WWE NXT: Results, Highlights and Grades for December 4th, 2019

Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai

Before the bell, Rhea Ripley calls Kai clever for her ruse at TakeOver, but no, she has to answer for her crimes. Out comes Mia Yim who runs in and attacks Kai. Both women brawl as the ref struggles to separate the two and as Ripley watches on.

Yim sends Kai to the outside with a big boot. Ripley tosses her back in as Yim just dominates Kai with kicks. The fight spills to the outside, where Kai kicks Yim in the face and tries to send her into the barricade, but Yim reverses and sends Kai into the barricade head first several times up the ramp.

As those two fight into the crowd, out comes Shayna Baszler with her crew to attack Ripley in the ring.

Duke and Shafir hit the ring first before Baszler joins them, but Ripley tries her best to clear house. Ripley avoids the Kirifuda Clutch momentarily, before Shafir and Duke keep buzzing around and scratching at Ripley like a pack of hounds. They drape Ripley’s arms across the ropes, preventing her to break out and allows Baszler to pass out Ripley with her Clutch.

“Not so tough now, huh?” Baszler says Ripley is big talk when nothing’s on the line, but now they both want a title match. Two weeks from now, on the Dec. 18 episode of NXT, Ripley gets her title match. Baszler suggests Ripley “sleep tight” before dropping the mic.

Grade: B

Would be an A because I really like the surprise of Mia Yim and both fight angles were well executed. I just hate the whole “hood rat” thing and hated how they kept bringing the line up on commentary the whole time. Really brought the segment down in my eyes.

But beyond that, the beatdown between Yim and Kai was great and the Ripley vs. Baszler encounter was even better. Seeing Ripley break out of the Kirifuda Clutch time and time again before being overwhelmed really put her over as a beast worth challenging for the title.

Really excited to see Baszler vs. Ripley for the title on Dec. 18.

Afterwards, Cathy Kelley interviews Tommaso Ciampa and Keith Lee to reveal that them and a partner of their choosing will face Undisputed Era in the main event tonight. Domonik Dijakovic emerges from the shadows to reveal himself as that mystery partner.

Shadowy backstage promo from Finn Balor, who acknowledges that Undisputed Era have had a “hell of a run” in NXT, but his attack on Adam Cole last week will begin their final chapter. Balor says to all of the potential flagbearers of NXT like UE, Johnny Gargano, etc., that there would be no flag without him. He reiterates that his “future will be [his] past.”

Kassius Ohno vs. Matt Riddle

Staredown from the familiar rivals before starting with a lockup. Ohno with a go-behind waist lock before trying to wrestle Riddle to the ground. Riddle counters with a waist lock of his own and nearly grounds Ohno with an arm lock, but Ohno kicks him away. Stale mate.

Another lock up until Ohno locks an arm lock onto Riddle, driving the former UFC star into the mat. Riddle makes it to his feet to attempt a German Suplex, but Ohno fights out of it to evade it. Another stale mate.

Ohno sprawls Riddle into a headlock into kicking him in the gut. Riddle tries to fight out of it with punches to the body, but KO keeps a tight head wrench. Riddle ultimately and eventually nails a German Suplex, before hitting a series of kicks and forearms in the corner.

KO tries to regroup on the outside, but Riddle nails KO in the chest with a penalty kick to send us to a commercial break.

Back from the break, Riddle is striking Ohno in the chest with a series of “Bro!” Kicks. KO blocks the last one and punches Riddle directly in the Adam’s Apple (ouch). He follows up with a Big Boot. Then a series of punches in the corner, followed by a big forearm.

Ohno then locks in a rest hold until Riddle turns it into a guillotine, which KO turns into a powerbomb for a near fall. KO with another rest hold (straightjacket hold this time) until Riddle fights out of it. KO tries to stop Riddle momentum by picking at Riddle’s toes, but Riddle avoids it with a knee strike.

Bro to Sleep, then a powerbomb, followed by a Final Flash knee strike. Riddle climbs to the top for a rolling senton for a nearfall.  Riddle attempts a ripcord knee, but KO reverses.

KO wrenches Riddle’s head again, but this time tosses him across the ring. He sets up a Gotch style bomb, but Riddle fights out of it. KO fights out of a Backslide, but can’t fight the ripcord knee followed by Bro-Derrick to pick up a 4-0 win over Ohno.

Winner: Riddle

Grade: C

A little disappointed by this one. Not only because Riddle and Ohno have had much better contests in the past by comparison from the height of their feud, but this was disappointing as a preview for Worlds Collide.

The concept of Worlds Collide is supposed to be that any NXT vs. NXT UK dream match-up can happen, but to hype it up, WWE decide to deliver us the fourth meeting from an old NXT rivalry? Letdown if you ask me.

Match-wise, while I like the idea of a slow-build match, I like when matches like this slowly build to a tighter, more intense action by each passing minute. This one started off slow, then every time it picked up, it’s go slow again, then back up, then slow again, etc. Not a fan of that format.