WWE NXT Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from December 20

The December 20 episode of NXT on WWE Network featured three marquee matches in one hour-long broadcast that ranks among the best the brand has produced in 2017.

Championships changed hands as Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly made good on their potential, defeating Sanity to earn their first titles under the WWE umbrella.

United Kingdom champion Pete Dunne battled longtime rival Tyler Bate in singles competition, seeking to end the year with the title he won in Chicago in May.

No titles were up for grabs in the war between Lars Sullivan and Roderick Strong but the opportunity to compete in the enormous Fatal 4-Way No. 1 Contender's match was and the desperation was apparent from the opening bell.

Would the Messiah of the Backbreaker defeat the unstoppable Sullivan or would the big man power his way to victory?

Find out now with this recap of the in-ring action that dominated the airwaves Wednesday night.

NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Sanity vs. The Undisputed Era

In the opening match of the night, Sanity's Eric Young and Killian Dain defended the NXT Tag Team Championships against The Undisputed Era's Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish.

Young found himself in the unenviable position of being isolated in the challenger's corner, the victim of several knife-edge strikes from the duo formerly known as Red Dragon.

At one point, Fish made the calculated move of infuriating Dain, which drew the big man in and created a distraction that allowed the heels to double-team Young.

Dain received the hot tag, and the champions mounted a comeback that saw the heavyweight obliterate the competition.

The action broke down and chaos reigned supreme. Nikki Cross interfered and Adam Cole remained omnipresent at ringside, even sending Dain face-first into the ring post.

Back inside the squared circle, O'Reilly pinned Young and scored the victory and titles for the heels.

Result

Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish defeated Sanity to win the NXT Tag Team Championships

Grade

A

Analysis

The first chapter of The Undisputed Era's dominance over NXT was written at TakeOver: WarGames with their victory in the titular gimmick match. The second came Wednesday night with O'Reilly and Fish's win.

Capitalizing on a numbers disadvantage thanks to the absence of Alexander Wolfe, the heels seized the opportunity and picked up their first titles in the process.

Common sense would say Cole wins the NXT Championship sooner than later, but this was the first step in the continued dominance of the faction, not to mention a fun and energetic way to kick off this broadcast as the brand remains the hottest in WWE.

No. 1 Contender's Qualifying Match: Roderick Strong vs. Lars Sullivan

Lars Sullivan has been an unstoppable force since forgoing tag team wrestling and focusing on his singles career. He decimated No Way Jose, and he demolished Kassius Ohno at TakeOver: WarGames.

Wednesday night, he would face the toughest test of his young career when he battled the man formerly known to an entire fanbase as "Mr. Ring of Honor," Roderick Strong, for the right to compete in the No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way match on next week's show.

Sullivan controlled the majority of the bout with his strength and size advantage, but Strong mounted a comeback late that had the big man reeling. He caught him with a big knee and took off into the ropes, hoping to outmaneuver his opponent.

Sullivan caught him with a popup powerslam, though, and finished him with a Freak Accident for the decisive victory.

Result

Lars Sullivan defeated Roderick Strong

Grade

B

Analysis

Watching Sullivan develop every time he gets the chance to work with an experienced worker is one of the joys of NXT.

He has already advanced beyond the role of a big man and is now working fast-paced matches against top workers in the industry.

Perhaps more importantly is the fact he no longer feels like he is out of place against the likes of Killian Dain, Aleister Black and Johnny Gargano, against whom he will work in next week's much-anticipated bout.

WWE United Kingdom Championship Match: Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne

The United Kingdom Championship was up for grabs in the night's main event as "Bruiserweight" Pete Dunne defended against longtime rival and former champion Tyler Bate.

Dunne's trademark joint manipulation and focus on Bate's fingers left the young challenger to survey the damage and even appear to pop one of his fingers back in place. A bully of a wrestler, he continued his assault on Bate, picking him apart piece by piece.

Bate mounted a comeback, including a series of running forearms and a massive airplane spin that featured three full rotations.

More impressive was the fact Bate was bleeding from the ear, the result of stiff right hands from his opponent.

Bate delivered the Tyler Drive 97, but Dunne withstood it and delivered his second Bitter End of the match to earn the hard-fought victory.

Result

Pete Dunne defeated Tyler Bate

Grade

A

Analysis

Bate and Dunne are incapable of having a bad match.

Earlier this year, they wrestled one of the best matches of 2017, and here they followed up with another extraordinary bout that built on previous spots and focused more on in-ring psychology than in the past.

The joint manipulation work was great, as was Bate's selling of it, while the drama near the end had fans guessing they may be in line for another title change.

In the end, Dunne won and continued his streak as one of the pound-for-pound best wrestlers in the world.