WWE NXT 1/20/2021

WWE NXT 1/20/2021

Last week's show is here with pics and gifs: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2021/01/wwe-nxt-1132021.html

Tonight we get the start of the Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and more of the men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

We get a preview video for the Fight Pit.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic - KUSHIDA and Leon Ruff vs The Way - Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory
 

The Way points at the Dusty Trophy. Beth Phoenix is back and the announcers do party poppers for Beth Phoenix

Theory hits a hard shoulder onto Ruff, dropping him. Then Ruff comes back with a dropkick. Theory and Ruff mess up some kind of crucifix bomb. Theory does a great roll in from a tag and hits a nice dropkick. The way beats up on Kushida a bit and Kushida comes in with a nice missile dropkick. Ruff dives backwards off the 2nd rope into a spinning sitout bomb.

We go to picture-in-picture break with The Way in full control on Ruff and it continues as we return. Ruff back body drops Johnny over the top rope and Theory blocks Ruff's path to the tag. Ruff dives for it and Johnny pulls Kushida off the apron to cancel the tag. Theory hits a backbreaker then Johnny does a neckbreaker off of Ruff in the backbreaker position.

Ruff and Theory try to fake each other out and Ruff does a springboard cutter off the 2nd turnbuckle. Kushida gets in and flurries on Johnny then does handspring attacks on both opponents. Kushida then tornado ddt's Johnny off the apron. Kushida does like an orange crush into an armbar on Johnny. Ruff runs up the ropes onto a flip dive on Theory. Then Kushida does a hiptoss > cartwheel > dropkick. He hits a baseball punch on Johnny then a butterfly/headlock suplex on Johnny to win. The second half really picked up here after some issues in the first half. They did more than they should have for the opening match on the show.

Dunne said him and Balor come from the same place and he built NXT UK. Dunne said he's the real threat to the NXT title and Balor will pass the torch to him.

We get a small package that says Karrion Kross is up next.

Malcom Bivens was interviewed. He and Rust were outside of Regal's office. Rust came out of Regal's door though and said he got the match they wanted - Tyler Rust vs Bronson Reed. Bivens said this isn't the match they wanted but what's done is done.

Karrion Kross with Scarlett vs Ashantee "Thee" Adonis with Desmond Troy

Adonis punches Kross, who just gets mad at it. Then he northern lights suplexes him, rolls back and hits a Saito suplex.  Kross hits a Saito suplex then a forearm to the back of the head for the win in a quick squash. Kross then chokes out Desmond Troy

MSK did a small video package. Carter was goofing around. Ember Moon put them on for their skill and precision. MSK said they would win the Dusty Cup and they put all their blood, sweat and tears into this.

Mercedes Martinez and Toni Storm did a promo. They said they don't need friendship and are just two tough women with a common interest. Mercedes said what she did to Io is nothing compared to what they will do their opponents tonight.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic - Imperium vs Lucha House Party

Barthel and Metallik go at it to start. Lince does a hurricanrana off the second rope onto Barthel then Metallik stands on top of Lince's shoulders and splashes Barthel.

Aichner hits a backbreaker on Metallik and Metallik comes back with a reverse sling blade. Dorado topes Aichner but gets ran into the apron then slammed on the floor. Dorado goes up top and ends up in the tree of woe position where Imperium double dropkicks him.

During the break, Imperium hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Dorado. Dorado gets put on the top rope and he and Barthel trade punches. Dorado spins onto the ropes from the top turnbuckle then tornado ddt's Barthel from there. Metallik comes in with a springboard splash on Aichner. Then he runs the top rope into a hurricanrana. He then is sitting on the top turnbuckle and jumps onto the rop rope away from the buckles and springboard moonsaults Aichner.

A section with Dorado and Imperium gets botched with them trying to hit Lince with a DDT from the top. Dorado gets stuck in the sunset flip position on Aichner, then Dorado springboard dropkicks him. Barthel pushes Dorado off the top into a Aichner suplex. Imperium double teams Dorado and Metallik hurricanrana's Barthel off the 2nd rope into his partner. Metallik gets help up on the top rope and springboard moonsaults Aichner on the outside. Dorado then hits an SSP for the win on Barthel. There were some botches here but LHP did some nice flips and spots.

Alexander Wolfe then returns and stares down Imperium before doing their pose.

 We saw the weigh-in for The Fight Pit match with Ciampa and Thatcher. They stared each other down and had a shoving match. Regal broke it up and told them to save it for tonight.

Regal and Beth Phoenix talked about the women who have come through NXT. Beth said we wanted this and they would make history with this tournament. They showed the women in the tournament out there with them and the first match participants had a stare down in front of the trophy.

Kaci Catanzaro and Kayden Carter vs Mercedes Martinez and Toni Storm

Carter cartwheels over a downed Storm but gets shouldered then dropkicked. Kayden kicks Merecedes in the head while she is on the mat. Martinez gets tripped into the middle rope then double kicked and Kaci sentons in. Martinez hits some shots on Kaci. Kaci goes for a wraparound tornado DDT but ends up getting slammed.

We go to break and come back with Carter getting a crackerjack and Toni hitting her with a running butt shot. Kaci and MM fight up top. Kaci sits on her shoulders and does a hurricanrana from the top which wasn't smooth. Kaci goes under Toni for a tag. Kayden comes in and clears out her opponents and does a combo dropkick/senton onto Toni and MM. Kayden rolls up and kicks Toni in the head then boots her in the face while she is on the bottom rope.

Kayden springboards off the bottom rope into a dropkick. Kaci then does a tornillo dive onto MM. Toni hits a headbutt and german's Kayden. Toni puts Kayden into a rough looking single leg crab while stepping on her. Io Shirai comes out and throws MM onto a table. Toni tries to figure out what happened then gets put down by Hayden and Kaci then hits an insane flippy move that I don't even have a name for to win. She did like a phoenix splash into a twisting 360. The match wasn't anything that special but that finishing move has never been done before.

Balor met Regal in the back. He said he wanted Dunne but thought he should take out Burch and Oney first. Regal said he needed a partner but Balor said he didn't have one. Regal said to keep your friends close but your enemies closer.

Isaiah "Swerve" Scott said something to Bronson Reed in the back but they didn't play any audio on it. They re-aired it later and Scott told him not to get involved in his business again.

 Ciampa was given final instructions for The Fight Pit tonight.

They announced Ashantee Adonis was out of the Dusty Classic. Kaci and Kayden then came in excited and said they would win the whole tournament.

Tyler Rust with Malcolm Bivens vs Bronson Reed

Rust hit a leg kick on Reed to start. Rust put Reed up on the ropes and was shouldered. Rust rolled all the way to the outside. Back in and Rust got gorilla pressed into a knee then was reverse fallaway slammed. Rust gets back in and single arm ddt's Reed and we have a 2nd camera showing us a fight in the back between Toni Storm and Io Shirai.

Rust tries to work the arm and gets his kick lariated down. Reed does a body attack on Rust and then a spinning chokeslam on Rust for 2. Reed sits up top and Rust step kicks him then samoan drops him. Rust takes a big senton then Reed hits a big splash from the top to win. Short but good match here as expected. Bivens tells Rust next time and says it is another stumbling block.

Finn is told he has a match against Oney and Burch next week, but he needs a partner.

 Thatcher got the run down on rules for tonight in the back.

Balor went up to UE in the back and said they know why he's here. Balor asked if Kyle is in or if he is sucking meals through straw. Kyle says he is in and Balor says see you next week. Kyle calls him champ and really should have tried to hold him up for another title shot.

Santos Escobar did a promo. He said he doesn't have to counter curses like Gargano and doesn't have a glass jaw like Balor. He said he was the champion of champions. Escobar said his partners won their first round match in the Dusty Cup and said it brings them one step closer to becoming the NXT tag champs. Lucha House Party then interrupted and they all brawled as the two teams meet up in the next round of the Dusty Classic.

Escobar went for something up top but Curt Stallion came to the save and cleared out LdF.

Dain and Drake were interviewed. Drake did the talking and said his team would win the Dusty Cup. Dain slapped him on the back and hurt him.

Thatcher and Ciampa were walking in.

Curt Stallion and LHP were getting interviewed then LdF interviewed. Curt and Escobar set a match up for the cruiserweight title for next week.

The Fight Pit - Tomasso Ciampa vs Timothy Thatcher

We got a big announcement and showing for The Fight Pit.

They stalk each other up top on the ledge and Ciampa tries to throw Thatcher off of it. Thatcher does a headlock + underhook suplex on the ledge on Ciampa. Ciampa comes back and stomps on Thatcher. Ciampa catapults Thatcher's neck onto one of the rail's bottoms. They do a picture-in-picture break and finally get in the pit. Thatcher gets his head put into the cage.

Thatcher regains control as we are on an M&M's commercial. We finally come back and Thatch gets ran into the cage. Ciampa does a running knee to him while his head is on the cage. Ciampa gets rammed into the cage and then belly to belly suplexed. Thatcher puts a hammerlock on. He then bends the fingers and bangs them on the mat.

Thatcher gets catapulted into the cage and Ciampa does a single leg crab on him. Thatcher puts a lseeper on and Ciampa does a low blow to get out of it. The ref is on all fours and Ciampa does a DDT over him. They trade shots and Thatcher's head goes hard into the cage.  Ciampa then hits a sitout butterfly piledriver then puts on the choke. Thatch picks him up though and rams his head into the cage. Ciampa gets put in between the cracks of the cage then while Ciampa is stuck in there, Thatcher taps him out with a stretch muffler.

The commercial really screwed this up and they spent a little too long fighting up top. I didn't really get what I was looking for here as I wanted blood and I wanted to see these guys do a bunch of stiff strikes to each other.

Thatcher stares down Ciampa while on his knees to end the show.

Overall thoughts: A good show. The main was fine, Kaci's finisher was cool and the Reed/Rust match was good, plus they advanced some storylines.