Dragon Lee was set to defend his WWE NXT North American Championship on tonight’s episode of NXT, but he didn’t know who his opponent was until the match was about to start. That opponent would end up being Charlie Dempsey, but the match didn’t even have a chance to start before the stakes were raised. Gallus would come out and Joe Coffey also wanted in on the match, and Lee agreed to a Triple Threat match. Lee had his hands full with both superstars throughout the match, but he would get some unexpected help from Joe Gacy, who was underneath the ring and pulled Coffey underneath with him. Lee was able to take down Dempsey and get the win, and then he got some additional help to fend off Dempsey’s allies from The LWO.
Lee hit Coffey and Dempsey went in for the attack, but Lee was able to fend them both off at the start. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long, as they teamed up to take down the Champ before turning on each other. Coffey went for a move but Dempsey evaded, and soon Lee was back in the fight. Gallus tried to interfere by holding Lee’s leg, but the referee saw them and threw them out.
It’s @deltoro_wwe and @joaquinwilde_!!!
The LWO members are here to save @dragonlee95 ?#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/okt8lYv2Vn
— WWE (@WWE) December 20, 2023
Coffey got knocked to the mat with a superkick into a cover, but Dempsey broke it up with a suplex. Coffey got back on his feet and knocked both Dempsey and Lee down, and then went for a submission on the Champ. Dempsey tried to lock one in on Lee as well, but Coffey saw him and broke the hold. Coffey swung Lee around and Dempsey tried to latch on again, but Lee kicked him away, only to end up knocked to the mat.
Dempsey was back up and there Lee into the corner before hitting an uppercut. Lee bought himself some space and then there the Champ into the corner again. Lee and Dempsey ended up on the top turnbuckle and then Coffey came in and slammed both down to the mat. Lee knocked down Dempsey and Coffey and then collided with both stars in opposite corners, and capped off the run by hitting dropkicks on both.
Lee went for a cover on both superstars, but both kicked out. Lee caught both with kicks to the face and tried to hit a DDT, but instead got flipped up and slammed to the mat. Dempsey and Coffey went for covers but broke them up and turned their attention to each other once again as Lee rolled away. Coffey hit a clean move off the top but got caught with an uppercut from Dempsey, and Lee tried to knock both down but ended up eating a suplex from Dempsey, as did Coffey.
A strike-fest took place between all three competitors and then Lee took Dempsey down with a DDT before going for Coffey, but he got hit with a stiff punch and then knocked into Dempsey. Coffey went for the cover on Lee but he kicked out. Coffey hit some loud chops on Lee and then went up top, but Lee pushed him away and then hit the double stomps on Coffey’s chest before diving out and colliding with Dempsey outside. Lee hit a stiff knee strike to the head of Coffey and went for the cover, but Coffey kicked out.
Coffey was back on his feet and rolled both competitors into the ring, but then he was grabbed from under the ring by someone. Lee hit a kick to Dempsey and then got caught and put into cover, but he kicked out. Dempsey went for another suplex but the Champ landed on his feet and hit Operation Dragon for the pin and the win. That person under the ring turned out to be Joe Gary, who ran away to the back. Dempsey’s faction attacked Lee but then the Champ got some help from The LWO, who helped him clear the ring.
What did you think of the match? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!