DeMarco’s WWE Worlds Collide Star Ratings & Analysis

Worlds Collide brought talent from WWE 205 Live, NXT, and NXT UK together. It also brought in Greg DeMarco, with his star ratings and more!

Worlds Collide can be summed up in a few words: matches, matches, and more matches! 15 matches in all, and nearly everything delivered. Four hours later, I have star ratings and analysis for you!

Battle Royal – **1/2
For a battle royal, this wasn’t terrible. It’s hard to rate a battle royal overall, the key is in the finish. This one made sense, but didn’t really build any anticipation. I do credit them for not giving the win to an obvious choice like Velveteen Dream.

First Round: Mark Andrews vs. Drew Gulak – ***1/2
Great technical contest that makes me want to see them move 205 Live to Full Sail and use NXT UK talent.

First Round: Keith Lee vs. Travis Banks – **1/2
Given the size difference, Lee was basically a “heel” by default. Also, given the fact that most faces in NXT are smaller, it makes sense for Lee to employ this style. His best days may come on “the dark side” (if one even exists).The Kiwi Buzzsaw is a hell of a talent that I hope they pay off on at some point in 2019. For such a short match, this was really good.

First Round: Shane Thorne vs. Adam Cole – ****
I am a huge fan of Mikey Nicholls (Nick Miller), but his return to Australia might be the best thing to happen to Shane Thorne. If they take the time to develop his character, he can be a star in NXT. And he can work his ass off as evidenced here. His partnership with Rhea Ripley, which has been tested on the NXT Florida shows, could be amazing if it comes to fruition. He stood out against Adam Cole, which is easy to do. But he wasn’t carried, he took Cole to the limit.

First Round: Dominik Dijakovic vs. TJP – ***1/2
Yet another great match—this tournament is bad ass! TJP is basically Mustafa Ali without the fan support. I’d love to see him get a run in NXT.

First Round: Cedric Alexander vs. Tyler Bate – ****
Four stars for a first round match? YES. Takeover worthy is a phrase you can plan to see a lot of during these ratings. This match may be the best of the lot, we’ll see. It delivered from start to finish, and much like TJP, I want to see Cedric get a run in NXT.

First Round: Velveteen Dream vs. Tony Nese – **1/2
A bit paint-by-numbers, but still not a bad match. Of the first-round matches, probably the worst. But that’s not saying it’s bad!

First Round: Zack Gibson vs. Humberto Carrillo – ***
Carrillo’s Arabian Press is impressive, and he has a good connection with the fans. Zack Gibson remains one of the most underrated members of the entire roster. Good match that, given more time, could realistically belong on a Takeover.

Quarterfinals: Keith Lee vs. Adam Cole – ***1/2
This is getting old, but it’s ANOTHER GOOD MATCH. That’s really what this tournament is all about. Both men delivered, and I love Cole advancing here. If he was NXT Champion, this would be a great title defense for NXT television or even a Takeover.

Quarterfinals: Tyler Bate vs. Dominik Dijakovic – ***1/2
The spot where Dijakovic tosses his opponent over the top rope should stay (as long as he can continue to do it safely). Bad ass spot. This was a good spotlight for both guys, only suffering from the fact that we saw most of the spots already. You have to consider it on its own, and it was good. The surprising agility spot is something Dijakovic needs to keep in the arsenal.

Quarterfinals: Humberto Carrillo vs. Velveteen Dream – ***
Velveteen Dream is the type of act that you don’t need to see each week. He gets a little overexposed here. It’s also annoying for Byron Saxton to hitch himself to Dream, knowing he’s going to win. Carrillo was the star of the match, and it was reminiscent of Dream vs. Ricochet. I get why Dream had to win this tournament, but Carrillo could have been a made guy with this thing.

Quarterfinals: Drew Gulak vs. Jordan Devlin – ***
Good match that focused on both men’s strengths, but the best part was each man calling the other a cheater. Overall this was another match that would have been worthy of a Takeover crowd. It’s fairly obvious why this made the “main broadcast” for Worlds Collide.

Semifinals: Adam Cole vs. Tyler Bate – ***1/2
You can’t go wrong with Tyler Bate and Adam Cole (BAY BAY), especially for me! I don’t know what to say, this is another Takeover worthy match, and given more time this is easily four or more stars. Given the environment of the finals (Axxess), sending faces to the finale makes sense.

Semifinals: Velveteen Dream vs. Jordan Devlin – ***
The story of Devlin having “more in the tank” is simple yet effective. Dream is a heel in nature, but Devlin literally wants to be a heel. Like most Dream matches, Devlin carried this, always in the right position and doing everything needed to give Dream his spots. The thought of a Devlin-Bate finals was intriguing, but we all knew what was happening here.

Finals: Tyler Bate vs. Velveteen Dream – ****
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: this match was TAKEOVER WORTHY. Seriously, this was better than some of what was on Takeover. I thought we’d get Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream, but Tyler Bate showed he belonged here and arguably should have won. I can’t fault them for the finish as Bate and an awkward landing to overcome. A hell of a match.

It’s in the books, and WWE reminds us that for all the faults we love to point out, they really know how to throw a tournament! I hope you liked it as much as me–let me know @ChairshotGreg on your favorite social media platform!