Friday Night's Main Event - Main Event recap for January 6, 2023

Nikki Cross beats Dana Brooke.

Backstage, we hear from Rip Fowler and Jagger Reid. Rip Fowler says that they are here tonight to deliver a message on behalf of The Schism and that everyone will listen. He says they have offered nothing but peace and unity, but the people still resist. Jagger Reid says that tonight, Rip Fowler will compete as an individual, but togetherness is the message they wish to send. He says they will both stand side by side as they deliver a statement to the fans. Fowler says the fans continue to celebrate Shelton Bejmain's career, but the real celebration is that the message of The Schism can spread further from NXT to everyone watching on Main Event, as they represent unity, strength and a place for people to unlock and realize their true potential. He says that The Schism are four roots of one tree, and that they would like to thank Shelton Benjamin for his contributions over the last twenty years and for his sacrifice tonight.

We see a video package chronicling Shelton Benjamin's contributions to WWE.

Backstage, Shelton Benjamin is congratulated when he runs into Mia Yim. Both of them smile.

Shelton Benjamin beats Rip Fowler. After the match, Shelton says he has recently celebrated twenty years since his debut in WWE, and thanks the fans for allowing him all this time to live all of his childhood dream. This leads to a "Thank You Shelton" chant in the crowd, and Shelton says that he is not done, for he is still "The Gold Standard" and there is no stopping him now.