Author: Anthony Mango / Source: Bleacher Report
Even in the most turbulent times when WWE seems unable to avoid chaos, one source of reliability is that NXT events almost always deliver.
TakeOver has developed a reputation for being consistently just as good, if not far better, than the main roster’s pay-per-views to follow, and with TakeOver: WarGames 2018, expectations were certainly high.
Despite having one less match than the normal lineup, the four scheduled fights had significant promise.
Not only was The Undisputed Era set to do battle once more in the titular cage match, but they would also be joined by Velveteen Dream’s quest for Tommaso Ciampa’s NXT Championship, Kairi Sane settling the score with Shayna Baszler in a 2-out-of-3 Falls match and Aleister Black’s lust for vengeance against Johnny Gargano.
The hype was built, so did NXT pull off another spectacular show, or did some elements fail to get the job done?
Presented in order of appearance, let’s take a look at the highlights and low points from TakeOver: WarGames 2018.
Full List of Match Results
For those more curious about just the outcomes themselves, here is a quick recap of the results in general:
- Matt Riddle defeated Kassius Ohno by pinfall
- Shayna Baszler defeated Kairi Sane to retain the NXT Women’s Championship
- Aleister Black defeated Johnny Gargano by pinfall
- Tommaso Ciampa defeated Velveteen Dream by pinfall to retain the NXT Championship
- WarGames match: Ricochet, Pete Dunne and War Raiders defeated The Undisputed Era by pinfall
Now, let’s dive deeper into which elements stood out as the best and worst parts of TakeOver: WarGames.
Highlight: Matt Riddle Knocks Out Kassius Ohno
Matt Riddle and Kassius Ohno were scheduled to face off on the next episode of NXT rather than at TakeOver, but their confrontation was bumped up a little earlier as an impromptu match to kick off this event.
It’s generous to call it a match, as it was just a single kick and a pinfall, but that in itself was even more emphatic.
Ohno’s been positioned as the bitter veteran whose career is circling the drain in comparison to the younger, fresher faces like Riddle, who now looks even more legitimate after making such short work of Ohno.
This was quick but effective. It gave the crowd a special little treat as an extra bonus to the already-scheduled card, and it took the feud between Riddle and Ohno to the next logical place as efficiently as possible.
Highlight: Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane for the NXT Women’s Championship
To no surprise, the fifth match between Shayna Baszler and Kairi Sane was just as good, if not better, than their previous encounters.
Something just clicks perfectly when putting these two together in the ring, and they play up their roles as heel and babyface flawlessly.
A great example of this was how Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir were responsible for the first fall going to Baszler, which put Sane in the underdog spot even more.
That made it sweeter to see Sane crash down upon all three of them with a fantastic top-rope elbow drop on the outside to fight back from underneath.
It was also nice to see Dakota Kai and Io Shirai get a little love on TakeOver by trying to help even the odds and fight off the outside interference, especially as we got to see Shirai’s beautiful moonsault.
In the end, Baszler retaining the title is the best course of action for the future, as she’s…
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