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NXT TakeOver: War Games II is just a few days away and the card looks very impressive. We officially have four matches on deck, with three of them easily being main event caliber bouts just on name value alone. Without any further ado, let’s dive right in and check out the card, shall we?
#4 Shayna Bazsler vs Kairi Sane- NXT Women's Championship
The history between these two fierce women is beginning to grow and build with each passing battle they share inside the squared circle. Their rivalry began way back at last year’s Mae Young Classic when Kairi Sane defeated Shayna Baszler to win the tournament.
This one victory over Shayna Baszler continued to eat away at her with each passing day that went by. Both women went on to make their respective debuts in NXT, with Shayna Baszler attacking Kairi Sane on the December 27th 2017 episode of NXT. The two women would have their rematch in February on NXT.
Shayna Baszler would defeat “The Pirate Princess” on this night, getting her revenge win and redeeming her one loss from the Mae Young Classic. The two women would officially reignite their rivalry this past August, as they would go one-on-one for the NXT Women’s Championship at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV.
Kairi Sane defeated Shayna Baszler on this night to capture the NXT Women’s Championship for the first time in her career. Her reign as NXT Women’s Champion was short-lived, however, as she would drop the championship title back to Shayna Baszler at WWE Evolution on October 28th.
The victory gave Shayna Baszler her 2nd reign as champion, and the first woman to ever hold the NXT Women’s Championship twice. Weeks later, as previously reported here on Sportskeeda, NXT General Manager William Regal announced that Shayna Baszler and Kairi Sane would face each other one more time for the NXT Women’s Championship, but with an added twist. The match would officially be a 2-out-of-3 Falls match!
Who will walk out of NXT TakeOver: War Games II was your new and undisputed NXT Women’s Champion? Will this truly be the end of the Shayna Baszler/Kairi Sane saga?
#3 Aleister Black vs Johnny Gargano
The long-anticipated showdown between Aleister Black and Johnny Gargano is only a few days away. The feud began all the way back in early August, as the seeds were planted when during this time, Aleister Black had just lost the NXT Championship to Johnny Gargano's former best friend and bitter rival, Tommaso Ciampa. He lost the title due to interference by Gargano, who at the time "accidentally" struck Aleister Black down as he attempted to take out Ciampa. Ciampa capitalized and won the championship.
This led to a confrontation between Aleister Black and Johnny Gargano, where Black returned the favor and delivered the Black Mass (Spinning Roundhouse Kick) to Gargano during a segment.
A week later, Aleister Black was "taken out" by an unknown assailant. This became a classic case of "Who did it?", as pretty much every NXT Superstar was put into question as NXT General Manager William Regal began his investigation.
With Aleister Black out of action, Johnny Gargano took advantage of the situation and unsuccessfully challenged Tommaso Ciampa to an NXT Championship match for NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV. The match was originally intended to be a Triple Threat match but was later changed due to Black's injuries.
As the weeks went by, everyone was questioned and investigated. Nikki Cross would tease William Regal and the NXT Superstars and WWE Universe, claiming that she knew who attacked Aleister Black.
A week later after Nikki Cross confronted Tommaso Ciampa and Velveteen Dream, Aleister Black would make his shocking return to NXT.
After Nikki whispered her "secret" to Aleister Black, he became enraged and furious. This rage would carry over into next week's show, as the mystery assailant would finally be revealed in a shocking turn of events. With one vicious Super Kick and three simple words: "I did it!", the WWE Universe was heartbroken to know that Johnny Gargano was the mystery attacker all along.
A couple weeks later on NXT. The WWE Universe and Aleister Black would get all the answers that were seeking from Johnny Gargano, as a special vignette aired as Gargano explained why he attack Aleister Black.
As we take one final look at the buildup and the animosity between Aleister Black and Johnny Gargano in the video below, will their grudge be settled at NXT TakeOver: War Games II? Perhaps is this just the beginning of things to come?
#2 Tommaso Ciampa vs Velveteen Dream- NXT Championship match
The feud began rather abruptly after Tommaso Ciampa successfully defended his title over Johnny Gargano at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV. The NXT Champion was left without a legit challenger to his title. Aleister Black was out with various injuries. Gargano was put to waste by Ciampa. Who would be next to step up to the plate? Enter the Velveteen Dream; NXT's rising sensation.
Before Nikki Cross interrupted Ciampa and Dream, it was clear that Velveteen Dream wanted a shot against Ciampa and the NXT Championship. In the weeks to come, William Regal officially announced the match for NXT TakeOver: War Games II. Ciampa responded in kind on Twitter with the following tweets.
A week later, Velveteen Dream would face the unstoppable monster Lars Sullivan in a match that would solidify Dream's face turn. After the match, Ciampa would take advantage of the beating Dream took at the hands of Sullivan and add insult to injury.
On the latest episode of NXT, we were shown an amazing video highlighting the feud between Tommaso Ciampa and Velveteen Dream.
The match is sure to be a show stealer. Granted, the event may only have four matches in total, but to say this could very well be a "Match of the Night" candidate, even perhaps a "Match of the Year" candidate, is not outside the realm of possibilities. You have two of the very best wrestlers, pound for pound, in NXT fighting over the NXT Championship. Two elements that go together like gasoline to a spark to create a raging inferno that will erupt and engulf the WWE Universe with a raging fire that will be talked about all over social media for weeks, maybe even months to come. This will truly be a very special match. Will Velveteen Dream realize his dream of becoming the next NXT Champion? Will Tommaso Ciampa make Velveteen's Dream go up in smoke and continue his reign of anarchy and chaos as the reigning NXT Champion?
#1 The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong) vs. Pete Dunne, Ricochet, and War Raiders (Hanson and Rowe) - War Games match
Last year, WWE brought back the War Games match. A match that many wrestling fans have been clamoring to see since the dying days of WCW, many years ago. At last year's NXT TakeOver: War Games (2017), we saw The Undisputed Era defeat Roderick Strong & Authors of Pain and Sanity. Now, over a year later, much has changed. Roderick Strong is now a full-fledged member of The Undisputed Era and they have their sights set on taking down four of NXT's rising stars.
Following the individual feuds between Adam Cole and Ricochet over the NXT North American Championship, where both men exchanged title victories over each other, Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reily and Roderick Strong having the upper hand over The War Raiders in their rivalry for the NXT Tag Team Championship, along with the addition NXT UK Champion Pete Dunn thrown in for good measure to back up Richochet and The War Raiders. The decision was made to settle all the scores once and for all. Following a major brawl that took place NXT, Halloween Night. NXT General Manager William Regal made the monumental announcement.
A week later, a video highlighting the War Games match between all eight men was shown on the November 7th episode of NXT.
On tonight's episode of NXT. A match was made by General Manager William Regal with Kyle O'Reily representing The Undisputed Era would face Hanson from The War Raiders in a singles match. The winner of the match would give his team the decisive one-man advantage in War Games.
As everyone both teams interfered in the match-up, O'Reily would pick up the win over Hanson and give The Undisputed Era the upper hand heading into War Games. The group would solidify their claim to win War Games during the NXT Post Show.
This match is setting up to be one for the ages. No matter which team comes out victorious, we can be certain to see this year's War Games match top what we had seen last year, tenfold. In general, this is (in my opinion) one of the better hyped NXT TakeOver events in the past year and one you do not want to miss!
NXT TakeOver: War Games II will air live on the WWE Network starting at 7 PM (EST).
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