The February 10, 2021 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
- MSK def. Legado Del Fantasma
- Xia Li def. Cora Jade.
- Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon def. Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell
- KUSHIDA def. Austin Theory via DQ
- Grizzled Young Veterans def. Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Kushida vs. Austin Theory
Kushida vs. Austin Theory in a singles match took place.
This came after Theory had announced on his Twitter account that he would be facing Kushida in a singles match on the show to get revenge on Kushida, who is supposed to challenge Johnny Gargano for the North American Title at NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day. In this same tweet, it was revealed that Gargano was out of the contest.
Gargano couldn’t walk due to a broken arm. Yes, that was the storyline. He cut a promo about how when Kushida attacked him, he suffered a broken arm last week. He was in a wheelchair and said that he has four fractures in his arm. He said that he’s a power walker so he can’t use his arms to walk. He thinks William Regal should suspend Kushida for doing so. As he was talking, he was using his arm.
Regal came out and said that Gargano has been cleared to work. He told Gargano to stop this act. Regal pointed out how Gargano was using his arm and that it was the wrong x-ray. Regal told him that he could forfeit the title if he can’t wrestle. Kushida appeared and attacked Theory then they had a tug of war over the title, which resulted in Gargano holding onto the title.
This match was booked later on. It ended in a DQ when Gargano attacked Kushida. Theory was pulled from under the ring by Dexter Lumis. Kushida stood tall in the ring after putting in a submission on Gargano while Lumis locked in his submission on Theory.
Finn Balor – Pete Dunne Feud
Finn Balor is slated to make his next title defense as the NXT Champion against Pete Dunne in the main event of Sunday’s NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day special.
WWE advertised that they would do a face-to-face segment on this show. Instead, a video package aired and they saved the staredown for the last seconds of the show.
This was the go-home edition of NXT for this special so it would’ve been nice to have the main event stars actually do a final build. However, some could make the case that the build to this match has been done quite well.
Cameron Grimes Returns
Cameron Grimes made his return. He showed up in a fancy car then did a promo while in a suit. He talked about finding video games and walked into GameStop and bought their stock. Thus, he got rich. Then he invested in dog coins. He said now he has power and wrestles when he wants to do so.
Grimes worked his previous match against Timothy Thatcher on the December 9th episode of NXT. He had taken part in a Strap Match with Dexter Lumis at the NXT TakeOver: WarGames special.
Grimes underwent surgery in December, but at the time, it was not reported as to why he had to undergo the knife. Dave Meltzer later reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the belief was it was for minor arthroscopic knee surgery.
Semi-Final Match
Semifinal match in the men’s Dusty Classic featuring Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) took place.
WWE saved this for the main event spot. Ciampa sold his neck throughout the match. Ciampa eventually came to the rescue by getting the hot tag and cleared house. However, that didn’t last long as he ended up eating the pinfall when the heels hit their finishers.
As a result of this win, they’ll face MSK (Wes Lee & Nash Carter) in the finals of the tournament, which will take place at the NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day special.
Another Semi-Final Match
A semifinal match in the men’s Dusty Classic featuring MSK (Wes Lee & Nash Carter) taking on Legado Del Fantasma’s Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde. This was the opening contest, which was a wise choice.
They did some near falls before the commercial break, but even after, the pace didn’t stop. Those who hate spot after spot, then you wouldn’t like this match. Instead, it was a blitzing pace. The finish saw MSK hit their finisher on Wilde for the win.
They’ll face Grizzled Young Veterans in the finals of the tournament, which will take place at the NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day special.
Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell vs. Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon
Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell will also face Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon in a women’s Dusty Classic semifinal match.
Somehow, Blackheart had been cut over her left eye and was bleeding pretty good. The heels dominated most of the match. Blackheart pinned Hartwell to pick up the hard-fought victory when Moon hit her finisher to LeRae and Blackheart took out both heels with a backsplash off the top rope. Indie tried to save LeRae from the top rope move, but it backfired.
Now, these ladies will face Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez in the finals of the tournament, which will take place at the NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day special. Regal announced after the match that the winners of this match will also become the new #1 contenders for the Women’s Tag Team Titles.