'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABQf/2gAIAQEAAAAAmon/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAE/9oACAECEAAAAD//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAE/9oACAEDEAAAAH//xAAjEAABAwMCBwAAAAAAAAAAAAACAQMSBAUGEWEAIiQxMkGB/9oACAEBAAE/AL7cQyg5BRNkzTdYovHCUxTtAdE8d/X0caonhR1AJtD5oTUo7a8f/8QAFxEAAwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIiMf/aAAgBAgEBPwBpw//EABgRAAMBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECEQBR/9oACAEDAQE/AIGanm//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Last week on NXT, fans were treated to the great news about the return of TakeOver: WarGames this year. While The Undisputed Era found The Kings of NXT as their opponents for the show’s biggest match, the women were looking to find some partners to build towards their big match.
With Indi Hartwell by her side, Candice LeRae looked to build a heel team that would be able to undo anyone in the locker room. On the other hand, Shotzi Blackheart would also be looking at the options for who could make her team for the show.
Cameron Grimes competed against Jake Atlas during the show and defeated the cruiserweight Superstar. Later on, Grimes found out that he would be competing against Dexter Lumis in a Strap match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames.
Trending
KUSHIDA and Timothy Thatcher had an extremely technical fight during the show, while The Grizzled Young Veterans made their much-awaited return to the Black and Gold brand.
Kevin Owens took over commentary duty for this week and provided the fans with tons of great content.
In this article, we will look at the five things WWE NXT got right during this week’s show.
#5 Toni Storm turns heel after Ember Moons’ loss on WWE NXT
The War Goddess was all geared up to compete against Candice LeRae this week in the build-up to WWE NXT TakeOver: WarGames. While LeRae was strong during the contest, she had to constantly give out orders to Indi Hartwell to help her against the former NXT Women’s Champion.
Ember Moon wasn’t too thrilled and slammed LeRae with a few big moves to keep her down. The Poison Pixie attempted to walk out of the contest but Moon went after her. This allowed LeRae to finally get in the contest with some strikes outside the ring.
Once LeRae started to pick up the advantage, Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez also decided to walk out to watch the contest. They distracted Moon soon after, and Hartwell took the Eclipse from The War Goddess which allowed The Poison Pixie to deliver the Superkick followed by the Wicked Stepsister to pick up the win.
After the match, the heels stalked Moon before Toni Storm made her way out to the middle. While it seemed like Storm would help Moon, she instead attacked the former NXT Women’s Champion and sent her into the steel steps before throwing her back to the heels to finish the business.
With Storm on LeRae’s side, things have changed completely for the face team for WarGames. Shotzi Blackheart would have liked to have Storm on her team, but it seems like she has already made her way to LeRae’s team instead. This will require Blackheart to think outside the box and pick someone who can neutralize the former NXT UK Women’s Champion.
#4 Rhea Ripley finds her next assignment on WWE NXT
In a backstage segment, Candice LeRae confirmed that her team for WWE NXT TakeOver: WarGames would include Dakota Kai, Toni Storm, and Raquel Gonzalez. Soon after, a pretaped interview of Rhea Ripley was shown where she talked about her future in NXT.
She put over her opponent from last week, Io Shirai, and then opened up about not being sure as to what she’d be doing next on NXT.
The Nightmare walked out to the middle later in the night and confirmed that her eyes were still set on the NXT Women’s Championship and that she wasn’t leaving the Black and Gold brand anytime soon.
LeRae and Storm interrupted The Nightmare and Storm helped her mock the former NXT Women’s Champion. Kai and Gonzalez walked out next carrying Shirai’s lifeless body, showing that the heels had taken out the NXT Women’s Champion.
The heels stormed the ring and destroyed Ripley to make a statement. They wanted to ensure that The Nightmare would not be fit enough to compete at WarGames, much like they did to Ember Moon earlier in the show.
The heels then revealed that they’d hurt anyone who stood between them and victory at WarGames, sending a message to anyone who’d planned to join Shotzi Blackheart's team.
This was another good segment to build towards the women’s WarGames match that will likely be a show-stealer. The heel team already has some of the best Superstars in all of WWE, and with Blackheart’s options running dry, it’ll be interesting to see who she turns to next week.
#3 KUSHIDA continues his winning streak on WWE NXT
Timothy Thatcher and KUSHIDA were set to compete during this week’s WWE NXT. While KUSHIDA has been on a red-hot undefeated run over the past few months, Thatcher has been looking to destroy every Superstar in his path.
Tommaso Ciampa walked out to watch the two men compete as KUSHIDA used his technical prowess to take down the larger man. Thatcher tried some dirty tactics and even trapped the Japanese Superstar’s leg over the ropes in a leg wrench until the referee forced the break.
After using many more submission maneuvers, the two men decided to use their fists in the contest instead. After Thatcher hit KUSHIDA with an underhook suplex, Ciampa stood up from his chair on the stage to distract the technical expert. The distraction allowed KUSHIDA to lock Thatcher in the Hoverboard Lock to pick up the victory.
This was one of the best matches of the night that brought out the best of the two men. NXT managed to make Thatcher look strong in defeat for his upcoming rivalry against Ciampa while giving KUSHIDA a huge victory. This will likely help both men grow on the brand and hopefully compete for a title very soon.
#2 Kevin Owens shows the WWE NXT Universe how it’s done
With Wade Barrett away this week, Kevin Owens took over his duties on the commentary desk to light up the show. KO showed the WWE NXT Universe how it’s done by doing a phenomenal job behind the desk, making fans wonder whether he should be doing this more often like Samoa Joe.
In the later stages of the night, KO hosted The Kevin Owens Show on NXT with special guest Leon Ruff. Ruff has been having a golden run in NXT and has already won the North American Championship.
KO spoke highly of the new NXT North American Champion and gave him some more confidence before Johnny Gargano walked out to the middle. He wasn’t interested in hearing about Ruff’s rise to the top and mocked the new Champion. Damian Priest followed shortly and stated that Ruff was still a better Superstar than Gargano.
After some more words were traded between the four individuals, William Regal walked out to announce that Ruff would defend the North American Championship against Gargano and Priest at NXT TakeOver: WarGames.
This was a huge announcement made during the KO Show. Owens was phenomenal on the announce desk the entire night and did not get physically involved in the action. Having the KO Show on NXT added a good segment to the show that led to the announcement for a big match for early next month.
#1 Pete Dunne defeats Kyle O’Reilly to earn the advantage for WWE NXT WarGames
Earlier in the night, The Undisputed Era took to the WWE NXT ring to talk about how The Kings of NXT had done well to give them a taste of their own medicine. While they were impressed by the new faction, they made it clear that they wouldn’t be letting them go easy at TakeOver: WarGames.
Kyle O’Reilly demanded a shot at Pete Dunne during the night’s main event ladder match to gain the advantage for his team for WarGames. Later in the night, both men squared off in a highly physical match.
Both men knew that a big match was just two weeks away, yet they were ready to take any punishment to ensure that they got the advantage in the match. The Bruiserweight worked on Kyle O’Reilly’s hand while O’Reilly went after his leg during the contest.
Dunne suplexed O’Reilly through a ladder that broke in half. Dunne tried to hit the Bitter End, but O’Reilly countered it into a Guillotine choke. After The Bruiserweight sent O’Reilly knee-first into a ladder, both men limped around with a ladder set up in the middle of the ring.
After dishing out a lot more punishment to The Undisputed Era member, Dunne hit the Bitter End on the guardrail. O’Reilly still somehow managed to recover and climb the ladder, but a hooded man appeared to knock him down the ladder, allowing Dunne to pick up the victory.
This was a fantastic match that could have lit up any TakeOver event. Both men showed class and resilience, and even though Dunne won the battle with a bit of help, both men delivered phenomenal performances.
Undisputed Era has always gone into NXT TakeOver: WarGame matches as the leading heels with the advantage. However, this time the tables have been turned and the faction will play the underdog faces against The Kings of NXT
Vince Russo answers who killed WCW HERE
