The John Report: WWE Worlds Collide (NXT vs. NXT UK) 2020 Review

This is the WWE Worlds Collide event featuring matches from NXT wrestlers facing off against NXT UK wrestlers. There are five matches advertised for the main card, so it’s similar to a Takeover event in that regard.
The Kickoff Show match saw NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray beat Mia Yim.

WWE Worlds Collide
From Toyota Center in Houston, Texas
January 25, 2020
There was an opening video package hyping up the big matches on the show. Good work as usual.
The crowd in Houston was loud and ready to go. I was told that the upper decks were tarped off and seats blocked off by the hard camera. It still looked like a decent crowd. When it’s a Takeover, those shows usually sold out. The announce team of Tom Phillips and Nigel McGuinness were at ringside welcoming us to the show.
Finn Balor was up first and he got a big reaction from the crowd. Balor’s a heel these days, but his entrance is still cool and fans see him as a big star. Ilja Dragunov is from Moscow, Russia and he’s impressive although he didn’t get much of a reaction.

Finn Balor vs. Ilja Dragunov
Balor with a side headlock, Dragunov hit a cross body block and told Balor to just bring it. When Balor was about to do a pose, Dragunov slapped him in the face. Dragunov with a sunset flip, Balor to his feet and a hard slap to the face, then Dragunov went to the floor and Balor hit a running dropkick on the floor. Back in the ring, Dragunov with a hard slap followed by a senton splash for two. Dragunov missed a corner attack, Balor to the apron, Dragunov knocked him down and Dragunov hit a cross body block off the bottom rope onto Balor on the floor. Dragunov went up top, he jumped off, Balor moved and Dragunov went crashing to the floor. Balor with hard kicks, then a chop and he tossed Dragunov into the ring. Balor with a sliding dropkick to the back of the neck and elbow drop. Balor stomped on Dragunov while up against the ropes. Balor hit two hard chops followed by a two count and a chinlock, but then Dragunov came back with a suplex. Dragunov with a lefty clothesline, the fans booed him, a corner clothesline by Dragunov and a jumping knee drop off the middle ropes got a two count. Dragunov with chops to the neck followed by a rising knee strike for a two count. Dragunov had Balor on the shoulders, Balor slid off and hit a double stomp to the chest. They got back up to their feet to exchange strikes, then hard chops, Dragunov with a kick to the head and Dragunov blocked a Pele Kick, but Balor came back with an elbow drop to the throat. Nice counter moves there. Balor hit the Slingblade neckbreaker, Dragunov with a kick to face and Dragunov hit a high angle German Suplex for a two count. The referee put the white gloves on because there was some blood on Balor’s nose. Dragunov with a clothesline, Balor to the floor, Dragunov up top and this time he connected with a chop on Balor on the floor. Dragunov went up top and hit a coast to coast dropkick for a two count. Good moves there. Dragunov went up top again for a senton, but Balor got his knees up to block. Balor wit ha dropkick into the corner. Balor went up top and hit the Coup de Grace double foot stomp to the chest. Balor hit the 1916 draping DDT for the pinfall win at 13:50.
Winner by pinfall: Finn Balor
Analysis: ***1/2 Good opening match with Balor getting the expected win. Dragunov got plenty of offense, nearly came close to winning a few times and then I liked the finish with Balor blocking the senton splash leading to Balor’s three big moves for the win. Dragunov has a unique look to him, I like his facial expressions and what really helps is he’s got some moves that make him stand out too. I thought it was the right choice to open the main card due to Balor’s popularity.
A commercial aired for WWEShop merchandise items along with the Royal Rumble on Sunday.

They showed NXT Champion Rhea Ripley warming up backstage and also Toni Storm warming up backstage.
The lovely Cathy Kelly interviewed the Dusty Rhodes Classic finalists Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson and James Drake) and The Broserweights (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne) at ringside. The fans popped big for Riddle and Dunne. It was announced that the winners of their match on NXT on Wednesday will win the Dusty Cup, and also get a tag team title match at NXT Takeover Portland on February 16. Gibson did a promo about how they are the most legit tag team in all of NXT. Dunne was greeted with “Bro” chants, then Riddle said “Bro” and asked why they are so serious. Riddle said that those two should have smiles on their faces and he knows his bro Dunne has a huge smile on his face (Dunne was not smiling – he rarely smiles). Riddle said that is Pete’s happy face. There were “Bruiserweight” chants for Dunne. Pete said he’ll be blunt (which drew laughs and cheers for Riddle because it’s a pot reference) and said they’ll smoke the two of you and they’ll walk out with that Dusty Classic trophy while their hopes and dreams come to a bitter end…Riddle said “bro” to end it.
Analysis: That was fun. I think The Broserweights will win the tournament and go on to get the NXT Tag Team Title match at Takeover Portland on February 16. It should be a great match this Wednesday.
The entrances took place for the fatal 4-way match for the Cruiserweight Title match.

NXT Cruiserweight Championships Fatal 4-Way Match: Angel Garza vs. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott vs. Jordan Devlin vs. Travis Banks
This should be very fast-paced and hard to keep up with everything, but I’ll do my best. McGuinness called Garza the most beautiful man in the world. It’s 4-Way match rules, so all four guys in the ring at once, no countouts, no disqualifications and first fall wins the match.
Garza was cocky early, so the other three guys superkicked him. Devlin hit a backbreaker on Garza on his shoulder. Scott with a kick on Devlin, then a two count on Banks, flatliner on Devlin and Scott hit a dropkick to knock Garza out of the ring. Devlin sent Scott to the floor, he tried a moonsault, but Scott caught him and hit a slam on the floor. Banks with a kick to Scott, Garza with a dive over the top on Scott and Banks with a double foot stomp on Garza on the floor. Banks worked over the other three guys with hard chops and forearms. Back in the ring, Banks kicked Scott twice, then Banks worked over Scott and Garza with kicks, Scott kicked Garza and Banks hit a German Suplex on Scott. Banks kicked Scott into Garza and Banks hit a suicide dive onto Devlin on the floor. Banks with a cannonball on the two guys in the corner and then he suplexed Devlin into the two guys against the turnbuckle. Devlin showed off some skills with a DDT on Scott, then a Spanish Fly by Devlin on Garza and Banks jumped off the top with a splash on Devlin for two. That was a crazy sequence of moves. Garza got some offense going with a rolling kick on Scott, a kick to the ribs of Devlin and Garza took off his pants to reveal his tights, which drew a pop. Garza held Devlin and Banks in position as Scott hit a double foot stomp off the top on Banks and that led to a two count for Garza. That was crazy. Scott with a knee lift to the face of Garza, but then Devlin hit a dropkick on Scott. Devlin with a headbutt on Banks, who came back with a Canadian Destroyer against the ropes. All four guys were out on the mat as the crowd cheered them for their effort. The fans chanted “this is awesome” for the wrestlers. Banks up top, but Garza shoved him to the floor. Scott punched Garza, both guys were climbing the ropes and Devlin joined them so all three guys were on the top rope. Devlin gave them a double Spanish Fly off the top. Banks hit a springboard kick off the ropes (called Slice of Heaven) followed by the Kiwi Crusher for a two count. That was another incredible sequence in this match.
Scott and Banks exchanged chops, Banks was up against the ropes and Scott hit a sitout slam for a two count. Scott picked up Banks on his shoulders, Garza with a missile dropkick into a Reverse Rana by Banks on Scott for two. Garza with the Wing Clipper on Scott, but then Devlin showed up with a headbutt on Garza. Devlin pulled on the arm of Scott and hit a suplex into a pinfall for the victory. Garza was too slow to break up the pin and Devlin got the win at 12:07.
Winner by pinfall AND NEW NXT Cruiserweight Champion: Jordan Devlin

Analysis: **** That was an excellent match. It wasn’t that long, but they made the most of the time they were given with a match that was full of action. That did not slow down at all and all four guys had several moments where it looked like they might win. The title change surprised me not because of Devlin’s skills because he’s great. I just thought Garza would have a longer reign with the title since he won it recently and they don’t have short reigns in NXT that often, but I guess WWE felt they needed a change. Banks really impressed me in this match too. Scott got some cool spots, but didn’t stand out as much as the others. Devlin was definitely the star of the match and a worthy new champion. I picked Garza to retain here, so I got that wrong.
After the match, Devlin had the microphone and asked if we believe him now. Devlin said that pound for pound he is the best sports entertainer on the planet. Devlin said he proved what he’s said all along – you never bet against an ace.

Analysis: Devlin had a standout match with Tyler Bate at the most recent NXT UK Takeover show. I didn’t review it, but it was an amazing match. Perhaps WWE felt like they needed to get a title on Devlin to reward him for that performance. It’s certainly understandable if they felt that way.
A commercial aired for the WWE Supercard game.
They showed the Undisputed Era foursome working out in their locker room.
Keith Lee, the new North American Champion, and Mia Yim were shown in the crowd. They got a nice pop. Lee and Yim are dating. In another part of the arena, Chelsea Green and manager Robert Stone walked to their seats.

A video aired to set up the #DIY team of Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano vs. the Moustache Mountain team of Tyler Bate and Trent Seven. This will be incredible.
The Moustache Mountain team of Bate and Seven entered first. DIY was next and they had a cool new t-shirt for the occasion. Gargano noted on Twitter that he hasn’t wrestled in four months, so hopefully he’s ready to go perform at a high level as usual. I don’t doubt him. Johnny Wrestling is one of the best in the world.
#DIY (Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano) vs. Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven and Tyler Bate)

They are both babyface teams and the fans chanted “DIY” as the match began. Gargano and Bate started with some mat wrestling where they battled over headlocks. Gargano with a headscissors, Bate landed on his feet, Gargano tried a pin, Bate got out of it and Gargano got a rollup. They kept countering eachother, avoiding moves, Bate held the foot of Gargano and placed it down. The fans applauded that effort by both guys. Ciampa tagged in against the bigger man Seven as fans chanted “Daddy’s Home” for Ciampa. There was a moment where Ciampa teased a mustache pose, then Seven showed how you do it, Ciampa flexed and Seven just shook his hand instead of posing because Seven is not ripped. Ciampa and Seven did some mat wrestling as well with a nearfall. Bate tagged in for some posing with Ciampa. Bate with a monkey flip, then each guy went for a cover followed by a bridge. Ciampa with a forearm to the face of Bate, then he threw him to the apron and hit a running knee. Gargano with a superkick to Seven on the floor. Ciampa tossed Bate over an announce table and Gargano sent Seven over an announce table as well. Tommaso and Johnny did some clapping for themselves, much to the delight of the crowd. Back in the ring, Ciampa stomped on Bate’s left arm and whipped Bate into Gargano’s feet. Gargano with a running dropkick to the head of Bate. Ciampa back in with a hard chop on Bate, followed by a running back elbow. Ciampa grounded Bate with a headlock, Bate avoided a suplex and tagged in Seven. Seven with chops to the opponents, a DDT on Gargano and a spinebuster on Ciampa. Seven slapped Gargano, then a Powerbomb on Ciampa and a lefty clothesline for a two count. The fans chanted for both guys as Ciampa hit a rising knee to the face of Seven.
Gargano got the tag against Bate and hit a DDT/flatliner combo on both opponents at the same time. Bate sent Gargano to the apron, Bate ran the ropes and Gargano hit a slingshot Spear on Bate for a two count. Seven held Gargano’s feet, Ciampa with a dropkick and Ciampa with a knee on Bate to send him out of the ring. Gargano with a suicide dive on Bate on the floor. Ciampa with a DDT on Seven and then Gargano jumped back into the ring with a DDT on Bate for a two count. Gargano and Ciampa with a double team kick/knee, Gargano attacked Seven on the floor, Bate with a knee lift on Ciampa, but when Bate tried a dive off the ropes, Ciampa hit a knee to the back of the neck. Bate hit a rebound clothesline off the ropes followed by a Tyler Driver 97, then Seven kicked Ciampa into a pin for Bate, but then Gargano hit superkicks on both opponents and another nearfall for Ciampa got a two count. All four guys were down selling as fans chanted “NXT” followed by chants for both teams. Bate got a two count on Gargano, then Bate hit an exploder suplex and a running SSP was blocked by Gargano. Bate with a rolling kick, then they each went for moves and Gargano managed to slap on the Gargano Escape submission on Bate. Ciampa with the armbar on Seven, but then Bate and Seven countered those moves. There were dueling airplane spins by MM and a double team slam on Gargano got a two count for Bate. Seven back in, Bate’s clothesline missed Johnny, who moved and Ciampa tagged in with a rising knee on Bate. Seven covered up his partner and MM each hit punches to the face. Seven had Ciampa on his shoulders with a Burning Hammer slam with Bate hitting a knee off the top and that got a two count on Ciampa. Wow that was incredible. Great nearfall right there as fans chanted “NXT” again. It was at the 20-minute mark now.

The match continued with another double team from MM with a double team spinning slam. Bate went up top with a spinning slam, Ciampa put Seven on top and Bate hit Seven by accident and Ciampa got a two count as Bate broke up the pin. The fans chanted “this is awesome” again. There was a big showdown between the four guys, Ciampa with a knee, Seven with a snap German Suplex on Ciampa. Bate tried a top rope attack, but he was knocked out of the ring after a knee/kick combo by DIY. That was followed up by a running knee/superkick combo by Ciampa/Gargano on Seven and Ciampa covered Seven for the pinfall win at 22:56.
Winners by pinfall: #DIY (Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano)
Analysis: ****1/2 That was an outstanding tag team match where they lived up to the incredible hype going into it. There’s a lot of pressure on guys like this considering their history in big matches like this, but they delivered and then some. The first seven minutes or so were slow with a lot of posturing on both sides, but then it was a tag team wrestling clinic between two of the best teams of the last decade. Seven and Bate came close to winning several times, especially that Burning Hammer/knee attack that nearly got the win on Ciampa. I like how in the last couple of minutes they sort of stopped fighting for a moment, they regrouped and then went for the finish. It was really well done. Ciampa was very effective with the knee strikes repeatedly, Gargano was all over the place and the finish was done very well too. I picked Gargano and Ciampa to win because I figured they needed it since they are going to be in big matches at Takeover in three weeks, so it makes sense for them to win here.
After the match was over, replays were shown of the action. All four guys got up in the ring and they shook hands and hugged after putting on a tremendous match. The Houston crowd cheered as they posed together in the ring.

#DIY wins, but…

didn't we all?#WorldsCollide @JohnnyGargano @NXTCiampa @Tyler_Bate @trentseven pic.twitter.com/CxqbHHX5s4

Click Here: Putters

— WWE (@WWE) January 26, 2020

A commercial aired for NXT Takeover Portland on Sunday, February 16.
A commercial aired for Royal Rumble on Sunday night.
The Imperium group was shown in their locker room getting ready.
There was a shot of Mercedes Martinez in the crowd. Dakota Kai was also in the crowd, but Tegan Nox showed up to attack her with punches to the back. Security showed up to try to break it up. Nox tackled Kai through the security wall that was at ringside. The Fans chanted “let them fight” as the women were separated at ringside.
Analysis: They are doing Nox vs. Kai on NXT on Wednesday, so it was an effective way of previewing that match.
A video package aired to set up NXT Champion Rhea Ripley defending the title against Toni Storm.
They showed Bianca Belair watching the match at ringside. Belair gets the winner of this match at NXT Takeover Portland on February 16.

Toni Storm entered as the challenger. She’s from Australia. Rhea Ripley was next as the NXT Champion and she’s also from Australia. They have wrestled many times previously for the NXT Women’s UK Title. They are not calling it the NXT Women’s Championship anymore – it’s just the NXT Championship as we covered in a news post a few days ago.
NXT Championship: Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm
It’s another match where both wrestlers are faces, so the fans were rooting for both women. Storm was aggressive with strikes, Ripley with clotheslines and a kick against the turnbuckle. Storm with a kick to the head followed by a German Suplex into the turnbuckle. Ripley was selling a neck injury as she rolled out of the ring. Back in the ring, Storm with a suplex followed by a STF submission-like move and Ripley got to the bottom rope. Storm hit a DDT for a two count. Storm worked on Ripley with elbows to the head and a kick to the back. They got into a slugfest, Ripley with two clotheslines, rising knees and Ripley hit a running dropkick to the head. Ripley with a running kick onto Storm followed by a sloppy looking slam onto the chest of Storm. Ripley hooked the legs of Storm in a standing Cloverleaf submission, Storm countered by sending Ripley into the ropes and Storm countered a slam into a cross body block into a pin for two. Storm blocked a kick and hit a bridging German Suplex for a two count. Ripley with a standing dropkick to Storm, but then Ripley bounced off the ropes and Storm hit her with a headbutt. Storm went up, she went for a splash, Ripley moved and Ripley hit the Riptide slam for the pinfall win at 10:12.
Winner by pinfall: Rhea Ripley
Analysis: **1/2 This was just a decent match where they never got going to that next gear where I would call it an exciting match. I figured they would get closer to 15 minutes and have more nearfalls for Storm, but instead this was about putting over Ripley in dominant fashion. There wasn’t a spot where Storm looked like she might win. Ripley winning with her finisher was the right move because it puts it over as a big deal.

After the match, Ripley posed with the NXT Championship in the ring while Bianca Belair talked trash to her about how they have a match in three weeks for the title at NXT Takeover Portland.
Analysis: That should be a good match and I expect Ripley to retain the title.
A video was shown of Johnny Gargano being interviewed backstage and Finn Balor attacked him. Balor kicked Gargano, threw him into a wall and threw Gargano onto a table. People broke it up including Tyler Bate, which could set up Balor vs. Bate in a match on NXT this week.
There was a plug for Triple H and Shawn Michaels talking about the show on Facebook Live.
It’s main event time with a video package airing for Undisputed Era vs. Imperium.

The Undisputed Era foursome made their entrance with the fans treating them like big deal. They are NXT Champion Adam Cole, Roderick Strong and NXT Tag Team Champions Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish. The fans were very loud doing the “Adam Cole Bay-Bay” chant right on cue.
Imperium made their entrance led by NXT UK Champion Walter, Fabian Aichner, Alexander Wolfe and Marcel Barthel. These guys really work well together in terms of their presentation along with their ring work.
Analysis: They are both heel teams, but these crowds are going to cheer everybody and will probably support Undisputed Era since they are part of the regular NXT brand.

Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish) vs. Imperium (Walter, Fabian Aichner, Alexander Wolfe and Marcel Barthel)
O’Reilly started with Aichner, they did some nice mat wrestling and then Aichner hit a powerslam. Barthel tagged in with an uppercut to the chest of O’Reilly. Strong with a stomach breaker and O’Reilly hit a knee drop off the middle ropes for a two count. Barthel chopped Strong into their corner and Wolfe tagged in with forearms for Strong. Fish tagged in, double front suplex and double kick on Wolfe for a two count. I don’t think Wolfe even kicked out, but the referee stopped the count because Wolfe was hurt. Wolfe wasn’t moving very well, so the referee Drake Wuertz checked on him, Drake did the “X” symbol for an injury and they brought out a doctor to check on him.
Analysis: I don’t think that was a planned spot. Wolfe took that kick right in the jaw and then he did not move well when he was knocked to the mat. I don’t know if it’s a concussion, but Wolfe looked out of it. I hope he’s okay long term.

Cole battled Walter with Cole getting control, then Strong tagged in, Walter jumped over him and hit him with a boot to the face. Wolfe was getting checked on by doctors at ringside. They said that Wolfe was taken to the back. Barthel worked over Strong for a bit, then Cole tagged in with a shot to the knee of Barthel and Cole worked him over with elbows to the face. Fish worked over Barthel with punches and kicks. O’Reilly with knee strikes on Barthel, then Strong lit up Barthel with chops to the chest and Walter wanted to get in there, but the referee stopped that. Fish with a senton splash on Barthel as fans chanted “Undisputed / Walter” as the dueling chants and Cole was back in for his team. Cole hit a backbreaker on Barthel for a two count. O’Reilly tagged in with knee drops to the ribs. O’Reilly kicked Walter while he was on the apron and then he mocked Walter. Barthel with a legsweep on O’Reilly, so Walter tagged in. Walter knocked the other guys out of the ring and then he went after O’Reilly. Walter with a German Suplex, a hard chop and O’Reilly slapped on a guillotine choke submission, but Walter got out of that. Strong went into the ring and Walter hit a double German Suplex on O’Reilly and Strong at the same time. Aichner and Barthel hit a double DDT into a pin for a two count. They replayed the double German Suplex that showed that Strong had a rough landing on his head. Aichner with a butterfly suplex for a two count on O’Reilly. Aichner hit a knee to the ribs of O’Reilly. Walter was back in there with a body slam and a running splash to the chest of O’Reilly. When O’Reilly tried to get out of the corner, Walter decked him with a very hard chop to the chest. That was loud and drew a big pop. Aichner and Barthel hit a double team dropkick on O’Reilly. Strong tagged in and was a flurry of offense. My WWE Network was messing up a bit for the first time, but I saw enough to see him chopping with Walter. Aichner tagged in, Strong slapped on a leg submission, but Aichner fought back with a clothesline. Fish tagged in against Barthel, who hit him with a kick to the chest and the air raid crash slam for a two count. Fish tossed Aichner into Barthel against the turnbuckle. Cole tagged in, leaping kick to Barthel and the Ushigoroshi knee to the back of the neck got a two count as Walter broke up the pin. Walter was attacked by Strong, Fish and O’Reilly at the same time as the referee tried to stop it. They tossed Walter over the top to the floor. The trio of Strong, O’Reilly and Fish cleared off the English announce table with Walter nearby. Walter fought back with punches and forearms. Walter picked up Strong, but O’Reilly kicked Walter in the back of the leg. Walter fought back by knocking down all three guys again. Walter cleared off the Spanish announce table at ringside as fans chanted “Walter” for the big man. Fish kicked Walter on the knee when Walter was on the announce table, O’Reilly punched Walter and Strong gave Walter an Olympic Slam off an announce table and put him through the other announce table! That drew a huge pop and “NXT” chant from the crowd. The fans chanted “Mama Mia” as well even though Mauro Ranallo is not there.

Back in the ring, Cole tried a suplex on Barthel, but Barthel avoided it and hit a forearm followed by a suplex. Barthel with an uppercut to Cole. O’Reilly back in, Aichner also was back in and Aichner hit O’Reilly with a brainbuster. Barthel with a high angle suplex on Strong. Aichner jumped off the top and Cole hit him with a superkick. Cole with an Ushigoroshi on Barthel for a two count. The fans chanted “Walter” again, but the big man was down on a broke table. Strong with two knees to the gut and Cole hit a running knee to the face of Barthel as Strong covered for a two count. O’Reilly and Fish hit a double uppercut knee on Aichner. O’Reilly pulled the leg of Barthel against the ropes, Fish kicked the leg and O’Reilly jumped off the top with a knee drop on Barthel’s left knee. O’Reilly slapped on a kneebar submission on Barthel, who fought it off by getting to the ropes. Aichner hit a moonsault off the top onto O’Reilly to break the hold. That was impressive. Fish and Strong stomped away on Aichner. Walter was back on the apron and the crowd popped huge. Cole got the tag, Barthel kicked O’Reilly down and Walter tagged in against Cole. Walter with chops for three UE guys, Cole with two superkicks on Walter, but then Walter crushed him with a chop. Walter with a forearm on O’Reilly and he knocked down Strong. Walter gave Strong a Powerbomb. Walter went up top and hit a splash on Strong, but Cole capitalized on that with the Last Shot knee to the back of the head on Walter for a two count because Barthel broke up the pin. That drew a huge pop and “this is awesome” chants.
There was a staredown spot with the four UE guys against the three Imperium guys. That led to punches being thrown, O’Reilly gave Walter a sleeper and Fish ran the ropes for the No Man’s Land double team move on Walter. Barthel took out Cole with a forearm on the floor and Barthel slammed O’Reilly on the floor. Strong went over the top with a dive onto Barthel on the floor. Aichner went to the turnbuckle and jumped onto three of the guys on the floor. Fish went for a moonsault on Walter, but Walter moved and hit a dropkick into the turnbuckle. Walter with a Powerbomb on Fish for the pinfall win at 29:40.
Winners by pinfall: Imperium (Walter, Fabian Aichner, Alexander Wolfe and Marcel Barthel)
Analysis: ****1/4 This was an excellent tag team match full of drama, including the real-life injury to Wolfe, who may have suffered a serious concussion. They were able to get through the match with Barthel taking a beating for his team, Walter also took a lot by going through the table, but then when Walter got back into it, the crowd really came alive for him. Walter was the star of the match as the biggest man out there can also move like a much smaller. I’m so impressed by Walter every time I see him. I was impressed by Barthel and Aichner as well since they had to do even more work with Wolfe out of the match. Everybody worked hard and had a great showing here. It was a lot of fun seeing Cole working with Walter especially because they are elite talents and if they had a singles match I know it would be special. I picked Imperium to win with Walter beating Strong, but it ended up being Fish. I figured it wouldn’t be Cole taking the pin since he’s the NXT Champion. The big win by Walter on a show like this will look good for the NXT UK brand.

A well-deserved victory for #Imperium.

What. A. Match.#WorldsCollide pic.twitter.com/aiHKxkilyI

— WWE (@WWE) January 26, 2020

After the match, Imperium posed in the ring as the victors in the main event. These guys are great, plus they have a catchy theme song.
Analysis: I would love to see Walter against some main roster guys, especially Brock Lesnar. I don’t know if it will happen because Walter has said he doesn’t want to move to the US, but maybe one day WWE can convince him to do that match.
There were highlights shown of the matches during the night. Imperium posed by the entrance as their theme song played again.
This event had a runtime of 2:26:36 on WWE Network.

Analysis: That’s the right length for a show like this. Under three hours is fine with me.
After the show, Wolfe tweeted that he’ll be fine and thanked the referee as well as the WWE Medical team for helping him.

I'm fine. 👍
I wish I could have finished the match but safety first.
Thanks to @WWEDrakeWuertz & @wwe medical for taking care of me. You guys did an unbelievable great job today as always.

Most importantly it was my own fault. #ChinUp #WorldsCollide #NXT #NXTUK #IMPERIUM

— Alexander Wolf[e] (@TheWWEWolfe) January 26, 2020

I’m glad he’s okay. Best wishes to him.

Final Thoughts
It gets an 8.5 out of 10.
This was a great show that was a lot of fun even though they didn’t really have much in terms of storylines. There were three matches that I rated four stars (out of five) or higher, so that should tell you the matches were outstanding for the most part. It felt like a Takeover with five matches. I think the two tag team matches were the standouts of the night and the Cruiserweight Title match was great for what it was too. I just hope Alexander Wolfe is okay after he was legit knocked out in the match.
The Houston crowd was hot for most of it and they were familiar with most of the wrestlers, so it made for a fun atmosphere from start to finish.
There were three wins for NXT (US) and three wins for NXT UK if you count the Kickoff Show. I went 5-1 in my predictions. The only match I got wrong was Devlin winning the Cruiserweight Title because I thought Garza would have a longer run as champion.
Worlds Collide was a huge success. If they do it again at SummerSlam or Survivor Series (WrestleMania weekend has an NXT Takeover event), fans should go check it out because the matches are likely going to be awesome just like they were on this show.

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John Canton
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