After a stumble last week following a hot start, NXT found its groove on Wednesday night -- and then some -- with a quality two-hour show filled with exciting matches, intriguing storylines and a shocking finish that should keep viewers glued to the product through next week and beyond. The two main matches -- an absolute barn-burner featuring Matt Riddle and Cameron Grimes, and a brutal triple threat for the North American championship -- both delivered in major ways and showcased exactly what NXT has to offer, particularly from an in-ring standpoint.

We also saw the return of Johnny Gargano and the second appearance of the returning Finn Balor in a show-closing segment that will surely shock fans. So what exactly happened Wednesday night on NXT? Keep on reading for a full breakdown of the show with results, highlights, analysis and grades.

Rhea Ripley def. Bianca Belair via pinfall: There was plenty of back-and-forth action in this one, but just as it looked like Ripley would be gaining momentum following a cannonball off the ring apron, Io Shirai ran to the ring to assault her. The referee did not see the interference, and Belair almost got a three count once Ripley was rolled back into the ring. Instead, Candice LaRae ran to ringside to take out Shirai, and Ripley reversed a hold into her Riptide finisher for the 1-2-3. This clearly set up a future tag team match ahead of a likely No. 1 contendership Fatal 4-Way. Good action but not much memorable here. Grade: B-

Pete Dunne was interviewed in the parking lot and said the low blow was no excuse for him losing to Damien Priest last week, but he promised a receipt was coming. He further said he did not care about Killian Dane, whose fingers he snapped on his way to the ring for the Priest bout. Tyler Bate, who was with Dunne in the parking lot, was shown at ringside after the commercial break. Later in the show, Dain was shown standing by a fire angered as he wrapped his injured fingers.

Matt Riddle def. Cameron Grimes via pinfall: After some mat wrestling, Riddle drove Grimes into a corner with kicks and forearms before hitting a dynamic exploder suplex. He then delivered a Jackhammer, and the crowd immediately chanted "Rid-dle" like "Gold-berg." Grimes finally got some offense when he backflipped onto a positioned Riddle and lifted him into a German suplex. Riddle responded with a ripcord knee, Bro To Sleep and a German suplex but only managed a 2.7 count. Grimes answered right back with a spinning side slam, but Riddle intercepted him on the top rope with a superplex. A floating Bro Ton was caught with knees by the prone Grimes, but Riddle connected with a Final Flash. Grimes then hit Riddle with a Spanish Fly-esque crossbody but could only manage a 2.8 count. Stunned, Grimes was then caught by a powerbomb, Final Flash and Bro Derek as Riddle picked up the win.

The crowd again chanted "Rid-dle," and Riddle pointed to the camera as if he was gesturing to Goldberg. After the match, Grimes refused a fist bump from Riddle, but Bate accepted at ringside. Bate took offense to Grimes' denial and got slapped, but he answered with a one-punch knockout. Tremendous match and a good victory by Riddle over Grimes, who had been built up as a legitimate threat with four straight victories prior. Quality storytelling as well building up the Riddle-Goldberg tension and setting up Grimes' next feud. Grade: A

Breezango & Isaiah Scott def. Forgotten Sons via pinfall: Jaxson Ryker hit a uranage on the ring apron early that swung the momentum toward the Sons for the majority of the match. However, once Swerve got the hot tag, everything changed. Swerve hit a springboard huricanrana off Ryker's chest onto the other members of the Sons outside the ring for the spot of the match. After some chaos that saw most competitors outside the ring, Swerve hit a kick to the back of Steve Cutler's neck for the pinfall. Good action here and a slight surprise in terms of the winning team, but it's great to see Scott get a chance to go over in a bit spot. Grade: B

Angel Garza def. Jack Gallagher via pinfall: With NXT cruiserweight champion Lio Rush on commentary, these two fought in a clear showcase for the lighter division. Garza dominated the early portion of the match, but Gallagher hit a delayed vertical suplex that roused the crowd. Once Garza recovered, though, he hit the Cerro dela Silla springboard moonsault for the quick victory. After the match, he motioned for a title opportunity. Rush was a bit rough on commentary, but the action was solid for a short match. Grade: C+

Dakota Kai & Tegan Nox def. Marina Shafir & Jessamen Duke via pinfall to become No. 1 contenders for the WWE women's tag team championship: Kai was caught with a kick and dominated out of the gate by the larger, stronger Horsewomen, but Nox got the hot tag and quickly ran through both Shafir and Duke. After a brief hiccup, she drilled Duke with the Shiniest Wizard to pick up a surprising victory. The Kabuki Warriors immediately appeared on screen, and Asuka screamed at the duo as Kairi Sane promised they had no chance. This was a good, short match but nothing spectacular. It does, however, create excitement for next week's show. Grade: C+

North American Championship -- Roderick Strong (c) def. Keith Lee (via pinfall) and Dominic Dijakovic to retain the title: Strong got taken out early, leading Lee and Dijakovic to battle. Once Strong recovered, he tipped Lee off the top rope to the outside and hit a superplex on Dijakovic. While in the middle of a run, Dijakovic suplexed Lee onto a prone Strong but only got a 2.5 count. On the outside, Lee caught a cannonballing Dijakovic cold in midair, but Strong slid through the ropes with a wrecking ball dropkick that took out both men. With Lee in control, he hit the Tower of Doom, powerbombing Dijakovic as Strong took a superplex. Strong regained momentum with running forearms, flying knees and an Olympic slam on Lee, but the challenger kicked out at 2.0 flat. 

After catching Strong outside the ring, Dijakovic and Lee teamed up to take him out with Feast Your Eyes and a running tackle. The two big men then squared off one-on-one. Dijakovic superkicked Lee while he sat on the top rope, followed with a discus kick and hit an avalanche chokeslam sitout powerbomb from the top rope for a 2.8 count. Dijakovic then aimed to take out Lee but instead leveled Strong outside the ring with a tope con hilo corkscrew. Lee followed suit with a tope con hero cannonball as the crowd went absolutely wild. Back on the middle rope, Lee hit Dijakovic with a sitout powerbomb, but Strong immediately broke up the cover with a running knee to pin Lee. Simply put, this was one of the greatest matches in NXT history and one of the best TV matches I have ever seen. As great as Lee and Dijakovic are together, adding the more diminutive Strong took their feats to another level. Grade: A+

Undisputed Era celebrated with Strong and laid out both Lee and Dijakovic after the match. That led Tommaso Ciampa out to the ring with his crutch. Johnny Gargano then made his return and stood next to Ciampa. Next out was Finn Balor to stand side-by-side with the men. Tension built as they stood toe-to-toe with Undisputed Era, and Balor made the first move ... hitting a Pele kick on Gargano. Undisputed Era then took out Ciampa as Balor missile dropkicked Gargano into the guard rail and hit him with a spike DDT on the entrance ramp. Balor stood tall and faced Undisputed Era, pointing finger guns at Gargano (ala Bullet Club) before walking out on his own. He did not flash the "UE" symbol, though the group wanted him to do so.