NXT WARGAMES RECAP & REVIEW
NXT WarGames was a WWE pay-per-view event held on Sunday, December 5th, at the WWE Performance Center in Florida. It aired on Peacock in the US and on the WWE Network internationally.
Team Io (Io Shirai, Raquel Gonzalez, Cora Jade, and Kay Lee Ray) vs Team Toxic (Dakota Kai and Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin, Jacy Jayne, and Mandy Rose). WarGames match
WINNER: TEAM IO
OUR PREDICTION: TEAM IO
OUR RATING: 5/10
This match was okay, but definitely the worst WarGames match we have ever seen. It was also the only one that wasn’t considered a great match since its return in 2017. The match did have some big spots though and it made Cora Jade look like a star. The spots were executed nicely such as Cora Jade jumping off the cage onto everyone. The match ended with Cora Jade pinning Jacy Jane. This match was okay but could have been so much better.
Imperium (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel) (c) vs Kyle O’Reilly and Von Wagner. Tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championship
WINNER: IMPERIUM
OUR PREDICTION: IMPERIUM
OUR RATING: 8/10
This match was surprisingly good. The talent is there but Von Wagner is just so boring. Kyle O’Reilly really helped him out here though. We still don’t even 100% understand why Imperium are the tag team champions right now, but they’re still one of the best tag teams in NXT so it’s alright. This match was so fast paced and everyone showed off. The 14 minutes felt like 5 minutes and it was so perfectly paced as well. The match ended with an Imperial Bomb on Kyle O’Reilly.
Cameron Grimes vs Duke Hudson. Hair vs. hair match
WINNER: CAMERON GRIMES
OUR PREDICTION: CAMERON GRIMES
OUR RATING: 5/10
This was a shorter match and was honestly really forgettable. The hair vs hair stipulation isn’t a very good one in our opinion. It feels like something the main roster would do. It also makes the match feel unimportant. The match also just wasn’t that good, very sloppy and needed work. The match ended with a rollup finish. Overall a sloppy match that should have been better.
Roderick Strong (c) (with The Diamond Mine) vs Joe Gacy (with Harland). Singles match for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship
WINNER: RODERICK STRONG
OUR PREDICTION: JOE GACY
OUR RATING: 6/10
This was an interesting match and it seemed that they were going to get rid of the Cruiserweight Championship but we’re glad they didn’t. This match wasn’t anything special but it was better than we thought it would be and both men put in a lot of effort for the short time period they had. The match ended with a knee to the face from Roderick Strong.
Team 2.0 (Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller, and Tony D’Angelo) (with Trick Williams) vs Team Black & Gold (Johnny Gargano, LA Knight, Pete Dunne, and Tommaso Ciampa). WarGames match
WINNER: TEAM 2.0
OUR PREDICTION: TEAM 2.0
OUR RATING: 9/10
This was by far the best match of the night. All the spots and action were perfect. It felt like there were stakes and it introduced the new stars to NXT perfectly. The reunion of Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano was perfect and so was Carmelo Hayes who did amazing move after amazing move. The match ended with Bron Breakker looking like a breakout star as he pinned the NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa to win the match. This match was amazing and one of the best WarGames matches we have ever seen. The only complaint is that it dragged on a bit long.