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Credit: WWE.com
While AEW celebrated the new year this week, NXT kicked off the 2021 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic on Wednesday’s show.
The tournament features new and existing teams that will take part in matches over the next few weeks before the last two teams fight for the coveted trophy.
Adam Cole and Roderick Strong of The Undisputed Era battled Breezango while The Grizzled Young Veterans battled Ever-Rise.
We also saw NXT’s best couple in action when Candice LeRae faced Shotzi Blackheart and Johnny Gargano fought Dexter Lumis.
Let’s take a look at everything that happened in this week’s show.
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NXT wasted no time in getting to the action. Once the opening video was over, LeRae and Blackheart came out for the opening match.
They immediately started using a fast pace and leveled with each other until Blackheart LeRae took off in a short-arm scissors presentation.
Indi Hartwell cheered LeRae from the sidelines as she started fighting back. They pull the fight out of the ring, and Blackheart knocks a jumping knee off the steel stairs. A Hartwell diversion allows The Poison Pixie to take control.
They exchanged the lead a few times, but no contestant was able to put the other one away until LeRae hit a swinging neckbreaker from the middle turn for the pin. Hartwell gave another distraction to give her the win.
Grade: B
Analysis
Blackheart and LeRae are both known as risk takers, so it was no surprise when they started flying around the ring to take each other out.
Even with a small crowd attending, you could tell the fans loved Blackheart. LeRae played a good heel, but it was the girl with the green hair who stood out most of the game.
Hartwell did well in his role as LeRae’s supervisor at ringside, but it’s nice to get a few more segments that can get to know her character better.
Overall, it was a great way to start 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 tackling The Grizzled Young Veterans.
Zack Gibson immediately takes control and brings in James Drake to keep up the pressure. Chase Parker jerks Drake by his hair to turn the tables. Gibson had to calm Drake down so he would not get the team disqualified.
Gibson came in and slapped Matt Martel on the apron before turning his attention to Parker. The GYV spent Parker the next few minutes placing the wringer.
Martel finally got the hot label and chased both opponents with a flurry of attacks. Both teams took part in a series of double-team moves that led to Gibson and Drake beating their coach for the win.
Grade: B-
Analysis
It was a quick game with a solid team wrestling, but the last few minutes went on a little too much at once.
A few spots in a row are fine, but once the referee steps aside and leaves everyone in the ring just as much as they want, it gets too chaotic.
Other than that, it was a fun fight. The Grizzled Young Veterans remain impressed with each outing, but Ever-Rise can tune in a bit fine.
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After a quick promotion from Blackheart and Ember Moon that impressed their upcoming appearance in the Dusty Rhodes Cup, Lumis and Gargano took up the fight.
Gargano’s North American Championship was not at stake, but he still had Austin Theory on the ring to give him some backing. Gargano tears up one of Lumis’ drawings, and the Tortured Artist takes it down with ease.
He chased Gargano out of the ring, but Johnny Wrestling was still able to hit a kick in the face. They fought on the top rope until Lumis knocked him down. Gargano avoided a senton bomb as the show went to a breather.
Lumis starts to return and opens some tight right hands. It looked like he had the game well in hand, but a distraction from Theory led Gargano Lumis to set up for the win.
Gargano and Theory tried to attack Lumis after the game, but Kushida ran down to save. Kushida has made it clear that he is coming for the North American Championship.
Grade: B-
Analysis
Lumis is one of the most unique talents in all of NXT, but management may not yet know how he wants to use it. Clearly, WWE wants to push him, but it does not want to rush into it so he can determine his character.
Both of these superstars have incredible talent, but it felt like they were holding back a bit in this game. We saw how many wrestlers saved their best ideas for PPV matches, but it was much clearer than usual in this match.
This match was good, but it never felt like it reached the level these two could reach. It is difficult to determine exactly what is missing. It just got a little short. It should have been the game of the night, but will not stand out in the end.
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The new brand team made its debut this week when MSK Jake Atlas and Isaiah Scott took on each other in another first-round match in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Atlas started against Nash Carter. They had a nice exchange of scores and counters which led to Atlas getting a double score.
Swerve signed in and Carter brought in Wes Lee. After a moment, Scott and Atlas selected the rookie for a doubles team combination. Scott and Atlas used some dirty tactics, and it led to a huge fight with all four men.
We returned from a break to see Carter Scott holding a body disk. They both made the label and Lee went on a rampage. Both teams came close, but it was MSK who finally came out on top to advance to the tournament.
Grade: C +
Analysis
It was again a game that progressed rapidly with a lot of energy, but the debut of MSK, formerly known as The Rascalz, made it a little more interesting.
WWE did not spend much time on the arrival of the group, but it recently teased with a bit of a graphic version. Debuting as part of this tournament was an interesting decision, because if MSK does not win, it means he will lose one of his first matches in NXT.
Atlas and Scott worked well together, but they would never become a permanent team, so it’s best to be eliminated early. They made MSK look good.
The only major complaint with this match was a lack of pace. It felt like they were just moving from one place to the next without taking the right time to sell something. It might have had more to do with the fact that they wanted to pack as much as possible into the game, but sometimes less is more.
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After returning with a decisive victory last week, Xia Li was back this week to fight another worker. She strikes one right hand and makes a turn to achieve the victory. She suffered a bit more punishment after the match was over.
Grade: B
Analysis
As a match it was not much. As a way to make Li look unstoppable, it was amazing. Grading two strikes and an attack after the game is almost impossible, and this grade is based on how well this segment worked.
Li has a presence about her that sets her apart from everyone else on the rankings. If WWE discusses her like that, it won’t be long before she has a title recording.
The entrance, music, appearance and attitude change suits her well. It will be interesting to see if Boa achieves the same success if he starts wrestling more often.
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The main event was Tyler Breeze and Fandango who challenged Cole and Strong from The Undisputed Era in the third Dusty Classic series of the night. Kyle O’Reilly accompanied his teammates despite not being cleared by medics.
Breeze and Cole came to a halt after their first exchange and shook their hand as a token of respect before closing again. They both marked their partners so that Strong and Fandango could square.
We returned from a breather to see Breezango Cole dominate with some standard tactics for the team. The leader of the UE brought in The Master of the Backbreaker to do what he does best.
Strong unleashed an avalanche of offenses against both men. After Cole recovers, Strong marks him for a double-span move to almost fall. Breeze turned the tables and marked Fandango to start a series that took out all four men in different ways.
Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch drop KOR on the side of the ring until Finn Balor tries to save. Pat McAfee’s friends took them out, but Cole overcame the distraction of hitting a superkick to Breeze for the win.
Grade: A-
Analysis
As expected, it was the best match of the evening. The chemistry between all four men in the ring was not on the rankings and they used it to deliver a memorable performance.
The high scores on the sidelines were the third time a game ended this week with interference, but out of the three, this one made the best from a storyline perspective. WWE has effectively addressed three different feuds simultaneously.
This match was an excellent example of how good Breeze and Fandango are. They make everything look easy and always elevate their opponents. It was the best possible way to end the week’s show.