But Ciampa and Cole, two parts of the bedrock upon which NXT is based, putting it all on the line to make a lasting memory will be the singular image attached to this show. There will be dozens of highlights from this match shown for a decade or more, be it Lee and Dijakovic's unlikely acrobatics, Strong's avalanche Olympic Slam or all of The Undisputed Era's creative tag team innovations. Just as Cole had been center stage for two other massive WarGames spots - the primary victim of Ricochet's double moonsault in 2018 and the victim of (pre-TUE) Strong's suplex onto a half-dozen friends and foes - he was the subject of Ciampa's aggressions. That left Cole and Ciampa, struggling for control atop the cage with two tables lingering below. WWE Survivor Series: The lapsed fan's guide.Lee picked up Bobby Fish and, from the second rope, powerbombed Fish and took him out of play. Dijakovic chokeslammed Roderick Strong through a table first, and then he struggled with chokeslam and one-armed powerbomb attempts on Kyle O'Reilly, ultimately leaving O'Reilly prone for a Kevin Owens frog splash. Owens teased a package piledriver on the diamond-plated steel between the rings, only for Cole to hit a Panama Sunrise on the same surface.Īll four members of The Undisputed Era ultimately met their demise in fittingly parallel fashion. All manner of what would usually be finishing moves by all eight men swung the momentum back and forth throughout.
Cole and Owens put a wonderful touch on their first in-ring reaction with a callback to the finish of WrestleMania 14, exchanging superkick and Stone Cold stunner attempts until Owens successfully hit the stunner.ġ4-24-20 /ldTCkJPeKM- Kevin November 24, 2019įrom there, it was off to the races. Owens stole a bit of the thunder with his shocking entrance, which was immediately followed by powerbombs and suplexes for all members of The Undisputed Era. Unlike the women's match, and previous WarGames matches, weapons only played a passing role until the dizzying final sequence in which Chekov's tables that had lingered for most of the match were finally broken by each member of The Undisputed Era. In the same building - the Allstate Arena, in May 2017 - Ciampa used that same air raid crash to put Johnny Gargano through a pair of tables and ignited the biggest rivalry in the history of NXT.Īnd just as the women's WarGames match thrilled the crowd to open the night, Undisputed Era put it all on the line for the third straight year in WarGames, and Ciampa, Owens, Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic matched them blow for blow. Not only did Ciampa bring victory to his team - bolstered by the unlikely addition of Kevin Owens - and lock himself into position for a run at the NXT championship, but he called back to the moment where his legend became possible. #NXTTakeOver #WarGames /huX7GjfgET- WWE NXT November 24, 2019 Once it appeared that the two wrestlers were OK, and the shocked moment of silence passed, the scope of what Ciampa and Cole pulled off brought a surge of excitement and a fitting ending to a wild night at NXT TakeOver: WarGames. Tommaso Ciampa's Air Raid Crash to Adam Cole from the top of the cage through two tables was a moment in which everyone's breath collectively got caught in their throat as they watched on helplessly, hoping that everyone got through it as unscathed as possible. This match was loads of fun, and the added surprise of Kevin Owens' NXT return was the moment of the night.
When it comes to NXT's greatest hits highlight reel, WarGames has an outsized presence compared to other TakeOver specials for a reason - and the conclusion to Saturday's men's match inside of the cage will likely have a permanent residence on that reel.