8 Ups And 1 Downs For WWE NXT (Feb 2)

Ups...

8. Raquel And Dakota Have Their Eyes On Vengeance

Kicking things off this week we had the first set of Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic semifinals as Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro locked horns with Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez.

Coming into the bout, the high energy underdogs, determined to prove they could hang with the very best, had somehow managed to overcome the team of Toni Storm and Mercedes Martinez - now NXT Women's Championship contenders.

How would they fare against more in-sync competition? Fairly well. In the opening stages, at least, with the bubbly KC's effectively reminding Kai why they weren't to be messed with via some quick dropkicks and tag team offence. As you'd expect, though, it was only a matter of time before the little and large heels worked their way back into the all-important match-up, Gonzalez in particular acting like the Year 11s intervening in a Year 7s football match (Seniors stealing a football from freshman to all our American friends...).

Even after grounding Gonzalez with a stunning piece of fast-paced assault, with Catanzaro hitting her insane Phoenix Splash-like finisher off the top rope, a delayed save from Kai eventually opened the door for a single-armed powerbomb from her teammate for the win.

Kai and Gonzalez now progress to the Dusty Cup finals, going down at TakeOver: Vengeance Day on February 14. But, the unexpected MVPs of the tournament, despite being on the losing side tonight, have proven exactly why they could anchor a full-time Women's Tag Team Division across all three brands going forward.