It’s Thursday. You know what that means.
So, the reason there wasn’t an NXT recap last week was that Christmas got kinda hectic for me, what with family, and cooking and zoom calls, etc., so it got kinda hard for me to get some time to even watch it on TV. Luckily, I was able to so this week will be a double review.
Then last Saturday, December 26th at the time that I am writing this, after watching a movie at home with family, I look down at my phone to check Twitter like I do every now and then and I see the news that Jon Hubert aka Luke Harper, as well as Brodie Lee, passed away from a non-COVID related Lung disease. And for the first 10 seconds after I read that headline, it was like it wasn’t even real.
Since then, all of his friends, family, and even those that only spent time with him for a short amount of time have been talking about all the wonderful times they spent with him and how much of a family man he was and I suggest just going on Twitter and reading these stories about a man who really seems to be a genuinely good man and father, because nothing I could say about him could compare to those who knew him.
The fact that this man was able to touch so many people in this business across companies really shows the kind of man he was outside of wrestling.
He was always one of my favorite underrated wrestlers and I was so happy to see him finally really get his shine as The Exalted One on AEW, but at least we have the time we spent seeing him do what he loved while he was here.
It just sucks that it always seems to be the best of us that are gone too soon.
Rest In Power, Jon Huber.
Kyle O’Rill(y) became the #1 Contender for the NXT Championship, Xia Li was forced to kick Boa a bunch and no one is calling the authorities, Fandango came back and then immediately left the premises, Rhea and Toni reignited their blood feud and for some reason the mute, tortured artist who controls zombies and is probably a serial killer was made the host of New Year’s Evil.
This Week: A bunch of stuff because I’m covering two weeks of pro graps!
POP: The Streets Aren’t Made For Everybody
First match of the night is a Tag Team Street Fight (interestingly not a Tornado Tag Team Match) for the NXT Tag Team Championships. Everyone here looked good and it told the story it was supposed to. The Not Best Friends still have beef with the Kings of NXT because of Dunne practically murdering Dain a while back, so they come out hot the entire match with both of them showing fury with every move.
This match did cause me to have a question though. Why would Dain ever voluntarily tag in Drake? I mean I love the guy, but even here, every time he was tagged in, it wound up going bad for them. Especially in the finish where Dain wound up (not) going through a couple of tables while Oney & Danny whipped and low blowed Drake to death.
After the match instead of punching Drake in the face, he carried him out so it was nice to see some development for their team on that front.
Shout out to Dain for doing the Keith Lee spot. You know the one.
POP: STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY HYPED
If there’s one thing NXT knows how to do…actually they do a lot of things well. My point is they know how to hype up a match with just one video package. The setup is simple here too. Just have both Kyle and Finn watch their last title match and talk about how they feel while watching it.
I love how Kyle is describing the feeling that went through his body when Finn hit that liver kick and how watching it just pisses him off and how Finn might be the Gargano to his Adam Cole. Finn talks about how even though he won, people only talk about how Kyle broke his jaw.
It’s all just *chef’s kiss*.
POP: No Handshake Jake
I enjoyed this match a lot more than their last one. Their moves just hit better and flowed better this time to me. Atlas hit this dope ass like Corkscrew Code Red that popped me.
Swerve (who with his probable incoming heel turn has acquired a new long silver jacket) wins here and offers a handshake in a cocky way and Atlas gets annoyed and blows him off. I’m interested in seeing where this goes.
POP: Kai Hard
Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai was what Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai always is, which is great. Solid work from both performers here. In the middle of the match Raquel Gonzalez shows up on the stage (despite being banned from ringside by GM Regal), and after Kai loses, Raquel makes her way to the ring (refs being no help, per usual) and starts throwing hands with Rhea. More refs and even some producers show up and we get a classic pull apart.
There’s no way both Rhea and Raquel couldn’t both toss those guys out of the ring though.
???: whatever
This week on Xia & Boa Do America
POP: Colossal Squash
First off, Reed’s new jacket that makes it look like he has a Komodo Dragon or something on his shoulders? Cool as hell.
Just a regular squash match re-introducing Bronson Reed to the NXT audience. Welcome back. I do wish they would do something with Adonis though.
POP: Hit and Run
Aight so earlier Toni was trash talking Io saying she’s scared of her and doesn’t wanna put the title on the line against her, the usual heel stuff. So Io, natch, heads to the ring (extra points for her yelling at the sound guy to play her music), gets a chair, sits in the middle of the ring and says something in Japanese which I believe roughly translates to “Fuck all this talking shit, let’s fight”.
Toni’s music hits and out pops a Mercedes Martinez from behind who bounces Io off of multiple areas of the CWC. Multiple contenders coming for Io’s championship, I’m with it.
POP: Thatch Up, You Can Get Smacked Up
We see what’s up with the most British looking American wrestler known to man Timothy Thatcher, and he’s still pissed at Ciampa for literally messing with him for like no reason. He says that he’s gonna take out his anger on Leon Ruff and if he wants to stop him he should come out and do something about it. This could go either way to be honest.
Thatcher dominates Leon for most of the match, but because Leon is “fighting spirit” personified, he’s able to mount some offense. On top of that, Thatcher is clearly mentally preoccupied with Ciampa for the whole match and that’s where mistakes start to happen.
The first time Leon is able to get some offense going is after Thatcher sets a chair for Ciampa, and him again looking at the chair to see if he’s arrived is what leads to him being distracted long enough for Leon to get a flash Inside Cradle pin on Thatcher for the win.
After the match, Thatcher goes after Leon, but then gets DDT’d by Ciampa who then proceeds to challenge him to a FIGHT PIT MATCH!
LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
He Draws, And He Draws
So, because in NXT hosts have match making powers, local hipster artist probable serial killer Dexter Lumis uses art to inform us he’s booked a Last Woman Standing Match between Rhea and Raquel at NXT New Year’s Evil.
I like that he’s also got drawings of NXT’s previous TakeOvers and special events in the background.
BOTCH: ThanksBivens
First off, a POP to Malcolm Bivens being on NXT television and saying things. I don’t know why they’ve teamed him up with the guy who has Batista’s belly button tattoo on his butt, but hey, I’m told Tyler Rust is actually pretty good.
As far as the match with Davari…
Moving on.
POP: A Very Gargano Christmas
Is it a shock to any of you who read this column regularly that this was my favorite part of the show? I’m kinda disappointed they didn’t go full Claymation, but it was great nonetheless. Apparently Johnny and Candice have gone full parent mode and are treating the other Way members like they’re actually their kids which I find to be hilarious.
It was the little moments in these segments, like Johnny saying “[I’m] here with the love of my life”, followed by a zoom in on the North American Championship, Johnny being offended by a No Way Jose namedrop, to Indi officially being christened “Indi Wrestling”. What can I say, I’m a sucker for a good pun.
I don’t wanna just list all the gags they did because I want you guys to watch it yourselves, but just know Johnny getting Indi an empty PS5 box almost made me toss my remote at the TV screen.
Also Johnny’s gift to Candice is the most heartwarming present ever.
He’s probably gonna be pretty upset when he finds out he has to face Leon next week for the NA Championship.
The Main Event
Adam Cole faced someone but I’d rather focus on another match.
Boy, this match sure is great isn’t it?
Moving ahead a week…
POP: Reeding Is Fundamental
It’s a classic big guy vs. small guy match as the opener with Bronson Reed and Swerve playing their roles respectively. We’re still establishing Swerve’s eventual total heel turn as he acts more cocky than usual in this match, but his skills are still no match for Reed here.
DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM CLASSIC IS RETURNING
BET.
POP: Classic Tag Teaming
Breezango vs. GYV was exactly as great as you would expect it to be, especially since they’re building to the Dusty Classic in a couple weeks. Fandango was a stand out to me here because one, he became (I believe) the first person to successfully dive onto his opponents off of a scaffolding and two, he threw a killer discus clothesline (yeah yeah yeah).
GYV get the win here and Never-Rise come out to do that gag from The Lion King where they act like the only reason they’re not coming down there to beat up GYV is because the ref is holding them back, but once she bounces, they do too.
…Stop making me like you, Never-Rise.
???: Kofi & Bianca would be so disappointed
This Week on Marvel’s Iron Fist, Xia & Boa do some kicks, and then they get some ash or paint put on their faces by the mystery lady, and then the mystery lady gets them lit with her fancy vape lamp.
Then they walk into a light. Apparently we get answers next week. I’m gonna assume I’m gonna think this is dumb. And not fun dumb either.
POP: Vehicular Manslaughter
It’s a squash match which successfully does what it set out to do, which is re-establish Mercedes Martinez as a straight up threat to the women’s division after Rhea sent her off TV in that cage match and then she was saved from being part of The Group Formerly Known As The Group Known As Retribution over on RAW. Sure she jumped Io last week, but that was with her not looking. Her opponent’s name is Valentina Feroz and she straight up just tosses her around the ring, it’s not even a contest.
POP: Bruise Feud
To paraphrase a sentence Cardi B once said “If a guy has beef with me, he’s gonna have beef with me, FOREVA”. That’s the theme of this match tonight.
Commentary reminding viewers of Strong’s betrayal in the Dusty Classic a long while back adds so much to even this regular match on a regular NXT and it’s something I really wish the Main Roster would do more often.
Dunne and Strong wrestle like guys who have done this a million times and hate the shit out of each other, which is something that can be forgotten sometimes when putting a match together. These two show why they are considered two of the best in their generation.
POP: Boomlight
After Finn grabs Kyle’s NXT Year End award for Match of the Year (oh yeah, tonight’s Year End Awards Night, don’t worry, I sum up my thoughts on the winners at the end), and teases a confrontation with Pete Dunne (yes, please), he comes out to the ring.
Finn gets some solid shit-talking in, before Kyle comes out to grab his award and Finn big times him about how the doesn’t even need a Year End Award because he’s got the NXT Championship.
Kyle however sees it as validation that he does indeed deserve to hang with Finn and in the main event scene in NXT. They get all up in each others faces, but then Kross & Scarlett come out (speaking Romanian!) to remind them that no matter who wins at New Year’s Evil, they gotta worry about him.
That of course brings out Damian who then proceeds to give Kross some payback for a couple weeks ago. That spot where they broke through the fencing and took the fight to the tech area was crazy. I like to imagine Finn and Kyle were just watching them from the ring thinking they need to chill out a little.
Now, technically this was kind of a promo train, BUT, it was done so differently from usual that I almost didn’t even notice so good job.
POP: Stone Cold Tried To Tell Y’all
I was already excited for the rematch between Rhea and Raquel, but this extra layer on top of it that NXT added of this previously unknown (to me anyway) IRL friendship between the two, to the point where they even got matching “RNR” tattoos, makes it mean so much more than just a regular hoss fight between to hoss ass women.
As always, WWE’s production crew gets a 10/10. They should get some kind of award or something. That last touch at the end where the N in RNR breaks and becomes a V? Bruh.
POP: WWE InVasion
Santos Escobar is out with the rest of Legado Del Phantasma cutting the standard heel promo about how Regal can’t find a proper challenger for him and how he don’t need no stinkin’ award because he’s the champion and owns Lucha Libre. Good thing we don’t have any wrestlers or groups with Lucha in their name, oh wait
Not gonna lie was pretty funny that perennial babyfaces Lucha House Party got heat from the NXT audience and a “You don’t go here” chant because they still got that RAW smell on ‘em. That one guy who loudly yelled “BOOOOO” the whole time needed to stop though.
LHP get the win in this really good match and it’s crazy how much better someone can look just by going to NXT where they can do stuff instead of chase R-Truth for an entire year.
Next week, we’re getting Gran Metalik (who is STUPID underrated by the way, I cannot stress that enough, if you saw him on SmackDown some months ago, you know what I’m talking about) against Escobar for the Cruiserweight Championship which is sure to be an absolute banger (I’m also assuming LHP is here because NXT needs some bodies to fill out that Dusty Classic bracket, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more of them).
Small POP to this quote from Wade Barret: “Yes I’ve beaten The Miz, everyone’s beaten The Miz!”
POP: Lucked Up
The entire night, Johnny Gargano has been worried about The Gargano Curse rearing it’s head and losing the Championship to Leon Ruff, and the way they built this up all night was funny as hell.
The poor guy sees a black cat as soon as he shows up to work, breaks a mirror with his Gargano brand Muscle Powder “The Gargano Whey”, and walks under a ladder without even realizing it (if only HBK were there to warn him).
On top of that, he’s wearing Browns colors. It’s like he wants to lose.
What I really like about how Ruff matches are, is that he’s one of the physically smaller wrestlers on a roster with a lot of smaller guys, so while he usually can’t beat anyone in a strength contest, he makes up for that by figuring out other ways to hurt his opponent, like using the environment to his advantage. Brother hit an elevated RKO from the ring apron for crying out loud.
Leon tries his best here, but ultimately Johnny is able to use his in ring experience to out maneuver Leon and hit a One Final Beat DDT to end The Gargano Curse.
Another POP to Vic Joseph sounding genuinely disgusted when Wade started talking about winning his Fantasy Football League. But a BOTCH for one too many “Ruff” puns. That’s my job.
EXCLUSIVE: @JohnnyGargano is heading into 2021 with a PARADE!#TheWay and @mckenzienmitch have quite the celebration following the end of the curse on #WWENXT!! pic.twitter.com/0Z1f3bo5mF
— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) December 31, 2020
Can’t wait.
The NXT Year End Awards
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Tonight we also got the results of the (let’s be honest) way more prestigious than the Slammys, NXT Year End Awards. So I’m gonna briefly express my opinion on the results.
Breakout Star of the Year – Shotzi Blackheart
Well deserved, 2020 was her year. Also love that she seemingly cut that promo from her backyard.
Tag Team of the Year – Undisputed Era
The Era boys once again win this award for the coveted threepeat. Pretty much any combo of these four might legit be the best team in the business (sorry Top Guys). The UE also use their acceptance speech to announce that Adam and Roddy will be representing the Era further establishes Adam’s comment that the Undisputed Era has no leader, but that seems like a bit of a retcon, considering he’s consistently the only member to have his own merch and is also positioned as the leader in like, all of their marketing, and does most of the talking and
Female Competitor of the Year – Io Shirai
Duh.
Male Competitor of the Year – Adam Cole
Hey Siri, play Back to Back by Drake. Him being nice to William Regal is so weird.
Match of the Year – Finn Balor vs. Kyle O’Reilly
This was an amazing match, but I think we all know Ilya and WALTER should’ve won.
Overall Competitor of the Year – Io Shirai
Again, duh.
That’s it for NXT this week, if you wanna read more recaps & reviews of wrasslin’ shows, check out all the other ones we have here on the site, share this column on all your sharables, and don’t forget to checkout the SRP Discord.
Peace.
Remind your loved ones often that you love them. Yeah Yeah Yeah.
Next Week on NXT New Year’s Evil:
Santos Escobar (c) vs. Gran Metalik – NXT Cruiserweight Championship Match
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher – Fight Pit Match (damn, Dexter did Tim dirty with that drawing)
Damian Priest vs. Karrion Kross
Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Gonzalez – Last Woman Standing
Finn Bálor (c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly – NXT Championship Match (Kyle’s drawing looks more like Thatcher than the Thatcher drawing)
