Adam Cole vs Finn Balor-NXT Championship
You know it’s gonna be a great match when Finn Balor comes out with “Prince” on his graphics. That’s pretty much as close as we’re going to get to WWE acknowledging the existence of Prince Devitt but it was still so cool to see! This match was fire from start to finish. And the Johnny Gargano distraction (and subsequent chair beatdown) was a fantastic booking choice. Now we get more of their feud while also continuing with Adam Cole’s title reign.
Winner: Adam Cole
Grade: A
Damian Priest vs Killian Dain
The match ran a little long for me, but overall it was good. They played off their clash at Takeover and sold Damian Priest’s rib injury well. Sometimes I forget just how well Dain can move for such a big dude.
Winner: Damian Priest
Grade: B+
Cameron Grimes vs Kushida
It seems the newness and the hype has died down a bit for Kushida, which is a shame. I feel like he’s capable of doing a lot more but maybe it’s because I’ve seen other stuff of his. However, this match was quite good and now the feud is even and ready to continue.
Winner: Cameron Grimes
Grade: B
Io Shirai vs Santana Garret
This was a decent match; we’ve definitely seen much better out of the women’s division. Also, Garret looked a million times better than she did with Taynara Conti. Let’s consider this her debut match and erase that other one from our minds.
Winner: Io Shirai
Grade: C
Travis Banks vs Pete Dunne
This was a fantastic preview match for the upcoming Worlds Collide tournament! I feel like Dunne and Banks have styles that complement each other and keep the audience engaged throughout the match. I hope that we get to see this match again during the actual tournament. Also Travis Banks gets an extra point because he was so nice to me at this year’s World Collide tournament!
Winner: Pete Dunne
Grade: B+
Dakota Kai interview
I haven’t really bought Kai as a heel so far but at least she gave this interview with confidence. Something needs to click for her though so this heel turn can really work.
Not Graded
Shayna Baszler vs Rhea Ripley-NXT Women’s Championship
I have to say…I was absolutely speechless after this match. This was amazing and everything a championship match should be. All the stars aligned for this moment: Baszler as a cocky and easily hateable heel, Ripley as the top babyface, the War Games match, and Survivor Series. This was absolutely match of the night! I have to give credit to Baszler too for making herself seem like such a monster. She’s probably on her way up to the main roster, though I wouldn’t mind a rematch feud for the title. I wish I could’ve been there for Ripley’s mosh pit celebration!
Winner: Rhea Ripley
Grade: A+
Final Thoughts
NXT brought their A-game to last night’s episode! We had a championship match open the show and one close the show and both absolutely killed it. Now that there’s a couple of weeks to think about, moving to television has definitely elevated NXT as a brand.
Overall Grade: A
