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Credit: WWE.com
As AEW continued to celebrate the New Year this week, NXT debuted the 2021 classic Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic on Wednesday’s show.
The tournament will feature new and existing teams taking part in matches over the next few weeks before the final two teams battle for the coveted trophy.
Adam Cole and Roderick Strong of The Undisputed Era took on Breezango, while The Grizzled Young Veterans fought Ever-Rise.
We also saw NXT’s best couple in action when Candice LeRae took on Shotzi Blackheart and Johnny Gargano took on Dexter Lumis.
Let’s take a look at everything that happened on this week’s show.
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NXT wasted no time in taking action. As soon as the opening video ended, LeRae and Blackheart stepped out for the opening game.
They immediately started using a brisk pace and looked evenly matched until Blackheart took LeRae into a short-arm scissor submission.
Indi Hartwell applauded LeRae from ringside as she started to fight. They took the fight out of the ring and Blackheart hit a knee jumping off the steel steps. A distraction from Hartwell allowed The Poison Pixie to take control.
They traded the upper hand several times, but neither competitor was able to put the other aside until LeRae hit a swinging neckbreaker from the center tensioner against the spindle. Hartwell provided another distraction to give him the victory.
Classroom: B
Analysis
Blackheart and LeRae are both known as risk takers, so it was no surprise that they started flying around the ring to get themselves out.
Even with a small crowd in attendance, you could tell the fans loved Blackheart. LeRae played a good heel, but it was the green-haired girl who stood out for most of the game.
Hartwell did a good job as executor of LeRae at ringside, but it would be nice to have a few more segments that let us get to know his character better.
Overall, it was a good way to kick off the action for the night. Blackheart will easily recover from this loss.
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The first round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic began with Ever-Rise taking on The Grizzled Young Veterans.
Zack Gibson immediately took control and called on James Drake to keep the pressure on. Chase Parker pulled Drake by the hair to turn the situation around. Gibson had to calm Drake down so that he didn’t disqualify the team.
Gibson walked in and slapped Matt Martel on the apron before returning his attention to Parker. The GYV spent the next few minutes putting Parker to the test.
Martel eventually got the hot tag and chased both opponents with a flurry of strikes. Both teams participated in a two-team movement sequence that resulted in Gibson and Drake knocking out their finisher for the win.
Classroom: B-
Analysis
It was a quick game with a solid team fight, but the last two minutes had a bit too much going on at times.
A few points in a row per tag team is good, but once the referee steps aside and lets everyone be in the ring as much as they want, it gets too chaotic.
Other than that, it was a fun fight. Young Grizzled veterans continue to impress with every ride, but Ever-Rise might need a little tuning.
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After a short promo from Blackheart and Ember Moon for their upcoming appearance in the Dusty Rhodes Cup, Lumis and Gargano stepped out for their match.
Gargano’s North American Championship wasn’t on the line, but he still had Austin Theory at ringside to provide him with a bit of a backup. Gargano tore up one of Lumis’ drawings, and the tortured artist shot it down with ease.
He scared Gargano out of the ring, but Johnny Wrestling was still able to kick a kick in the face. They fought on the top rope until Lumis brought him down. Gargano dodged a senton bomb as the show came to a halt.
Lumis started to make a comeback and uncorked some stiff right hands. It looked like he had the game in hand, but a distraction from theory led Gargano to roll Lumis for the win.
Gargano and Theory attempted to attack Lumis after the match, but Kushida ran to make the save. Kushida has made it clear he is coming for the North American Championship.
Classroom: B-
Analysis
Lumis is one of the most unique talents in all of NXT, but management may not yet know how they want to use it. It’s clear WWE wants to push him, but they’re not rushing into it so that he can establish his character.
These two superstars have incredible talent, but it felt like they were holding back a bit in this game. We saw a lot of wrestlers save their best ideas for PPV matches, but it was much more evident than usual in this fight.
This game was good, but it never seemed to have reached the level that these two are capable of reaching. It is difficult to determine exactly what was missing. It just fell a bit short. It should have been the game of the night but won’t stand out in the end.
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The new tag team on the block made their debut this week when MSK faced Jake Atlas and Isaiah Scott in another first round match in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Atlas started against Nash Carter. They had a good exchange of teardowns and counters which resulted in Atlas getting a two-way count.
Swerve scored and Carter brought in Wes Lee. After a while, Scott and Atlas cornered the newcomer for a two-team combo. Scott and Atlas employed dirty tactics, and it led to a huge ringside brawl with the four men.
We came back from a break to see Carter holding Scott in a bodyscissor. They both made the label and Lee went wild. The two teams got closer, but it was MSK who ended up scoring the victory to advance in the tournament.
Classroom: C +
Analysis
It was another fast-paced game with a lot of energy, but the debut of MSK, formerly known as The Rascalz, made it a bit more interesting.
WWE didn’t spend a lot of time announcing the group’s arrival, but they recently teased it with graphics. Making his debut in this tournament was an interesting decision because if MSK doesn’t win it means he will lose one of his first games in NXT.
Atlas and Scott worked well together, but they were never going to become a permanent team, so being knocked out early is for the best. They made MSK beautiful.
The only major problem with this game was a lack of rhythm. It was as if they had just moved from one place to another without taking the time to sell anything. Maybe it has more to do with the fact that they wanted to be in the game as much as possible, but sometimes less is more.
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After coming back last week with a decisive victory, Xia Li was back this week to face another jobber. She hit a right hand and a spinning kick to claim the victory. She inflicted a bit more punishment after the game was over.
Classroom: B
Analysis
As a match, it wasn’t much. To make Li unstoppable, that was great. It’s almost impossible to score two strikes and a post-match attack, so this score is based on the effectiveness of this segment.
Li has a presence about her that sets her apart from everyone else on the list. If WWE continues to book her that way, it won’t be long before she has a shot at the title.
The entrance, the music, the look and the change of attitude suit him well. It will be interesting to see if Boa finds the same success when he starts wrestling more often.
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The main event featured Tyler Breeze and Fandango taking on Cole and Strong of The Undisputed Era in the third Dusty Classic fight of the night. Kyle O’Reilly accompanied his teammates into the ring although he was not cleared by medics.
Breeze and Cole found themselves in a bind after their first exchange and shook hands in respect before locking themselves up again. They both tagged their partners so that Strong and Fandango could go head-to-head.
We came back from a hiatus to watch Breezango dominate Cole with standard tag team tactics. The EU chief has called on the Master of the Backbreaker to do what he does best.
Strong unleashed a barrage of offense against the two men. Once Cole recovered, Strong scored him for a two-team move to get a near crash. Breeze turned the situation around and tagged Fandango to start a streak in which the four men argued in various ways.
Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch attacked KOR at ringside until Finn Balor attempted to make the save. Pat McAfee’s friends knocked them out, but Cole overcame the distraction to hit a superkick at Breeze for the win.
Classroom: A-
Analysis
As expected, it was the best game of the evening. The chemistry between the four men in the ring was out of this world and they used it to deliver a memorable performance.
The high jinks at ringside marked the third time a match has ended in interference this week, but of the three this one made the most sense from a storyline perspective. WWE approached three different feuds at the same time effectively.
This fight was a prime example of how good Breeze and Fandango are. They make everything look easy and always uplift their opponents. It was the best way to end this week’s show.
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