The January 4, 2022 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center with the New Year’s Evil name.
WWE NXT New Year’s Evil Results
- Carmelo Hayes def. Roderick Strong to unify the titles
- Wes Lee, Nash Carter & Riddle def. Imperium (WALTER, Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner).
- Mandy Rose def. Cora Jade and Raquel Gonzalez to retain Women’s Title
- Bron Breakker def. Tommaso Ciampa to win NXT Title
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Time To Chat Again
AJ Styles confronted Grayson Waller once again after the two stars have traded words in the past. Styles has appeared on NXT before while Waller has shown up on Raw.
So what happened this time? AJ came out to the ring and cut a promo about when he first signed with WWE, he didn’t go to NXT, but rather was on the main roster. He said that there is something special about NXT. AJ put over the great fans and said he doesn’t care what the name of the show is, it’s the passion that makes NXT what it is. He said that he’d be damned if he will allow someone take it away from the fans. He said that there is always going to be someone like Waller who thinks he is better than everyone. Waller came out and said that AJ is trying to hide from his loss to Omos. Waller said that AJ doesn’t mean that he really wanted to start in NXT instead of starting on the main roster. Waller said that AJ lost last night because he was thinking about Waller. He said he’s living in AJ’s head rent free. AJ wanted a match tonight. Waller turned it down, but wanted it next week in the main event of NXT. AJ accepted and Waller tried to attack, but AJ punched him. They brawled until AJ got the better of him and Waller retreated.
Rematch
WWE NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bron Breaker took place in the main event.
Their first title match took place at Halloween Havoc in October where Ciampa retained the title. They later met in the men’s WarGames match where Breakker pinned Ciampa. Since then, they’ve traded words and it led to them sharing the ring one more time.
The match saw Bron hit some powerslams right out of the gate. Ciampa hit a corkscrew dive to take out Bron. Back in the ring, they went back and forth. Bron with a spinebuster then a standing moonsault. Bron caught Ciampa with a spear. Ciampa was bleeding from his right temple. Bron hit a spinebuster to Ciampa through the announce table. Bron with a powerslam for 2 as Ciampa grabbed the rope. Bron with a bulldog then locked in the Steiner Recliner for the win to become the new NXT Champion.
Triple Threat Match
WWE NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose vs. Raquel Gonzalez vs. Cora Jade in a Triple Threat Match took place.
Rose defeated Gonzalez to win the NXT Women’s Championship at Halloween Havoc with the help from the returning Dakota Kai. Raquel defeated Dakota in a street fight on December 21st and then called out Rose for a title match, but Jade came out citing her victory over Rose a few weeks ago as a reason why she should get a title shot.
Rose appeared on the big screen and stated she would take them both on in a three-way. igi Dolin and Jacy Jayne then attacked the babyfaces.
The match was in the second hour. Rose tried to leave ringside, but was stopped by Raquel. Once in the ring, Rose hit a codebreaker then talked trash to Raquel. Raquel hit her finisher to Rose for 2 as Jade broke up the pin attempt with a dive. Jade tossed Raquel to the floor then Rose rolled up Jade for the win.
Time To Unify
WWE NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes and WWE NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong battled in a Title vs. Title Unification match.
The match opened the show. Hayes was in control early in the match, but missed a dive off the top rope and Strong caught him with a knee strike for a near fall. Hayes did a splash fly off the top rope for a near fall. Hayes hit his leg drop finisher off the top rope for the win.
WWE introduced the North American Championship a few years ago with many wrestlers holding the title including Johnny Gargano with three separate title reigns.
Ironically, 7 of the 11 former Champions are no longer with WWE with the 4 still there including Damian Priest, Ricochet, and Strong and Hayes. The NXT Cruiserweight Championship has been around since 2016 where at first, it was exclusive to Monday Night Raw in addition to a live episode of 205 Live every week. In recent times, the title has been only inclusive to NXT as 205 Live is a second platform to the NXT brand.
Six-Man Tag Team Match
Riddle and MSK (Nash Carter & Wes Lee) vs. Imperium (WALTER, Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel) went down.
This feud came about when Matt Riddle became the Shaman for MSK although original plans called for Jeff Hardy to be in this role, but his WWE release nixed those plans.
Last week on NXT, Carter and Lee called out Imperium (Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel) for the NXT Tag Team Titles . WALTER and Riddle both appeared on the big screen where WALTER insulted MSK. Riddle issued the six-man tag challenge to Imperium.
The match was in the middle of the show with the heels controlling the majority of the match. Riddle got the hot tag and cleaned house. He hit an outside dive to take out the heels. Riddle even hit a german suplex to WALTER. MSK hit a powerslam move to Fabian before Riddle hit an RKO to Marcel for the win.
