["Shoot My Shot" by Jay IDK playing]
[man 1] The king of kings!
[man 2] We
are…
[man 3] …still in a state of war.
[man 4] 1.0, 2.0.
The mission's the same.
[man 3] With confidence I assert…
[man 5] There's a new school
on the rise.
[crowd cheering]
[man 5] The game has changed.
[crowd cheering]
[man 4] NXT 2.0!
["Shoot My Shot" by Jay IDK playing]
[Grimes] But you want to talk about big stakes?
At War Games?
Hair versus hair.
[Gacy] Roderick Strong has created
a toxic cruiserweight division.
And I don't care about any weight limit.
[Bivens] At War Games, Roderick Strong is going to shut you up
for good.
[sirens wailing]
[crowd cheering]
[Wade] Bad blood between these eight women.
[crowd cheering]
Toxic Attraction and Dakota Kai.
We're going to win.
[Ray] Prepare.
We are ready for War Games.
[man 5] These four guys put NXT on the map.
[man 6] At War Games, you're looking at the future.
[man 4] Team 2.0.
There's NXT Black & Gold!
[man 3] I declare a state of war.
[sirens wailing]
[narrator] And now the new WWE Credit One Visa presents
NXT War Games.
[alarm sounding]
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] Since 2017 NXT superstars have fought at a battleground
consisting of two rings, one cage.
That battlefield is known simply as War Games.
Welcome to the ringside, I'm Vic Joseph alongside Wade Barrett
and WWE hall of famer Beth Phoenix.
Beth, we know it's your last night.
You're going out with a bang.
Do not make me cry again, Vic.
I will always love my NXT family with all my heart,
but you're right, tonight we are going out with a bang!
It's time to go to war!
And not only that, Wade.
Two championship matches and hair versus hair.
Oh, yes.
Veterans have got a chance to cement their places
right here in NXT.
The young blood though,
they have a chance to step their careers up
to an entirely new level tonight.
Everything is on the line at War Games.
Let's not waste any more time.
Let's get to arena to Alicia Taylor to kick things off!
[bell rings]
[Alicia] The following is the women's War Games match.
The rules of the match are as follows,
two teams will be contained in separate cages
with one member from each team starting the match.
After five minutes, a member from the team with the advantage
would be released to enter the match.
After a three-minute period,
alternating members from each team will enter the match
until all competitors are inside the cage.
Once all competitors have entered,
War Games officially begins.
The only way to win the match is by pinfall or submission.
And now
let the War Games
begin!
[crowd cheering]
[electronic music playing]
[Alicia] Introducing first Io Shirai!
[crowd cheering]
[crowd chanting "Io"]
[skater rock music playing]
[Alicia] Next Cora Jade!
[crowd cheering]
[heavy metal music playing]
[Alicia] Raquel González!
[Vic] What a way to kick off War Games tonight, Beth.
How important is the War Games advantage going to be?
[Beth] Vic, it's not just important, it's a total game-changer.
For Lee Ray's team, they're going to have an advantage
for three minutes every time another teammate enters the fray.
It's a constant headstart.
Team Toxic is going to be swimming upstream
for the entirety of this matchup.
[Wade] Yes, I completely agree with Beth on that one.
It's going to be hell whichever side you're on.
Whether you're at an advantage or not.
And I will continue once we get this entrance underway.
[electronic music playing]
[Alicia] And Kay Lee Ray!
[Vic] See, Beth, Wade was afraid of,
if he continued to talk, what Lee Ray would do this Tuesday.
[Beth] I can't blame him.
[Wade] She's carrying a baseball bat.
She's an intimidating individual.
That's ended up in the ring, don't let that go unnoticed.
You've got an uphill battle from the go
if you have the disadvantage in this matchup,
which before lies with the team Toxic for the moment.
The advantage is only as good as you make it.
If team Toxic could minimize the damage they incur
in the lopsided portions of this match,
survive through until the numbers are even,
then and only then do they have a chance.
[Vic] How about Ray with a baseball bat?
Let's remember, everything inside War Games, it is all legal.
[rock music playing]
[Alicia] And their opponents.
First, the NXT women's tag team champions,
Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin
and the NXT women's champion Mandy Rose, Toxic Attraction.
[Vic] I mean, Wade, we know where your loyalty lies,
but some think that team Toxic are the underdogs tonight
in the women's War Games.
[Wade] I understand that perspective
considering they don't have the advantage.
The numbers game is going to be against them,
but I am yet to be convinced that team Toxic
are the underdogs tonight.
Quite simply, team Toxic run the women's division here in NXT.
They hold the tag team championship, they hold the women's championship
as they are proudly displaying on our screens right now.
In my opinion, they are far from outsiders or underdogs at this point.
They have cohesion, and that could mean everything
in a match like this.
[Beth] Putting all the extreme bias aside with Toxic Attraction,
they do not have the numerical advantage,
again, with the War Games advantage.
[Alicia] And Dakota Kai!
[Beth] The scales are weighed on this side with Jade,
Shirai and González.
Team Toxic is dealing with the questionable emotional state
of this woman, Dakota Kai.
We've seen Kai's erratic choices in the War Games advantage ladder match
putting Toxic in the first place.
[Vic] Wait, Dakota Kai realizing that Kay Lee Ray
is holding a bat, she's bringing an equalizer.
[Wade] About 15 equalizers,
that was a bunch of kendo sticks there.
This one is going to start really, really ugly,
and in my opinion, I sang the praises of Toxic Attraction.
In my opinion, this woman right here,
Dakota Kai was the MVP of last year's War Games women's matchup.
Dakota Kai, do not underestimate this woman at all.
Unhinged? Yes.
All quality 100%.
[Vic] I want to ask you upfront,
what's the strategy for both these women and their teams early on?
As you could see, both teams, entering their cages,
there is team Toxic, there is Raquel, Cora and Io.
You can hear the NXT Universe.
[bell rings]
[Beth] I can't imagine the claustrophobic feeling of that.
Feeling that door shut.
[Vic] Five-minute countdown to the first superstar,
which will come from Ray's team,
then every three minutes, an alternating superstar,
but what's the strategy upfront?
[Wade] It's simple.
For the team with the advantage, the numbers game,
that's obviously Kay Lee Ray's team,
it is all about dishing out as much damage as you can
ahead of the match, officially starting when it becomes four-on-four.
Once you get that numbers advantage, you have to make it count.
On the flip side of that, though, for team Toxic,
that's Dakota Kai's team,
the ones with the disadvantage is all about survival.
Can you make it through to the four-on-four part of the match
still standing?
If you can do that, you have a chance.
[Beth] That's a lot of rational logically,
but Dakota is throwing strategy out the door.
She's reckless.
We've seen her unhinged, unpredictable as is Kay Lee Ray,
not afraid to dig deep into the pockets of her offense.
[Vic] You're not kidding.
Kay Lee Ray right off the bat taking it right to Dakota Kai.
Beth, kind of hinted about it.
Dakota Kai, somewhat of a wildcard for her team,
and she's starting things out here with Kay Lee Ray in control.
[Beth] Kai isn't on the same page with Toxic,
but we've seen the contention between those three.
They don't understand Kai's reactions.
I mean, if you ask me--
[Vic] Oh, nice DDT out of the corner!
Kay Lee Ray starting to inflict damage early on.
[Beth] Mandy knows it's better to have Kai on your side.
[Vic] Three and a half minutes
until the next superstar will enter the fray,
and that is not good news for Dakota.
[Wade] Listen, Dakota Kai, she might be seen as a wild card.
She's clearly unhinged.
She has been since--
[Vic] Oh, no.
[Wade] Break up with Raquel González, and that was taken
to a whole new level since losing to Raquel at NXT takeover 36.
[Vic] Ray tasting the steel for the first time.
Beth, you bring that up, the downward spiral for Dakota,
it began last year at War Games,
as the second time, Kai sending face-first Kay Lee Ray.
[Wade] Last year it was the beginning of the rise
of Raquel González in the women's division here in NXT.
It was engineered in my eyes completely by this woman, Dakota Kai,
as we take another look here of Dakota Kai dishing out
some punishment to the scary queen of Scots, Kay Lee Ray.
Unfortunately, for Dakota Kai,
Dr. Frankenstein's monster turned on the creator
and Raquel pushed Kai to the side and wanted the spotlight for herself.
That is what essentially has caused Dakota Kai to become so unhinged.
[Vic] Oh, and again.
[Beth] Come on. Let's turn back the clock and historically speaking,
we watched Dakota Kai turn on her own friends at War Games before.
There's something about War Games
that brings out the worst in Dakota Kai.
[Vic] Listen to this.
[crowd cheering]
[Wade] Oh!
[Vic] It brings out the worst in Dakota Kai,
but as Wade pointed out,
Dr. Frankenstein putting together quite the plan
in the center of these two rings.
What is on the mind of Dakota Kai? Kai with under two minutes.
Wade, you mentioned all about survival,
because she knows when that two minutes are up,
it'll be two-on-one,
this is a dangerous type of match.
Beth, how dangerous is War Games?
[Beth] Everything about it is dangerous.
The environment, the ability to use all of your weapons,
it's steel top to bottom.
You can be very creative in a variety of ways
to implement destruction.
[Vic] We've already seen Kay Lee Ray taste the steel face first.
Now, Dakota Kai, bad intentions in her mind.
As you can see her team, team Toxic looking on.
Oh, Kay Lee Ray able to counter.
Kay Lee Ray right now, both will have to go the distance.
One of those three women will be making their way into War Games cage here
in a matter of moments.
Uh-oh, Dakota Kai and a baseball bat.
Oh, Kay Lee Ray!
[applause]
It's all about sacrifice inside the War Games match.
[Wade] Just as Dakota Kai managing to build
with a head of steam against Kay Lee Ray,
Lee Ray back with a vengeance.
This is what Kay Lee Ray does.
She loves smashing things up apparently.
It doesn't matter if it's inanimate objects
or indeed opponents as we're witnessing right now.
[Vic] As we mentioned this past Tuesday, smash room,
War Games cage, this is right up Kay Lee Ray's alley.
[Beth] Remember, Kay Lee Ray calling her shot in such a--
[Vic] Oh!
[screams]
[Beth] Kay Lee Ray put herself on this team.
We saw her come up with the baseball bat, threaten Mandy Rose,
winning the War Games advantage ladder match
and now taking it to Dakota Kai.
[crowd counts down]
[Vic] Wade brought up the strategy early on, survival for Dakota Kai,
but now she has to deal with Kay Lee Ray and Cora Jade.
One word comes to mind
when you think of Cora Jade as she gets her skateboard, it's Moxie.
[Beth] I like this creative offense.
We're about to see the youngest competitor in the history of War Games.
At 20, you still have
your best days ahead of you, you can bounce back.
[crowd screams]
[Beth] And Jade, innovative right here.
[Vic] Dakota Kai going to have to crank up her offense
as now you see every three minutes an alternating member
from each team will enter the fray.
Dakota Kai right now,
this will be the longest three minutes.
[Wade] This is going to be a miserable experience.
It's all about survival.
Remember, last year she was the first entrant in the War Games match
and the most durable superstar in the women's division in my opinion.
She needs every ounce of that durability today
because she is really going to war tonight.
[Vic] Right now, Beth, we take a look on Cora Jade and Kay Lee Ray
working together.
This is the importance you were talking about the advantage.
[Beth] This is where the numbers game come into play,
giving Kay Lee Ray a moment to breathe, a little reprieve here,
and now you're going to see some double team.
They got to take advantage.
[Vic] Oh, I don't know how mean those kendo stick are.
How about that kick right to the spine?
Slow, methodical.
Beth, to your point, Kay Lee Ray and Cora Jade have to be loving
every second, savoring what they're doing to Dakota Kai.
[Beth] Not to mention the damage Kai took
three days ago in that ladder match.
You can see Toxic Attraction here sweating some bullets, Wade.
[Wade] Absolutely.
Working in the bit of the mess right now, but that's inevitable.
That is the point of the advantage ladder match we saw last week that Lee Ray
is victorious in, therein lies the advantage.
Now we see Cora Jade taken under the wing
of Kay Lee Ray, and the rest of her team.
Perhaps, they see something in Cora Jade,
want to help her advance her career in the right way.
Things are looking really good right now.
[Vic] War Games doesn't officially begin
until all competitors have entered the matchup.
Beth, if you were Kay Lee Ray and Cora Jade,
you'd be licking your chops.
[Beth] They're doing what they should,
they're pacing themselves, they're recovering,
and they're delivering consistent damage to Dakota Kai.
[crowd boos]
[Beth] This is excellent strategy.
[Wade] I don't agree. Look at her grudging smile,
this is your opportunity to make this time count.
Don't start laughing at the other team in their cage
locked in there unable to help out.
Go out and do as much damage as you can to Dakota Kai.
If you fail to do that, you're going to come across--
-[Vic] Oh! -[Wade] Just like I was saying.
[Vic] Dakota Kai with some act of desperation.
[crowd chanting]
[Vic] This was an absolute turnaround for Dakota Kai.
Boom!
To Wade's point, Dakota Kai was able to weather the storm
and now with just over ten seconds,
things are going to be even out here at two superstars a piece.
But which superstar will enter the match?
[crowd counts down]
[music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] Looking through the NXT Universe…
[crowd chanting "Gigi"]
[Vic] Gigi Dolin is making her way into the ring
and this is a huge opportunity for one-half
of the NXT women's tag team champions.
[Wade] Nobody else got into this match empty-handed,
so Gigi is now about to buck the trend here,
garbage can and apparently a bag.
-[Vic] What's in the bag? -[Wade] It's my big concern.
[Vic] It's all legal inside War Games.
Oh!
Beth, this is an opportunity for Dolin and Jade to step up and step out.
[Beth] The quickest way to add credibility to your resume
is to compete and succeed in the War Games match.
Although, you may walk out of this matchup
a different person that walked in.
[Vic] This is important for team Toxic
for Gigi Dolin to string together some offense to allow Dakota Kai
to regroup, refocus herself.
[Wade] Here's the deal throughout this matchup--
[Vic] Nasty.
[Wade] The team of Kay Lee Ray and Cora Jade have had the advantage.
You would not know it by looking at the mess in the ring right now.
It's all about team Toxic.
[crowd chanting "let's go, Gigi"]
[Vic] Gigi Dolin, talk about evil intentions burning through her mind.
As now Cora Jade is going to get caught
and get dropped by Dolin.
Oh, and all of a sudden, things quickly,
in just a matter of moments, Beth, have turned around for team Toxic.
[Beth] I would love to see some urgency here from Gigi and Dakota
because things are about to swing the other way very quickly.
They've got to take this advantage and really grind down Kay Lee Ray--
-[Vic] under two minutes-- -[Beth] Cora Jade.
[Vic] Until the next superstar will enter the fray.
Will it be Io Shirai or will it be Raquel González,
because those two women are looking on and seeing
the complexion of this matchup
drastically change
at the hands of Gigi Dolin
and Dakota Kai.
Now in stereo, in sync,
Dolin and Kai.
[Wade] Two Alpha females still locked
in the cage one of whom
will be in this matchup next.
You really can't go wrong, but it can't come
soon enough for the team of Raquel González et al.
Because they are taking a pasting right now.
[Beth] Guys, it was interesting to see Dakota Kai
and Gigi on the same page.
We've yet to see that chemistry develop between Toxic Attraction and Kai.
[Vic] Right now you're getting this firsthand look
at how quickly the pendulum can swing
in this women's War Games matchup,
as Cora Jade, getting her third win in this matchup.
We're going to say this word a lot tonight: survivor.
[Beth] Uh-oh.
[Vic] It's all about surviving upfront
and Cora Jade, laying it all on the line!
[crowd shouting]
[applause]
[Vic] We're going to see a lot of innovative unique offense.
[Beth] Yes, I can recall Io Shirai being pitted with a trash can last year.
-[Vic] Looking for that KLR bomb. -[Wade] No.
[Vic] Ooh! You're talking about a two for one.
Think about this, guys, as the clock
continues to tick,
it's going to be an advantage
for Cora Jade and Kay Lee Ray in just a matter of moments.
[Wade] The pendulum truly has swung in this one,
all the ladies seemingly down at the moment.
A lot of damage has already been incurred
by four women's bodies
and it's about to get a hell of a lot worse for Dakota Kai.
[crowd counts down]
[Vic] Gigi Dolin.
Here comes Io Shirai.
Perhaps the most decorated woman superstar in this match.
[Beth] Io Shirai has main specials against Sasha Banks,
a women's champion, tag champ.
She's been an unforgettable moment-maker in NXT,
and she's got the fearlessness
that you got to have
to walk into a match with this kind of brutality.
[Vic] She's not leaving empty-handed.
[Wade] Why would she?
Nobody else has.
Take some goodies with you.
[Vic] This is absolute brutality.
This is what women's War Games is all about.
[Wade] Last year, Io Shirai dived off the top of the War Games structure
inside one of those steel bins.
[Vic] Beth, when it comes to Io Shirai,
there is no risk she will not take.
Oh, no!
[Wade] Well, that was a risk, showing off with a garbage can
with that furious Dakota Kai in the ring.
[Vic] Whoa! Did you see that nasty landing for Shirai?
[Beth] Many wear the rules of War Games for the rest of their careers
and flesh hits that steel.
[Vic] We talked about the second and third wind,
but how about Dakota Kai thriving
at this juncture in the matchup?
For having started this matchup, she changed the it around.
This was welcome to War Games, Io Shirai.
[crowd cheering]
[Beth] The damage continues here
with Io Shirai's body crashing against the steel.
Shirai's in trouble.
[Wade] I've spoken glowingly about Dakota Kai's ability
to absorb punishment.
Usually, in the ring, the bigger the superstar,
in my experience, the better they are at being durable,
at taking that punishment.
Dakota Kai has a slight frame, but wow, can she absorb a beating,
get up, and keep on swinging.
[Beth] Dakota Kai, as tough as they come.
Right here, speaking of as tough as they come,
putting an elbow to the temple of Cora Jade.
[Wade] Welcome to the bigtime, Cora Jade.
[Vic] Now, Cora Jade grabbed a skateboard immediately
and Dakota Kai shutting her down,
but you're talking about Dakota Kai,
we're talking about Kay Lee Ray, about the resiliency of these women.
It was a smart strategy to put those two on their teams
to start them in the War Games.
[Wade] Two of the most unhinged superstars in Kay Lee Ray
and Dakota Kai, durability,
experience,
that is exactly who you want kicking this kind of matchup.
[Vic] Oh!
And face-first goes Dolin, but look at Kay Lee Ray,
walked into Dakota Kai.
Cora Jade trying to climb as fast as she can,
bodies everywhere
inside the War Games.
Wow!
[Beth] That's a narrow space there.
[Vic] Oh, Jade's not done.
[crowd shouting]
[Vic] Dolin!
Where did Gigi Dolin come from?
[Wade] Turn your back at your peril in this kind of matchup.
If you can, keep your back to the fence at all times.
It's almost impossible.
[crowd chanting "Gigi"]
[Vic] When you look at all the women in this matchup,
the one thing they all have
in common is a deep-rooted hatred for one another.
[crowd counts down]
[music playing]
[Vic] Mandy Rose sending out
the next troop, that is Jacy Jayne,
the other half of the women's tag team champions.
With Jayne and Dolin, women's tag team champions
in this matchup,
the match has to go in favor of team Toxic, Beth,
at this juncture.
[Beth] Gigi and Jayne looking for an opportunity to level up
the next step, wow!
Things are about to get even more brutal in that War Games cage.
[Wade] Let's bring in some more toys as if it wasn't dangerous enough.
[crowd chanting "we want tables"]
[Vic] You ask,
and the War Games mach will answer.
What more can these women bring into this matchup?
The War Games cage wasn't enough?
[Wade] If there's anything else sitting
under that ring right now
because right now, it is a bomb site in there,
utter destruction, chaos,
and it's only going to get worse from here.
[Vic] Kay Lee Ray bouncing off of those solid steel chairs
and we talked about team Toxic,
Jacy Jayne is the freshest of all the competitors.
Her and Dolin, Beth, have a rapport.
[Beth] Absolutely. As tag team champions, they have plenty of time to build
that chemistry and you're seeing an example of it here.
[Vic] Oh, and a knee right under the jaw. It could be the knockout blow.
[Wade] Great point.
In my opinion, these two teams--
[crowd chanting "let's go, Toxic"]
[Vic] Yes. You see Mandy Rose flaunting,
but here, Jacy Jayne turning things around in a hurry.
[Wade] Well, what a shocking landing for Kay Lee Ray.
[crowd chanting "let's go, Toxic"]
[crowd chanting "Toxic sucks"]
[Vic] NXT Universe is splitting.
Jacy Jayne mocking Io Shirai.
[Wade] Called her own tag partner Flash.
[Vic] Got a miscommunication and now Shirai
starting to answer back in this matchup.
Look, the one thing we can mention though, Beth,
Shirai really hasn't gotten out of the gate.
If Shirai can start to string together some offense,
like she is right now,
she's going to turn things around by herself.
[Beth] There's a reason she's called the genius of the sky.
No one is more comfortable on that top rope,
top of the cage.
[Vic] Oh!
She is a spitfire!
[crowd chanting]
[woman screams]
[Wade] Oh, my God!
[woman screams]
-[Vic] Oh! -[crowd screams]
[applause]
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] Oh, the feint kick from Shirai!
Rose isn't happy.
González is fired up.
Shirai is in control.
[crowd chanting "Io"]
[Vic] And Jacy Jayne does not like the odds,
and, Beth, there's no time-outs in War Games.
[Beth] Nowhere to run either.
[Wade] Now, we got a tug of war on our hands.
[crowd shouting]
[Vic] Team Toxic losing in the tug of war battle.
And Jacy Jayne could be moments from being wiped out of War Games.
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] This is how dangerous War Games is.
This is how unpredictable.
Kay Lee Ray and Shirai--
[Beth] Hold on.
[Vic] Were trying to figure out-- Cora taking it upon herself.
We talked about the Moxie of Cora Jade.
[Wade] Oh, no. Do not do it, Cora.
[Vic] Jade throwing caution to the wind.
[Wade] Youthful exuberance. No!
[crowd shouting]
[crowd cheering]
[crowd chanting "holy shit"]
[Vic] You can see the look of the NXT Universe.
At what cost?
[Wade] Forget the NXT Universe.
Look at the faces of Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray.
Cora Jade is in a world of hurt.
That left shoulder of hers
from such a high-risk move from the top of the structure.
[Vic] We've talked about the dangers
of this sort of matchup.
There's Kay Lee Ray right in on Dakota Kai.
We were talking about the dangers, but again, Beth, just watch.
-[Beth] Check out the rotation here. -[Vic] Oh!
[Wade] This is just Cora Jade trying
to prove herself to the other veterans on her team
and coming up close in the process.
A sickening landing.
It was bad enough for Jayne.
Jayne hasn't moved ever since then.
For Cora Jade, you see her
coming down at a horrible angle
on that left shoulder.
[crowd chanting "Cora"]
Just 20-years-old,
the youngest competitor in the history of War Games.
Is this where the matchup ends for Cora Jade?
[Beth] I don't know how Jade can continue competing.
She can't even move that arm.
[Vic] As this match is continuing, Kay Lee Ray
looking on for her teammate to keep Dakota Kai down
because only two women are left to enter the fray.
One being Raquel González, the other is Mandy Rose.
-Io! Io! -I got it. I got it.
Wait. Watch the shoulder. Watch the shoulder.
[Wade] We got medical staff running to check on Cora Jade.
[Vic] Io Shirai said, "I got this."
Io! Come on.
I got it.
[screams]
[man] No, no, no!
Io, wait! Io!
Come on!
[crowd cheering]
[screams]
[Wade] Oh!
What the hell is she doing?
[applause]
[weeps]
[crowd chanting "Io"]
[Vic] Shirai keeping Cora Jade in the fight with ten seconds to go.
[Beth] I think Shirai might have popped Jade's shoulder back in.
[Wade] Dr. Shirai?
[Vic] Nonetheless, Cora Jade screaming in pain,
that is what happens when you step into War Games.
And here comes Raquel.
[Wade] Big mami cool.
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] And González, War Games 2020, the launching point
in the career of the former NXT women's champion.
[Beth] González became the most dominant champion in history.
It all began after her performance at War Games.
She pinned Shirai to get the victory for her team.
Many consider that pivotal moment
as a shift in the entire women's division.
[Wade] Yes. Well, this is the final opportunity now for Raquel González
and the rest of her team to take advantage of that numbers game.
A lot of time being eaten up here with a potential injury to Cora Jade,
and now Raquel González searching desperately
under the ring for more toys to fire into the ring.
[Vic] It's important to note too, there's that shovel.
[Beth] A familiar weapon.
[Vic] And there's Dakota Kai.
Kai does not want to feel the wrath of Raquel.
[Beth] Raquel looking for retribution.
It was that shovel that cost
Raquel González the NXT women's championship.
[Vic] It put the gold around the waist of Mandy Rose.
[Wade] What a smart move from team--
Oh!
[Vic] Talk about smart move.
Heads up by González.
Finally,
Raquel, Io, Jade, Kay Lee Ray, their team
is entirely in War Games.
[Wade] I would not want to be in that ring right now
if I was part of team Toxic.
The clock is ticking,
but it is a long way until these numbers
get evened up.
[Beth] Hold a second.
[Vic] Raquel could be looking to take out the trash.
[Wade] Oh, an act of humiliation.
[crowd cheering]
Dakota Kai through the can!
[Wade] Contortionist.
No.
Oh, my God.
[applause]
[Vic] Beth Phoenix, in your hall of fame career,
have you ever seen anything like that?
[Beth] I can say with absolute certainty never.
[Vic] You saw González and Shirai, we talked about last year,
it was González who pinned Io Shirai, is González looking on to Cora Jade?
[Wade] Cora is in a mess.
She needs to be taken out of this match.
She's became a distraction to her team.
[Vic] That's not going to happen.
Where in the hell is Io Shirai headed?
[Beth] Shirai at the top of the cage with a garbage can looks awful familiar.
[Vic] Dakota Kai has seen that movie,
didn't like the ending, trying to change it now.
Just under two minutes into the final superstar,
being NXT women's champion, Mandy Rose,
will enter the matchup and then
the women's War Games match will officially begin.
[Beth] This is a scramble.
[Vic] Oh, no.
[Wade] Six women balanced precariously.
The most important thing of all at the bottom and Raquel González.
Double powerbomb.
[Vic] And González again with her hands.
[crowd] Oh!
[Beth] Rough landing for Dakota Kai.
[Vic] Well, I don't think the rough landing's quite over, Beth.
[Wade] Dakota Kai has that look.
[Vic] Genius of the sky!
[screams]
[Beth] Shirai
willing to destroy herself to bring a victory home for her team.
[Vic] González quickly back over to Cora with all the competitors down
we all know that this match doesn't officially
until Mandy Rose makes it into the matchup.
Is this wise of Raquel?
After we see this: Io Shirai's moonsault one more time.
Is it wise of Raquel to be checking on Cora Jade?
[Beth] At this point, Cora Jade may have a--take a look at this impact
from the side again across the chest of Io Shirai.
Cora Jade could have a separated shoulder and that's a teammate of Raquel González.
It would leave her to do more on her own.
[Vic] Look, War Games is officially about to begin.
[crowd counts down]
[music playing]
[Vic] Here comes the NXT women's champion who flaunts her experience, Wade.
She's never experienced War Games.
[Wade] Oh, here we go.
Now the numbers are about to be evened up
as the leader of team Toxic enters the matchup.
Listen, there's nothing that can match the fear
and trepidation of stepping
inside this structure, but Mandy has competed at WrestleMania.
She's competed in elimination chambers, in royal rumbles.
She is used to the spotlight, the high pressure.
That is where the experience came kicking for Mandy Rose.
[Beth] She's also used to targeting an injured superstar.
[Vic] Yes. Come on.
[Wade] That's about the smartest thing you can do.
Does your arm hurt? Yes?
Does it hurt?
[screams]
[Vic] Mandy Rose trying to pick up the scraps,
Shirai having none of it.
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] Can you question unity?
You question a team, Shirai,
González sticking up for their fallen teammate.
[Wade] I'm a little surprised.
These teams are polar opposites in terms of cohesion.
[crowd chanting "War Games"]
[Vic] This is the scene,
women's War Games is officially underway.
[women shouting]
[Wade] Who on earth wants to make the first move here?
[Vic] Battle lines have been drawn.
[Wade] For all intents and purposes, it is now down to three on four.
[woman shouting]
You'll never be as good as us.
We're better competitors.
Who are you?
[Wade] What's Kay Lee Ray doing?
[crowd] Oh!
[Vic] Well, Kay Lee Ray giving Cora Jade the ultimate equalizer.
It is on.
[Wade] Cora Jade looked petrified,
but I think Lee Ray had good intentions.
[Vic] Whoa, whoa, whoa.
So much action, bodies spilling over both these rings.
Cover, cover.
Now Io Shirai has to break things up because now
War Games is officially underway.
The referees are in the ring to--
Oh! See someone submit.
[Wade] Absolute chaos.
[Vic] Shirai off the German suplex.
This time, Jayne has to break things up.
[Beth] It could all be over in a matter of three seconds.
This spectacle continues to unfold.
[Vic] Oh! Spinebuster right on the steel chair.
You got to wonder for a moment
for Kay Lee Ray, is Raquel González turning things around?
How are each of them
going to be able to continue to compete this late into the game?
Here's González with one arm, overpowering Dolin.
Oh!
[Wade] To me, at this point, it has to be down
to Raquel González and Mandy Rose
to win this matchup for their respective teams.
They are the freshest people in the matchup.
[Vic] No way. No way.
Oh!
[Wade] Right, no way.
That is the power of team Toxic and Toxic Attraction.
What a cohesive unit.
[crowd chanting]
[Vic] Now Mandy Rose, Jayne, Dolin
wearing down, Wade, who you called the strongest competitor
in the matchup.
[Wade] It's punishment time.
This is the absolute smartest thing that Mandy Rose
and her ladies can do at this point,
take out the biggest woman in the matchup,
at the former NXT champion, Raquel González.
-That is the danger-- -[Vic] Rose, Rose.
Rose quickly into the cover along with Jayne, yet somehow,
Cora Jade breaking things up.
Cora Jade has only one arm.
She's got only one arm to fight through War Games.
[Beth] Only one arm, but a huge heart.
Cora Jade putting her body on the line.
[crowd chanting "Cora"]
[Wade] That might be the biggest mistake
of Cora Jade's short career here in NXT.
[crowd chanting "this is awesome"]
[Beth] Well, I don't like the looks of this.
[Vic] I hate to agree with Wade Barrett.
Cora Jade, if she's going down, she'll do it swinging for the fences.
[Wade] It's four on one here.
[Beth] Jade managed to take them out.
[Vic] The numbers advantage just too much, overcoming Cora Jade.
[Wade] In the den of the lionesses.
[women screaming]
[Wade] Oh!
Just catching the side of the jaw of Cora Jade.
[Vic] This may be it.
Jade somehow kicked out.
Rose is shocked.
Jade almost shocked herself.
[Beth] Jade showing that resilience that her teammates knew she had in her.
[Vic] Jade with just one arm.
How is she going to be able to overcome the odds?
Now Mandy Rose.
Again, if Cora Jade submits, this match is over.
[Wade] Cora needs an ambulance.
[Vic] No, she got something better, Io Shirai.
[Beth] Io Shirai with a kendo stick, a sight I would never want to confront.
[Vic] Jayne with the steel chair, which it is all legal
at this juncture of the matchup.
One more time, Kay Lee Ray bouncing off the steel cage!
[Vic] Wow!
[Beth] Chingona bomb from Raquel González!
[Vic] Oh!
Both women, same idea,
taking each other out.
[Wade] All eight women down and out there, but Cora Jade's still hurt.
[crowd chanting "NXT"]
[Vic] Jade into the cover, shoulders down. Io!
Jade did it!
[bell rings]
[music playing]
[Alicia] Here are your winners, the team of Io Shirai,
Raquel González, Kay Lee Ray, and Cora Jade!
[Wade] Well, get Cora Jade some medical attention asap
and when that's finished, get her a bottle of champagne.
What a shocker.
[Vic] She's only 20. It'd be a little bit too early.
They can put it on ice for another year.
What a victory for Cora Jade,
Raquel González, Kay Lee Ray and Io Shirai.
Cora Jade, one arm and all.
Look, we talked about high risk, we talked about high rewards
for Cora Jade, for this team, for all eight women.
They do the dangers of entering in the War Games match,
and Cora Jade laid it all on the line.
[Beth] Take a look. Here's a moment.
Cora Jade finding her moment to shine, but unfortunately a rough landing.
This would begin the injury for Jade.
One more look, you can see the rotation and how she landed.
This would be the beginning of the trouble.
[Vic] Look, here is Io Shirai, as Wade put it, Dr. Shirai popping,
putting back into place, we assume, Cora Jade's injured shoulder.
Shirai waived off medical, she shut the cage, said, "we have it,"
but as this match progressed,
we questioned what was Kay Lee Ray thinking.
Kay Lee Ray swinging for the fences,
giving Cora Jade
the opportuniy to continue the fight in this matchup.
I mean, this match was hard-hitting,
it was chaos all over both these rings.
Somehow though, Cora Jade continued to fight.
[Beth] Cora Jade continuing to fight, but Toxic Attraction
trying to think about the weakest link with Cora Jade,
but this shocking moment right here, Jade showing that resilience,
showing what she's made of and somehow took the win.
[Vic] It raised all eyebrows on the announce desk.
Raquel González hit that huge chingona bomb, boom,
isolating herself along with Gigi Dolin
and that allowed Cora Jade,
wise beyond her years,
to crawl into the cover,
overcome all the adversity
she did in this matchup and send her team home
with the War Games victory.
[Wade] Cora, that is how you earn the respect
of the veteran talent here in NXT.
Hats off to you.
[Vic] Biggest win of Jade's career here at War Games.
[skater rock music playing]
[Christmas music playing]
[kids] Yay!
[kid] Empty boxes?
[narrator] Sorry, kids.
It's not Santa's fault.
It was the supply chain.
[kids] Aww.
Oh.
[narrator] There is one box you didn't open.
That small one right there.
WrestleMania tickets!
[narrator] The only gift that guarantees a merry Christmas.
Live from AT&T stadium in Dallas, Texas,
WrestleMania 38,
the most stupendous two-night WrestleMania in history.
[Christmas music playing]
[kids celebrating]
[woman] Journal entry, Tiffany's epiphanies.
Since the day I was born, my daddy called me
his little princess.
And a princress should always drive the coolest cars,
shop at the nicest boutiques,
and wear the hottest clothes.
Who looks at the price tag of anything anyways?
-[buzzer] -They're just a bunch of numbers.
Where I shop, Black Friday and Cyber Monday doesn't exist.
My dad says I can be anything I want, and I want to be an NXT superstar.
[rap music playing]
Look, a lot of people are asking me about my story.
So here it is.
I grew up in Alabama. I love…
[Briggs] Sports is always my outlet.
I wasn't always the best, but I was always the…
…meanest, but that's the way my dad taught me.
He also taught me how to cook a steak.
I'll leave this thing on so long, daddy would come out.
[Briggs] Medium rare, the only way a man should eat a steak.
Speaking of men, I'll tell you a story about when I became a man.
One player tried to take a cheap shot at me,
so I beat him down so bad with my helmet that he ended up in the…
…hospital.
Sometimes I beat them so bad I drove them there myself.
I showed them what a real man…
…looks like.
At least, that's what my dad says anyways.
He didn't really care too much
about me getting kicked off the football team.
He was just happy that I didn't tarnish the family name by looking weak.
That's the only thing…
That brings me happiness.
That and kicking the shit out of somebody.
Whether it's at the county fair--
Or on the football field or in the ring,
we might not always win, but we will make you second guess…
Getting in the ring with us.
[speaking in Chinese]
[narrator] NXT 2.0 has arrived and we brought some new drip.
NXT shop, yes, it's like that.
Tonight only, Black Friday pricing returns.
Save up to 75% off only at nxtshop.com
I can't believe we lost the tag team title.
Yeah, but do you think that this is going to work out?
We have to still see him.
He is a master of tag team.
Nothing can get in our way.
Let's go see the shaman.
Let's go.
I can't see a thing.
It's him.
-Boys, War Games. -Huh?
-I said War Games. -Yes.
Guys, I'm excited.
I've been waiting for years for this match.
This is my first, might be my last, but I couldn't think
of a better group of guys.
These guys have done it before, but one thing we've all done
is we've all had the big match feeling we got there now.
The other locker room, you've got a bunch of scared little boys
because they had never felt this, but they have that glimmer of hope,
thinking, "oh, we have the one-man advantage, right?"
No, no. Somebody told them the wrong damn story.
Yes.
Bruiserweight, he's beautiful.
Guys, tonight is big for us, big for you.
Tonight, it's not just our moment,
tonight is your moment.
[clapping]
[sniffs]
[rock music playing]
[Vic] After that start,
I cannot wait for the men's War Games match.
[bell rings]
[Alicia] The following contest scheduled for one fall
is for the NXT tag team championship.
Introducing the challengers, Kyle O'Reilly and Von Wagner.
[Vic] Beth, O'Reilly and Wagner
earned this championship opportunity here tonight this past Tuesday.
[Beth] Yes, we saw them defeat Legado del Fantasma
after a heart-stopping contest,
but what I love is they really found some chemistry as a team.
They've been gaining momentum, it puts them
in a great position coming in tonight's massive opportunity.
[Vic] That's hard to argue.
This team is starting to gel, whether it's been in the ring,
whether it's been out of the ring, Von Wagner, Kyle O'Reilly,
only time will tell if their success and bond
can grow and blossom
into a championship moment here tonight at War Games.
[violins playing]
[Alicia] And their opponents, they are the NXT tag team champions.
Imperium.
[Vic] They are the champions,
but are they overconfident heading into tonight?
[Wade] Listen, you're not brash, you're not arrogant
if you can constantly back it up.
Are they confident? Yes, of course, they are.
They're two-time NXT tag team champions.
They have a history of excellence in-ring,
and that comes as standard with Imperium.
They never cause faults.
Are they overconfident? I don't think so.
The history of Imperium is long and storied.
The history of Kyle O'Reilly and Von Wagner is about four weeks old.
[Vic] And tonight, courtesy of NXT's official partner,
Draft Kings, everyone can play free
for a share of $10,000 prizes in a free-to-play NXT pools.
Make your picks for the men's War Games main event matchup,
which team will win,
who will be the WWE superstar that records the win,
what foreign object will be brought.
If you get enough correct,
you'll earn your share of a guaranteed $10,000 cash prize.
Be sure to download the app,
sign up the code NXT and play free tonight.
Right now, it is all about the #nxttagteamtitles.
[Wade] Yes, don't they look fantastic?
That is European elegance at its finest.
The house of Burberry, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent.
All of them have gone into building this team,
European class.
I might be slightly biased, obviously, just slightly.
[Beth] A lot of bias for me.
We talked about confidence with Imperium, but they always go
too far.
They look down on the division.
It's gotten me concerned that they're taking them lightly.
[Wade] I don't think they are.
The Kyle O'Reilly and Von Wagner experience thus far,
apart from last week, which you gloated about,
against Legado del Fantasma, it's been littered
with miscues and false starts.
This could end up
being a very easy defense
for Imperium if things do not click
for Von Wagner and Kyle O'Reilly.
[Beth] When I'm saying things, it's gloating?
When you say it, it's spitting facts?
Barrett, you're a little biased.
[Vic] That's a very good point.
Point, Beth Phoenix.
The one phrase and a couple of key buzzwords, so to speak,
a lot of members of the NXT and WWE Universe bring up
when they talk about Barthel and Fabian Aichner, Beth, are "brash",
the word "arrogant" comes to mind as well.
They're going to have to really bring their A-game here tonight.
O'Reilly quickly trying to transition to a submission.
Barthel realizing it and O'Reilly has to reliquish the hold.
[Beth] That's a frequent attitude.
Like I said, the way they look down on everybody else,
but nobody doubts their technical prowess, they're fantastic.
Aichner's an incredible hybrid athlete.
He can do everything, but no reason to say it
all the time, just show me, do it in the ring.
[Vic] The tag team division
is looking on to this championship showdown.
Oh, wow!
[Beth] Talk about Legado del Fantasma,
Briggs and Jensen, GYV, all have their eyes on the champions.
Imperium's got a target on their backs.
[Wade] I want to be clear here.
I'm not taking anything away from Kyle O'Reilly,
former three-time tag team champion here
in NXT with different partners.
Who's to say he can't do it again tonight with Von Wagner?
I'm not sold yet on Von Wagner.
Does he have the ability to follow Kyle's lead?
Yes, he's big, he's strong, he's powerful,
got a lot of potential,
I just don't know if he's quite ready to make that leap
to championship-caliber just yet.
[Vic] Well, right now, Wagner tagging in, and, oh,
singlehandedly taking apart Aichner into the cover for the titles,
and Aichner able to kickout at two.
Beth, is it a breakthrough for the team of Wagner and O'Reilly,
a second cover of the match for Wagner,
another kickout, with that win over Legado del Fantasma,
have they found that winning combination?
[Beth] It's massive.
With the landscape of the tag division and playing safe,
to have an opportunity like this just speaks
to how much they're getting on the same page.
[Vic] Now you're seeing them on the same page.
[Wade] I could not disagree more with Beth on that point.
Let's not get too carried away with one victory
against Legado del Fantasma.
Even a stopped clock gets it right twice a day.
I'm still to be convinced
that the victory against Legado del Fantasma
last week was not a stopped clock moment
for Kyle O'Reilly and Von Wagner.
Add to that, there was a distraction in that particular matchup
when Xyon Quinn came down to ringside,
caused all sorts of a kerfuffle on the outside,
so forgive me for not being as excited
as everyone else about this new tag team.
[Vic] That's a scrabble word he pulled up,
but now it's Kyle O'Reilly and the distraction from Barthel,
as slight and small as it was,
opening the door, Aichner turning it around
with that snap suplex and in comes Barthel.
And now, Imperium, right where they want O'Reilly to be.
[Beth] You're downplaying their win, but they're in a championship match.
It takes one win to hold the gold tonight.
[Wade] I ain't denying that for a second, but one win against Imperium
is pretty hard to come by.
[Vic] Now, Barthel measuring O'Reilly.
Oh!
O'Reilly caught Barthel right under the jaw.
[Wade] Perfectly to the point, but look at the recovery ability
of Marcel Barthel, former amateur boxer,
and you can tell this man can take a whack
to the jaw and keep ticking.
[crowd booing]
[screams]
[Vic] Barthel, we talked about that overconfidence,
at the end of the day, Wade, for Imperium, yes, they are
the NXT tag team champion and they're on this quest to restore
order as Wagner checks back into the match.
[Wade] They are on the quest to follow the general Walter's
instructions from a couple of months ago.
At this point, it's Von Wagner showing an impressive display
of strength and power,
trying to take control of this matchup,
stopped me in my tracks.
[Vic] Walter would not be very happy with what he's witnessing,
but here's Wagner trying to overpower Barthel.
Barthel quickly and wisely makes the tag, in comes Aichner,
the powerhouse of the two.
Now take a look at these two.
[screams]
[Vic] Swing and a miss.
In comes Aichner who just caught Von Wagner.
[Wade] Pound for pound the strongest man in NXT
and that is why
capturing a flying Von Wagner like it was nothing.
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] Absolute, Beth, unreal strength.
[Beth] I can't believe my eyes, just catching 240 pounds
and just easily crossing
that weight back up and then delivering
this incredible 360 slam.
[Wade] That was some solid deep squats there.
We need to get you hitting some squats soon.
You got those spindly legs we need to fix.
[Vic] Well, I'm focused on the NXT tag team titles at this moment.
[Wade] Decapitation.
[Vic] Tag was made and in comes O'Reilly.
Look, O'Reilly taking out Fabian Aichner.
We've talked about O'Reilly's past
in the tag team division.
Teaming with Wagner, I talked to O'Reilly earlier, and he said
he spent time talking to Wagner about keeping
the emotions in check.
[Beth] O'Reilly has been on this stage many times.
He's been victorious in War Games main event matches.
He's talked to Wagner about keeping his emotions in check.
A lot of these 2.0 superstars
haven't performed under a microscope like this.
There's more eyes watching and it's time to level up.
[Vic] Combination offense now by O'Reilly,
starting to chop down Marcel Barthel.
[Wade] Just textbook Brazilian jiu-jitsu,
muay thai skills from Kyle O'Reilly.
[Vic] O'Reilly talking a little bit of trash too.
Oh, come on.
[Wade] Yes. He comes before it.
That's the mistake.
Imperium will sucker you in,
they'll antagonize you with their sour-faced antics,
but that is where you need to remain focused.
[applause]
[Beth] Well, take a look at this impact
to Kyle O'Reilly, boom, right across the collarbone.
Imperium also adept at doing it behind the referee's back.
[Vic] You talked about behind the official's back,
we've seen Wagner, we've seen O'Reilly in the past,
well, get bit
by officials, so to speak.
I should say Legado del Fantasma has the beef on that.
[Wade] They lack the fluidity of a team that has been around
seemingly forever like Imperium.
That's why these guys are the absolute Alpha dogs,
they're the top of the ladder in NXT tag division.
One more time.
[Vic] You just hear the forearms from Aichner, the powerhouse.
Beth, you mentioned earlier you thought
Imperium would be overlooking their challengers.
[Beth] 100% and you see that trash-talking right there.
This is the overconfidence coming into play.
If you can get a pinfall, a submission.
Why not do that? Why drag it out?
[Vic] We hear the NXT Universe split between them.
O'Reilly just wiped out Barthel and Aichner
and this is the moment now for Kyle O'Reilly.
He is a long way away from Von Wagner, but desperately,
O'Reilly needs to make
a tag if he and Wagner want to win the NXT titles, but there's Aichner,
right place, right time, I spoke too soon.
[Wade] Well, what a nice idea from Aichner, but it wasn't to be.
The big man is back.
Von Wagner about to clean house.
[Vic] Look at Wagner, who's just changing this matchup singlehandedly.
Nice high running knee.
Now turns his attention to Barthel.
Von Wagner, who's hitting anything that moves.
Whoa, and ooh!
[Wade] Just effortless explosive strength from Von Wagner.
[Vic] Nice gutwrench from Wagner and again we got to remember
Von Wagner in his first night here in NXT was a half a second
away from crowning himself NXT champion.
[Wade] He is fired up and so is this arena.
They smell a tag title change tonight.
I'm yet to be convinced, but this is impressive from the big man.
[Vic] Wagner, Beth, just mowing down Imperium.
[Beth] Continuing that aggressive exchange,
Wagner is on the right track.
You cannot give Imperium any space to breathe.
-[Vic] Uh-oh. -[Wade] He is kicking ass now.
Good for him.
Come on!
[Vic] You can feel the passion oozing as Kyle O'Reilly's back to his feet…
Oh!
Just measured and dropped
Aichner and you can see how the rings
are located here tonight.
They're in a different spot…
Oh! Wagner,
into the cover, center of the ring,
and just able to kick out was Barthel,
but I mentioned
where the rings were located, Kyle O'Reilly realizing that,
and take a look at the knee, bam, and then the landing for Aichner.
[Beth] The veteran experience of O'Reilly giving Wagner
the opportunity to hit that spectactular Olympic slam,
but it would not be enough to keep Barthel down.
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] Listen to the shots.
[Wade] Just windmill shots from Marcel Barthel
absorbed by the big man Von Wagner.
[Vic] Wagner just too powerful.
Just dropping Marcel Barthel.
Oh, no!
And somehow Aichner back to his feet.
[Wade] This is what Imperium do best,
count them out at your peril.
Always finding a second, maybe a third wind.
I guarantee you Von Wagner has never experienced that before.
[Vic] Aichner into the cover to retain the gold
and Wagner able to get the left shoulder just off the mat.
[Beth] Imperium like a well-oiled machine.
[Beth] The fresh man in, we know what's coming.
[Vic] This could be-- oh, I thought I was going to say
the imperial bomb but instead, Wagner
changing everything around.
[screams]
[Vic] Wagner again mowing down Imperium.
There's the tag and in comes O'Reilly
and he's been in this situations before,
where he's got to switch gears.
[Wade] He is barely able to stand up and going high risk though,
attacking the ankle.
[Vic] Now looking for that heel lock.
[Wade] Slapped it on,
center of the ring, Barthel in agony.
[Vic] Submission, center. Is Barthel going to tap out?
Are we going to crown a new NXT tag team champions tonight?
[Wade] This could be it for Kyle O'Reilly,
four-time tag champion, he can taste the gold.
[Vic] Barthel fighting the pain.
So close to the bottom rope.
Wait a minute, Aichner.
[Wade] Oh!
[applause]
The strength of a super heavyweight,
the balance, the poise of a luchador.
[crowd cheering]
[Beth] Look, guys.
Take a look at the precision right here to execute
this moonsault, just total perfection.
[Wade] That's not a fresh Aichner either, that is an Aichner
who has taken an absolute beating.
To pull that off at this point in the matchup
at the most critical moment.
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] Tag was made. Aichner is now legal.
Aichner running interference,
whipping out Wagner,
O'Reilly all by himself.
Oh, whoa, whoa!
KNT!
Wagner just wiped out Barthel. Guillotine.
-[Wade] Kyle O'Reilly can-- -[Vic] Is that a tap?
Is Aichner tapping?
Referee is in great position.
Aichner starting to fade.
[Wade] No way, a tap out--Apparently not.
[Vic] The inside cradle, shoulders down.
Cover. Count.
Wait a minute, Barthel!
[Wade] Oh, wow!
Call the ending of this one if you dare.
[Beth] Oh, my heart is racing.
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] O'Reilly, Aichner.
Oh!
Same page.
And both men down.
[applause]
[crowd chanting "NXT"]
[Vic] You can hear the appreciation from the NXT Universe
as O'Reilly makes a tag.
In comes Wagner,
on the other side in comes Barthel.
[Wade] This matchup could have ended about 15 times in the past 60 seconds.
[Vic] What it means to be a tag team champions here in NXT.
[Beth] Now it's a good old-fashioned slugfest.
[Vic] Oh, Aichner from behind.
[Wade] Chop block just as Von Wagner was finding some flow.
[Vic] The official trying to regain control in this matchup
as Wagner trying
to overcome
and oh, the high low.
-[Beth] Oh, my God! -[Vic] Connects.
Cover. Come on!
Oh!
[Wade] Just a bit too long, referee had his back turned there.
If he had turned around a split second faster,
we'd have new tag champions.
[crowd chanting "NXT"]
[Vic] You don't get much closer than that, Beth Phoenix.
[Beth] Oh, man.
You're not kidding and the NXT Universe agrees.
[Vic] O'Reilly back to being the superstar in this matchup for his team.
[Wade] Barthel has no idea where he's at now.
He's ripe for the pickings.
[Vic] And now--wait a minute.
Wagner running in.
Wagner just got isolated by Barthel.
[Beth] Barthel on instinct.
[Vic] O'Reilly on rubber legs.
Tag was made, in comes Aichner,
and Aichner focusing on O'Reilley.
Oh!
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] Aichner taking the time to wipe out Wagner.
Wagner is on the outside.
O'Reilly's all by himself.
Look for that KNT again--
Wow!
Brain buster, center of the ring,
cover, count, new champions.
Transition into a submission, looking for the tap is O'Reilly.
[Wade] Cross and breaker, center of the ring, but somehow Aichner
managing to block it himself.
[Vic] Another transition into another submission.
Aichner's starting to fade, triangle locked in.
O'Reilly trying to squeeze Aichner.
Everything he's got left for O'Reilly, trying to help, trying to squeeze.
[Wade] Just a textbook way of moving through those submissions.
[Vic] Aichner's out.
No way, again where is Aichner getting this strength from?
[Wade] There's the tag.
[Vic] Barthel's legal.
Boom!
Imperial bomb, cover, count!
-[crowd counts down] -Barthel and Aichner.
Retain.
[classical music playing]
[Alicia] Here are your winners and still the NXT tag team champions, Imperium.
[Wade] Oh, I need a cold shower after that match.
What a technical masterpiece.
What a masterpiece of tag team competition, but ultimately
that European elegance that I talked about,
Imperium standing tall with the championships.
[Beth] No doubt a stunning back and forth, a spectacle.
You said it best, Barrett, I hate to say this but that was
a technical masterpiece.
[Vic] Let's go back to some of this action, Beth.
Fabian Aichner was just absolutely flying all around the ring.
[Beth] Firing on all cylinders.
The precision right here, the athleticism.
I mean.
[Vic] having the presence of mind to stop on a dime on the top rope.
[Beth] I mean, but this moment here,
I was sure Aichner was out, but then coming to that wide base,
somehow hoisting the body of Kyle O'Reilly
after everything he's been through and Imperium displaying
that tag team efficiency like always
and delivering the victory
maintaining the tag team titles.
-[bell rings] -[Vic] Unreal match.
[Wade] I expect greatness from Imperium, but we saw
a very different side from Fabian Aichner tonight.
What on earth else has he got in his pocket? But hats off to these two.
They've convinced me tonight.
[Vic] And the tag team division, no doubt continues to be purified--
[crowd chants]
[Vic] Hats off to the team of Wagner and O'Reilly
here tonight, who really stepped up.
-[Wade] Oh! -[Beth] What?
[Wade] Oh!
[shouting]
[Vic] What did we just witness?
[crowd cheering]
[Wade] Another tag partner turning on Kyle O'Reilly,
or at least trying to, but it backfired for Von Wagner.
[heavy metal music playing]
[agitated music playing]
I'm Ikemen Jiro.
Welcome to Ike mansion.
[electronic music palying]
When you think of a Japanese superstar,
you think of "strong style,"
but when you think of Ikemen Jiro,
you think of "style strong."
A lot of people ask me, what does "ikemen" mean?
Ikemen means, "handsome man." I am ikemen, handsome man.
[laughs]
A handsome man needs handsome jackets.
[electronic music playing]
Thank you for visiting the ike mansion.
Remember, "style strong."
[speaking Spanish]
Those were the first words
I ever heard in this business,
and I've always been blessed by it.
Class, sophistication,
and raw power to command respect.
I am Santos Escobar and no one can touch me.
It was a special era, so much good entertainment.
That's what ruthless aggression is.
You will bear witness to the elimination chamber.
I am money in the bank.
[Vic] Edge is cashing in when John Cena is at his weakest.
I didn't want to be that girl on the side anymore.
I wanted to be in the ring, being a badass.
I hadn't been in the ring in four years.
[man 1] The heartbreak kid is back.
[man 2] The next generation of that is everything.
[man 3] It had to evolve.
Ruthless aggression.
Legado del Fantasma, Santos Escobar,
a huge match for you this Tuesday against Quinn.
Your thoughts?
Let me put it this way, Xyon Quinn.
[speaking Spanish]
He bit off more than he can chew, and this Tuesday,
reality is going to hit him in the face.
Well, with that and with everyone here,
what about Elektra meeting up with Xyon Quinn last week?
McKenzie, as you very well know, we are la familia.
Much like any family,
our affairs are resolved behind closed doors.
Just so we're clear, I am a grown-ass woman.
What I do in my time is none of McKenzie's business.
[crowd booing]
["Shoot my Shot" by Jay IDK playing]
[Vic] You're listening to "Shoot my Shot" by IDK & Offset
from the album "You See Yourself," the official theme of NXT War Games.
Available now on Apple Music and Spotify.
[Beth] From shooting your shot to cashing in your chips,
what started as a game of poker ended in total humiliation
for Cameron Grimes.
Hudson and Grimes will settle the grudge tonight with high stakes
as they both put their hair on the line.
[jazz music playing]
Hey, Duke Hudson here.
NXT superstar, professional poker player, the two go hand-in-hand.
See, it doesn't matter whether it's the squared circle or a poker table.
If I can play with your mind,
then I've beaten you before it even begins.
[laughs]
-What's up? -Hey, tough luck with the ladies.
Sorry. You got that money?
Do I still got that money?
You still got them cards?
[Duke] Yes, yes, yes.
I'll see you next week in Duke's poker room.
[Beth] Gentlemen, welcome to the poker showdown.
One final round of betting
will take place and the players will reveal their hands.
I'm all in.
I'll live to fight another day.
I fold.
[laughs] I didn't even know you could fold.
[laughs]
I need to know how good your flush was.
[Grimes] You don't want to see that.
You bluffed me.
You bluffed me, Grimes.
[rap music playing]
[crowd boos]
I kept this hair and this beard to remind me
of my humble beginnings.
Duke Hudson, you took all that away from me.
I'm helping you, Grimes.
I'm trying to transform you to somewhat of a normal human being.
Let's go all in. You want the rest, Duke?
Duke Hudson, Cameron Grimes, NXT War Games,
hair versus hair.
You're on.
Apparently when you humiliated me and I humiliated you back
by giving you a haircut, Internet says
all I did was make you more handsome.
We're going to change that.
At War Games,
I'm going to take the hair,
I'm going to take the beard
and, Grimes, on Sunday, I'll shave you as bald
as the day that you were born.
War Games, Duke.
I'm shaving you bald.
[Wade] Oh, yes, that is where the magic is going to happen tonight.
The clippers, the barber's chair.
You can be sure that lady luck will be back on the side
of the king of stud poker tonight,
the six-foot-five Antipathy Hank
with the buns and the nerves of steel.
[dramatic music playing]
-[crowd booing] -[bell rings]
[Alicia] The following is a hair versus hair match.
Introducing first, Duke Hudson.
[Beth] Sure he has buns of steel?
[Wade] He told me.
[Vic] Moving on from that, why are you so confident in Hudson?
[Wade] Listen, I like a lot about the Duke.
The man is six-five, as I mentioned, he's shredded,
he's a dominant competitor, he's as smooth as they come.
He is the master of stud poker with a calm temperament.
Just a natural-born winner and a level of class above Grimes.
[Vic] We want you to remember, don't forget there's still time.
You can play for free right now for your share of $10,000
in prizes from draft kings in the free-to-play NXT pool.
Download the app right now, make your picks on the main event
men's War Games match.
You could earn your share of a guaranteed $10,000 cash prize.
Be sure to download the app.
Sign up with the code NXT and play free tonight.
[Beth] You know, I can recall an appearance
by Wade "the barber" Barrett in 2013.
That didn't work out very well for you, did it, Barrett?
Didn't you get your beard shaved off?
[Wade] This might be your final night
but I'm not going to let you get away with that.
This is 2021 now, let's get in the here and now. 2013.
[Beth] Hee ha!
[country music playing]
[Alicia] His opponent, Cameron Grimes.
[Vic] I'll miss Beth taking cheap shots at Wade.
But we've got to get serious about this matchup
because for the superstar making his way to the ring
there's lot more on the line than just hair for Cameron Grimes.
[Beth] Totally, I mean, this is about a man's pride.
Grimes is fun-loving, the NXT Universe likes him,
he connects, he relates to everyone
but Grimes has said that that hair, that beard,
it's part of where he came from, a tribute to his roots.
This is meaningful and it's all
about giving Duke Hudson what's coming to him.
[Wade] Sometimes you outgrow your roots
and whatever humble beginnings Cameron Grimes came from,
he is a superstar here in NXT
and he needs to leave that garbage in his past.
He looks way better without that straggly beard.
[Vic] Coming right out of the gates Hudson and Grimes.
This has turned into a personal vendetta
over the last several months, bringing it to tonight here at War Games
as Hudson right now just taking it to Cameron Grimes.
Look, the bold challenge of hair versus hair, Beth,
it was made by Cameron Grimes.
[Beth] What was Grimes going to do? Hudson forced his hand.
Grimes got one over on him by outsmarting him
and got powerbombed through a table.
I mean, that just speaks of the type of trash human Duke Hudson is.
[Vic] Oh!
[Wade] Did you say a bold challenge or a baldy challenge?
Because either way, someone's getting shaved bald tonight.
[Vic] Well, you just see the nasty landing for--
we talked about how there is two rings.
The steel steps not typically there and you can see
the welts forming on the back of Cameron Grimes.
[Wade] Yes, real nice start for Grimes
at the site, being close. Cameron Grimes. Of course--
[Vic] I think you said it right.
A great start by Grimes.
[Wade] Grimes has had a little lady luck here and there,
but now he's got overconfident.
He's overreaching at this point and he's going to come crashing
back down to earth along with that mope of greasy hair
at the end of this match.
[Vic] Referee at seven as Duke Hudson making his way back in.
Look at no wasted motion from Cameron Grimes and, Beth,
you hit on so much for Cameron Grimes, more than just hair and look,
Cameron Grimes has been overcoming the odds his entire life.
Oh, no, is he going to overcome one arm and all the strength
from Duke Hudson?
This goes back to what Wade was talking about.
The impressive physique of Hudson who right now
is just trying to send a message to his opponent.
[Wade] The man is an animal in there, just battering
Cameron Grimes as we take another look at this effortless ura nage
in the corner there from the big man.
Duke Hudson all 6'5 feet of that frame used to maximum advantage there.
[Vic] If Grimes doesn't want to be bald,
he'll have to overcome another obstacle.
[Beth] Hudson is a mountain of a man, but Grimes
is used to climbing mountains and--
[Vic] Oh, come on!
-[Beth] A cheap shot. -[Wade] Not a cheap shot.
[Vic] Oh, oh, oh!
Roll through, shoulders down and a kick out.
[Wade] When his head gets shaved bald, nobody will ever be able to do
that to Grimes again.
[Beth] Don't speak too soon, Barrett.
Grimes talked about his father,
his childhood, his journey, his obstacles.
He's someone that we can relate to.
[Vic] Moonsault off the top rope.
Is Hudson about to be bald? And a kick out.
[Beth] Not many can do a moonsault that pretty.
[Wade] I'm spotting a partisan vibe from you.
You're clearly in favor of Grimes.
We are supposed to be neutral here just like I am.
[Beth] How can you--
[Vic] The pot calling the kettle black?
How can you not like Cameron Grimes?
The guy works hard, great attitude.
There's nothing to not like about him.
[Vic] Hudson finally trying to head for higher ground,
but look at Grimes right out after him.
[Wade] Sucking in Cameron Grimes
there, catching the boot, and once again that 6'5 feet tossing
Cameron Grimes onto the concrete.
This is where Duke Hudson has to capitalize and make the most
of this momentum that he's starting to build.
[Vic] Hudson would love to take
a count-out victory in this sort of matchup as the referee
is continuing to inch closer to ten.
Cameron Grimes not even back to his feet.
You can hear the official, the referee now at eight.
Cameron Grimes, is he going to be able to beat the count?
Just gets back into the ring.
[Wade] That was the slowest count I've ever heard from any referee.
That was an absolute disgrace.
The management of NXT should fine this referee after the match.
[Beth] I don't know what--
You should have had one of the pieces of chocolate.
You've been in a rotten mood all day.
[crowd chanting]
[Vic] The NXT Universe trying to get under the skin of Hudson.
Look, Wade, Hudson was outsmarted,
he was out strategized by Cameron Grimes.
Why can't he just admit he wasn't the better man?
[Wade] Because that's bs, Vic Joseph.
He was never outsmarted at any point.
Hudson was frustrated that he was beaten by somebody
with pure luck and I will make this clear:
when you beat somebody at anything by luck,
it is the least classy way to earn any form of victory.
Cameron Grimes, when he beat Duke Hudson at poker
in a fluke victory,
should have apologized for winning in such a cheap way
and instead, he decided to gloat, and now he's going to get--
[Vic] He beat him twice.
Oh, come on.
That's the second time,
we have seen Duke Hudson cut a corner.
[Beth] I'm not surprised.
Duke Hudson is extremely rattled by the fact
that he could walk out of this match tonight bald.
[Vic] Some believe Hudson crossed a line several weeks ago
when he took some clippers to Cameron Grimes,
which really escalated this personal vendetta.
[Beth] I'm one of those people.
No reason for Hudson to take the low road.
He could have done some self-reflection,
but instead, he's just a big, mean loser.
[Wade] Cameron Grimes looks ten times better
now he's had this makeover.
He should be thanking Hudson.
It's the nicest thing anybody has done for Cameron.
[Vic] Wait. Inside cradle, shoulders down and…
Oh, near fall.
Duke Hudson was a half-second away, but Hudson quickly mowing
Cameron Grimes down.
[Wade] Beth, I noticed you checking out
the buns of steel
of Duke Hudson as we check out that barber's chair
that is going to come into employment very soon
when this match ends.
[Beth] Barrett, I think I'm going to shave your head on the way out tonight.
I'm going to shave you bald!
[crowd booing]
[Vic] Beth, we heard from Wade Barrett
talking about the frustration of Duke Hudson.
Is Cameron Grimes playing
the cards again very close to his vest?
Is he trying to just frustrate Duke Hudson?
Does he know something we don't?
[Beth] You know that Grimes is so good--
I talked about it earlier.
He's overcome so many obstacles and if there's one thing
I know, is you can never count out Cameron Grimes.
He's got a lot in the gas tank and Duke Hudson better be careful.
[Vic] Something Cameron Grimes can count on
is forcing the hand of Duke Hudson
into making a mistake
as now we see Duke Hudson though continuing to apply the pressure.
[Wade] Here's what I like about Hudson,
it's just complete mental control.
The pacing is all dictated by Hudson.
Competition in that ring is as much mental as it is physical
and among that Hudson
has it all under control.
[Beth] Now it's about fists and Grimes used it to break that hold.
This is the space Grime needs in this moment
to swing the pendulum in his favor.
[Vic] Grimes back to his, but look at Hudson quickly smashing--
Oh, wait a minute.
It's Cameron Grimes able to stay
one step ahead for the moment
and I think Duke Hudson's eyes got really big when he looked
and saw that barber's chair in the second ring.
He doesn't want his destiny to be bald here
and an enziguiri.
And now Cameron Grimes starting to build some momentum in this matchup.
[Wade] Big man Hudson starting to--
What on earth?
[Vic] Into the cover is Grimes.
Grimes is into the cover and Hudson just kicked out.
How do you fling a man who is 6'5 feet inches tall,
250 pounds around at 360 degrees like this?
[Beth] Well, it's because Cameron Grimes is not your typical competitor.
He was called the "technical savage"
pulling out maneuvers like that.
You saw Duke Hudson's eyes bugging out of his head.
[Vic] It was like he saw a ghost.
And Cameron Grimes rallying late in this matchup
showcasing his own strength,
showcasing his own power.
[Wade] Nice return there from Duke Hudson though, power of his own.
A little shocker perhaps for Cameron Grimes.
Spun it around into a DDT.
[Vic] Well, how about that for a shot?
Cover, count, and another near fall and, Beth,
you can just feel the energy here amongst the NXT Universe.
Do you feel the momentum starting
to slip away from Duke Hudson?
[Beth] Oh, 100%.
Cameron Grimes thrives in these underdog situations.
[screams]
[Beth] He knows how to dig deep and we've seen Grimes pulling out before.
[Wade] First rule, don't count your money
when you're sitting at the table, Vic Joseph and Beth.
Nothing is clear at this point,
both men very much still in the match.
[thud]
[Vic] Oh, Grimes trying to take over, oh, can Hudson--
There you go.
[Wade] Oh, I hate this referee, he's the worst.
[Vic] Grimes turning things around.
Another near fall.
Grimes almost putting away Hudson.
[Beth] Is he the worst because he's doing his job?
[Wade] He was counting slowly.
He's favoring one man in this matchup.
[Vic] Superkick under the jaw, Hudson is rocked
and it doesn't matter if you're 6'6
or the same size-- hurricanrana by Grimes!
[Wade] Coming down hard on the back of the neck was Duke Hudson.
He is in la la land right now.
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] Listen to the NXT Universe
fully behind Cameron Grimes.
High crossbody connects off the top rope.
Is it enough to put Hudson away and another near fall.
[Wade] Such a tight pinfall attempt there from Cameron Grimes
as we take another look at the sickening landing
for the 6'5 feet inch Duke Hudson.
[Vic] A high crossbody almost wiped
of the hair off the head of Duke Hudson.
[Beth] Let me guess. Was that a slow count?
[Wade] I'm focusing on the here and now, Beth,
let's not go back in time.
[crowd booing]
[Vic] Oh, oh, there's that boss man slam. Cover.
No, not like this, and Grimes kicks out.
[Wade] Winds have changed there from Duke Hudson, not quite enough.
He cannot believe it.
[Beth] Could imagine images
of a bald Duke Hudson going through his mind?
He could see that barber chair sitting in the spotlight.
The future for one of these men.
[Vic] And Hudson could be singling the end right now.
[Wade] Final ace in the pocket, razor's edge.
[Vic] Oh!
[Wade] Reversed at the last second by Grimes.
[Vic] Grimes, cover!
Cover!
[bell rings]
Hudson on the river!
[rap music playing]
[Alicia] Here's your winner, Cameron Grimes!
[Wade] How on earth did that referee not spot the blatted handful
of tights by Cameron Grimes?
I told you that's a partisan referee.
[Vic] Don't let the facts get away with a good story.
Grimes is going to shave Duke Hudson bald.
[Beth] Oh, yeah, get the aftershave ready.
I've got him some moisturizer.
We can get to make sure he gets a nice shine.
[Wade] Absolutely not. That's not how this is done.
That is not classy.
Restart the matchup.
[Beth] I brought some sunglasses so we can avoid the glare off
of that cue ball head.
[Vic] Realization of what's to happen starting to set in for Duke Hudson.
[rap music playing]
Nice try. Nice try, Hudson.
You got a date
with the barber, that being barber--Oh!
[Wade laughs]
Don't talk so fast, Vic Joseph, my, oh, my.
[crowd booing]
[Wade] Oh, yes.
No. I like where this is going.
-[Vic] Come on, no. -[Wade] Yes.
I told you, lady luck was back
on the side of Duke Hudson.
How the tables have turned.
[laughs]
[Vic] Oh!
[Beth] What were you saying about lady luck?
[Vic] They've turned indeed. There's a cave-in.
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] Oh, Grimes is not going to allow Duke Hudson
to ruin this tonight.
[Wade] We need some security down here.
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] Cameron Grimes victorious tonight.
And to the Victor go the spoils.
[crowd chanting "shave him off"]
-[Wade] No. -[Beth] Yes.
-[Wade] No. -[Beth] I love it.
[applause]
It's an improvement.
[Vic] Grimes should leave it like that.
Whatever.
-[Wade] He looks ridiculous. -[Beth] Fantastic.
[crowd cheering]
[Wade] He's giving him a skullet.
[Vic laughs]
[Wade] Lady luck is a complete bitch.
[Vic laughs]
[Beth] I think you mean Karma.
Let's just revel in this.
[Vic] It was so nice I want to see it twice.
[Beth] Oh, come on, Barrett,
you got to admit, it's a great style, a trendsetter.
I know you'll be in line next to get the same look.
Looks fantastic.
[Vic] Then, you have Grimes cut your hair,
give you a little shave this Tuesday.
[Wade] The hottest man in NXT is no more.
[crowd cheering]
[rap music playing]
It is I, Cashios, god of cashback.
-Greetings, fierce mortal. -I'm Charlotte Flair.
Greetings, fierce Charlotte Flair.
I almost mistook you for one of my godly cousins.
All that glitters is gold, Cashios.
Thanks to my official WWE Credit One Visa card
-from Credit One Bank. -Yes.
Get this exclusive card, discounts on WWE gear, and so much more.
You can even win a trip to a WWE event to see me in the ring.
It's like a battle royal.
How shall thou will prepare?
Well…
You'll need to keep your energy up.
Yes, molten gold drizzled upon crispy crunchies.
Oh.
And you'll want to look the part.
These cashback rewards, they're fit for a…
-Queen? -Yes.
Your battle grind must be most formidable.
-Wooh! -[chuckles]
[Charlotte] Visit ultimatewwecard.com for more details.
Where are we going?
I'm absolutely starving.
-You're hungry, yes? -Yes.
Good. That's exactly why we're here.
Come with me.
Well, lad, get your eyes on this.
This is you, you're on the ground, hurt your knee.
Along comes a stooge, he sees you, he's a good guy, wants to help.
Here's me, waiting in the winds
while you distract him, I take the phone, access the app,
access the food, they deliver the food,
get all the scram, we win.
We munch it all down all day long. How's about that?
I like that, yes.
You understand now?
If you can distract complete stranger, you can distract a referee.
Cheers.
[laughter]
-That's good. -It's a good day.
It's a good day.
[Katana] When Kayden and I aren't kicking ass in the ring,
we hit up as many music festivals as we can.
[Kayden] Last week was EDC Orlando.
It was time to let loose and rage out.
There's such an amazing feeling in these festivals.
It's a unique vibe.
Listening to the music, getting lights,
and letting out your inner crazy.
I mean it's something you can't even explain.
[Katana] It's about having fun, being yourself, and for a few minutes,
or a few hours of your life,
forgetting your problems and getting lost in the experience.
[Kayden] We've had a lot of downtime to think, and we've realized
we want to share this with the audience.
[Katana] Seeing a community of thousands of people
coming together to be themselves and have a good time,
that's what we want to bring to NXT.
We are the life of the party and we're bringing the party to everyone.
[Draco] Those who talk the most usually have nothing to say,
but NXT is different,
a locker room full of superstars who back it up.
I'm not going to talk about what I'm going to do, I'll just show you.
I'm not what NXT wants,
I'm what NXT needs.
I'm Draco Anthony,
and my actions speak louder than your words.
["Auld Lang Syne" playing]
[exciting music playing]
Wow, what a way to kick off 2022 here at NXT
with new year's evil.
This year has been an absolute blast.
I promise you 2022 is going to top it, I cannot wait.
How about just a few days before our new year's day,
it's day one, Roman reigns,
Brock Lesnar for the universal championship alive from Atlanta
streaming exclusively on Peacock,
but we can talk about 2022 in a few days,
we got to talk about tonight because team 2.0 is getting ready
to enter the War Games match.
They don't want us to win.
[Vic] Bron Breakker, Tony D'Angelo,
they are putting in final preparations for a match
none have ever stepped foot in, and how are they going to prepare
for our main event tonight?
But we got to continue on, and coming up in a matter of moments,
Roderick Strong wanted a big-money match
which he certainly has gotten in the form
of a very outspoken challenger.
The world should be a happy place, but in reality,
we live in a world where the goal is to drag people down.
And the NXT cruiserweight championship
is an example of exclusivity
and weight shaming.
I am Joe Gacy and I'm here
to Usher in the world to a new normal.
[Bivens] You done messed up now, Joe.
Diamond Mine is the most dominant group of athletes
in sports entertainment, and Roderick strong is
the centerpiece of Diamond Mine
and he is your NXT cruiserweight champion.
Respect is not something I have for Roderick Strong.
I don't care about any weight limit.
My next money match is standing right here.
Let's make this happen so I can embarrass this dork.
I look forward to resolving this issue as one.
[Bivens] At War Games, Roderick Strong is going to shut you up for good.
We'll walk in the same way we'll walk out,
and that is with the cruiserweight championship.
Strong has created a toxic cruiserweight division
and I will bring wonderful inclusivity.
At NXT War Games, I give you an all-inclusive beat down.
[guitar music playing]
[Vic] All right now, this is a big moment for Joe Gacy.
Look, the weight limit of 205 lbs, Beth, it's been lifted here tonight.
[Beth] Well, according to Gacy, if he wins tonight,
that weight limit restriction will be lifted forever.
This is all part of his agenda he continues to push through
pretending that he's doing something altruistic in the world,
but we all know what his intentions are.
[Vic] Gacy not coming alone tonight here at NXT War Games
which is presented by the official WWE Credit One Visa card.
Get closer to the action with benefits like meet-and-greets, sweepstakes,
early ticket sales for select events, and more.
Visit wweultimatecard.com to see if you prequalify now.
Terms apply.
[Wade] Listen, Beth, you are such a hater when it comes to Joe Gacy.
I don't understand at all, I don't always agree with Gacy,
but he's had me thinking on this one because the cruiserweight title
was one title I was never eligible for through no fault of my own.
Why, I ask, should bigger guys like me, like Gacy,
like McLaughlin, why should we be prejudiced against?
-I like the change. -[Beth] Prejudice?
[Wade] If Gacy wins tonight, they will have to rename
that championship the incluisive weight championship
and I for one think that is a positive move.
[Vic] Why does everything come back to you?
You always make it about yourself.
[Beth] I'm sorry you were so poorly done for, Barrett, no opportunities.
[Wade] I'll tell you sports entertainment is tough
as a bigger superstar.
[Beth] Oh, cry me a river.
[Vic] There you see Diamond Mine fully focused on the action here tonight.
There's no doubt this is a tough test for Roderick Strong.
I wasn't wise of Bivens to ransom this match.
[Wade] Listen, Bivens has made it very, very clear he's about one thing
and one thing only, he is about money matches.
To me, this has become a huge money match
because it's got the world talking and the world watching,
the world questioning their own beliefs,
and in fairness to him, the champ Roderick Strong--
[Alicia] The following contest scheduled for one fall
is for the NXT cruiserweight championship!
Introducing the challenger,
Joe Gacy!
[crowd booing]
[Alicia] His opponent representing Diamond Mine,
he is the NXT cruiserweight champion, Roderick Strong.
[Wade] In fairness,
this man the champ Roderick Strong was the one
who demanded the matchup last week
so Bivens really didn't have too much choice,
but I think he likes the smell of money and money is coming from this matchup.
[Vic] I wonder if Joe Gacy goes to ultimatewwecard.com
to prequalify and if he doesn't get the answer fast,
he seems like someone that would complain.
[Beth] Joe Gacy complains about just about everything
but he frames it in such a way that he makes himself into the victim.
[Vic] He talked his way into this opportunity.
[Beth] Totally.
I've said it in the past whether it's Trick Williams or Joe Gacy,
young Joe talked himself into an opportunity
on full display continuously.
Gacy's figured out how to push everyone's buttons,
get everyone triggered
pissed off, swoop in and take for a ride.
[Vic] Into that point,
he's trying to peaceably talk down Roderick Strong.
It's a championship match.
[Beth] I don't buy it.
[Wade] It's okay to start this in a sporting way,
men should shake hands before the match and hopefully after the match.
I think Gacy is about that, but here's the point.
[crowd cheering]
[Wade] Maybe you can hold this stuff.
This is throwing Strong off, he's never come across
anything like a hug to start a match
and certainly a slap to the face will change things in a hurry.
[Beth] That's Gacy showing his cards.
He was trying to bait Strong in with a hug.
Not everybody's comfortable with a hug.
[Vic] Nasty backbreaker.
[Wade] You said Gacy talked his way into this matchup.
I've been upset with some of the 2.0 stars recently getting title
opportunities that they haven't earned.
Guys like Trick Williams, guys like Briggs and Jensen
in the tag team division.
Here's why it's different for Gacy.
He was being prejudiced against,
it's sizeism, and talking is how you bring about change.
There's nothing wrong with using words rather than fists--
[Beth] Sizeism isn't a word.
[Vic] Yes, well, Roderick Strong was looking for a hug in his own right,
and now Gacy.
Running over the cruiserweight championship
but can you imagine if Gacy were to win the cruiserweight title
the sort of platform he would now have if he was victorious tonight?
[Wade] Listen, Gacy lives and dies by the size of his pulpit.
Win tonight the pulpit of Joe Gacy and his belief grows,
the megaphone gets louder, champions in NXT, they get invited
on ESPN, they get invited to Sam Roberts' Sirius FM show,
magazine covers, the words, as we take another look at this.
Shot from behind from Joe Gacy, inching closer
to the inclusive weight championship.
Magazine covers, the award shows, win tonight
and the people who will hear the message of inclusivity will drop.
[Vic] Yes, well, right now Roderick Strong is sending his own message…
Oh! To Gacy.
Beth, I'm sure Gacy wants to get this match over with quickly.
[Beth] I mean, it's to his advantage.
Gacy's got to end this soon because his chances
will continue to diminish the longer this goes.
We all know Strong has a gas tank like no other in NXT.
[Vic] Yes, a self-described cardio monster is Roderick Strong
who of course won the cruiserweight championship back in September,
defending it here tonight against Gacy.
You got to wonder, Wade, Roderick Strong had to spend
some extra time in the Diamond Mine.
[Wade] He absolutely did, training hard for this particular matchup.
Now listen, I spoke to Malcolm Bivens earlier,
he was tweaked the training to focus on the fact that it's a larger opponent.
Of course, Strong throughout his career has taken
on many larger superstars, so this isn't entirely new,
although in the last few months,
he's focused exclusively on that 205 weight limit,
so things are different now.
He's been sparring with the Creed Brothers to get used to the weight.
I think he's left a chance to Diamond Mine.
[Vic] Gacy is throwing his weight around, showcasing his own strength.
Strong able to counter and Gacy quickly shutting the door
and following up with a backbreaker in his own right.
[Wade] You talk about the size of Gacy.
The man can move like a cruiserweight,
so certainly from that regard, he belongs in this division.
[Vic] Gacy into the cover and Strong quickly out
at one and look, Gacy's made no secret about it,
whether it's been on the mic or on social media,
he's looking to redefine what it means to be
the cruiserweight champion here in NXT.
[applause]
Off the suplex, flowed over into the cover.
Well, again, Roderick Strong was able to kick out at one.
[Wade] You mentioned redefining the cruiserweight division.
He's looking to redefine the entire world of sports entertainment
starting with NXT.
It should be a more positive environment.
The constant toxicity that sometimes pervades around
here can be changed.
[Beth] Making things-- he called us snowflakes.
[Wade] He never called me a snowflake.
[Beth] He called everybody a snowflake.
[Vic] Well, to that point,
Beth, he started tonight on social media by saying,
"we change the world."
Who's he talking about? Who's "we"?
[Wade] Regardless of what you or I or Beth Phoenix thinks
of the message of Gacy, there are legions
who believe every word he says.
Tonight and tonight's ultimate victory is for them.
[Vic] Now tonight might be coming to a quick end
as Roderick Strong, the NXT cruiserweight champion,
all the way to the tippy top.
Can strong hoist up Gacy?
Going for the ride!
Superplex!
But so much has been taken on Roderick strong
in this match so this far,
this far, crawls into the cover does strong to retain his title,
and Gacy this time kicking out at two.
[Beth] Take a look at this Roderick Strong
making the difference irrelevant in this situation,
able to hoist Gacy over,
but unfortunately took just a little bit too much time
to make the cover.
[Vic] Got to give credit
to Strong, he was open to lifting the weight restriction
for this championship showdown.
[Beth] Strong would take on all comers.
There's no superstar in NXT that trains harder, is more polished
or conditioned than Strong.
[Vic] Oh!
Strength on display, what a gutbuster, might not have gotten all of it,
certainly got enough of it and then following up on Gacy,
and Strong now with Diamond Mine cheering him on,
crawls into another cover, another hook of the leg
and still not able to put away Gacy
as Bivens starting to show a little frustration.
[Wade] I don't think Joe Gacy was anticipating the level of power
that Roderick strong can produce.
Do not underestimate that cruiserweight division.
Some real strong characters, strong performers in there,
technicians too as we see this nice Boston crab.
[Vic] The stronghold locked in.
Gacy almost with a smile on his face.
[Wade] A demented grin.
-[Beth] It's insanity. -[Vic] Bivens barking at Gacy.
Gacy reaching so close, but look at Roderick Strong,
the veteran pulling out Gacy one more time.
Gacy trying anything he can to get away from Strong.
Oh, well, that's certainly one way to break the submission.
Speaking of submission, Gacy looking for a crossface.
Can Gacy make the cruiserweight champion submit?
[Wade] Technical skills of his own, Strong wisely slithering his way out of that.
Making the rope and the lads and the Creed Brothers yelling
to this referee, "break that hold immediately."
[Beth] It's the difference in the grappling skills--
[Vic] Oh!
Strong up and over right at the feet of Diamond Mine.
[Wade] Joe Gacy would be well advised to stay clear
of that part of the ring.
He's not taking my advice though.
[Vic] Gacy laying it all on the line
and to his credit, Beth, Gacy wants to spread his message.
He's willing to do whatever it takes to become cruiserweight champion.
[crowd cheering]
[Beth] Oh!
[crowd] Let it go! Let it go!
[crowd shouting]
[Vic] Gacy bringing the peace and swipes at strong
and now it's Gacy, looking to hoist up and plant
the cruiserweight champion.
Oh!
Gacy got all of it. Cover, count.
Do we have a new champion? Strong kicks out.
[Wade] That kick out was more in that way that we almost had a new champion,
but that Harland, there is something I really don't like about him.
Nice, just when you think he's out, Roderick Strong bouncing back.
[Vic] That jumping knee that has knocked out so many,
as Strong trying to follow up, hoisting up Gacy down across the back.
Strong into the cover to retain his title
and Roderick Strong silences Joe Gacy.
[Alicia] Here's your winner, and still the NXT cruiserweight champion,
Roderick Strong.
[Vic] We can take nothing away from what Joe Gacy brought tonight,
but in the end, strong was able to stay one step ahead of Gacy.
[crowd chanting "Roderick"]
[Wade] Roderick Strong just a champion through and through.
If you want to get to the very top in NXT,
you've got to get to the caliber of a Roderick Strong,
as we take another look at Harland getting involved here
with Ivy Nile, who almost got more than she bargained for.
Thankfully, Gacy talking him out of it.
[Beth] A terrifying moment, we were all holding our breath,
but back into the ring here,
Roderick Strong getting the best of Joe Gacy.
Again, the backbreaker across the spine, and once again,
Roderick Strong showing why diamonds are made under pressure.
[Vic] Look, when it comes to Joe Gacy,
he might have gotten caught up trying to spread his message,
but Strong walks in the same way he walks out,
cruiserweight champion.
[Jiro] Ikemen Jiro has a big personality.
Big personality means big appetite
and with this app
they bring the food to me.
Thank you.
Tonight on the menu:
three gallons of ice cream,
two foot longs,
one gallon of super slurpee,
and two super slice.
It's dinner time.
[electronic music playing]
Round two.
[electronic music playing]
-[sighs] Excuse me. -[stomach rumbles]
I'll be right back.
[groans]
[farts]
Maybe next time just one super slice.
[water flushing]
[Christmas music playing]
[kids] Yay!
[kid] Empty boxes?
[narrator] Sorry, kids, it's not Santa's fault.
It was the supply chain.
Aww.
[narrator] But there is one box you didn't open.
That small one right there.
WrestleMania tickets!
[narrator] The only gift that guarantees a merry Christmas.
Live from AT&T stadium in Dallas, Texas.
WrestleMania 38.
The most stupendous two-night WrestleMania in history.
[Christmas music playing]
[kids celebrate]
[narrator] Tomorrow night.
[announcer] Awesome!
[narrator] The A-lister sits down with the rated-R superstar,
edge on a special addition of Miz TV.
Plus.
Two must see matches.
Big Time Becks defends her raw women's championship
against Liv Morgan.
I've got death grip on this title.
Big Time Becks is really just a big time bitch.
[narrator] WWE champion Big E, battles the relentless
Kevin Owens in a rare and destructive steel cage match.
[announcer] Locked inside that inhumane steel cage.
[narrator] Raw live, tomorrow night 8/7 only on USA.
[crowd cheering]
Kyle, a tough loss to Imperium, but what happened after the match?
You know what happened after the match?
You know I've been in this business a long time?
Von Wagner, if you think I didn't smell that turn coming
from a mile away, you must be stupider than you look!
Now, this is the first time in five years that Kyle O'Reilly
hasn't been in a War Games match, and I'm hungry for some steel.
Von, you want to finish what you started?
Well, on Tuesday, we lead the cage up because I want you
inside the steel.
[crowd cheers]
[siren wailing]
[Vic] Well, what a challenge that is on Tuesday,
but when you think of cages,
you think of War Games,
and it is main event time here tonight.
And it's the new school versus the old school.
Will team 2.0 rise to the occasion
or will team Black & Gold's experience be too much
for 2.0 to overcome?
[siren wailing]
[man 1] You're looking at the future of WWE.
[man 2] The game has changed.
You want to overlook team 2.0? That's fine.
You bet your ass we're going to bring it.
[D'Angelo] I show up, the situation gets resolved.
[Carmelo] When I shoot, I don't miss.
Because that's what a good sports entertainer does in 2021.
We're ready to take over NXT.
That spells disaster for you.
Let's make it NXT 2.0 versus NXT Black & Gold!
[man] They wouldn't have NXT to work for if it wasn't
for our blood, our sweat, our sacrifices, and that's true.
[Knight] Let's call it what it is, they're looking to replace us.
War is the name of the game, and whose game is it?
It's the Black & Gold's game.
[Dunne] You're looking at veterans of War Games.
These lads have no idea what they're in for.
[man] You NXT 2.0 kids, you live in a unicorn fantasy land.
[Gargano] The Bron Breakkers, the Carmelo Hayes',
all of them, yes, they get handed everything.
They have the advantage, and they've had the advantage
since they set foot in this building.
[Bron] I earned the advantage for team 2.0 but, Ciampa,
I still got my eyes on you and the NXT championship.
This War Games more so than any before, it's personal.
You've done it all here in NXT.
[man] They paved the road
that we're walking on to War Games right now.
[Carmelo] Big moments, championships, action figures, video games.
[man] But that road has got potholes.
They've had it all,
and we want it all.
[Gargano] Team Black & Gold, we've all accomplished so much,
but people keep moving the goalposts.
[Dunne] There's a fresher, more exciting, more handsome version
of you on the scene.
We're going to find out what NXT 2.0 is all about.
[man] War Games is a stepping stone, there's no rules,
there's no code of conduct,
it is war.
[siren wailing]
[bell rings]
[Alicia] The following is the men's War Games match.
The rules of the match are as follows.
Two teams will be contained in separate cages
with one member from each team starting the match.
After five minutes, a member from team 2.0
will be released to enter the match.
After a three-minute period, alternating members
from each team will enter the match until all competitors are inside the cage.
Once all competitors have entered, War Games officially begins.
The only way to win the match is by pinfall or submission,
and now let the War Games begin!
[siren wailing]
[heavy metal music playing]
[Alicia] Introducing first, Bron Breakker.
[Vic] Everyone on their feet for our main event here tonight,
and you see the war paint on the face of Breakker
and his teammates make their way out, the question tonight, guys,
is it a bigger night for 2.0, or is it a bigger night for team Black & Gold?
[rap music playing]
[Alicia] Next, Grayson Waller.
[Wade] For me, the question you just asked, who's got the bigger night,
Black & Gold or 2.0, by far, it's Black & Gold,
all of the pressure tonight is on the veterans.
Is tonight the changing of the guard in NXT?
[rap music playing]
[Alicia] Tony D'Angelo.
[Wade] Tonight is a battle for the soul of NXT,
the stakes could not be higher.
As far as I'm concerned, 2.0 have everything to win,
Black & Gold have everything to lose.
[rap music playing]
[Alicia] Accompanied by Trick Williams, TNT NXT North American champion,
Carmelo Hayes!
[Beth] It's no secret, Black & Gold is just etched on my heart.
To me, this is going to be their night.
You can't substitute the experience in a match like this.
I love everything NXT 2.0
bring to the table, but it's going to be all Black & Gold.
[Vic] Of course team 2.0 has the War Games advantage.
It appears the North American champion,
Carmelo Hayes is going to start things off for team 2.0
in the men's War Games match.
[Wade] One of the most confident superstars I have ever encountered
regardless of the experience.
To be fair to Carmelo, he has backed up every word
he's ever uttered since arriving in NXT.
He's going to want to do that again tonight in the War Games.
[Vic] Trick Williams on the outside and you just saw Carmelo Hayes say,
"When I shoot, I don't miss,"
which is to your point, Wade Barrett,
the motto of the North American champion.
[Wade] Well, he ain't lying, is he?
I'm built, I'm ready for this.
[crowd cheering]
[heavy metal music playing]
[Alicia] Their opponents, first,
the NXT champion, Tommasso Ciampa!
[Vic] Team Black & Gold believes 2.0 has been handed everything,
as the NXT champion, the god of war himself, Tommasso Ciampa
ready to lead his troops into battle,
but, Beth, this team Black & Gold, face an uphill battle tonight.
[Beth] Of course, they know the glory is to see DIY reappear tonight,
but you got to look at this, 2.0 has the War Games advantage.
We started earlier in the night, Toxic fell victim to that advantage.
They were swimming upstream the entire match,
and that could be the case here tonight.
Black & Gold has a hell of a fight ahead of them.
[Alicia] Next "the bruiserweight" Pete Dunne.
[Vic] Pete Dunne certainly has been victorious in the past,
in this sort of match, on this stage,
but as team 2.0 has said, it's not about the past,
it's about the future.
Dunne is not taking his eyes off of Carmelo Hayes.
[Wade] But this man still has
a long future ahead of him, the bruiserweight, so young.
He's got at least 15 years ahead
of his career, even though he's already turned a veteran.
[hip hop music playing]
[Alicia] LA Knight!
[Vic] Knight said the advantage
that 2.0 has is nothing more than an illusion.
War Games.
[Vic] Now, Knight continuing to talk trash all the way
to the shark cage.
[Beth] That's the card, 2.0, a bunch of scared little boys.
If that doesn't get under their skin.
[Wade] I have noticed you two have started to warm
to LA Knight 12 months after I have been telling you
what a great guy he truly is.
[Beth] Don't go that far.
[rock music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[Alicia] Johnny Gargano!
[Vic] Beth, do you hear it?
The truck has been turned back
for Johnny Gargano,
the heart, the soul of this brand since he arrived.
He said last week if it weren't for team Black & Gold,
team 2.0. wouldn't even have a ring to stand in.
[Beth] I whole-heatedly agree with that.
I can remember the impact Gargano and his wife,
Candice LeRae, have had at NXT.
They are part of the fabric, the foundation of building this brand,
carrying NXT forward to a launch on network television,
main-evented more big matches than anyone.
2.0 owes their respects Johnny
and the road he paved for them to be seen by the WWE Universe.
[Vic] No doubt, the rebel heart will kick things off
for team Black & Gold.
For everything Johnny Gargano has done,
for everything Johnny has experienced,
he has never stepped foot into War Games.
[Wade] It's rather ironic here because all Black & Gold
have talked about, in the build-up to this match
is the comparative difference in experience between the two teams.
While Gargano is on the exact same experience level,
when it comes to War Games, as 2.0,
as the rookies, as they've been dismissively termed,
yes, he's used to the spotlight,
the pressure, the main event, but let's see how he holds up now.
He's finally, after years here on NXT, getting to taste War Games.
[crowd chanting "Johnny wrestling"]
[Vic] Both teams are locked in, both will have to wait patiently.
[bell rings]
[crowd chanting "Johnny wrestling"]
[Vic] When the first five minutes is up, again,
team 2.0 will have the advantage.
[crowd chanting "Johnny wrestling"]
[Vic] Take a look, trending number one #NXTWar Games,
and it's all about the men's War Games matches.
Gargano getting his hands on the North American champion.
Johnny Gargano is going to have five minutes right now
to physically, mentally dissect and pick apart the North American champion.
The question is, what happens after that five minutes?
[Wade] Here is the fascinating part of War Games,
take your advantage while you can.
Right now, one-on-one, who can get the upper hand here,
it has to be Gargano, in my book,
if they're going to have any chance in this match-up.
[Vic] Self-proclaimed leader of the new school has been
Carmelo Hayes.
Beth, in this matchup he's going to have to go the distance.
[Beth] It's huge.
Carmelo don't mess, but tonight now finds himself in a position
where he might have to dodge a lot of bullets.
It's a marathon for him, in this crew, Tucker.
I'm curious to see how he navigates this minefield.
[Vic] We see Trick Williams,
of course, on the outside of the cage shouting
what we would assume to be words of encouragement to Carmelo
as that clock continues to tick.
Johnny maybe has just seen the clock that's just over three-and-a-half minutes,
because he realizes what's going to happen.
It's going to be two-on-one.
There will be an advantage for team 2.0.
Gargano is going to have to fight an uphill battle,
to your point earlier in this match.
[Beth] 100%, but even out of the blocks,
you could see Gargano, calm, cool, and collected.
Carmelo Hayes pacing back and forth with a nervous energy.
Gargano has been
in these high-pressure situations many times.
[Vic] A nearly 50-50 split,
in the NXT universe, as Carmelo Hayes with the upper hand.
Now, Gargano, trying to turn things around rather quickly.
[Wade] Both men burning off
time and energy in the early goings of this one.
Not looking to pace themselves, which perhaps is a surprise,
from my perspective, of what cardio machines
they both have to bring.
[Vic] You can seehe calm,
the six superstars that are awaiting to enter the men's War Games match
pacing, watching, soaking in the carnage,
thus far, between Gargano and Hayes.
Look, Johnny Gargano, he doesn't forget,
he just recently was in a triple threat match with Carmelo Hayes.
[Beth] Absolutely. Gargano knows what Carmelo Hayes is capable of.
I would imagine Melo has done his homework here tonight.
[Vic] Melo didn't see that coming.
Certainly didn't do his homework, but Gargano did,
and now Gargano just waiting for Hayes to rise to his feet.
Oh, no.
[Wade] Just suckered in by Carmelo there, just a veteran move from Melo.
Do not underestimate that man, do not underestimate the team of 2.0.
[Vic] The leader of the new school looking for one final beat,
Gargano had it countered, able to land back on his feet.
Both these superstars one step ahead.
Sling shot spear though from Gargano.
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] Team Black & Gold, they're fired up, but Gargano has got
to realize that in 90 seconds
one member of 2.0 will get into the ring and this sort of advantage
that Gargano has is going to be wiped away.
[Beth] Fluid movement perfection from Johnny Gargano,
NXT universe, eyes are glued on the action here in War Games.
[Vic] Oh!
Hayes a little extra off the top.
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] Carmello Hayes has to realize right now
in 90 seconds he's getting a partner, a friend.
[Wade] All he needs to do is buy himself some time.
He's got a position of superiority against Gargano now,
if he maintains that for the next minute or so,
things are looking really good for 2.0.
[Vic] This is that early stage of the match, you can't win it,
but you can lose the matchup if Gargano suffered
too much damage in this next minutes.
[Wade] Absolutely. It's all about survivability
at this point.
I've got to say, I like the fact that the self-proclaimed leader
of the new school has taken on this leadership role,
anchoring his team from the start.
[Vic] Face-first goes Hayes.
Guys, I'm looking at the War Games cage, is absolutely shaking
as Gargano it looking out
and realizing he's got 30 seconds.
[Wade] Human skin versus steel, is any ever one winner.
I've been there before it, the worst sensation--
[Vic] Look at Gargano go.
[Wade] The experience and Carmelo is getting to experience it
50 times in a row.
[Vic] This is smart for Johnny.
Oh!
[Beth] If he can get Carmelo Hayes down when the next entry comes in,
Johnny's got a chance.
[crowd chanting "NXT"]
[Vic] Who's about to join War Games?
It is Grayson Waller.
Waller is tired of those questioning 2.0's inexperience
heading into this matchup.
[Wade] I've got to hand it to Waller, I know exactly how he feels.
I've been there before with Nexus.
I was entering as a termed rookie.
Didn't have the experience, the respect of veterans,
that is kind of the position that this man,
Grayson Waller, finds himself in right now.
[Vic] Waller has drawn the battle lines in the center,
baited Gargano in.
[Beth] Waller has berated,
pointed the finger like an entitled little brat.
[Vic] Whoa.
[Beth] If he wants no questioning,
then he can show us why they're undeniable.
[Vic] Well, Waller is certainly showcasing his abilities
at this juncture as Waller fresh entering the matchup.
[Wade] I personally take issue with the negative slant
that is getting put on the superstars of NXT 2.0.
To me, they're simply looking to earn the respect of the NXT Universe
and the Black & Gold veterans who they are up against tonight.
[Vic] Let's remind Barrett there's been some questionable antics
toward his boy, LA Knight from Waller over the last months.
[Beth] I can't believe you're defending them.
[Wade] Don't get in between me and LA Knight.
I've made my stand on LA Knight very clear.
I think he's one of the top superstars in NXT, deservedly so.
[Vic] Right now, this is what-- when you talk about the advantage.
How quickly things can turn around because just as Gargano
looked to get started cooking in this matchup, now, two on one.
[Wade] Therein lies the issue of Johnny Gargano himself
losing the NXT War Games advantage ladder match
last week against Bron Breakker.
This is why he's in this position.
[crowd shouting]
[Vic] Come on.
[crowd shouting]
[Vic] Don't accept imitations
from Hayes or Waller.
Look at Gargano right now, mowing down the competition.
Wade, you brought up the word survival, as LA Knight's
peering into the ring,
Johnny has to survive
for 60 more seconds until the cavalry
will make its way into the--
What the--? What's Trick Williams doing?
[Wade] Trick Williams is undoubtedly up to no good here.
[Vic] Come on, referee!
[Wade] He took out his own man.
[Vic] That might have been an issue for Trick.
[Beth] Is Trick trying to enter this?
[Vic] Oh, it's all legal, remember.
Is Gargano with the steelchair,
that distraction just allowed Hayes
to knock Gargano down and maybe out.
-[Wade] There are welts over the face-- -[Vic] Here we go.
[Wade] Gargano right now and it's punishment time from the lads in 2.0.
[Beth] Even with a two-on-one advantage,
they still have to resort to that kind of garbage?
[Vic] Well, we talk about the dangers of War Games,
this is right where Johnny Gargano…
Oh! Felt the heel of Grayson Waller.
And Gargano is battered,
bruise and busted.
[Wade] He might have a broken nose.
He's got a clouted mask all over him
and the lads from NXT 2.0 need to capitalize on that.
If they think Gargano will not be unapproved, probably not.
[Vic] Johnny's nose to your point, Wade, absolutely, you mentioned
the nose and the face of Johnny Gargano
that is where he caught the heel of Grayson Waller,
but let's talk about a nasty individual.
How about the baddest man in NXT wasting no time?
Here comes the battle-tested bruiserweight.
[Wade] Not a man I would ever want to get in an argument with.
He's done so much at such young age,
competed in War Games before.
This man has the experience, record-breaking NXT UK--
-[Vic] Whoa, the elbow! -[Beth] God!
[Wade] Sickening blows.
This man just enjoys dishing out pain.
[Beth] Hyperextension is his specialty.
[Wade] Was there ever a man more born for War Games,
for chaos and destruction than the bruiserweight, Pete Dunne?
[Vic] The X plex from Dunne and all this has done is allowed
Gargano, busted nose and all, to regroup himself.
Look, as you mentioned, Wade, Pete Dunne,
he loves to inflict pain.
[Wade] You'll never see a smile break
across the face of Pete Dunne.
[Vic] You are talking about pain-- Oh, the finger is bended back in the cage!
[Wade] That is disgusting.
[Vic] Digits aren't supposed to bend that way.
[Wade] Attacking the small joints of his opponent
is an absolute specialty for the bruiserweight.
[Vic] Waller might not be able to tweet, Instagram, or TikTok after that--
[Beth] It wouldn't be a bad thing.
[Vic] Oh, Carmelo Hayes might have just woken up Pete Dunne.
[Wade] Certainly a lot brewing between these two.
[Vic] Oh, nice neck suplex off the assist from Gargano and Johnny
back to his feet.
[grunts]
Team Black & Gold,
they are rocking right now.
[Wade] Remarkable recovery from Johnny Gargano,
a man with 100% bounce-back ability.
[Vic] Take a look, the Gargano escape, the crossface.
When you talk about pain,
take a look at the faces of Hayes,
take a look at the face of Waller.
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] We're seeing the faces of those waiting
to enter, but you take a look at the face of Johnny Gargano.
We've talked about the dangers
of this War Games matchup
and again, the finger's being bent back by Grayson Waller.
[Wade] Next guy out from team 2.0 has to turn the tide here.
This is going horribly wrong for these youngsters.
[Beth] You took the words out of my mouth.
Brilliant strategy to keep Melo down, keep Grayson Waller down,
so that when the advantage swings back in their team's favor--
-[Vic] Whoa! -[Wade] Whoa!
[crowd shouting]
[Wade] Sudden burst of athleticism,
a sudden burst of explosivity
from that young man, Carmelo Hayes, is all it took
to turn the tables until that.
[Vic] Hayes got caught, Waller, rolling through with that stunner.
[Beth] A critical moment with 13 seconds to go.
[Vic] Loot at Waller, moving around and laying out team Black & Gold.
[Beth] This is huge, guys.
[Vic] This is not only huge, this is playing right in
to what team 2.0 wants.
With another fresh superstar
making way to the ring.
That of course, Tony D'Angelo who certainly can use some
of his family traits in this sort of environment.
[Wade] The kendo sticks are in there.
Trick Williams paying dividends on the outside.
What on earth is this now?
The toys are coming out to play, but you're right, let me preface this
by saying that the D'Angelo family are wonderful people,
I would never cross them, however, they know methods
that allow them to make people talk,
make people do what they want them to do.
They know how to turn the thumbscrews, so to speak
and that could be very valuable for Tony D'Angelo
and team 2.0 tonight.
[Vic] It's something to think about, the inexperience of team 2.0.
Beth, they have come into tonight with a game plan.
Take a look at what they're doing right now,
they are taking a part.
And Carmelo Hayes,
physically dissecting Johnny Gargano.
[Beth] They're all driven by the same motivation
and that is to grab those top spots and to rule NXT.
That's simply what they're motivated in this match.
[Wade] We've essentially got a fifth man on the outside
in Trick Williams
and all these toys are going to cause tremendous damage
once they're connecting with the opponents with team 2.0.
and Trick Williams isn't stopping.
[Vic] What the heck is Trick Williams trying to pull out?
[Wade] Whoa!
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] Talk about the ultimate X factor, it's Lumis!
-[Wade] What greed. -[Beth] Lumis is the equalizer here.
[Wade] How long has he been under there?
[crowd cheering]
[Beth] Nice.
[Vic] That would thumbs down
at this moment for Gargano, but at least, Lumis--
Is that a chain?
[Wade] Is Indi Hartwell into the ring?
[crowd shouting]
[Vic] Take a look at the chaos in the men's War Games match-up.
What is D'Angelo doing?
[Wade] There is a plan of force.
I don't know, but I like it.
It's devious,
but it might just work.
[Vic] D'Angelo just padlocked the cage door shut.
[Wade] It's three on two, and it might stay three on two
for a significant period of time.
[crowd shouting]
[Vic] There we see, under 50 seconds.
Until none other than Tommaso Ciampa,
enter in this matchup,
but the cage doors have been padlocked shut.
D'Angelo brought in everything,
almost including Dexter Lumis.
[Beth] Johnny Gargano just getting completely mugged right now.
[Wade] They're getting turned into mincemeat by 2.0.
The plan is working out brilliantly.
[crowd shouting]
[Vic] Right now, Dunne and Gargano are literally fighting for their lives
and nothing that's going for Dunne and Gargano,
but whatever question they have,
there's an answer from team 2.0.
[Wade] You almost can't fail from this position
if you're team 2.0.
You have the numbers advantage,
you have a bunch of artillery
surrounding you in the ring,
and the cage door is locked.
-[music playing] -[crowd shouting]
[Vic] That's the megastar himself, LA Knight but--
[crowd shouting]
-[Beth] Knight's got greedy. -[Vic] What's going through his mind?
[Beth] I mean, he can't get in, not that way anyways.
[Vic] Official can't do anything to help LA Knight.
Look at this, pal!
Come on, guys!
[Vic] Knight is having to watch his teammates tonight
get brutalized right in front of him.
[crowd shouting]
[Beth] With every passing second,
team Black & Gold swimming
farther and farther upstream.
[Vic] LA Knight now.
[Wade] The rock climbing junior.
[Vic] LA Knight will not be locked out.
[Wade] Let's face it, he didn't have much choice here.
Scrambling to the top of the War Games structure,
he's in one way or another, taking a lot longer than it should.
[Vic] Those extra seconds
so crucial in this match because every second counts,
and for LA Knight, it's that frustration, it's anger,
it's all oozing out of his pores.
In fact, Knight is looking to propel himself
to a whole new stratosphere.
[Beth] I'm not a fan of LA Knight.
I know he's a valuable member of Black & Gold.
I don't like his attitude,
but he's a battle-tested, bona fide, superstar.
[Vic] No love lost between these two, go all the way back to Halloween havoc,
but for LA Knight, Beth,
he was offended by comments made
by every member of team 2.0.
[Beth] I got to be honest, so was I.
It's one thing to want the top spot and chase it,
but it's another to just disparage
and put down those who have come before you.
It does nothing but tell me you're insecure.
[crowd chanting "LA Knight"]
[Vic] LA Knight feeding off the energy and it might be fueling
that huge swing, followed up by another.
[Wade] This audience on their feet for LA Knight,
a sight I thought I would never see.
This is like bizarro world.
[Vic] Knight was done with the kendo stick.
He wanted the trash can
to take the trash out, so to speak.
[clanking]
[Beth] Now, we're going to make some beautiful music.
[Vic] Oh! [laughs]
-[Vic] This-- -[Beth] I like that team.
[Vic] This is the definition of War Games.
[crowd cheering]
Dunne and Gargano now on the same page.
[Wade] Pendulum swinging, back in favor of the Black & Gold boys.
[Vic] This is so personal, between the old school and the new school,
and right now,
it's team Black & Gold who has over 60 seconds
to do whatever the hell they want to the opposition.
[Wade] Get him down, keep him down.
[applause]
Pretty soon, that numbers advantage is back in favor of 2.0.
[Vic] Look at that.
Finally, officials using bolt cutters, trying to break open
what Tony D'Angelo has done, but speaking of breaking,
Dunne trying to break the fingers of Grayson Waller.
[Beth] Oh, no.
[Vic] With a little extra help from a trash can.
[screams]
[Wade] Grayson Waller screaming in agony,
no respite whasoever.
[Beth] It's difficult to grab any weapon in this match-up
with broken fingers.
[Vic] Can you imagine?
The end of it.
[Wade] Oh!
[screams]
[Vic] There's the pain across the knuckles, and now, for the ear.
[Wade] They've upset the wrong man in the bruiserweight, Pete Dunne.
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] NXT Universe showing their love for team Black & Gold.
Unless you have something to say.
[crowd cheering]
[Vic] Only one man left.
[music playing]
And Bron Breakker said no rules, no code of conduct in War Games.
Let me do it. Let me do it!
[chains clanking]
[Vic] As Breakker is going to break his way
into the War Games cage, one way or another.
[Beth] Wow, easier said than done.
[Wade] This chain's proving to be a little tricky customer here.
[Vic] Let's talk about Bron Breakker's team, Black & Gold,
waiting patiently, talk about a couple extra seconds.
Are they going to pay off to Breakker now?
Oh! Taking out Dunne, knocking down Gargano,
who's been in the match since the very beginning.
Now, the megastar is on the wrong end
of Bron Breakker.
[Wade] A lot has been made of the inexperience
of team 2.0 in his short tenure here in NXT.
[Vic] Let's be honest about Breakker, he stepped up this past Tuesday,
he earned his team the advantage.
[Beth] Breakker continues to shine at every opportunity.
I've seen it before, he's made the biggest splash
in the shortest amount of time of all the 2.0 superstars.
[Wade] Bron Breakker has changed the game in just 60 seconds,
upon his entry in this matchup, finally the bruiserweight
managing to get a slight bit of momentum.
[crowd chanting "Black & Gold"]
[Vic] We knew, the NXT Universe would be behind team Black & Gold
but Bron Breakker just shaking off Pete Dunne.
[Wade] Those punches just bouncing off the jaw of Bron Breakker,
perhaps weakened by the abuse that the bruiser has taken
so far, but call Bron Breakker
inexperienced at your peril.
[Vic] Look, Breakker has not wavered in his claim.
He wants one thing as he stares up at Tommaso Ciampa,
that's the NXT title.
[Wade] He proclaimed that he wants to win that NXT championship
or he will die trying,
as we take another look at this effortless explosivity
from Bron Breakker against the bruiserweight
followed by raw power taking out the entire Black & Gold team.
You have to think, if his team is victorious tonight, for Bron,
it strengthens his claim to a rematch
down the line with Tomasso Ciampa
for the NXT championships.
Speaking of Ciampa, pacing his cage.
It ain't long until he's in there.
[crowd chanting "Black & Gold"]
[Vic] Again, the NXT Universe trying to will
on team Black & Gold
as Bron Breakker, way to put it, Beth,
changed the game as soon as he entered in War Games.
[Beth] Take nothing away from Bron Breakker, he's incredible,
but there's a numbers advantage going on right here.
Tomasso Ciampa is currently locked up in a cage.
I have a feeling things will shift quickly the second he leaves.
[Vic] You gotta think for Ciampa,
this is the longest 60 seconds of his life.
[Vic] As those 60 seconds have dwindled away,
the evil thoughts that have been in Ciampa's mind.
[crowd shouting]
[music playing]
[Vic] Here comes the NXT champion who said tonight is personal.
The face, the conscious of the Black & Gold team,
the pressure now on the shoulders of Ciampa.
[Wade] He is the god of NXT, the last person
to enter the match,
precious man, he has been disadvantaged
from the beginning, his team has.
Needs to take himself
to an entirely new level tonight if his team has
any chance of taking down this beast from NXT 2.0.
[crowd chanting]
[Beth] Tommaso Ciampa, veracity
unlike any other superstar.
Experienced in War Games.
[crowd] Oh!
[Wade] The freshest man in the matchup and it shows.
[applause]
[Vic] And Mr. NXT, center of the ring,
the number one trend in the world, NXT War Games
and the men's War Games match officially has begun.
[Wade] Wow, finally.
Odds are even in this one.
Four on four, but you wouldn't know from the ring.
Carnage, bedlam everywhere you look.
The man who started this has got the upper hand. Carmelo Hayes.
[Vic] We questioned if Hayes, back at the start,
would be able to go bell to bell,
and Carmelo Hayes again has answered all the questions.
Hayes calling out and--oh!
[crowd shouting]
[Vic] Gargano saving Ciampa.
[crowd chanting "Ciampa"]
[Vic] We all know that Ciampa certainly knows
how to use a crutch.
[Wade] The old faithful, it's back.
[Beth] It's back and this is a familiar pairing.
You can hear the NXT universe chanting "DIY."
[Wade] A little taste of the old school for these young boys.
[Vic] It certainly is and--
[Beth] They've been to war beside each other, against each other.
[crowd shouting "olé"]
[Vic] There's some classic DIY.
[Wade] How on earth is Gargano moving so well,
after the beating he has just taken?
I spoke too soon.
[Vic] That's Bron Breakker and that's just his strength
to be able to turn the complexion of anything on a dime.
Take a look
at the men's War Games mojo and boom,
that's just Bron Breakker doing Bron Breakker things.
[Wade] One-handed, taking a fly and Gargano out of the air.
Now, team 2.0, finally getting a second wind,
taking control of this matchup.
[screams]
[Vic] Oh!
[crowd chanting "NXT"]
[Vic] Oh, one darted was Pete Dunne.
Now, you're taking a look at team 2.0
and the way you keep talking
team 2.0 wants everything that team Black & Gold has.
It appears at this moment
they're going to take it from team Black & Gold.
[Wade] Let's face it, it is there for the taking.
Could this be a change in the landscape?
It is a battle for the soul of NXT and that soul right now
seems to be heading the way of team 2.0.
This is a new dawn.
[crowd shouting]
[Vic] There is no doubt some side with team 2.0,
but for the most part D'Angelo and Grayson Waller
they're feeling the jeers of the NXT Universe.
[crowd shouting]
Is that a smile on Pete Dunne's face?
With team 2.0 surrounding team Black & Gold, Black & Gold says--
Brilliant, the fight is on.
[Wade] There's life in the old dogs yet, we've got a hockey war on now.
[Vic] Oh!
[crowd chanting "War Games"]
[Vic] 2.0 wanted to feel the wrath of team Black & Gold.
Team Black & Gold, Beth, they are bringing it.
[Beth] 2.0 has done nothing but provoke Black & Gold.
I'm not sure it was a smart idea to give them time to recover
because now who's standing?
[crowd chanting "Black & Gold"]
[Vic] Wind them up and team Black & Gold knocking them down.
The fire, the passion that's coming out of the bodies of team Black & Gold,
who have built this place, since day one.
Have been the pillars, the foundation, like Ciampa,
like Gargano, like Dunne.
[Wade] Now, 2.0 getting a mudhole stomp
in their themselves and this place coming unglued.
[Vic] LA Knight's got to be hearing every negative comment
made by 2.0 ringing in the back of his mind.
[crowd chanting "NXT"]
[Vic] All of a sudden,
now it's the old school that's maybe going to show
the new school the old school way,
wink, wink, of doing things.
[Beth] They're going to beat some respect into 2.0, that's for sure.
Melo said, "They had it all, we want it all, come get it all."
[Vic] That team, Black & Gold, seemed down,
but at this juncture way
they are not out in this men's War Games matchup
as Dunne, Gargano…
Oh!
He's taken offense.
[Vic] Gargano, hurting, holding that knee.
How much damage has he so far incured in this matchup?
Tommaso Ciampa, perhaps the freshest man,
although he's already been through the wars.
[crowd chanting]
[Vic] Ciampa, taking a look back.
I think he's got
one plan for Grayson Waller.
No, no.
D'Angelo--Oh!
[Beth] D'Angelo, out of nowhere.
[Vic] Again, the dangers of this War Games matchup.
[Wade] Tony D'Angelo, not a man who needs to be asked
twice to cause pain.
-Grayson Waller-- -[Vic] Uh-oh!
Oh!
[crowd chanting "holy shit"]
[Wade] Carnage everywhere.
Grayson Waller is a man who likes to go viral as we take
-another look back at some of the-- -[thud]
that we've experienced so far.
Grayson Waller attempting to come off the top rope
but an athletic LA Knight, you want a viral moment, that's all yours,
Grayson Waller perhaps for all the wrong reasons.
[Beth] The human demolition derby is not done yet.
[Vic] You take a look around at the NXT Universe,
standing on their feet,
witnessing one hell of a main event as, one more time,
Gargano and Dunne, working together as a team.
Oh.
[Wade] Oh, no.
[Vic] Breakker and D'Angelo working well as a team.
Look, they sacrificed--wait a minute.
BFT!
For the victory.
[Wade] And Tony along with the save, paying dividends for this team.
Awareness personified from Tony D.
The match about to slip away from 2.0, as we take another look
at this tower of humanity, crashing down to the mat.
[Vic] Then LA Knight, right place, right time, boom!
He had sealed the deal for this team.
D'Angelo wisely though able to break up, as this match continues.
Talk about D'Angelo and Bron Breakker as you take a look
at the absolute carnage
laid out in two rings.
They sacrificed Carmelo Hayes but maybe it's for the greater good
as Breakker back to his feet with LA Knight.
And this matchup continues.
Oh!
[Beth] You can imagine the amount of serious pain running
through the bodies of these men.
[Vic] Look at LA Knight now, having his way with Bron Breakker.
It was Ciampa who said team 2.0 would drown
in their inexperience.
Look at LA Knight.
What's on his mind?
What's he drawing up?
Oh!
Looking for BFT, I think, in a different form.
[Wade] Absolutely, once again saving the day was Tony D'Angelo.
There comes a point where experience,
or lack thereof, goes out of the window
and you can either do this or you can't.
2.0 might talk a big game but for me,
they have backed it up every inch
of the way in this War Games match.
Beth, you have the hall of fame credentials at this announce desk,
what have you witnessed here, as War Games--
Bron Breakker, wait a minute.
Oh, there's Ciampa, saving the day.
[Beth] I've witnessed spectacular performances by all,
but in the end all that matters is who scores the win here tonight.
When it comes to supremacy, who's the top dogs in NXT?
We are yet to see who that will be.
[Vic] Breakker, an NXT champion,
wanted to get his hands on Tommaso Ciampa.
It's vice versa.
Ciampa now, with Breakker.
[Wade] That is a lot of weight to pick up.
[Vic] That's a long way down!
Right through the can, into the cover.
Is it the night for--
Again, Breakker.
Give credit where credit is due,
Breakker able to kick out
after this nasty air raid crash from the champion.
Tommaso Ciampa thought he had everything under control,
but Bron Breakker still the freshest
of all the superstars from his team had a little bit left in the tank.
[Beth] I don't know how fresh is now after crushing that trash can.
Again, Tony D'Angelo--
[Vic] D'Angelo might have just wiped out LA Knight.
The megastar certainly with a mega problem at this juncture
at War Games.
[Wade] Tony D'Angelo, once again in complete control of this matchup,
stepping up in a big way, just when his team needs it.
[Vic] Grayson Waller-- What's D'Angelo barking at Waller for?
[Beth] I don't know how Waller's still standing.
[Wade] What on earth is on Waller's mind here?
He tried going high once, it backfired badly.
[Vic] Wade, you mentioned, wanting to trend, wanting to go viral.
[shouting]
[Vic] Oh, from the top of the War Games cage!
[Wade] That table exploded on impact.
[Vic] D'Angelo, into the cover.
-One, two-- -[Vic] Dunne this time.
-[Wade] Just in the nick of time. -[Vic] Oh, man.
[crowd chanting "NXT"]
[Vic] You are going to see this over
and over and over again.
[Beth] Look at the amount of hang time on this elbow, the height,
crashing down across LA Knight's chest.
[Vic] Grayson Waller, willing to destroy himself
to destroy LA Knight.
What the--? Is that a crowbar?
What else does Tony D'Angelo need in a War Games match?
[Wade] Strikes me as the kind of man who knows how to handle a crowbar,
but then when you got Pete Dunne staring back at you
with a kendo stick, it's kind of redundant.
[Vic] Pete Dunne is a man who knows how to handle the kendo stick.
Now going right to work, wearing in at Carmelo Hayes.
It's important to remember Hayes started this match up for his team.
That is just one shot after another from the bruiserweight.
[Wade] Pete Dunne, like a man possessed and bearing the brunt
of that rage on Carmelo Hayes.
Back to those small joints.
[Vic] Dunne can be looking for that knockout blow on Carmelo Hayes.
[Beth] Not only that, adding a trash can to the equation spells trouble.
[screams]
Once again, just decimating the hands of Hayes.
[Vic] The trash can is destroyed. Dunne's not done.
[Wade] The arm of Carmelo Hayes might be--whoa!
[Vic] Oh, and that crowbar right to the ribs, right to the kidney.
That's a great point, Wade.
Now, Tony D'Angelo,
right across the face.
[Wade] The bruiserweight.
[crowd booing]
[Vic] Oh, come on.
[Beth] Removing the protective guard.
[Wade] Keeping it too.
[Vic] Yes, a little souvenir for Tony D'Angelo.
These two, no love lost.
[Wade] Maybe call that a tax.
[Vic] It is now all the way to the top,
with a crowbar across the face.
Come on!
[applause]
[crowd chanting "holy shit"]
[Vic] This is the men's War Games match.
This carnage is what we expected.
This chaos is what we thought
and we all believed Bron Breakker and Tommaso Ciampa,
at some point would be slugging it out.
[Wade] I have serious questions about the future health
of the bruiserweight, Pete Dunne after that landing, but right now
all concern gets focused back on Tommaso Ciampa, the NXT champion.
[Vic] Frankensteiner!
Breakker, where is he getting this energy from? Oh!
Where the hell Johnny Gargano come from?
[Beth] Gargano, great ring awarness, but Breakker
had him scouted.
[Vic] Ciampa this time saving things.
Oh, Gargano taking out Waller.
One final beating, there he goes on cue, on demand.
[crowd chanting]
What's old school is new again.
DIY!
Breakker is down.
Ciampa, Gargano, into the cover
and reigning supreme!
Carmelo Hayes.
[Wade] Brilliance from Carmelo Hayes.
What a genius move.
This match was over.
[Vic] Thumb to the eye.
Thumb to the eye from Hayes.
[Beth] Every dirty trick in the book.
[Vic] There is nothing dirtier than a low blow.
[crowd booing]
[Vic] And it's all legal inside War Games.
Wait a minute, wow, Gargano!
[Vic] Gargano caught the worst of that.
[Vic] Gargano sacrificing himself and now, looking
for the fairytale ending!
[crowd] Oh!
[Vic] Breakker just planting Ciampa through the table.
[crowd shouting]
[Wade] Teammates smashing one another, but right now Tommaso Ciampa
is in the worst position possible.
[Vic] Bron Breakker with the NXT champion high above his head.
The power on display, as Breakker, into the cover,
and Bron Breakker has pinned the NXT champion.
[bell rings]
[Alicia] Here are your winners, team 2.0!
[Vic] More importantly,
the new school has risen
above the old school.
Team 2.0 not only survive
but victorious
in War Games.
[Wade] Milk this moment, team 2.0.
Be proud of yourselves.
There is a new dawn breaking over NXT,
as we overlook the chaos,
the destruction, but ultimately the victory led
by this man, Bron Breakker.
For me, the future of NXT is right there.
[Vic] Look around and you can see disappointment
on some members of the NXT Universe.
Let's go back to the action,
because we talk about tweets trending, being viral.
Grayson Waller went for broke, Beth Phoenix.
[Beth] Well, the highlight reel was endless throughout this match.
One more look overhead, you can just see
the wreckage, the carnage, when that table exploded.
[Vic] You talk about wreckage, how about Tony D'Angelo with crowbar
in hand, isolating, wiping out the bruiserweight, Pete Dunne.
DIY would try to turn their clock back in time
to have a Black & Gold moment here inside the men's War Games cage.
Right here, there was some classic DIY, putting Bron Breakker down.
We all thought Bron Breaker was out, but at the last moment
Carmelo Hayes able to rip the victory away.
Then it was Johnny Gargano sacrificed himself…
to take out Carmelo Hayes,
but in doing so, it set Tommaso Ciampa up
for what would be a fairytale ending.
Not so much for team Black & Gold.
Then in the end, Bron Breakker,
the power on display, able to overcome all the odds.
Able to overcome the adversity,
and team 2.0 would rise to the occasion.
You take a look at the destruction here at War Games,
but, guys, the newest generation
has staked its claim and there's no doubt
a seismic shift has now occurred in NXT.