Saturday, January 26th, 2019
Talking Stick Resort Arena
Phoenix, Arizona
Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness and Percy Watson are here to call the action. I think I am the only wrestling fan who isn't in love with Ranallo as a play-by-play guy. I do admire his passion though.
NXT Tag Team Championship Match
War Raiders vs. Undisputed Era
We get a Triple H-esque opening for the War Raiders. Not bad, but way too long of a build. Undisputed Era comes out to the norm and that's ok with me. I'm not quite sure why either teams aren't on the main roster yet, but there really hasn't been a rhyme or reason to how any of the call ups work to this date. We get some good back and forth action and then Hanson does a crazy dive through the ropes and the Undisputed Era is able to get out of the way in time. O'Reilly and Strong are now firmly in control and they slow it down a little bit more than normal. They are so effective as a team because their offense is interesting and use quick tags as good as any team that I can think of. Hanson is the clear star of War Raiders and is being presented that way tonight. My biggest thing with Hanson is how similar he and Killian Dain look. For that matter, there are way too many wrestlers with big beards. And while we are at it, too many wrestlers do the suicide dive. It's as common as a dropkick. And just as I am typing that, Hanson does one. Now a splash off the top rope. That is something I can get behind from Hanson. Roderick Strong with a SUPERPLEX to Hanson. Wow. O'Reilly with a knee off the top rope and that's still not enough. Roddy with an Olympic Slam. Somebody ate his Wheaties today. Hanson kicks out of the High Low. War Raiders then with some awesome double team power moves and they are now the NEW NXT Tag Team Champions. Could this mean we are getting some Undisputed Era on Raw or Smackdown?
Match Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)
We get a Royal Rumble hype video that is claiming 40,000 fans will be there. Reports have it in the 25,000-30,000 range. We shall see.
Pete Dunne and Toni Storm are shown in the crowd.
Really good hype video for the next match. This is a feud that makes sense to the audience and has been well built.
Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno
I haven't been 100% sold on Riddle, at least in regards to the amount of hype he has garnered. Ironically enough, I kind have always been that way with Ohno. I am looking forward to this one though. Not surprisingly, this is off to a hard hitting start. Riddle already has a busted lip. Ohno does something I have always wondered why other wrestlers haven't done to barefoot opponents. He stomps on Riddle's foot and won't let go. So simple, so effective. Now he is biting his toes. Riddle fights back after kicking out of an Ohno moonsault. Riddle is straight up dishing it out and Ohno taps while getting absolutely destroyed by elbow strikes after taking a sick looking suplex. This was the perfect card for this match to be on, as it provided a different type of match.
Match Rating: ***
WWE now is reminding you to make sure you have WWE Network as you are watching the WWE Network.
Velveteen Dream arrives to the arena with a lady on both arm. They hype that he is part of Worlds Collide.
Another well done hype video for what has the potential to be match of the year.
North American Championship Match
Ricochet vs. Johnny Gargano
Both of these guys would be among my first picks if I were starting my own promotion. I'm not sure how Ricochet isn't a huge star once he is forced to be on Raw or Smackdown. The crowd seems to be split as evenly as possible. Great opening sequence to set the tone that Gargano is the better mat wrestler. I don't watch New Japan (or most other non-WWE organizations), so I often will come across as biased, but there can't be many better wrestlers in the world than these two. Ricochet's moonsault is so effortless, that it almost makes me think I could do one. Gargano's tights are excellent tonight, by the way. Gargano does a hurricanrana off the top rope and Ricochet lands on his feet. These guys are cooking now. Ricochet is going with every high flying move he can pull off and it still hasn't been enough. Gargano nearly kicks his head off, but Ricochet falls outside the ring. Ricochet catches Gargano off a suicide dive, but then Gargano reverses that with a reverse hurricanrana. Which then leads to a spike DDT and it's still not enough. Standing ovation for both competitors. Gargano goes for a call back to his feud with Tommaso Ciampa and rolls up the mat outside the ring. He debates doing a DDT and chooses not to. Ricochet puts Gargano in the Gargano Escape, but Gargano...escapes. Gargano then goes ahead with a suplex onto the exposed concrete. Gargano then hits a sick looking spike DDT and gets the 1-2-3. 2 title matches, 2 new champions. Absolutely incredible match.
Match Rating: ****3/4
NXT Womens Championship Match
Shayna Baszler vs. Bianca Belair
Both competitors have unique looks, which I respect. Baszler for me has been sort of inconsistent, but she is great at her role and looks the part. Baszler pretty much dominating the entire beginning of the match and is going to work on Belair's arm. The announcers are selling Belair's inexperience. Baszler is just bullying Belair until she uses her hair as a weapon. The referee is down and they play tug of war with Belair's hair. Belair has Baszler pinned, but the ref is still down. Belair is freaking out and beginning to cry. Baszler's henchwomen are coming down, but Belair fights them off. Belair misses a 450 splash and Baszler gets the win by submission with a Kirifuda Clutch. Pretty good match, but Belair can definitely use some more training.
Match Rating: **1/2
Velveteen Dream has now made his way to ringside in the audience.
NXT Championship Match
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black
Interesting that the War Raiders were the only ones to get the special entrance. I kind of wish that Ciampa would have kept the no entrance music gimmick going. I am shocked that Black is still in NXT. He seems to me like he would be a Vince guy. Some hard hitting action to start and now Ciampa goes to work on Black's leg. The crowd is surprisingly quiet. Black isn't as over as a guy like Gargano, but he typically gets a better reaction than he is receiving tonight. One thing that NXT usually gets right is that when someone works a boy part, it usually pays off. Ciampa hits Black with a Tower of London on the hardest part of the ring and it's not enough. The crowd is starting to wake up a little. Black kicks out of Fairy Tale Ending. Another trend in all of wrestling, not just NXT and WWE, is everyone kicking out of everyone's finisher. Just happens way too often. Now Ciampa is exposing the concrete outside the ring. Ciampa gets distracted by the ref and Black is able to capitalize with a flying double knee. Black then hits Black Mass, but there is no cover as Ciampa turns to his chest before Black can get there. Nice heel move there. Fantastic sequence that leads to another Fairy Tale Ending and it still isn't enough. Ciampa hits it for a third time, picks him back up to go for a fourth time and hits it after a brief reversal. Ciampa is your winner and still NXT Champion.
Match Rating: ***1/2
After a long celebration, Gargano joins Ciampa by the entrance. They both raise their respective titles in unison. Team DIY is back.
Another really good show, even if it didn't quite live up to my expectations. NXT continues to deliver classic shows every time they are given the opportunity. It will be interesting to see how many of the competitors on this show will no longer be on the NXT roster come WrestleMania time. If for some reason you don't want to watch the entire show, you absolutely need to see Ricochet vs. Gargano, as that was among one of the best WWE matches of the decade.
Overall Rating: 86%
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