sanga tossed Waller across the ring then hit him with a sidewalk slam.

Legado del Fantasma came in with fire and refused to let the pace slow. After taking out James Drake, Joaquin Wilde caught Zack Gibson in position for the Russian leg sweep combined with Cruz Del Toro (the formerly named Raul Mendoza) connecting on a running high kick for the win.

This was another segment rushed to completion. However, Grizzled Young Veterans and Legado del Fantasma made it work. It was a pure spot-fest from start to finish, flying by to hit each key moment in less than four minutes.

It was nice to see Wilde and Toro finally winning again. This was a big momentum reset for the teams. Legado can begin to raise their standing, while GYV need something fresh to make them relevant again.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

• Wilde and Toro dived out of the ring onto Gibson and Drake.
• Gibson stopped Toro from hitting him with a superplex, but his opponent turned it into an explosive headscissors takedown.
• Afterward, Fallon Henley, Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen attacked Legado del Fantasma.

In pre-taped interviews, Santos Escobar mocked Carmelo Hayes for making excuses before Melo and Trick Williams promised to make quick work of Escobar.

Escobar looked poised to upset Hayes before two men in suits attacked The Emperor of Lucha Libre, blasting the back of his knee with a crowbar. Melo hit a diving leg drop to win.

Afterward, The A Champion called his shot for a title match in two weeks, and Cameron Grimes accepted. Solo Sikoa laid out Trick, and Melo reminded the champion he needed the next shot at the gold. A Triple Threat was announced for two weeks' time.

Unsurprisingly, this match was really good. Melo and Escobar have chemistry to spare and too much talent to fail. It was surprising to see The Emperor play the babyface, but it seems Legado as a whole is transitioning to feud with Tony D'Angelo.

Grimes vs. Melo should be really good. This feud has heated up and helped make Sikoa feel like a bigger deal. Overall, this was easily the best part of NXT 2.0 this week.

Grade

A-

Notable Moments

• Trick caught the leg of Escobar so that Melo could hit him with a springboard clothesline.
• Escobar caught a hot streak, kneeing The A Champion out of the ring before a suicide dive.
• Tony D refused to take credit for the attack on Escobar, but someone left a dead fish on Legado's car.

Roderick Strong promised Malcolm Bivens he would start making examples of anyone who questioned his vision for Diamond Mine.

Meanwhile, Cora Jade ripped up a picture of her and Natalya together from the first time they met.

Tatum Paxley fought hard against her veteran opponent, but she was tripped face-first into the turnbuckle. This set up Natalya to lock in the Sharpshooter to win.

This was much better than the previous women's match on the card. In particular, Paxley looked much better than Tiffany Stratton despite getting little build behind her to this point.

Natalya is a valuable temporary addition to the NXT roster for matches like this. She helped the young star stand out without ever losing control of the contest. She could be the one to bring out Jade's best as well.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

• Paxley tried to duck Natalya in and out of the ring but took a suplex on the floor for her trouble.
• Paxley hit a standing corkscrew moonsault on Natalya.
• Backstage, Nikkita Lyons challenged The Queen of Harts to a match once she defeated Lash Legend.

Wes Lee explained his hesitation after a rough few weeks, which brought out Xyon Quinn to challenge him.

While Lee tried to start off fast, he could not keep up the momentum. He tripped at the wrong moment and walked right into a running forearm to seal the win for Quinn.

It would have been nice to see this go a little longer, but the story was well-told for the time they had. Lee is playing the uncertain singles star in need of direction, and Quinn may be the man to help him find his voice again. He just needed to knock him out first.

Former MSK member Lee has the talent to shine on his own and just needs the right spotlight. Given how much NXT put behind him as a tag team star, he should hopefully get the same on his own with some time to reheat.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• Lee opened the match with a wheelbarrow kick and a suicide dive, but Quinn responded with a high slam on the apron.
• Quinn walked into a superkick, setting Lee up for a springboard move, but Lee slipped off the ropes.

WWE showed a vignette for Roxanne Perez, who was supposed to debut next week. However, Toxic Attraction mocked her in a follow-up interview and told her she would debut on Tuesday's show instead.

Jacy Jayne took advantage of Perez's inexperience early. Wendy Choo appeared on the titantron to showcase her hard work "redecorating" Toxic Attraction's locker room, which allowed Perez to hit a sunset flip bomb for the win.

This wasn't much of a match, but it worked fine as a dramatic introduction for Perez. She is a talented wrestler with serious upside as long as WWE commits to her. Defeating a member of Toxic Attraction in her debut proves she has some focus behind her.

She can do way more than she showed here, but the night was filled with rushed matches. Hopefully, future contests featuring Perez will have more substance.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

• It was announced before this match that Von Wagner was suspended again for his actions last week toward Ikemen Jiro, who will be out for a month.

Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta tricked Pretty Deadly into agreeing to an NXT Tag Team Championships match against Dexter Lumis and Duke Hudson. Hudson stormed out of his locker room after struggling to communicate with Dex.

Thanks to a few miscommunications between the challengers and the cunning of the champions, Pretty Deadly had the number of their surprisingly popular opponent. Elton Prince isolated Hudson and caught him with a big boot off a distraction from Kit Wilson to take the win.

It was unusual watching Hudson as the face, but he played the role admirably. This was the first time this entire angle has worked, and Hudson and Lumis as an odd-couple tag team has potential.

The lights went out afterward before revealing Joe Gacy on the stage. Bron Breakker charged up to him and agreed to a title match so that Gacy would return his father's WWE Hall of Fame ring. Gacy knocked him off the stage, and a group of hooded men surrounded Breakker to end the show.

This show should have ended with Pretty Deadly standing tall again or the return of an angry Creed Brothers. Instead, it went out with another bizarre Breakker/Gacy segment where cultists did inexplicable things to the NXT champion.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

• Pretty Deadly put their arms around Indi and Persia at ringside, which seemed to finally get Lumis and Hudson on the same page.
• Prince nearly took the win after tripping Hudson off the top rope and then nearly lost to a small package.