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Kevin’s WWE NXT Review 1.27.21

January 27, 2021 | Posted by Kevin Pantoja
WWE NXT 1-27-21
7.5
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Kevin’s WWE NXT Review 1.27.21  

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: Drake Maverick and Killian Dain vs. MSK

Ah, so I thought last week was the quarterfinals. Oh well. They get off to a fast start and MSK shows off some tandem offense to start. Dain and Drake return the favor as Dain slams Drake onto Carter and they hit a sandwich kick combo for two. Lee gets isolated during a commercial break, with Dain handling most of the offense. Drake cuts off the tag and kicks Carter’s hand away. That opens up Lee to flip him over and make the tag. Carter gets going, lighting up Drake with quick offense and kicks. He dropkicks Dain off the apron and tags Lee for the shove moonsault spot. Dain breaks up the pin. Carter wipes out Dain with a moonsault outside and Drake rolls up Lee for two. Carter gets tagged back in for the Hart Attack Blockbuster on Drake that ends it.

Winners: MSK in 11:05 [Good tag match to start the show. MSK looked very good again. ***]

MSK meets the winners of Lucha House Party vs. Legado del Fantasma.

A vignette airs to hype Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez vs. Aliyah and Jessi Kamea.

McKenzie Mitchell has a sitdown interview with Curt Stallion earlier today. It’s a generic promo where he talks about winning the NXT Cruiserweight Title, which he has a shot at tonight.

Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: Aliyah and Jessi Kamea vs. Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez

Right off the bat, Raquel uses her power to overwhelm her opponents. Kai runs into trouble when Kamea body slams her and hits a springboard elbow for a near fall. Aliyah gets teh tag and sends Kai outside with a boot. She misses a baseball slide and Kai pump kicks her to the floor. Tag to Raquel to wail on Aliyah. They use quick tags to keep the pressure on Aliyah. Raquel uses a one-handed hip toss and then slams Dakota onto Aliyah in a double stomp that only gets two somehow. Aliyah finally makes the tag but Kamea runs right into Raquel, who lays er out. One-handed powerbomb wraps this up.

Winners: Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez in 5:58 [Mostly a showcase for Dakota and Raquel and it worked in that fashion. **1/4]

They meet Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro next week.

The Way is interviewed. Candice and Indi plan on winning the cup. When KUSHIDA and a North American Title shot is brought up, Johnny leaves because he doesn’t want to say his name. It’s like a curse. Of course, Austin Theory says it a few times.

Scarlett Bordeaux reads some lines from  book that ends with “fall and prey.”

We get a preview of Tegan Nox doing a YouTube training workout with Brie Larson. Anyone who is a fan of Tegan knows how cool this is because she loves Captain Marvel.

Jobber vs. Tyler Rust

The opponent was chosen by Malcolm Bivens. We get a pre-taped promo where he says that last week was a minor blip. Rust gets arm dragged but avoids a second and is back on the offensive. Rust puts the focus on the arm, wrenching and twisting at it. He even lifts the jobber off the mat with it and then torques it as he slams it down. The other guy fights back and even applies a guillotine. Rust gets out and wins with a Rings of Saturn looking submission.

Winner: Tyler Rust in 3:58 [NR]

Finn Balor is interviewed about the main event. Kyle O’Reilly immediately interrupts and they have a staredown. Kyle asks if he’s ready and Finn says he always is. Kyle wants to know if he can trust him. Finn asks, “What do you think?” Kyle just wants them on the same page and they’ll see each other out there.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: Grizzled Young Veterans vs. KUSHIDA and Leon Ruff

KUSHIDA starts with Gibson and fires off chops. Gibson promised before the match that they wouldn’t overlook two singles competitors together like last year. They cut the ring in half as they work over KUSHIDA. He fights free and hits a tandem armbreaker with Ruff. They add a shinbreaker and stereo dropkicks. Drake is now being isolated but divorce courts Ruff’s arm and sends KUSHDA off the apron. Tags are made and Ruff nails Gibson with a leaping cutter or a near fall going into commercial.  Returning, Ruff is now playing the face in peril as GYV dominate him. They hit their elbow/backbreaker combo on the outside. They cut the tag off but Ruff makes it. KUSHIDA comes in with several forearms and the hip toss/cartwheel/dropkick series. KUSHIDA escapes a suplex and locks in an octopus stretch. KUSHIDA survives a Doomsday Device and then escapes Ticket to Mayhem. Now he’s stopped from tagging until he hits a handspring elbow. Tag to Ruff who comes off the top with a missile dropkick. Tope suicida for Drake and then a somersault onto Gibson. Ruff is knocked off the top by Drake and eventually falls to Ticket to Mayhem.

Winners: Grizzled Young Veterans in 13:16 [That was really good and showed that KUSHIDA/Ruff is actually a good duo. ***1/4]

Post-match, The Way hit the ring and jump the losers. As Johnny hits KUSHIDA with One Final Beat, Theory forces Ruff to watch. However, Dexter Lumis appears behind Theory and scares him off by staring them down.

Backstage, Curt Stallion is shown hurt with officials around him. He blames Legado when Wiliam Regal comes over.

William Regal confronts Legado, who deny doing anything. Regal says the title match will happen next week and if Curt is attacked again mysteriously, there will be consequences. Santos smirks and they go to leave but they find a card under the Cruiserweight Title and all three are worried about it for a bit before leaving for happy hour.

Toni Storm hits the ring and wants a microphone. She is furious that Io Shirai keeps getting involved in her business. She took away Toni winning the first Women’s Dusty Cup and she wants to take the Women’s Title from her. Io Shirai interrupts and joins her in the ring. She says she’ll fight Toni anywhere and she has made it clear that she doesn’t like her. Toni attacks and they trade blows and Io sends her packing. Mercedes Martinez shows up to jump her from behind but Io fights her off. Toni cuts off a moonsault and pulls Martinez out, only to attack her as well. Toni hits a trio of hip attacks on Io and poses with the title.

An Imperium vignette airs.

Roderick Strong and Adam Cole are interviewed about facing Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher next week. Cole says they know Ciampa well and if next week is like Fight Pit, they know it’ll be tough. They’re used to having their hands full and they’re tougher and more experienced as a team.

Bronson Reed vs. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott

Scott impressively lands on his feet when Reed dumps him outside. Scott fights back and hits a pump kick off the apron. His next kick is caught and Reed trips him up for a nasty landing on the apron. Reed nails a tope suicida going into commercial. Returning, it looks like Swerve has the advantage after sending Reed shoulder first into the ring post. Reed fights back with a body avalanche, senton, and Death Valley Driver for two. They fight up top where Swerve goes after the damaged arm with an avalanche single arm DDT. He adds a 450 splash for two. Swerve talks smack, so Reed shuts him up with a headbutt. He adds a clothesline and the Tsunami to win.

Winner: Bronson Reed in 9:21 [A quality match that picked up down the stretch. ***]

Tommaso Ciampa cuts a promo in the back saying you win fights, lose some, but you remember the ones that command respect. Thatcher sits next to him and says the Fight Pit changes a man. Out of anguish and struggle, respect grows. Ciampa says the Dusty Cup represents opportunity and he promises it’ll be a war with Undisputed Era next week.

Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan vs. Finn Bálor and Kyle O’Reilly

The teams trade stuff early, with the focal point being that Kyle and Finn are working well together. There’s no animosity or issues like that. They even use quick tags to work over Burch’s arm. They send the champions packing heading into a break. Returning, Finn is in trouble as the face in peril. The champs work double team moves and quick tags to take him out. That includes a Russian leg sweep and back suplex combo. Oney works the arm for a bit. Finn busts out the Pele kick to get an opening to tag in Kyle. Finn gets stopped but hits a Slingblade and finds another opening. They both make the tag and Kyle comes in with boots and kicks. He lights up Burch with strikes and sweeps him up. Burch blocks and hits the jaw but leaps off the middle rope into a kneebar and taps out.

WInners: Finn Bálor and Kyle O’Reilly in 11:57 [I dug that main event but it was hurt by the commercial break and the finish seemed abrupt. ***1/4]

Post-match, Kyle and Finn come face to face. Kyle is pulled out of the ring as Pete Dunne sneaks in from the other side. They attack Finn. Kyle tries to make the save but the numbers game is too much. They stomp on Finn and Dunne goes to snap the fingers but out come the other Undisputed Era boys. Dunne shrugs and snaps away before they hit the ring. Finn stands with Undisputed for a short while before exiting the ring.

7.5
The final score: review Good
The 411
As usual, NXT delivers a very good episode of TV. No MOTY candidates or anything like that but several good matches, angle advancement, and an easy watch.
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WWE NXT, Kevin Pantoja