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Following another stellar Takeover event, NXT continued on its tradition of post Takeover episodes being mostly a recap of the events of the previous weekend's Takeover. The first in-ring action of the episode saw Keith Lee heading to the ring and he was soon joined in the square circle by Fidel Bravo. The Finest was a clear head and shoulders in size taller than his Mexican American wrestling. Bravo barely got any offense before he was taken out by the talented and charismatic big man.
Following the match, the episode relived the NXT Women's Championship match between Shayna Baszler and Kairi Sane in a 2 out of 3 falls match. Baszler was aided by her fellow Horsewomen in Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke, while Io Shirai and Dakota Kai would later come out and help out Kairi Sane. Baszler won in controversial fashion, as it seemed that Kairi's shoulder had come off the mat during the decisive pinfall.
Next, Matt Riddle was confronted by Kassius Ohno during the former's appearance on the Takeover pre-show panel. This was quickly followed by footage Riddle's in-ring promo and then their Takeover Squash match. The match really made Riddle look like the real deal, but completely destroys any legitimacy that Ohno had left.
Lars Sullivan would then make his way down to the ring. He faced Keita Murray in another quick squash. Sullivan hit a grand total of 2 moves before hitting his finisher, the Freak Accident, and covered his opponent for the finisher. Sullivan got on to the microphone after his victory to cut a promo demanding a match for the NXT title. Sullivan would emphasize this by attacking his downed opponent. However, Sullivan's attack was interrupted by Keith Lee who made the save.
The episode once again took a rewind back to the 5-star classic between Johnny Gargano and Aleister Black. The exhausting battle between two of NXT's main event talents was one for the ages as the momentum swung back and forth, and it looked like either could have won this war of attrition. Gargano has fully embraced his new heel persona, and Black is as menacing as he always is. The match was a physical battle and the two threw everything they had at each other. Several moments in this match could only work if both wrestlers had the impeccable timing, such as Black hitting Gargano with a high knee as Gargano went for a Tope Suicida.
Following a review of the NXT Title match and the War Games fight between Undisputed Era and the ragtag team of War Raiders, Ricochet, and Pete Dunne. The main event of the evening saw Candace LeRae face the newly promoted Nikki Cross. Despite both Cross and LaRae both being talented wrestlers in their own right, the start of their fight saw both of them seen to botch and hesitate as they felt each other out. However, as they settled into the rhythm of the fight the two got closer and closer to the level you would expect from these two competitors. Cross would pick up the victory after hitting LaRae with a rope-hang neck breaker.
#3 Nikki Cross
In what could be one of her last matches on the NXT brand before she rejoins her Sanity stablemates at Smackdown, Cross defeated LaRae in this week's main event. While fight started off with something seeming off, potentially overwhelmed by wrestling in front of the Takeover crowd, right before Takeover: War Games was about to start.
After the initial awkwardness, the two seemed to settle into a rhythm and they had the match you would expect from two of the better female superstars on the NXT roster. It was a little scrappy between the two, with Cross playing her usual sadistic psychopath, and willing to absorb all that LaRae could throw at her. Cross managed to kick out after LaRae hit her with both the Unprettier and refused to tap out when she was locked in the Gargano-Escape.
Cross managed to win after hitting a devastating rope-hang neck breaker.
As said previously, this could be Cross' final Takeover event before rejoining Sanity on Smackdown Live. The WWE Performance Centre uploaded a video to their YouTube channel showing Cross being emotional before the event in a touching out of character video.
#2 Candice LaRae
LaRae has had a tough time since joining NXT. After starting with a bang, defeating Zelina Vega in her in-ring debut. She's been relegated to Johnny Gargano's wife and has been on the losing end to feuds against Lacey Evans and others on NXT TV. LaRae is incredibly talented in her own right, and this match against Cross continues to show her in-ring talent. Since her husband's heel turn, Candice has also seemingly developed a darker side.
The issues at the start of the fight between LaRae and Cross seemed to have little to do with their in-ring talent, and certainly, as the fight wore on the better it got. Once LaRae hit the dropkick on a grounded Cross, the timing seemed to improve and both wrestlers began hitting their strides. LaRae hit a stunning Unprettier, which is usually a sluggish move and kicked out of one of Cross' finishers, The Purge.
LaRae also looked like she had the match won after a fantastic avalanche German Suplex and also looked like she was going to finish it with her husband's signature submission Gargano Escape. Despite the fact that she was unable to pick up the victory, it was still another impressive performance from Candice. Her dark turn matches Johnny Gargano's storyline and adds an interesting element to, previously, the most babyface couple in NXT.
# 1 Keith Lee
Lee pulled double duty during this episode of NXT, with a match against Fidel Bravo at the start of the episode, and followed it up by saving Keita Murray from a vicious post-match beatdown at the hands of Lars Sullivan.
Lee's match against local talent Fidel Bravo was nothing special and added to the ever-increasing body count that Lee has blasted past since making his debut in NXT. Having only had a handful of squash matches and a half feud with "The Finest" Kona Reeves makes it seem as though Lee isn't being used to his full effect in NXT, but hopefully that changes soon with his upcoming storyline with fellow NXT big man, Lars Sullivan.
Of course, this was built on some beautiful work later in the episode by the sizeable Lee when he ran down for the save. This was further developed when Lee confronted Sullivan backstage after their scuffle, with a match between the two set for next week's episode. However, it looks like this will also be a half feud for Lee, as Sullivan looks to be called up to the main roster, given the promotion for Sullivan on Smackdown and Raw.
