Prior to the January 21st 2022 edition of WWE Smackdown, NXT 2.0 stars LA Knight and Roderick Strong competed in a dark match. LA Night picked up the win.
Throughout 2021, several NXT names including Austin Theory, Hit Row, Karrion Kross, Scarlett Bordeaux, Bronson Reed, Shotzi Blackheart, Xia Li, Aliyah, Dakota Kai, and Tegan Nox competed in dark matches. Most were called up to the main roster following their dark matches with a few exceptions. Tommaso Ciampa and Pete Dunne have also been competing in dark matches and on WWE Main Event.
Opening match in Nashville LA Knight vs Roderick Strong @battlegroundihr pic.twitter.com/dwnZZanqQ3
— BATTLE (@battleonair) January 22, 2022
Roderick Strong vs LA Knight as the opener #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/WjWgb5Qf6D
— Connor Casey (@ConnorCaseyCB) January 22, 2022
LA Knight gets the win over Roderick Strong. #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/SmaZNK0X65
— Tennessee Revolver (@TNRevolver) January 22, 2022
