NXT – November 14, 2018: They Made War Sound Fun
IMG Credit: WWE
NXT
Date: November 14, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness
It’s the go home show for Takeover: WarGames II and the card seems to be mostly set. This time around there might only be four matches, but one of them will be 2/3 falls and another is WarGames so things should be fine. Tonight is the big final push towards the show and that should make for a fun show. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Opening sequence.
Bianca Belair vs. Mia Yim
This was set up last week in a backstage argument. Belair grabs her by the hair to start and throws Mia down without too much effort. Mia is right back with a headlock takeover and some trash talk, followed by the knee strikes. A pair of dropkicks have Belair in trouble and two more knock her down but Mia gets sent outside. Back in and Belair cranks on the neck, which does as much damage as you might expect. Some choking in the corner keeps Mia down but Belair spends too much time bragging to the crowd.
A missed legdrop lets Mia start the comeback, including sending her face first into the middle buckle. An assortment of kicks are cut off by a spinebuster to give Belair two but Mia is back with palm strikes. The cannonball in the corner connects and looks to set up Soul Food, which is reversed into the KOD to give Belair the pin at 8:04.
Rating: B-. This started slow but got much better by the end in a good match. Belair has all the natural talents you could ask for and the character work is coming along. A veteran like Yim is more polished and that’s always something valuable to have around. They’re testing Belair more every time and it’s becoming very fun to watch.
Ricochet and Pete Dunne argue over who will face a member of the Undisputed Era in the match for an advantage in WarGames. Hanson gets tired of the argument and says he’ll take the spot himself.
Long video on Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano with clips of the investigation spliced together with clips of Johnny’s big explanation last week and Gargano’s obsession with Tommaso Ciampa. It’s very, very impressive to weave three stories together like that and they knocked it out of the park.
Matt Riddle talks about how awesome his time here has been so far when Kassius Ohno comes in. Why hasn’t Riddle challenged him to a match yet? When Ohno came back to NXT, he challenged Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Roode but Riddle hasn’t done a thing. Riddle is cool with that and the match is set for next week.
Karisa Rivera vs. Lacey Evans
Rivera is a second generation wrestler. A drop toehold takes Karisa down and that means some pushups on her back. Rivera comes back with a dropkick for one, which just annoys Evans. She rams Karisa’s head into the mat over and over, followed by the Woman’s Right for the pin at 1:50.
Post match Lacey says so many ladies have forgotten about sophistication, but she’ll lead by example.
Video on Tommaso Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream, which also spun off from the Aleister Black attack. Ciampa, who talks to his title, wants everyone out of his spotlight and you just don’t say that to the Dream. Lars Sullivan isn’t mentioned at all.
Video on Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler. They’ve feuded for over a year now and what should be the final showdown is 2/3 falls with Baszler defending again. Sane holding up her empty treasure chest is a great visual and exactly what you would expect from her.
Takeover rundown.
Hanson vs. Kyle O’Reilly
The winners team gets the WarGames advantage. Kyle’s early right hands have no effect and Hanson screams at him. After a shoulder puts him down, O’Reilly tries sitting on the mat and kicking from his back. Hansen picks him up without much effort and puts him on the corner for some slaps to the chest. O’Reilly finally gets smart by kicking at the knee but not being able to get a half crab.
Instead he slaps Hanson in the head a few times and then chop blocks the monster down. The kneebar goes on so Hanson uses the free leg to kick O’Reilly square in the jaw. Hanson is up with a swinging powerslam for two and O’Reilly bails to the floor, only to get caught with a suicide dive. O’Reilly is dead and here’s Adam Cole for a distraction, causing Hanson to miss a moonsault.
A running knee gives O’Reilly two and it’s off to an ankle lock. Hanson makes the rope and Cole hits an enziguri to give O’Reilly two more. Cue Rowe to take care of Cole, allowing Hanson to clothesline O’Reilly down. Fish and Strong come out to take care of Rowe, drawing Dunne out as well. Ricochet comes out and hits a big flip dive over the referee to take everyone out. The distraction lets O’Reilly hit Hanson with a title for the pin at 11:59.
Rating: B-. Nice match here with all of the interference being appropriate for once. You had to know the Undisputed Era was going to win here because it’s WarGames, but it was nice to have the match actually be fun. It helps that all of the Undisputed Era can put on a good match so throwing them out there in singles works just fine.
One last WarGames video wraps us up.
Overall Rating: A. Good wrestling, very good build towards Takeover, angle advancement and a big match being set up for next week. What else could you ever ask for out of a go home show? This show did everything it could be asked to do and that made for a really easy show that made me want to see Saturday’s show. That’s as good as it gets and NXT nailed it again.
Results
Bianca Belair b. Mia Yim – KOD
Lacey Evans b. Karisa Rivera – Woman’s Right
Kyle O’Reilly b. Hanson – Belt shot to the head
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I wish they would call it something else. I am a traditionalist fan and no matter how many New Japan stealing, no-selling high spots they have in this match, it still is NOT Wargames.