Title Match On Next Week's WWE NXT, The Diamond Mine Also In Action
WWE NXT Women's Champion Raquel Gonzalez is scheduled to defend her title during next Tuesday's NXT show on the USA Network.
This week's NXT show saw Gonzalez accompany Dakota Kai to ringside for her win over Ember Moon in the opening bout. After the match, Xia Li of Tian Sha hit the ring, walked right past Kai, and faced off with Gonzalez. Li declared that she wanted a shot at the title, and Gonzalez accepted the challenge. The match was later made official for next Tuesday.
While Boa and Mei Ying did not appear with Li during last night's show, they are being advertised to be in her corner for the title match. Kai is advertised to be in the corner of Gonzalez.
This was Li's first appearance since she and Boa teamed up to defeat Jake Atlas and Mercedes Martinez back on June 29. That match saw Li knock Martinez out with a concussion, reportedly giving her a concussion. Li has won her last 8 singles and tag team matches since being re-packaged ahead of the New Year's Evil event on January 6. She has singles wins over Martinez, Kayden Carter, Kacy Catanzaro, Cora Jade, Valentina Feroz, and Katrina Cortez.
This will be the third NXT Women's Title defense for Gonzalez since she won the strap from new NXT Women's Tag Team Champion Io Shirai at "Takeover: Stand and Deliver" Night One on April 7. She retained over Martinez on May 11, and then retained over Moon at "Takeover: In Your House" on June 13. Li and Gonzalez, when she was known as Reina Gonzalez, worked several singles and multi-person matches at NXT live events in 2018 and 2019, but this will be their first TV encounter.
The Diamond Mine will also be in action next Tuesday night on NXT, making their tag team debut. Roderick Strong and Tyler Rust will go up against Bobby Fish and NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida.
This week's NXT saw Rust defeat Fish in singles action. After the match, The Diamond Mine surrounded Fish until Kushida made the save. The tag team match was later made official for next week.
Manager Malcolm Bivens confirmed on this week's show that Hideki Suzuki is the coach of the group. He also referred to Strong as the best fighter, and Rust as the best prospect, adding that the group is all about competition. After weeks of MMA-themed vignettes, The Diamond Mine debuted on the June 22 NXT show by attacking Kushida. Strong then defeated Asher Hale on the June 29 show. After that match, Strong kept Hale down with a submission before finally letting up. Bivens cut a promo and declared that The Diamond Mine is open for business, and this was just the beginning.
As noted, the 2021 NXT Breakout Tournament will also continue next week. You can click here for updates from this week's opening.
Stay tuned for more on next week's NXT show. Below are a few related clips from this week's show: