NXT Takeover: War Games 2020

NXT Takeover: War Games 2020

Capital Wrestling Center, Orlando, FL - December 2020

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, the NXT Champion is Finn Balor, the NXT North American Champion is Leon Ruff, and the NXT Women's Champion is Io Shirai. The NXT Tag Team Champions are Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch and the Cruiserweight Championship is held by Santos Escobar. 

The third annual NXT Takeover: War Games began with a video set to the enduring metal classic "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath highlighting tonight's two War Games matches. 

The first War Games match opened the show - Team LeRae (Candice LeRae, Toni Storm, Dakota Kai, and her minion Raquel Gonzalez) vs. Team Blackheart (Shotzi Blackheart, Io Shirai, Ember Moon, and Rhea Ripley). Dakota Kai and Ember Moon started thing off for their respective teams. Good opening with Kai grinding Moon's face across the cage wall at one point, a War Games classic. Moon came back though and hit a beautiful suplex into the wall followed by a nasty crossbody. Some moves looked a touch too rehearsed or like they cared more about getting their "shit" in than having moves register, but that's a common criticism of today's style of wrestling. Blackheart came in next, grabbing a toolbox from under the ring. Blackheart in December 2020 is in a similar position as where Rhea Ripley was last year, an ascending star who some fans believe can be the focus of the entire division if she's given the opportunity. Obviously, Ripley's career did not work out that way, but who knows what's in store for Blackheart. Blackheart hit a missile dropkick on Kai, who was perched upon Moon's shoulders in a cool tag spot. Raquel Gonzalez came in next and used her size to take out both babyfaces. I'm not sure if Gonzalez is ready for the main roster, but her and Kai are a combo that feels like they could be better utilized in a brand that actually had tag titles to challenge for. Rhea Ripley came in for the faces next, finally getting a showdown with Raquel. In front of a live corwd this would've got a big reaction. Ripley looked sharp, delivering a variety of offense to Kai before opening up the toolbox and bringing out a hammer. Not pleased with the damage the hammer could inflict, Ripley took off her belt and used it to put Kai out of commission. Ripley and Gonzalez went face-to-face again, this time in the space between the two rings. Toni Storm came in for her team and brought in a bunch of kendo sticks before hitting Ripley with a german suplex. Storm then exposed a couple of the turnbuckles, single-handedly turning this match on its ear a bit and raising the stakes. I like the psychology there. What didn't play as well was a "stereo" tower of doom spot in which you could hear the 7 women involved counting down the "launch." Shirai came in next, shoving a ladder into the ring. What's the point of bringing all these weapons in the ring when they've barely been used? Shirai grabbed another ladder but struggled to get into the ring, Gonzalez blocking her entry each time and sending her into the barricade outside the ring. Shirai tossed a series of chairs into the ring and nearly got into the structure after kicking a chair into Gonzalez' face. Toni Storm used a belt to keep the cell door closed and Shirai couldn't get in for the entire 3 minute period. Candice LeRae came in last but met Shirai outside the structure - only to get attacked by Indi Hartwell. Denied entry into the match, the heels used their advantage to beat down Blackheart and the other babyfaces with kendo sticks. At one point, the heels surrounded Shotzi and destroyed her with kendo shots in a great visual. LeRae went for a pinfall but needed to be reminded that the "War Games" had not yet started (as Shirai had not yet entered the ring). In a crazy spot, Shirai then flew off the top rope in a garbage can and took everyone out. That could've went horribly wrong. Shirai opened up a can of whoop ass on the heels, the babyfaces now in full control of the match. Shirai looked like she might end it with a moonsault on Gonzalez, but the pinfall got broken up. After some weak-looking chair shots, we finally got one for the ages as Io Shirai absolutely drilled Kai with a dropkick while Kai was holding one in front of herself. Moments later, Kai got a receipt as, with Shirai in a garbage can, Kai hit a double stomp that looked like it could've crushed her torso and face. That should've ended the match, but it somehow continued, Dakota Kai now turning her attention to Moon. Moon fought her off, though, and hit an insane Eclipse onto Kai as she was draped over two chairs. Storm hit a powerbomb on Moon into a can but only got 2, the signature offense now coming rapidly. I'm not a fan of Shirai being back on her feet, but her and Ripley teamed up to take Storm out before getting taken out themselves by LeRae. With the captains now doing battle, the ladder finally got put to use as Blackheart hit a senton splash on LeRae - who blatantly put a chair on top of herself for some reason. If she had the energy to do that, why not use that energy to roll out of the way? Gonzalez ended the match moments later with a devastating powerbomb on Shirai through the ladder. This match had some tremendous moments, but also a bit too many convoluted sequences. This was close to "must see," but not quite there. (3.5/5)

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher followed. Ciampa came out in a bizarre Dr. Doom-esque costume, a stark contrast to Thatcher's anti-flash persona. They immediately got to work on the mat, Thatcher showing off his old school, smashmouth style. Ciampa rallied early, but Thatcher mostly dominated, Tommaso making Thatcher look like an absolute killer. Thatcher attempted a double-underhook something-or-other, but Ciampa countered it into a back drop. The two men traded shots and ended up in a nasty collision out of the corner. Ciampa delivered a series of big clotheslines before landing a superplex to take control. Ciampa went for the Fairy Tale Ending but Thatcher escaped and locked in the guillotine, the move he used to incapacitate Ciampa on TV. Ciampa wisely rolled out of the ring and both men ended up on the floor. Back in the ring, Ciampa locked in one of the best-looking headlocks I've seen in years, Thatcher's ear lobe now gushing blood. The "color" definitely added to the suspense as Thatcher escaped with a german suplex and then hit another one soon after. Thatcher really "milked" having the accidental blood, gnashing his teeth into the camera. Thatcher went for a german on the apron, but Ciampa elbowed him to the face to escape it. Thatcher maintained control, though, hitting Ciampa with a series of big uppercuts. Ciampa went for a backslide, but Thatcher rolled into the ropes (showing some keen ring awareness in the process). With Thatcher tied up in the ropes, Ciampa went to work, eventually landing the Willow's Bell (DDT through the ropes) and getting a shocking 3 count. I'm not sure the right man won this, though they could be warming Ciampa up to challenge Balor (?). Easily the best Ciampa match I've seen in awhile, but Thatcher was the shining star here to me. (3.5/5)

Cameron Grimes took on Dexter Lumis in a strap match next. This match didn't get a ton of buzz on the internet - largely because Grimes and Lumis are not necessarily eveyone's cup of tea. Personally, I like Grimes - he does good character work and he's perfectly fine in the ring if a bit underwhelming or similar to just about every other guy in NXT these days. Lumis is also quite a character, though his moveset is equally unremarkable in 2020 where so many guys do so much that what stands out more is doing less or doing the simple stuff really well rather than relying on superkicks and dives. But I digress...Even as I deride the "indie style" that has become so pervasive in WWE (and NXT especially), I think having the strap really added to the violence of this and made it feel special and like the culmination of a lengthy rivalry. Of course, regular viewers would probably note that Lumis and Grimes had already squared off in a Haunted House of Terror Match but I don't watch the weekly programming so this felt "special' to me. (3/5)

The North American Championship was on the line next with Leon Ruff defending the title against Johnny Gargano and Damian Priest in a triple threat match. Is Johnny Gargano the best "indie-riffic" wrestler of his generation? This match showed he is definitely in contention for it as this was a non-stop spotfest that also told a clear, beginning-to-end story. I'm not usually a fan of guys shrugging off would-be match-enders, but this match was loaded with more spinning heel kicks than actual finishers and Leon Ruff at least sold the damage of a Razor's Edge through a barricade for more than 2 minutes. Damian Priest was really impressive here and I even liked the overbooking of Gargano having his Scream-masked henchmen re-appearing to take Priest out (though having the "reveal" be Austin Theory didn't do anything for me). There were some terrific sequences in this match and Priest came out of it looking like a star - though, one has to wonder how/why a guy with his size and innate charisma is being kept on NXT when he definitely has the size and look to be on the main roster. Then again, so did Aleister Black and I'm not sure he's been on TV in months. Another near-must see match that didn't quite get there for me. (3.5/5)

Main event time - The Undisputed Era vs. Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan, and Danny Burch. Kyle O'Reilly, who put on one of the better matches of the year against Finn Balor at the last NXT Takeover show, started things off against Pete Dunne, a longtime rival to the Era (who are now pseudo-babyfaces). Having these two start was a smart move as they may be the best, most interesting grapplers on their respective teams. Lorcan came in next to loud boos from the invisible digital crowd. The phony crowd noise might be the thing that prevented most of tonight's matches from achieving "must see"/"classic" status as it was very noticeable at times. Dunne applied a surfboard and Lorcan delivered a series of chops to O'Reilly's chest that were nasty. O'Reilly somehow got some offense in, including a knee onto Lorcan (who was laying on the 2nd rope), before getting bent out of shape by both heels. Bobby Fish came out next, arguably the "lesser" of the reDRagon tag team just because he's a bit less flashy. Together, though, O'Reilly and Fish are second-to-none in terms of tag work and showed it during the few minutes it was just 2-on-2. Danny Burch came in next, brandishing a pair of cricket bats - which is a new one to me. Again, the phony "boos" really detracting from the mood of the match as the "fans" were drowning out Burch's taunts and taking away from the frightful suspense of whether or not the bats would come into play. Eventually, Burch swung and connected to O'Reilly's back, laying him out with a full-force whack that made me wonder if those cricket bats were legit. Roderick Strong came in next for his team, evening the sides. The offensive flurry that Strong unleashed in the next few minutes was just beautiful - everything sharp and executed and believably damaging. Strong really might be the best worker of the whole Undisputed Era (even if he's not the most colorful/charismatic). It took the entire trio of heels to cut him off and regain control of the match as the clock winded down and Pat McAfee made his entrance (bringing four tables into the ring with him - each one labeled with the name of an Undisputed Era member). Again, what could've been a cool moment was hurt a bit by the incessant sound of unnatural boos. Strong was the first to get put through a table - by a McAfee Moonsault, no less. There was a time when that move wasn't in every single wrestler's arsenal which makes it impressive to me even if most modern fans would think that delivering a moonsault is as simple as an arm drag. Cole, seeing his men beaten down on the mat, came in spraying a fire extinguisher and then used a chair to take out everyone he could. I'm not a huge Cole fan, but I bought the fire he showed and his hatred for McAfee. Dunne took Cole out, but O'Reilly made the save and it led to O'Reilly squaring off with McAfee, the British Columbian calling McAfee a bitch and begging him to take a free shot. As McAfee prepared to do so, Cole struck him from behind with a chair - an interesting twist in that it was "classic UE" but maybe not what Kyle O'Reilly, who has been treated as a borderline babyface for the past few months, wanted. The match devolved into a wild brawl from here, action happening all over the place and McAfee eventually applying a figure four in one of the rings. Cole was able to reverse the pressure, but Dunne broke things up, saving McAfee again. The brawling continued until we eventually saw Dunne get planted onto Burch (who was lying on a table they had set up minutes earlier). The announcers clearly expected the table to break, but it didn't - so Roderick Strong splashed them through instead. Moments later, McAfee took a back-first bump through another table that looked about as good as a clearly rehearsed bump could. Credit to McAfee, though, you still only get 1 chance to get it 100% right when the show's live. The Undisputed Era had full control at this point and took the heels out of the equation, eventually surrounding McAfee (who had stopped selling the damage of the table spot). The Era tossed him into the cell wall repeatedly and looked to finish him off but his back-up sprung to life and beat down the UE. The fact that they'd taken their eyes off their opponents made the Era look pretty dumb to me.  The fight raged on, culminating in McAfee taking a superplex into the center of the ring and then, moments later, hitting a ridiculous swanton bomb off the top of the cage onto all 7 of the other men in the match. With everyone else selling the damage, Dunne and O'Reilly ended up back in the spotlight, O'Reilly somehow kicking out of Dunne's finisher. Then it was Dunne's turn to kick out of an insane move, this time an O'Reilly brainbuster/suplex into the metal between the rings. O'Reilly then set up Dunne's head on the chair, taking to the top rope and looking to potentially break Dunne's neck. Before he could, though, McAfee grabbed a chair and took O'Reilly out. Cole made the save and got a hold of the chair, but before he could use it, got low-blowed by McAfee. McAfee attempted a punt, but Cole dodged it and hit him with a big boot. Before he could hit him with his finish, Burch made the save - only to get driven to into a table! After an exchange of superkicks, Cole hit the Panama Sunrise - but only got 2! This shocking twist was followed by maybe the most explosive 40 seconds of wrestling I've ever seen, faces and ribs going into chairs in rapid succession, eventually capped off by O'Reilly scoring the pinfall after dropping a knee onto a chair into the face of Oney Lorcan. Regardless, as good as the finish was - and it was an incredible grand finale of violence - it doesn't change the fact that this match "exposed" too much for me. Pat McAfee, as impressive as his feats of athleticism are, shouldn't be treated as the toughest guy in the match (and surviving a War Games match and kicking out of a Panama Sunrise made him appear to be). While there were far less convoluted spots than in the women's match, there were more lulls in this one and, after 3 hours, the faux audience noise had become like the popcorn kernel shell stuck in your gum - a minor annoyance at first, an increasingly bigger distraction as the show went on. This match just didn't feel "fun" to me and, aside from the ending moments, wasn't even enough of a car crash to register as a must-see spectacle. (2/5)

With a Kwang Score of 3.1-out-of-5, the 2020 edition of NXT Takeover: War Games was generally good-to-great, but not a single match struck me as "must see." Gargano/Priest/Ruff might've been the closest - Gargano put on one of his best performances in months and Priest has at least bit of the "It" factor - but Grimes/Lumis exceeded my expectations and I enjoyed Ciampa/Thatcher for the variety and physicality it offered. The worst match of the night was the main event, a contest that never felt like an actual contest, a war as staged as the one in Wag The Dog. As per usual, the effort, finesse, execution, and athleticism of damn near everyone on the roster is hard to criticize and automatically makes even the worst match on this show not nearly as bad as it could be with lesser talent - but there's still something kinda sad and unfortunate about seeing all these super-talented workers being produced and booked in such uncreative, wrestling-on-a-hamster wheel way. In a sense, NXT has become the buffet filled with only desserts, everything offered just a different level of the same sweet flavor. If you're a fan of modern wrestling and you haven't become completely bored with the style of action these shows provide consistently and almost effortlessly, this show will be right up your alley, but there's something to be said for the way arguably "lesser" shows - even the historically terrible ones - were funner to watch.

FINAL RATING -  Watch It...With Remote in Hand