WWE NXT: Kyle O’Reilly earns shot at Finn Balor

There were questions that needed answering during Wednesday night’s edition of WWE NXT and at the end of the night, they were figured out as the next WWE Network special nears.

Last week’s edition of WWE NXT left viewers with a laundry list of questions heading into NXT New Year’s Evil. Finn Balor was looking for a contender, Karrion Kross set his sights on Damian Priest and Raquel Gonzalez was going on a warpath. These questions and plenty of others were front and center as the yellow and black brand prepared for another show on Wednesday.

Tag team action kicked off the night. Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory faced off against Leon Ruff and Kushida in a one-fall match. Theory and Kushida started things off and were in control, but things change when he tagged in Ruff to take over. Ruff did not take a beating for the entire match, as he got the upper hand on Gargano for a period.

Kushida got the tag and went on a run, taking out both Gargano and Theory. Theory nearly pinned Ruff but the former NXT North American champion would not go away. Ruff made the mistake of attempting to pin Gargano, but it was Theory who was the legal man. Theory stepped in and finished off Ruff, picking up the victory for his team.

Tyler Rust was out next for singles action against Tommaso Ciampa. Rust took grappling early to overwhelm the former NXT champion in Ciampa, but things did not work out that way. Rust took advantage of Timothy Thatcher’s presence on the outside of the ring to take over.

Ciampa kept fighting back, but Rust stayed in control, attacking the arm each time. Rust did all he could to stay on top, but he got caught up in the ropes and ate the Willow’s Bell. Ciampa would pin him to take the victory.

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Finn Balor’s next title challenger was set to come out of the one-on-one match between Kyle O’Reilly and Pete Dunne. The match went to the mat immediately where neither man was able to gain the early advantage. Dunne was in control for much of the match but made the mistake of going for the Bitter End early, falling into a front choke from O’Reilly.

Both men would be battered by the halfway point of this match. O’Reilly went for a German Suplex off the top, but Dunne countered, battering O’Reilly while he remained tied up in the ropes. It seemed like neither man would stay on top as they continued to exchange high-impact moves and holds.

The finish came when Dunne was caught up in the ropes, which allowed O’Reilly to quickly slingshot into the ring landing a knee drop on his opponent. This was enough to quickly roll him over and get the pinfall victory.

Shotzi Blackheart and Indi Hartwell competed in a one-on-one match, as Blackheart’s issues with Candice LeRae continued. Hartwell was in control early, and as the bigger woman, she was able to overpower Blackheart for much of the match. LeRae would get involved, but Blackheart used the trophy at ringside to smash it into Blackheart, causing the disqualification.

Karrion Kross returned to in-ring action for the first time since being stripped of the NXT title due to injury. Desmond Troy was the unlucky victim standing across the ring. After two stiff suplexes, Kross locked in the Kross Jacket to force Troy to tap out in seconds, ending the match.

Toni Storm and Rhea Ripley have a rivalry spanning back to NXT UK, and they faced off in the ring for another moment in their feud on Wednesday.

The early moments of the match were filled with back-and-forth moments, as both wrestlers are very familiar with each other. Storm was in control for much of the first moments of the match, but things did not remain that way for long. A nasty headbutt from Ripley put both women on the mat and back to exchanging blows.

Raquel Gonzalez got involved in the match and that allowed Storm to hit the Storm Zero, pinning Ripley in the middle of the ring.

December 16 WWE NXT Results

• Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory defeated Kushida and Leon Ruff via pinfall
• Tommaso Ciampa defeated Tyler Rust via pinfall
• Kyle O’Reilly defeated Pete Dunne via pinfall
• Shotzi Blackheart defeated Indi Hartwell via disqualification
• Karrion Kross defeated Desmond Troy via submission
• Toni Storm defeated Raquel Gonzalez via pinfall