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Worlds Collide and the Royal Rumble are just days away, and NXT decided to bring out all the heavy artillery to make a big statement, and give fans a huge episode before the two events.
While Worlds Collide will witness a battle between the NXT and the NXT UK brands, we aren’t sure how many Superstars will be part of the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
However, this week’s episode centered around the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic matches, and the NXT North American Championship.
The action was tight from the word go, and the fans got to witness some grand matches during the night involving Superstars like, Toni Storm, Finn Balor, Pete Dunne, Io Shirai, and Keith Lee.
In this article, we will look at the 6 things NXT got right on this week’s episode.
#6 The Grizzled Young Veterans’ victory
The night kicked off with a great tag team match for the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, as The Grizzled Young Veterans took on Undisputed Era’s Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly.
The two teams from NXT and NXT UK started off strong, but the advantage was taken by Undisputed Era during the middle part of the clash.
Gibson and Drake tried to turn things around, but a hot tag to Fish helped the NXT Tag Team Champions regain control.
At a time when it seemed like all was over for the English team, Imperium’s music hit and the four members of the faction appeared on the balcony above the NXT Universe.
The distraction was enough to allow Gibson and Drake to put NXT’s premier team away and advance in the tournament.
The result allows the former NXT UK Tag Team Champions to reach the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, and a chance for them to bring honor to the NXT UK brand.
#5 Balor’s victory
Ever since Finn Balor moved back to NXT, fans want to see him walk-in every single week and compete in a match.
However, they haven’t been so lucky, as Balor seems to have gone back to NXT because of the lighter schedule, and only battled in a few matches since his return. Instead, he is busy building up his story with Johnny Gargano which is surely going to be a treat for the fans.
This week, however, Balor decided to compete in the ring against Joaquin Wilde. Wilde was no match for the former Universal Champion who took control of the match from the word go.
The Prince allowed Wilde to take a couple of shots before he wrapped him away with a Coup de Grace followed by the deadly 1916 DDT.
The match was nothing but a warm-up for Balor and served its purpose well. He is set to face off against the much more dangerous Ilja Dragunov at Worlds Collide, a couple of nights from now.
While Wilde should have been allowed some time to shine, it was necessary to give Balor a thumping win since he is building towards two huge matches, while Wilde still needs to find his footing on NXT.
#4 The double disqualification
A huge women’s match was set for the night as Toni Storm took on Io Shirai in a singles match. Shirai, who is currently the biggest heel on NXT after Shayna Baszler, needed to come out on top to make a statement against the women who will face NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley on Saturday.
Shirai showed why she is known as 'The Genius of the Sky', and took control during the middle of the match. However, The Australian decided to bring out the suplex to regain some control.
As the two women came close to a conclusion, Bianca Belair appeared from out of nowhere to take down Storm and end the match in a disqualification.
Belair, who is next in line to challenge the NXT Women’s Champion after her victory in the Battle Royal last week, was then attacked by Rhea Ripley.
As the brawl got out of hand, Storm took out her opponent and ended the segment posing with the NXT Women’s Championship.
This was an excellent match that was protected from a result as Storm and Shirai are both Champions in their own right. A battle between the two at a TakeOver event would do them a lot more justice. Both women have done great work in Japan, and their chemistry seemed to click very well.
#3 The Broserweights
The unlikely team of Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle proved everyone wrong last week and returned to give the fans another treat to watch this week on NXT.
The two men took on the mighty Imperium, represented by Fabian Archer and Marcel Barthel, in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
The match was fast-paced and fans got to see the strengths of all four men involved in great fashion. The action was traded to and fro, and it seemed like the two teams were evenly matched.
WALTER, who was present at ringside, distracted the man who he defeated at TakeOver: New York for the NXT UK Championship, allowing Imperium to cease control.
As the NXT Universe started chanting “This is Awesome,” Dunne and Riddle showed some extremely good teamwork to pick up the win.
The win allows two of NXT’s top Superstars who currently have no storyline to head in the right direction together.
The Broserweights now seem like the perfect duo to win the NXT Tag Team Championships from the Undisputed Era, and they are ready to dominate NXT’s tag team division from hereon.
#2 Baszler’s tease
Last week, NXT held a massive Battle Royal to determine the No. 1 contender for Rhea Ripley’s NXT Women’s Championship. While most of the participants were expected ones, former NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler surprised everyone by taking part in the match.
She seemed to be the favorite to win the match until newcomer Shotzi Blackheart single-handedly eliminated her from the match.
This week, Baszler got her revenge by taking Blackheart on, one-on-one in a good match. While Blackheart managed to get quite offensive, she was no match for Baszler’s brutality.
A Kirifuda Clutch was enough to hand Baszler the victory; she seems to be working her way up again on NXT.
This was an interesting match, but the backstage segment involving Baszler was even more interesting, as Baszler claimed that she was going nowhere and was going to become a three-time NXT Women’s Champion.
This was a big tease, considering the fact that many fans see her as the favorite to win the Royal Rumble match.
Are Baszler and WWE tricking the fans by bringing Baszler back into contention on NXT, or is this part of a bigger plan where Baszler will continue to rule the Black & Gold brand?
#1 The Limitless rises
Keith Lee got the biggest solo opportunity of his career this week, as he took on the NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong, for the title.
The match began fittingly, as Strong tried to chop Lee, but suffered the wrath of the heavyweight who knocked him around the ring with chops of his own.
At a time when Strong seemed to find nothing to put the big man down, help arrived in the form of Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, and Bobby Fish. The three men distracted The Limitless One as Strong began to make a comeback into the match.
Strong worked on Lee’s ankle which had been damaged by the faction last week, and an Ankle Lock almost sealed the victory for the reigning Champion.
However, Lee found enough strength to hit his finisher and bag his first Championship belt in his WWE career.
The match was topnotch, and the loss to Strong will affect Undisputed Era’s chances against Imperium on Saturday. Lee, on the other hand, managed to carry on his momentum and turn it into a big positive by getting his hands on the title so early in his career.
Teddy Long snaps when Swerve Strickland's race is brought up HERE
