Previously on the Best and Worst of NXT: The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic kicked off, the womens division showed out, and Johnny Gargano cut a John Cena-esque promo. Fine speech, indeed.
If youd like to read previous installments of the Best and Worst of NXT, you can do that here. Follow With Spandex on Twitter and Facebook. You can also follow me on Twitter.
And now, the Best and Worst of WWE NXT for January 15, 2020.
Hes on vacation! Im Scott Heisel. I write for this website too. In fact, I wrote the B&W of NXT column from 2017-2018. Good to see you again! Lets get into it.
This weeks NXT starts off with Keith by god Lee, who is still massively over and is headed into a North American title match next week with Roderick Strong. So, of course, Lee is almost immediately interrupted by the Undisputed Era, who puts a beating on him, in heaaaaaavy quotes. Seriously, yall wanna complain about the Dark Orders punches when Kyle OReilly is striking like this? Cmon, man.
Lee gets his ankle Pillmanized (off the second turnbuckle, natch) and Tommaso Ciampa runs out for the save, only for Lee to immediately get back to his feet. Dude, your ankle should be broken. Maybe limp a little?
We get a variation of the same segment a half-hour later, only this time Ciampa comes out and gets jumped by TUE, only to be saved by his former tag team partner and sometimes-blood rival Johnny Wrestling Gargano, which results in an impromptu #DIY reunion, all for the sake of a one-off match at Worlds Collide against Mustache Mountain. This is getting dangerously close to the whole character alignments dont matter, its about BRAND SUPREMACY schtick we deal with every November, and while Im sure some folks are happy to have Ciampa and Gargano back on the same page, Im over here still waiting for the final blowoff to their epic feud. I wouldnt mind if this added any layers to their relationship, but given that both men are embroiled in separate feuds and both have matches at Takeover: Portland already, its strictly fan service to goose the WWE Network viewing numbers for Worlds Collide.
Its worth mentioning, however, that the Velveteen Dream was mentioned by both Lee and Ciampa in their respective promos. If we say his name one more time, maybe hell show up in Enzo Amores old Beetlejuice suit. #saveusy2v
Cathy Kelley promises us a medical update on Lees condition, but instead, he randomly shows up in the next segment at 100 percent to throw some Full Sail security guards through bushes and car windshields. I guess that ankles fine after all!
I gotta be honest: I didnt like any of this. I get that Keith Lee essentially had the A-story of the evening, but having two separate good guy gets beaten down by heel faction, another good guy comes out for the save segments within 30 minutes both featuring the same players just seems superfluous. Put it all in the opening segment and lets move on. There are fewer things I dislike on a wrestling show than hearing a wrestlers entrance music more than once. Once the audience pops, theyre not gonna get up again for it, especially in the case of Ciampa, who had his entrance music played twice in under a half-hour. Pops are special, and a finite resource. Lets not waste them.
The first round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic continued with the Broserweights having one hell of a fast-paced match against NXT UKs Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster, a team that should not exist (mods and punks are enemies, damn it!). I dont think anyone was surprised that Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle rolled here heck, they already have matching gear but Mandrews and Webster put up a surprisingly good fight for a pair of guys that just had the shit kicked out of them in a ladder match.
The match itself was perfectly cromulent (although it at times gave me that same feeling of anxiousness like when I accidentally play a podcast at 1.25 speed), but nobody in that room thought the Broserweights were going to lose, no matter how many nearfalls they teased us with. (That said, the jackhammer into a rollup false finish made me laugh, and also made me wonder why no one ever did that to Goldberg before) Even Dunne seemed to get sick of the match taking so long when he flat-out punched Mandrews in the damn face after he attempted a flip off the top rope. Pin them and move on already.
One of the most memorable moments of AEWs tournament to crown their first tag team champions was the first round upset between Private Party ostensibly the 8 seed and the Young Bucks, clearly the 1 seed. It was exciting and surprising, and not something WWE really ever dabbles with, presentation-wise. Which is why, to be completely honest, I kinda zoned out during this match between the reunited Time Splitters Kushida and his old IWGP partner Alex Shelley and the Grizzled Young Vets from NXT UK. Knowing that the winner would go onto face Kyle OReilly and Bobby Fish the same team that beat the Time Splitters for the IWGP tag straps years ago made this feel like a foregone conclusion. Imagine my surprise when Shelley took the pin! Considering the Dusty Classic has been incredibly predictable this time around, it was nice to have something different happen, especially involving a special guest of sorts.
(Supplemental Best to Alex Shelley having the Teenage Bottlerocket logo on his tights. Shut up and get rad.)
Next, we get the first mention of the NXT Cruiserweight Championship since Angel Garza won it a month ago and apparently he has to defend it against three other competitors at Worlds Collide. Very well. Its an excuse to put together an absolute ripper of a triple threat match to earn a spot in that fatal four-way between NXT OG Tyler Breeze, former champion Lio Rush and up-and-comer Isaiah Swerve Scott. If theres one match you watch in full this week, let this one be it: It was full of creative, blood-pumping spots (seriously, how is Lio so fast??), and all three competitors looked great throughout.
While it wouldve been nice to see Breeze get the spot, that ship has long since sailed (say what you will about Sami Zayns main roster mistreatment, but at least the dude got to win the NXT championship once Breeze hasnt sniffed gold since FCW). The money match is Garza/Rush III, so might as well let Swerve get the Worlds Collide spot and save that for a Takeover. Plus, Swerves JML Driver looks insane, so expect him to hit it on one of the NXT UK competitors then get tossed out of the ring by Garza for a sneaky pin to retain.
Tonights main event was a blast for a number of reasons seriously, who doesnt like a good ol battle royal? but it will likely be remembered for the glorious return of Shayna Baszler, who hasnt been on NXT TV since dropping the womens title a month ago. She makes her impact felt immediately, eliminating a full third of the field, including pretty much all the cans (sorry, MJ Jenkins and Kayden Carter) but also a big-time player in Mercedes Martinez when the two of them were staring each other down, it felt like I was watching Looper.
It was also the return of Tegan Nox, who was rocking a killer Nine Inch Nails tee earlier in the show (shout-out to Trent Reznor, who is not only already halfway to an EGOT but just got inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame yesterday) and who had the funniest spot of the whole match when she chokeslammed Io Shirai onto Shayna Baszler. Bah gawd! Of course, her presence summoned Dakota (Cobra) Kai, who eliminated her and then chucked Noxs old knee brace at her head for good measure. Thatll be a fun feud.
There were a lot of fresh faces in this match, which made it easy to lose track of folks. That made the eventual reveal of Shotzi Blackheart as the whoops, Im not eliminated after all entrant at the end of the match that much more surprising. She had the crowd behind her big time, which will be helpful once Shayna murders her on live TV next week. They can all donate to the Gofundme her family will start for her funeral expenses.
Our final two came down to Io Shirai and Bianca Belair, with the EST eventually getting the better of the genius of the sky. Even though the crowd was firmly in Ios corner, Im okay with this. NXT is already giving a massive face push to the current male crowd favorite, Keith Lee, because they can run him against Roddy and his shitty little boots. Ios still technically a heel, even with the crowd support, so if you were to run her against Rhea Ripley this soon, it would be all the more damaging to whoever has to lose that match. Now, Ripley gets to square off against Belair in a Wargames rematch of sorts, and Im looking forward to all sorts of absurd power moves from each woman. Is hoss a gender neutral term? It should be. Hoss fights forever.
Thats it for this weeks Best and Worst of NXT. Drop down into our comments section below to let us know what you thought of the show (and how wrong I am about all the Lee/Ciampa/Undisputed Era stuff), and give us a share on social media to help spread the word. Thanks for reading this far. Brandon will be back next week!
Excerpt from:
The Best And Worst Of WWE NXT 1/15/20: Survivalism - UPROXX
- Metal Gear Solid - Master Collection Vol 1 is out, bringing MGS3 to ... - Rock Paper Shotgun - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Decadence, Sickness, and Death: Mourning and the Israel-Hamas ... - Religion Dispatches - October 23rd, 2023 [October 23rd, 2023]
- Gcaleka voted in as new public protector - Mail and Guardian - October 23rd, 2023 [October 23rd, 2023]
- Turning the Gaza Hospital Blast into Propaganda Instead of News - The Messenger - October 23rd, 2023 [October 23rd, 2023]
- The Great North: 11 Times Moon Tobin Was the Funniest Tobin - MovieWeb - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- Milano Design Week, 5 things not to be missed today - Domus IT - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- How The Survivalism Movement Started - Survivopedia - January 25th, 2023 [January 25th, 2023]
- You need to watch the bloodiest Viking thriller on Amazon Prime ASAP - Inverse - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Roald Dahls Matilda the Musical Review: Kids Win the Day in This Perky Adaptation, but Emma Thompsons Trunchbull Is the Real Triumph - Variety - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- The Brooks Brothers Insurrection - Puck - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- 'The Last Of Us' - Potentially the Best Live-Action Game Adaptation - The Cosmic Circus - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- So Were Doing Survivalism in Cooking Shows Now - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Alone: Frozen Episode 6 Recap and Review - Post Apocalyptic Media - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Rainn Wilson Would Never Say 1 'The Office' Dwight Quote Because He's a Vegan - Showbiz Cheat Sheet - July 25th, 2022 [July 25th, 2022]
- 5 Book Reviews You Need to Read This Week - Literary Hub - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- Will Wilson's Portraits of Survivance - Hyperallergic - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- Tradecraft /// Covert Operative Lifestyle + CIA Training Guide - June 11th, 2022 [June 11th, 2022]
- Britney Spears: The Once and Future Versace Muse - The New York Times - June 11th, 2022 [June 11th, 2022]
- World Environment Day: David Bowie and the birth of environmentalism - The Star Online - June 11th, 2022 [June 11th, 2022]
- Debut novelist to give reading and take part in Q&A at Lancashire university - Lancashire Telegraph - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- 3.3 Cultural Diversity Sociology - University of Minnesota - April 9th, 2022 [April 9th, 2022]
- 10 Things You Didn't Know about Donny Dust - TVOvermind - April 9th, 2022 [April 9th, 2022]
- The 40 Best Creative Hobbies You Can Try - Next Luxury - April 6th, 2022 [April 6th, 2022]
- How Prepper Moms Tackled The Pandemic | KCM - Katie Couric Media - April 2nd, 2022 [April 2nd, 2022]
- How the Eusocial Nature of Ants Influences Their Response to Climate Change - AZoCleantech - March 18th, 2022 [March 18th, 2022]
- Freedom Convoy Suspects Charged With Plan to Kill Cops Linked to Anti-Government Group - VICE - February 17th, 2022 [February 17th, 2022]
- Alleged member of neo-Nazi terror cell says he entered right-wing politics as a Donald Trump supporter - The Independent - February 17th, 2022 [February 17th, 2022]
- If doomsday prepping has taught me anything, it's that we can't survive alone - Waging Nonviolence - February 7th, 2022 [February 7th, 2022]
- Joe Rogan: How the cage fighting commentator and dirty stand-up comedian became the king of podcasting - The Independent - January 17th, 2022 [January 17th, 2022]
- Neve Campbell Is Still the Reigning Queen of 'Scream' - ELLE.com - January 13th, 2022 [January 13th, 2022]
- 100 Best Prepper and Survivalist Youtube Channels - December 19th, 2021 [December 19th, 2021]
- As Sometimes a Great Notion Turns 50, It's Worth Looking Back at the Stampers and Oregon's Role in the Film - Willamette Week - December 13th, 2021 [December 13th, 2021]
- How we made this game, our game | TheSpec.com - TheSpec.com - December 13th, 2021 [December 13th, 2021]
- Robert Bly obituary - The Guardian - November 23rd, 2021 [November 23rd, 2021]
- Readers reply: where should I move to in order to best survive the climate crisis? - The Guardian - November 21st, 2021 [November 21st, 2021]
- 'Yellowjackets' Exemplifies the Regret that Can Come With Age - Your Money Geek - November 21st, 2021 [November 21st, 2021]
- Mythic Fantasy Roleplaying Game - November 17th, 2021 [November 17th, 2021]
- Where is Clay Hayes now? Alone season 8 winner update! - Reality Titbit - Celebrity TV News - August 26th, 2021 [August 26th, 2021]
- Clay Hayes' Wife: Is Clay Hayes Married? Does He Have Kids? - The Cinemaholic - August 26th, 2021 [August 26th, 2021]
- Theresa Kamper Now: Where is Alone Season 8 2nd Runner-up Today? Update - The Cinemaholic - August 26th, 2021 [August 26th, 2021]
- What It Really Means To Win A Season Of Alone - Looper - August 26th, 2021 [August 26th, 2021]
- Seventy-four - The Express Tribune - August 14th, 2021 [August 14th, 2021]
- Altercation: The Ghost That Stalks the American Jewish Establishment - The American Prospect - August 14th, 2021 [August 14th, 2021]
- Squirrels quite nice ... fox tastes awful Learning to survive in the wild - The Irish Times - July 25th, 2021 [July 25th, 2021]
- Ex-police community support officer jailed after IED found at her home - Yahoo News UK - July 10th, 2021 [July 10th, 2021]
- Alligator Loki is the MCU's newest, most amazing obsession - For The Win - July 10th, 2021 [July 10th, 2021]
- Survivalism 101: A Survivalist Preparation Guide | Gaia - June 23rd, 2021 [June 23rd, 2021]
- Download Pilot as it happens: Music, moshing and a whole lotta rain - Louder - June 23rd, 2021 [June 23rd, 2021]
- Returnal Is the First Showcase for the PS5, and Its Stunning - The Ringer - May 7th, 2021 [May 7th, 2021]
- Why American individualism is perfectly suited to the doomsday prepper movement - KCRW - May 4th, 2021 [May 4th, 2021]
- In the Earth review: Cosmic horror in the void between technology and magic - Polygon - April 17th, 2021 [April 17th, 2021]
- Vaccines, affinity fraud, survivalism among policy updates ... - April 11th, 2021 [April 11th, 2021]
- What is 'survivalism' and why is it getting so popular in Spain? - Euronews - April 11th, 2021 [April 11th, 2021]
- From One Nation to neo-Nazism: Australians being drawn into extremism - Sydney Morning Herald - March 31st, 2021 [March 31st, 2021]
- Archie Roach, we are unworthy of your benevolence and nobility - Beat Magazine - February 25th, 2021 [February 25th, 2021]
- Little Nightmares 2: The Story Explained | TheGamer - TheGamer - February 25th, 2021 [February 25th, 2021]
- Canada Designates Proud Boys, Atomwaffen, and The Base as Terror Organizations - VICE - February 6th, 2021 [February 6th, 2021]
- What To Make Of The Mysterious Melania Trump - Worldcrunch - July 21st, 2020 [July 21st, 2020]
- 'The Office:' How the Jim-and-Dwight Rivalry Impacted the Actors' Offscreen Relationship - Showbiz Cheat Sheet - July 21st, 2020 [July 21st, 2020]
- What Does Al-Qaeda Tell Us About The Base? - The Defense Post - July 21st, 2020 [July 21st, 2020]
- The 12 Best Zombie Movies of All Time - Men's Health - July 8th, 2020 [July 8th, 2020]
- Inside the luxury nuclear bunker protecting the mega-rich from the apocalypse - CNET - July 8th, 2020 [July 8th, 2020]
- Leader of ultra-right militia The Three Percenters General BloodAgent predicts end of America by 2021 and warns of new civil war - RT - July 8th, 2020 [July 8th, 2020]
- Coronavirus and the Culture Wars - PopMatters - July 8th, 2020 [July 8th, 2020]
- The Rose | by Ben Lerner - The New York Review of Books - July 8th, 2020 [July 8th, 2020]
- VICE - Armed Man Who Allegedly Stormed Justin Trudeau's Residence Appears to Have Posted QAnon Content - VICE - July 8th, 2020 [July 8th, 2020]
- Military Veterans and the Boogaloo Bois Explained - Connecting Vets - June 20th, 2020 [June 20th, 2020]
- Return to your roots: Gardening a great solution to cope with stress of pandemic - The Independent - May 24th, 2020 [May 24th, 2020]
- Else Blangsted, Who Fled the Nazis and Found a Hollywood Ending, Dies at 99 - The New York Times - May 24th, 2020 [May 24th, 2020]
- Inside ultra-luxurious disaster survival kits where super-rich can pay 4k for night vision goggles and posh - The Sun - May 24th, 2020 [May 24th, 2020]
- Far More Valuable Than a Stockpile of Food and Money - Investment U - May 19th, 2020 [May 19th, 2020]
- Eat this Now (Because You Have to): Terrible Homemade Bread - Kansas City Pitch - May 15th, 2020 [May 15th, 2020]
- Survivor Is the Quintessential TV Show - The Ringer - May 15th, 2020 [May 15th, 2020]
- Documentary shows life in the 'Biosphere' wasn't out of this world - Arlington Catholic Herald - May 15th, 2020 [May 15th, 2020]
- I didn't think a pandemic would bring out the domestic goddess in me - Metro.co.uk - May 11th, 2020 [May 11th, 2020]
- How to avoid the end times - The Japan Times - March 24th, 2020 [March 24th, 2020]
- Is It as Impossible to Build Jerusalem as It is to Escape Babylon? (Part Two) - CounterPunch - February 27th, 2020 [February 27th, 2020]
- Veteran Analyst Warns of XRP Crash to $0.20 as Price Stumbles - Ethereum World News - February 27th, 2020 [February 27th, 2020]
- XRP Could Be on Verge of Explosive Breakout Higher, Taking It 100% Higher - Ethereum World News - February 27th, 2020 [February 27th, 2020]
- XRP Just Flipped a Key Resistance Into Support: Why This is Bullish - Ethereum World News - February 27th, 2020 [February 27th, 2020]