3 HUGE Matches Set For NXT: New Year's Evil

The first NXT show of 2021 is shaping up to be must-see.

by Andrew Pollard
Timothy Thatcher
WWE.com

While NXT: New Year's Evil already had the wrestling world talking after confirming its main event would see Kyle O'Reilly getting another shot at Finn Balor's NXT Championship, last night's episode of NXT saw three huge matches added to the first NXT show of 2021.

Following Raquel Gonzalez and Rhea Ripley brawling after Ripley's victory over Dakota Kai, Dexter Lumis and his art skills were used to announce that Gonzalez and Ripley will square off at New Year's Evil in a Last Woman Standing contest. Given how well these two hard-hitting powerhouses work together, that match is guaranteed to be a proper hoss fight of the highest order.

Elsewhere, as many fans had hoped, the next stage of Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher's rivalry will see the pair compete in the Fight Pit. If you remember, that particular match type has only been seen once before, with Thatcher defeating Matt Riddle in a Fight Pit bout earlier this year before the King of Bros headed off to the main roster.

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If that wasn't enough, this week's NXT also saw us get the confirmation that the returning Karrion Kross will face Damian Priest at New Year's Evil. That match, of course, comes off the back of Kross laying out Priest as part of the former NXT Champion's return a couple of weeks ago.

With those four matches announced for NXT: New Year's Evil - which airs January 6, 2021 - everything is in place to make this a spectacular outing for the black-and-gold brand.

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It wasn't just this new trio of matches announced on this week's NXT, mind, for it was also revealed that next week's NXT will see Leon Ruff - who scored a victory over Thatcher last night - challenge Johnny Gargano for the NXT North American Championship, plus Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.