Last time in action: Stacks defeated Yoshiki Inamura (NXT, August 5), Slater defeated Je’Von Evans (Bound for Glory)

TNA’s Leon Slater took a trip to NXT this week to defend the X-Division Championship against Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo.

Slater came in hot with a flurry of fast-paced moves, but once Stacks caught him in the corner, he beat him down. Evans was at ringside to cheer on Slater while Arianna Grace was in the corner for Stacks.

Slater took control with a big dive out of the ring as the show went to a break. We returned to see him getting a two-count before Stacks regained control by dropping the champion across the top rope.

We haven’t seen much of Stacks in the ring since his feud with Tony D’Angelo ended, so it was nice to see him get a chance to work with someone new. As always, Slater impressed with his athleticism, though some moves still need polish to look perfect.

The first half of the match was decent, but the second half was a lot more exciting. Slater accidentally knocked Grace off the apron when she was trying to help Stacks cheat, but Evans caught her in his arms.

Slater scored the win with a 450 splash to retain his X-Division Championship. After the match, Evans and Slater said they wanted to team up for a tag match and put out an open challenge, which was immediately answered by Mr. Iguana and La Parka.

Result: Slater defeated Stacks

Notable Moments and Observations