What's the story?
There's certainly no denying the impact that Adam Cole's shock debut and alignment with Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly during the closing moments of NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III and since then, the newly crowned 'The Undisputed ERA' have been tearing up NXT with shock attacks and interferences.
Now, in an interview with the WWE, the trio have opened up about their motivations and goals going forward, amongst other things.
In case you didn't know...
Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly debuted on NXT separately and a week's apart, both in losing efforts to Aleister Black, which is part of the reason no one saw the events of NXT Brooklyn III coming.
At the show, SAnitY dethroned the Author's of Pain to become the new NXT tag-team champions. Their celebrations didn't last long however as Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly ran out, reuniting as a tag-team, to attack both teams before eventually performing 'Chasing the Dragon' on Eric Young.
That wouldn't be the last we saw of the pair though as the same thing happened in the main event. Drew McIntyre had just defeated Bobby Roode to claim his first singles title since returning to the WWE in what was a wonderful moment for the redeemed wrestler. However, that moment was quickly ruined when Adam Cole debuted and, along with the newly reunited ReDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) beat the champion down.
The heart of the matter
NXT TakeOver Brooklyn III is essentially the 'Wrestlemania' of NXT programming, so a lot of people were wondering why The Undisputed ERA would choose Brooklyn to be the place that they make their statement.
The trio also spoke about when they decided to come together as a stable and do what they did at NXT TakeOver. The answer is particularly interesting as they revealed it was their plan all along, even from when Bobby Fish debuted on his own several months before O'Reilly and Cole.
"Nothing I do is impulsive; everything I do is based around a sound strategy. Of course I knew all along. This was a deliberate course of action designed to expose the holes within NXT, capitalise on those weaknesses and ensure success"
The WWE asked The Undisputed ERA if they were concerned that they'd bitten off more than they could chew by making targets of the NXT Champion, and the NXT Tag-Team Champions, but they were less than complimentary about Drew McIntyre and SAnitY
"SAnitY prides itself on being unpredictable right? Well, nothing turned the NXT universe upside down like The Undisputed ERA's debut...the problem is they're just not on our level."
"As far as Drew, he's an impressive athlete, Drew had been chasing the NXT Championship and he finally achieved his dream. I almost feel bad for the guy. I feel bad that after all that hard work, all that sacrifice, it's going to be taken away by me.
Finally, The Undisputed ERA told the WWE what he can expect from them going forward, and why they're even there at NXT. One thing's for sure, it certainly doesn't look like good news for the rest of the roster.
"You will never understand what drives The Undisputed ERA, so hard as you might try, you simply can't relate to us. We are here to break the will of those we come in contact with. I will quote the incomparable Connor McGregor when I tell you, The Undisputed ERA didn't come here to take part, we came here to take over."
What's next?
These are strong words from The Undisputed ERA and they'll have a chance to back them up at NXT TakeOver WarGames when the three of them prepare to do battle against SAnitY and Roderick Strong, and the Authors of Pain, in a hotly anticipated WarGames match.
Also Read: The first ever WarGames match and the story behind it
As for Adam Cole taking the NXT Title off of Drew Mcintyre, he'll have to hope that the champion retains his title belt at the same show when he takes on a resurgent Andrade Cien Almas.
Author's take
So far I've really enjoyed the direction that The Undisputed ERA have been taking on NXT and this interview makes it seem like we can expect more of the same, which is undoubtedly a good thing.
However, I'm worried that this WarGames match is going to derail some of the momentum they've been building up with Drew McIntyre.