Thoughts on NXT TakeOver: Wargames 2018

Thoughts on NXT TakeOver: Wargames 2018

Note - I was doing something else while watching this, but I figured I might as well give some brief thoughts for the record.

2/3 Falls - Kairi Sane vs Shayna Bazler - This wasn't bad, especially since it was almost all smoke and mirrors, but it sucked they wasted a 2/3 falls gimmick on this. It definitely didn't need it and it robbed us of what likely would have been a classic without all the shenanigans. At least the interference is leading to something and isn't just people trying to get out of a booking conundrum. Shayna continues to be one of my favorite wrestlers on the roster and I am more hyped for Duke and Shafir debuting with her than anyone else.

Johnny Gargano vs Aleister Black - I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. Going into this, I did not like the Gargano heel turn and I'm still not quite sure why it was done. This could have been done the exact same way without it. I also really don't understand why they turned the hottest face in the whole WWE into a heel. These two worked together pretty well and I enjoyed this. If Black was only a few inches taller, he'd be such a huge star.

Tomasso Ciampa vs Velveteen Dream - I'm not a big Ciampa fan, which I have been making clear for about 5 years now. He is just not real exciting for me. Dream is one of the best NXT creations to date and he's the complete package. I initially did not like the gimmick because Patrick was over just being himself on Tough Enough and I didn't see the need to change it. It took a few weeks to get over him being a totally different character, but it has paid off. This match was looking good at first, but they went way too long and did way too much. Halfway through, I couldn't wait for it to be over and even when I checked out of it completely for a bit, it was still going on to my surprise. I don't really understand Ciampa getting the win here. The only fresh match he has is vs Black but that's not a super enticing one, while a Dream run would have been fresh. In the back of my head though, I feel we are going to end up with one final Ciampa/Gargano match but this time with Ciampa as the face and Gargano as the heel.

Wargames - I thought it was too soon for another Wargames, especially since this one was really just kind of thrown together. The match resembled last year's, which I reviewed, with the same big dives, tower of doom spots and table usage. I liked the spot with the key to the holding cell being thrown, but it was silly how the refs didn't seem to realize it until it was time to get Dunne out. I'm not really sure I understood having the faces go over here. I still have the same critiques as I did before with this Wargames being more of an ROH Scramble Cage Melee than a real Wargames, but that's unlikely to change.

Overall thoughts - I liked the show, as I do most Takeovers. The booking was a little questionable, but it's more of a disagreement than sheer stupidity, which followed the night after.