Title Matches Added To WWE NXT TakeOver: 31 Card

With NXT TakeOver: 31 only just over a week away, the black and gold brand added three matches to the card.

William Regal announced ahead of NXT that Damian Priest will defend the North American Championship against Johnny Gargano on October 4. This will be the third TakeOver in a row that Johnny Wrestling has competed for the North American Title.

Last night's edition of NXT opened with a Battle Royal to crown the number one contender for the NXT Women's Championship. Raquel Gonzalez and Rhea Ripley were two of the favourites heading into the match, but the two Superstars eliminated each other leaving Dakota Kai, Kacy Catanzaro, Candice LeRae and Shotzi Blackheart as the final four. Both Kai and Catanzaro were promptly dumped over the top rope, leaving LeRae and Blackheart to fight it out for the victory. Both women battled back and forth for a few minutes but The Poison Pixie was ultimately able to eliminate Shotzi and punch her ticket to TakeOver.

In the main event, Bronson Reed, Kushida, Kyle O'Reilly, Cameron Grimes and Timothy Thatcher faced off in a Gauntlet Eliminator Match. All five men had standout moments during the bout, but the match came down to O'Reilly and Grimes. The Undisputed ERA member had been in the gauntlet since the beginning and The Technical Savage thought he had the match won when he went for the Cave-In. O'Reilly managed to roll out of the way, however, and Grimes tweaked his knee in the process leaving him easy prey for the former NXT Tag Team Champion to lock in the Leglock for the submission win.

Check out the card for NXT TakeOver: 31 below: • Finn Balor (c) vs. Kyle O'Reilly - NXT Championship• Damian Priest (c) vs. Johnny Gargano - North American Championship• Io Shirai (c) vs. Candice LeRae - NXT Women's Championship