NXT WarGames (2021)

NXT WarGames
Promotional poster
Promotion	WWE
Brand(s)	NXT
Date	December 5, 2021
City	Orlando, Florida
Venue	WWE Performance Center
WWE Network event chronology
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NXT WarGames chronology
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The 2021 NXT WarGames was the fifth annual WarGames professional wrestling event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's NXT brand division, which reverted to being WWE's developmental territory in September. The event aired on pay-per-view (PPV) worldwide and was available to stream through Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network internationally, which made it the first WarGames to air on Peacock. It took place on December 5, 2021, at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

This was NXT's first WarGames event to not carry the NXT TakeOver name, as the events from 2017 to 2020 were held as a subseries of TakeOvers titled "TakeOver: WarGames". It was NXT's first PPV event following the discontinuation of the TakeOver series, and subsequently NXT's first event to not be promoted under the TakeOver name since Halftime Heat in February 2019. It was also the brand's first PPV event held following its restructuring as NXT 2.0 in September, which reverted the brand to its original function as WWE's developmental territory.

Five matches were contested at the event. Two WarGames matches were featured at the event. In the main event, Team 2.0 (Bron Breakker, NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller, and Tony D'Angelo) defeated Team Black & Gold (Johnny Gargano, LA Knight, Pete Dunne, and NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa) in a WarGames match while in the opening bout, Cora Jade, Io Shirai, Kay Lee Ray, and Raquel Gonzalez defeated Dakota Kai and Toxic Attraction (NXT Women's Champion Mandy Rose and NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne) in another WarGames match.

Production[]

Background[]

From 2017 to 2020, WWE's NXT brand held an annual subseries of events under the TakeOver series titled WarGames, based around the WarGames match. In September 2021, the NXT brand went through a restructuring, being rebranded as "NXT 2.0", reverting to a developmental territory for WWE.^[1] In October, it was speculated that the company may end the TakeOver series as another TakeOver event was not scheduled for 2021 after August's TakeOver 36.^[2][3]

On November 9, 2021, NXT's fifth WarGames event was announced to be held on December 5, 2021, at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The announcement confirmed that the event would not be a TakeOver event, thus marking NXT's first event to air on pay-per-view (PPV) and Peacock/WWE Network following TakeOver's discontinuation, as well as the first non-TakeOver to air on any of these broadcast outlets since Halftime Heat in February 2019, as well as the brand's first PPV event held following its rebranding as NXT 2.0.^[4][5] It was also the first WarGames to air on Peacock after the American version of the WWE Network merged under Peacock in March.^[6] On the day of the event's announcement, WWE had originally made a post on Twitter that had the event titled as "TakeOver: WarGames"; however, the Tweet was quickly deleted and WWE reposted the announcement with the "TakeOver" title removed.^[7]

Storylines[]

The card included five matches. The matches resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on their weekly television program, NXT.^[8][9]

At NXT: Halloween Havoc on October 26, Cameron Grimes was invited to Duke Hudson's Poker Room on the following week's episode, where he beat him with a full house of 2's against his Aces.^[10][11] On the November 16 episode of NXT, Hudson challenged Grimes to a poker showdown where he lost again due to his bluff, and power bombed him through the poker table before trimming his beard and ponytail.^[12] The following week, a short-haired Grimes challenged Hudson to a hair vs. hair match at NXT WarGames, which he accepted.^[13]

On the November 23 episode of NXT, Malcolm Bivens and the Diamond Mine confronted Joe Gacy in the ring for stealing the spotlight away from them last week, and want to take it back by asking him to leave the ring so that Ivy Nile can have her match. Gacy respected Nile's right to have a match but had no respect for NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong, saying his name invokes "toxic masculinity" and that the Cruiserweight division divides people by promoting exclusivity and "weight shaming". Strong said he wants to embarrass Gacy, leading Bivens to setup a match between the two at NXT WarGames.^[13] The following week, Gacy (accompanied by Harland), hosted an all-inclusive invitational in response to the Cruiserweight division being a "toxic environment" that leaves out "height, weight, and gender bias." Bivens arrive to taunt Gacy and have him fight Strong, which he responded by wanting a "person to person" conversation with him. Strong attacks Gacy and forces him to retreat alongside Harland.^[14]

At NXT: Halloween Havoc, Imperium (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel) defeated MSK (Nash Carter and Wes Lee) in a Lumber Jack-o'-Lantern Tag Team match to win the NXT Tag Team Championship for a second time.^[10] On the November 30 episode of NXT, Kyle O'Reilly and Von Wagner defeated Legado Del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza) to become number one contenders to the tag titles, setting up a match between the two teams at NXT WarGames.^[14]

Event[]

Dark match[]

Before the event went live on pay-per-view, Odyssey Jones def. Andre Chase

Preliminary matches[]

Women's WarGames Match

Since WarGames matches can be chaotic, the play-by-play will be kept to a minimum. We will cover when each person enters the ring and the bigger spots. Dakota Kai and Kay Lee Ray started for their teams while everyone else was locked inside their cages. Kai brought in some kendo sticks to combat the baseball bat Ray had, but both women abandoned their weapons after the first hit landed. The first person to join them in the ring was Cora Jade. Kai was able to hit a double DDT right before Gigi Dolin joined her in the ring. She brought a trash can with her along with a mystery bag. Shirai joined her team and brought some chairs into the ring. Jacy Jayne was up next, and she grabbed a table to bring in with her to the ring. The babyfaces set her up on the table, and Jade took her out with a huge senton from the top of the cage. After it looked like Jade may have dislocated her shoulder, Shirai snapped it back into place. Raquel Gonzalez brought more trash cans and chairs into the ring when she made her way down. Mandy Rose was the final competitor to enter and took her time going over to Jade and pulling her across the ring by her bad arm. We ended up with each team in a different ring. The match came to an end when Jade made the pin for her team on Jayne. Her teammates rushed to her side to congratulate her and celebrate the victory.

•Imperium vs. Kyle O'Reilly and Von Wagner (NXT Tag Titles)

Kyle O'Reilly and Von Wagner were out first for their NXT Tag Team Championships match against Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel of Imperium. O'Reilly and Barthel started with a nice exchange of wristlocks and counters. Aichner tagged in and took KOR down with an arm drag. Wagner got the tag and leapfrogged over O'Reilly onto Aichner for a two-count. Aichner won a battle of wills to deliver a suplex to KOR before Barthel tagged in. O'Reilly caught him with a knee to the face, but it did little to slow down the German Superstar. Wagner came in hot and took it to Barthel and Aichner. When O'Reilly came in again, Imperium were able to regain the upper hand. O'Reilly tried several different submissions but they were either countered or broken up. Barthel was able to score the win with a clothesline from the top rope while Aichner held O'Reilly in the air.

•Cameron Grimes vs. Duke Hudson (Hair vs. Hair)

Cameron Grimes and Duke Hudson put their hair on the line in this match, so whoever lost would leave WarGames looking as bald as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Hudson scooped up Grimes and planted him in the corner for some shoulder thrusts, but the crypto investor quickly unloaded on him with some kicks to the chest. Hudson threw Grimes over the ropes and he landed on the steel steps. Grimes was able to recover and delivered more kicks to the body until Hudson took a breather outside the ring. He pulled Grimes to the floor and hit a belly-to-belly suplex. Hudson locked Grimes in an abdominal stretch and yanked him down to the mat by his hair. He dominated the match for the next few minutes as he put his rival through the wringer. Grimes hit a headscissor takedown and a kick to the head. He scored a near-fall after a tornado DDT and followed up with a running kick from the apron. Surprisingly, Grimes scored the win with a roll-up in the corner. After it looked like Hudson was going to get out of it by attacking Grimes, the winner took him out and put him in the barber's chair to shave his head.

•Roderick Strong vs. Joe Gacy (NXT Cruiserweight Championship)

Joe Gacy and Roderick Strong locked up and fought to the corner. Strong was looking to fight but Gacy seemed to be more interested in playing his mind games. After a burst of offense from Gacy, Strong cornered him so he could tear his shirt off and deliver some chops to the chest. The big man was able to regain the upper hand and use his size advantage to dominate the lead star of Diamond Mine. Strong hit a superplex and a gutbuster for a quick two-count. Gacy wrestled Roddy into a submission but couldn't keep it locked in. He took out most of Diamond Mine with a dive over the top rope. Harland kept Ivy Nile from getting involved, but Gacy made him put her down. Gacy came back in and hit a powerbomb for a two-count, but Strong recovered and hit a backbreaker for the win.

Main Event[]

Men's WarGames Match

Carmelo Hayes and Johnny Gargano started the match for their teams. They locked up and the latter scored the first takedown. The crowd chanted for him the whole time since this could be his farewell match with WWE. Johnny Wrestling had the upper hand as Grayson Waller made his way in for Team 2.0. He hit Gargano with a backbreaker to take control. Trick Williams threw a chair into the ring for his team. Pete Dunne was up next for Team Black and Gold. He went on a rampage against both men until Gargano recovered enough to help. Tony D'Angelo came down for Team 2.0 and brought some tables into the ring with him. Dexter Lumis chased Williams away while D'Angelo locked the door with a chain to keep the rest of the other team out of the cage. LA Knight couldn't get in the ring when it was his turn, so he climbed up over the wall to get in. Both teams were going to war until Bron Breakker came down as the final member of Team 2.0. He helped put his team in control until it was time for Tommaso Ciampa to come in and start tearing everyone apart. He and Gargano had a fun moment with a crutch. A huge brawl broke out at one point, with Team Black and Gold getting the better of Team 2.0. Waller hit a huge elbow from the top of the cage onto Knight to put him through a table. After several more minutes of back-and-forth action, Breakker pinned Ciampa to get the win for Team 2.0.

Results[]

References[]

External links[]

• WWE NXT Official Website