NXT TakeOver: WarGames (Nov. 23, 2019) -- Results & Afterthoughts

NXT TakeOver: WarGames (2019) was a professional wrestling show and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their NXT brand. It took place on November 23, 2019, at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois. It was the third event under the WarGames chronology, and the first to have a women's WarGames match, as well as the first to have two WarGames matches on the same night; it was also the second NXT TakeOver event in history in which the NXT Championship was not defended (the first being NXT TakeOver: Respect in 2015), and was the first which saw no title defenses on the card.

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Kick-Off: Angel Garza def. Isaiah "Swerve" Scott

Team Rhea (Rhea Ripley and Candice LeRae) def. Team Shayna (Bianca Belair, Io Shirai, NXT UK Women's Champion Kay Lee Ray, and NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler)

Mia Yim got taken out in a backstage attack at the end of the kick-off show and was replaced by Dakota Kai on Team Rhea, but if you didn't tune into the show until the main show started you wouldn't have known that at all since the commentary team failed to mention this. When it came for Dakota to enter the match, she snapped and savagely assaulted Tegan Nox to turn heel. Bayley needs to take notes from Dakota here. This is how you own a heel turn. Even though I think most people saw it coming from the moment that she was "buttering up" Mia Yim before her ladder match a few weeks ago after she wasn't picked for Team Rhea. My only problem with it was why go after Tegan? She didn't do anything. Rhea was the one who picked her last like the nerds nobody wanted on their team in gym class.

And it was at that moment, KLR realized she fucked up.

Kay Lee Ray definitely took a beating in this match.

Io Shirai with the dive of the night.

While Rhea was unsung hero in the match while coming across as a wrecking machine, MVP award goes to Io Shirai. I'm surprised Io didn't break her legs after that Moonsault from off the top of the cage as it looked like she tried to land on her feet from the landing but her legs hit the ropes anyway in the impact. There's absolutely no way she wasn't feeling that in the morning. I'm still not too keen on Candice LeRae's bottomless amount of endurance (despite her non-disclosed history to WWE fans that she used to fight men regularly) like her husband. WWE has to be careful about how hard they push her just because she's Johnny Failure Gargano's wife as it will come across forced and there's going to be a fan backlash. NXT UK's own Women's Champion Kay Lee Ray wasn't no slouch either as she took some truly gnarly bumps in this match that she sold like pure death.

Finn Balor def. Matt Riddle

This match was originally set between Johnny Gargano and Finn Balor, but Gargano had to miss this TakeOver event due to an injury - first time that he's missed one of these events since debuting for the brand actually. Fortunately, Matt Riddle was able to fill in for Gargano as an impromptu replacement, but had to bow out as the original 4th man for Team Ciampa in WarGames. For Finn Balor's first TakeOver match back on the NXT brand, he had to win here. It's not like going back to the main roster to lose to the Fiend again was going to do him any favors, especially after his great heel turn a month ago. Riddle put up a good fight but like I said earlier, the right man went over in this contest.

Pete Dunne def. Damien Priest and Killian Dane to earn NXT Championship Match against Adam Cole the next night on Survivor Series

Even though this match was pulled out of their asses at the last possible second mere days before this event, I thought this was a fun match and we finally got a payoff for these feuds that Dunne has found himself in the middle of for the last few weeks. The best thing about this match for me was all of the various combinations these guys were doing on each other to hopefully bulldoze the competition. Pete Dunne (AKA NXT's Roger Klotz)

Team Ciampa (Keith Lee, Donovan Dijakovic, Tommaso Ciampa, and Kevin Owens) def. The Undisputed Era (NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong, NXT Tag Team Champions Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly, and NXT Champion Adam Cole)

The kicker in this match was that everyone was wondering who the mysterious 4th man was going to be to join Team Ciampa since they came to the match without even announcing who they got to their 4th man. I knew they weren't going to rehash the Women's WarGames finish where it was the babyfaces dealing with overwhelming odds as that would have been redundant at this point and I like to think that NXT has better minds in their think tank in terms of booking and mapping out storylines. In the back of my head, I had three possible outcomes for the 4th man - John Morrison, Kevin Owens, and CM Punk. As of this posting (Dec. 4, 2019), John Morrison literally just signed his new contract with WWE, so that wasn't happening at that point. CM Punk would have driven that crowd absolutely bonkers if he was the 4th, but Kevin Owens made a lot of sense, given his ROH history with all of those involved along with the fact that he would have wanted payback for what the Undisputed Era did when they invaded Monday Night RAW.

The match ended with an insane Project Ciampa off the top of the cage through two tables. If that bump wasn't insane enough (especially for Ciampa who just came back from neck surgery and Cole who has been wrestling with a fractured wrist for the last month or two), the cameras got a reaction shot of AEW's own Britt Baker (AKA Adam Cole's girlfriend) watching from the crowd, clearly mortified from what she has seen just transpire.

Yep, that's Britt Baker alright.

I don't blame WWE for doing this either as it was her own stupidity to coming to a rival promotion's PPV and sitting in the crowd. Don't show up at the show if you don't want to be shown on TV. I have to agree with Cornette on his remark about she should have been fired if she didn't clear it with AEW firsthand. Of course, AEW didn't do anything other than parody it on their own programming the following week...

My reaction to AEW and all of their callbacks and cheap knocks to WWE...

My only issue with the events of this TakeOver event was that it didn't affect anything the following night on Survivor Series, which we'll get into in the write-up on that event, but at least we got a proper follow-up on NXT Wednesday night.

NXT TakeOver: War Games II -- Results & Afterthoughts

NXT TakeOver: WarGames (2018) was a professional wrestling show and WWE Network event that took place on November 17, 2018 in the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The event was produced by WWE for the NXT brand that is streamed live on the WWE Network.

Five matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Pete Dunne, Ricochet, and War Raiders defeated The Undisputed Era in a WarGames match. In the penultimate match, Tommaso Ciampa defeated Velveteen Dream to retain the NXT Championship and Aleister Black defeated Johnny Gargano.

Note: Much like my Survivor Series 2018 write-up, I'm not covering this show in order that the matches played out.

WarGames Match
NXT Champion Ricochet, WWE U.K. Champion Pete Dunne & The War Raiders def. The Undisputed ERA

I don't remember much of the old WCW WarGames matches and I kick myself every year for not revisiting them with adult eyes, but I never was too crazy about this match type when TNA/Impact Wrestling did their own spin on it with their Lethal Lockdown annual matches in this format. Boy, did NXT make me a fan of this match type over the past two years though. Honorable mention goes to MLW doing a stellar WarGames match earlier this year too by the way.

Amazing - that's the best way to describe this match during it's final quarter. I hate the first part of these matches like this because you know nothing good is going to happen until all 4 members of each opposing team are in the match and the cliched gimmick to this match is that the heels always have the advantage until that point - not to mention that Pete Dunne was dealing with a real life injury but you couldn't tell that from too much as he was protected for the bulk of this affair. Despite all of that going on, everyone involved managed to keep things interesting.

This was the coming out party for the War Raiders. This was giving me flashbacks to their feuds with Fish and O'Reilly as reDRagon during their War Machine days in Ring of Honor. For a big guy, I find myself always surprised at how mobile and agile that Hanson is. If he wasn't above 205 lbs., I'm sure WWE would have found a way to push a guy like him with the cruiserweight title.

NXT Championship Match
Tommaso Ciampa (c) def. Velveteen Dream to retain the title

I felt sorry that these two had to follow Black and Gargano on this card, but to my surprise, this match delivered big time as well. They had me fooled, just like everyone else, with the near fall after the Macho Man Elbow Drop. I thought they were going to have Ciampa drop the title to Dream there for sure. Then they did the "injury" finish and that moment of excitement went completely out of the window. I guess they really are keeping the NXT title on Ciampa until WrestleMania weekend. I honestly don't see anyone dethroning NXT's top heel anytime soon, especially while Gargano is doing this "crazy" gimmick for a while. He should look at what Eddie Edwards did in Impact over the past year and take notes of the mistakes of running that angle too long - people are going to stop caring and start tuning out. I'm anxious to see where they go with Velveteen Dream from here because it's not like a loss here is going to hurt his stock value. The fans still dig him and I'm sure Triple H and the rest of his NXT staff are fully behind the guy. I'm hoping a North American Championship run/title shot in the cards soon. His first encounter with Ricochet may have been in a loss but it wouldn't hurt to have his rematch result in a win. If I were to suggest a match, how about a triple threat between him, Adam Cole, and Ricochet with the gold on the line if you don't want to keep Dream in the NXT title conversation.

Aleister Black def. Johnny Gargano

Black and Gargano put on a masterclass showcase here as they showed off how to make your strikes look as vicious and stiff as possible without legit injuring your opponent. I hope Nia Jax took notes. Great storytelling here from start to finish and I thought the right man won here. Black was robbed of his opportunity to regain the title that he lost mistakenly to Tommaso Ciampa, thanks to Gargano's obsession, and he got his payback here.

As it currently stands on NXT programming, they are set to have a rematch at the next TakeOver special during Royal Rumble weekend, but I honestly don't see a point. Black beat the piss out of Gargano here. Doing a rematch in a steel cage isn't going to make me to expect any other different result. I'll give Gargano credit where it's due though - every match that he's had at TakeOver events for 2018 have been nothing short of amazing from bell to bell. The only downside is that as great as those matches are, he never wins when it matters. He keeps this up and people really are going to be calling him Johnny Failure. The one I think back to fondly is the one against Ciampa where he came out decked out in the Captain America Avengers: Infinity War gear and flat out lost. I just found that to be comical given to the events of that film.

NXT Women’s Championship 2-out-of-3 Falls Match
Shayna Baszler (c) def. Kairi Sane to retain the title

While I enjoyed this match, my biggest issue with it was the feeling like they were rushing for time. The first two falls went by extremely too fast for my taste, but they made up for it on the third. I marked the hell out watching this live when Io Shirai showed up to make the save and honestly rolled my eyes into the back of my head at Dakota Kai coming out to even the odds against Marina Safir and Jessamyn Duke helping out Shayna. I get why they put Kai in there as payback for all of her months of getting bullied and jobbed out to get Shayna over as a heel, but I felt that they could've added Mia Yim for that last bang that this faction needed.Then again, Dakota Kai needs something to sink her teeth into too and it wouldn't hurt to have her into a high profile program like this to erase the stigma of her being merely enhancement talent and finally ascend to a prominent role on the NXT brand instead of just being filler air time on both the NXT TV tapings and even the recent NXT UK episodes that aired to boot.

As for Shayna's title reign, I don't see anyone beating her for that title before WrestleMania weekend, unless they really plan on fast tracking a suitable challenger for the title by then. I read the spoilers and I'm already aware that Bianca Belair is going to challenger her next at the next TakeOver special, so that should be interesting there. Much like the Velveteen Dream, Belair is really talented, but I personally feel like she's missing something before moving up as NXT's face of that division. I just can't put my finger on what it is.

Matt Riddle def. Kassius Ohno

This was an impromptu match to kick off the show following a promo from Riddle calling out Ohno. As soon as the bell rung, Ohno did the job here, getting KO'd literally for Riddle to pick up the win. To say that Ohno's current gimmick is him being upset that he's welcoming mat for the newest NXT signees, he sure didn't do anything here to argue that point. Great way to introduce Riddle, but did absolutely nothing for Ohno here. So much for his moniker as a "Knockout Artist" when he's the one who got knocked out (laughs).

NXT TakeOver: War Games (Nov. 18, 2017) -- Results & Afterthoughts

NXT TakeOver: WarGames (originally NXT TakeOver: Houston) was a professional wrestling show and WWE Network event in the NXT TakeOver series that took place on November 18, 2017 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The event was produced by WWEfor its NXT brand and streamed live on the WWE Network. The event's name is derived from the match of the same name that was originally used in the National Wrestling Alliance and later, World Championship Wrestling.

Lars Sullivan def. Kassius Ohno

HULK SMASH! 'Nuff said. That's all what really needs to be said about this match. Ohno got some good hits in but ultimately went down swingin'. First match where it didn't look like a complete squash for whoever the poor sap was facing Lars.

Aleister Black def. Velveteen Dream

Dream looking like he was thinking "Black you taking this feud WAAAAYYYY too seriously, homie."

Arguably one of the best matches of this entire show.

Dream does that move but he's out more than Black was from the impact.

I think people are going to be BEGGING 2K to put in whatever that Modified Flow-Over DDT that Dream towards the end. I know some of my e-fedding friends were already calling for that move as their new signatures and finishers. It was over like Rover - along with Dream himself, after this showing tonight.

That's what made this story great (even though savvy WWE historians will be quick to inform you that this feud was a clever nod/throwback to The Undertaker and Goldust feud from the Attitude Era) is that Velveteen Dream didn't even need to win to get over here. The whole feud here with Aleister Black was about proving himself to his rival that he finally acknowledges him by name. I've had people tell me on social media time after FUCKING time that great stories don't matter, but here in 2017 we have a PERFECT example of that statement being painfully false as BOTH men got over here in this scenario, thanks to this powerful narrative, in and out of the ring.

Get the fuck out of here if you believe otherwise.

Fatal 4 Way for NXT Women's Championship - Ember Moon def. Kairi Sane, Peyton Royce, and Nikki Cross to win vacant championship

This wasn't a bad match, I just felt that it was too spot-heavy for my taste. It was obvious that they were using this as one of two cooldown matches before the War Games main event, along with the NXT title match. I loved a lot of the two and three woman spots in this match, especially the double Eclipse to end it. Can't say that I'm surprised Ember Moon took the win. They were putting that win off since before WrestleMania to be honest. I'm glad that Kairi Sane didn't win it in her first "proper" match on one of the NXT Takeover shows too. I know some people were sad that Nikki Cross didn't pick up the win, but give it time. I doubt they are calling up Sanity to the main roster until after WrestleMania anyway, so they have time to give her a chance to shine. Double goes for Peyton Royce, who was sporting new ring gear that looks MILES beyond that wannabe Batman '66 villainess garb.

Dat sell by Peyton LOOOOOL!!!

NXT Championship - "Cien" Almas (w/ Zelina Vega) def. Drew Galloway (c) to become the NEW NXT Champion

I think everyone called this match for Galloway to win this one no problem, until he suffered an injury mid-match. Otherwise, I saw no reason to do that near-fall spot with Zelina hitting that Hurracanrana Buster on Drew followed by Almas' finisher. The reports are all saying that Galloway's going to miss at least 6 months minimum to bounce back from a bicep tear. I think even Almas was legitimately shocked that they had to pull the audible here for the finish. I don't see him keeping the belt past the next Takeover event though. Rosie Perez... err Zelina Vega has been a massive improvement for his character and total package, but I still don't see that dude as championship/main event material for this show. Don't get me wrong. I think Almas is one hell of a worker but he's just not working for me as a whole. Hell, if I'm perfectly honest, this match like the bulk of Almas' matches tend to bore the hell out of me.

War Games Match - The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, and Bobby Fish) def. Sanity (Eric Young, Alexander Wolf, and Killian Dane) and The Authors of Pain & Roderick Strong

I can't speak for everyone else, but after they laid out the rules for this match, it felt just like one of TNA/Impact Wrestling's Lethal Lockdown matches, just with three teams of three members instead of two teams of four to five members like in the WCW vs. nWo days. Sue me, but even after all of the crazy spots and everything that went down in this match, I wasn't really impressed nor blown away here. It was just pretty much what I expected from these three teams in a multi-person match like this. I still don't get what was the reason for War Games with THREE teams. What's even stupider? The tag titles weren't up for grabs, despite the champions (Sanity) were in this match to boot.

I don't shit on these teams' efforts here though. We got some classic ROH action from Adam Cole and former members of reDRagon hitting their signatures spots, including a Chasing the Dragon. Killian Dane cleaned house on EVERYONE and then some for Sanity while the Authors of Pain were doing what they do best and just was throwing people around like lawn furniture. (Whistles) Wolf got busted open the hard way halfway into this match and the medics had to cut open a section of the cage to stitch him up on the spot while the rest of the match continued. The cameras made sure to hide most of that while the action took place in one of the two rings (which really wasn't really justified when they could have done this same match in normal cage match with nine guys). It would've been a tight fit but it would've worked with some creativity.