Generation NXT - NXT recap for September 23, 2020

In memory of Joe Laurinaitis "Road Warrior Animal", 1960 - 2020.

Candice LeRae last eliminates Shotzi Blackheart by lifting her off the stairs with her feet to win a Women's Battle Royal and face Io Shirai for the NXT Women's Championship at NXT TakeOver.

Backstage, Sarah Schreiber interviews Damian Priest, who says his reign of infamy won't be ending any time soon and that the North American Championship will slide through Johnny Gargano's fingers. Regarding Austin Theory, he says that his win-loss record is not representative of his talent, and it will only continue to slide tonight.

In backstage footage from earlier today, General Manager William Regal meets Fandango, who proposes a tag team match with four people from four different teams - Roderick Stong and Danny Burch vs. Fabian Aichner and Raul Mendoza- taking each other on, with the winners facing each other to see who faces Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango).

Tommaso Ciampa beats Jake Atlas.

We see a vignette for Ridge Holland.

Roderick Strong and Danny Burch beat Fabian Aichner and Raul Mendoza. As per pre-match stipulation, Strong and Burch's teams will face each other to see who faces Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) for the NXT Tag Team Championships.

Backstage, Sarah Schreiber interviews Austin Theory when Johnny Gargano shows up and tells Theory has all the God-given talent in the world to become a major player. He tells Theory to bring Damian Priest down to his level, and says he will not forget it if he wears Priest down for him.

Damian Priest beats Austin Theory. After the match, Priest gets superkicked by Johnny Gargano.

We see a vignette for someone wanting to take back the NXT Championship, which has been "in isolation" for far too long. We then see the numbers "10.04.20."

We hear from Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, who says he is not content with two pinfall victories against Santos Escobar and that he wants the Cruiserweight Championship. He wants a fair one-on-one fight against Escobar, and says he will become champion.

Ridge Holland beats Antonio De Luca.

Backstage, Sarah Schreiber interviews Io Shirai, who says that she does not like Candice LeRae. Suddenly, Candice and Johnny Gargano show up and gang up on her, then Damian Priest shows up and punches Gargano. Referees have to hold everyone back.

Next week: Shotzi Blackheart vs. Dakota Kai!

Kyle O'Reilly beats KUSHIDA, Bronson Reed, Timothy Thatcher and Cameron Grimes in a Gauntlet Eliminator Match to face Finn Balor for the NXT Championship. KUSHIDA is eliminated after Velveteen Dream shows up and hits KUSHIDA with the Dream Valley Driver behind the referee's back. As the rest of The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Roderick Strong) celebrate with O'Reilly, Finn Balor shows up to end the show.

Here are the top moments from tonight's show!