5 things WWE NXT 2.0 got right this week: Mandy Rose suffers surprising loss; the race to WarGames picks up

With just a couple of days to go until TakeOver: WarGames, WWE NXT 2.0 delivered another solid episode this week. The biggest match booked for the night was between Carmello Hayes, Johnny Gargano, and Pete Dunne for the NXT North American Championship.

Cora Jade was also ready to compete in the biggest match of her career against Mandy Rose. The two women will be competing on the opposite teams at NXT TakeOver: WarGames.

Grayson Waller prepared to prove himself at the highest level on Tuesday night. He competed against the NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa on the show.

Legado del Fantasma and the team of Kyle O’Reilly and Von Wagner also made their intentions clear on NXT 2.0. However, the NXT Tag Team Champions Imperium shot them down right away.

The creative team booked an excellent show that helped build the two biggest cage matches for WarGames this year. Take a look at the five things WWE got right on NXT 2.0 this week.

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#5. Grayson Waller took Tommaso Ciampa to the edge on WWE NXT 2.0

Grayson Waller kicked off WWE NXT 2.0 this week. He compared himself to John Cena and The Rock before Tommaso Ciampa came out to shut down the newcomer.

The two men began their match with some standard technical offense as The Blackheart took control early. Ciampa used his superior strength to overpower Waller and sent him over to the announce table.

The NXT Champion got a little too overconfident, and that allowed Waller to make a comeback. The two men exchanged strikes and kept the action ticking before Ciampa hit the Air Raid Crash from the second rope.

He nearly finished things off with the Fairy Tale Ending, but Waller countered it and hit a second-rope springboard elbow drop. The newcomer had the upper hand until the NXT Champion hit a Willow’s Bell and ended things with the Fairy Tale Ending.

Waller was great in the contest and took the NXT Champion to the edge. Ciampa is known for giving newer superstars good matches, and he did the same on Tuesday night. More matches like these will help NXT 2.0 build new superstars quickly.

#4. Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter defeated Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta on WWE NXT 2.0

Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta were set to take on Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter on WWE NXT 2.0. Hartwell was disturbed by Dexter Lumis’ recent hand injury, taking him out of action for a month.

Hartwell was distracted throughout the contest, and Pirotta believed she could take on both opponents herself. The former came into the ring and tried to focus on the competition.

The babyfaces capitalized and took her down before Carter elevated Kacy Catanzaro for a diving splash to win the match on NXT 2.0. The match wasn’t too great, but it did help build two potential storylines.

Hartwell will likely stay distracted for at least a month and cost her team a few more matches. This could force Pirotta to break out and go on a solo run.

Persia has proven herself in the ring and is extremely strong. A solo run on NXT 2.0 could benefit her in the long run.

#3. Cora Jade picked up a big win over Mandy Rose on WWE NXT 2.0

Cora Jade was ready for her big match against Mandy Rose on WWE NXT 2.0 this week. She asked Io Shirai, Zoey Stark, and Raquel Gonzalez to find a fourth member for their team while she dealt with the NXT Women’s Champion.

It looked like Rose would have a quick win to build her championship reign and put the babyfaces on the backfoot. However, the creative team was ready to deliver a surprise this week on NXT 2.0.

Rose dominated Jade early and kept control of the contest for some time. It looked like the former would pick up an easy win. But Kay Lee Ray showed up to distract the Women’s Champion.

Jade took advantage of the situation and stacked up Rose for the three-count. She celebrated her massive victory before KLR joined in as the fourth member of the team.

KLR is a top superstar, and it’s great to see that she has joined the babyface squad. A good performance at TakeOver: WarGames could lead her directly to Rose’s Women’s Championship.

#2. Carmello Hayes retained his title against Johnny Gargano and Pete Dunne on WWE NXT 2.0

Pete Dunne and Johnny Gargano challenged Carmello Hayes in a triple threat match on WWE NXT 2.0. The North American Champion demanded respect and was confident that he would pick up the win over the veterans.

Hayes impressed early and kept both Gargano and Dunne at bay for some time. Johnny Wrestling fought back and wiped out both his opponents with some good moves.

Melo continued to show off his wrestling skills and pushed his challengers to the limits. Dunne closed in on the victory with a Bitter End to Gargano, but The Rebel Heart reversed it into a DDT.

The Bruiserweight hit the Bitter End on the second attempt and nearly picked up the win before Tony D'Angelo ran in to pull Dunne out of the ring. Inside the ring, Melo hit his finisher to pin Gargano and pick up the win.

The match was great and gave Melo a chance to shine amongst two of the top superstars in WWE. Gargano was phenomenal once again and showed just how good he is in the ring.

#1. Fans tasted TakeOver: WarGames on WWE NXT 2.0

After the match came to an end on WWE NXT 2.0, Carmello Hayes, Trick Williams, and Tony D’Angelo had a brief staredown with the veterans. LA Knight and Grayson Waller joined the fray when a big brawl broke out.

Melo tried to shatter Gargano’s hand just like he did with Dexter Lumis. Tommaso Ciampa came out to even the odds and sent the newcomers running.

Bron Breakker was the final man out in the middle. He yelled "WarGames" before leading the newcomers back into the ring to fight the veterans. The WarGames siren started to ring around the arena as the show came to a close.

The main event expectedly led to the biggest match at TakeOver: WarGames. However, it is surprising that Lumis and Kyle O’Reilly will be kept away from the big match, and LA Knight will help the veterans in the fight.

Nonetheless, fans will get their money’s worth at WarGames. Several superstars will be competing inside the steel cage for the first time, and it will be interesting to see how the new crop of NXT 2.0 copes with the pressure.