The Coherent Wrestling Wednesdays: The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Is Here, A Fantastic TNT Championship Match.

AEW’s New Year’s Smash night 2 is not a bad show. However, it wasn’t enough to be the better show of the night because NXT DELIVERED in my opinion. The main reason? 

Well, it was, of course, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. NXT’s (or WWE for that matter) biggest weakness is their tag team division so It’s nice to see some showcase of diverse teams. 

I’m hoping they keep that momentum after the tournament but we shall see. 

some images via WWE.com

NXT  

Highlights. 

A Possible Finn Balor vs Pete Dunne Bout!? 

The reason why I wrote that headline above is that they had a bit of verbal interaction in the segment following the LeRae and Blackheart match which led to a brawl between Balor, Dunne, Lorcan and Burch, Kylie O'Reilly and his UE members. 

I'm not gonna lie, if this is where Finn's championship goes from here, I'm all in. 

Grizzled Young Veterans vs Ever-Rise. Dusty Tag Team Classic Tournament.

The Grizzled Young Veterans advanced to the Dusty Tag Team Classic tournament, defeating Ever-Rise in a surprisingly excellent match.

By the way, I know I'm stating the obvious but Zack Gibson legit shouts "major singles heel run" all over the guy.

MSK vs Isiah Swerve Scott And Jake Atlas. Dusty Tag Team Classic Tournament. 

This match, at least for me, really showcased the fast-paced aspect of MSK that I'm sure fans of MSK are familiar with. 

I, unfortunately, am not familiar with MSK's work because let's face it, I'm the resident WWE shill. 

The match ended with MSK advancing in the tournament with a Hart attack like position into a neckbreaker which looked cool. 

The show teased a possible turn into the dark side for Isiah Swerve Scott later in the episode. 

What's with NXT and sudden teases at heel turns?

I mean, it works for some but why try to do it with most of the good guys, ya know? 

I Am Invested In Xia Li. 

You Goddamn right, headline above me. Xia looks more of a badass than ever with a second decisive win of hers since returning to in-ring action. 

Undisputed Era In Adam Cole And Roderick Strong vs Breezango. Dusty Tag Team Classic Tournament. 

Another great Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament bout? I’m so surprised (That sarcasm was dryer than my lips). 

There were shenanigans between Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan, Danny Burch, Kylie O'Reilly and Finn Balor which led to Dunne destroying O'Reilly's jaw. 

Despite all of that, Undisputed Era somehow advanced in the tournament with a superkick from Adam Cole to Fandango. 

Some Other Things That Happened.

Candice LeRae defeated Shotzi Blackheart - The match was decent for what it was. 

The usual high-risk offensive was utilized by Shotzi Blackheart throughout the match but thanks to a distraction by Indi Hartwell, LeRae nailed the avalanche swinging neckbreaker to win the match.

Blackheart announced later in the night that her partner in the women's Dusty Tag Team Classic is none other than Ember Moon.

Speaking of Ember Moon, when is WWE going to release her theme song? 

Johnny Gargano Won His Match Against Dexter Lumis In A Fluky Finish - Lumis was then saved from an additional 2 on 1 beatdown thanks to Kushida. They better give that title to Kushida soon. 

Tommaso Ciampa And Timothy Thatcher Face To Face Confrontation Before Their Encounter At The Fight Pit - I was not the biggest fan of the first Fight Pit so will see if I like the second-ever Fight Pit match or not. 

Nevertheless, the segment didn't do much for me in terms of overall intrigue for the Fight Pit.

AEW

Highlights. 

Darby Allin vs Brian Cage For The AEW TNT Championship.

I didn't even realize that Darby Allin has been feuding with Taz's FTW Crew since this past summer and you wanna know another fact about this feud? 

This is the first time that Darby Allin faced Brian Cage one on one which is insane to think about. 

AEW nailed its main event this week. They literally beat the hell out of each other. Their contrasting styles really mixed well. 

Kenny Omega And The Good Brothers Defeated Brian Pillman Jr,  Griff Garrison And Danny Limelight. 

Omega was supposed to tag with The Young Bucks however Don Callis instead chose the Impact tag team champions, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows. 

This must be a highlight for the younger guys in Pillman Jr, Garrison because they went neck in neck with THE top talents. In other words, the match was great. 

It was oddly a competitive yet solid match. Unfortunately for Garrison, Pillman Jr and Limelight, one of them took the magic killer from the Good Brothers. 

Chaos ensued as Rey Fenix and Penta assisted Jon Moxley in the chaos of a brawl that Omega and The Good Brothers created. 

Some Other Things That Happened. 

Eddie Kingston vs Pac - As much as I enjoy both men's work, I just cannot get into this feud. It feels like two guys fighting with little to no motivation. 

But, I can't hate on this match because it was solid. 

Pac wins with the black arrow. Minutes later, Pac's team teased a brawl with the BB aka the Butcher And The Blade to which Lance Archer prevented the brawl from happening. 

Unfortunately For Chuck Taylor, Miro Won The Match Which Means Taylor Is Now Miro's Butler - Speaking of feuds that I do not care about. The match was aight. 

What's Next For The Inner Circle? - Well, they just aired their new year's resolutions and they're all unique. 

Jake Hager wants championships while Ortiz wants to perfect his Grandma's recipe (I don't know what the recipe is but it sounds delicious). 

Some tension was shown and it was proven to be meaningless (at least in this segment) as the segment ended with the group being on the same page.

The segment wasn’t fantastic but I was intrigued by Sammy Guvera’s mannerisms. It seems like the dude might turn on the Inner Circle. But, who knows at this point, right? 

The Debut of Britt Baker's Waiting Room Segment - Like all wrestling talk show segments, it ended with a brawl between the people involved in the segment. 

That segment was WILDUH! Jade Cargill has a billion-dollar look but she has to work on executing dialogues. 

Oh, and Thunder Rosa announced that she'll face Britt Baker at Beach Break on February 3rd and I'm looking forward to it. 

FTR Defeated The Jurassic Express In Jungle Boy Marko Stunt - A decent tag team encounter.

Serena Deeb Retained The NWA Women's Championship Against Tay Conti - Another decent effort of the night this time it was from Serena Deeb and Tay Conti. 

The question is, what are some of the highlights of both episodes in your opinion? Let me know in the comments below and follow me on Twitter @omartheplayaguy. Anyways, stay safe smarks.