WWE NXT Results: Winners, Grades, Highlights and Reaction from December 26

The final episode of NXT in 2018 brought with it two high-stakes matches.

The right to challenge Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women's Championship at TakeOver: Phoenix was up for grabs as Io Shirai, Mia Yim, Lacey Evans and Bianca Belair battled in a Fatal 4-Way match.

Later, Heavy Machinery looked to put an exclamation point on its newsworthy December, as the duo challenged for the NXT Tag Team Championships, locking horns with Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong of Undisputed Era.

Who emerged from those two matches with momentum, ready to make waves in 2019?

Find out with this recap of Wednesday night's WWE Network presentation.

Fatal 4-Way No. 1 Contender's Match

Wednesday night offered up a Fatal 4-Way match pitting Bianca Belair, Lacey Evans, Mia Yim and Io Shirai against each other for a chance to challenge Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women's Championship.

Strong performances from Yim and Shirai, a failed attempt at collusion between Belair and Evans, and several near-falls dominated the action.

Shirai delivered a 619 to Belair, Evans blasted Yim with the Woman's Right and Shirai flattened Evans with her famed moonsault. Belair broke up the pin on that last attempt using her trademark braid.

It was The EST of NXT who ultimately emerged victoriously, delivering her torture-rack facebuster for the win.

Result

Belair defeated Shirai, Evans and Yim

Grade

A

Analysis

For the varying degrees of experience at play here, this was a fine match with a surprise winner.

After Shirai made her presence felt in Baszler's rivalry with Kairi Sane, it felt like a certainty the high-flying newcomer would get her shot at dethroning The Queen of Spades. Even Yim, who has made her presence felt in her short time with the brand, felt like an obvious option.

Belair, though, is undefeated in singles competition and has impressed since Day 1. She has the tools to become the cornerstone of a women's division that hasn't really had one since the days of Asuka dominating the competition.

Charismatic, athletic and possessing the "it" factor Vince McMahon and Co. like to tout so often, the 29-year-old has the potential to be a player in the company for a long time.

That Belair is still raw and has not even reached her peak as an in-ring performer makes her incredibly valuable to NXT for the foreseeable future.

Jaxson Ryker vs. Mitch Taverna

Credit: WWE.com

Jaxson Ryker returned to singles competition Wednesday, squaring off with Mitch Taverna while Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler looked on from ringside.

Ryker obliterated his opponent, dominating from the opening bell and scoring the pinfall victory following a slingshot powerbomb, under the watchful eye of his Forgotten Sons teammates.

Result

Ryker defeated Taverna

Grade

C-

Analysis

Remember when Sanity just sort of popped up in NXT with no real backstory or rhyme or reason for anything it did?

The team went on to have some memorable matches and moments that were more a product of the talent involved than the booking, which felt incomplete for the duration of its run, but never really accomplished anything of note.

The Forgotten Sons feel like Sanity minus the hype. They have just kind of showed up, worked some matches here and there but really done nothing of note to get fans invested in their gimmick.

That is not on them but, rather, management for debuting them cold.

Lackluster squash matches, though, are on them. There was nothing interesting here and, worst of all, nothing that made Ryker look like the imposing force he should be.

Let's chalk it up to an off night and hope The Forgotten Sons can reverse their fortunes in 2019 because the raw potential is definitely there.

NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Heavy Machinery vs. Undisputed Era

Heavy Machinery's Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight have found themselves in the crosshairs of Undisputed Era's targeted attack on the NXT babyface roster.

Wednesday night, they had the opportunity to strike back against the dangerous faction when they challenged Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong for the NXT Tag Team Championships in the night's main event.

The challengers frustrated the champions early, bumping them around and showing off their power-based offense. The cerebral and focused champions isolated Knight, though, working over his legs and keeping him cut off from his partner.

The hot tag to Dozovic sparked the dissolution of order as the action broke down.

The finish saw the alert and opportunistic champions eliminate Tucker with a dropkick from Strong before Undisputed Era blasted Dozovic with the high-low for the successful title defense.

Result

O'Reilly and Strong defeated Heavy Machinery

Grade

B+

Analysis

This was the perfect way for NXT officials to write Heavy Machinery off the show, if this was its last go-round. With the recent announcement of the team's impending arrival to either Raw or SmackDown, the duo looked very strong against what is arguably the best tag team in WWE in Strong and O'Reilly.

After several hard-fought matches against The Mighty and The Forgotten Sons, Heavy Machinery proved it could hang with the best NXT has to offer just weeks before it will be asked to share the ring with the likes of The Revival, Bobby Roode and Chad Gable, The New Day, The Bar and The Usos.

Dozovic and Tucker are up for the challenge and were the most consistently great duo of the year as dance partners.