WarGames 2021 Preview
Since it’s NXT 2.0, this is pretty much a Takeover without being a Takeover. We still have the double WarGames matches, which have been set up about as well as can be expected. I’m not sure how the whole thing is going to go, but we could be in for a heck of a fight. That being said, NXT’s expectations have more or less plummeted in recent months so I wouldn’t quite get my hopes up as much. Let’s get to it.
Cameron Grimes vs. Duke Hudson
I like Grimes a lot and Hudson is slowly growing on me, but what is working for this match is Grimes’ talking over the last few weeks. Grimes has been cutting some old fashioned wrestling promos about Hudson taking away his hair and beard, which apparently meant a lot to him. That’s the kind of thing that has worked in wrestling for the better part of ever and it worked again to set up this hair vs. hair match.
I’m not sure on this one, but I think I’ll take Grimes. If nothing else, we have already been through the “Grimes loses over and over” deal so having him do it again here would seem counterproductive. Let him get the win and send Hudson on to something else, as Grimes should be fine enough with just the trimmed hair. Getting rid of the caveman look was a big change, but if it gets him higher up on the card where he belongs, I’m all for it.
Cruiserweight Title: Roderick Strong(c) vs. Joe Gacy
So this is a Cruiserweight Title match with a non-cruiserweight because WWE has given up on the title (again). This will be Strong’s first defense of the title since September so the cruiserweight deal is either being dropped or…well what other option is there really? Gacy is claiming weight discrimination or fat shaming or something similar and gets a title shot as a result, because NXT 2.0.
Therefore, we’ll go with Gacy to win, as it is pretty clear that WWE has no interest in keeping the title on Strong. I’m hoping this leads to the title either being dropped completely or turned into some kind of TV Title, the latter of which would be unnecessary in NXT when the North American Title is around. There’s a good chance that the title is done for after Gacy holds it for a bit, so we’ll say he starts his reign here.
Tag Team Titles: Imperium(c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly/Von Wagner
I had to think for a second about who held the titles coming into this show and that is rarely a good sign. This seems to be more about O’Reilly and Wagner’s future than the titles and that does not bode well around here. O’Reilly and Wagner haven’t exactly done much to get much momentum going here and I don’t think I can see that changing in the near or far future.
Give me Imperium to retain here and that is about the only good choice they have here. Wagner and O’Reilly seem destined to lose and split up, with O’Reilly probably putting Wagner over on his way out, likely with an Undisputed Era reunion in his future. That gives us Wagner and Imperium as the real winners in NXT, because…egads because that’s really where we are these days.
Women’s WarGames
This is Toxic Attraction/Dakota Kai vs. an assortment of heroines, because when you think WarGames, you think of Mandy Rose and pals. As little need as there is for this to be a WarGames match, it might be better to have them do a bunch of spots with weapons than trying to have a long form regular match. Leave the big spots to Kai and Io Shirai/Kay Lee Ray and it should lower the risk for a horrific injury.
I’ll go with the villains winning here, as Toxic Attraction needs another big win and I fully expect Ray to embrace her inner villain and turn on the rest of the team. That being said, if she does, it is going to leave NXT rather heel heavy and I don’t know how good of an idea that would be. Toxic Attraction needs challengers, but I’m not sure if either of them are in this match. Therefore, we’ll go with the champs and Kai winning.
Men’s WarGames
This is old vs. new, which is about as good of an idea as NXT has right now and should make for a good WarGames match. As usual, this is going to be about seeing what kind of carnage Bron Breakker can wreck on the rest of the field, as this is the kind of match where he could thrive. There is a lot more talent and success on the old side though and that could make things interesting.
This is where the good guys win, as you have either Grayson Waller or Tony D’Angelo to take the fall for the villains. Breakker is going to wreck people and likely get the NXT Title before the end of the year, but at least he should have a good run in this match to get him there. I’m looking forward to this one, as the DIY reunion alone should be worth a look, but the good/old guys win here.
Overall Thoughts
On paper, this show doesn’t look bad. The problem is that for every good thing they have, there is something else on there that feels like some kind of a joke or a half thought out idea that doesn’t belong on a major show. I do like that they dropped the Takeover name and are just going with the name of the show, because that is the only reason to make this a special at the moment.
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