Adam Cole

In 2019, WWE created a new event dubbed Worlds Collide, which played with the idea of having Superstars on different brands face each other in crossover matches we wouldn't normally see.

As both editions mostly focused on wrestlers from 205 Live, NXT and NXT UK, Worlds Collide flew under the radar and wasn't heavily promoted. Many casual fans likely aren't aware the shows even happened. On Saturday, however, the event will return under the banner "WWE Worlds Collide: NXT vs. NXT UK." The show will feature stars from those brands clashing with nothing but bragging rights on the line.

But which Superstars will be on the card, and how did WWE go about setting this up? Let's take a look at everything you need to know about WWE Worlds Collide 2020.

Venue: Toyota Center in Houston

Start Time: 7 p.m. ET (main show), 6:30 p.m. ET (pre-show)

How to Watch: WWE Network via the following supported devices, according to WWE.com:

• Amazon Fire TV
• Android TV
• Apple TV
• Chromecast
• Roku
• Smart TVs (select LG, Samsung and Sony models)
• Sony PlayStation 4
• Xbox One
• Web browsers (Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari)
• WWE App (on iOS and Android devices)
• The pre-show will also be available on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

Match Card

• Eight-man tag team match: The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong) vs. Imperium (Alexander Wolfe, Fabian Aichner, Marcel Barthel and Walter)
• NXT Women's Championship match: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Toni Storm
• Tag team match: #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) vs. Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven and Tyler Bate)
• Singles match: Finn Balor vs. Ilja Dragunov
• Cruiserweight Championship Fatal 4-Way: Angel Garza (c) vs. Isaiah "Swerve" Scott vs. Jordan Devlin vs. Travis Banks
• Singles match: NXT UK women's champion Kay Lee Ray vs. Mia Yim

Background, Storylines and Setup

Even less effort than normal was put into setting up the feuds—if they can even be called that—for this show.

For example, the basis for Moustache Mountain against #DIY is a tweet from Trent Seven merely suggesting the match followed by a quick interview with Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano in which they accepted the challenge.

Mia Yim against Kay Lee Ray, as well as Finn Balor vs. Ilja Dragunov, were announced out of nowhere. Since then, the Irishman had a 60-second promo warning his opponent he would lose, and that's the extent of the match's build.

Toni Storm took a shot at Rhea Ripley's recent title win by mentioning how she had beaten her for the NXT UK Women's Championship and suggested she could do the same with this new title. The Mosh Pit Kid accepted the challenge, and moments later, they were teaming up in a six-woman tag match.

At least the Fatal 4-Way for the Cruiserweight Championship had qualifying matches to determine Angel Garza's three opponents. Isaiah "Swerve" Scott defeated Tyler Breeze and Lio Rush on the January 15 edition of NXT. Jordan Devlin defeated Ligero, and Travis Banks beat The Brian Kendrick on the January 22 NXT UK to earn their spots.

Finally, The Undisputed Era attacked Imperium in the finale of NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II to assert dominance and get a leg up on the competition, cutting short the group's celebration after Walter's successful NXT UK Championship defense against Joe Coffey.

Predictions

Most of these matches should be pretty competitive to keep both brands looking strong, but NXT has an advantage in many of the fights.

Moustache Mountain and #DIY are amazing tag teams who will beat each other senseless and steal the show. Both duos have great chemistry, but if there's any weak link, it's Seven, who might be the easy option for a fall guy.

Keeping Gargano and Ciampa strong ahead of NXT TakeOver: Portland on February 16 should see them given the win, as Moustache Mountain can lose and it wouldn't derail any of their plans.

Balor is far more accomplished than Dragunov in terms of experience and accolades. The Irishman has won numerous titles, but his opponent hasn't won any major matches.

However, if Gargano distracts Balor, the Russian could score an upset. That would further drive a wedge between the two in preparation for their match at TakeOver: Portland.

There is no way Ripley will drop her title to Storm. It would make no sense for WWE to have put so much stock into building her up over the past three months—she was the winning captain of WarGames and Survivor Series and the one to beat Shayna Baszler—just for her to lose another title to Storm.

Storm is in a storyline of getting frustrated that she can't get her career back on track. Losing again would push that further.

Plus, Bianca Belair has already become No. 1 contender for Portland. Rather than change the landscape of the title scene with Storm as a newcomer to the brand, it is easier to keep the belt and momentum with Ripley.

NXT UK should get a win on the women's side via Kay Lee Ray, though. As great as Mia Yim is, there are no straws worth grasping for when it comes to hoping she can beat that brand's champion for a random show like this.

The Cruiserweight Championship will remain on Garza. Look out for Banks to take the pin, as he's the lowest on the totem pole of the four.

Swerve has been on a roll and will likely feud with Garza going forward, while Devlin is one of the more preeminent heels in NXT UK who just suffered a loss to Bate in Blackpool.

The main event should be Imperium's match to lose. Walter's size dwarfs everyone on Undisputed Era and should make up for anything they bring to the table. Also, as with Balor vs. Dragunov, an opportunity for run-ins, distractions and interference could swing the pendulum even more in Imperium's favor.

There is no distinct challenger for Walter's title, while Adam Cole and Co. have made countless enemies in recent months. Ciampa, Keith Lee, Dominik Dijakovic, Matt Riddle and more just may screw with them and cost NXT that victory.

Overall, look for NXT to have more points at the end of the night, with Ripley and Garza as guaranteed winners and an edge toward #DIY. Dragunov and Imperium may win, but even those victories aren't guaranteed.

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.

In the final broadcast of 2019 for both NXT and AEW Dynamite, both brands pulled out all the stops to deliver a show worth remembering. Both can head into the new year with their heads high.

On TNT, AEW brought out all its biggest guns to close out the promotion's first year in the business. Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes, Chris Jericho and The Young Bucks all took to the ring one last time in 2019, and all performed to their normal high standards.

But competing with NXT was always going to be difficult. WWE had spent weeks building up this card, and it almost felt more like a Takeover special than a regular episode of television. There were five matches that were 10 minutes or longer, and each one was well-conceived, meaningful and performed at a high level.

When NXT is hitting like that, there are few promotions capable of staying out of its dust, let alone keeping up. But AEW, to its credit, made it a race.

Let's take a closer look at each show before rendering a final verdict on the night's proceedings and seeing where we stand as both sides of the Wednesday night wars declare a temporary truce for the holidays.

AEW Dynamite

Where: Corpus Christi, Texas

Main Event: The Young Bucks vs. SCU (tag team titles)

Match of the Night: Kenny Omega/Adam Page vs. Lucha Bros

Moment We'll Remember: The Dark Order invading the ring en masse, putting a beating on The Elite and adding new members to their growing horde. The promotion's top cult has become a compelling act thanks to a series of interesting promotional videos on AEW Dark over the past couple of weeks.

What Worked  

• More than 22 years ago, a scrappy, undersized kid shocked the world on national television, pinning one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling. That young man's name was Chris Jericho, and while his win over Scott Hall at the height of the NWO's powers didn't launch the talented cruiserweight to immediate superstardom, it did put him on the fandom's radar.

  This week on Dynamite, it was Jericho in the role of the establishment stalwart and "Jungle" Jack Perry as the young upstart with a chance to propel himself to the top of AEW's title picture. In a cool twist, Perry didn't need to actually win the match to be considered the victor. He just had to last 10 minutes with Le Champion. When he survived those final seconds, locked into the deadly Walls of Jericho, his star had never shined brighter. Add his name to the long list of rising AEW prospects with incredible futures.

• Adam Page and Kenny Omega gave the Lucha Bros all they could handle in the opening tag match. It was a barn burner, head-to-head with an equally great match down the dial on USA Network. That's what's so great about Wednesday nights—there's so much high-level wrestling that it's hard to keep up with it all.

  The Elite fell short when Page accidentally clobbered Omega with a powerful lariat. There were no ill intentions—it was just a mistake. These things happen in wrestling, and I'm glad they didn't use this as a pretense to break this team up. Instead, it's just one more straw piled on a camel's back that is starting to feel a little flimsy.

  Meanwhile, Kenny's friend, Michael Nakazawa, seems like exactly the kind of person susceptible to the Dark Order's message. This is a story worth keeping an eye on.

• Cody Rhodes and Darby Allin are a pair of opposites, a goth skater kid who grew up on the streets and a Christian Louboutin-wearing member of wrestling royalty. Pale blonde hair is seemingly their only commonality—but they make a fantastic team.

  There's something about the way Cody's matches are structured that makes them stand out. The individual sequences are often less complicated than the type of extended movie-style stunts a team like The Young Bucks pulls off with ease. But that just makes the big moments in a Cody match mean more. Everything builds to that moment, and the crowd has a chance to anticipate it and enjoy the payoff.

  This team has a lot of potential. After they settle once and for all who the better wrestler is, I hope we see them again.           

Missed the Mark

• I remain a Kris Statlander enthusiast. She's the best prospect in women's wrestling, and I believe she's going to be an enormous star for years to come. But at this point in her career, it's asking a lot for her to be centered like this while also learning how to perform on the big stage under the brightest of lights.

  Even if she's capable of pulling off a feud on two fronts, beefing with Brandi Rhodes' Nightmare Collective while also challenging Riho for the championship, she hasn't established the gravitas with the audience necessary to be centered this way.

  The audience would have loved her in time. I can't help but think it would have been better to let them think they were pushing her on you, and not vice versa.

• The wrestling internet is abuzz every time a free agent emerges on the scene. Hardcore fans want the promotion to sign everyone with a heartbeat. But what would AEW do with an influx of new talent?

  If anything, AEW has too much talent. Tremendous performers like Joey Janela, Jimmy Havoc and the Best Friends are only featured sporadically. And I understand—there are only two hours to work with on Wednesday nights, which means only a handful of wrestlers can be the focus at any given time. Any additions would mean less time for a collection of young wrestlers already struggling to make an impression on a mainstream audience.

Grade: A

NXT

Where: Winter Park, Florida

Main Event: Shayna Baszler vs. Rhea Ripley (NXT Women's Championship)

Match of the Night: Main event

Moment We'll Remember: Rhea Ripley, caught in the clutches of the dominant Shayna Baszler, reaches out to grab the referee by the shirt collar, emphatically declaring that she is still awake and in the match.

What Worked

• The show began with a spectacular NXT championship match between Adam Cole and Finn Balor. The audience was electric for this—and rightfully so. The two delivered one of the best television wrestling matches of the year.

  As he did against Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins, Cole absolutely looked like he belonged in the ring with Balor as an equal partner. And to his credit, Balor never once appeared to feel like he was too big for the room. He gave his best effort, and the result was a treat for the fans at Full Sail.

• If you follow me on Twitter or listen to my podcast, you're well aware that I'm borderline obsessed with New Japan Pro-Wrestling. The action there is as good as any wrestling in the world, and the stories are often told over a period of years, not just weeks.

  As a superfan, I was a little wary of how Kushida, a former standout in New Japan's junior heavyweight division, would be treated in Florida as he attempted to transition to the American scene. It's a difficult move, and WWE has a mixed record with top Japanese talent.

  But this is starting to look like a golden age for wrestlers like Kushida and his peers. Io Shirai, Kairi Sane, Asuka and Shinsuke Nakamura have all had significant successes in WWE rings. And if this week is anything to go by, Kushida is starting to find his way too. That's going to be a good thing—both for NXT fans and those of us who grew to love him overseas.

• Shayna Baszler was the best champion in NXT history. I understand many of you will take umbrage with that, but I'm not suggesting she is the best wrestler to hold NXT gold. Merely that she exudes the kind of attitude and energy befitting a star athlete. She walked the walk the way a top prize fighter does in the broader world outside of wrestling—perhaps because that's the world she occupied for so long professionally as a cage fighter.

  Because of Baszler's sheer dominance, it was hard to even imagine most of her opponents unseating her. She created an air of invincibility, proving tougher, more resilient and calmer under pressure than any of her rivals. It was going to take someone special to beat her and make it believable. Somehow, against the odds, that person arrived in NXT and was recognized as an exceptional talent by the powers that be at exactly the right time. Rhea Ripley was a born star, physically intimidating, with an extraordinary look and the chops to match anyone in the world hold-for-hold.

  This match was the perfect culmination of a great heel run like Baszler's. The villain needs a proper hero to provide their comeuppance, and in Ripley, the Ace of Spades finally met her equal.

Missed the Mark

• While the prevailing culture online in the wrestling world is one of incessant criticism, sometimes a show is just good. This was that show. While "perfect" is a strong word, and I don't think this show was that, nothing stood out to me as missing the mark. Every segment, even the competitive squash match between Shirai and Santana Garrett, hit the mark for me. This was NXT hitting on all cylinders.

Grade: A+

Overall: A great night for NXT. It spent weeks building to these title matches and then delivered true excellence.

As the year comes to a close, the gap is closing between these two shows, both in the television ratings and as entertainment programs. This is a great time to be a fan, and I can't wait to join you throughout 2020 every Wednesday night to break down the latest in a battle that may rage for years to come.

Winner: NXT

Overall: AEW (7), NXT (5)

Adam Cole beat Pete Dunne at Survivor Series on Sunday night to retain the NXT Championship.

Dunne had Cole up for the Bitter End, but the champion countered and hit Panama Sunrise. That was the prelude to the Last Shot, which Cole used to keep his title.

He was the second member of Undisputed Era to walk away victorious after Roderick Strong won a Triple Threat match that included United States champion AJ Styles and intercontinental champion Shinsuke Nakamura.

Earlier in the week, WWE announced Dunne, Damian Priest and Killian Dain would face each other in a Triple Threat match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames to earn the right to face Cole for the NXT title at Survivor Series. With Dunne scoring the victory Saturday, he was instantly vaulted to No. 1 contender status.

In addition to getting a title shot, Dunne had the benefit of facing a softened-up Cole, who had been part of some highly physical matches in the days leading up to Sunday's pay-per-view.

On Wednesday's episode of NXT, Cole faced Dominik Dijakovic in a main event ladder match to determine which team would earn the advantage in WarGames. Cole won the match, but he took a beating and was on the receiving end of some offense from his opponent.

Cole then led Undisputed Era against a team captained by Tommaso Ciampa in a WarGames match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames. Cole is a veteran of such matches, but it didn't prevent him from absorbing a ton of punishment.

Cole's star has risen significantly over the past year, as he fulfilled his prophecy of becoming NXT champion by beating Johnny Gargano. The rest of Undisputed Era followed in his footsteps, as Kyle O'Reilly, Bobby Fish and Strong all won gold as well.

From a mainstream perspective, Cole has been a huge deal in recent weeks. He led an NXT invasion of SmackDown on November 1 and beat Daniel Bryan in the main event of that show.

Cole faced Seth Rollins on Raw, and while the match was thrown out due to interference, he went move-for-move with one of the best wrestlers in the world and proved yet again why he may be the future of WWE.

There was some thought that Cole would be the leader of Team NXT in the five-on-five-on-five men's elimination match at Survivor Series, but he was instead given his own spotlight by competing in a singles match with the NXT Championship on the line.

With Cole retaining at Survivor Series, the focus can now shift toward a likely singles feud with Ciampa over the NXT Championship.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

The men and women of NXT put themselves through the wringer Saturday night at TakeOver: WarGames, but the weekend isn't over for some of them as many NXT stars will compete at Survivor Series against Raw and SmackDown.

This event is all about brand supremacy, and with NXT now airing on USA, the black and gold brand is looking to make a big impact.

Let's take a look at everything you need to know about Survivor Series 2019. 

Venue: Allstate Arena in Chicago

Start Time: 5 p.m. ET (Kickoff), 7 p.m. ET (main show)

How to Watch: WWE Network

Survivor Series Card

The card for this year's Survivor Series is stacked, but only three titles will be on the line as most of the champions are busy facing the equivalent champions from each brand in Triple Threat matches. Here is a look at the final card for Sunday's show: 

• Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan (Universal Championship)
• Brock Lesnar vs. Rey Mysterio (WWE Championship)
• Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Roderick Strong vs. AJ Styles
• Bayley vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch
• The New Day vs. Viking Raiders vs. Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly
• Adam Cole vs. Pete Dunne (NXT Championship)
• Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown vs. Team NXT (Men)
• Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown vs. Team NXT (Women)
• Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown vs. Team NXT (Tag Teams)

PPV Live Stream

The two-hour Kickoff will be available through most social media platforms, YouTube and WWE Network. 

A select few cable and satellite providers still carry WWE PPVs, but for the most part, people will be watching Survivor Series on WWE Network. Here is a list of the devices that support the streaming service, according to WWE.com:

• Apple TV
• Amazon Fire TV
• PlayStation 4
• Roku
• Xbox One
• Android devices with the WWE app
• iOS devices with the WWE app
• WWE.com
• Select Panasonic, LG, Sony and Samsung Smart TVs
• TiVo
• Supported browsers

Bleacher Report Writers' Thoughts and Predictions

The writing staff at Bleacher Report has been sharing its analysis and predictions heading into Sunday's show. 

• A panel of Bleacher Report writers shared their predictions for each match. 
• Anthony Mango identified any possible weak links in the Survivor Series teams. 
• Donald Wood looked at which results may anger the WWE Universe.

Other Survivor Series Thoughts

First of all, it will be a miracle if every person who competed in the two WarGames matches at NXT TakeOver makes it through the weekend unscathed. 

Second, WWE has 18 championships across all of its brands and only three titles are being defended during the entire weekend. This is somewhat risky, but it could pay off in the end.

Every match at Survivor Series has the potential to be great, but it all comes down to how everything is booked and who ends up surviving at the end of each bout. 

The Chicago crowd was on fire for TakeOver, and hopefully, it will bring the same energy to Sunday's event. Even one disappointing result could lead to the fans turning on the show.

With CM Punk now back in the wrestling world as a member of the WWE Backstage panel, it will be interesting to see how many times his hometown crowd chants his name. If the action is good, people will be too busy chanting for the people in the ring.

NXT being on USA means it is now viewed as a legitimate third brand and is no longer only considered WWE's developmental league. Looking at things from every angle, there is a good chance Triple H and his army leave Survivor Series with the lion's share of victories.

Mysterio vs. Lesnar might be the biggest attraction for this show because of the personal nature of their feud. The title might be on the line, but for the Master of the 619, this is about getting revenge for his son, Dominic.

If Survivor Series is anywhere close to being as good as TakeOver was, this could be one of the best weekends of wrestling in 2019.