This is the first episode of NXT since the excellent NXT Takeover: New York event from this past weekend. NXT has a new champion, and his name is Johnny Gargano. It should be interesting to see what the Gargano era of NXT will consist of in the future, but for now, his wife, Candice LeRae was in action tonight. NXT was taped before Takeover, so this is the final show in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York for the week. There are certainly worst ways to go out than with an NXT show, so let’s get into the results.
  NXT opened up with a new theme song created by Slipknot.
Candice LeRae vs. Aliyah –

  Fresh off of her appearance in the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal during WrestleMania 35,;LeRae took on Aliyah on this night. This match was set up during last week’s NXT episode when Aliyah and Borne insulted Candice LeRae. Of course, Borne accompanied Aliyah at ringside for the match.
  Aliyah took down LeRae early on. When Candice ran after her, she hid on the apron before clocking her with a forearm. After some taunting, LeRae made her flee outside the ring. She went for a dive but Aliyah moved out of the way just in time. She got LeRae back in the ring and administered some more kicks and shots to her opponent.
  LeRae made a comeback after shoving Aliyah into one of the ring posts in the corner. Desperate to get a win, Aliyah went for multiple pins but couldn’t get the job done. LeRae caught Aliyah’s foot and made her comeback. Candice gaver her a Rude Awakening and then hit a Lionsault on Aliyah before putting her away with the three-count.
Winner: Candice LeRae

  Some highlights from the Matt Riddle vs. The Velveteen Dream match from Takeover was shown. Riddle’s undefeated streak came to an end that night as The Velveteen Dream retained the North American Championship. Dream then appeared via phone video. Buddy Murphy walked by after losing the Cruiserweight Championship at WrestleMania 35. Dream said that Murphy couldn’t handle the spotlight on “The Grandest Stage of Them All.” Murphy was bothered by his comments but Dream told him to watch his match against Matt Riddle from Takeover for a real show-stealer.
  Clips from the match between The War Raiders and the team of Aleister Black and Ricochet aired. It was an emotional night as it marked the final NXT match for Black and Ricochet, who now compete on the main roster. Rowe and Hanson retained the NXT Tag Team Championships and then bowed in front of their opponents after it was over.
  Former New Japan Pro Wrestling Star KUSHIDA is now part of NXT. His signing was confirmed during Takeover, and on this show, he signed his NXT contract. William Regal and Triple H praised his work and said that they were excited to have him in NXT. KUSHIDA said that he is excited for the opportunity and is honored to work for the brand. He signed his deal as cameras flashed around the three men.

Danny Burch vs. Jaxson Ryker –
  205 Live star Oney Lorcan still is not finished with NXT just yet. He accompanied Danny Burch as he faced the leader of The Forgotten Sons tonight, who they’ve had issues with in recent weeks. Jaxson Ryker was in action for this match, which doesn’t happen too often. 
  Ryker charges after Burch and goes for an early pinfall. It’s all Ryker so far as he slams down his opponent, splashes on him from the top rope, and so on. Even with the Brooklyn crowd insulting him, Ryker was still getting the job done. Burch finally fired back with some big right hands to the chest.
 He issued a step-up enzuigiri in the corner and went up to the middle rope for a dive. Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake briefly tried to interfere, but Lorcan kept them grounded. That still didn’t matter too much though as Ryker gave him one more big slam to win the fight. 
Winner: Jaxson Ryker
  After the match, Ryker decided that he wasn’t done yet. He continued to attack Burch as Lorcan tried to stop him. Unfortunately, the other Forgotten Sons joined in on the attack, and that proved to be too much for Lorcan and Burch.
  Moments from the Fatal 4-Way for the NXT Women’s Championship from Takeover: New York was shown. Shayna Baszler defeated Bianca Belair, Io Shirai, and Kairi Sane to retain her title during the match. According to Baszler, she didn’t overcome any odds. She says that she simply retained her title because that is what she is supposed to do, and she says that she will always be the champion. 
  Of course, WALTER beat Pete Dunne to win to NXT UK Championship at Takeover. The win marked the end of Dunne’s record-breaking 685 title reign. Pete was asked for his reaction after walking through the curtain, but “The Bruiserweight” just promised that they will have a rematch soon. 
  Clips for the last match from NXT Takeover: New York were shown. This was the emotional 2-out-of-3 falls match between Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole for the vacant NXT Championship. Cole put away Gargano early for the first fall, but Gargano fired back with a submission win for the second fall. With both challengers now even, it was all about who wanted it more. Although The Undisputed Era tried to interfere in the match, Gargano had too much heart that night. He locked in the GargaNo Escape and made Cole tap out to score the third and final fall.
  Johnny Gargano celebrated the win with his family at ringside and with his wife Candice LeRae. The announcers said that it was a dream come true for Gargano to become NXT’s first Triple Crown champion. As they made their way onto the stage, Tommaso Ciampa walked out on the stage not to attack Gargano, but instead congratulate him on his huge victory.
  Afterwards, Adam Cole and The Undisputed Era members began arguing backstage. Before it got too heated, Cole noticed the cameraman filming them and ordered him to shut off the camera.
  The Velveteen Dream will put his NXT Championship on the Line in a match against Buddy Murphy during NXT next week.
The Street Profits vs. Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel
  Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford look to get back to their winning ways on this show. They lost the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, but they can certainly earn more opportunities if they start picking up more wins on NXT. They took on NXT UK’s Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel.
  Ford started off the match with Aichner. Aichner punched Dawkins off the apron and shoved a Ford into his corner of the ring. Barthel came in, but Ford dodged his maneuvers. Barthel eventually countered with a knee to the back of Ford. Following some stiff punches, Aichner was tagged back into the match.
  Aichner hit some punches in the corner and then hit a suplex in the ring. Barthel comes in and works over Ford. Ford tried desperately to make the tag to Dawkins, but his opponents kept him from making the tag at every turn, Aichner and Barthel worked as a cohesive unit, constantly tagging each other in and out to hit Ford. Unfortunately, the strategy didn’t work forever,. Ford found an opportunity to slide under Barthel’s legs and finally tag in Dawkins.
  Angelo Dawkins laid out both men with punches and he furiously ran all over the ring, Ford comes back in and begins getting beaten down. Aichner slams him down while Barthel dives outside onto Dawkins. Aichner went up to the top rope for a moonsault on Ford, but that only scored them a two-count. Barthel and Aichner went for some double team maneuvers, but Dawkins surprised them both with a spear.
  Dawkins was tagged back into the match after this. Dawkins got Barthel up on his shoulders, then Ford executed a frog splash. That was all that The Profits needed this time around. They scored the winning fall and celebrated in the ring as the show came to an end.
Winners: The Street Profits
  Barthel and Aichner were clearly very upset with themselves for losing the match. They made their way to the back for the night while looking back at The Street Profits in the ring. Dawkins and Ford took the time to have some fun in front of the Brooklyn crowd. Now that Dawkins and Ford have won, it should be interesting to see where else they go in the future. Perhaps a tag team title match against The War Raiders is in their future. Before that happens, it seems more likely that a rematch between these two teams may occur.
  That about does it for all of WWE’s WrestleMania weekend events in the New York/New Jersey area. The landscape of NXT is about to look much different now that Ricochet and Aleister Black are gone, and now that Johnny Gargano is the champion. Don’t forget that the Superstar Shakeup is next week, which means that even more NXT names could move up to Raw or SmackDown soon. What is certain is that NXT will return to Full Sail University next week, and it will feature what is sure to be an exciting match between Buddy Murphy and The Velveteen Dream for the North American Championship. See you NXT Time!