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Roderick Strong vs. Joe Gacy for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship - NXT War Games 2021
The second title match of the NXT War Games 2021 event saw Roderick Strong defend the NXT Cruiserweight Championship against Joe Gacy. The Diamond Mine member has reigned form since defeating KUSHIDA for the gold in September, while Gacy has taken exception to the exclusivity of the cruiserweight division and wants to abolish the weight limit completely.
Strong brought his A-game as expected from one of the best workers on the roster here at NXT War Games 2021, but this contest suffered from the characters trying to get in the way of the work. Gacy performed well, but his over-the-top persona overshadowed any potential greatness he could achieve in between the ropes.
There were plenty of distractions on the outside during this NXT War Games 2021 bout as well, with Harland showing up to pick up Ivy Nile. Gacy was distracted by this and led directly to Strong hitting the End of Heartache to retain the Cruiserweight Championship. This could have accomplished more if they let the guys just work out a competitive encounter.
Star rating: **1/4
Team Black & Gold (NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa, LA Knight, Pete Dunne & Johnny Gargano) vs. Team 2.0 (Bron Breakker, Grayson Waller, Tony D'Angelo & NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes) in the Men's War Games Match - NXT War Games 2021
The most anticipated bout of NXT War Games 2021 had to be the Men's War Games main event. The old school met the new school in a four-on-four battle, which would determine the future of the brand. Team Black and Gold were the stalwarts of the previous era with NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa, Pete Dunne, LA Knight and Johnny Gargano.
Meanwhile, Team 2.0 includes the best of the newest superstars introduced since the rebrand. Bron Breakker has to be considered the top prospect and a monster who has gotten over huge in a short time. His partners Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller and Tony D'Angelo have all made no secret of targeting previous anchors of the brand.
The NXT War Games 2021 main event had a big fight feel right from the entrances, which included Johnny Gargano coming out to his old "Rebel Heart" theme. The energy was palable, with the crowd more invested into this bout than anything else on the evening.
Starting things off with Gargano and Hayes was a great choice. There was even high-octane action in the opening five minutes. Grayson Waller, Pete Dunne and Tony D'Angelo all brought energy upon their entrance. D'Angelo introduced a chain to lock the door, leading to LA Knight hitting a dive off the top of the cage to enter.
Bron Breakker and Tommaso Ciampa came in to get the War Games underway. What followed were high spots and big moments that kept the fans on the edge of their seats for this NXT War Games 2021 main event. Waller hit a flying elbow off the cage on Knight through a table, while Breakker hit a massive spear through a table on Ciampa.
There were awesome callbacks to DIY with Ciampa and Gargano teaming up to give all the fans the feels in what could potentially be Johnny Wrestling's final NXT match. Breakker proved to be the biggest star of the night when he hit his military press powerslam to pin Ciampa and give Team 2.0 the win to close NXT War Games 2021.
Star rating: ****
