Leon Ruff shocked the world by becoming the new NXT North American Champion, Old Man Indi Hartwell revealed it was her under the mask this whole time, Oney & Danny retained their championships and Boa got hit with the Curse of Thorn.
This Week: What’s gonna happen when Finn returns? Is Johnny gonna get back the North American title? What will happen when Io and Rhea battle for the Women’s Championship? What the fuck is happening with Boa and Xia and that old guy?
Before I really begin, I just wanna highlight this video summarizing Leon Ruff’s first week as NXT North American Champion, some real good stuff here.
POP: Léon, The Pawn
Johnny gets his rematch for the North American Championship after interrupting Leon Ruff’s feel-good recap like a big jerk. Leon really gets to show what he can do here and he’s pretty good in the ring and is a decent high flyer.
Damian Priest shows up once the match is beginning to edge in Johnny’s favor and distracts him for the rest of the match. Then once he hits the One Final Beat DDT, Priest pulls Leon out of the ring before the ref can count the 3, and apologizes to Leon before laying him out with a forearm, costing Johnny the Championship (it’s always weird when heels act like they don’t know the rules and think they won the title off of a DQ).
I still don’t know how to feel about this. On one hand, Damian doling out some Punishment to Johnny for cheating his way into winning the championship is funny, and the moment of Leon winning the title was a pretty unexpected, even heartwarming moment.
But to me, it still feels like the NA Championship is kinda being used as just a prop for this story when it really was kinda the most prestigious title on the show. So yeah, I was still kinda mixed on this storyline.
Until what happened afterwards. Regal is annoyed at Priest for messing up title matches on his show and Priest is excusing it saying Johnny deserves it and he was just messing with him. Leon overhears and interprets that as Priest considering him a joke, and says that if he can’t defend the title, then he shouldn’t be Champion, and even smacks Priest for good measure.
Now, this story may be going somewhere very interesting. Leon as the Champion who doubts himself because he just so happened to be in the right place at the right time, realizing he was being used as a pawn by Priest just to mess with Johnny now wanting to prove himself to everyone, while also being self aware of how people see him. That’s some solid storytelling.
Way later in the night, Priest comes out for a match and Johnny immediately jumps him and they start fighting all over the CWC. Ruff comes out to dropkick Johnny, but accidentally kicks Priest, and then pretty much winds up outsmarting and outmaneuvering both of them. Now both Johnny and Priest realize they gotta worry about Leon and the North American Championship.
Leon tells Regal he wants to face both of them and I am liking this new fired up Leon Ruff.
Johnny screwed Johnny!
POP: Grimey, The Blindfolded Yokel
Best person on the show, Cameron Grimes is feeling pretty good this week because he’s figured out that the secret to Dexter Lumis’ psychological warfare is his ice cold stare (I mean he also might be a Serial Killer and clearly has some command of the dead, but yeah it’s just the eyes). So, he went and got them booked in a classic Blindfold Match!
Unfortunately what Grimey did not factor in is that A. he would also be wearing a sack (which is not a blindfold but that’s just me being nitpicky about match titles, also Sack Match sounds nasty), and B. Dexter doesn’t talk, so he can’t just listen to figure out where he is, unlike Grimey himself who is known for being a loud jackass.
So, our boy beats up the (formerly Zombie) Ref by accident and takes off his sack to get a look at his handiwork. Once he realized what’s happened he tries to sneak an attack on a still sacked up Dexter, but he always yells before he hits the Cave-In (and also loudly runs) so Dexter easily sidesteps him and Grimey accidentally pulls his sack off.
Once the eyes are back in play, it’s pretty much a wrap for Grimey. Dexter batters him all over the CWC before finally jumping the plastic crowd shielding and getting out of dodge.
Until next time boys and girls! Same yokel time, same yokel channel!
World WOOOOAHHHH Tank Girl
It’s WOOOOAHHHH Games time once again and I just loved this little promo they did to announce it featuring Shotzi (building what I assume to be her Tank Mach II, and set to some Black Sabbath, natch) and letting us know she plans to get revenge on Candice at War Games, probably with a team of 3 other women.
Mid: A Tag Team Match
I don’t have much to say about this match between Candice & Indi and The East Coast Avengers other than it was perfectly fine.
Mid: The WWE Supplemental Draft
In a stunning turn of events, about a month after the WWE Draft, NXT has selected Arturo Ruas from Monday Night RAW to be drafted to Wednesday Night NXT!
I don’t know about you King, but I can’t wait to see what this new pick brings to the Yellow & Black brand!
I found giving the guy who got the hype video before the break the jobber entrance to be an interesting choice.
I’ll be honest, if it wasn’t for Kushida, this may have been a BOTCH. I just never really cared for Arturo Ruas. Not in pre-USA NXT, not in RAW Underground. He just doesn’t really do anything for me. I don’t know if it’s his style or maybe his attire with the boot cut cargo pants and tassels (anyone else hear Enderafter playing) but anytime I see him I just immediately don’t care.
It’s not like the match was bad either, and it’s not even like Ruas is bad in the ring, he’s good. I’m just not into him. I mean he got a hype vid, then got a jobber entrance, then lost. I’m not even sure if they’re into him.
U-Pick LIVE! NXT Edition
They do that thing where they ask members of the Roster and whatever former members of DX happen to be backstage who’s gonna win in big title matches, but this time it’s for Io and Rhea. I only point this out because I find it hilarious that someone cared enough to ask the homie Grimey who he thought was gonna win and the way he said “EEEE OH SHIII RAIIIIIIIII” fuckin’ killed me.
POP: Recruitment Season
Ember Moon and Toni Storm vs. Kai & Raquel was a great match. Everyone was on 10 here. Raquel is really growing into her own as an in-ring performer the more we see her on NXT and we already know the other 3 women here can kill it. In fact, the match was so good, I didn’t even mind that the pair that isn’t a Team, beat the duo that is a Team.
It was cool to see Ember and Toni actually be able to work together despite them not being a Tag Team and having similar goals.
After the match it gets even more interesting because we see Candice and her Daughter beat up and toss Ember & Toni back into the ring to get One-Arm Powerbombed by Raquel. It appears that Candice is scoping out some like minded individuals for that War Games match coming up. (Small POP to Candice for getting her Karen on at the Ref “Excuse me, DO NOT TELL ME WHAT TO DO!”)
POP: Mr. Grey Will Job to You Now
This is what I wanted from Thatcher this whole time. Just let him tap some guys out instead of teaching a class for weeks. August Grey is good at being the jobber that actually puts up a fight, but you know the entire time who’s gonna win, and it’s not the guy in the Saved By The Bell trunks.
Ciampa comes out afterwards, and at first I assume it’s because he has a problem with Thatcher being a bit of a bully (which would be odd because Ciampa was the exact same way like 4 weeks ago. I mean didn’t he even do worse to Jake Atlas when he first came back?), but it seems he just wants to fight Thatcher cause he feels like it. Small BOTCH to Thatcher immediately backing down from Ciampa, that felt very out of character.
POP: Coming Soon – The Kevin Owens Show
Bad News Barrett tells us some unfortunate information, pertaining to his not being here next week. However, he got NXT OG Kevin Owens to take over for him so hey, we got that to look forward to.
???: ???
In a follow up to last week’s weird ass moment with Boa, Raquel and that old dude who’s apparently being called Shi-Fu (sp) or “Master”, William Regal goes to Boa’s home to check on him (because he is the best GM in the company and cares about his talent) and Boa, while looking pretty ragged and with definitely real circles under his eyes repeats “She’s coming!” over and over again and says Xia is in hiding.
I was joking about Shi-Fu putting a curse on him but shit, maybe he did. This is hilarious and so, so goofy, man.
POP: Best of the Best
First off, I gotta say, I don’t think any match at Survivor Series is gonna top what these two women did here in this match. Neither of them held back. Both of them were at their best and showed why they deserved the main event spot tonight. Honestly, this is not just one of my favorite title matches of 2020, but one of my favorite matches of 2020 period. If they’re still doing the NXT Awards this year, this is a shoe-in for Match of the Year.
The story going into the match is Rhea needing to prove to herself that she’s still the Top Dog in the best Women’s Division in Pro Wrestling despite losing the title in her first defense to Big Match Char, and then Io winning it in a Triple Threat featuring the both of them.
Io wants competition and already sees Rhea as the best so of course, she wants to face her for her Championship. Basic story told amazingly by two very talented performers.
Like I said the match gets a little brutal. Even before the first commercial break Io gets dropped on her face on the edge of the ring. Near the middle of the match Rhea’s ear starts bleeding (And in a kinda badass moment, when she figures out where she’s bleeding from, she just wipes it under her right eye like war paint. Part of me wants it to be foreshadowing for when her and Toni absolutely cross paths again but I’m absolutely reading too much into it).
When Io shot out of the ring, transitioned into a Powerbomb, and put Rhea through the table, I am not exaggerating when I say I jumped out of my seat. Shortly afterwards, Io pins Rhea with a Moonsault. 6 Stars to everyone. There’s even a nice moment when both competitors embrace each other after the match.
I didn’t even mention every mind blowing moment in this match, I highly suggest watching it.
Listening to the doctor cut bits of my ear off was very… strange. ✂️👂🏼 https://t.co/XLAQ5Mf7PT
— RheaRipley_WWE (@RheaRipley_WWE) November 20, 2020
Rhea F’n Ripley.
Small BOTCH for being all “When Finn isn’t on screen, everyone should be asking ‘Where’s Finn?’” during the match. Come on, guys.
Well, that’s NXT and…
What?
Oh there’s more show?
*checks notes*
Oh
POP: The Boys Are Back In Town
Props to Finn for not ruining the moment with his theme music going off, or just breezing past Io and Rhea on the way to the ring and even congratulating Io before he got into it.
So Finn tells us how he’s back (with 3 plates in his jaw) and it doesn’t take long for The Kings of NXT to try and rain on The Prinxe’s parade (somehow Finn was able to call himself a Cat and have it sound intimidating. That’s talent.).
Pat does his Pat thing (and does it well) and talks about how everyone they’ve targeted so far has fallen to them. However Finn has a little surprise for them…
Undisputed Era’s back!
Hey, wait a minute…there’s 4 members of UE, and 4 members of The Kings, and WOOOOAAAH Games is coming up…
Hmmmm…
That’s it for NXT this week. A really great episode that ended on a very memorable return with an even MORE memorable main event.
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Peace.
Next Week:
Kevin Owens on Commentary!
