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NXT marked the beginning of 2021 with a terrific show that is sure to bring a lot of eyeballs towards the product. All the matches on NXT New Year's Evil card achieved the dual purpose of entertaining the fans while also progressing the larger narrative smoothly.
Several fans had expressed their concerns over NXT losing its way as it tried to compete with AEW in 2020. However, tonight's show served its purpose of bringing the brand back on track with some interesting developments throughout the night.
Raquel Gonzalez and Rhea Ripley had a barnburner of a Last Woman Standing match on NXT
Raquel Gonzalez and Rhea Ripley had an incredible Last Woman's Standing match here on NXT, with the former coming out on top. The two women showed some creative usage of weapons and ensured the bout never stalled, something which most of the Last Man/Woman Standing matches are prone to.
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Thanks to some outside interference by Dakota Kai, Gonzalez was able to regain her momentum after being dominated by Ripley throughout the match. A chokeslam onto the stage floor finally put down Ripley as she was unable to answer the ten count.
Rhea Ripley has nowhere left to go in the black and gold now, and the main roster promotion seems to be on the cards for the former NXT Women's Champion.
NXT Champion Finn Balor retained his title in a physical battle with Kyle O'Reilly
It was seemingly impossible for these two men to better their all-time great encounter at NXT: TakeOver 31, but they did manage to have a terrific match that was brutal, stiff, and rewarding to watch. The distraught look on O'Reilly's face after losing the match was heartbreaking.
Balor coming out on top was the expected outcome, with his imminent challenger seemingly being Karrion Kross. The former NXT Champion registered a win against Damian Priest earlier in the show. A program between the two will dominate NXT programming in the coming weeks and Kross seems to be the right challenger against whom Balor could bring back his Demon King moniker.
The introduction of the Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament was also made on the show by NXT General Manager William Regal. On that note, let's take a look at how the Twitter world reacted to all the developments on this highly newsworthy show.
