It’s time to look at the takeaways from the December 18, 2019 episode of WWE NXT aired live from Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University. Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
Adam Cole Retains NXT Title
WWE NXT opened the show with a bang as Adam Cole made his latest title defense as NXT Champion against Finn Balor.
WWE had announced earlier this week that the contest would open the show and it aired commercial-free.
Although I wasn’t a fan of it opening the show, letting the talents be able to go for a long amount of time and do it without worrying about commercials was the right call.
This match had high expectations and made up for it as these guys put on a great match. With WWE pushing Balor so hard on NXT television since his return, there was speculation that WWE could put the title on Balor in this contest.
It seems though that WWE is waiting for the next TakeOver special, which takes place in February, to potentially make a title change.
Johnny Gargano Returns
Johnny Gargano is back on WWE television as he made his return on this show that played into the finish of Cole vs. Balor. Gargano walking out distracted Balor and led to Cole getting the win.
After the match, Gargano went after Balor, would seem to be what’s next for both stars. This was a good call by WWE officials as they needed to beat Balor yet try not to have him lose any momentum that he had by coming back to NXT.
It was also cool to see them play Gargano’s injury into the storyline as Gargano has been out of action for a few weeks.
Although not confirmed, I would assume that WWE would book a match between these two stars at the next TakeOver special in February.
Damian Priest Battles Killian Dain
WWE booked a match between the two big men on this show as it was Damian Priest vs. Killian Dain in a singles match.
It was exactly what you would expect to see a match between these two stars. It was fine. Priest went over in the contest.
The most notable thing about it was the fans chanting for Dain to shave his back hair despite the fact that he wears a cutoff t-shirt.
WWE has been pushing these two guys pretty strong on television for the last few months. Whether we get a feud out of this contest remains to be seen. However, it’s pretty clear that WWE is invested in Dain and has been pushed him heavily.
With WWE having a history of pushing big guys as a monster, I can see them doing something significant with him.
Pete Dunne Showcases For Travis Banks
In what looked like it was going to be a one-sided and almost a squash match, WWE gave time to Travis Banks against Pete Dunne to showcase his skills.
This match happened in the second hour of the show. Dunne went over in the contest with his finisher as he should have.
It was hyped as a preview for the World Collide show. It was a back and forth hard-hitting bout between the two stars.
Dunne had found a ton of success including a run as the NXT UK Champion before switching over to the NXT brand. Banks isn’t well known to the United States fans but after this performance, he will be remembered.
The Worlds Collide show takes place on January 25, 2020 in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center on the WWE Network.
Rhea Ripley Wins NXT Women’s Championship
WWE close the show the right way as Shayna Bazler made her latest title defense as NXT Women’s Champion against Rhea Ripley.
This was the perfect way to close the show as this feud has been building up over the last few weeks and what a match did these two stars deliver to fans watching at home and in attendance.
Ripley beat Baszler to win the NXT Women’s Championship, which marks the first time that she has held the gold.
Baszler has been a longtime champion and arguably, the most dominant Women’s Champion since Asuka held the strap a few years ago. Baszler’s reign ends at 415 days, which is the second-longest in NXT history. That is a stat that she should be proud of.
Now, it comes down to what’s next for her. Does she stay in NXT or move on to go to RAW or SmackDown.
What were your thoughts on the show presented by WWE?