WWE NXT results, Aug. 15, 2018: Bate, Strong fight for momentum on the road to TakeOver

After throwing an impromptu party deep in the NXT Universe during The Mighty's clash against Heavy Machinery last week, Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins hit the squared circle for a hard-hitting collision with Nick Miller & Shane Thorne. Video courtesy of the award-winning WWE Network.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Mighty were out to make The Street Profits pay after Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford’s partying caused the “Aussie Action Heroes” to lose to Heavy Machinery two weeks ago.

As is their new M.O., Shane Thorne & Nick Miller bent (and outright broke) the rules whenever they could, allowing them to quench the Profits’ red-hot start (which included a special shout-out to Wakanda). Thorne & Miller smothered Dawkins and used quick tags to cut off the ring on The Curse of Greatness.

Dawkins eventually broke free and tagged in Ford, who lit up both Mighty Superstars with clotheslines. Thorne tried to stop Ford’s momentum by illegally grabbing a handful of his opponent’s tights while rolling him up for a pin, but Ford reversed the rollup and, taking a play out of The Mighty’s book, grabbed Thorne’s trunks outside the referee’s line of vision to score the three-count.

The Street Profits gave The Mighty a taste of their own medicine, and Thorne & Miller didn’t seem to enjoy it.

WWE NXT photos for Aug. 15, 2018, including Tyler Bate vs. Roderick Strong, The Street Profits vs. The Mighty, Kairi Sane vs. Aliyah and more. 

After watching Kairi Sane dismantle Aliyah in a powerful show of force, NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler might be rethinking her opinion that The Pirate Princess, who is set to challenge The Queen of Spades this Saturday at TakeOver: Brooklyn IV, lacks killer instinct.

Joining the announce team for the match, Baszler enjoyed an up-close viewing of Sane’s emphatic beatdown of Aliyah. She watched as the 2017 Mae Young Classic winner blasted The Cat’s Meow with her full arsenal of moves, culminating with the InSane Elbow. Yet, instead of going for the sure-fire pin, Sane instead stared daggers at Baszler in between hitting two more InSane Elbow Drops on the helpless Aliyah. The Pirate Princess then locked in the Anchor leglock, bending over backwards so that she could point at The Queen of Spades while making Aliyah frantically tap out.

The message was loud and clear: If Baszler still insists Sane doesn’t know how to “go for the jugular” after this emphatic performance, The Submission Magician will be in for a big surprise this Saturday in Brooklyn.

Velveteen Dream attempts to get inside the head of EC3, his opponent at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4. Video courtesy of the award-winning WWE Network.

After taking an unexpected (and unwanted) swim during last week’s ill-fated poolside summit with EC3, Velveteen Dream sought to regain the upper hand by trash-talking The Top One Percent days before they square off at TakeOver: Brooklyn IV.

Stating that EC3 had made a critical error by making an enemy out of Dream, the enigmatic Superstar promised to reign victorious this Saturday in Brooklyn. His bold words brought out NXT’s "Golden God," who landed a few cutting remarks of his own (including poking fun at Dream’s fanny back), before inviting Velveteen Dream to throw down on the spot.

Dream appeared game, removing his sunglasses and earrings, but he feigned a shoulder injury as he removed his vest. It was all a plot, of course, as Dream sucker-punched EC3 to gain the advantage. Just as quickly, however, EC3 turned the tables and dropped Velveteen Dream with the One Percent. EC3 has come out on top in his last two confrontations with Velveteen Dream, but will the story be the same this Saturday?

Moustache Mountain's Tyler Bate goes one-on-one with Undisputed ERA's Roderick Strong days before their squads do battle in an NXT Tag Team Title Match at TakeOver: Brooklyn 4. Video courtesy of the award-winning WWE Network.

Moustache Mountain and NXT Tag Team Champions Undisputed ERA will have to wait until Saturday to duke it out over the black-and-yellow brand’s tandem titles, but that didn’t stop Tyler Bate and Roderick Strong from tearing into each other with fervor in a topsy-turvy singles bout on the final stop to TakeOver: Brooklyn IV.

As can now be safely assumed when any combination of these four Superstars are in action, the match was a high-voltage, hard-hitting affair that left the NXT Universe breathless. Bate and Strong’s respective teammates, Trent Seven and Kyle O’Reilly, were seconding their partners at ringside, and O’Reilly made sure Bate knew it, distracting “Textbook” Tyler early in the contest to give Strong the chance to pull ahead.

Bate remained resilient and stayed one step ahead of the Undisputed ERA member as the battle reached a fever pitch, out-reversing the NXT Tag Team Champion and clobbering him with a clothesline before hitting him with a spectacular dive over the top rope in the waning moments.

O’Reilly tried to stall Bate, causing Seven to go after O’Reilly and, subsequently, Strong to nail The Don with a dropkick through the ropes. Strong then decimated Bate with an enzuigiri, but Bate fought back with a rolling capo kick before ending Strong’s night with a Tyler Driver ’97.

Undisputed ERA may enter Brooklyn’s Barclays Center with the NXT Tag Team Titles this Saturday, but following Bate’s victory against Strong, there’s no doubt that Moustache Mountain will have momentum on their side.