NXT: New Year's Evil (2021)

The 2021 NXT: New Year's Evil was the first annual NXT: New Year's Evil professional wrestling event produced by WWE. The event aired as a special episode of WWE's weekly television series NXT, broadcast on the USA Network. It took place on January 6, 2021, at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida and featured WWE's virtual fan viewing experience for their NXT brand division called the Capitol Wrestling Center. This event was the first to have its New Year's themed since New Year's Revolution in 2007. It was hosted by Dexter Lumis.

NXT: New Year's Evil
Promotional poster featuring Finn Bálor and Kyle O'Reilly
Promotion	WWE
Brand(s)	NXT
Date	January 6, 2021
City	Orlando, Florida
Venue	WWE Performance Center
Attendance	0 (behind closed doors)^[a]
NXT special episodes chronology
← Previous Halloween Havoc Next → The Great American Bash
NXT: New Year's Evil chronology
← Previous First Next → 2022

Six matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Finn Balor defeated Kyle O'Reilly to retain the NXT Championship. In other prominent matches, Santos Escobar defeated Gran Metalik to retain the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, Raquel González defeated Rhea Ripley in a Last Woman Standing match, and in the opening bout, Karrion Kross defeated Damian Priest.

Production

Background

New Year's Evil is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE. It was last used for a special episode of WCW Monday Nitro on December 27, 1999; WWE acquired World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 2001. After 21 years since that WCW event, on December 6, 2020, WWE revived the name for their January 6, 2021, episode of NXT. Prior to this event, WWE also organized a pay-per-view in a similar theme, New Year's Revolution, which was held from 2005 to 2007.^[1] WWE also announced that the show would be hosted by NXT wrestler Dexter Lumis.^[2]

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WWE's NXT events had to be presented from a behind closed doors set at NXT's home base of Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida since mid-March; WWE's programming for Raw and SmackDown were also done in this manner but at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, before moving to Orlando's Amway Center in August in a setup dubbed the WWE ThunderDome (the ThunderDome was then relocated to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida in December). In October 2020, it was announced that beginning with TakeOver 31, NXT would be moving their events to the Performance Center, which would feature the new "Capitol Wrestling Center" setup, an homage to the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, the predecessor to WWE. Like the ThunderDome for Raw and SmackDown, LED boards were placed around the Performance Center so that fans could attend virtually, while additionally, friends and family members of the wrestlers were in attendance, along with a limited number of actual live fans, divided from each other by plexiglass walls.^[3][4]

Storylines

The card included matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television program, NXT.^[5]

At TakeOver 31, Finn Bálor defeated Kyle O'Reilly to retain the NXT Championship.^[6] They suffered legitimate injuries during the match, causing them to miss the following episode of NXT.^[7][8] On the December 9 episode, Pete Dunne stated his intentions to challenge O'Reilly for the title, but O'Reilly interrupted, followed by Damian Priest, who all wanted their own shot at the title. Bálor then stated that he would defend the title at New Year's Evil, but would also let NXT General Manager William Regal pick the challenger for the title. Afterwards, Scarlett, Karrion Kross' manager, interrupted, and Bálor stated that he would accept Kross' challenge whenever he was ready. Kross himself physically appeared that episode and attacked Priest, sending him through a table.^[9] The following week, O'Reilly defeated Dunne to become the number one contender for the title at New Year's Evil. Also that same episode, after Kross won his match, Kross called out Priest for a match at New Year's Evil.^[2]

At NXT: Halloween Havoc, Rhea Ripley defeated Raquel González (accompanied by Dakota Kai).^[10] At TakeOver: WarGames, González's team defeated Ripley's team, with González scoring the winning pinfall.^[11] On the following episode of NXT, after González defeated Ember Moon, González and Toni Storm attacked Moon before Ripley made the save, after which, González and Ripley stared each other down.^[9] The following week, Ripley lost to Storm after interference from González.^[2] On the December 23 episode, after Ripley won her match, Ripley and González engaged in a massive brawl, even fighting through the officials who were trying to separate them. Later that night, a Last Woman Standing match between González and Ripley was scheduled for New Year's Evil.^[12]

On the December 30 episode of NXT, while Legado Del Fantasma (NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde, and Raul Mendoza) were talking about how great 2020 has been for them, they were interrupted by Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado), leading to a tag team match immediately afterwards, where Lucha House Party were victorious. Later that night, New Year's Evil host Dexter Lumis announced that Escobar would defend the NXT Cruiserweight Championship against Metalik at New Year's Evil.^[13]

On the December 30 episode of NXT, after weeks of training sessions, Xia Li and Boa announced that they would make an appearance at New Year's Evil.^[13]

Canceled and rescheduled match

At TakeOver: WarGames, Tommaso Ciampa defeated Timothy Thatcher.^[11] On the following episode of NXT, Ciampa won his match despite interference from one of Thatcher's allies.^[9] Two weeks later, after Thatcher lost his match, Thatcher attacked his opponent until Ciampa performed Willow's bell on Thatcher before telling him that he would see him in a fight pit at New Year's Evil.^[12] However, the day of the event, it was announced that Thatcher had injured himself while training for the match, and the match was postponed.^[14] The match was rescheduled to the January 20 episode,^[15] where Thatcher was victorious. Afterwards, Thatcher announced that he and Ciampa would team up in the sixth Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament.^[16]

Results

No.	Results	Stipulations	Times^[18]
1	Karrion Kross (with Scarlett) defeated Damian Priest by pinfall	Singles match^[17]	15:29
2	Santos Escobar (c) (with Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza) defeated Gran Metalik (with Lince Dorado) by pinfall	Singles match for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship^[17]	12:28
3	Xia Li (with Boa) defeated Katrina Cortez	Singles match^[17]	1:27
4	Raquel González (with Dakota Kai) defeated Rhea Ripley	Last Woman Standing match^[17]	17:26
5	Kushida and Shotzi Blackheart defeated The Way (Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae) (with Austin Theory and Indi Hartwell) by pinfall	Mixed tag team match^[17]	8:57
6	Finn Bálor (c) defeated Kyle O'Reilly by submission	Singles match for the NXT Championship^[17]	17:24
(c)  – the champion(s) heading into the match

Notes

1. The event was held without a paying audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, though it featured a live crowd of WWE wrestlers, trainees, and select invited fans as well as virtual fans via NXT's Capitol Wrestling Center viewing experience.

References

1. WWE.com Staff (December 6, 2020). "NXT to present New Year's Evil on Wednesday, Jan. 6". WWE. from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
2. Wells, Kelly (December 16, 2020). "12/16 NXT ON USA REPORT: Wells's report on Kyle O'Reilly vs. Pete Dunne in a #1 Contender's match, Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm, Ruff & Kushida vs. Gargano & Theory, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. from the original on December 19, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
3. "Capitol Wrestling Center to be unveiled tonight at NXT TakeOver 31". WWE. October 4, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
4. Defelice, Robert (October 4, 2020). "NXT TakeOver 31 To Feature The Debut Of The Capitol Wrestling Center". Fightful. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
5. Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
6. Wells, Kelly (October 4, 2020). "NXT TAKEOVER 31 REPORT 10/4: Live results and match analysis for O'Reilly vs. Balor, Shirai vs. LeRae, Escobar vs. Swerve, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. from the original on October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
7. WWE.com Staff (October 4, 2020). "Injury update on Finn Bálor and Kyle O'Reilly". WWE. from the original on October 10, 2020.
8. Upton, Felix (October 8, 2020). "WWE Not Talking About Kyle O'Reilly's Injury at NXT TakeOver: 31". Ringside News. from the original on October 27, 2020.
9. Lindberg, Nate (December 9, 2020). "12/9 NXT ON USA REPORT: Lindberg's Live Results for Ciampa vs. Grimes, Ember Moon vs. Raquel Gonzales, Finn Balor's appearance and the fallout from War Games". Pro Wrestling Torch. from the original on December 10, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
10. Wells, Kelly (October 28, 2020). "10/28 NXT ON USA REPORT: Wells's report on Halloween Havoc featuring Shirai vs. LeRae; Gargano vs. Priest in "Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal"". Pro Wrestling Torch. from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
11. Wells, Kelly (December 6, 2020). "NXT TAKEOVER REPORT 12/6: Wells's live results and match analysis for men's and women's WarGames, Ruff vs. Gargano vs. Priest, Lumis vs. Grimes, Ciampa vs. Thatcher". Pro Wrestling Torch. from the original on February 17, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
12. Wells, Kelly (December 23, 2020). "12/23 NXT ON USA REPORT: Wells's report on Burch & Lorcan vs. Drake & Dain in a Street Fight, Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai, A Very Gargano Christmas, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
13. Wells, Kelly (January 4, 2021). "12/30 NXT ON USA REPORT: Wells's report on Johnny Gargano vs. Leon Ruff, Bronson Reed vs. Isaiah Scott, Mercedes Martinez returns, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
14. Defelice, Robert (January 6, 2021). "Timothy Thatcher Suffers A Minor Injury While Training, Fight Pit Match Postponed Indefinitely". Fightful. from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
15. Wells, Kelly (January 13, 2021). "1/13 NXT ON USA REPORT: Wells's report on Candice LeRae vs. Shotzi Blackheart, Johnny Gargano vs. Dexter Lumis, Dusty Classic beginning, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
16. Lindberg, Nate (January 20, 2021). "1/20 NXT ON USA REPORT: Lindberg's report on Thatcher vs. Ciampa in the Fight Pit, First Round Dusty Classic Matches including Theory & Gargano vs. Kushida & Ruff, & more". Pro Wrestling Torch. from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
17. Garretson, Jordan (January 4, 2021). "NXT New Year's Evil results, Jan. 6, 2021: Bálor retains NXT Title after grueling battle with O'Reilly". WWE. from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
18. Moore, John (January 6, 2021). "1/6 NXT TV results: Moore's review of New Year's Evil featuring Finn Balor vs. Kyle O'Reilly for the NXT Title, Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Gonzalez in a Last Woman Standing match, Karrion Kross vs. Damian Priest, Santos Escobar vs. Gran Metalik for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.

External links

• WWE NXT official website