Takeover: WarGames 2020
Date: December 6, 2020
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

It’s time for what has become something close to NXT’s signature match and that year has one of the better looking matches in the show’s history. Just like last year, we have the men’s and women’s edition of the show’s namesake match, with a good enough looking undercard. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is a general look at WarGames, including the cage being lowered. With that out of the way, we switch into a look at the two WarGames matches.

Team Blackheart vs. Team LeRae

Shotzi Blackheart, Rhea Ripley, Ember Moon, Io Shirai

Candice LeRae, Raquel Gonzalez, Dakota Kai, Toni Storm

We start with the Women’s WarGames match, including a rundown of the rules. After the time is up, the team who won the advantage coming in (Blackheart in this case) sends someone in for a 2-1 advantage for three minutes. Once that time is up, Team LeRae will even things up for three minutes. They alternate until all four each are in and then it’s first pinfall or submission wins. And yes Shotzi has a new and bigger tank, which even shoots something at the side of the cage.

Dakota Kai and Moon start things off and go straight to the mat for the brawl. Moon flips off a sleeper attempt and hits a flipping clothesline in the corner. Dakota sends her into the ropes but Moon is right back with a crossbody against the cage. A charge is cut off by Kai’s raised boots and the Kairopractor connects. Kai chokes away and it’s Shotzi coming in for the advantage. Blackheart whips out a toolbox as she comes in to clean house on Kai. The reverse Cannonball connects against the ropes but Shotzi rams her into the cage.

Kai goes after Moon but Shotzi is back up with a doomsday missile dropkick to put Kai down. Gonzalez comes in to tie it up but Shotzi and Moon are right there to jump her at the door. It doesn’t seem to matter though as Gonzalez wrecks both of them, including powerbombing Shotzi against the cage. Kai is back in to clean house and a kick to the face rocks Shotzi in the corner. A springboard from one ring to another takes out Blackheart and Moon again but it’s Ripley coming in, giving Gonzalez a VERY interested face.

The showdown is on (they’ve got something with these two) until Ripley is cut off by Kai. Moon and Shotzi take care of Gonzalez, leaving Ripley to destroy Kai on her own. It’s time for the toolbox and Ripley busts out a hammer, only to drop it to send Kai into the cage. Gonzalez has dropped Moon and Shotzi though, meaning NOW we get the real showdown. They meet between the rings and slug it out with Ripley getting the better of things until Storm, with kendo sticks, comes in to take over.

Everyone else gets back in but Team LeRae takes over without much trouble. The stick beating is on but all six go to the corner, with Moon hitting a Steiner Bulldog on Kai and Blackheart/Ripley being slammed down as well, leaving all six down. Shirai is in for the final advantage and slides in a ladder, only to be kicked out by Gonzalez. Things get creative as Gonzalez keeps knocking Shirai off, either out of the door or off the side. The time expires and it’s LeRae coming in, only to have Shirai waiting on her outside.

Cue Indi Hartwell to jump Shirai and throw in some more weapons. The big beatdown is on, with the referee even telling LeRae and company to stop and give Shotzi a breather. Moon is back up but it’s Shirai on top of the cage, putting a trashcan over herself and diving onto EVERYBODY for the huge spot. Shirai gets the hammer and cleans house with it (meaning she hits people either with the bottom or flat across the back) and the recorded NXT chants start up again.

There’s the moonsault to Gonzalez but everyone makes the save. LeRae gets the Gargano Escape on Moon (with a wrench) at the same time Shotzi puts Storm in Cattle Mutilation. Shotzi uses a chair to knock a kendo stick out of Storm’s hands before picking up the stick (uh…) to clean house again. Shirai’s charge is sent into the corner and Kai hits the running boot to the face. Kai puts Shirai in the trashcan again for a top rope double stomp but Moon makes the save.

Two chairs are set up and Moon hits the Eclipse to drive Kai into said chairs. Storm makes the save and hits Storm Zero to drive Moon into the trashcan for two. Ripley is back up with the Prism Trap to Storm, with Shirai adding a running dropkick for a bonus. That gives Ripley two and the ladder is bridged between the rings. LeRae superkicks a trashcan lid into Ripley’s face as another ladder is set up in the corner. Shotzi and LeRae climb at the same time, with LeRae being knocked off and onto some chairs.

LeRae puts the chair onto herself, flips it over, and points at it before Shotzi drops a backsplash for the (very well choreographed) crushing. Shirai’s Over The Moonsault hits Ripley but Storm drives Ripley into the cover for the save. Shirai gets caught on top and Gonzalez superbombs her through the bridged ladder for the pin (and likely the next title shot) at 35:34.

Rating: B. This was a long and brutal fight, though it didn’t feel quite like your traditional WarGames. That’s because this isn’t your traditional WarGames, and for the NXT version, it worked out well. There were some great spots in here (that Eclipse onto the chairs looked awesome) but it did feel like they were stretching things out for the sake of stretching things out at times. What we got was a heck of a fight though and that’s what it needed to be, with the right team winning.

Finn Balor says after the team sports end, it’s time for all eyes to go back on the Prince.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher

Ciampa said he wanted to fight and Thatcher was game. Thatcher takes him to the mat and starts working on the arm before switching over to the leg for a change. Ciampa is right back by working on the leg, including stomping on the leg. Thatcher sends him outside though and catches him with an uppercut on the way back in. Hold on though as Ciampa gets knocked into the ropes, meaning the referee needs to check on him. Thatcher is fine enough to uppercut away and sends Ciampa outside for a second.

Back in and another uppercut means another check from the referee so Thatcher grabs a neck crank. Thatcher pulls on the arm as the slugout begins, only to have to send Ciampa into the corner. They bang heads for a double knockdown but it’s Ciampa coming up with the clothesline comeback. A superplex gets two on Thatcher, who is right back with the guillotine. Ciampa drives him through the ropes for the break and they’re both down on the floor.

Back in and Ciampa runs him over, setting up a bulldog choke. Thatcher’s ear is busted open as he makes the rope and manages a German suplex to drop Ciampa again. Ciampa can’t hit Willow’s Bell as he is pulled throat first into the top rope instead. That’s fine with Ciampa, who ties him in the ropes and chops away, setting up Willow’s Bell for the pin at 16:55.

Rating: B. They built this up as two people wanting to beat the heck out of each other and that’s what we got. There was no reason to try for anything more than Thatcher using his technical stuff against Ciampa’s brawling and the formula worked out rather well. Good, hard hitting match here and while I might have gone with Thatcher winning, Ciampa being rebuilt is a good thing for NXT.

They stare at each other after the match so this might not be over.

We recap Cameron Grimes vs. Dexter Lumis. Grimes is cocky and loud so Lumis has been stalking him, including inside a haunted house at Halloween Havoc. As a result, Grimes has been running away over and over so let’s have a strap match.

Cameron Grimes vs. Dexter Lumis

The referee is ready to put the strap on but Grimes wants to use his own. That’s not cool but Grimes jumps Lumis before the bell. They head outside with Grimes sending him into various things and choking with the strap. Back in and Lumis hits a Thesz press to hammer away and now the strap goes on, meaning the bell can ring (so we can get some bonus Lumis you see). Grimes heads outside and tries to escape over the barricade, only to get pulled back for an uppercut.

A hard whip sends Grimes into the barricade but Lumis gets sent over for a change. That lets Lumis do his big scary pull up (he’s no Keith Lee) but Grimes pulls him back to ringside in a crash. A shot to the face drops Lumis again and Grimes wraps the strap around his eyes. With that not being enough, Grimes puts a hood over Lumis’ head and takes him back inside for a whipping. Lumis whips out a spinebuster and, after taking off the hood, heads outside to wrap the strap around the structure around the post.

That goes nowhere as Grimes escapes and kicks Lumis in the chest, only to be pulled off the apron. Back in again and Lumis whips away, only to get German suplexed into the corner. Grimes unloads with a chair before having a seat in it for a change. Lumis catches a charge and hits a fall away slam, only to get pulled off the top. Grimes’ flipping powerslam gets two but both the Cave In and Silence are countered. Lumis ties the legs up with the strap and Grimes goes face first into the open chair. Silence goes on and Grimes taps at 12:55.

Rating: B-. They had a good match here and Grimes is still a natural treasure but….WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT LUMIS??? I’ve yet to miss an episode of NXT and for the life of me I do not understand what is so special about this guy. I don’t get what NXT sees in him and yet it just keeps going for months on end. Anyway, pretty good match with some creative spots, but in the end, it’s still Lumis and that cuts off a lot of my interest.

The lights flicker and a vulture flies around. Karrion Kross’ voice is heard saying Tick Tock. Since Kross’ theme is a clock and he said tick tock over and over, commentary has no idea who this is.

We recap the triple threat match for the North American Title. Johnny Gargano won the title from Damian Priest thanks to some outside interference at Halloween Havoc. That made him cocky so he rigged a wheel to choose Leon Ruff as his first challenger. Priest interfered to cost Gargano the title, making Ruff the fluke champion. Ruff did not like being called a joke and agreed to defend against both at once.

North American Title: Leon Ruff vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Damian Priest

Ruff is defending and gets sent into the corner early on, leaving Gargano to hit a superkick. Gargano takes Ruff into the corner but Priest is back in to throw Ruff out of the way for a second time. Back in and Ruff hits a double missile dropkick before stepping up to Priest. That isn’t the best idea as Priest grabs him by the throat until Gargano makes the save. Priest gets double teamed down but Gargano turns on Ruff with the slingshot spear. Priest is back up as they head outside, with Ruff insisting that he is not a joke.

That earns him a shot to the face and a Razor’s Edge through the barricade as the crowd noise doesn’t seem pleased with Priest. Referees check on Ruff as Priest apologizes for hurting him like that. Gargano is back up but One Final Beat is blocked so Gargano goes with a standing Sliced Bread for two instead. Priest blasts him with a clothesline and they’re both down. With Priest down on the ramp, Ruff comes back and uses him as a launchpad for a clothesline.

A rope walk flip dive off the top takes both challengers down on the floor. Back in and a twisting rope rope cutter (The heck was that?) drops Gargano again, but it only seems to get on his nerves. Ruff clotheslines Gargano for two but Priest is back in, saying Ruff is out of chances. Priest kicks him in the head and lifts them both up in a double Downward Spiral. The double teaming takes Priest down again though, this time with his arms getting tied in the ropes.

Ruff gets quite the two count off a crucifix but Gargano pulls him into the Gargano Escape, right in front of Priest. That’s as bad of an idea as it sounds as Priest gets out and makes the save. The spinwheel kick drops Gargano and Ruff is sent outside, leaving Gargano to take the South of Heaven chokeslam. Cue three Ghostfaces to jump Priest, who shrugs all of them off. Three more show up so Priest hits a big step up flip dive to the floor. Another dive takes out the original trio.

Priest is all fired up (great visual) and chokeslams Gargano onto the apron. Back in and Ruff hits the frog splash for two on Gargano with Priest making the save. The Reckoning is broken up and they trade kicks to the face, with Priest knocking Gargano silly. Cue another Ghostface with a lead pipe to Priest’s back though, allowing Gargano to hit One Final Beat on Ruff for the pin and the title at 17:31.

Rating: B. This was an interesting match as you had Gargano winning the title, but Priest and Ruff got to showcase themselves very well. Priest looks like the monster of monsters right now and that fired up look on his face after the dives was great. At the same time you have Ruff, who probably just moved past the peak of his career, getting a chance to show you what he can do. I can always go for someone making the most of their chances and that is exactly what he did here. Nice job all around with probably the right result.

Post match the main Ghostface is…..Austin Theory.

New Year’s Evil is a special episode of NXT on January 6.

We recap the men’s WarGames match. Pat McAfee and Company got together and ran over NXT, including taking out the Undisputed Era. They set their sights on Finn Balor, but the Era is back for a big fight. That means a William Regal WARGAMES announcement and here we are.

Undisputed Era vs. Team McAfee

Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, Roderick Strong

Pat McAfee, Oney Lorcan, Danny Burch, Pete Dunne

O’Reilly and Dunne start things off and Team McAfee has the advantage. The take their time to start with neither being able to get very far early on. O’Reilly takes him down by the arm to start but can’t get the triangle. He can’t get the cross armbreaker either so Dunne pulls him into a triangle choke in the ropes for a change. With that not going very far, Dunne cranks on the fingers, only to have go after the fingers in the corner. A stomp to the fingers misses so O’Reilly goes with a choke.

O’Reilly knees him in the chest, only to get pulled into a cross armbreaker. That’s broken and it’s Oney Lorcan coming in to kick away at O’Reilly. The double teaming is on with O’Reilly going down but fighting back in a hurry. Lorcan gets caught in the ropes for a guillotine legdrop but Dunne dropkicks the leg out. It’s Bobby Fish coming in to start throwing the knees and there’s a spinebuster to Lorcan. Dunne is back up with a Kimura on O’Reilly but Fish makes the save with a choke.

They go into the cage until time runs out, with Danny Burch telling Pat McAfee that he has this. Burch grabs a bag to pull out a cricket bat to clean house. Like any villain though, Burch takes too long talking trash and gets pulled into a kneebar. Dunne breaks it up with a stomp to the arm and it’s Lorcan with his own cricket bat. The group stomping is on but here’s Roderick Strong running in….and getting stomped down immediately.

Strong fights up to clean house with a dropkick to Lorcan and a backbreaker to Dunne. He heads to the middle of the rings and hits the running forearms to all three at once in a nice little sequence. Lorcan manages to send Strong face first into the cage though and McAfee and Company take over again. With the Era in trouble, it’s McAfee coming in to complete the team, though he needs to grab a table. Make that four tables, each with a member of the Era’s name included.

With all four in, McAfee finally gets in as the team is dismantling the Era. Strong is driven through his table and it’s Cole coming in to finally complete the field. Since McAfee and Company are waiting on him, Cole whips out a fire extinguisher to clear the ring and it’s time to get going. All of the usual takes care of everyone but McAfee and the showdown is on. Dunne steps in Cole’s way though and we hit the slugout, with Dunne taking him down and stomping away at the head.

The Bitter End is countered with a quick DDT but McAfee grabs Cole’s arms so Dunne can kick him in the head. O’Reilly takes Dunne down with a chair and tells McAfee to come fight him if he wants to be a wrestler. Kyle goes on the best rant I’ve ever heard from him, telling McAfee that he’s nothing and to come get some. Everyone is back up and the big fight is on with Lorcan hitting a Blockbuster. O’Reilly and Strong knee Dunne down with Lorcan making the save.

Cole starts kicking people in the face until McAfee chop blocks him down. With the required WOO’s, McAfee puts on a pretty good Figure Four while the other six are brawling at the ropes. Cole turns it over with Dunne having to make his own save. The Era is in trouble with the Cole table being set up but Strong and Fish kick Lorcan and Burch down. Cole hits Dunne with the brainbuster onto the knee for two and sets up a table in the middle of the ring.

Dunne gets powerbombed onto Burch onto a table, which doesn’t break (Barrett: “Where are we getting these tables from?”). Strong splashes both of them through the table and Cole shoves McAfee off the top and through another table in a massive crash. And Company is caught up against the cage so the rest of the Era charges into them with a long series of strikes. Cole gets in on it as well and the Era stands tall. McAfee is all alone and despite claims of a bad back, he tries to scale the cage, which goes about as well as expected.

The group beatdown is on and McAfee is sent hard into the cage. With McAfee mostly done, the rest of the team gets back up and we’re right back at it. A Doomsday European uppercut drops Strong but Dunne is taken off the top with a super neckbreaker. There’s a superplex to McAfee and they’re all down again. Everyone gets together for the big staredown but it’s McAfee going to the top of the cage for the HUGE flip dive onto everyone else for the huge crash.

O’Reilly and Dunne slug it out in the other ring with O’Reilly kicking away, only to get his fingers snapped. A suplex drops Dunne between the rings for two. McAfee grabs a chair and Cole tells him to do his best. Cole knocks it down and takes it away, only to get kicked low. Fish drives Burch through another table and Cole superkicks McAfee out of the air.

The Panama Sunrise plants McAfee for two in a heck of a false finish. The Last Shot misses McAfee but hits Lorcan instead. Dunne is back up with the Bitter End onto an open chair (geez) but O’Reilly kicks him down. A top rope knee onto a chair onto Lorcan’s head gives the Era the pin at 45:06.

Rating: A-. It says a lot when a 45 minute match doesn’t feel long and makes you feel every bit of the pain. I’m surprised at the Era winning but if McAfee isn’t going to be around regularly (fair enough), there was little reason to have his team win. McAfee can come back when he wants and be the best heel in the company, which is probably going to keep him a lot more fresh. I’m not sure what is next for the Era now as there is nothing left for them to do, but dang they had a great one here. Awesome match and crazy brutal throughout, with the Era getting the win in the definitive NXT team battle.

A lot of posing takes us out.

Overall Rating: A-. Yeah it was great and I’m not sure what else there is to say about something like this. All five matches were good to great and I had an awesome time throughout. It’s a heck of a show and worth seeing, though it didn’t have that big show stealing match. Still though, this felt like a Takeover and that’s as strong of an endorsement as you’re going to get.

Results

Team LeRae b. Team Blackheart – Superbomb to Shirai through a ladder

Tommaso Ciampa b. Timothy Thatcher – Willow’s Bell

Dexter Lumis b. Cameron Grimes – Silence

Johnny Gargano b. Leon Ruff and Damian Priest – One Final beat to Ruff

Undisputed Era b. Team McAfee – Top rope knee to a chair to Lorcan

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

We’re already back to Takeover but this time around we have a special attraction which is all you need to sell the show. This time around it’s WarGames, with a pair of the show’s namesake matches. That should make for some awesome stuff in its own right, but there are some other things in there to help fill in the gap. I have a good feeling of where this one is going so let’s get to it.

Dexter Lumis vs. Cameron Grimes

Let’s get this one out of the way first. This is a strap match as Grimes keeps trying to run off so now they’re tying him to the monster. I would be scared of Lumis as well, as he is the kind of guy where I really don’t get what WWE sees in him but that hasn’t stopped them yet. Lumis continues to be just kind of there (literally in some cases as he just stands there a lot of the time) but Grimes is a national treasure, so it balances out a bit.

I’ll take Lumis to win here because that’s how NXT works with him, though Grimes is the kind of guy who can stay over without ever winning a single thing. All I can hope for here is to have Grimes steal the show and do whatever he can, because that’s the best thing that I can hope for here. Lumis is absolutely not the worst thing in the world, but he isn’t someone I want to see in a spot like this. Grimes loses, and I shake my head a bit more.

North American Title: Leon Ruff(c) vs. Damian Priest vs. Johnny Gargano

So we have the big culmination of Gargano messing around with Ruff and losing the title to him, though Ruff has decided to stand up for himself and fight both of them at once. This sounds like something where Ruff should get destroyed so one of them will win the title….and yeah that’s probably exactly what we are going to be seeing here, as we should be getting.

I’ll take Gargano to win here, even though him winning a third time seems to be a little bit much. Ruff does not need to hold onto the title to keep the gag going any longer and the point has already been made. Gargano barely got to hold the title and Priest already had a decent reign (though I could go for more of him holding the title in the future). Go with what was planned before we took the detour, meaning Gargano wins.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher

This is much more of a grudge match, as Ciampa went after Thatcher, who doesn’t take kindly to that. Therefore, let’s have a match. That’s about as easy of a plot as you can get and the rest is dressing everything else up to make the whole story work. They have good chemistry here too and I want to see where it goes. You don’t get that very often in a grudge match and it should work out.

As much as I want to go with Thatcher here, Ciampa needs to get back on the winning track and I can’t imagine Thatcher beating him. Unless Thatcher’s student interferes, it would make the most sense to have Ciampa go over here. If nothing else, you need a nice moment for one of the winners here as there might not be many other things for them to get behind here. Ciampa wins, because he kind of has to.

Women’s WarGames

This has been a little bit of a weird one as it seems to stem from Candice LeRae destroying Shotzi Blackheart’s tank. That is quite the forced reason to start up a WarGames match, but….well ok I haven’t heard many worse, but at least there is a reason to have this one. Granted the teams have been thrown together and I’m not sure how much of a reason they have to be here other than there need to be some people on the teams, but WarGames is better than nothing.

I’m sure Blackheart is going to have her new tank here but I think I’ll go with Team LeRae for the win here. They have a stacked lineup and seem to have a bit more chemistry, though I’m not sure who they have who is going to take out Rhea Ripley. I’m probably wrong on this one, but I really don’t know if I can see Blackheart and her merry band winning here, so we’ll go with LeRae.

Men’s WarGames

Now this is a much more traditional WarGames matches you have two teams ready to fight each other. Believe it or not, one of them is the Undisputed Era, who has been in one of them every year so far. That does not exactly bode well for their futures, but at least they are the established name in the match ala the Horsemen. It gives them some more possibilities, and I think we are going to get to the important one.

I’ll take Pat McAfee and Company (their official name as far as I’m concerned) for the win here, because they have nowhere to go with a loss and the Undisputed Era doesn’t need to win a thing at this point. If nothing else, the main event of the next Takeover almost has to be Pete Dunne taking the NXT Title from Finn Balor (unless Karrion Kross is ready again, though I’m not sure I can imagine going with him again as champion) and this is a good way to get him there. McAfee and Company win, as the Undisputed Era….oh of course they aren’t going up yet, because that’s just not what they do.

Overall Thoughts

This is the first time in a long while that I have felt interested in a Takeover just by looking at the card. The show is looking like it will hit on every point, which is where Takeover tends to shine. There is always the chance that things could go slightly beneath expectations, but just putting WarGames on the card should be more than enough to carry the whole thing. I think.

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Takeover: WarGames III
Date: November 23, 2019
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness

It’s a big night around here as we have not one but two WarGames matches on the same show, which I’m pretty sure has never happened before in a major company. The card is a little bit shorter than your usual Takeover but I have a feeling the quality is going to be just fine. The big question for tonight is who is the final member of Team Ciampa, which could be a lot of people. Let’s get to it.

During the Kickoff Show, it was announced that Mia Yim has been injured and is out of WarGames. No word on the attacker, yet.

Kickoff Show: Angel Garza vs. Isaiah Scott

The first ever Kickoff Show match in NXT history. The entrance features the production area for the Kickoff Show panel, including a video screen for a weird behind the scenes/in front of the scenes hybrid. Hold on as Garza needs to take off his pants but Scott grabs them, only to give us a series of escapes into a standoff.

A headscissors puts Garza on the floor for a handspring hurricanrana (which wasn’t the smoothest thing in the world). Back in and Scott hits a gordbuster into a….I guess cartwheel splash onto the legs? A high crossbody connects but Garza rolls through and sends him into the corner. With Scott down, GARZA HAS TO TAKE OFF HIS PANTS! Scott is so distracted that it’s a superkick into a slingshot reverse suplex into another superkick for two.

The Lionsault misses so Scott is right back with a clothesline. Something close to a side slam gives Scott his own two as commentary keeps swooning over Garza. Scott tries a backdrop into the ropes but Garza flips back into a sitout powerbomb (cool) for two. With Scott on the apron, Garza dives at him but lands in a Death Valley Driver, followed by the double stomp to the floor. Fans: “YOU GOT SWERVED!” The House Call gets two back inside and Scott is shocked. Garza drives him into the corner but can’t use the distraction to hit a low blow. Instead he blocks Scott’s kick and hits the Wing Clipper for the pin at 7:34.

Rating: C. The missed execution hurt both of them but they have been good enough as of late to write that one off as a bad night. Scott continues to be someone with all the potential in the world but WWE keeps having him lose like this. I’m not sure if Garza has that much potential, though the amount of charisma he has is going to take him wherever he wants to go.

Shawn Michaels narrates the opening video, talking about how war is inevitable. The two WarGames matches get the focus, with the two regular matches being mentioned as well, as it should be.

Team Ripley vs. Team Baszler

Rhea Ripley, Tegan Nox, Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai

Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair, Io Shirai, Kay Lee Ray

Kai is Yim’s replacement in WarGames. The first two will face off for five minutes, followed by Team Baszler sending in a second member for a three minute advantage. After that, Team Ripley gets to tie it up for three minutes. The teams alternate entrances every three minutes until everyone is in, and then it’s first pinfall or submission wins. If you leave the cage, you forfeit the match for your entire team. Rhea and Io get huge reactions while Kai is seen as a big of a disappointment.

Shirai and LeRae get things going and they hit the right hands early on. Candice’s headscissors is rolled through as the fans are entirely behind Io. Shirai gets sent to the other ring but is fine enough to block a dive, setting up a 619 from both directions. A rope walk missile dropkick puts Candice down again and she gets sent head first into the metal board between the rings. LeRae’s face gets raked across the cage but she scores with some right hands as Bianca Belair is in to make it 2-1.

The release Glam Slam into the running shooting star have Candice down again but she scores with a reverse hurricanrana. Belair’s charge hits Shirai in the corner so she makes up for it with a triple powerbomb, with the third being a buckle bomb into the cage (Cage bomb?). Belair grabs a camel clutch so Shirai can run the ropes several times into a dropkick to a huge reaction (it’s not that hard to work a crowd up you know).

Rhea Ripley ties things up and it’s already time to bring in the weapons. Hold on though as Rhea pauses to slam the cage door onto Belair’s head before grabbing even more weapons. The fans want tables but have to settle for EVERYTHING else as Rhea goes under the ring at least six times to get weapon after weapon. A belly to back faceplant onto the trashcan makes it even worse for Belair and it’s time to set up some chairs.

Shirai saves Belair from a double suplex through the chairs to prevent a bad case of death as Kay Lee Ray makes it 3-2. She pulls out her own weapons, including a pile of chairs, before pulling out a table….which she slides back under the ring in a good heel move. Chair shots abound, including a tornado DDT to plant Rhea on one of the chairs. A lot of people head over to the corner above the open chairs so Ray folds them down, setting up the HUGE Tower of Doom to crush everyone save for Belair onto the chairs. That’s fine for Belair, who snaps off the gorgeous 450 onto Ripley.

Everyone is down so it’s Dakota Kai to tie things up….but she turns around and kicks Nox in the face before slamming her into the small cage so hard that the cage is actually rocking back and forth. The cage door is slammed onto Nox’s head (you could hear that one all over the arena) and then the knees over and over. Kai takes the brace off so here’s William Regal for the save. Kai shoves HIM and swears a lot as Regal orders her to the back. She comes back though and pulls on the leg again before shouting at a furious Ripley, who is watching from the cage (yeah the cage, which we haven’t seen in a few minutes now).

With Kai finally taken to the back, Baszler finally gets to come out to complete her team and doesn’t exactly seem in a hurry. Ripley is being held back but she breaks free to slug it out with Baszler, only to have the numbers get the better of her. Kai and Nox are officially out so pins and submissions are open. Candice gets in a shot to knock down Shirai and Ray but she has to save Ripley from being handcuffed to the ropes (something I couldn’t see at all watching live). The stereo two on one fights are on with Belair being sent into a trashcan in the corner.

Ripley blocks Ray’s DDT and suplexes her into the cage, setting up the Cloverleaf to Shirai on the top. Not to be outdone, Baszler grabs the Kirifuda Clutch on LeRae across the ring. LeRae slips out though and Ray makes a save with a kick to the head, followed by LeRae’s moonsault for two on Baszler. Belair gorilla presses LeRae over the top onto Ripley and it’s the Gory Bomb to leave LeRae laying. The moonsault gives Shirai two and there are the hair whips to Ripley.

LeRae is back with the kendo stick shots for the save but Shirai takes her down. Shirai goes all the way to the top but LeRae catches her, followed by the super reverse hurricanrana to Ray for the huge crash. LeRae and Belair stand up, only to have Shirai moonsault onto both of them (Mauro: “MAMA F’ING MIA!”) for an even bigger crash. Ripley loads up a trashcan onto two open chairs but stops to knock a trashcan into Ray’s face. That lets Baszler grab the Kirifuda Clutch but Ripley escapes and cuffs them together. Baszler’s big kick misses and it’s Riptide through the chairs to pin Baszler at 27:26.

Rating: B. This was definitely better on a second watch with the additional camera angles showing me a lot that I didn’t see before (including the handcuffs all together). Ripley continues to look like the star of stars and I don’t see how they can’t put the title on her soon. At the same time though, it’s going to take a long time for me to get my head around two women, including one who started the match, beating four, including two champions, at the same time. That’s a lot, and some of the villains just disappeared for long stretches. It’s not some horrible idea or completely unacceptable, but it’s going to take some time.

Ripley and LeRae pose as Baszler knows she’s in big trouble.

We recap the triple threat #1 contenders match. Damian Priest and Pete Dunne were having a match when Killian Dain stared Dunne down. Dain would attack both of them and a three way feud broke out. The match was turned into a #1 contenders match with the winner getting an NXT Title shot at Survivor Series.

Imperium is here.

Pete Dunne vs. Killian Dain vs. Damian Priest

The winner gets Adam Cole tomorrow night. Priest is in Outsiders inspired gear for a nice (and rather random) touch. They all miss some shots to the head to start and stare each other down until Priest sends Dunne outside. With Dain down in the corner, Dunne comes back in to kick away at Priest’s legs. Dunne stomps on Dain’s arm but gets hit in the face by Priest for his efforts. Priest’s big step up flip dive is cut off by Dunne and Dain crossbodies Priest down.

For a bonus, Dain Michinoku Drivers Dunne and sits on Priest’s face at the same time. They head outside with Dain Samoan dropping Priest and Dunne hitting a fall away slam on Dunne at the same time, just to show off a bit. Back in and Dain gets double teamed as Dunne and Priest get smart for a change. A suplex puts Dain down and Dunne steps on the fingers to some well received applause. Dunne goes for a triangle on Priest but Dain grabs the fingers, setting up a double powerbomb to plant Dunne hard.

The monsters slug it out so Dunne comes back in to hammer on both of them as he just likes to fight. A double stomp onto a hand of both sends everyone into a series of strikes until all three go down. As the other two fight, Priest heads up top for a flip dive and it’s the South of Heaven chokeslam for two on Dunne. Priest isn’t done though and drops Dunn onto the announcers’ table, only to get taken down by Dain’s dive. A Cannonball sends Priest through part of the barricade and everyone is down again.

Dain is back in with a backsplash to Priest but the Vader Bomb is broken up with a kick to the head. A Razor’s Edge (impressive one too) drops Dain with Dunne having to dive back in for the save. Dain is sent outside again so Priest hits the big dive over the top. Dunne isn’t about to be outdone and hits a moonsault off the top onto both of them. It’s Dunne and Priest heading back inside to slug it out but Dunne can’t hit the Reckoning. The chokeslam is countered into a cross armbreaker and Priest certainly appears to be tapping.

Dain makes the save and hits a One Winged Angel for two on Priest. Dunne somehow gets Dain up for the Bitter End so Priest has to kick him in the head for the save. It’s Priest back up for a kick to the head for two on Dunne though, with Dain literally falling onto them for the break. A chop block sends Priest to the floor, leaving Dunne to superplex Dain. The Bitter End hits Priest with Dain’s backsplash making another save. Dunne grabs the choke on Dain, who backsplashes onto Priest, only to have Dunne shove Dain away to pin Priest at 19:57.

Rating: B+. I had a great time with this one as they were working hard the entire way and hitting one big spot after another. This didn’t feel anywhere close to twenty minutes and that made for an entertaining match. Dunne was the pretty obvious winner as the monsters split the difference, but that doesn’t mean it was any less entertaining. Heck of a fight here and Dunne vs. Cole should be even better.

Takeover: Portland is on Sunday (that’s a new one) February 16.

We recap Finn Balor vs. Matt Riddle. Balor returned to the promotion a few weeks back and turned on Johnny Gargano. The big explanation was that NXT isn’t as tough as it used to be. Gargano was hurt, so Riddle is taking his place to fight for the modern NXT’s honor.

Matt Riddle vs. Finn Balor

To keep up as a heel, Balor has to avoid the pose in time with his song. Feeling out process to start with Riddle taking him down by the arm but getting stacked up for two. That means a standoff and we reset early on. They head to the mat and with Riddle pretty clearly more dominant, Balor dives over to grab a headlock. Riddle rolls the northern lights suplexes but gets pulled straight down into the chinlock. Seemingly tired of the holds, Balor stomps away in the corner….before grabbing the chinlock again.

Riddle gets sent outside for the baseball slide, with one boot NAILING him in the jaw for a great visual, made even better by slow motion. That just seems to wake him up as he hits a kick to the face into a Broton for two. The running forearms are blocked by a raised boot in the corner though and a forearm keeps Riddle in trouble. Riddle is right back with the ankle lock so Balor finally gets over to the rope for the break.

Balor’s German suplex doesn’t really work so Riddle knees him in the head and gets two off his own German suplex. There’s the ripcord knee but Balor shrugs it off again and hits the double stomp to stay on Riddle’s ribs. A spear cuts Balor down though and it’s a Jackhammer for two and the GOLDBERG chants are on in full.

Balor is right back up with an inverted 1916 for his own two but Riddle Bro to Sleeps him right back. The Floating Bro misses though and Balor dropkicks him into the corner. The Coup de Grace is pulled straight down into the Bromission (that was sweet) but Balor rolls out. Riddle goes for the knee again but gets pulled into 1916 for the pin at 14:24.

Rating: B-. This was good but not quite as awesome as I was expecting. They never hit that next gear which you would expect them to be able to reach. Riddle losing here makes sense as he’ll likely get his big moment at Survivor Series. Balor needs the win more as he’s freshly back in NXT and can move way up the ladder, but he needed to win here to start him on the right path. Good match, but not great.

We recap the men’s WarGames match. The Undisputed Era holds all of the titles but Ciampa is back to get the NXT Championship that he never lost. Lee and Keith Lee and Dominick Dijakovic are as hot as anyone in WWE at the moment so they’re joining in, but they still don’t have a fourth man. Ciampa telling the title that it has to wait because Daddy’s going to war was outstanding and made Ciampa seem even stronger than he was coming in.

Team Ciampa vs. Undisputed Era

There is no fourth man for Team Ciampa to start as the waiting continues. The Era has the advantage because they’re the villains and NXT knows its WarGames history. Ciampa, sporting the war paint, and Strong are starting things off with Ciampa holding his crutch before the bell. Fans: “DADDY’S HOME!” Desperate to fight, Ciampa throws him the crutch and the war is on in a hurry. Ciampa stomps away in the corner and sends him into the cage, only to have Strong come back with a backbreaker.

They head over to the other ring with Strong being dropped ribs first over the top rope. Ciampa unloads with right hands in the corner and there’s a running knee to the face to make it worse. A hard knee knocks Strong silly again but he’s able to break up Willow’s Bell. Back in the other ring, Strong has to fight out of the Fairy Tale Ending and hits double knees to the chest. They slug it out some more until O’Reilly comes in to make it 2-1.

The knees and kicks to the chest drop Ciampa as the fans are ready to bask in some glory. O’Reilly holds Ciampa on the ropes for the running forearms from O’Reilly. The beating continues until Dijakovic ties things up and starts hitting people rather hard. Dijakovic throws O’Reilly onto Strong but it’s too early for Feast Your Eyes. Therefore, Strong gets thrown into the cage over and over for a consolation prize. O’Reilly gets the same and Ciampa is back up to hammer away even more. Some right hands put O’Reilly down between the rings but it’s Bobby Fish to give the advantage back.

Fish gets to take over and it’s a High/Low to Dijakovic. Ciampa is knocked down as well and Fish insists that “WE GOT THIS COLE!” A lot of strikes have the good guys in trouble until it’s Lee coming in to wreck people in a hurry. Lee leapfrogs Fish and O’Reilly before crossbodying both of them to show off a bit. O’Reilly has to save Fish from a powerbomb and it’s time to triple team Lee as the Era has to get rid of him as long as possible. Ciampa is back up and makes the fired up comeback until the numbers get the better of him too.

Dijakovic slams O’Reilly into the other ring and it’s time for everyone but Ciampa to join them. Things slow down a bit until Cole completes the Era. He isn’t ready to come in just yet though as he pulls out a table, then another, then another, then another, then another, the another, with one of them being laid against the barricade and FIVE being sent inside. Cole still can’t get inside though as Ciampa shoves him through the table against the barricade.

Ciampa goes out to get him, which should have meant he left the cage and forfeited the match but maybe that only counts once everyone is in. Everyone gets into one ring for the cool visual and the fight is on. A low blow cuts Lee down but the time is up and it’s…..no one at first, as we wait on the Era to turn around so they can be shocked. It’s Kevin Owens (with his old Titantron and first NXT shirt) to complete the team to a huge hero’s welcome. Owens starts wrecking people, including a release sleeper suplex to O’Reilly.

Strong gets powerbombed onto O’Reilly’s back and it’s the big staredown with Cole. Owens tells Cole to suck it and hits the Stunner for two as Lee and Dijakovic are back up. They launch Strong over the ropes and into the other ring onto Strong. Willow’s Bell plants O’Reilly and it’s time to set up the tables. Lee hits the big dive onto almost everyone but O’Reilly comes in off the top with a knee to Lee’s knee, setting up a kneebar. That’s broken up by Dijakovic but Fish comes in with a moonsault.

The Fairy Tale Ending to Strong sets up the Swanton from Owens for two, meaning Cole has to make his own save. Lee heads up again but gets pulled down with a super Angle Slam. Ax and Smash gets two and there’s the High/Low to Dijakovic. Owens and Lee fight in between the rings with Owens not being able to hit the package piledriver. Cole however can hit a superkick and a (slightly delayed) Panama Sunrise for the huge knockdown. Fish and O’Reilly are up first and set up the tables but it’s Ciampa with Project Ciampa to O’Reilly.

Running knees to the face have the rest of the Era in trouble, including several to send Cole’s head into the cage. They head to the top and there is no way this can end well. Ciampa can’t hit White Noise but he can block the Panama Sunrise through the tables. It’s Cole heading all the way to the top of the cage and Ciampa joins him, drawing the PLEASE DON’T DIE chants.

Dijakovic sends Strong through a table but gets triangled by O’Reilly. They head to the table with Owens hitting a frog splash to drive O’Reilly through, leaving Lee to superbomb Strong through another. Cole and Ciampa stand up on top of the cage and it’s a SUPER WHITE NOISE OFF THE CAGE THROUGH THE TABLES to END Cole at 38:28.

Rating: A. This felt like the war that it was supposed to be and my goodness that finish. I don’t remember being that nervous since I saw Shane McMahon dive off the Cell. That was the big finish that the match needed and the whole thing was a great showcase of all eight guys. Awesome stuff and I got WAY more into it on the second watch than the first time around. Ciampa pinning Cole was the way to go here as it gives us a nearly guaranteed title match while also giving us the big finish. Great stuff here and it felt like war, which is hard to pull off.

Post match, Britt Baker, identified by name and as Cole’s girlfriend, is shown looking terrified as everyone is done. Team Ciampa pulls themselves up and poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. This one was a little shorter than most recent Takeovers and in a way, that is the best thing that could have happened. They had everything making sense and went hard the entire way, leaving us with four rather awesome matches. Survivor Series is NXT’s chance to shine on the big stage but this was their big show where they had to take care of things on their own. Another awesome show and more than worth seeing, especially with the somewhat shorter run time.

Results

Team Ripley b. Team Baszler – Riptide onto a chair to Baszler

Pete Dunne b. Damian Priest and Killian Dain – Backsplash to Priest

Finn Balor b. Matt Riddle – 1916

Team Ciampa b. Undisputed Era – Super White Noise through tables to Cole

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Some people stood out over the weekend.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-five-star-weekend/

The view from the upper deck.

I was sitting in the upper deck looking straight at the entrance. This is a bit annoying as I could barely see the far ring and the equipment was blocking the screen. That’s likely going to make the TV version a heck of a lot easier to watch.

The arena was mostly full with only a few tarped off rows rather than sections on the hard camera side. It was a very hot crowd, as you would expect.

I liked most of the women’s match (the heel turn was great and you could hear the THUD when Kai sent her into the cage around the arena) but it’s going to take a lot for me to buy Ripley and LeRae beating four women, including two champions, on their own.

The triple threat match was great and some of the false finishes were very good. This wasn’t supposed to be reinventing the wheel as you had two big guys who could move and a fighter in Dunne going at it for a prize. They did their thing and it was awesome.

I wasn’t feeling Balor vs. Riddle as much, but Riddle was CRAZY over, as was Balor. They have their work cut out for them getting Balor booed and Gargano is going to be in trouble when he gets back as far as keeping the crowd on his side.

The men’s WarGames was better and MY GOODNESS I haven’t felt so nervous on a spot since I saw Shane dive off the Cell live. That spot at the end was insane and one of the scariest things I can remember in wrestling. Owens being the big surprise was great as you knew he was going to get the superstar pop in NXT. Very good and violent match, which again is going to look better with the televised version.

Overall it was another great WarGames, but not on the top level. This one was really hurt by everything else going on and now we have about three months before….Portland? On a Sunday? I mean…..sure why not.

Back in 2017, NXT shocked a lot of wrestling fans by announcing the WarGames was making its WWE debut at the November Takeover, which happened to be called Takeover: WarGames. Then they had the match….and it wasn’t exactly WarGames with a weird three way format that only kind of worked. The problem was fixed the following year with a much more traditional format, but since WWE can’t keep things the same, we are up for a different format this year with TWO WarGames, including the first women’s WarGames match. The card is shorter than the usual Takeover, but that makes sense. Let’s get to it.

Pete Dunne vs. Killian Dain vs. Damien Priest

This, which was originally announced for this week’s TV, is now taking place here with the winner moving on to Survivor Series for a shot against NXT Champion Adam Cole. That could go multiple ways, but with Cole in WarGames and having wrestled in a ladder match on Wednesday, it would be a big stretch to have him lose to anyone (barring some form of interference from the Undisputed Era, which would be pretty lame).

I’ll take Dunne to win here and go on to become NXT Champion. Yeah that sounds like the easy way to go, but at the same time, Dunne is someone that could easily become a top guy. The Undisputed Era holding all four titles is not something that can last forever and after having them exposed to the main roster with so much success, how much longer can you really keep them together down in NXT? If Cole can beat Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan, it’s a bit much to believe that he belongs in the third brand. So yeah, Dunne wins and becomes champion in my prediction almost guaranteed to go wrong.

Matt Riddle vs. Finn Balor

Riddle is taking the place of Johnny Gargano, who was injured at Balor’s hands. That’s such a major perk of NXT: they have the kind of roster where one star is out so they can just pop another one in like it’s nothing. That kind of thing is so valuable to them and almost no one can come close to doing that. There isn’t much of a personal issue here, but it’s Balor’s first major match since his heel turn and you know what that means.

On paper, this should be Balor’s all day, but you never know what you might get. My guess is Balor, but Riddle getting one of the biggest wins of his career isn’t out of the question either. I would go with Balor winning to establish him as something bigger though, especially with the big showdown with Gargano coming sooner or later. If you have Balor lose here, what is the point in having Gargano beat him later? Balor wins here, and likely by cheating to show how he’s fully evil now.

Women’s WarGames

So this is a first and we even have the lineups set in advance for this one (Rhea Ripley/Mia Yim/Tegan Nox/Candice LeRae vs. Shayna Baszler/Io Shirai/Bianca Belair/Kay Lee Ray). This match has been built up well enough, though I’m not sure how much sense it makes to put them inside of WarGames. It would seem more suited for something like a street fight, but I’ll take what I can get. Letting them have weapons would make sense, as Shirai can certainly swing a kendo stick. I’m curious to see how this goes, but I’m not sure how well it is going to work.

I’ll take Team Ripley to win as Ripley seems primed to be the next person to go after Baszler. She doesn’t have to beat Baszler herself, but that swinging Cloverleaf is one of the coolest looking finishers going today. Have her slap that on Belair for the win and then move on to FINALLY (and I do mean FINALLY) take the title off of Baszler. Just let everyone get some time to shine and everything should be fine.

Men’s WarGames

This one is about who will be the final member of Team Ciampa (Tommaso Ciampa/Keith Lee/Dominik Dijakovic/???) as they face the Undisputed Era. Triple H has hyped up the final member of the team being a big deal but I don’t think it’s going to be Triple H himself. The question now is who gets the big spot, which is more intriguing to me than who wins. I’m not sure who it is going to be, but that is the more fun part.

I’ll certainly take Team Ciampa to win as there is little point in having the all champions team go over here. That brings up the big question of the mystery partner and I’ll take….let’s go with Sami Zayn. It would be a surprise, the place would be rather pleased and it would fit well. Either him or Isaiah Scott, who has been treated as a big deal. Or maybe they have a fresh name coming in, though that isn’t something NXT does very often. And no, it won’t be CM Punk, even in Chicago.

Overall Thoughts

The car has one fewer match than usual but come on. It’s TWO WARGAMES matches, which has never actually happened before in any major company. They have title implications plus the question of the mystery entrant, which really could be quite a number of people. I’m excited to see the show and the fact that I’ll be in the arena has nothing to do with that, I assure you.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6