NXT Results: Top Champion interferes in Women's Dusty Rhodes Classic Match; Balor confronts Undisputed Era
With the Men's Dusty Cup in full swing, NXT kicked off another tournament this week. The first-ever NXT Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic began this week as well.
The Fight Pit was supposed to take place on NXT New Year's Evil two weeks ago, but a slight injury to Timothy Thatcher placed him on the shelf for half a month. Now, he finally has the chance to even the score with the former NXT Champion. Will Tommaso Ciampa beat him again, or will the Thatch-as-Thatch-Can instructor emerge 2-0 inside Fight Pit?
Beth Phoenix is back ringside at the commentary booth, joining Wade Barrett and Vic Joseph in person as we kicked off NXT. We started the night with a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic match, pitting The Way against Kushida and Leon Ruff.
NXT Dusty Rhodes Classic Opening Round: Kushida and Leon Ruff vs The Way
Austin Theory and Leon Ruff started the match, with The Unproven One managing to keep track of Ruff for quite some time. However, after escaping a torture rack and avoiding a dropkick, Ruff managed to respond with one of his own, rocking Theory. Kushida tagged in, and he and Ruff hit tandem penalty kicks on Theory's arms.
Kushida continued to focus on the arms, hitting a modified armbreaker on the mat. Theory struggled to get out of the middle of the ring, reaching for Johnny Gargano while Kushida tried to twist his limb out of the socket. Eventually, Theory got to his feet and bowed Kushida in the face, enabling him to tag in the NXT North American Champion.
Kushida and Gargano traded strikes, with a back elbow from Johnny really disorienting the Japanese star. Theory tagged back in for a slingshot rolling dropkick. The Way took turns battering the Time Splitter, hoping to eliminate their opponents from this NXT Dusty Classic.
Kushida managed to escape Theory's grasp and tagged in the former NXT NA Champ. Leon Ruff pelted Theory with a series of kicks and set him up in the corner for a monkey flip. Theory ducked it and caught him diving for a torture rack blue thunder bomb. Ruff barely kicked out.
Theory kept up the punishment, bashing Ruff's face-off of Gargano's feet. The Way tortured him, all the while cutting the ring in half to keep Kushida on the sidelines. An enziguri dropped Theory, but Gargano yanked Kushida off the apron to stop the tag.
A kneeling backbreaker/rolling neck breaker combination dropped Ruff for a two-count. Mr. NXT and Austin Theory seemed to have total control. Ruff fought out of a powerbomb, though, and baited a counter from Theory. After that, a springboard cutter planted Theory. Kushida and Gargano tagged in, with Kushida taking Gargano right to the mat.
Theory tried to pull him off and paid for his interference with kicks and a handspring back elbow. A handspring double kick sent Gargano to the floor, and a tornado DDT spiked him.
Back in the ring, Kushida locked in the cross armbreaker. The second it was synched in, though, Theory broke it. Gargano followed up with an enziguri to stun Kushida. A fisherman brainbuster and superkick combination earned Theory another two-count.
Ruff took Theory to the ground, leaving Gargano and Kushida to battle it out. The Hoverboard Lock was blocked, but Gargano was hit with the snapmare/dropkick combo and a double underhook suplex, getting a surprising pin on Johnny Gargano.
Results: Kushida and Leon Ruff defeated The Way via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: B+
Kushida just picked up a pinfall victory over the NXT North American Champion, his second in recent memory.