NXT Takeover WarGames 2019 Report Card: Grades Are In

Before Survivor Series, the NXT brand was up with WarGames. We saw history made and now it is time to look back for the report card’s grades.

Finn Balor vs. Matt Riddle

Originally, Johnny Gargano was supposed to take on Finn Balor; who was returning to NXT after four years. Balor helped build NXT and he was taking on the new breed in Matt Riddle. In the first ever meeting between these two, Balor was able to get the victory. There were no dirty tactics and Balor simply proved he was better than Matt Riddle that night. Not the best match, but WWE had to change the bout due to Gargano’s absence. Grade: B

Pete Dunne vs. Damian Priest vs. Killian Dain

The winner here advances to challenge Adam Cole at Survivor Series for the NXT Championship. This was a case of each superstar having the match won, but that extra person kept breaking up the pin. Each man hit their spots, yet the crowd was a on the silent side. I have to chalk that up to the women’s WarGames match and how anything that follows would be at a disadvantage. With Pete Dunne being the only face, he was the easy favorite to win. While the action was entertaining, I was not a fan of the ending. After such big shots, Dunne used placement to advance to Sunday’s title shot. Grade: B+

WarGames: Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Dominik Dijakovic & Kevin Owens

Before the bell rang, you had to give Undisputed Era the advantage because they have been together for years and also competed in WarGames twice. Plus, we did not know the final member of Team Ciampa until it was time for Kevin Owens to enter the match. As Adam Cole kept pulling tables out from under the ring, you knew we were going to witness something crazy. The men’s bout felt a bit more physical than the women, although the better performance opened the show. As Undisputed Era members starting going through tables, you could see the match preparing to conclude. Just an insane spot between Tommaso Ciampa and Adam Cole at the end. Grade: A-

WarGames: Rhea Ripley, Tegan Nox, Dakota Kai & Candice LeRae vs. Shayna Baszler, Io Shirai, Bianca Belair & Kay Lee Ray

History was made before the match began as women entered WarGames for the firs time. The match was already on fire and then things went to another level with Dakota Kai taking out her friend and teammate Tegan Nox. Team Baszler had a 4-2 advantage, but it was not enough to get the win. There were several spots that were amazing and worth looking back at. The heel turn was unexpected and that had nothing to do with the actual match. Candice LeRae’s reverse hurricanrana off the top rope was nuts and then Io Shirai went to up the ante with a picture perfect moonsault off the top of the cage. Kay Lee Ray took some nasty bumps, which included taking a wicked trashcan shot in midair. Rhea Ripley was able to pin the champion and it seems like we have a real threat to Baszler’s title. Grade: A