WWE has added two new matches to the card for NXT TakeOver: WarGames.
The North American Championship will be on the line at TakeOver: WarGames as Leon Ruff defends his title against Johnny Gargano and Damian Priest in a triple threat match. Dexter Lumis and Cameron Grimes will also face off in a strap match at TakeOver.
The North American Championship match was announced after Gargano and then Priest interrupted a KO Show segment with Ruff as the guest on NXT tonight. Ruff shockingly won the title on NXT two weeks ago after getting help from Priest distracting Gargano.
Ruff and Gargano faced off in a rematch last week, but the match ended in a disqualification when Priest punched Ruff so Gargano wouldn’t be able to win the title back. Ruff wasn’t happy with Priest treating him like a joke. He slapped Priest and later got the better of a three-way brawl with Gargano and Priest.
Lumis and Grimes have previously faced each other in a Haunted House of Terror match and a blindfold match. Grimes defeated Jake Atlas on NXT tonight, but Lumis appeared after the match and taunted Grimes. Lumis pulled a strap out and threw it toward Grimes.
Here’s the updated card for TakeOver:
WarGames match: Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish) vs. Team McAfee (Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch)
WarGames match: Team Shotzi (Shotzi Blackheart and three partners to be announced) vs. Team Candice (Candice LeRae; Dakota Kai, Raquel Gonzalez & Toni Storm)
NXT North American Champion Leon Ruff defends his title against Johnny Gargano and Damian Priest in a triple threat match
WWE has revealed most of the lineup for tonight’s episode of NXT.
In an email promoting tonight’s show, WWE advertised that the following will take place on NXT tonight:
– A member of Undisputed Era vs. Pete Dunne (w/ Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch) in a ladder match for the WarGames advantage
Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish) are facing Team McAfee (Pat McAfee, Dunne, Lorcan & Burch) in the men’s WarGames match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames on Sunday, December 6. WWE hasn’t revealed which Undisputed Era member will be taking part in tonight’s ladder match.
– The KO Show with NXT North American Champion Leon Ruff
Along with hosting the KO Show segment, Kevin Owens is doing guest commentary for tonight’s NXT. He’s filling in for Wade Barrett on the show.
In a shocking title change, Ruff won the NXT North American Championship from Johnny Gargano on NXT two weeks ago. Ruff got the win after Gargano was distracted by Damian Priest. A rematch between Ruff and Gargano took place on NXT last week, but it ended in a disqualification when Priest punched Ruff so Gargano wouldn’t win the title.
Ruff slapped Priest in the face after being upset about Priest treating him like a joke. Later in the show, Gargano attacked Priest. Ruff then got involved and got the better of a three-way brawl with Gargano and Priest.
– Ember Moon vs. Candice LeRae (w/ Indi Hartwell)
LeRae and three partners will face Shotzi Blackheart and three partners in this year’s women’s WarGames match at TakeOver. Moon & Toni Storm defeated Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez last Wednesday, but LeRae and Indi Hartwell helped Kai and Gonzalez attack Moon and Storm after.
– Kushida vs. Timothy Thatcher
Kushida defeated Arturo Ruas and Thatcher defeated August Grey on NXT last week. Thatcher was confronted by Tommaso Ciampa after his win.
– Rhea Ripley will address the NXT Universe
On last week’s NXT, Io Shirai retained her NXT Women’s Championship against Ripley in the main event. Shirai and Ripley shook hands and hugged after the match.
Two of the top stars in NXT will face off for the NXT Women’s Championship tonight.
NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai defends her title against Rhea Ripley on tonight’s episode of NXT. Shirai issued the challenge to Ripley two weeks ago, saying Ripley is the one challenge she must face to show that this is her NXT. Ripley accepted and vowed to end this year as champion.
Ripley lost the NXT Women’s Championship to Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 36. Shirai then became champion by defeating Ripley and Charlotte in a triple threat match at NXT TakeOver: In Your House this June.
After last week’s shocking title change, Johnny Gargano will get his rematch for the NXT North American Championship against Leon Ruff. Gargano tried to break his title defense curse by facing Ruff last week, but Ruff won the North American Championship after Gargano was distracted by Damian Priest.
NXT Champion Finn Balor will appear for the first time since undergoing surgery for a broken jaw last month. Balor will give an update on the future of the NXT Championship.
Plus, Dexter Lumis vs. Cameron Grimes in a blindfold match and Ember Moon & Toni Storm vs. Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez are set for tonight.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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The show opened with new NXT North American Champiob Leon Ruff and a recap of his title win. Ruff came out with the belt before a video package began to tell the story of his journey. Johnny Gargano interrupted Ruff, and Gargano cut a promo on him. He then hit Ruff with a cheap shot before the bell rang to start their title match.
NXT North American Champion Leon Ruff defeated Johnny Gargano via disqualification to retain his title
Ruff retained after interference by Damian Priest led to a DQ.
Gargano got heat on Ruff from the start, but Ruff fought back. He fired up on Gargano. That led to Ruff doing a flip dive over the ropes. Gargano cut him off, and then he twice threw Ruff like a lawn dart into a corner.
Gargano was measuring Ruff for an attack when Damian Priest entered the scene. His presence distracted Gargano, and Ruff rolled him up for a near fall. Ruff missed a senton bomb, and he ate a superkick from Gargano.
Gargano delivered the One Final Beat, and he covered Ruff. Priest came down to ringside, and he pulled Ruff out of the ring to break the count. Priest apologized to Ruff before knocking him out with a forearm smash. Priest striking Ruff led to Gargano being DQ’d, so Ruff retains the title. Gargano was not happy to say the least.
Cameron Grimes was cut a cocky promo ahead of his match tonight.
Dexter Lumis vs. Cameron Grimes in a blindfold match had no finish
Grimes punched the referee, but it was by mistake. So that could be a DQ, or maybe not. Nothing was announced as being official. Your guess is as good as mine.
They put the blindfolds on, which were more like sacks over their heads than a typical blindfold. Grimes was freaking out as he ran into things while bumping around the ring. Lumis just stood like a statue.
Grimes ran into the referee, and he thought it was Lumis. So Grimes decked him, and then he began stomping on the ref. The official was also the zombie Grimes had been terrified of in recent weeks.
Grimes took off his blindfold, and saw it was the referee that he knocked out. He tried for a sneak attack on Lumis, but Lumis sidestepped him. Lumis peppered him with punches, and Lumis also took his blindfold off.
Lumis stalked Grimes when he tried to flee. Lumis threw Grimes into the barricades. Grimes hopped a chainlink fence, and he fled the scene.
Damian Priest was backstage being scolded by William Regal, and Priest said he was just joking around. Leon Ruff interrupted to confront Priest. He asked Priest to his face if Priest thought he was a joke. Priest tried to apologize, but Ruff slapped him across the face. Ruff then stormed off, and Regal told Priest that he deserved the slap.
A video aired announcing NXT TakeOver: WarGames for Sunday, December 6. Shotzi Blackheart and Candice LeRae will captain teams against each other.
Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell defeated Kayden Carter & Kacy Catanzaro
LeRae pinned Carter to a win a showcase match for the new heel team.
Heat on Catanzaro until Carter tagged in to clean house on the heels. LeRae eventually got the better of Carter, and then LeRae executed the Wicked Step Sister to score a pinfall.
A vignette hyped the return of Arturo Ruas ahead of his match up next.
Kushida defeated Arturo Ruas
Kushida pinned Ruas in the best match so far. Although that is a low bar, this was still good while it lasted. They grappled and exchanged strikes in a believable manner.
Ruas went for a leg takedown, but Kushida countered by falling backwards and bridging into a pinning combination for a three count. They hyped up Ruas’ return, and then beat him clean. Interesting strategy for getting him over.
Ember Moon & Toni Storm defeated Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez
Storm pinned Kai to wn the match for her team. The babyfaces were attacked after the match by LeRae & Hartwell.
Storm was getting worked over at the start, but she made a comeback on Kai. Moon tagged in, and the babyface team cleared the ring before a commercial break. The heels turned the tide during the break, and Storm was getting worked over again when the show returned from commercial.
Moon ran wild after a hot tag, she nailed Gonzalez with a superkick. Moon then leapt off the second rope to hit a flying codebreaker. Moon went for a cover, but Kai broke up the count. Moments later, Gonzalez mowed down Moon with a high kick.
Heels got heat on Moon until a hot tag brought Storm back into the match. Storm delivered a series of German suplexes, and then a fisherman’s buster for a two count broken up by Gonzalez. Moon came back in to take out Gonzalez. Storm and Kai collided with a double clotheslines, leading to a double down.
Kai and Storm exchanged strikes. The referee became distracted, and Gonzalez posted Storm. Moon saw it happen, and she leapt through the ropes for a tope on Gonzalez. Kai went to drag Storm to the center of the ring, but Storm with a counter that trapped Kai in an inside cradle for the pinfall.
LeRae & Hartwell after the match attacked Moon & Storm. They rolled the babyfaces back into the ring so Kai & Gonzalez could lay them out. This looks to be leading to the women’s War Games match.
Timothy Thatcher defeated August Grey
Thatcher submitted Grey in a short match. Tommaso Ciampa confronted Thatcher after the match.
Grey got in some brief offense at the start, and then Thatcher picked him apart. Thatcher stretched Grey until Grey made a brief comeback. He tired a rope walk into a springboard, but Thatcher cut him down with an uppercut. Thatcher went on to lock in a front facelock, and Grey tapped out.
Thatcher reapplied the submission hold after the bell. Cue Ciampa’s music, and Ciampa came to the ring to confront Thatcher. He had a staredown with Thatcher, who told Ciampa he had no problem with him. Thatcher then backed down, and he left the ring.
In a later interview, Ciampa said he wanted to fight Thatcher.
Gargano Attacks Priest; Ruff Stands Tall
Damian Priest came to the ring for a match, and Johnny Gargano attacked him from behind during Priest’s entrance. They brawled in the ring and around ringside. Leon Ruff ran in, and he seemingly by mistake (in storyline) hit Priest with a dropkick. A tilt-a-whirl headscissors from Ruff then sent Gargano crashing into Priest. Ruff superkicked Gargano.
An angry Priest went after Ruff, but he sidestepped Priest. Ruff dropkicked into each other, and Ruff backdropped Gargano over the ropes on to Priest. Ruff stood tall and held his title belt high overhead. Priest and Grargano both rushed the ring, but Ruff slipped past them.
During a commercial break, Ruff told Regal he would face both Gargano and Priest in a match.
Wade Barrett announced he won’t be doing commentary on next week’s episode. Replacing him for next Wednesday is Kevin Owens on guest commentary.
Boa had not reported to the PC since last week, so William Regal went to Boa’s home to check on him. Through the dark circles around his eyes, Boa warned Regal “she’s coming.”
NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai defeated Rhea Ripley to retain her title
Shirai pinned Ripley to retain. This was a helluva stiff match, and it was pretty good too.
Ripley was in control at the start. She dominated with her power. Ripley dropped Shirai on the apron, and Shirai took a hard shot. During the picture-in-picture commercial break, Ripley stalled while medical staff checked on Shirai.
Like the NWO arriving to Nirto in the middle of the show, Finn Balor supposedly arrived to the building during this match.
Shirai made a comeback and she fired up on Ripley. Somehow Ripley suffered a cut, and she bled from the ear. Ripley ate a stiff shotgun dropkick, yet she still managed to escape a crossface.
They fought on, and Shirai targeted an arm. Shirai went to work on the arm, including a shoulde breaker spot on the apron. The match went through another picture-and-picture commercial break.
The show returned from the break with Ripley giving Shirai a superplex as the momentum had shifted in the match. Ripley kept selling her shoulder, but she was still in control. Ripley applied her inverted cloverleaf submission hold, and she turned it into a giant swing. Shirai managed to reach the bottom rope to break the hold.
Shirai countered the Rip Tide, and Shirai locked in a cross armbreaker. Ripley got a rope break. Shirai with a Tiger Feint Kick, and then she delivered a missile dropkick for a near fall.
Barrett on commentary said “this entire audience is on the their feet.” Well, the live crowd has no seats. So they sort of have to remain standing during the show. [Insert Toru Yano shrug.]
Shirai missed a moonsault, and Ripley hit her with a lariat for another near fall. Shirai again countered the Rip Tide, and she spiked Ripley with a DDT.
Ripley was on the apron when Shirai went for a sunset flip powerbomb. Ripley tried to block it to no avail. Shirai powerbombed Ripley through an announce desk. Ripley teased a countout, but she managed to break the count.
Soon as Ripley got back into the ring, Shirai came off the top rope with a moonsault. Shriai then covered Ripley for a pinfall to retain the title.
Finn Balor Speaks; Undisputed Era Returns
NXT Champion Finn Balor entered the ring for a promo. He congratulated Shirai on her win, as she has just left the ring. Balor said he broke his jaw in two places. Now he has three plates in his jaw that say he is a “bad son of a…” Before Balor could finish his curse word, Pat McAfee and company interrupted him.
McAfee said Balor is in their house now, and McAfee continued to brag about all of the people in NXT they took out since Balor was away. McAfee and his heel faction surrounded Balor, and McAfee told Balor to hand over the title.
Balor said when the cat is away the mice will play. The cat is back, and look what he dragged in…
Undisputed Era made a surprise return, and they were in full force. Adam Cole was back alongside Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish & Roderick Strong. They rushed the ring for a melee with McAfee, Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch.
Cole laid out McAfee with a kick at ringside. The brawling continued as the show went off the air. Looks like they’ll settle this in War Games.
A shocking title change took place on last night’s NXT.
With the help of Damian Priest, Leon Ruff defeated Johnny Gargano last night to win the NXT North American Championship. Ruff got the win with a crucifix bomb after Gargano was distracted by Priest.
In storyline, Gargano was looking to break his title defense curse by facing an easy opponent. Gargano’s “Wheel of Challengers” that decided his opponent had Ruff’s name written over one of the spots and was made so it would land on Ruff’s name.
Priest celebrated with Ruff on the stage as Gargano was furious and in shock about his loss. Priest tried to put the North American title around Ruff’s waist, but it fell off due to Ruff being too small.
Gargano had won the North American title from Priest at Halloween Havoc two weeks ago after getting help from interference by someone wearing a Scream costume. That person was revealed to be Indi Hartwell last night.
Ruff, who is a former EVOLVE Tag Team Champion, has been making frequent appearances on WWE television since March. He was officially announced as a new Performance Center signee last month.
Two other title matches also took place on last night’s show. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch defended their NXT Tag Team titles against former champions Breezango in the main event. Santos Escobar also put his NXT Cruiserweight Championship on the line against Jake Atlas.
A shocking title change opened tonight’s episode of NXT.
Leon Ruff defeated Johnny Gargano on tonight’s show to win the NXT North American Championship. Ruff got help from Gargano being distracted by Damian Priest.
In storyline, Gargano was looking to break his curse of never being able to successfully defend a title. He had promised that he would be facing a “worthy opponent” tonight. Gargano opened the show in the ring with the “Wheel of Challengers.” It had Ruff’s name written over one of the spots and was made so it would land on Ruff’s name.
Gargano was distracted by Priest appearing in the crowd during the match. That allowed Ruff to hit a crucifix bomb and pin Gargano to win the title.
As Gargano looked on in disbelief, Priest celebrated with Ruff on the stage. Priest put the North American title around Ruff’s waist, but it fell off due to Ruff being too small.
There was a segment after the match where Ruff was being interviewed backstage. Priest told Ruff that Gargano is going to be pissed and try to kick his ass, so Priest told Ruff to take the black Challenger that was outside. Gargano then came looking for Ruff. Gargano shoved Priest and had to be stopped by officials. Gargano asked whose stupid idea tonight’s title match was — and Priest pointed out that it was Gargano’s.
Gargano became NXT North American Champion by winning the title from Priest in a Devil’s Playground match at Halloween Havoc two weeks ago. The stipulation was determined by Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal. Gargano won after getting help via interference from someone wearing a Scream costume. The person in the costume was presumably Indi Hartwell.
Ruff is a former EVOLVE Tag Team Champion and was officially introduced as a WWE signee when last month’s Performance Center class was unveiled. Ruff has made several appearances on WWE television since March.
WWE has officially announced its latest group of signees.
The newest group of WWE Performance Center recruits was revealed today and mostly consists of former members of the EVOLVE Wrestling roster, with Brandi Lauren, Curt Stallion, Anthony Greene, Leon Ruff, Joe Gacy, Josh Briggs, and referee Jake Clemons signing with WWE and joining the Performance Center.
It was confirmed this July that WWE had purchased EVOLVE Wrestling. Some past content from EVOLVE started to be uploaded to the WWE Network in August.
Jacob Kasper, a former All-American collegiate wrestler at Duke University, has also signed with WWE and is part of this class of Performance Center recruits. Kasper was recruited by Gerald Brisco. After being furloughed in April’s roster cuts, Brisco was released by WWE last month.
WWE’s full announcement regarding the new recruits is available below:
A new class of recruits has reported for training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla. The group can count among their ranks independent wrestling standouts and an NCAA All-American wrestler.
Brandi Pawelek, known on the independents as Brandi Lauren, is an exciting competitor who has stepped in the ring for promotions like EVOLVE and SHINE.
Camron Rogers is a 6-foot-1 Texan who competes under the name Curt Stallion. Rogers broke out in 2019 in EVOLVE Wrestling, where he battled the likes of SmackDown Superstar Matt Riddle and NXT Superstars Cameron Grimes, Dexter Lumis and Mansoor.
Anthony Greene is a flamboyant Massachusetts native and standout grappler from EVOLVE Wrestling. The 26-year-old stood toe-to-toe with NXT Tag Team Champion Tyler Breeze in EVOLVE, as well as many of his fellow recruits from this class.
Dartanyon Ruffin, better known as Leon Ruff, is a former EVOLVE Tag Team Champion. The energetic 24-year-old has competed on Raw, SmackDown, NXT and 205 Live in recent months, going up against the likes of Sheamus, Aleister Black, Tommaso Ciampa and Legado del Fantasma.
Joseph Ruby is a 6-foot, 249-pound powerhouse from New Jersey. Competing as Joe Gacy, he’s a former three-time Combat Zone Wrestling Heavyweight Champion and EVOLVE Tag Team Champion.
Joshua Bruns is an imposing figure, standing 6-foot-8 and weighing 268 pounds. As Josh Briggs, he’s been the EVOLVE Champion and battled the likes of NXT United Kingdom Champion WALTER, Matt Riddle, John Morrison and Raw Tag Team Champion Angelo Dawkins.
Jacob Kasper is a 25-year-old amateur wrestling standout from Lexington, Ohio. Kasper wrestled at Duke University, where he was a two-time NCAA All-American and won the 2018 ACC heavyweight championship. He also placed in the 2016 Olympic trials.
Jake Clemons of Ohio is a referee who has officiated matches on Monday Night Raw, as well as for promotions like EVOLVE and AIW.
For more information on the WWE Performance Center, visit WWEPerformanceCenter.com.
Less than a month after acquiring the EVOLVE promotion, WWE has reportedly signed two of its talents in Anthony Greene and Leon Ruff.
The Greene signing broke Saturday morning on SportsKeeda while the Ruff signing was first reported by PWInsider earlier this week. Both were members of the EVOLVE roster and it was reported that WWE might be interested in bringing aboard some contracts as part of the July acquisition.
The 26-year-old Greene has been a mainstay in the Northeast indie scene for several years, launching the Zero1 USA Northeast promotion in 2019. He started with EVOLVE in December 2018 and worked regularly there through its final days, losing to Mansoor on their final show on March 1st of this year. He and Josh Briggs were the first match on their 10th anniversary show that ran on the WWE Network.
Ruff has been on and off WWE TV since March in losing efforts on Raw, SmackDown, Main Event, NXT, and 205 Live in more recent weeks. Several days ago, the WWE’s Performance Center YouTube channel posted a three minute video with his back story including his girlfriend and NXT referee Aja Smith. The 24-year-old was an EVOLVE tag team champion with AR Fox.
One of those is a six-man tag match. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott will team up with Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch against Tony Nese, Jack Gallagher & Tehuti Miles.
After Miles got a win against Burch the previous week, Lorcan defeated Miles on 205 Live last Friday. Like in his win against Burch, Miles tried to roll-up Lorcan while holding his tights for leverage. Burch alerted the referee about it, Miles started arguing with Burch, and Lorcan rolled up Miles to get the win.
Scott defeated Gallagher on 205 Live last week after turning an armbar attempt by Gallagher into a pin. Nese then attacked Scott after the match.
Ever-Rise (Chase Parker & Matt Martel) vs. EVOLVE’s Leon Ruff & Adrian Alanis will also air on 205 Live tonight. Ever-Rise previously lost to Lorcan & Burch on an episode of 205 Live last month.
