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On this Sunday episode of Wrestling Observer Live, Andrew Zarian is joined by Ryan Droste from Top Rope Nation Podcast.
We run down the card for NXT Wargames and also discuss Brock’s return to Smackdown this week as they set up the Day 1 pay-per-view. Also, we rundown the ratings, what is suffering, and what’s holding up.
We also discuss AEW’s week including Rampage and Dynamite and marvel at Billy Gunn’s shape.
A cage match between former tag team partners Von Wagner and Kyle O’Reilly will take place on NXT this Tuesday.
O’Reilly threw out the challenge in a promo following an altercation where Wagner tried to attack O’Reilly after their tag match at tonight’s NXT WarGames event. O’Reilly said that he saw the turn coming, and asked to leave the cage set up as he challenged Wagner to the cage match for Tuesday.
The duo were unsuccessful in winning the NXT Tag Team Championship from Imperium (Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner) at tonight’s show After the match, Von Wagner appeared behind O’Reilly, preparing to attack. O’Reilly noticed and attacked him instead, laying him out before exiting the ring.
O’Reilly’s WWE contract is set to expire this month, though the specific date is not known.
Also set for this Tuesday’s NXT is a match between Xyon Quinn and Santos Escobar. MSK will also finally meet the shaman they have been looking for in vignettes that have aired over the last few weeks of NXT television.
MSK will finally meet their shaman this Tuesday on NXT.
A video that recapped MSK’s recent exploits ended with the announcement that the team, comprised of Wes Lee and Nash Carter, would meet their shaman this Tuesday.
Since losing the NXT Tag Team titles to Imperium at Halloween Havoc in October, a series of vignettes have shown MSK traveling around the country looking for a shaman that supposedly will teach them even more about tag team wrestling. On last Tuesday’s episode of NXT, they had finally found the shaman’s location. They opened a door and saw the shaman right as the segment ended.
Along with the shaman reveal, a match between Xyon Quinn and Santos Escobar will take place on Tuesday. The match was mentioned by Legado del Fantasma member Elektra Lopez, who confronted Quinn outside of the WWE Performance Center parking lot, wishing him luck against Escobar as he would need it.
For the first time since its NXT 2.0 rebrand, NXT is set to present a streaming special.
NXT WarGames takes place tonight and will be headlined by two WarGames matches. In the men’s match, it will be old school vs. new school. Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne & LA Knight will face Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Tony D’Angelo & Grayson Waller.
The women’s WarGames match will see Io Shirai, Raquel Gonzalez, Cora Jade & Kay Lee Ray take on Toxic Attraction (Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne) & Dakota Kai.
Breakker and KLR have won the entrance order advantage for their respective teams.
Two title matches are also set for the show. Imperium will put their NXT Tag Team titles on the line against Kyle O’Reilly & Von Wagner, while Joe Gacy will attempt to make the NXT Cruiserweight Championship more inclusive as he challenges Roderick Strong.
Plus, Cameron Grimes and Duke Hudson will face off in a hair vs. hair match.
Tonight’s main card begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time. There will also be a 30-minute pre-show before the event begins.
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Pre-Show —
Sam Roberts and McKenzie Mitchell were the pre-show hosts.
Backstage, the NXT originals were apprehensive about tonight’s WarGames, but LA Knight showed up to give them a pep talk. Meanwhile, the fresh faces were confident. Andre Chase walked up to try and give some advice, but Bron Breakker and Tony D’Angelo scared him away.
The rest of the pre-show involved video packages and promos setting up the rest of the card.
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NXT WarGames report —
Y’all know the rules for WarGames, right?
WarGames:Kay Lee Ray, Raquel Gonzalez, Io Shirai, & Cora Jade defeated Dakota Kai & Toxic Attraction (Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin, & Jacy Jayne) [31:19]
This was a decently laid out WarGames match with some cool moments, but a lack of crisp action and awfully odd psychology made this difficult to get into. The finish came completely out of nowhere. Pretty clearly the weakest WarGames match in NXT history. Out of everyone, I thought Jade and Gonzalez showed the most.
Rose is the NXT Women’s Champion and Dolin & Jayne are the tag champs. Ray and Kai are the team leaders, and they started off for their respective teams as the others were locked in their cages.
Ray brought out a baseball bat and Kai used kendo sticks to equalize. Ray got the advantage with a DDT, but Kai whipped her into the steel cage multiple times. About a minute before the first entry, Ray made a quick comeback with a senton as Kai went for the baseball bat. She smacked Kai with a kendo stick and dropped her over a kendo bridge.
The first entry was Cora Jade, who brought in a skateboard. Kai avoided some shots but took an enziguiri and a running knee. Bizarrely, the babyface team maintained the two-on-one advantage, which goes against standard WarGames psychology, but whatever. Ray and Jade worked together to beat down Kai.
First in for Kai’s team was Gigi Dolin, who brought in a trash can and a duffel bag. She tossed the can at Jade and took her down with a pump kick before hitting an STO and a German suplex on Ray. The heel team maintained control until they paired off, with Jade getting the better of Dolin and placing the trash can over her head. She then landed a dropkick on Dolin through the can before Ray hit a noshigami on Kai through the can.
Next for Ray’s team was Io Shirai, who brought in chairs. The babyfaces took too long messing with the plunder, allowing Kay and Dolin to regain control. The action really wasn’t good here — very aimless and a long beatdown until Jade kind of hit a hurricanrana in between the two rings.
Jacy Jayne was the second entry for Kai’s team, evening the numbers. She brought in a table. Ray was pump kicked through two chairs, but miscommunication led to Jayne kicking her Toxic Attraction partner. Shirai hit corner knees through the trash can lid. Ray’s team isolated Jayne and propped her up on a table, leading to Jade climbing all the way to the top of the structure and diving through Jayne with a pretty spectacular senton bomb. An odd moment ensued where Jade called for medical attention to check on her shoulder, but Shirai wouldn’t let her leave, instead popping it into place.
Last in for Ray’s team was Raquel Gonzalez, who brought in more weapons. However, when she went back for more, Kai and Dolin shut the door. Gonzalez made it back in by spraying them with a fire extinguisher. She laid waste to everyone, dropping Kay in a trash can and swinging her around in it. Lots of wrestlers began to climb the cage; Gonzalez gook out two opponents with a double spinebuster, then did the same with Kai and put her in the trash can again. Shirai crushed Kai with a moonsault through the trash can.
Mandy Rose was the final entrant, meaning pinfalls and submissions were now possible. The two teams ended up on either side of the structure. Ray inexplicably cornered the injured Jade, her teammate, before it was a ruse to take out Kai. The eight competitors brawled.
Eventually the focus turned to Gonzalez, who tried to hit a double powerbomb on Jayne and Dolin, but was cut off by a kendo stick shot from Rose. Toxic Attraction took out Gonzalez with chair shots and covered, but it was broken up by Jade, still selling her shoulder. Jade fought valiantly with a kendo stick but was overwhelmed by the numbers advantage. Rose hit a running knee for a near fall.
We got a parade of big moves, leading to everyone down. Jade suddenly covered Jayne for the win out of nowhere.
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They aired promos for Tiffany Stratton and Boa as well as a video advertising the appearance of MSK’s “Shaman” this Tuesday.
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Team Black and Gold were backstage. Ciampa said tonight wasn’t just their moment as a team, it was Gargano’s moment individually.
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NXT Tag Team Championships: Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) (c) defeated Kyle O’Reilly & Von Wagner [14:53]
This was great. Everyone was impressive, but Fabian Aichner in particular showed off multiple unbelievable athletic moments. Wagner held his own against the veterans. The turn afterwards was extremely bizarre, though.
Barthel and O’Reilly started off, with Aichner quickly tagging in and taking down his opponent with an arm drag. Wagner entered the match and hit a back suplex and a diving headbutt. O’Reilly tagged back in and was isolated by Imperium. The two powerhouses, Wagner and Aichner, faced off. Aichner caught Wagner on his shoulders and hit a great rolling senton in a nice show of strength.
O’Reilly gained control with a flurry of strikes on Barthel. Aichner, the illegal man, cut him off with a kick, allowing Barthel to take him down with a lariat. Wagner got a tag and ran wild on Imperium with big-time throws and suplexes. He dropped Barthel with a back suplex on the apron as O’Reilly landed a diving knee on Aichner. Another back suplex from Wagner got two.
Imperium used their numbers advantage to take out Wagner, then set him up to hit a double dropkick for two. They went for the Imperial Bomb, but Wagner fought out and chokeslammed Aichner onto Barthel. O’Reilly tagged in and locked on the heel hook, but Aichner broke it up with a cool double springboard moonsault.
Wagner took out Barthel as O’Reilly locked on the guillotine on Aichner. Aichner powered out, but O’Reilly turned it into a cradle. Barthel modified the cradle for a good near fall. O’Reilly went for his rebound lariat, but Aichner met him with one of his own for the double down.
In came Wagner and Barthel, who traded right hands in the center of the ring. Aichner knocked down Wagner with a chop block, but O’Reilly and Wagner then hit the High Low on Barthel for a good near fall. The referee was slow on the count as he had been distracted by Aichner.
Barthel baited Wagner to the floor and tagged in Aichner, who hit a sick step-up dive on Wagner out on the outside. Back in the ring, O’Reilly caught Aichner with a brainbuster for a near fall. He locked on a cross armbreaker and then transitioned into a triangle. After a long fight, Aichner powered O’Reilly up and Imperium hit the Imperial Bomb for the win.
– After the match, Wagner turned on O’Reilly but was immediately taken down with a forearm smash. O’Reilly was fired up and threw up the Undisputed Era hand signs on the way out.
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Santos Escobar was interviewed backstage about Xyon Quinn.
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Hair vs. Hair: Cameron Grimes defeated Duke Hudson [10:35]
This was solid. It wasn’t exactly TakeOver-level, but these two completely did their job and accomplished what they were going for.
Hudson overpowered Grimes right away and sent him over the top rope onto the steel steps. Grimes came back with a cannonball senton. He tried to keep up the attack, but Hudson stopped him in his tracks with a uranage. Grimes came back with a nice moonsault to a standing Hudson for two, but Hudson tossed Grimes hard onto the floor.
The match was one-sided for a while with Hudson beating Grimes down. Grimes flipped out of a suplex and hit an enziguiri to start his comeback; the backflip powerslam followed for two. He fought out of a slam with a DDT for another two count. Grimes hit a soccer kick and a sunset flip, but Hudson turned it into a cradle and grabbed the ropes for leverage. The official saw Hudson’s cheating and stopped the count at two.
Grimes hit a nice reverse hurricanrana and a high crossbody for yet another near fall. Hudson came back with a black hole slam for two. He went for Razor’s Edge, but Grimes countered out of it with a hurricanrana and a roll-up with the tights for the win.
– Hudson didn’t want his head shaved and attacked Grimes, but Grimes hit the Cave-In and propped him up in the barber’s chair. Grimes shaved off the top of Hudson’s hair before he came to and ran away.
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Videos aired for Draco Anthony, Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter, and the Grizzled Young Veterans.
NXT New Year’s Evil was announced for January 4, 2022.
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NXT Cruiserweight Championship: Roderick Strong (w/ Diamond Mine) (c) defeated Joe Gacy (w/ Harland) [8:07]
This was just there. No angle or anything.
Gacy did his hug and inclusivity schtick, which Strong wanted no part of. He surprised Strong with a strike, so the champion knocked him down with a backbreaker. Gacy came back with strikes including a hard lariat to the back of the head. Strong peppered his opponent with chops in the corner. They fought on the apron, where Gacy landed a bicycle kick.
Back in the ring, Gacy maintained control with a backbreaker. Strong came back with a rising knee and a superplex. He kind of whiffed on a double-knee gutbuster but then hit an Olympic slam for two. Strong went for a submission, but Gacy countered it into a crossface, forcing Strong to fight to the ropes to force a break. Gacy then landed a flip dive onto Strong and the Creed brothers at ringside.
Out on the floor, Gacy faced off with Ivy Nile, but Harland picked her up and scared her in a really odd moment. Strong hit another jumping knee followed by the End of Heartache for the win.
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There was a completely baffling Ikemen Jiro video.
Kyle O’Reilly was asked about his confrontation with Von Wagner. He said he saw the turn coming a mile away, then challenged him to a cage match for this Tuesday.
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WarGames: Team 2.0 (Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller, & Tony D’Angelo) defeated Team Black & Gold (Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne, & LA Knight) [38:14]
This was really enjoyable for the most part. It wasn’t quite as spectacular as some of the early WarGames matches or last year’s match with Pat McAfee, but outside of that standard, it was an excellent extended hardcore match. 2.0 worked as heels throughout, with Team Black & Gold coming across as super likable. Breakker’s a monster, and Gargano looks like he’s probably done with NXT.
Ciampa is the NXT Champion, whereas Hayes holds the North American tltle. Gargano came out to “Rebel Heart.”
Gargano and Hayes started off. They performed a choreographed exchange early on until Gargano landed his seated snap kick. He cut off a springboard with a kick, but Hayes caught the a slingshot spear. They traded acrobatics over the ropes until Gargano did end up hitting the slingshot spear. Hayes climbed the cage to buy some time before hitting a diving back elbow. They each stood on the top rope using the cage to support them and traded strikes until Gargano hit a great sunset bomb.
Grayson Waller was the first entrant for Team 2.0. He took Gargano down with a suplex before catching a headscissors and hitting a backbreaker. Gargano tried to make a comeback, but Hayes recovered and the veteran was overwhelmed by the two-on-one numbers advantage. Gargano was busted open somehow. He made a brief comeback, and Trick Williams tried to stop his momentum by throwing a chair into the structure, but Gargano smacked Williams’ hands with the chair as he tried to climb. The distraction was enough for Team 2.0 to regain control.
Evening the odds for Team Black & Gold was Pete Dunne, who ran wild on Hayes and Waller. He hit an ex-plex on Hayes on top of Waller before attacking the latter’s fingers through the cage. Gargano and Dunne locked on simultaneous submissions on their two opponents. Hayes used his athleticism to briefly regain the advantage but was cut off with a forearm from Dunne. Waller then hit stunners on both Dunne and Gargano.
Next for Team 2.0 was Tony D’Angelo. Trick assisted him in bringing tables and other plunder into the ring, but Dexter Lumis appeared from under the ring and chased him off. He and Gargano exchanged thumbs up. With the clock running down, D’Angelo padlocked the door shut, and 2.0 continued to dominate.
LA Knight attempted to enter the match, but the door was locked shut. He climbed the side of the cage and entered the match by running wild on everyone. He powerslammed D’Angelo onto Waller and whacked his opponents with kendo sticks. Knight then stuffed Waller in a trash can and smacked him with a kendo stick before Dunne and Gargano hit simultaneous dropkicks. Dunne crushed Waller’s fingers with kendo stick shots.
The final entrant for Team 2.0 was Bron Breakker. He used bolt cutters to break off the padlock, which took a bit longer than expected, but once he finally made it into the match, he destroyed everyone with suplexes and powerslams. Dunne tried to take him out with punches but was effortlessly thrown over the top rope; Breakker then tossed Gargano onto both Dunne and Knight. 2.0 maintained control with the numbers advantage.
Making the match officially underway was Tommaso Ciampa, who used a kendo stick to assist his comeback. There was plunder all over the ring, and Ciampa used a trash can lid to assist in hitting corner running knees on all four opponents. Hayes attacked with a kendo stick, but Gargano saved Ciampa with a crutch shot. Loud “#DIY” chants as Ciampa and Gargano worked together to regain control. They ran wild for a while until Breakker cut them off with a powerslam.
Team 2.0 had Black & Gold surrounded between the rings. Black & Gold exchanged looks and fired up. Waller was sent hard into the cage. With all four 2.0 wrestlers trapped between the ropes and the cage, Black & Gold all beat them down. Dunne propped a trash can between the ropes and Gargano sent Hayes into it with a lawn dart.
They set up a table and Ciampa looked to hit the air raid crash on Waller, but D’Angelo cut him off. Knight sprung to the top rope and tossed Waller through the table in a great spot. D’Angelo and Breakker worked together to powerbomb Dunne and Gargano in a Tower of Doom spot, but Knight then hit the BFT on Hayes for a good near fall.
Knight trapped Breakker in between the ropes and went for another BFT, but D’Angelo cut him off. He and Breakker tried for a double team, but Ciampa interrupted them with trash can shots. Ciampa then hit the air raid crash on Breakker through the trash can for a near fall. D’Angelo set up a table and barked at Waller to climb the cage; Waller obliged as D’Angelo propped Knight on the table. Waller then hit an elbow drop from the top of the cage, but Dunne broke up the pin in the nick of time.
D’Angelo produced a crowbar, but Dunne surprised him with kendo stick shots before turning his attention to Hayes. D’Angelo cut Dunne off and trapped him against the cage using the crowbar. He removed Dunne’s mouthguard and hit a crowbar-assisted neckbreaker off the top rope.
Ciampa and Breakker slugged it own as the only two left standing. Breakker hit a snap Frankensteiner, but Gargano got involved and #DIY overwhelmed the big man. Gargano hit the One Final Beat on Breakker, then Ciampa and Gargano hit #DIY, but Hayes interrupted the cover by pulling the official out of the way. Hayes then poked Ciampa’s eyes and hit Gargano with a low blow.
Hayes taunted Gargano but was stopped with a running knee from Ciampa. Ciampa went for the Fairytale Ending, but Breakker crushed him with a spear through a table set up in the corner. A powerslam out of a military press was enough for Breaker to pin Ciampa and win the match.
– Team 2.0 celebrated and stood tall to end the show.
Editor’s Note: The following is an opinion-based preview and reflects that of the writer and not of our website.
Welcome, cats and kittens, to the new version of NXT: NXT 2.0.
Did you ever wonder what it would be like if NXT was just like every other WWE product? Would it still be fun? Would it still have great wrestling and compelling (if, at times, overwrought) stories? Or, would it be a place replete with manic Kevin Dunn camera cuts and very little of what you used to love? Folks, I have news. It is very, very much the latter. The things that are bad are seriously bad, but that’s because I am still comparing them to the NXT I fell in love with where the bad was still fun and it didn’t make you want to change the channel.
However, not everything is all doom and gloom. There are some notable standouts. If Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams aren’t stars yet, just give it some time. Malcolm Bivens getting weekly screen time has almost made 2021 bearable. But the best thing to happen in this version of NXT is Young Steiner, aka Bron Breakker. What an absolute rocket this guy is. Going from never being on screen to multiple main events in such a short time is kind of staggering.
In the past, the people fast-tracked have come in with a ton of indie cred like the Finn Balor, Shinsuke Nakamura and Kevin Owens types. Bron has wrestled a grand total of 11 matches total on TV and is already this good. For someone to be this good while being this inexperienced is unprecedented. The sky is truly the limit for the big bad booty nephew.
Sunday night: some good and some bad! Never forget that even though life is pain and we continue to exist in a hellscape, soldier on, we must. And I will soldier through previewing this card.
It’s time for WWE NXT WarGames.
Women’s WarGames match: Raquel Gonzalez, Io Shirai, Cora Jade and Kay Lee Ray vs. Dakota Kai and Toxic Attraction (NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose, NXT Tag Team Champions Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne)
Rose rules so hard. She’s not the best in ring talent, but she is certainly not bad, regardless of what a large portion of the wrestling Twitter echo chamber would have you believe. She has the best V-trigger in the business and that is not up for discussion. Kenny Omega could never. I simply have no time for Rose slander, so miss me with it. She came in and added immediate credibility to Dolin and Jayne, and does not look out of place as the Women’s Champion.
The team of faces in this match really do transcend the term ‘thrown together.’ Is KLR someone I’m supposed to root for? Her greatness notwithstanding, but come on. Talk about going against someone’s natural alignment in Jade. What exactly is she supposed to be? Is carrying a small skateboard and being obsessed with CM Punk a personality? And then, there’s Gonzalez and Shirai.
Both WarGames matches feel rushed and disjointed which makes me sad. These matches are brutal for the wrestlers to go through and it’s a real bummer that all 20 people involved are going to put themselves through hell for something that means so little. Specifically, I am sad that Shirai is going to take more insane bumps for something that means this little. What a curious use of such an incredible talent.
Toxic Attraction is clearly being pushed as the main female group of NXT 2.0, so they get the win here.
Hair vs. hair match: Cameron Grimes vs. Duke Hudson
Why, exactly, are we doing this? Grimes, someone who got a butler gimmick over in roughly two weeks, can’t make this work. God help him because he’s doing his best, but he can’t work miracles. A hair vs. hair stipulation is especially dumb when only one person has long hair. Hudson (who is tall) has the hairstyle where you point to a picture of it on the wall of SuperCuts and say ‘Give me that.’
And why exactly are we leaping to something that usually blows off feuds that mean something? They certainly aren’t done after *checks notes* someone getting mad over a poker room or something? I don’t even know if that’s right and I truthfully do not care. This is so dumb that I’m done writing about it. Grimes wins, but who cares?
NXT Tag Team Champions Imperium (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel) vs. Kyle O’Reilly and Von Wagner in a title match
NXT has become such an afterthought that I forgot Imperium were the champs. As I was putting this preview together, I was confused this wasn’t a triple threat. Who knew some embarrassing parents had so much stroke they could get MSK off TV? This is a reminder that the worst type of fan is all of them, especially me.
This match is just kind of weird. Why is it even happening? O’Reilly’s contract is up this month and Wagner is already getting airtime on SmackDown as Adam Pearce’s bodyguard. Does this really sound like a team that’s about to get strapped up? I assure you, it does not. Regardless of whatever happens in O’Reilly’s future, he has been one of the most memorable performers that never got an extended singles run at the top of the card. Kyle, I love you and I hope that whatever comes next is exactly what you want and need. Let me be your Doom Boy.
Imperium retains. Bye bye Kyle. 🙁
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong (w/ The Diamond Mine) vs. Joe Gacy (w/ Harland) in a title match
Malcolm Bivens, my god. Why are you so perfect? Somehow, some way, you have managed to bring Catch Point into WWE and bless you for that. Diamond Mine is such a good way to introduce some of the ‘”real athletes” that NXT is going to feature moving forward. The man formerly known as Big Stoke can handle the heavy mic work and get the group over without the in-ring talent having to worry about any of that. They can just go out, bust ass, and look good. It’s a wonderfully simple formula and shows the value of a real, actual manager. And there are very few managers as good as Malcolm Bivens.
As sure as I am about Bivens, I am really confused by Gacy. The gimmick is intentionally weird, but he’s doing his absolute best to get it over. His commitment certainly can’t be questioned, but I just don’t know if it’s any good. I don’t even know if it’s supposed to be good. I do know that it, most likely, is in service of getting Harland over. Before Harland was name-neutered by the fed, he had name recognition. People knew who he was and it was his name that got him signed. There were Brock Lesnar comparisons, pictures with Eva Marie, etc., etc., etc. There are plans for this guy and we probably can’t say the same about Rod Strong or Gacy.
Look, the Cruiserweight title hasn’t meant anything since it was brought back. This is probably a way for Roddy to drop the belt and have it be repurposed into something else. What that something is, I have no earthly idea. But it will be something. Gacy goes over and wins gold.
Men’s WarGames match: Team Black & Gold (NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne and LA Knight) vs. Team 2.0 (Bron Breakker, NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller and Tony D’Angelo) (w/ Trick Williams)
A full eulogy requires far more time and far more Internet pixels than I have available. If this really the end of the Black & Gold era of NXT, let us remember it for the incredible moments it gave us, rather than its abrupt, undeserved end. Many times, I have written that I don’t have a romantic relationship with wrestling. It was never there for me like it has been for so many others. It was never a beacon in the darkness. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love it and NXT really ignited that love in me. I remember losing my shit when PAC got signed. I couldn’t believe it when Kevin Steen and El Generico went to the company. Guys I loved and only got to see on DVD or on demand were going to a place where I could see them all the time. How could I not love it?
NXT was the type of wrestling that resonates with me. The matches were great and meant something. WWE is a company that is fixated on creating moments and the moments NXT created are some of the most iconic in the last ten or so years of modern wrestling. Bayley and Sasha in Brooklyn. Shinsuke Nakamura’s Dallas debut. Finn Balor bringing out the demon. The return of WarGames. Asuka’s entire NXT run. DIY’s triumph over The Revival in Toronto and later, their destruction. I could go on forever, baby.
NXT was beautiful and nearly perfect and proved that there was a market for just good ass wrestling on American television. Would AEW exist without NXT proving there’s an appetite? Sure, probably. But NXT paved the way for an alternative. They showed what a real wrestling TV show could be, and they changed wrestling forever. It’s sad that the end is here, and it’s sad that it’s going out with something resembling a whimper, but eventually the end comes for us all.
2.0 beats 1.0. The end of the era is here.
WWE has determined which teams will have the entrance order advantage in Sunday’s WarGames matches.
In the men’s WarGames match, the team of Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller & Tony D’Angelo will have the entrance order advantage against Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne & LA Knight. Breakker won the advantage for his team by defeating Gargano in a ladder match on tonight’s NXT.
A fan vote decided who would represent their team in the men’s WarGames advantage ladder match, with Breakker and Gargano getting the most votes.
Io Shirai, Raquel Gonzalez, Cora Jade & Kay Lee Ray will have the entrance order advantage against Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin, Jacy Jayne & Dakota Kai in the women’s WarGames match this Sunday. KLR defeated Kai in a ladder match to get the advantage.
The card for Sunday’s NXT WarGames event is listed below:
Image: WWE
Kyle O’Reilly & Von Wagner are getting a Tag Team title shot at NXT WarGames.
NXT Tag Team Champions Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) will defend their titles against O’Reilly & Wagner at WarGames this Sunday. The title bout was confirmed when O’Reilly & Wagner defeated Legado del Fantasma’s Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde in a number one contender’s match on NXT tonight.
This will be Imperium’s first title defense since becoming NXT Tag Team Champions. They won the titles from MSK in a Lumberjack-O’-Lantern match at Halloween Havoc last month.
Though O’Reilly was initially hesitant to form another tag team after the way that Undisputed Era broke up, his partnership with Wagner began to form following the premiere episode of NXT 2.0 this September. Wagner made his debut on that show and saved O’Reilly from an attack by Pete Dunne and Ridge Holland.
Here’s the updated card for NXT WarGames:
All of the participants for the men’s and women’s WarGames matches are set following tonight’s WWE NXT episode.
In a show-closing angle, NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne and LA Knight brawled with Bron Breakker, NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes, Tony D’Angelo and Grayson Waller to set up the men’s WarGames match at the Sunday, December 5 pay-per-view.
Hayes defeated Gargano and Dunne in a triple threat match to retain the NXT North American title with the help of D’Angelo. Waller lost to Ciampa in the show’s opening match, then brawled with Knight throughout the show backstage.
The women’s WarGames field is also set. NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose and her Toxic Attraction teammates Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne will team with Dakota Kai against Io Shirai, Raquel Gonzalez, Cora Jade and Kay Lee Ray in the WarGames match at the pay-per-view.
Jade defeated Rose on tonight’s show following a distraction from Ray. Ray then joined Shirai, Gonzalez and Jade in a backstage segment and declared that she is joining their team for WarGames.
Kay Lee Ray will face Dakota Kai in a ladder match on next week’s WWE NXT to determine which side will earn the two-on-one advantage to start the pay-per-view match.
Here is the WarGames lineup:
WWE NXT WarGames, Sunday, December 5, 8 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock and pay-per-view —
Joe Gacy is getting a Cruiserweight title shot at NXT WarGames.
WWE has announced that Roderick Strong will defend his NXT Cruiserweight Championship against Gacy at NXT WarGames on Sunday, December 5. The show will air live on Peacock/WWE Network.
Gacy interrupted Strong and his Diamond Mine stablemates while Malcolm Bivens was cutting a promo on NXT last week. On tonight’s show, Gacy was set to face LA Knight until Knight was attacked by Grayson Waller. Gacy started to speak in the ring but was then confronted by Diamond Mine.
Bivens said Diamond Mine was going to steal the spotlight from Gacy like he did to them last week. Bivens wanted Gacy to get out of the ring so that Diamond Mine’s Ivy Nile could have her match, but Gacy refused.
Gacy, who plays a woke heel in NXT, said he has no respect for Strong. Gacy said Strong’s name alone is an example of toxic masculinity, and the NXT Cruiserweight Championship is an example of exclusivity and weight shaming. Gacy said the Cruiserweight division is meant to divide.
Strong told Bivens to make it so his next title defense would be against Gacy. Bivens announced that the match would be happening at WarGames.
Gacy thanked Bivens and said he looks forward to resolving this issue together as one. Bivens wanted Julius & Brutus Creed to attack Gacy, but he called them off after Gacy’s associate Harland appeared.
Strong won the NXT Cruiserweight Championship from Kushida this September.
Ahead of WarGames, “Joe Gacy’s all-inclusive invitational” will take place on NXT next Tuesday.
Here’s the updated card for NXT WarGames:
Cameron Grimes and Duke Hudson will each put their hair on the line when they face off at NXT WarGames.
It was announced during tonight’s NXT that Grimes will take on Hudson in a hair vs. hair match at NXT WarGames on Sunday, December 5. The match comes after Hudson attacked Grimes last week and cut some of his hair and beard off.
Grimes and Hudson took part in a poker showdown on last Tuesday’s NXT. After getting tricked into folding by Grimes, Hudson attacked Grimes and powerbombed him through the poker table. Hudson then got scissors out from under the ring and started cutting Grimes’ hair and beard.
An emotional Grimes spoke on NXT tonight and addressed what Hudson did to him last week. Grimes said people would push him around when he was a kid and tell him he wasn’t good enough, but he scratched and clawed and was able to make it in this industry. Grimes said he even struck it rich, but he kept his hair and beard to remind him of the times when he had nothing.
Grimes challenged Hudson to come out to the ring. Hudson instead appeared on the video screen and said Grimes should be thanking him for cutting his hair. When Grimes challenged him to a hair vs. hair match at NXT WarGames, Hudson accepted. Hudson said he would take the rest of Grimes’ hair.
WarGames is NXT’s first streaming special since its NXT 2.0 rebrand. The show will air live on Peacock/WWE Network.
WWE has officially set a date for NXT’s first streaming special since its “NXT 2.0” rebrand.
During tonight’s episode of NXT, it was announced that “NXT WarGames” will take place on Sunday, December 5. The show will air live on Peacock/WWE Network.
The show isn’t being branded as an “NXT TakeOver” event. The TakeOver name wasn’t used when the announcement was made, and it also isn’t featured on the graphic for the show.
The final TakeOver event before the NXT 2.0 rebrand was this August’s NXT TakeOver 36.
NXT Halloween Havoc took place last month, but that was a special television episode and not a streaming special.
This will be the fifth straight year that NXT has presented a WarGames event.
Llast year’s TakeOver: WarGames was headlined by The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish) defeating Team McAfee (Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch) in a WarGames match. Team Candice (Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Raquel Gonzalez & Toni Storm) defeated Team Shotzi (Shotzi Blackheart, Ember Moon, Rhea Ripley & Io Shirai) in the show’s other WarGames match.
