Worlds Collide (2020)

Worlds Collide
Promotional poster featuring various NXT wrestlers
PromotionWWE
Brand(s)NXT
NXT UK
DateJanuary 25, 2020
CityHouston, Texas
VenueToyota Center
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Worlds Collide chronology
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2022

The 2020 Worlds Collide was the second Worlds Collide professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's NXT and NXT UK brand divisions. The event aired exclusively on the WWE Network and took place on January 25, 2020, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

Six matches were contested at the event, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event, NXT UK's Imperium (Walter, Fabian Aichner, Marcel Barthel, and Alexander Wolfe) defeated NXT's The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, Bobby Fish, and Roderick Strong) in an eight-man tag team match.

Production

Background

The event was held at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

Worlds Collide is a series of professional wrestling shows that began on January 26, 2019, when WWE held an interbrand tournament featuring wrestlers from their NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live brands.[1][2][3] The "Worlds Collide" name was subsequently adopted for a WWE Network series that aired in April 2019. During the Royal Rumble 2020 weekend announcements, WWE revealed that a second Worlds Collide event would air live on the WWE Network on January 25, 2020, and be held at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, though unlike the previous year's event, it would only feature the NXT and NXT UK brands and not also 205 Live. Also unlike the 2019 event, there was not a Worlds Collide Tournament with a future championship opportunity at stake. Instead, the card's matches were interbrand matches pitting wrestlers from NXT against those from NXT UK.[4]

Storylines

The card included six matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT and NXT UK brands,[5][6] while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, NXT and NXT UK.

Event

Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
Commentators Tom Phillips
Nigel McGuinness
Spanish commentators Carlos Cabrera
Marcelo Rodríguez
Ring announcers Alicia Taylor
Andy Shepherd
Referees Drake Wuertz
Darryl Sharma
D. A. Brewer
Interviewer Cathy Kelley
Pre-show panel Charly Caruso
Sam Roberts
Andy Shepherd

Pre-Show

On the pre-show, Mia Yim took on Kay Lee Ray. In the end, Ray rolled up Yim while grabbing the ropes to win.[7]

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with Ilja Dragunov facing Finn Bálor. In the end, Bálor performed the 1916 DDT to win the match.[7]

Next, Angel Garza defended the NXT Cruiserweight Championship against Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, Jordan Devlin, and Travis Banks in a fatal four-way match. In the end, Garza performed the Wing Clipper on Scott, however, Devlin broke up the pin by delivering a headbutt to Garza and threw him out of the ring. Devlin then performed the Devlin Side on Scott and pinned him to win the championship for the first time.[7]

After that, Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven and Tyler Bate) faced DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa). In the end, Ciampa and Gargano performed their old tag finisher, Meeting in the Middle (running knee smash/superkick combo) on Seven to win the match. After the match, both teams shook hands and hugged, with Ciampa and Gargano raising Bate's and Seven's hands afterward.[7]

The penultimate match was Rhea Ripley defending the NXT Women's Championship against Toni Storm. In the end, after Storm missed the Frog splash, Ripley performed the Riptide to retain the championship.[7]

Main event

In the main event, Imperium (NXT UK Champion Walter, Fabian Aichner, Marcel Barthel, and Alexander Wolfe) defeated The Undisputed Era (NXT Champion Adam Cole, NXT Tag Team Champions Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish, and Roderick Strong) in an eight-man tag team match despite being outnumbered 4-3 after Wolfe suffered an injury early in the match.[7]

Aftermath

A Worlds Collide event was not held in 2021, but it was announced to return in 2022.[8] The 2022 event was also the first Worlds Collide event to air on Peacock after the American version of the WWE Network merged under Peacock in March 2021.[9]

Results

No.ResultsStipulationsTimes[7]
1PKay Lee Ray defeated Mia Yim by pinfallSingles match[10]9:15
2Finn Bálor defeated Ilja Dragunov by pinfallSingles match[11]14:00
3Jordan Devlin defeated Angel Garza (c), Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, and Travis Banks by pinfallFatal four-way match for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship[12]12:05
4DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) defeated Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven and Tyler Bate) by pinfallTag team match[13]22:55
5Rhea Ripley (c) defeated Toni Storm by pinfallSingles match for the NXT Women's Championship[14]10:15
6Imperium (Walter, Fabian Aichner, Marcel Barthel, and Alexander Wolfe) defeated The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, Bobby Fish, and Roderick Strong) by pinfallEight-man tag team match[15]29:50
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
P – the match was broadcast on the pre-show

References

  1. ^ WWE.com staff (January 24, 2019). "WWE Worlds Collide to stream on Saturday, Feb. 2". WWE. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  2. ^ "NXT, 205 Live and NXT UK Superstars to battle in the first-ever WWE Worlds Collide Tournament at Royal Rumble Axxess". WWE. January 10, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019. The WWE Worlds Collide Tournament, which will be taped for a WWE Network special, kicks off with a 15-Superstar Battle Royal on Saturday, Jan. 26, at the 8 a.m. session of Axxess.
  3. ^ Currier, Joseph (January 10, 2019). "WWE WORLDS COLLIDE TOURNAMENT SET, WILL BE TAPED FOR NETWORK SPECIAL". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  4. ^ "WWE Worlds Collide preview, Jan. 25 2020: NXT and NXT UK clash during Royal Rumble Weekend". WWE. November 17, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  5. ^ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  6. ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Powell, Jason (January 25, 2020). "WWE Worlds Collide results: Powell's live review of Undisputed Era vs. Imperium, Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm for the NXT Championship, Angel Garza vs. Isaiah Scott vs. Travis Banks vs. Jordan Devlin for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, Finn Balor vs. Ilja Dragunov, DIY vs. Moustache Mountain". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on May 3, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  8. ^ Defelice, Robert (August 18, 2022). "WWE Announces The Impending Launch Of 'NXT Europe' Final NXT UK Event To Be 'Worlds Collide' On 9/4". Fightful. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  9. ^ Defelice, Robert (March 8, 2021). "Standalone WWE Network App Shutting Down In The US On 4/4, New Details On The Transition To Peacock". Fightful. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  10. ^ Benigno, Anthony (January 25, 2020). "NXT UK Champion Kay Lee Ray def. Mia Yim". WWE. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  11. ^ Benigno, Anthony (January 25, 2020). "Finn Bálor def. Ilja Dragunov". WWE. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  12. ^ Benigno, Anthony (January 25, 2020). "Jordan Devlin def. Angel Garza, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott and Travis Banks to become the new NXT Cruiserweight Champion (Fatal 4-Way Match)". WWE. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  13. ^ Benigno, Anthony (January 25, 2020). "#DIY def. Moustache Mountain". WWE. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  14. ^ Benigno, Anthony (January 25, 2020). "NXT Champion Rhea Ripley def. Toni Storm". WWE. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  15. ^ Benigno, Anthony (January 25, 2020). "Imperium def. The Undisputed ERA". WWE. Retrieved January 25, 2020.