NXT TakeOver War Games: Final Card and Preview

WWE NXT presents their quarterly TakeOver special tonight, and the show this evening is one of the most anticipated TakeOvers in quite some time.

Most of that hype relies on the fact that TakeOver sees the return of the War Games match (kind of) for the first time since 1998. The signature match from WCW/NWA has reportedly been on the list of things to do for Triple H for years, and he was able to convince the office to bring it back for this event. From the sounds of it, it may turn into a yearly thing once again.

However, the War Games match isn’t the same match long time wrestling fans are familiar with. Though it will consist of teams fighting in a two-ring cage, the cage will not have a top on it to contain the competitors. This is a huge switch from the War Games matches of the year’s past, but Triple H said the decision was made due to stylistic changes in wrestling and to give the talent to do more maneuvers off of the cage.

So what else does WWE NXT have on tap tonight? War Games has gotten most of the hype, but there’s much more to look forward to.

Let’s take a look at the full NXT TakeOver: War Games card.

Kassius Ohno vs. Lars Sullivan

Better known as Chris Hero on the independent circuit, Kassius Ohno is one of the strongest all around performers in NXT. He was one of the signings over the last year that has helped rebuild NXT into a reliable, must-see brand once more.

Unfortunately, Ohno has been used sparingly on television of late and NXT doesn’t seem to be making the most of his talents. The man he faces tonight, Lars Sullivan, is one of the resident monsters on NXT and is being built up for a potential championship challenge down the road.

This will either be a jumping-off point for Ohno to be featured in a more prominent role on television moving forward, or the continuation of the grooming of Sullivan to be a strong force within NXT.

Aleister Black vs The Velveteen Dream

This has the potential be the show-stealing match, even on a card that features War Games.

Black is one of the absolute top performers in NXT, some would even say the best. Velveteen Dream (better known as Patrick Clark of Tough Enough fame) is no slouch either. Both of these men have been wrestling for several years and will surely be out to be the center of the conversation when TakeOver is in the books.

They’re capable of it for sure. This should be an exciting bout pitting the styles of Dream’s high flying against the hard kicks of Black. The story has been that Dream has been out to gain the attention of Black and has, thus far, failed. He’ll get that attention tonight. 

NXT Women’s Title Fatal Four-Way: Kairi Sane vs. Ember Moon vs. Peyton Royce vs. Nikki Cross

The NXT women’s championship has been vacant for a couple of months now, ever since Asuka forfeited the title (due to injury) on her way out to the main roster.

Ember Moon, Peyton Royce, Kairi Sane, and Nikki Cross will compete to be the leader of the new, Asuka-less NXT women’s era. Who is going to win is anyone’s guest, as you could make a logical case for any of them.

Moon’s career of late has been marked by getting close but being unable to defeat Asuka in their championship bouts. She seems like the logical next choice to hold the belt, but that also seems maybe too obvious.

On the other hand, Peyton Royce has been around NXT longer than anyone else and has one of the best developed characters on the women’s roster. She’s easy to imagine as champion and would make an entertaining one. She’s certainly deserving and has put in the time and work to get to this point. A heel champion in Royce with faces like Moon or Sane chasing her would make for entertaining television over the next couple of months. 

Sane may be the best performer between the ropes in the match. She’s brand new to NXT after her victory in the Mae Young Classic, landing her in this match. WWE may view this match as a way to cement her as a main eventer right out of the gate by winning the title, but that’s also not typically the way WWE books newcomers. It seems more logical that she would chase a heel champion (Royce?) for a while. 

Nikki Cross is a good performer and a heck of a personality. The member of Sanity would also be a solid choice, but I have a feeling most of the focus on Sanity will be saved for the main event War Games match. 

NXT Title Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas

The NXT champion McIntyre isn’t likely to lose his title belt tonight, but these two are also capable of putting together a heck of a match. 

Almas has been used sparingly on the NXT roster until recently, being built up in this title program. They’ve established him as a legitimate challenger nicely, but it’s more likely that this feud is a stop-gap until we get to the Adam Cole vs. McIntrye title feud (which is where the belt will likely change hands).

The bout continues the theme of what should be another great match between the ropes, but we’re not forecasting a title change here. Then again, nobody expected McIntyre to win the belt when he did, so who knows?

War Games: Undisputed Era vs. SAnitY vs. Authors of Pain & Roderick Strong

And here we are. The return of War Games for the first time in 19 years. Hard to believe it’s been that long (I’m well aware that some of you reading this probably aren’t 19 years old yet…but for the rest of us old men and women). 

As mentioned earlier, the match has been changed, and with the roof removed it’s hard to imagine anything other than someone doing a move off of the top of the cage. That is surely a lock. 

It’s also hard to imagine any of these teams other than the Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly) winning the match. The group of former ROH talent has run through the roster in recent weeks, and there’s someone else in this match who would be a perfect fit to join the group: Roderick Strong. 

The odds of a Roddy Strong heel turn are good, and no matter what happens, this should cap off what is a very strong NXT TakeOver card from top to bottom.