Below, we have the NXT results from the Tuesday, January 18th show, along with highlights and headlines coming from tonight.
NXT Results, highlights and headlines from last week’s show
WWE NXT Results 1/18
LA Knight Promo: Not even a restraining order will keep him away from Grayson Waller
Grayson Waller def. Dexter Lumis with help from his “insurance policy”
WALTER and Roderick Strong collide backstage to set up main event
The Creed Brothers def. Briggs & Jensen
Dante Chen Promo: He’s back from injury, and is fighting in honor of his dad who passed away
Dante Chen def. Guru Raaj via DQ, attacked by Duke Hudson
Joe Gacy and Harland Promo: They are disappointed about missing the Dusty Classic, and attack an injured Odyssey Jones backstage
Bron Breakker Promo: He understands the responsibility of being champion, and is ready to fight Santos Escobar
Tony D’Angelo holds a funeral for Pete Dunne, calls out Carmelo Hayes for the North American the Championship, and is interrupted by Cameron Grimes
Briggs & Jensen Promo: They get over their loss fast, and have a hard time telling women how they feel
Ivy Nile def. Kay Lee Ray. Toxic Attraction attacks Ray after the bell
Edris Enolfe & Malik Blade def. Legado Del Phantasma
Malcom Bivens Promo: Diamond Mine is 2-0 so far, and Roderick Strong will make it a hattrick against WALTER
Dakota Kai def. Yulisa Leon
WALTER def. Roddy Strong. Diamond Mine and Imperium brawl to close the show
NXT Highlights From 1/18
LA Knight is RAW Ready
The opening promo of the night is worth watching if just to see how over LA Knight is with the crowd. All the more astounding, since he is one of the most natural heels in the business, but the crowd loves this guy and his face turn has gone much better than it seemed it could from the on-set. His feud with Grayson Waller has been building for months now, and with Waller adding a restraining order tonight, it only seemed to escalate. But the big takeaway here is Knight is not long for NXT it seems. His promos are too consistent, and he has the wacky, but big personality that works on the main roster, especially now that he’s shown his gimmick works as a heel or as a face. My money is on one more match with Waller before going up to RAW or Smackdown after the Royal Rumble.
So, while he is in NXT, let’s enjoy just how much this crowd loves LA Knight, and that’s just a fact of life.
How Can You Not Love Dante Chen?
A simple promo from Dante Chen really stole the show. Chen debuted on the first NXT 2.0 with a ton of fanfare surrounding him, as the first Singapore-Born WWE star. But after a leg injury, Chen has been missing since. Tonight, Chen returned to the ring not only recovered from injury, but also mourning the loss of his father. He gave an impassioned speech about how his father will always be watching his matches now, and I got to say my heart goes out to him. He went from someone we had all forgotten about to someone I want to see succeed at the highest level. Chen was attacked by Duke Hudson, and this sets up a nice first feud for him.
WALTER and Roddy Strong Give Us a Classic
Why the heck we got a random barn burner between Strong and WALTER is beyond me, but this match is good enough to be the best match on any show. WALTER’s brute strength versus the stamina and technique of Strong is a fantastic combination. We saw chops that popped the crowd each time WALTER got them to land, and the comeback spots from Strong were always impactful. A superplex off the top rope by Strong had the crowd standing, and that was only halfway through this one.
NXT used to give us matches that felt like this more often, dream matches there for simply the quality of it. And if we get to see more matches like this going forward, with Diamond Mine and Imperium brawling after WALTER got the win, then we could get into must-watch territory very quickly. It might be the best TV match you see on any show all year. You have to give it a look.
NXT Lowlights From 1/18
Briggs & Jensen Have a Good Match, Then Go Back to High School
I almost put the tag match of Briggs & Jensen vs the Creed Brothers in highlights, but this post-match segment was just so dumb. First, we get a very cheesy line from Briggs about how every defeat just gives purpose, then things go off the rails. Kacy and Kayden come in to flirt with the boys, who are immediately distracted. Then, we get accusations that Jensen likes Kayden and he goes into the middle school explanation of how he likes Kayden, but doesn’t “like-like” her.
Then, everyone leaves and they go to party, and I’m left asking what the hell just happened. We had a chance to make this seem like Briggs & Jensen had a loss that could define them and give them purpose, but no, they don’t care about the match. They care about pretending not to like girls even when they go out with them. This just missed the mark so bad, and is as bad an example of WWE not understanding what an acts needs as we’ve seen in a while on NXT.
WWE Headlines
All roads in WWE lead to the Royal Rumble this week. There are several rumored winners for both the men’s and women’s matches, making this year more unpredictable than most. Rumors now suggest favorites for the men’s rumble could be Big E, Brock Lesnar and Kevin Owens. Meanwhile, for the women’s rumble, Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks are the heavy favorites while Liv Morgan or a returning Bayley would be the dark horses here.
All things considered, it could be an awesome Rumble.
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