'%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,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
NXT TakeOver: WarGames kicked off a long Survivor Series weekend and the results are pretty unanimous – the show was fantastic. Every match was good to great, there were a couple of new champions crowned, and the main event inside the updated version of a Dusty Rhode’s invention more than lived up to the hype.
As great a night of wrestling as this was, nothing is perfect. Mistakes are bound to happen over the course of a live broadcast, even this one.
Among the bigger botches of the night, a huge bit of controversy marred the NXT Women’s Championship Match, Cien almost lost his title during his big celebration, and a cameraman probably forgot to tie his shoes correctly while trying to film Nikki Cross’ entrance.
Also, there was an abundant amount of blood in the main event that WWE tried their best to not actually show on screen. Alexander Wolfe and his bodily fluids kicks off this countdown.
#5 So much blood
Even though the main event (and title of the event) was War Games, WWE still lives in a fairly strict no-blood era. Several competitors, such as Killian Dain and Eric Young, suffered minor nicks that mostly went ignored. However, Alexander Wolfe stretched the bounds of family-friendly programming when he gushed blood from the top of his head.
The injury happened during the Superplex spot through a table against one of the Authors of Pain. Both officials put on the white gloves and until the final moments of the contest, Wolfe was hidden from view of the camera.
The few times that the busted table did make a brief appearance, it was evident that a literal pool of Alexander’s blood was on top of it. The SAnitY member re-entered the action during the final few minutes and he was still a bloody mess.
#4 Watch out, cameraman!
The action was off the charts throughout the whole night, but nobody was safe even outside of the bounds of bell to bell action. As this cameraman tried to get a good view of Nikki Cross while she was on the apron during the entrance, he or she must’ve tripped on a cord while walking backwards.
WWE immediately cut to the hard camera behind Cross, but it was an awkward view that showed nothing more than part of her backside.
Nikki went on to have a good showing during this contest, but was taken out of action for most of it due to being Powerbombed on the floor outside of the ring. There was pretty big controversy regarding the true winner of this match, but we'll get to that in a moment.
#3 Kyle swung a chair onto his own face
Okay, it’s probably not fair to call this a 'botch' because this looked like the move that Kyle O’Reilly intended to pull off. Still, this was a completely unexpected moment of slapstick during a very awesome War Games match that was hard not to laugh out loud for.
He swung a chair towards a not yet bloody Alexander Wolfe, missed and hit the ropes, then smacked himself straight in the face.
Come to think of this, does this count as a violation of WWE's current policy of no chair shots to the head? Does it matter if you're giving the potentially concussion-inducing strike to yourself? Someone in corporate might need to rewrite the policy for this scenario.
#2 Get a tighter grip, Cien
Did anybody actually call this title change? Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas defeated Drew McIntyre for the NXT Championship and good for him.
He was so elated over his big win that while he celebrated with his belt on the entrance ramp, he experienced a brief bit of butterfingers and dropped it. He’s lucky he didn’t accidentally throw it into the Texas crowd.
This shocking win adds intrigue to the NXT product. It came out of nowhere, but considering Almas has never had a bad match as well as the fact that his alliance with Zalina Vega is sparking some real on-air chemistry, this already feels like a gamble that’s paid off.
#1 Peyton really won
As pointed out on Twitter by @andrewmswift, it turns out that Ember Moon’s heartwarming big win in front of her home state currently has a big asterisk next to it. It’s correct to question if she’s really the new NXT Women’s Champion because according to the clip above, Peyton Royce is the rightful winner of last night’s match.
It’s clear as day as Kairi Sane prepares to deliver her gorgeous elbow drop off of the top rope that Nikki Cross’ shoulders were down while The Iconic One laid atop her. The ref even slid his hand near her shoulders to check, proving that he was aware that he was ignoring the fall.
Sane leapt off the top rope and dropped it onto both women at once, a feat that could only be accomplished if Royce was covering Cross.
Peyton and her pal Billie Kay need to address this malfeasance to Commissioner Regal as soon as possible.
