December 9, 2020 – Orlando, Florida
Finn Balor kicks off the show and calls out potential challengers. Pete Dunne is out first, then Kyle O’Reilly, and then Damian Priest. Priest and Dunne both lost at Takeover, which makes me wish there was more internal logic on this show. Having the guys in the ring address that their contenderships don’t make sense isn’t really solving the problem. Balor leaves, saying he’ll defend against someone at New Year’s Evil. Scarlett approaches him and says nothing, but Balor tells her that he’s ready for Karrion Kross. Priest rips on the unseen Kross to end the segment. And there’s how they’ll keep Kross busy until he wins the title back at the next Takeover.
Killian Dain attacks Dunne backstage, but the fight is broken up by their respective allies. Later, Tommaso Ciampa says he’s going after Cameron Grimes now that he’s beaten Thatcher because Grimes is so obnoxious. He’s cleaning up the locker room, you see.
Jake Atlas def. Isaiah Scott
This was quick and crisp and exactly what I want out of the cruiserweights. It was just way too short. Atlas got a roll up for the win at 4:27. Scott won’t shake Atlas’s hand after the match. There are too many heels on the roster. **½
Zack Gibson & James Drake def. Matt Martel & Chase Parker and Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner {Triple Threat Match}
This was very chaotic, and it took me a moment to figure out what the tag rules were for the match. Nobody ever had momentum for any significant amount of time, so it was impossible to get invested. But as a seven-minute diversion, it was a fine collection of spots. The Grizzled Young Vets hit Parker with the Ticket to Mayhem for the win at 7:08. **¼
Bobby Fish, Pat McAfee, Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, and Oney Lorcan got a mix of real and fake injuries in their WarJames matches. Then, Toni Storm talks about the match and her turn on Ember Moon when she’s attacked by Io Shirai, who just doesn’t like her. They fight to the ring, where Moon helps Shirai hit Storm with the moonsault.
Tommaso Ciampa def. Cameron Grimes
Timothy Thatcher is on the ramp watching the match, hoping to distract Ciampa. I’d like this feud to end in a Fight Pit, if possible. They have a decent but unspectacular match that sees both guys get some of their stuff in but neither guy does anything memorable. That’s probably fine, because the match ends with Tyler Rust running out to distract Ciampa, that failing, and Ciampa hitting the Willow’s Bell on Grimes for the win at 7:18 (shown of 10:53). Thatcher claims he has nothing to do with Rust’s interference, despite Rust being Thatcher’s student. Grimes mouths off to Thatcher and gets his ankle twisted as a result. **¾
Xia Li trains until her fists are bloody, while Boa gets caned over and over. At the very least, the production value of this week’s segment is much improved over past weeks. Between this group, Thatcher’s growing crew, the Gargano Way, the Undisputed Era, and McAfee’s guys there’s a big shift to stables in NXT.
Speaking of the Gargano Way (if NXT won’t name stables, I’ll do it for them), the four of them come to the ring to party. It appears that Gargano actually does dub this group the Way. At least there’s that. They brag about their Takeover wins. Austin Theory and Indi Hartwell act like dweebs while Gargano reveals a trophy for Candice Lerae’s WarJanes victory. He reveals there will be a Gargano & Theory vs. Leon Ruff & Priest next week. Priest comes out to confront them, but he’s attacked and brutalized by Karrion Kross. Kross joins Scarlett in his car and drives off.
Malcolm Bivens confronts Rust backstage before he can answer whether or not he’s in cahoots with Thatcher. Later, Kushida volunteers to take Priest’s place in the tag match next week.
Pete Dunne def. Killian Dain
A rare close up on Dunne’s legs shows that they’re almost as furry as Dain’s shoulders. I don’t know who needs that information but now you have it. There’s also a shot of the top of Dain’s head that makes me think he’ll be getting a drastic haircut. I’ll guess before this time next year. These two have a dope, stiff match that was everything I want in a TV match… except it had a lame finish. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch come out when it looked like Dain would win, and though Drake Maverick helps keep them at bay the distracted leads directly to Dunne hitting the Bitter End for the win at 10:10 (shown of 13:43). Looks like Maverick & Dain will challenge for the tag titles. ***¼
Raquel Gonzalez def. Ember Moon
Moon is now on a three match losing streak in singles matches. Gonzalez has gotten shockingly good. She’s so fast for a woman as tall as she is. She looked like a freak of nature here, taking Moon down again and again, while Moon was resilient and resourceful. But not resilient and resourceful enough, as Gonzalez hit the one-armed powerbomb for the win at 10:04 (shown of 12:34). I could have done without Moon completely recovering after hr insane bump into the post, but that’s my only complaint here. After the match, Storm comes out to attack Moon, but Rhea Ripley won’t allow it. That turns into a Ripley vs. Gonzalez staredown, setting up Gonzalez tying things up after her Halloween Havoc loss. ***½