Reviews by Dave
By David E Houston II
Show air date: November 30, 2021
NXT 2.0 put forth a good go-home show for the NXT War Games show. Most of the matches were at least “good” with the only downside being too much time doing stupid stuff in the back and weird booking decisions.
They immediately open with Toxic Attraction still not getting the Sexy Walking thing down and this week (Gigi Dolin looked as bored with this as I was), they added Dakota Kai, who is not doing the “I’m crazy now” thing as well as she probably thinks she is.
I will always appreciate a WWE show that doesn’t open with a long-ass promo even if that big brawl didn’t quite make sense. When the hell have they had matches where both opponents were sent out at the same time.
Kay Lee Ray defeated Dakota Kai
I’m not a big fan of just throwing ladder matches out there because it’s too high of a risk for too low of a reward. Kay Lee Ray vs Dakota Kai is a damn good match on its own. Just do that.
My personal things aside, those women put on a very good match. So good the ladder aspect probably brought it down because they ended up doing things that have no logic, just to get in a spot and not win the match. They should stop doing dives on the side where the commentary table is. That spot was frightening. Ray won in an eh finish to a strong match. WWE women doing alright in the ring even with the booking being head-scratching.
Cameron Grimes defeated Andre Chase
As someone who had seen both of these guys for years on the North Carolina independent scene, I hoped Andre Chase and Cameron Grimes (Harlem Bravado and Trevor Lee to me forever) got time to show what they could do. They got some and it was a nice TV match with Grimes winning with his Cave In double stomp. Duke Hudson popped up. FF.
Edris Enofé? Hm. Nice introductory package. They may have too many people doing the “I’m trying to prove all my doubters wrong” promo but good luck to the kid. Why debut this new young face against Solo Sikoa, their fast-rising face?
At least the Women’s War Games teams fought. I have no interest in these mix and match teams they have for the men.
Kyle O’Reilly and Von Wagner defeated Legado del Fantasma
Kyle O’Reilly and Von Wagner will challenge Imperium for the tag titles at the War Games show, having beaten Legado del Fantasma in a number one contention match. O’Reilly worked most of it so the match was pretty good.
Joe Gacy Exhibition
Nothing about the Joe Gacy-Roderick Strong/Diamond Mine feud makes sense. This might have been the worst part of the show (except those unfunny backstage skits). He supposedly has an exhibition but only faces one of his three opponents, who aren’t even named (he beat Vinnie Pacifico). That big guy I had seen on Championship Wrestling From Hollywood was Miguel. Promising young giant. The fat-shaming was by whoever picked that outfit.
Solo Sikoa defeated Edris Enofé
Sikoa beat Enofé in a nice TV match. It’s too early for Sikoa to already be having competitive matches, especially with another rookie and with the crowd so pro-Sikoa, it’s not a good look for such a promising face as Enofé.
Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta defeated Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz
Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta beat Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz (who didn’t even get their names announced). Indi is sad because her husband left the hospital but didn’t go home. FF.
Main Event: Bron Breakker defeated Johnny Gargano
Bron Breakker beat Johnny Gargano in the other random ladder match to decide the man advantage in War Games. The women’s version was better.
The heel turn of Breakker is even more bewildering than the turning of Carmelo Hayes. It’s undermined a guy the NXT live audience had really taken to and now they’ve put themselves into a position where they’re going to have to figure out how to turn him back because he is not good heel material right now. Both men’s teams fight going to credits.
The best overall NXT in a long time. Continued being Tuesday Night Raw in that it felt like mid-00s TNA: good in-ring work, WTF booking. If that’s what WWE’s going to be, that’s better than what they’ve been lately. Oh. Gacy’s “Conflict Resolution” is a better name than “NXT War Games” for the event Sunday.
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