WWE NXT Results - March 10, 2021: Finn Balor Vs. Adam Cole, Io Shirai Vs. Toni Storm

Fans at the Capitol Wrestling Center were expecting two title matches on this week's edition of NXT but actually witnessed three following William Regal's "game-changing" announcements.

The NXT general manager opened the broadcast and announced NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver will be the black and gold brand's first-ever two-night TakeOver. The event will take place on April 7 and April 8 during an already jam-packed WrestleMania week. 

Regal then got around to his second announcement and invited Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai to join him in the ring. After a brief recap of last week's events, the NXT general manager awarded the winners of the Dusty Cup the new NXT Women's Tag Team Championship Belts. 

Kai and Gonzalez followed Regal's announcement with a heel promo, but they were quickly interrupted by Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart, who challenged them to put the belts on the line later in the night. 

45 minutes later, the two teams squared off in the middle of the ring. Blackheart and Moon targeted Dakota Kai as the weak link in the team and they worked over the Kiwi while they tried to keep Raquel Gonzalez out of the match. 

They could only keep Kai isolated for so long, though, and Gonzalez eventually entered the match. The champions then tried to put Ember Moon away with an Assisted Go To Kick but The War Goddess managed to kick out. 

This was as close as the champions came as Moon and Blackheart regained the upper hand soon after. Moon then tried to put Gonzalez out of commission in the final moments with an Eclipse, but the second-generation wrestler blocked the move. They then grappled on the apron and Blackheart flung Kai into Gonzalez, causing her and Moon to spill to the floor. A stunned Kai stumbled backwards moments later and Blackheart rolled her up for the 1-2-3. 

With that, Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez's NXT Women's Tag Team Title reign came to an end after just over an hour. 

This wasn't the first title match on the show as Io Shirai defended the NXT Women's Championship against Toni Storm in the opening match. 

The Genius Of The Sky ultimately managed to retain her title in a 12-minute match, but Storm was made to look strong in defeat. The challenger halted Shirai's momentum throughout the contest and she connected with Storm Zero during the final stages but Shirai somehow managed to kick out. The former NXT UK Women's Champion then tried to follow up with a Diving Headbutt, but Io avoided it and locked in the Crossface to win the match by submission. 

It didn't take long for The Genius Of The Sky's next challenger to be revealed as she told Raquel Gonzalez later in the show that she wants to put the title on the line against her. 

The third and final title match then took place in the main event and Finn Balor went one on one with Adam Cole. 

Both men battled back and forth throughout the 20-minute match and Cole thought he had the title won on two occasions as he caught the champion with Last Shot and Panama Sunrise. Balor somehow managed to get his shoulder up, though.  

The match went downhill for Cole following the kick out and Balor blocked another Last Shot attempt and tossed him out of the ring. Kyle O'Reilly then emerged from the darkness and Balor capitalised on the momentary distraction and drilled Cole with a 1916 DDT on the floor. 

The match came to an end moments later as Balor tossed Cole back into the ring and connected with Coup De Grace for the 1-2-3. 

Following the match, O'Reilly entered the ring to face down his former friend. Cole briefly pleaded for mercy, similar to his antics with Roderick Strong, before he tried to Low Blow O'Reilly. Kyle saw it coming, though, and he tore the Undisputed ERA armband from Cole's arm. Both men then brawled around the Capitol Wrestling Center before O'Reilly got the upper hand and tried to put Cole out of commission with a Brainbuster on the steel steps. A bunch of referees stopped O'Reilly in his tracks, however, and Cole scurried backstage to end the latest Undisputed ERA confrontation. 

This left Balor to stand tall in the ring and The Prince suddenly uttered the words, "What took you so long?" as the camera panned around to show former NXT Champion Karrion Kross standing behind him as the show went off the air. 

Beyond the three title matches, NXT continued multiple storylines as the black and gold brand gets ready for NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver in four weeks time.

Imperium and Timothy Thatcher appeared in backstage promos at different points in the night as Marcel Barthel and co. tried to convince The British Messiah to take his rightful place alongside WALTER. The Way also appeared in a different backstage segment and following a brief recap of their therapy session, Austin Theory stormed off and tried to find Dexter Lumis. 

Xia Li later squared off with Kayden Carter on the show, but the four-minute match was more of an angle as Kacy Catanzaro decked her former friend just before Li could break Carter's leg. Catanzaro then unloaded on Li and Boa with the crutch and the babyfaces stood tall for the first time in the feud. 

Legado del Fantasma and Grizzled Young Veterans then squared off later in the episode, but the match also quickly turned into an angle after Breezango's music played over the titantron and two men in space suits entered the Capitol Wrestling Center. Both teams in the ring looked on with curiosity until the astronauts removed their helmets and revealed themselves to be the returning MSK. James Drake and Zack Gibson's eyes suddenly grew wide and Joaquin Wilde used the distraction to roll up Drake for the win. 

MSK then unloaded on Grizzled Young Veterans after the bell and Wes Lee exacted a measure of revenge as he smashed the astronaut helmet off Gibson's hand while it was draped across the steel steps. Legado del Fantasma looked on as the action unfurled but they found themselves on the mat a few moments later as Breezango laid them out from behind, leaving the two babyface teams to stand tall as the segment came to an end.

Elsewhere on the show, Pete Dunne picked up some momentum with a win over Jake Atlas, Leon Ruff announced he and Isaiah "Swerve" Scott will square off next week, Bronson Reed tried to get his hands on LA Knight backstage ahead of the former IMPACT World Champion's in-ring debut on March 17, and Jordan Devlin cut a promo from an Irish airport during which he said his travel ban had been lifted and he would be heading to NXT to prove he was the real Cruiserweight Champion. 

Check out the full results from the March 10 episode of NXT below:
• Io Shirai def. Toni Storm - NXT Women's Championship
• Pete Dunne def. Jake Atlas
• Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon def. Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai - NXT Women's Tag Team Championship
• Xia Li def. Kayden Carter by Disqualification 
• Legado del Fantasma def. Grizzled Young Veterans
• Finn Balor def. Adam Cole - NXT Championship