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 Livebrands.[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.
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]
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]
^The match originally started as eight-man tag team match, but during the match, Imperium member Alexander Wolfe suffered a concussion, thus the match was changed to a four-on-three handicap match.