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NXT has its eyes set on TakeOver: WarGames, which is scheduled to take place this Sunday.
NXT opened with a tribute to Pat Paterson with Shawn Michaels, William Regal, Triple H, and the rest of the NXT roster on the stage. They observed a moment of silence before the tribute video played.
Following the tribute, NXT got right down to action as Leon Ruff partnered with Damian Priest, one of his opponents for Sunday, to compete against Legado del Fantasma. Cameron Grimes made quick work of August Grey but was haunted by his opponent for WarGames, Dexter Lumis.
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The Undisputed ERA cut an excellent promo while Pat McAfee ran his mouth once again to build towards their match for TakeOver: WarGames.
The tag team division of NXT got stronger this week, while Raquel Gonzalez and Shotzi Blackheart competed in the biggest match of the night to earn the advantage for their respective teams for TakeOver: WarGames.
With the final TakeOver of the year scheduled just a few days later, we will look at the five things WWE NXT got right during the go-home show.
#5 Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher gear up to do battle at NXT TakeOver: WarGames
Timothy Thatcher appeared for another segment during this week’s NXT, where he looked to teach his students some new lessons. However, he had an uninvited guest in the form of Tommaso Ciampa.
Ciampa looked to take down Thatcher, but a student helped him gain control and choke out the former NXT Champion. Afterward, Thatcher clarified that the class was about distraction, but he’d teach Ciampa a lesson at TakeOver: WarGames.
WWE needed to build towards a big non-title match for the final TakeOver of the year, and they did just that with the final segment between Ciampa and Thatcher. Both men need to get some big matches to become prominent on NXT again, and this match can end up helping both of them.
Their match at WarGames will mark Thatcher’s first TakeOver match since NXT TakeOver: XXX, while Ciampa will compete in his first TakeOver Match since In Your House, where he was defeated by Karrion Kross.
#4 Leon Ruff bags another pin before NXT TakeOver: WarGames
Damian Priest teamed up with Leon Ruff to take on Legado del Fantasma in the first match of NXT this week. Priest will be one of the two men who will challenge Ruff for the NXT North American Championship at TakeOver: WarGames in a Triple Threat Match.
Santos Escobar looked to make a statement as he worked on Ruff early in the match. However, after Priest tagged himself in, Escobar immediately brought Raul Mendoza in to face the biggest man in the match.
A figure in a ghost mask appeared to distract The Archer of Infamy, and Legado del Fantasma got a chance to gain back control. Johnny Gargano, who was on commentary for the match, was questioned about how many Ghostfaces existed.
Ruff got back into the match and managed to take down Mendoza and Escobar to gain some momentum for his team. Priest cleaned the house, and Ruff finally hit a big splash to pick up the win for his team.
This was a decent match that allowed Ruff to score another pinfall on a major NXT Superstar before his first TakeOver match. The victory could be a sign that he will come out victorious at WarGames.
#3 Jake Atlas continues to push ahead on NXT
Jake Atlas has been a standout performer among the cruiserweights in NXT, and it’s almost criminal that the Superstar has never won the Cruiserweight Championship even once in his career.
Atlas dedicated his match against Tony Nese to Pat Patterson, who passed away a day earlier.
The Premier Athlete matched Atlas perfectly in both skills and strength and kept him down for extended periods. He locked him in a torture rack, but Atlas managed to break free.
A big release German Suplex opened the doors for Atlas before hitting Nese with the Cartwheel DDT to pick up the victory.
This was a good show from both men, and Jake Atlas continued to show why he deserves to be the face of the Cruiserweight division in the months to come. Atlas deserves to be the next Cruiserweight Champion after Santos Escobar, and it looks like NXT is ready to invest in him and keep him at the forefront.
#2 Ever Rise, and Imperium impress on NXT
Over the past few months, NXT did with Ever Rise what the main roster has done with several top tag teams. They turned Chase Parker and Matt Martel into a comical team that slowly turned into enhancement talents.
Ever Rise was scheduled to compete against The Grizzled Young Veterans on this week’s NXT. However, before the match, Imperium returned and attacked Parker and Martel to take them out of the picture.
This allowed Imperium to take their spot in the match and give fans a battle between the two NXT UK tag team giants. Both teams showed their strengths during the match, and Fabian Aichner was once again extremely impressive during the contest.
After the match reached its boiling point, Ever Rise returned to attack both the teams and cause a disqualification in the process. Ever Rise got the last laugh as they were the last team standing at the end of the segment.
This single segment helped strengthen the entire NXT tag team division in no time. Pat McAfee had called out The Undisputed ERA just before the match, and now Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan will need to watch their backs as new challengers for their title could emerge in the coming weeks.
#1 Shotzi Blackheart earns the advantage for NXT TakeOver: WarGames
The final match of the night saw Shotzi Blackheart take on Raquel Gonzalez in a Ladder Match, with the winner earning the advantage for the women’s WarGames match at Sunday’s NXT TakeOver event.
Gonzalez got her chance to shine as she dominated Blackheart using her size and strength. Blackheart struggled to gain control in the match and had to use a ladder to finally get into the game.
Gonzalez kept using her strength to gain control, while Blackheart used her agility and smartness to keep getting back into the match. Blackheart hit a senton to the floor in the latter stage of the match, and both women went down hard.
Candice LeRae and her team came out to the middle, and so did Blackheart’s team, and a big brawl ensued. Io Shirai leapfrogged onto Gonzalez’s back and prevented her from climbing the ladder. She then hit a big Moonsault to take out everyone at ringside.
This allowed Blackheart to climb the ladder and retrieve the briefcase to gain an advantage for her team on NXT.
This was a great match that allowed Gonzalez to shine as a singles performer and gave Blackheart a chance to pick up a victory on behalf of her team. Some big spots during the match gave us a glimpse of what to expect from the two teams at NXT TakeOver: WarGames.
