“Cui bono … who benefits?”
This line from Martin Scorsese’s South Boston crime drama The Departed is an important question when it comes to pro wrestling booking — especially during tentpole events for companies like NXT and AEW who don’t run big PPVs as often as WWE does.
The result of matches at NXT Takeovers often beg the aforementioned question — who benefits? Historically, the question of who benefits is usually fairly obvious. We can see the clear path and/or paths characters are headed — whether it’s storyline or character development.
NXT War Games 2020 … unfortunately did not offer many clear answers on how the men and women who competed on this show benefitted from the results of the matches they were in. There’s no doubt that from a purely in-ring perspective that War Games 2020 was the typical top notch show from the Black & Gold brand. When it comes to spectacle, the two War Games matches did not disappoint at all.
However, it’s really unclear who benefitted here. It’s unclear where most of the characters are headed, or what the big storylines heading into 2021 are going to be. It’s a bit disappointing since this brand’s best strength is/was straightforward storytelling and long-term character development.
Let’s break it all down…and who benefitted from them…
Women’s War Game Match:
Team Blackheart: Shotzi Blackheart (Team Captain), “The War Goddess” Ember Moon, Rhea Ripley & “The Genius of the Sky” Io Shirai
vs.
Team Candice: “The Poison Pixie” Candice LaRae, Raquel Gonzalez, Dakota Kai, & Toni Storm
The Match: You could argue that this match was thrown together at the last minute (especially given Toni’s 11th hour heel turn). However, this match really felt like a confluence of feuds coming together within the confines of War Games. This really should have been the main event because this had the big fight feel. There was a lot of pomp and pageantry, especially in the entrances and in the women’s gear for the match, that only bolstered the aura of the match.
Every one in the match brought it and no one felt like an afterthought or pointless. Every woman entered spewing venom and wanted to get physical. This felt like a fight, like a classic War Games. The big spots, the plunder, the violence were all there. The big Io spot was absolutely ridiculous, but also absolutely unforgettable.
Who Benefits: Raquel Gonzalez. She’s a made woman now. She pinned the champion and she did it in a spectacular and vicious way. It was a big moment and Raquel, who’s had a long, winding road to get to this point, and she made the most of it. You can tell she’s being positioned for big things in 2021. Toni Storm, who has has an inconsistent WWE run definitely was positioned nicely and believably as a heel. Shotzi Blackheart’s ascension continues and you have to believe a title around her waist awaits her. As for the rest? No one was hurt by the result of this match, however you have to wonder what the deal is with Rhea Ripley. She’s seemingly outgrown NXT (a common theme for the night) and should go to the main roster.
Timothy Thatcher vs. Tomasso Ciampa
The Match: This match was built on the thinnest of premises — but let’s face it not every match needs to have a Shakespearean penned storyline in order for it to happen. Thatcher is an absolute BAMF and Ciampa is a malevolent force, so this was going to be two guys knocking each other around for the sake of knocking each other around. And when is that a bad thing? The issue with this match is each man’s definition of physicality and brutality. Ciampa’s blend brawling and strong style often clashed with Thatcher’s shoot style in an oil and water manner. At times there were moments of epic brutality, but a lot of the match was stuck in first gear. Ciampa picked up the win here in a match that was a bit too long (another common trend tonight).
Who Benefits: The end of the match suggests mutual respect between the two and if these guys became a tag team that would be great business for NXT as that division is absolutely dreadful right now. However, if that doesn’t happen — no one benefits. Even with the win Ciampa remains a rudderless force in NXT. Compare Ciampa to where he was last year at War Games and you’ll see how much his star has faded. He’s done everything in NXT and he has yet to recapture that magic he had as a heel on social media during his feud with Gargano a few years ago. As for Thatcher, he is stuck in this limbo of talented, name value NXT performers like Kushida and Isaiah Scott who consistently lose despite all their talent. They have truly dropped the ball with Thatch since he defeated Matt Riddle and he just is another guy in the company instead of this Taz-esque force to be reckoned with.
Strap Match: Cameron Grimes vs. Dexter Lumis
The Match: This build has been terrific and it’s mostly due to how well Grimes has come into his own as a comedic character. This match was extremely physical, but like the previous match, was probably a bit too long. Lumis took a sick a bump onto the floor that I don’t even know how he walked afterwords. The “artist” picked up the win here after getting Grimes to spike face first on some chairs then choked him out. Post-match a vulture appears, signaling (most likely) that Karrion Kross is returning and coming from Lumis.
Who Benefits: Lumis obviously does, but my question is this — why? Lumis is light years better than he was than his Samuel Shaw days in TNA and the NWA. NXT has been so high on him and having been pushing him really hard — but again what makes him more marketable or valuable than the likes of Thatcher, Scott, Drake Maverick or Kushida who are inconsistently pushed and featured. Nothing Lumis does is particularly remarkable outside of that dead stare and his crawl, so why the rocket pack to his back? And why put him with Kross? As for Grimes — he’s the star of this match and NXT needs to make sure he’s positioned as a top guy in 2021.
NXT North American Title Math: Leon Ruff (C) vs. Johnny Garagano vs. Damian Priest
The Match: This was a big gimmicky, run-in spectacle and it as a lot of fun to watch. It’s a blast watching Leon Ruff in the Mikey Whipwreck role, but you knew he was going to drop the belt here. Priest had a really strong showing, possibly one of his best ones in NXT. Johnny Gargano’s heel turn is in full bloom and it’s a joy to watch. He’s much more enjoyable to watch as a heel with a bumbling and blustery side to complement his in-ring mean streak. The right guy won here and it’s time for Johnny to move on from Priest and run with his new faction.
Who Benefits: Gargano for sure. His comedic arrogance is perfect for a title run, so let’s just keep it on him for a while. His vignettes at home have become increasingly more enjoyable and you can tell after years of being the blue-eyed babyface he’s fully immersed and enjoying the heel role again. Austin Theory, as problematic as his past is, gets a big moment here being revealed as one of the “Ghost Face” helpers of Gargano and I like that both Johnny and Candice have lackeys. Leon Ruff’s run was terrific and I really hope he doesn’t get lost in the overstuffed world of NXT. As for Priest … I don’t know where he ends up, but I still think he and Finn Balor would work well together.
Men’s War Games Match — NXT War Games 2020 Main Event:
The Undisputed Era: Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish & Roderick Strong
vs.
The Kings of NXT: Pat McAfee, Danny Burch, Oney Lorcan & Pete Dunne
The Match: Unlike the women’s match, the Men’s War Games lacked the big fight feel. Yes, Pat McAfee cut some stellar promos leading up to the match. Yes, Undisputed Era always delivers in War Games. Yes, there’s more of a story here due to Cole and McAfee’s. However, there was no excitement, no drama. It didn’t feel like a blood feud, a feud that needed to be settled in the match beyond.
One of the main reasons for this could be that “The Kings of NXT” are the weakest team to appear in a War Games. McAfee, despite his promo skills, is still a former football player entering his second match. Pete Dunne’s been off TV for the majority of 2020 and Burch and Lorcan have been a team, who up until recently, couldn’t buy a big win. Not being on a Takeover in nearly two years and to have them all of a sudden been tag champs and in War Games is a bit of a stretch even for the most diehard NXT fan.
With that being said, you figured that someone was turning from UE to join the Kings and help them or someone was going to debut or run out and join the Kings ensuring victory. There was no way a newly minted faction would lose on its first big match? Right? Wrong. UE wins clean here. And you gotta ask — why? O’Reilly definitely was the big star here and his 2021 babyface run (if it happens) is going to be big business. McAfee took a lot of huge bumps here, but we didn’t get that “Britt Baker gasps in fear of Adam Cole’s life” moment either.
Who Benefits: Absolutely nobody. The Kings of NXT lose their first big feud — how can they even continue? Haven’t they just been completely defanged? McAfee and friends should’ve won to give them momentum. At this point just have Oney and Burch drop the belts and return to obscurity and have Pete Dunne go be a solo star or have McAfee manage him going forward. As for UE? They remain at the top of NXT with literally nothing to do. They’ve seemingly exhausted all feuds and possibilities. Now, had the Karrion Kross vulture appeared after they won and we’d get a Cole/Kross feud — that’d been great. But no, we go off the air with this elite faction having nothing to do and no one to feud with. Will they go after Balor again? Gargano? Ciampa? Seems like we’ve been down all these avenues already outside of a main roster run.
War Games 2020 Closing Thoughts: NXT War Games 2020 was a fun spectacle, but definitely pales in comparison to last year’s epic event and even the 2017 and 2018 events. When it comes to storytelling and creative direction it definitely lacked from the three previous year’s events. The show did very little for most of the talent in terms of storyelling and it’s a bit concerning how NXT will be producing stories going forward. Listen, the talent in every facet of the brand (minus tag teams) is there, they just need the right storytelling to get the brand going in a strong direction after one of their signature events.
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