It was another great night for the NXT brand this past Saturday night as NXT Takeover: WarGames delivered with just about every match on the card receiving praise from fans. Tonight’s show was taped before Takeover began, so the two rings and the Los Angeles crowd were still present, but some incredible talent who were not featured on Takeover got a chance to show the fans what they are made of on this show. With that being noted, there may be no better way to kick off tonight’s NXT show than with one of the fastest rising stars in the promotion today: “Limitless” Keith Lee.
Keith Lee vs. Fidel Bravo –
Keith Lee is back to take on the unique Fidel Bravo. The size differential is noticeable right off the bat as Lee towers over the significantly smaller Bravo. They lock up and Lee instantly is able to back him into the corner of the ring. Bravo slaps him in the face. Lee just states at him before dropping him with a right.
Up against the corner, Lee dishes out a chop to the chest. He charges in the corner but Bravo is able to move out of the way. Although Bravo tried to out run and dodge each move from the big man, Lee quickly caught him with a crossbody. The “Limitless” one slammed Bravo down one more time before putting him away, getting another win, and continuing his undefeated streak in NXT.
Winner: Keith Lee
A recap of the Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler 2-out-of-3 falls match from Takeover was shown. Afterwards, Baszler said to Cathy Kelley that her title wins proves just how dominant she is. With Jessamine Duke and Marina Shafir by her side now, there is no one in NXT who can stop them.
Up next, the announcers discussed the impromptu “match” between Kassius Ohno and Matt Riddle from NXT Takeover: WarGames. This is the match that saw Riddle defeat the in-ring veteran within a matter of seconds. First, a clip of Ohno interrupting Riddle during the Kickoff show was shown. This was the impetus for their match during the event. Riddle called Ohno bitter and said that he should focus on being better. Unable to wait until tonight’s show, Riddle called out Kassius during Takeover and defeated him immediately with a knee strike.
Riddle was interviewed backstage afterwards and was congratulated on his win. His match is now the fastest match in Takeover history. He was honored to achieve the accomplishment and knocking out Ohno was the cherry on top. Riddle is looking forward to whatever comes next.
Lars Sullivan vs. Keyto Murray
In what may be one of the final NXT appearances for future main roster star Lars Sullivan, he took on a much smaller man named Keyto Murray. He splashed him in the corner right away and slammed him down. What comes next? Well, Lars is able to hit the Freak Accident and get an easy victory, that’s what.
He then takes a microphone and says that the brutality will keep coming until he gets what he deserves, and that is a shot at the NXT Championship. Just to get his point across even further, he grabbed Murray and decked him in the face with some shots. Before hitting another Freak Accident in the poor chap, Keith Lee ran down to the ring and clotheslined Sullivan right out of the ring. It appears before Lars leaves NXT, he may have one more opponent left to face, and it could be his biggest challenge yet.
Winner: Lars Sullivan
. After a video package with clips from Aleister Black and Johnny Gargano’s match from Takeover. Black is refusing to answer any questions backstage. However, he does run into Johnny’s wife, Candice LeRae. The simply have a tense stare down without saying a word until they finally leave the room.
Tommaso Ciampa retaining the NXT Championship over The Velveteen Dream at NXT Takeover:WarGames was briefly recapped.
Keith Lee is walking backstage when Lars Sullivan confronts him. Referees prevent the two of them from fighting, but they will face off in a match during next week’s episode of NXT in San Jose, California.
Finally, it was time for a highlight video package for the actual WarGames match itself. Once that was over, the main event of tonight’s show began,
Candice LeRae vs. Nikki Cross –
After spending weeks waiting to get revenge on Nikki Cross for revealing to Aleister Black that Johnny Gargano was the one who attacked and injured him earlier this year, Candice LeRae had her chance to do so tonight. Given that this show took place in LA, it meant that LeRae was beloved in her home state. She smiled on the way down to the ring, but it was all bushings once the bell ring,
The two rivals began their match with a lock up. They brawled around the ring for a bit until Nikki ran out of the ring and managed to trap Candice in the ring skirt. Back in the ring, LeRae went for a crossbody onto Nikki. She tried to pin Cross twice but was only able to get her down for a two count. Cross fired back with a suplex, but LeRae countered next and hit a senton across Nikki’s back for another near fall.
Candice tried to hit a springboard moonsault but missed Cross. Nikki hit The Purge, but LeRae kicked out. Cross and the announcers were shocked to see this, and it was mentioned that this wa the first time that Simone had kicked out of the maneuver.
Up on the top rope, they continued to fight. LeRae gets the upper hand with an avalanche German suplex, but that is not enough to end this one. Cross begins to laugh hysterically as Candice hits slaps and chops. In the corner, LeRae hits punches and slaps. She’s showing her aggression just like her husband has been doing lately.
LeRae actually got some boos from the crowd as she tried to lock Cross in the GargaNo Escape. Much like Johnny Gargano, Candice is beginning to show a bit of a dark side to herself as well. Cross was able to get her feet over to the bottom rope. Like a house of fire, LeRae was eager to continue to onslaught as soon as her opponent recovered, but Nikki caught her and hit a swinging neckbreaker to get the abrupt win.
Winner: Nikki Cross
What does this loss mean for Candice LeRae? Well she obviously must feel frustrated with both Nikki Cross and Aleister Black. Keep in mind that Johnny Gargano was also unable to get a win during Takeover this past weekend. Perhaps a tag team match with the husband and wife taking on Black and Cross could be in the works. It hopefully won’t be too long until we get to check out the next chapter in the Gargano’s already emotional year.
As is usually the case, tonight’s post-Takeover NXT mainly focused on the showcasing some highlights form the event, but next week’s show could prove to be interesting as well. NXT does not return to Full Sail Univertisty next week, but instead, a recently taped live event from California will be uploaded to the WWE Network as an episode of NXT. Details on the show remain scarce at the moment, but it will feature Keith Lee vs. Lars Sullivan in the main event. These two heavyweights will brawl next week, and it’s going to be ugly in the best possible way. I’ll see you NXT Time!