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We're well on the way to NXT New Year's Evil, and tonight wegot several matches added to the card. We'd find out who would be challenging NXT Champion Finn Balor, as Pete Dunne and Kyle O'Reilly battled in a No.1 Contender's match.
Austin Theory, Johnny Gargano, and Indi Hartwell of The Way were all in competition tonight, Tommaso Ciampa got a chance to beat down a student of Timothy Thatcher's, and more. All of that plus a stellar main event in a reignited NXT UK Women's Title feud between Toni Storm and the Nightmare Rhea Ripley.
Last week, Karrion Kross brutalized Damian Priest to the point that he couldn't appear on tonight's show. The Archer of Infamy was supposed to team with Leon Ruff tonight to take on Austin Theory and the NXT NA Champion Johnny Gargano tonight. While Priest couldn't compete, Ruff quickly found a partner in one of NXT's top stars, Kushida.
Kushida and Leon Ruff vs The Way (Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory) on NXT
Austin Theory started things off with the Time Splitter, and Kushida easily outwrestled the man that quit NXT a few months ago. Theory simply couldn't keep up, as Kushida worked over the arm. However, the second Leon Ruff tagged in, Mr. All Day quickly turned things around. A kick to the gut and a suplex was enough to get the former NXT North American Champion fighting from below.
Ruff avoided a splash in the corner and used his incredible evasiveness to slide in and out of the ropes, disorienting Theory. A distraction from Johnny Gargano put a stop to it momentarily, allowing Theory to bowl him over with a clothesline. Gargano then tagged in to further try and humiliate Ruff.
Staring at Kushida, Gargano had his eyes off the ball, allowing Ruff to get a few near falls in on him along with some nice strong kicks. As Gargano was backed into his opponents' corner, he responded with a gourdbuster, dropping Ruff from on high.
Kushida interrupted a double suplex spot, allowing he and Ruff to build some steam sending Gargano and Theory to the floor. Ruff attempted some high-risk offense, but lost his footing on the top ropes. Luckily Ruff was okay.
Prior to the break, Gargano hit the slingshot spear on Ruff. When we returned, Ruff managed to hit a rebound clothesline on Theory, and Kushida and Gargano tagged in. The NXT Triple Crown couldn't keep up with Kushida's speed. As Gargano was set up for the double-arm trapped stomps, Theory broke it up. Theory paid for it, though, with the running arm breaker.
Kushida's Hoverboard Lock was blocked, and a leaping enziguri dazed Kushida. Ruff tagged in for a sky-high missile dropkick. A double-kick in the corner dropped Gargano for a two-count.
Theory tagged back in and dropped Ruff with a spin-out powerbomb out of the torture rack position. Somehow, Ruff kicked out. Gargano tagged back in, but as Kushida and Theory fell to the floor, Ruff rocked him with a superkick. Theory snuck a tag in just as Ruff hit the springboard corkscrew cutter.
Theory rocked him with a kick, and bounced him off the mat with Ataxia, getting the win.
Results: Austin Theory defeated Leon Ruff via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: A-
Toni Storm said that it's Toni Time, and she'll finally end her rivalry with Rhea Ripley tonight. They've fought many times before, and this time, Storm will end things on her terms.
Backstage at NXT, McKenzie interviewed Shotzi Blackheart ahead of her match with Indi Hartwell tonight. Blackheart said that the self-proclaimed "Miss WarGames" Candice LeRae should expect another war soon. She broke LeRae's arm at WarGames, and she'll break Indi Hartwell tonight.
Next up, Tommaso Ciampa looked to eliminate Tyler Rust from the equation. Rust tried to get involved with Ciampa's match last week, possibly at the instruction of Timothy Thatcher. Prior to the match, Ciampa left a chair sitting in front of the ramp with a Thatch-As-Thatch-Can shirt on it.
Tyler Rust vs Tommaso Ciampa on NXT
Tyler Rust struggled early, and Tommaso Ciampa only fired up more when Rust's teacher, Timothy Thatcher, entered ringside. Ciampa battered him around the floor as Thatcher watched on.
Ciampa ducked a boot from Rust that inadvertently hit Thatcher, but Ciampa couldn't help gloating about the miscommunication. Rust took advantage, dropping him shoulder-first with an arm wrench on the apron.
Rust worked over Ciampa's shoulder throughout the break, creating a rather nasty weak spot in Ciampa's armor. Ciampa fired back with a series of clotheslines, and the Air Raid Crash dropped Rust for a two-count. Rust attempted to catch the former NXT Champion with a cross arm breaker, but Ciampa held the grip.
After breaking the hold, Ciampa went for the Fairy Tale ending, but Rust managed to break Ciampa's grip in a pretty incredible way. A big boot and a corkscrew snapmare slam nearly put Ciampa away.
Ciampa was caught in a double armbar, and his foot just barely made the ropes. Ciampa fought through targetted kicks to his arm, and managed to spike Rust with Willow's Bell.
Results: Tommaso Ciampa defeated Tyler Rust via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: B+
After the match, Thatcher tried to confront NXT's Psycho Killer but was held back by officials.
The Grizzled Young Veterans said that they're the greatest tag team in this generation, and will soon be recognized as NXT's No. 1 tag team.
A Karrion Kross vignette aired, with both Kross and Scarlet warning of the arrival of Doomsday. Last week on NXT, Kross demolished Damian Priest. Tonight, he returns to the ring.
During the break, Malcolm Bivens went to the ring to build up Tyler Rust. Bivens said that Rust was a star, and told him to pick his head up. Looks like Bivens believes Rust can be a big player in NXT and wants to go along for the ride.
Just before the No. 1 Contender's Match took place, the NXT Tag Team Champions were assaulted by Killian Dain and Drake Maverick, Undisputed Era, and Breezango. Pete Dunne and Kyle O'Reilly were left all alone for what was set to be the match of the night.
No. 1 Contenders Match for the NXT Championship: Kyle O'Reilly vs Pete Dunne
Dunne and O'Reilly completely ignored the chaos outside of the ring. Dunne outwrestled the multi-time NXT Tag Team Champion early, locking him in several unique submissions.
O'Reilly managed to break away, managing to mount Dunne for some shots to the face before going for the cross armbreaker. Dunne rolled through, and the back and forth truly began with both men looking to lock in the perfect hold to pick up an early submission victory.
When that stalemate was over, Dunne threw out the first real offense of the match, rocking O'Reilly with a clothesline. On the floor, Dunne missed a moonsault but landed on his feet. A boot rocked O'Reilly. They brawled at ringside to the nine-count before rushing back in the ring to continue the slugfest.
O'Reilly hit a nasty combination that worked over Dunne's leg, sending the former NXT UK Champion to the apron for a kick to the spine. During the break, though, Dunne got the upper hand working over O'Reilly's...hand.
Back from the break, a rebound German suplex and x-plex planted O'Reilly. Dunne knelt in O'Reilly's hand, slowly looking to break it piece by piece. The body manipulation continued with a leaping stomp hyper extending O'Reilly's arm. Dunne continued to pelt Kyle with kicks and elbows.
O'Reilly finally got an opening after catching Dunne with a knee to the gut. A pop-up roundhouse set up for another strong striking combination, capped off with a leg sweep that left Dunne in the corner. Dunne escaped a shoulder breaker, but was tossed overhead with two clenching butterfly suplexes capped off with an elevated butterfly DDT. Dunne kicked out at two.
Both men battled on the top rope. Kyle O'Reilly's spider German failed as Dunne landed on his feet. A series of kicks and a leaping dropkick left O'Reilly nearlyout cold.
Following another break, O'Reilly and Dunne were stuck on opposite sides of the ring post pulling one another into the turnbuckle. Dunne planted O'Reilly with a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. O'Reilly was then caught in an odd angled armbar, as his body was contorted in a gruesome way. Somehow he made it to the ropes.
They traded ankle locks, armbars and more, leading to Dunne going for a Kimura Lock. O'Reilly held his own tights stopping the hold. A brainbuster spiked the Brusierweight of NXT, giving O'Reilly some time to breathe.
Dunne was rocked by a jumping knee that knocked his mouth guard out, and dropped him on his head with a leg trapped high angle back suplex. Somehow Dunne kicked out. He was punished with some heavy kicks to the jaw, but jumped up to his feet to stomp on O'Reilly's fingers. In the ropes, Dunne snapped O'Reilly's hand before going for the Bitter End on the apron.
O'Reilly countered into a suplex off the apron to the floor. With Dunne left hanging in the ropes, a diving knee from O'Reilly smashed his face into the mat. 1-2-3, Kyle O'Reilly will be heading to NXT New Year's Evil.
Results: Kyle O'Reilly defeated Pete Dunne via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: A+
Far and away, that was the best match of the week. We're getting O'Reilly/Balor II, folks. It's going to be a banger in two weeks on NXT.
We saw another training/torture vignette featuring NXT's Boa and Xia Li. They begged their master to stop. For weeks, we saw Li crying as she was hitting something, but tonight we saw that she was battering Boa the entire time.
Boa was bloodied, bruised, and hoping for it to end soon. Unfortunately for him, that wasn't the case.
Indi Hartwell vs Shotzi Blackheart on NXT
Shotzi Blackheart rushed Indi Hartwell, looking to send a message to the Poison Pixie of NXT. Hartwell, finally leaving the neckbrace behind, was forced neck first into the top rope. Kind of ironic.
A stiff striking combo sent Hartwell to the corner where she was nearly hit with the running senton. Hartwell avoided it and stomped out NXT's Tank Girl. Of course, she couldn't hold the advantage for long. Hartwell was hit with the running senton, this time set up on the second turnbuckle. Hartwell found herself on the apron where she was launched to the table with a running dropkick.
Candice LeRae tried to distract Blackheart and the referee, but the ref turned back just in time to see Hartwell crack Blackheart with LeRae's trophy.
Results: Shotzi Blackheart defeated Indi Hartwell via DQ on NXT.
Grade: C
On NXT next week, another one of the big men of the brand will return to the ring. The Colossal Bronson Reed will be back in action on December 23rd.
Karrion Kross w/Scarlet vs Desmond Troy on NXT
Desmond Troy had no entrance, so clearly this wasn't going to go well for him. Karrion Kross demolished him in his return to an NXT ring. Mounting elbows, a series of strikes in the corner, and an exploder suplex left Troy stumbling.
After a roundhouse, Kross hit the Doomsday Saito. After that, the Kross Jacket finished Troy.
Results: Karrion Kross defeated Desmond Troy via submission on NXT.
Grade: C
After the match, Karrion Kross challenged Damian Priest to a match at NXT New year's Evil. We'll see a clash between two of the Black and Gold Brand's most dangerous monsters in two weeks.
Backstage, Isaiah Scott revealed that he was facing Jake Atlas in a rematch next week. Ever-Rise rushed in after he left to say that Ever-Rise rules. They don't. They don't at all.
Throughout the show, Dexter Lumis was making some kind of sketch at the CWC. It was finally revealed, showing that he would be the host for NXT New Year's Evil on January 5th. Considering the fact that he doesn't talk, that should be interesting. Maybe he'll force Cameron Grimes to speak for him.
Toni Storm vs Rhea Ripley on NXT
Toni Storm, oddly enough, tried to send Rhea Ripley down with a shoulder tackle. Didn't work, and the former NXT Women's Champion responded with one of her own. Storm caught her in a crucifix, and they began trading near falls.
A pair of short-arm clotheslines rocked Storm, as did a ripcord crescent kick. As Ripley moved to the apron, Storm was able to send her into the ring post and crashing to the floor, taking over for the first time in the NXT main event.
Back from the break and Ripley was back in it, hitting a seated Toni Storm with a running basement dropkick. The former NXT UK Women's Champion barely kicked out. Storm blocked The Riptide and avoided the running boot for a headbutt that left both competitors out for a few moments.
Ripley rocked Storm with another dropkick but still couldn't stop Toni Time. The Prism was locked in, and for quite some time Storm was struggling to break free. Eventually, she rolled through, sending Ripley into the ropes for a leaping clothesline. A German suplex with a bridge dropped Ripley for two.
Storm missed a running hip attack in the corner and was dropped face-first on the turnbuckle with an electric chair facebuster. Storm again blocked The Riptide, this time with a little help from Raquel Gonzalez. A boot to Storm sent her into Gonzalez, and Ripley nearly went after her but decided against it.
With the ref distracted, Gonzalez launched Ripley headfirst into the ring post. Storm took advantage, hitting Storm Zero for the win.
Results: Toni Storm defeated Rhea Ripley via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: A
