Now the dust has settled and the cage has been risen in NXT,what can we take away from this Saturday’s event?

    From NXT UK reigning supreme to Johnny Gargano having his sins absolved thanks to Aleister Black, War Games 2 will live long in the memory (and that’s not even including what Ricochet did). Here are five things we all learned from NXT TakeOver: War Games 2.

     

    Johnny Gargano is a lost soul

    Oh Johnny, little Johnny Gargano. Where did it all go so wrong for you? Was it really when Ciampa turned his back on DIY? Was it really the year you spent chasing the top spot only to not get there? Were the matches with Tommaso just too much for your rebel heart to deal with? Or was it maybe when you just decided to be a dick?

    Where Johnny goes from here I’m not entirely sure. If he has truly been absolved of all his sins by a Black Mass or two then maybe Johnny can move on, stop being the man Ciampa has forced him to be, and wear a little less dark clothing. If not, then it feels like a murkier path ahead for Johnny Wrestling, and perhaps spending some time once again with the man who’s sent him down it.

     

    Kairi Sane can be SCARY

    Like, seriously scary. I saw ‘shock and awe’ floating around as a description of the start of this match and I couldn’t agree more. Her flurry of offence is arguably what forced Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir to get involved quite so early on, and I guess to that end Kairi coming out of the gates so hot didn’t do her any favours. But once again she fought back (with a touch of assistance from Dakota Kai and Io Shirai who, yes, sometimes I have to pinch myself, is in WWE now) to more than hold her own against Shayna Baszler.

    Where The Pirate Princess’s next adventure takes her it’s hard to say, but if she keeps up the attitude she started this match with I think she’ll get some gold in her treasure chest sometime soon.

     

    Pete Dunne’s alright, isn’t he?

    If you’ll indulge me in some UK-based biased I’d very much appreciate it. Now I love Pete Dunne, and I have done for a very long time, but sometimes I still get those little flickers of how well truly indie grown talents can work in WWE. I know that there is plenty of evidence to the contrary, but sometimes I think about what Pete does (the joint manipulation, the sucker punches, the full-on heel dick behaviour despite being as over as you like) and I get a worry on.

    But oh boy was I ever more pleased to be wrong. What he brings to a match like War Games, where you have powerhouses and aerieal geniuses and Adam Cole bay-bay, is something you can’t buy. Well, except you can, and WWE has. All hail king Pete, future NXT Champion anyone?

     

    Four matches in three hours is just dandy, thank you.

    Seriously. Come on now. We’re basically being trolled by NXT at this point. A five-second KO knee aside, there were only four full matches on this years War Games. Arguably they all massively delivered, they were all given good amounts of time, and I honestly don’t think I’d want to change much about the night. Well played, Trips. We owe ya.

     

    The Dream is so very, very over

    Oh boy. Where am I meant to start with Velveteen Dream? The black and white Hollywood Hogan attire was a damn mood, and so was cupping his hand to his ear by the ropes and tearing off his vest, but that is not even the half of what PATRICK FROM TOUGH ENOUGH is about.

    Every fibre of his being screams about how selfishly he wants to be a star. He steals moves from both the greats and anyone he’s ever fought. He postures and poseurs like a model. He has a move called the Purple Rainmaker that shamelessly isn’t even a Rainmaker. He baits and he needles and he pushes every button he can find. 

    And yet I have never been so ready for someone to win a championship than I have right now. Whilst obviously not in the same numbers, it’s arguable we haven’t seen someone get a reaction quite like this since the big days of Daniel Bryan. And let’s be honest Velveteen Dream is more interesting than ‘short boy is good fighter.’

    The Dream is over, and it’s only a matter of time before there’s some gold around his waist to prove it.