5 Things WWE NXT got right this week (December 16, 2020)
WWE NXT had a few major segments and matches scheduled for this week after Karrion Kross and Finn Balor made their in-ring future clear last week. Kyle O’Reilly and Pete Dunne were scheduled to meet in one of the biggest matches of the night to determine Balor’s challenger for NXT New Year’s Evil.
After he attacked Damian Priest during last week’s episode of NXT, Kross was also scheduled to return to action on this week’s episode of the show. Kross easily defeated his opponent, and he also delivered a warning to his next opponent.
Shotzi Blackheart competed against Indi Hartwell, while Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory teamed up to compete against Leon Ruff and KUSHIDA.
Tyler Rust got a chance to shine against former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa on a show where Bronson Reed was announced to make his much-awaited return next week.
Finally, Dexter Lumis received a compelling role for NXT New Year’s Evil, and it will be interesting to see how he handles it.
It was certainly an eventful episode of WWE NXT, so let's take a look at the five things the show got right this week.
#5 Austin Theory and KUSHIDA impress on WWE NXT
Damian Priest was taken out by Karrion Kross last week, leaving Leon Ruff without a partner for his tag team match against Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory. But KUSHIDA immediately stepped up by offering to team with the former WWE NXT North American Champion.
Ruff tried to get the better of Theory early in the contest, but Gargano managed to take him out with ease. He isolated the former NXT North American Champion and tried to keep KUSHIDA out of the match.
However, a hot tag allowed KUSHIDA to get into the match and take his opponents down. He was red-hot, and he kept keep Theory and Gargano down for some time. But Ruff made the rookie mistake of tagging himself back into the contest, do he suffered a beating from the two heels.
"The Rebel Heart" took KUSHIDA off the apron, and Theory hit a ew finisher on Ruff to pick up the victory for his team. Theory and KUSHIDA were the two bright stars in the match, and their performances made the match stand out.
Ruff will likely go back to his role as an enhancement talent, but we will hopefully watch Kushida progress to the NXT North American Championship picture sooner rather than later.