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Credit: WWE.com
NXT was not afraid to start the new year with force. NXT New Year’s Evil had all the characteristics of an NXT TakeOver, including several intense fights of resentment and several fights for important titles along the way.
Presented without commercial interruption, Finn Balor would fight Kyle O’Reilly once again for the NXT Championship. The last time the two fought, the prince was put on the shelf for months with a broken jaw, but he still won. This time, O’Reilly may need to do even more to capture the gold.
Two men who could be considered the No. 1 contenders for the NXT Championship after New Year’s Ill, Damian Priest had put himself in the sights of Karrion Kross. Doomsday returned to WWE, but The Archer of Infamy planned to stop him before he could do any more damage.
Rhea Ripley and Raquel Gonzalez were once friends. Now, they have become bitter rivals. In a Last Woman Standing fight, the two struggled to prove who the biggest female division giant really was.
Santos Escobar ruined the chances of so many young stars as an NXT cruiserweight champion, but Gran Metalik was not afraid of him or Legado del Fantasma. The Monday Night Raw star was delighted with the opportunity to finally add gold to his WWE legacy.
Finally, Xia Li and Boa were scheduled to return to the ring, shaped by an absolutely barbaric training regime from a mysterious teacher and the even more mysterious woman behind him. Nobody knew what to expect from this return group of changed artists.
Presented by Dexter Lumis, New Year’s Evil promised to be a special night. The best talents entered the ring for the first or last time, announcing a new year with some potential candidates to start the year.
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Credit: WWE.com
Damian Priest smiled at the early destruction of Karrion Kross. He swung The Doomsday Deviant with a series of right hands and kicks. However, The Archer of Infamy’s ribs delayed him too much to maintain control in this fight.
Kross trapped Priest in the tree of doom and aimed at the tears with stomps and a blow to the knee without protection. He tried to turn this into a Saito superplex, but The Archer of Infamy escaped and planted The Doomsday Deviant with the razor’s edge.
Suffering from each move, Priest even managed to land a springboard jump somersault running in a spinning jump kick and the South of Heaven for a near fall. Kross responded with a German suplex and powerbomb for a near fall.
Outside, the two struggled against the pain where Kross finally reached the unstoppable advantage. He hit the Infammy Archer’s ribs on the steel stage, then his back against the steel steps. A Saito suplex and a forearm running behind the neck ended this.
Result
Kross def. Priest by pinfall.
Degree
B-
Analyze
A match will never be hindered by the lack of commercial breaks, but this competition did not earn that honor in the best ones to come. After a while away, The Doomsday Deviant was out of his game. He and Priest struggled to find consistent chemistry in a forceful fight.
The two managed to tell a strong story. Priest was obviously getting injured and Kross was happy to take advantage. The Archer of Infamy sold his wounds well and smiled at his own condemnation. If the two were fighting at their best, this could have been special.
Kross was the only man who could win here. He’s still completely undefeated in the NXT, and the man who beat him needs to do it on a main stage. These two could have a rematch in the future, but Priest is not the right person to stop The Doomsday Deviant.
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Credit: WWE.com
Gran Metalik made Santos Escobar pay for his initial arrogance, flying around the ring with ease. The cruiserweight champion of NXT caught him in a scissor fall, turning the movement into a powerbomb on the barricade. Escobar took his opponent down with a surfboard until Metalik turned it into an attempt to immobilize him.
Metalik moved again and planted a trampoline racing board in the champion. Escobar responded with a violent suicide plunge. With no respect for lucha libre, Escobar almost took off Metalik’s mask. Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde almost got involved, but Lince Dorado made the save.
The champion took advantage of the chaos, surviving a Frankensteiner and planting his opponent with Legacy followed by the Phantom Driver for the count of three.
Result
Escobar def. Metalik by pinfall to retain the NXT Cruiserweight championship.
Degree
C +
Analyze
The quick construction for this match may have discouraged the action, since it was difficult to invest in real terms. It was obvious that Metalik had no chance, no matter how good he looked, and there was little drama to sell that potential ending.
However, this was never done to address drama. It was a lucha libre battle with lots of action and fun. Metalik had to show what it does best. Escobar proved that it is a talent that can be translated into any lineup. It was a good victory for the champion.
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While the mysterious woman watched from her throne on stage, Xia Li dominated Katrina Cortez. She didn’t seem to be affected by any pain, more interested in showing respect to the woman who was watching her. Li sealed the victory after a series of kicks thanks to a bouncing spin kick.
William Regal announced earlier that day that Timothy Thatcher was injured and could not compete on New Year’s Evil against Tommaso Ciampa. In an interview, Bronson Reed made a statement that he would fight anyone on the NXT in 2021.
Result
Li def. Cortez by pinfall.
Degree
B +
Analyze
What a reintroduction for Li and Boa. These two fighters barely impressed before being pulled out of the ring for the intense training set-up. Now, Li feels especially like a star that can challenge anyone.
The presentation of the entrance along with the dangerous presence at the top of the ramp makes this instantly one of the most intriguing acts on the NXT. Although it was just a squash game to start, Li seemed more in tune than ever.
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Rhea Ripley and Raquel Gonzalez went straight outside to fight. The Nightmare handcuffed his opponent to the wire fence just to get Gonzalez to break the chain. Gonzalez blew Ripley up with the bell, then tried to bury it under the table and chairs.
Gonzalez’s brutality continued. She kicked Ripley down the stairs to the backstage area. The Nightmare responded by breaking a glass door with his opponent’s back. Ripley followed with a senton bomb from a closet across a table at her rival.
Dakota Kai ran to save her friend only to be brutalized in a closet by The Nightmare before Ripley arrested her. The Nightmare arrested Gonzalez in the Prism Trap, adding a steel chair. When Gonzalez managed to get away, she and Ripley crashed into the stage’s LED sign.
None of the women seemed ready to stop until Gonzalez grabbed Ripley and launched a single-arm powerbomb on The Nightmare across the stage. The heel was the only one that managed to get up.
Result
Gonzalez def. Ripley for 10 counts.
Degree
A +
Analyze
The bar for big games in 2021 was set early by this wild and physical Last Woman Standing game. Ripley and Gonzalez had already proved their chemistry in the ring, but this fight only dampened what they do so well together.
Brutal destruction was the name of the game, finding new and innovative ways to hurt each other. The pace never falters, despite the type of fight inherently causing fighters to slow down. These two knew what they needed to do and delivered.
If WarGames was not enough, Gonzalez was done. This victory should put her at the top of the list in terms of opponents for Io Shirai. She is the first woman in months to feel that she is ready to dethrone The Genie of Heaven.
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Early in the evening, Adam Cole and Roderick Strong talked about the Dusty Rhodes Classic, facing Breezango in the first round. Cole made it clear that Undisputed Era would win all the gold again, starting with Kyle O’Reilly.
William Regal would announce that 2021 would see the first female Dusty Rhodes Classic for the end of the year.
Johnny Gargano made an impressive entry with The Way, celebrating the end of The Curse. Candice LeRae gave her husband a plaque for ending the Curse. Austin Theory and Indi Hartwell presented a special photo for The Way. Gargano then announced that he and Theory would compete in the Dusty Rhodes Classic.
Shotzi Blackheart ruined the celebration, accompanied by Kushida, and Dexter Lumis rang the bell for an impromptu duo fight.
Kushida rolled into the North American champion NXT and almost made him hit for a cross armbreaker. LeRae tried to make the save, and Kushida and Blackheart proved they had chemistry with the tag team by getting the couple out of the ring.
Hartwell defeated Blackheart and Theory attacked Kushida. The two young members of The Way couldn’t do enough, however, to save Gargano from a surprise surprise from the Japanese Superstar for three.
Result
Kushida and Blackheart defeated. Gargano and LeRae by pinfall.
Degree
B +
Analyze
The Path segments can be a success and a failure, but this week has worked especially well. It was funny and continued to develop important rivalries. Blackheart took revenge on The Poison Pixie. Kushida continues to put himself in position for a future title shot against Gargano.
Now that the curse has been broken, the rebellious heart can lose at any moment. While he deserves a considerable reign as a champion, Kushida is well built as the man to dethrone the American NXT champion. He has momentum and needs a big win to beat him.
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Kyle O’Reilly was right behind Finn Balor’s jaw that he broke in his last fight. The Prince responded by arresting KOR in an abdominal stretch, forcing O’Reilly to break control with his teeth on the ropes. This allowed Balor to crush KOR’s jaw on the hard ropes, causing serious damage to O’Reilly’s jaw.
This revealed the Prince’s true game plan as he sought to break his challenger’s jaw. He pinned KOR to a cross from which the challenger barely escaped. O’Reilly struggled desperately with kicks. The NXT champion hit with a skin kick that knocked the opponent to the ground.
O’Reilly made the transition through a series of submissions broken by The Prince by punching his rival in the chin. Balor landed 1916 and went straight for a crossface instead of pinfall. KOR barely separated when hitting the Prince’s right hand, which had worn out during the match.
The NXT champion fired back with a Slingblade, stepping twice and making a corner dropkick, but O’Reilly stood up to stop Grace’s Coup. KOR hit a superplex in a puzzle that he transitioned to an armbar.
Despite the pain he had faced, Balor was in much better shape than KOR. He fought and arrested O’Reilly in an abdominal stretch, where he pulled the jaw until the opponent was forced to hit.
Result
Balor def. O’Reilly for submission to retain the NXT Championship.
Degree
A +
Analyze
This game needed to be shown without a single commercial break, and it benefited immensely. The two tried to overshadow their first battle, and almost did just that. It was brutal, bloody and total violence. The two men were technically excellent in their focused attacks.
The jaw injury played so well for their story, where Balor was able to make a statement by forcing O’Reilly to hit because of a jaw injury. The two men have incredible chemistry and told another excellent story together.
Balor needed to win, as he just really started his reign. He had a couple of great fights with KOR, and it’s time for him to move on to more great opponents. Pete Dunne was watching from the side of the ring, which would be the next perfect challenger for the Prince.