Tuesday night’s NXT North American Championship fight was over 750 days in the making, as former WWE talent and current TNA star Mustafa Ali took on current champion Ethan Page in a long-overdue opportunity for NXT gold. The night’s contest had Orlando crowd’s hearts in their throats, but when the bell finally rang, Page was the one standing tall, still the North American Champion.
Ali was relentless in his NXT title pursuit from the beginning, with his agile in-ring style overwhelming Page early on. The champion eventually found his footing when he threw himself against the ropes to trip up a top-rope bound Ali, but the match remained into a back-and-forth brawl, where Page’s wily use of the ring’s surroundings weathered Ali’s explosive in-ring finesse to keep Orlando on edge.
Tuesday’s contentious match-up came to a climax when the men took a trip over the ringside commentary table. While Page came out unscathed, Ali’s foot got caught in the table’s equipment wires. Ali’s entanglement prevented him executing a likely match-ending top rope dive, and Page opportunistically capitalized by pushing Ali from the top rope. With an incredible crash to the outside breaking Ali’s exhausted body, Page only needed a Twisted Grin to retain his title.
Ali “politicked” his way to Tuesday’s title opportunity on the recent September 30 episode of “NXT,” where he delivered a passionate promo about his missed opportunity in WWE. Reports have since come out to claim that NXT head Shawn Michaels previously had plans to bestow the gold onto Ali prior to his 2023 release, which came just days before his North American title match with previous champion Dominik Mysterio.
Lexis King and El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. appeared in a backstage segment following the match to show interest in Page’s title, but no official challenge has been made as of writing.
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