Pat McAfee was not surprised that Adam Cole turned on Kyle O’Reilly and Finn Balor last night. The former NFL player has been trying to tell everyone that Cole is no good. McAfee took to Twitter last night to give his thoughts on the breakup of the Undisputed Era.
Internet Wrestling Community, I am now accepting your apologies in abundance.
You are by far the dumbest group of humans on the internet, you could’ve never known your hero was a treasonous scumbag but, I knew it all along. Please use #PatWasRight in your apology tweets. pic.twitter.com/DuQRpJNAbJ
“Pretty easy answer here right? He’s a scumbag. That’s why. I’ve been saying it ALL ALONG. You stooges wouldn’t listen. Say it with me you dum dums..” he also Tweeted.
“I was talked about in the wrestling community yesterday by Triple H, actually, about my future plans. It was interesting,” McAfee began on the Pat McAfee Show. “I mean, all very nice things he said there, but me learning about being written off TV did happen live on the air. He’s a very nice man, Mr. H, for everything he said. He did say, basically, like, ‘Pat has been very busy. Kind of a fat a– right now. He’s going to have to get back into shape,’ basically is what he said. And then maybe we’ll think about something.”
Adam Cole super kicked Finn Balor in the face following the conclusion of the Vengeance Day main event. This seemingly breaks up, or at least splits up, the long-running NXT faction.
Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish, formerly known as ReDragon in ROH/NJPW and elsewhere, debuted in NXT at TakeOver: Brooklyn III in the summer of 2017. They then aligned with Adam Cole. Roderick Strong joined the group after turning on his partner, Pete Dunne, in the 2018 Dusty Rhodes Classic.
The 2021 men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is in the books as the final two teams battled it out for the trophy.
At NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day, The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) took on MSK (Wes Lee & Nash Carter) in the finals of the tournament.
The match saw a chaotic style with the babyfaces selling throughout it until they made their comeback. The match broke down into a spot fest until MSK hit their finisher to Gibson for the victory.
As a result, they’ve received the Dusty Cup and a shot at Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch’s NXT Tag Team titles.
The semi-finals were held last week on NXT, which saw The Grizzled Young Veterans defeat Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher while MSK advanced to the finals by defeating Legado Del Fantasma’s Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde
The Grizzled Young Veterans had defeated Ever-Rise (Chase Parker & Matt Martel) in the first round of the tournament then Kushida & Leon Ruff in the quarterfinals. On the flip side, MSK defeated Isaiah “Swerve” Scott & Jake Atlas in the first round before they beat Drake Maverick & Killian Dain in the quarterfinals.
MSK Wins 2021 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic
MSK, who are former Rascalz members Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz, made their promotional debut in this year’s tournament while this marked the second straight year The Grizzled Young Veterans worked the Dusty Rhodes Classic. Last year, they lost to Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne in the finals of the tournament.
Past winners include:
2015: Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
2016: The Authors of Pain
2018: The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly)
2019: Aleister Black and Ricochet
2020: The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne)
Former NFL kicker and one time NXT performer Pat McAfee recently addressed his future with WWE. Speaking on his Pat McAfee Show podcast, the man who looked extremely impressive in his debut against Adam Cole last year discussed where he goes from here with the company.
NXT head Triple H recently addressed Pat McAfee’s status in WWE during a recent media call. “Pat’s limitations are…he’s a busy guy,” Triple H said. “Pat is one of the most successful… I hate to put a title on what he does because I feel like it’s limiting to him, but like you say… podcaster, media personality, sports world personality… almost every weekend that I look online during football season Pat seems to be trending on the weekends. His coverage of football, his association with FanDuel, just everything that he does.”
Pat McAfee on NXT/WWE Return
“I was talked about in the wrestling community yesterday by Triple H, actually, about my future plans. It was interesting,” McAfee began on the Pat McAfee Show. “I mean, all very nice things he said there, but me learning about being written off TV did happen live on the air. He’s a very nice man, Mr. H, for everything he said. He did say, basically, like, ‘Pat has been very busy. Kind of a fat a– right now. He’s going to have to get back into shape,’ basically is what he said. And then maybe we’ll think about something.”
“I’ve not heard anything, by the way,” McAfee continued. “Have not heard anything. No ideas. But I do believe the first step would be to have the diet match the amount of conditioning I’ve been doing in the Oculus. And when that happens, look out.”
There’s currently no confirmation on when or where Pat McAfee will return to WWE or NXT programming.
WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor recently spoke on the concept of ‘cross-promoting’ multiple pro wrestling companies. 2021 has already been a big year for promotions outside of WWE; with NJPW, AEW, IMPACT and AAA all seemingly looking to trade talent over 2021 (at least).
Speaking to Bleacher Report’s Graham Matthews, Balor said “I know there’s a lot of cross-brand work going on, which is something I’ve been an advocate for for years. I don’t feel like we should be limited to what our contract says or what company we work for.”
“I feel like wrestling on the whole can be better if we all worked together” Finn Balor continued. “So if that means me going to Japan or me going to Europe or me going to Mexico? I’m down to do that. I’m all for the open-border policy, not just between countries but companies as well.”
With All Elite Wrestling dominating the Wednesday Night ratings most weeks? It may be time for NXT to pursue other options to generate more buzz around the brand. NXT/WWE have worked with other promotions in the past, with the likes of Hideo Itami (now in NJPW) going to Pro Wrestling NOAH for an appearance. WWE also has strong links with the likes of PROGRESS, ICW, OTT, EVOLVE and wXw; although these are of course not on the level of an IMPACT, AEW or NJPW.
The only other major promotions that WWE seemingly could work with are CMLL, AJPW, NOAH or Ring of Honor; although it would be extremely unlikely, especially in ROH’s case, as they are owned by Sinclair Broadcasting in their own right.
Whilst Finn Balor does make an intriguing point, there’s probably a very slim chance that WWE will operate with other major promotions going forward.
NXT Champion Finn Balor spoke to the New York Post to promote NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day, which airs live this Sunday on the WWE Network. Balor spoke about defending the NXT Championship against Pete Dunne, recovering from a broken jaw and more.
Balor feels like he’s working on ‘a little different frequency’ lately, when talking about his ring work. He says NXT matches feel like real fights, which is the way he was trained to wrestle in the UK.
“It’s something that kind of suits my style more,” Balor said. “I feel like maybe I was guilty of trying to please too many people at once and not really please myself in the past with some of my performances and I’ve gone back to what I really like in the ring, which is kind of like scrappy, gritty, mat wrestling, not too much high flying, not too much outside the ring and really get back to basics. That’s really what I’ve been focusing on is going back to.”
WWE presents a very specific type of wrestling on Raw and SmackDown. The wrestlers have to be hyper-aware of the fact that they are on television, play to the camera and strive for that “fight forever” moment. NXT is more of a “back to basics” style. Finn Balor says he made a conscious effort to get back to his technical roots and he feels more comfortable.
NXT Champion Finn Balor
Finn Balor on His Perfect Opponent
Balor defends the NXT Championship against Pete Dunne this Sunday at NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day. Balor says Pete Dunne is a great matchup for him, but he considers everyone his perfect opponent.
“I’ll find a way or I’ll work around regardless of their style, whether it’s Damian Priest who has a very distinct style, Gargano has a distinct style, Matt Riddle, Timothy Thatcher who has a completely different style and we tore it up. I feel like for me the real challenge has been being able to adapt and kind of swim in the current of these guys’ different styles.”
Pete’s style is kind of very similar to where I’m at right now in the ring. So I think it’s either gonna be a clash or it’s gonna complement each other (laughs). So I don’t how the match is gonna look. It could either be great or it could be terrible. But Pete is someone who I’ve respected in the ring for a long time.”
Lasting Effects of his Broken Jaw
Finn Balor says he’s still dealing with the lasting effects of breaking his jaw last year. He is still in pain, grinds his teeth a lot and is very reluctant to take any strikes to the face.
“One thing that still hasn’t come back is the feeling in my bottom lip,” said Balor “It’s still numb. It’s like I’ve been to the dentist and you get that shot. Pretty much my bottom lip down to my chin I’ve still got no feeling, but the doctors are a little hopeful that might come back in a couple of months. They say nerves take a little longer to heal. Sometimes you’ll see me out there now if I’m doing a promo licking my bottom lip more or I’ll be rubbing it a little bit. It still feels like there’s Novocain in there and it’s numb.”
Finn Balor fractured his jaw in October 2020
Finally, Finn Balor discussed the possibility of defending the NXT Championship at WrestleMania. It sounds like a cool idea, but NXT typically holds Takeover events during WrestleMania. If it means that the NXT Championship match would have to take place at WrestleMania instead of Takeover, he’d rather not do that.
“Once we’re protecting the NXT brand without having it diluted by the big show at WrestleMania it’s something I’d be willing to do. If there’s the possibility of defending the title back to back nights, TakeOver and WrestleMania, then I’m all for it.”
Velveteen Dream hasn’t been seen on NXT programming since his match with Adam Cole in December and Triple H was recently asked about his status.
The Game held a media conference call ahead of the NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day which is scheduled to take place this Sunday, on February 14.
During the call, the former World Champion was asked about Dream, who has been a controversial figure since he was accused of inappropriate behavior with minors, and Triple H said that he has nothing to add:
“There’s really nothing to add with Velveteen Dream. We’ve gone over it a million times. Status update – he’s still training. He had a little bit of a physical thing here for a bit. But, still there, still with us, still PC, still training, still on the roster.”
Triple H has previously claimed that the company has looked into the accusations about the 25 year old star and they have moved on from the controversy because they didn’t find anything.
The King Of Kings also provided an update on the status of Pat McAfee and explained that the former NFL player is just taking a break from his busy routine:
“He’s a busy dude. We’ve been talking about it. He had said, ‘Look, give me a moment to breathe when the Super Bowl is over.’
He just got married not that long ago. He’s like, if I don’t take a breath for a minute after this Super Bowl, I might not be married for much longer. My words, not his. I think he just needed to take a breather.”
McAfee has been away from WWE programming since December as well and he hasn’t been seen on NXT TV since his team lost the WarGames match to Undisputed Era.
TV ratings are in for for the February 10th editions of AEW Dynamite and NXT. Both shows were “in the mud” this week due to extensive news coverage of former US President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial. 19 of the top 20 shows on cable were cable news on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News.
Here’s the Wednesday Night War breakdown for February 10th, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
AEW: 741,000 viewers, 0.29 rating, 21st in demo
NXT: 558,000 viewers, 0.12 rating, 62nd in demo
AEW was down 12.2% in viewership and 9.4% in the A18-49 demo. NXT was down 8.52% in viewership and 20% in the demo.
If there is a silver lining to be found, AEW Dynamite was the #2 non-news program on cable, behind only Challenge on MTV. They outdrew the NBA’s Lakers vs. Thunder game, which was competitive and went into overtime (Lakers won 114-113).
You can check out our Results and Takeaways from both shows here:
Triple H recently reacted to comments made by NFL Indianapolis Colts Linebacker Darius Leonard. The Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development was called out by Leonard on this week’s episode of The Bump on WWE Network.
Appearing on The Bump, Darius Leonard stated that he wanted to take Triple H’s “belt.” The NFL Linebacker also said “I don’t think you want any smoke with the Maniac.”
“Interesting, you really must have ALL the smoke!” The Game wrote on Twitter. “If you ever need to find me, I’ll be at the CWC every Wednesday for WWE NXT. Pat McAfee can give you directions. Just be sure to bring your helmet, so as The Rock says, I’ll turn it sideways & ah.. you know the rest!”
Interesting, you really must have ALL the smoke! ?@dsleon45. If you ever need to find me, I’ll be at the CWC every Weds for @WWENXT. @PatMcAfeeShow can give you directions… just be sure to bring your helmet, so as @TheRock says, I’ll turn it sideways & ah.. you know the rest! https://t.co/5YNgulu4g8
Triple H then appeared on the NFL Network and again offered Darius Leonard the chance to back up his recent comments. You can see Triple H’s remarks to Darius Leonard in the video player embedded below.
Discussion: Do you think that we’ll see Darius Leonard appear in NXT?
AEW Dynamite scored a decisive win over NXT this week in the Wednesday Night War. Both shows were unusually close last week, but Beach Break helped propel Dynamite back to a comfortable margin of 200,000+ viewers over NXT.
Here is this week’s breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
AEW: 844,000 viewers, 0.32 rating (A18-49), 3rd in the demo on cable for the night
NXT: 610,000 viewers, 0.15 rating (A18-49), 51st in the demo on cable for the night
Beach Break featured several high-profile matches that were promoted weeks in advance. Chris Jericho and MJF won the tag team battle royal to earn a title shot against the Young Bucks at Revolution, Penelope Ford and Kip Sabian’s wedding [predictably] ended in chaos and the 6-man tag main event delivered in a big way. The show closed with the surprise debut of NJPW star Kenta, who will be in action next week.
NXT featured an appearance by WWE legend and Royal Rumble winner Edge, so the viewership drop is disappointing. The show also saw Dusty Rhodes tag team classic tournament matches and more.
Check out our results and takeaways articles from both shows:
Edge is headed to the Capitol Wrestling Center for this week’s episode of NXT on USA. The Rated R Superstar won the Men’s Royal Rumble this past Sunday.
He tweeted that he is currently in Orlando with his wife, NXT announcer and WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix. Since he would be in the same city that hosts NXT, why not pay them a visit Wednesday night.
In Orlando to visit my wife. Then I had a thought, @WWENXT needs to get #RatedR
Winning the Royal Rumble earned Edge a WrestleMania 37 title match against the champion of his choosing. He can face WWE Champion Drew McIntyre or Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
Edge could also challenge NXT Champion Finn Balor, similar to last year’s Women’s Rumble winner Charlotte facing NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania last uyear.
Io Shirai will defend the NXT Women’s Championship in a triple threat match at the next NXT Takeover speical.
The Genius of the Sky will defend against Toni Storm and Mercedes Martinez. The match announcement was reported by ComicBook.com.
WWE has done a great job building up this match, with all three women butting heads in recent weeks. Shirai has had a strong title reign since capturing the gold from Charlotte Flair back in June 2020 at NXT Takeover: In Your House.
For more on the events that led to this match being signed, visit WWE.com.
TV ratings are in for this week’s Wednesday Night War and NXT gained a lot of ground on AEW Dynamite. Here’s the breakdown for this week, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
AEW: 734,000 viewers, 0.29 rating (A18-49), 6th on cable
NXT: 720,000 viewers, 0.21 rating (A18-49), 24th on cable
Overall, this was is a very strong showing for NXT. Compared to last week, viewership jumped 9.3% and the rating spiked 40%. AEW’s viewership declined 14.1% and the rating dropped 19.4%.
NXT won the Adults 50+ demo, as it usually does. However, it also won the Women 18-49 and Women 12-34 demographics.
AEW Dynamite featured the Young Bucks and Good Brothers teaming against the Dark Order in the main event, Jungle Boy vs. Dax Harwood, Eddie Kingston vs. Lance Archer, Chris Jericho teaming with MJF and more.
NXT saw Finn Balor and Kyle O’Reilly team up against the NXT tag team champions and three Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament matches.
You can see our results and takeaways features for both shows here:
The January 27, 2021 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
MSK def. Drake Maverick & Killian Dain
Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez def. Aliyah & Jessi Kamea
Tyler Rust def. Daniel Garcia
Grizzled Young Veterans def. KUSHIDA & Leon Ruff
Bronson Reed def. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott.
Finn Balor and Kyle O’Reilly def. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Women’s Division Builds
Toni Storm walked out to the ring for a promo where she said that she doesn’t just want to hurt NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai, but she wants to take the title from her as well. She said that she wasn’t just willing to….this led to the champion coming out to the ring.
Io said that she will fight her anywhere. She said that she doesn’t like Storm. Toni knocked her down and a brawl broke out. Io took her out with a drop kick and stood tall in the ring until Mercedes Martinez ran out and attacked Io from behind. Toni and Mercedes argued over the title before Io took out the heels.
Io hit the double knee strike to Mercedes in the corner, but Toni sent Io into the steel steps. Toni a few hip attacks to both stars before standing tall in the ring with the title.
NXT has a TakeOver event slated to take place next month. That’s likely where this three-way will take place.
NXT Champion Finn Balor and Kyle O’Reilly vs. NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch in a non-title match took place.
No surprise here, but this was the main event of the show. It was a really good match with Kyle tapping out Burch for the win with the unlikely opponents. Post-match, Pete Dunne came out and the heels attacked Balor and Kyle. That was until Bobby Fish and Adam Cole ran out to make the save. The eight men had a staredown to close the show.
Two weeks ago, Pete Dunne, Lorcan & Burch confronted Balor in the ring. Basically, Dunne tried to get a title shot and was tired of waiting. Dunne, Lorcan & Burch attacked Balor until O’Reilly made the save.
Dunne, Lorcan & Burch also attacked O’Reilly at ringside during the Adam Cole & Roderick Strong vs. Breezango main event on that same show. Balor tried to get involved and fight off Dunne, Lorcan & Burch, but failed.
Last week, the top NXT star asked NXT general manager William Regal for a match with Dunne, but wanted to start with Lorcan & Burch first. Balor later went to Undisputed Era and asked O’Reilly to team with him next week. O’Reilly agreed and the match was made official.
MSK vs. Drake Maverick & Killian Dain in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic quarterfinal match was booked.
This was the first match of the night and oh what energy that MSK brings to this show. It was a great slot for them to start off the show. They picked up on where they left off with their promotional debut.
MSK hit a wild tag team move on Drake as one did a standing backflip while the other shoved his partner onto Maverick. The finish saw Carter hit the blockbuster for the win.
As a result of this win, they will move onto face the winner of Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado vs. Legado Del Fantasma’s Raul Mendoza & Joaquín Wilde.
The Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Kushida & Leon Ruff
The Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Kushida & Leon Ruff in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic quarterfinal match took place.
The babyfaces started off strong, but then right before the commercial break, the heels took over and controlled a few minutes. Ruff fought back and got the hot tag to Kushida, who made a babyface comeback.
Young Veterans hit the Doomsday Device yet they did a near fall spot. Yes, Kushida kicked out of the Road Warriors’ finisher. However, the finish of the match saw Young veterans Ruff miss a swanton bomb off the top rope and allowed the heels to hit their finisher for the win.
As a result of this win, they will move onto face the winner of Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher vs. Undisputed Era’s Adam Cole & Roderick Strong.
Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez vs. Aliyah & Jessi Kamea
Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez vs. Aliyah and Jessi Kamea in a Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round Match was booked.
Raquel hit her finisher to Kamea with a clothesline then a chokeslam for the win. It was a solid match with the heels getting the majority of the offense.
As a result of this win, they will move onto face Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter in the semifinals.
WWE returns to the Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, FL for tonight’s NXT broadcast on the USA Network.
The following items are confirmed for the show:
NXT Champion Finn Balor will form an unlikely tag team with Kyle O’Reilly of Undisputed Era. They will face NXT Tag Team Champions Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan in a non-title match.
NXT Dusty Classic
We will also three Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic matches.
In the women’s tournament, Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez will face Jessi Kamea and Aliyah in a First Round match-up.
On the men’s side, we’ll get two quarterfinal matches:
Wes Lee and Nash Carter, the former Rascalz now known as MSK, battle Drake Maverick and Killian Dain.
The “Grizzled Young Veterans” (Zack Gibson and James Drake) face. Kushida and Leon Ruff.
Join us here later tonight for our NXT Results & Takeaways feature. Catch up on the Top 10 moments from last week’s NXT in the player embedded below:
Daniel Bryan believes it’s time for WWE to consider creating a new developmental system to cultivate the next generation of Superstars.
NXT served as WWE’s ‘minor league’ for many years. The “black and gold” brand has evolved into a third brand, alongside Raw and SmackDown. NXT has a weekly television show on the USA Network. It also hosts quarterly pay-per-view specials on the WWE Network. The NXT roster and product rival those of Raw and SmackDown. This presents some advantages, but also some disadvantages.
Daniel Bryan recently spoke with Lucha Libre Online about the WWE developmental conundrum. Bryan tells Michael Morales Torres that WWE needs to address the void left by NXT.
“I definitely don’t think NXT is considered as a developmental territory anymore,” said Bryan. “Which leaves a question: Do we have a developmental territory? Those guys are awesome and I do consider NXT a third brand for our company.”
Daniel Bryan has been an influential force behind the scenes in recent months. As a member of the SmackDown brand, he’s been a vocal about the need to develop new talent.
You can listen to Daniel Bryan’s comments in the Youtube player embedded below:
WWE Developmental
Prior to the launch of NXT, WWE worked with various independent promotions to groom talent. The two most notable developmental territories were Ohio Valley Wrestling and Florida Championship Wrestling. The biggest names of the past twenty years came up through OVW and FCW.
Ohio Valley Wrestling produced talent such as Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, Kurt Angle, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, John Morrison, Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, Beth Phoenix, Natalya, Kelly Kelly and many more.
Florida Championship Wrestling alumni includes Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Jon Moxley, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, The Bella Twins, Paige, Big E, Kofi Kingston and AJ Lee.
The Performance Center is a world class facility, but Daniel Bryan thinks WWE needs a place for green talent to perform “under the radar” without the spotlight that NXT now brings.
NBC Universal, parent company of the USA Network, is shutting down the NBC Sports Network channel. This could have a big impact on WWE programming, most notably NXT.
NBC Sports Network currently airs popular sports properties such as NHL and NASCAR. NXT could be directly impacted since many of the NHL games on NBCSN air on Wednesday nights. NASCAR coverage could also potentially impact Raw.
Because the USA Network is in more homes than NBCSN, the belief is the sports leagues mentioned above should see their ratings go up and eventually TV rights. If that theory happens then bigger money deals could also be given to WWE.
If this move leads to NXT changing nights, the models people have regarding time frame of AEW beating Raw IF THINGS GO AS THEY DID THE LAST 12 MONTHS moves up. USA had tried to protect its investment but this changes that game because of the real world.
There have been rumors since last year of NBC Universal moving NXT to another night where they would not have to go head-to-head with AEW Dynamite on Wednesdays. What that new night would be or when a move could be made remains to be seen.
The belief has been since AEW got a TV deal with TNT, WWE moved NXT to the USA Network as a way to compete, but more importantly, to keep AEW down to a certain level, which could see AEW have less leverage once it’s time to get a TV deal/extension done.
Of course, that original belief was before AEW got an extension with TNT. There is no word yet on the exact date when NBCSN will be shutting down.
Former SmackDown women’s champion Bayley recently posted a picture on Twitter revealing that she was backstage for this week’s episode of NXT.
This week’s episode of the show saw the first-ever women’s edition of Dusty Rhodes tag team classic tournament kicking off with a match between Team Ninja and the team of Mercedes Martinez & Toni Storm.
Bayley interestingly took a selfie with the trophy for the tournament before the show went on air and she later posted the photo on Twitter as seen below.
WWE announced the first-ever women’s Dusty Rhodes tag team classic earlier this year and they revealed the brackets for the same recently.
Bayley had interestingly asked Triple H to let her compete in the NXT tournament but as the brackets revealed, she is not a part of the competition.
There is no word yet on if the former women’s champion had any special reason to be in the Capitol Wrestling Center but it’s most likely that she was just visiting the arena to interact with the tag team classic competitors.
Bayley was engaged in a feud with Sasha Banks for the most part of 2020 and it would be interesting to see what the company is planning for her in 2021.
WWE returns to the Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, FL tonight for an all-new episode of NXT.
This week’s USA Network broadcast will feature the ong awaited Fight Pit match between Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher. We’ll also see several tag team matches from the Men’s and Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournaments.
The following matches are scheduled for NXT:
NXT Fight Pit: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (First Round): Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory vs. Kushida and Leon Ruff
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (First Round): Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik) vs. Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel in a men’s
Dusty Rhodes Women’s Tag Team Classic (First Round): Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter vs. Toni Storm and Mercedes Martinez
Plus, Karrion Kross has his sights set on NXT Champion, Finn Balor.
WWE has announced the brackets for the first-ever edition of the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Classic. The brackets for the 8-team single-elimination tournament were revealed today on WWE’s The Bump. All 3 of the recently signed wrestlers to WWE will be in the tournament.
Left side of the bracket:
Candice LeRae & Indie Hartwell (The Way) vs Gigi Dolin (Priscilla Kelly) & Cora Jade (Elayna Black)
Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon vs Marina Shafir & Zoey Stark (Lacey Ryan)
Right Side of the bracket:
Mercedes Martinez & Toni Storm vs Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter
Aliyah & Jessi Kamea vs Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez
The first match in the tournament will take place tonight on NXT. Mercedes Martinez & Toni Storm will team up to take on Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter.
Other matches scheduled for tonight’s episode of NXT include Fight Pit II between Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa. That match had originally been scheduled for New Year’s Evil. It was postponed when Thatcher was out with an injury, however.
There will be two matches in the men’s Dusty Rhodes Classic tonight as well. The Lucha House Party will take on Imperium and Kushida and Leon Ruff will team up to take on Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory from “The Way” on tonight’s show.
WWE has officially announced they have signed 3 new wrestlers to its roster.
The company announced the new signings on the WWE NXT Twitter account. Priscilla Kelly, Lacey Ryan, and Elayna Black will all receive new ring names now that they are members of the roster.
23-year-old Priscilla Kelly has wrestled previously in the 2nd edition of the Mae Young Classic. She was eliminated by current Knockouts Champion, Deonna Purrazzo, in the 1st round.
Kelly has also wrestled with AEW. She was in the Casino Battle Royale at All Out in 2019, and also wrestled a couple of matches on the Jericho Cruise in early 2020. She will now be going by the name Gigi Dolin.
My match with @DirtyDickinson now available for free! Blistering heat and no remorse.
Lacey Ryan has been wrestling for several independent promotions the last few years. She’s a former FSW Women’s Champion with the Future Stars of Wrestling promotion based out of the Las Vegas area. Ryan has also performed on UWN Live shows in recent months as well as with OVW, Championship Wrestling from Hollywood, and Shimmer. She will now be known as Zoey Stark.
This one took a few trys to get right and it's still not completely correct as I should stand tall and jump straight up before flipping but that's ok. Within the next few days I'll keep busting my butt to get it perfect. #unstoppable#AEWDynamite#WWENXT#IMPACTonAXSTVpic.twitter.com/937ot9erwm
Elayna Black is a 2-year pro out of the Chicago area. She’s wrestled a couple of matches on AEW Dark previously. Black has also performed on Game Changer Wrestling PPVs, Warrior Wrestling shows in Chicago, Shimmer, and UWN. Black will now be going by the name Cora Jade.
Adam Cole is the latest NXT star to declare that WWE’s ‘black and gold’ brand is on par with Raw and SmackDown.
The former NXT Champion commented on Undisputed Era and the NXT brand on social media late Saturday night. Cole is the leader of Undisputed Era, the faction also comprised of Kyle O’Reily, Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish.
The foursome has been a dominant force in NXT since they were first established in the summer of 2017. At one point, they held all the brand’s top titles, including the NXT Championship, the North American and Tag Team Championships.
Undisputed Era cleaned up at the 2020 NXT Year-End Awards. Members won Male Competitor of the Year (Adam Cole), Tag Team of the Year (All members), Match of the Year (O’Reilly vs. Finn Balor at TakOver 31) and Rivalry of the Year (Cole vs. Pat McAfee)
Adam Cole says the Undisputed Era’s reign of success will continue in 2021. He tweeted, “#UndisputedERA has run @WWENXT since we’ve arrived…2021 will be no different. Enjoy the ride boys & girls.”
“NXT Is The Main Roster”
A fan on Twitter told Adam Cole that he should advance to the ‘main roster’ in 2021, implying that he should join Raw or SmackDown. Cole replied by saying that NXT is the main roster, “No debate. End of story.”
This is an idea that has been pushed by many people in NXT, including Triple H. During a recent appearance on WWE’s digital series The Bump, he said that Finn Balor returning to NXT full-time established the brand as the ‘main roster.’
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently discussed the ongoing ‘Wednesday Night War’ between AEW and NXT. For many months AEW has been beating NXT in the rating; with this past week seeing a gulf in difference, particularly in the 18-49 demographic.
Bully Ray pointed out that whilst AEW is the better drawing show? Ray believes that NXT has the better in-ring action and it is a ‘crisper’ and more ‘polished’ style of pro wrestling.
“It’s hard for me to come on the show, and I don’t want to do this, first and foremost, I don’t look to come on the show and point out holes in the game or the negatives” Bully Ray began on Busted Open.
“Honestly, I just want to come on talk positive about pro wrestling, and tell everybody what a great job everybody did. When I watch NXT? I don’t see glaring issues, like I see maybe with AEW. But the work in the ring is solid, it’s tight [in NXT]. Nine times out of 10? It makes psychological sense. The physicality is there.”
Shifting his focus to AEW, Bully Ray sees some ‘glaring’ issues that might be holding the company back.
“A lot of times? You watch AEW and you know, guys and gals are missing stuff. It can get a little indie-rific at times, whereas the NXT product is a lot more polished and the work rate is extremely tight.”
However you feel about Bully Ray’s comments about AEW’s in-ring product, there’s no question that what they’re doing is working. AEW regularly draws higher viewership and greater fan interest than NXT.
Indie star Sha Samuels made his on-screen in-ring debut for the NXT UK brand during this week’s episode of their weekly show on WWE Network.
The heavyweight star was built as Ed Harvey and he competed in a match against Joe Coffey. Unfortunately for the new NXT star, Coffey emerged victorious in this bout.
One interesting thing that happened during the match was that Samuels grabbed the mic mid-match. He announced that he wasn’t Ed Harvey and everyone knows his real name Sha Samuels.
After the match, the new WWE star took on his Twitter and announced that he has officially signed a contract with the company after a long journey full of ups and downs:
TV ratings are in for Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite and NXT TV. Dynamite scored a decisive win over NXT with New Year’s Smash (Night 2). Here’s the breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
AEW: 762,000 viewers, 0.30 Rating (A18-49), 31st on cable
NXT: 551,000 viewers, 0.14 Rating (A18-49), 70th on cable
Both shows were impacted by coverage of US President Donald Trumps’ second impeachment, which dominated the list of Top 30 shows on cable for the evening. Unfortunately, NXT was hit much harder by this competition.
AEW viewership was up around 15% from last week (+20% in the key demo), while NXT viewership fell around 14% (-12% in the key demo). This was the lowest total audience for NXT since March 2020.
MSK has arrived in NXT. The tag team formerly known as The Rascalz made their in ring debuts on Wednesday’s NXT TV.
Earlier in the day, WWE released the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament brackets. Among the 16 teams listed was MSK, a team that we had yet to meet. As expected, it was the Rascalz. The men formerly known as Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz are now using the ring names Wes Lee and Nash Carter.
MSK defeated Isaiah “Swerve” Scott and Jake Atlas in the first round of the tournament.
MSK in WWE NXT
The two high flying stars signed with WWE back in December. Though the third member of the Impact Wrestling stable Trey Miguel did not sign with the promotion at the time and it was reported that he was still weighing his options.
This wasn’t the only match of the tournament that took place during tonight’s episode of NXT and The Grizzled Young Veterans defeated Ever-Rise to advance in the first round of Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic as well.
MSK will now be face the winners of the match between Kushida & Leon Ruff and The Way in the second round.
