Welcome to the NXT 12/16 edition review…
Gargano & Theory vs Kushida & Leon Ruff
This one felt like a 2000s Ring of Honor match for all the right reasons. Gargano & Theory, now part of “The Way,” have Candice LaRae & Indi Hartwell walk them out but there’s minimal interference considering. Kushida is not only to form but seems like the clock has been turned back ten years with the way he’s moving. Austin Theory and Leon Ruff in particular had great chemistry in the ring as Theory played the heavy and looking like an absolute unit out there. The finish comes from a blind tag that allows Theory to get the pin over Ruff with his This Is the Way version of the Flatliner.
Winners: The Way
Dexter Lumis is literally at the drawing board with his tablet drawing projected onto the big screen at Capitol Wrestling Center.
Toni Storm talks about how she ran Rhea out of NXT:UK when she beat her for that women’s championship. The old Toni respected her and still beat her. This Toni only cares about her time and getting her due.
Shotzi Blackheart is proud of her War Games team for beating they gave Team LaRae. She broke Candice’s arm. Tonight she breaks Indi Hartwell.
Tyler Rust vs Tomasso Ciampa
Ciampa rocks his MF Doom mask on the entrance. Tyler Rust is said to be a 15-year veteran like Ciampa and has trained under current Ciampa rival, Timothy Thatcher. Wade Barrett is quick to point out, though, that the levels of competition that Ciampa and Rust have been at are in stark contrast. A chair and T-shirt are left out in seeming invitation. Tyler Rust impresses in his technical skill and, after Thatcher comes out to get trash-talked by Ciampa, begins to dominate the match. Concentrating on Ciampa’s often injured shoulder, Rust even brings out the Rings of Saturn as The Blackheart is in survival mode until he manages to turn it around with a pump kick, a knee strike, and a Willow’s Bell DDT.
Winner: Tomasso Ciampa
After the match and during the break, Malcolm Bivens comes to the ring as Tyler Rust collects himself. He tries to pump up Rust, telling him that he was impressed with the match and that Rust is star. They walk and talk to the back and it looks like they’re in business.
Grizzled Young Veterans are back, citing their success on US soil (beating the reunited Time Splitters and Fish & O’Reilly of Undisputed Era) before global changes kept them on pause but raring to go.
Kyle O’Reilly vs Pete Dunne
The winner of this match will face NXT Champion, Finn Balor, at New Year’s Evil. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch come out with Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong & Adam Cole (Bay Bay!) with O’Reilly. It doesn’t take too long before things break down between those four and even Killian Dain & Drake Maverick (okay, mostly Killian Dain) get into the action. Once the periphery is cleared from ringside, though, it’s a damn fine match. Pete Dunne has gotten himself into amazing shape. In fact, he seems to have traded places with O’Reilly in that respect. Dunne spends most of his attention attacking the ribs and performing stretching holds to focus on O’Reilly’s injuries from his last match with Balor. The Bruiserweight certainly isn’t above going after Kyle’s hands and fingers, either, especially when in a tight spot himself. O’Reilly wins with a decapitating knee drop off the top and gets another shot at the champ.
Winner: Kyle O’Reilly
Rhea Ripley responds to Toni Storm’s comments, saying that she’s not the same as she was in NXT:UK but Toni is… the same piece of trash!
We see one of Boa’s mysterious visitors standing over him as he’s on his knees and battered by kicks and strikes. Over and again, he orders the assailant “Again!” We pull back and see a reluctant and crying Xia Li is being forced to beat Boa mercilessly as an unseen figure is seated just into the shadows.
Indi Hartwell vs Shotzi Blackheart
Shotzi is taking out her frustrations on Candice LaRae’s handmaiden, chopping her down and running her over in the corner. It seems that, even when Candice allows her the opportunity to cheat, Indi can’t get it right, striking Shotzi in the belly with The Way’s trophy. The referee sees the whole thing and calls for the bell. Indi loses the match but assists Candice in a Wicked Stepsister on Shotzi to be the one that remains standing.
Winner by disqualification: Shotzi Blackheart
“The Colossal” Bronson Reed is coming back.
Karrion Kross vs Desmond Troy
Desmond Troy has all the athletic pedigree and look to be a star in NXT but, tonight, he’s a bait fish. Karrion Kross and Scarlett (sans Bordeaux) are back. Clotheslines. Saito suplexes. Rear naked choke. Troy taps out quickly and wisely. After the match, Kross threatens Damien Priest for their match at New Year’s Evil.
Winner: Karrion Kross
Isaiah “Swerve” Scott is upset that he lost to Jake Atlas but he has petitioned William Regal and promises their rematch next week will have a different result.
Ever-Rise is there for reasons(?) They’re loud about… everything, including calling out Goldberg! McKenzie is not so hype about this… bro.
Dexter finishes his drawing and it announces him as the host of New Year’s Evil.
Finn Balor tells Kyle O’Reilly that, last time, he broke Finn’s jaw but the champ is still the champ. The Prince says that, at New Year’s Evil, it won’t be Part II, it’ll be The End.
The Main Event of NXT 12/16: Toni Storm vs Rhea Ripley
These two Aussies have had classics in the past and damn are they going hard in this one. Hard charging. Hard hitting. Hard to swallow the ending. While Rhea has the upper hand, Raquel Gonzalez comes down to the ring. First she gets Toni knocked into her from the ring apron but, while the referee tends to Storm, she picks up Rhea and drives her into the ring post. Tossed back into the ring, Ripley is easy prey for a Storm Zero.
Winner: Toni Storm
Five Takeaways for NXT 12/16
- There are a lot questions about what WWE/NXT is doing with Austin Theory. These are understandable. For the time being, NXT makes the most sense. The 23-year-old former Full Impact Pro and Crash champion works best in this style and with this roster.
- Speaking of questions, Rhea fails to capture the NXT women’s championship. Now she seems to be in a program with Toni Storm but more of a program with Raquel Gonzalez. Gonzalez pinned the champion, Io Shirai at War Games. The progression of narrative here points towards Raquel being elevated here. All the best to her but disappointing for Rhea, her fans, and the potential she brings to any dynamic.
- The Way. Pat McAfee’s “Brand.” Malcolm Bivens Enterprises. With Undisputed Era gone babyface and possibly on borrowed time, one of these is going to need to step up. There always needs to be Horsemen/Heenan Family/nWo and it only works when they’re dominant.
- I like Dexter Lumis and glad to see him doing something other than gimmick matches with the always appreciated Cameron Grimes. But how you gonna have someone who never speaks host a show?
- This Xia Li story is getting darker as it gets more intriguing. It will have to pay off big and I’m curiouser and curiouser by the week as to who will be revealed as being behind it all.
The NXT 12/16 Episode Can Now Be Streamed on the WWE Network.
