WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
    • WWE Reviews >
      • Raw Reviews
      • SmackDown Reviews
      • NXT Reviews
      • Other >
        • 205 Live Reviews
        • NXT UK Reviews
        • Main Event Reviews
        • Superstars Reviews
        • ECW Reviews
    • AEW Reviews >
      • Dynamite Reviews
      • Dark Reviews
      • AEW PPV Reviews
    • More >
      • IMPACT Reviews
      • ROH Reviews
      • NWA Reviews >
        • Shockwave Reviews
        • NWA PPV Reviews
      • LU Reviews
  • Week in Review
    • Year in Review
  • Audio
    • WrestleRant Radio
    • Interviews
    • Audio Archive
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact Us

Columnist Corner

WWE NXT Review - December 30, 2020

12/30/2020

Comments

 
Picture
By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Bronson Reed def. Isiah "Swerve" Scott

I'm really digging this new heel character Scott has been doing lately and I'm glad Reed is getting back on tract following a long layoff. That said, these guys should not have faced each other because neither of them should have lost. Scott won't be too damaged by the defeat, but he shouldn't have lost decisively so soon after avenging his loss to Jake Atlas. On the bright side, this was a terrific showcase for two of NXT's most promising prospects.

Grizzled Young Veterans def. Breezango

Grizzled Young Veterans are clearly on the ascent and it's great to see. They were clearly being built up for a shot at the NXT Tag Team Championship pre-pandemic, but it looks like they'll have to work their way back up the NXT tag team ranks. Breezango was a logical place for them to start considering they were NXT Tag Team Champions just a few months ago. It was a fun little match, though it's odd Grizzled Young Veterans would run through Breezango before getting to Ever-Rise.

Mercedes Martinez def. Valentina Feroz

Martinez should have never been called up to the main roster when she was because this feud with Io Shirai could have happened months ago had she stayed. This was exactly what it needed to be with Martinez completely dominating Feroz, who I hadn't heard of prior to this match. She put Shirai on notice afterward, though I still would like to see Shirai vs. Toni Storm for the NXT Women's Championship before we get Shirai vs. Martinez.

Pete Dunne def. Roderick Strong

These two have always worked well together dating back to their early battles in 2018, so the fact this was a damn good match was no surprise. Strong never ceases to deliver while Dunne's intensity makes his matches an absolute blast. They made the most of the time they had and Dunne went over as he should have considering he lost his last two major matches against Undisputed Era and Kyle O'Reilly. It was interesting that he crossed paths with Dunne backstage afterward, which tells me NXT is still planning on doing that match at some point.

Kyle O'Reilly Confronted NXT Champion Finn Balor; Damian Priest and Karrion Kross Brawled

NXT has built up the rematch between Balor and O'Reilly for next week so well that it has a big fight feel. Both men brought it on the mic here and O'Reilly is coming across like more and more of a main event player by the week. Kross and Scarlett emerged and said that Kross is coming for whoever is champion after New Year's Evil before brawling with Priest all over the Capitol Wrestling Center. It was a nice preview of what their match should be next week.

Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado def. Legado del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza)

Santos Escobar was cutting a promo about how great his 2020 was when he was interrupted by the former Lucha House Party (sans Kalisto, who has hardly been seen on SmackDown since the group went their separate ways). Dorado made a joke about being sick of chasing a championship (obviously alluding to the 24/7 title on Raw), and he wasn't wrong. They've been criminally underutilized on the main roster, so regardless of whether this will end up being short-lived or not, I'm happy to see them back in NXT. This was a quality contest that set the stage for Metalik vs. Escobar for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship next week. By the way, what the hell happened to Curt Stallion being the number one contender to the Cruiserweight title?

NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano def. Leon Ruff

I know they made a big deal about the curse going into this match and how Gargano has never successfully defended a singles title prior to this point, but I still didn't think Ruff had a real shot of regaining the gold. That's why I don't think this worked as a main event. Sure, it was technically sound and I was happy that Ruff was able to look like an equal to Gargano throughout, but it didn't feel like a must-see matchup worthy of closing out the year with. That said, I'm looking forward to what should hopefully be a lengthy reign for Gargano as champ.

Overall Show

As I've said before, ​New Year's Evil has major TakeOver potential on paper. All five matches should be stellar and it's bound to kick off 2021 on a high note for NXT. As a go-home show of sorts, this was a super solid edition of NXT. There isn't anything you absolutely need to go out of your way to see, but the entertaining action combined with the strong video packages made this a thumbs-up episode.
Comments

    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    Cruiserweight Classic
    Halftime Heat
    Hidden Gems
    Lists/Rankings
    Mae Young Classic
    Mixed Match Challenge
    News
    NJPW
    Opinion
    Previews
    Retro Reviews
    Reviews
    RJ's Two Cents
    Satire
    SummerSlam Recall
    The Deadly Draw
    Tribute To The Troops
    Worlds Collide
    WrestleMania Recall
    WWE Starrcade


    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    RSS Feed

©2021 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
    • WWE Reviews >
      • Raw Reviews
      • SmackDown Reviews
      • NXT Reviews
      • Other >
        • 205 Live Reviews
        • NXT UK Reviews
        • Main Event Reviews
        • Superstars Reviews
        • ECW Reviews
    • AEW Reviews >
      • Dynamite Reviews
      • Dark Reviews
      • AEW PPV Reviews
    • More >
      • IMPACT Reviews
      • ROH Reviews
      • NWA Reviews >
        • Shockwave Reviews
        • NWA PPV Reviews
      • LU Reviews
  • Week in Review
    • Year in Review
  • Audio
    • WrestleRant Radio
    • Interviews
    • Audio Archive
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact Us