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Here's a place to check results and comment along with the newest episode of WWE NXT, airing live in its regular Wednesday night at 8PM Eastern time slot on USA Network.
Check out our Wednesday morning preview post to get caught up on what's been happening, and what we expect this week.
Advertised for tonight: Two highly anticipated title matches as Finn Bálor challenges Adam Cole for the NXT championship, and NXT Women’s champ Shayna Baszler defends against Rhea Ripley!
Come right back here at 8 p.m. ET when the NXT live blog kicks off once the show starts on USA. It will be below this line here. (REMINDER: NO GIFS OR PICS ARE ALLOWED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. OFFENDERS WILL BE BANNED.)
Enjoy the show!
WWE NXT RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR DEC. 18
We kick off a big night with a recap of what brought us here. Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, and Beth Phoenix bring us in as the challenger enters for the men’s title match.
Finn Balor vs. Adam Cole
After the usual spotlight big fight intros, they circle at the bell and Balor gets the first takedown to start the technical wrestling portion of the match. Loud dueling chants from Full Sail. Both men try for big moves early, but can’t land them. Finn gets the first cover after hitting a basement drop kick. He’s in the driver’s seat until Cole counters a PK with a superkick from the floor. He throws Balor into the barricade, then gets a two count off a neckbreaker. The champ focuses on the knee he hit with the superkick, and Finn’s neck, while working the heat.
Balor gets back into it by getting his boots up on a corner charge. He gets a quick cover after Sling Blade, then lays in some chops. Cole slips out of gutwrench to hit a backstabber, setting up a string of big moves. Another Sling Blade comes from Finn, but the champ counters the follow-up with a superkick for two. Big striking exchange ends with two front kicks from Cole and a Pele kick response from Finn. Cole falls on top of Balor for a nearfall.
Both men are slow to their feet. Cole goes for Panama Sunrise. Balor counters into a 1916 set-up, but it’s the champ who finally hits an ushigoroshi for two. The challenger responds with a stomp, then blasts Cole back into the corner with a drop kick and heads up top for a Coup de Gras. Cole counters with a superkick that sends Balor to the floor, and could win by countout, but chooses to break the count. He goes for a Panama Sunrise on the floor, but Balor counters, then drop kicks him into the barricade. Coup de Gras misses, and Cole hits Last Shot. One, two... No!
The champ sets up for another Last Shot with the knee pad down, but Balor slides free to nail him with a clothesline. Drop kick to the corner, up top and Coup de Gras hits! Finn wants 1916, but his eye drifts to the ram. It’s Johnny Gargano!
Cole takes the moment to deliver a low blow, then hits Last Shot again to keep his belt.
Adam Cole def. Finn Balor via pinfall
Cole exits, and Gargano stalks his way to the ring as Balor recovers. Johnny grabs a chair and heads into the ring. He lights Finn up with it, sending him scampering into the crowd. Gargano checks the spot at the base of the ramp where Balor injured him with 1916, then leaves.
We see footage of Rhea Ripley and Shayna Baszler arriving for their title match, and get a look back at the issues between Damian Priest, Pete Dunne & Killian Dain. Priest and Dain are up now!
Damian Priest vs. Killian Dain
The big men start brawling as soon as they can. Priest gets the early advantage, but it doesn’t take long for Dain to gain control by targeting the Archer of Infamy’s injured ribs. Those attacks lead up to Killian sending Priest to the floor with a drop kick & baseball slide targeting the rib area, then he rips the k-tape Damian has applied to them off.
That gets a nearfall, and more abuse. Priest tries to power back, but can’t get his opponent up for a suplex and is then incapacitated by a gutbuster. A senton to the back gets two. Fisherman’s suplex gets another. A drop kick sends us to our first commercial. It’s of the picture-in-picture variety so we can watch Damian get his ass (or ribs) kicked some more. He has managed to get a little offense when we return, nailing a flatliner. He drops Dain with a leaping back elbow, and again with a lariat. His injuries thwart him again when he goes for a suplex, but he “hulks up” to finally hit it.
Priest then heads up top, but Dain rolls out. Springboard Tope con Giro, then back in the ring, he hits the big Irishman with South of Heaven. One, two, no! Killian escapes from the follow-up, then his comeback gets two off a drop elbow to the mid-section. A slam and senton leaves Priest in the corner, but he gets his knees up on the Vader Bomb. He’s up quickly to hit The Reckoning.
Damian Priest def. Killian Dain by pinfall
The announcers run down some of the categories in the year-end awards, and we see Cameron Grimes & Kushida warming up for their match... which is next!
We learn the Dusty Rhodes Classic will return in 2020, and the teams will be revealed on the Jan. 1 show.
Kushida vs. Cameron Grimes
The Time Splitter is still wearing Grimes’ hat, which clearly upsets the Hardy trainee. Kushida’s speed gives him an advantage in the early going, almost getting an armbar, then getting a creative shoulder submission that he snaps off for maximum torture. Kushida continues to stretch and strike Grimes as we go PiP for some ads.
On the small screen, the North Carolinian gets the advantage and targets Kushida’s back. That continues until Kushida strikes his way free and hits a springboard back elbow. A flurry gets him an armbar, but Grimes is able to roll to get a foot on the ropes. Kushida kicks Cameron’s arm, then goes for the hoverboard lock, but that’s countered into a vicious looking titl-a-whirl side slam. Another sequence somehow leads to a German suplex from Grimes that gets two. He tries to follow-up with the Cave-In, but Kushida grabs the ropes to stop his momentum. He bumps Grimes to the floor, then follows with a big moonsault. He connects, but lands hard.
Back in, Grimes climbs. Kushida catches up and goes for the hoverboard lock. That’s fought off, so Kushida flips him down into a pinning predicament that gets 2.999! The next sequence involves a couple counters, but it’s Grimes who ends up hitting his double stomp out of nowhere for the win.
Cameron Grimes def. Kushida by pinfall
The Breakout Tournament runner-up claims his hat and heads up the ramp. We see Ripley warming up, and get a quick video for Io Shirai. She’s in action next. After a commercial, we get a Tale of the Tape for the Women’s title match, then it’s Io’s dope entrance.
Io Shirai vs. Santana Garrett
Things are equal early, and it’s actually Garrett who controls the action early. She gets the first cover, and is getting much love from the announcers when Io catches her in the ropes and follows up with a flapjack. Santana’s back in it with strikes off flips. Another nearfall off a Russian leg sweep, and gets a submission in with a bridging neck crank. Shirai gets to the ropes however, and after running double knees in the corner, hits her moonsault off the top for three.
Io Shirai def. Santana Garrett by pinfall
Pete Dunne vs. Travis Banks
Doesn’t take long for the Bruiserweight to get a takedown, but the Kiwi Buzzsaw avoids any of the usual finger damage. Banks gets to show off his speed in the next stretch, which leads to Dunne getting frustrated and lighting him up with chops until the referee calls for a break. Banks tries to roll out, and Dunne follows to suplex him back first onto the apron. We go split screen again. It’s all Peter there, until Banks strikes his way to his feet when Dunne gets particularly cocky. The Brusierweight gets the best of that exchange, but Travis sweeps the leg to send Dunne into the turnbuckle. A flurry that includes kicking Dunne into the barricade on the floor and double stomping him in the corner gets a nearfall.
Both men evade a move in the corner, but Banks leaps right into a forearm. X-Plex from Dunne gets two. They head up top, but nothing lands. Pete goes for Bitter End, but Banks flips out and goes for Slice of Heaven, but Dunne evades that. He transitions into a curb stomp. Banks slips out of Bitter End again, and hits the Kiwi Crusher for two. Enziguri follow-up, and Banks looks for a superplex but ends up on the receiving end of an Avalanche X-Plex! Bitter End!
Pete Dunne def. Travis Banks by pinfall
The Bruiserweight offers a fist bump after the match.
Cathy Kelley interviews Dakota Kai. Mai Yim may have left her with 8 staples in her head, but she beat her. And she’ll continue to beat everyone until she’s NXT Women’s champion. We see the current champ warming up with Jessamyn Duke & Marina Shafir as we take a break.
We learn next week will feature a Roderick Strong open challenge and Lio Rush & Keith Lee vs. Damian Priest & Tony Nese.
Shayna Baszler vs. Rhea Ripley
The champ wins the opening lock-up and sets up to stomp the elbow, but Rhea blocks it and punks Baszler out with her fist. When Shayna gets to her feet, a boot puts her down to the floor. We go PiP, where it doesn’t take long for her to rake the eyes and take control. Ripley punches her way free shortly after our return to full screen. Shayna gives as good as she gets for a time, but ends up on the top. A huge superplex gets two for the Aussie.
Shayna responds with strikes, then eats another suplex. Duke and Shafir head down the ramp, and Rhea meets them with kicks. When the champ tries to come in from behind, Ripley sweeps her to the apron. She goes to dive on all three, but Shayna slips away and leaves her horsewomen to take it. That creates an opening for Baszler to hit a knee strike, then stomp the challenger’s elbow on the top of the steel steps. Ripley sells like she’s been shot, and we head to our last commercial break.
We learn that while we were away, Shafir and Duke wrapped Rhea’s arm around the ring post. The ref didn’t see it directly, but figures it out and throws the Horsewomen out. Ripley also refused medical attention and demanded to continue. She takes another stomp on the elbow in the ring, and Baszler lights it up with kicks as the Nightmare screams in pain. She finally catches a kick and hulks up! She blasts the champ into the corner with a dropkick, but the ref goes down in the process! Rip Tide! That lasts for like a five count.
Ripley checks on the ref, and Baszler rolls to the outside. Rhea follows with a senton, but the champ evades and locks in a Kirifida Clutch. Ripley gets free, and Shayna gets a chair. Rhea wrestles that free, but as the ref comes to, Baszler with a DDT on the chair. One, two, no! The champ gets to her feet, but before she can get anything off, Kirifuda Clutch. It’s deep, and it looks like the Aussie is gonna go out. But she keeps fighting. And fighting. And fighting. The ref checks the arm, and Rhea grabs his shirt to tell him to not call it!
She gets to a base and rolls free! She stomps Shayna’s head down, then locks in her own submission! Baszler gets free, and hits a knee strike in the corner. Rhea looks out as she’s set on the top. The champ pulls her head back to talk trash, and gets a head butt! Avalanche Rip Tide!
Rhea Ripley def. Shayna Baszler by pinfall
The locker room and fans piles into the ring to celebrate with the Mosh Pit Kid!