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LOOKING AT LAST NIGHT’S NXT NEW YEAR’S EVIL

Given the events of yesterday at the Capitol, I was just not in the mood to watch wrestling last night.  I was really looking forward to NXT’s New Year’s Evil but I knew if I watched it last night, I wouldn’t be able to get into the show.  I just was too bummed out from what took place yesterday, as I am sure a lot of you were as well.  So, I waited until today and I am really glad that I did.  I thought I would check in with thoughts from the show.

As I say all the time, NXT is my jam.  Everyone likes what they like but of the four shows that are on cable/national TV, NXT is my favorite.  The stories and the character builds are what I love in wrestling.  And the commentary team is great (Wade Barrett is a home run addition to the brand).  Given the build to this show, I was psyched to see it two weeks ago.  And last night, it didn’t disappoint.  Let’s go to the matches.

Karrion Kross vs. Damien Priest.

Kross was the undefeated champ when he got hurt and he has picked up right where he left off now that he is back.  Scarlett adds so much to the act.  She is cooly unique.  The match was two big dudes pounding each other.  It wasn’t always pretty, but that is a good thing to me.  When two huge people are pounding on each other, it shouldn’t look like a performance.  Strong match in which Priest fought through the worked injury but lost in the end due to it.  Kross stayed strong and the loss didn’t hurt Priest at all.  These two will meet again.

Santos Escobar vs. Gran Metallik for the Cruiserweight Title.

Metallik came in a few weeks ago to give Escobar a challenger.  I was pretty sure that there was no way that the Title would change here, and it shouldn’t have.  Lucha House Party has mostly been a comedy act so there is no way that this should have been super serious.  It was a solid match with the enhancement finish I expected.

Xia Li vs. Katrina Cortez.

This was exactly what it should have been, a squash to get over Li’s makeover.  She looked great and it will be interesting to see where they go with it.  She has a lot of talent as well.

Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Gonzalez in a Last Woman Standing match.

Their first match was awesome.  Could they meet the standard that they set?  No, they exceeded it.  This was awesome and both women were just amazing here both in their work and the plunder that they exposed themselves too.  I loved that they had Gonzalez win here.  They are making a star in her and Rhea, as a made woman, is instrumental in that.  The loss didn’t hurt Rhea a bit as it could have gone either way.  That is what good booking does.  I can’t say enough how much Gonzalez has grown as a wrestler.  She gets better every time out.  I love her work.  And Rhea?  She’s Rhea.  She delivers every single time out.

Johnny Gargano’s celebration.

This segment probably took the place of The Fight Pit, which was I really bummed got cut.  The first one, with Timothy Thatcher and Matt Riddle, was awesome.  With that said, this show was so stacked they didn’t need to add it here. It will work on a Takeover for sure.  The point of this was to show us that Shotzi Blackhart is not done with Candice yet and to give Johnny a new challenger in Kushida. … Johnny’s character is a lot of fun and he’s good at it.  He is totally different from Johnny Takeover.  I give him a lot of credit.  I like his group as well. … Austin Theory taking the shot to the jewels from Shotzi?  Totally sophomoric, and I totally popped for it.  It’s the kind of stupid humor that I love in wrestling. … On another note, Shotzi is freakin’ insane.  The stuff she does?  I just say WOW a lot.  I also worry about her a little bit!

Finn Balor vs. Kyle O’Reilly for the NXT Title.

Their first match was awesome, and this one was too.  Kyle got close the first time, with the story being that it was his first shot so he had some learning to do.  This time, he learned from the first time but got put in a bad situation and made a decision that affected him the rest of the match.  He broke a hold by biting the ropes.  I don’t remember ever seeing that before.  And after Finn kicked the ropes, I realized why I never saw it before.  The affected on his jaw affected his ability to fight for the rest of the match, which was the story and when he lost, it made it understandable.  Of course, the work was fantastic.  I could watch these two fight every month, and I hope they do.  Next time, Kyle should get the win.

Other Notes: Overall, it was a great show and is exactly why, as I said above, NXT is my jam.  If you haven’t watched it yet, it’s absolutely worth it. … The build for the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team tournament began.  I am sure it will be great as it has been in the past years.  Here’s to hoping that my boys, The Grizzled Young Veterans can get the job done this year.  They take on Ever-Rise next week while Adam Cole and Roderick Strong take on Breezango in first round matches. … They also announced a Women’s Dusty Rhodes Classic.  That is tremendous.  They have the most loaded and best women’s division in the business so this should be great. … Bronson Reed is back and has been made over.  The guy has a lot of talent but the “thick boy” stuff needed to go, like yesterday.  … Our next Takeover will be on Valentines Day.  I will wait to tell my wife that.

 

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