Why did WWE try to make William Regal yelling WAAAAAAARRRGAAAAAAMESSSS!!! a viral video when Alicia Taylor is right here doing it better than anyone ever did? Unbelievable.
1. WarGames: Team Shotzi (Shotzi Blackheart, Io Shirai, Rhea Ripley & Ember Moon) vs. Team Candice (Candice LeRae, Toni Storm, Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez)
I liked both WarGames matches last year, but between the last-minute setup and ThunderDome setting it felt like the concept jumped the shark by bell time. The action early on didn’t make an unnecessary match feel necessary, though once The Match Beyond started they provided some fine Sunday night chaos highlighted by Io Shirai jumping off the cage with a trash can on top of her head.
Everyone here has proven themselves in some other big match scenario with the exception of maybe Raquel Gonzalez – who proved herself right here. They were all game for big bumps and weapon shots, even if it occasionally felt like a hostage situation. ***1/4
2. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher
A good, though stupid match: straightforward Thatcher beating, impassioned Ciampa comeback, and a carnage-filled finish I found myself torn between appreciation and sadness for. They beat each other up real good, but could’ve streamlined it a bit: at some point it went so long I found myself wondering why Tim Thatcher’s hairy legs were on this hipster show in the first place. ***1/4
3. Strap Match: Dexter Lumis vs. Cameron Grimes
Cameron Grimes’ line delivery is officially at a point where I “enjoy it”, but but this was another one that kept on too long. Grimes bumped his ass off and there were a few moments where they captured the fun of a tough guy Strap Match, but otherwise it was messy and boring and didn’t do much to help either guy. *3/4
4. Triple Threat Match – NXT North American Title: Leon Ruff [c] vs. Damian Priest vs. Johnny Gargano
Good to see a Triple Threat Match can still be good if Leon Ruff is in there to make it fun. I thought Gargano’s new crew of Scream mask people added more to the craziness than took away from the match, but either way this was well-delivered though ultimately forgettable. ***1/4
5. WarGames: The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish) vs. Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch
I think back on this 45 minutes of WarGames action and I remember a few things: Pat McAfee doing a moonsault, Pat McAfee doing a Swanton Bomb off the cage, a few table spots, and some cool exchanges with Kyle O’Reilly and Pete Dunne. That doesn’t seem like enough. This is a wild bunch of wrestling, but if the WarGames is going to be relevant in 2020 it needs a lot more than that. ***1/4
Happy Thoughts: Plenty of decent wrestling but nothing must-see, which is par for the course in 2020 but ideally not for TakeOver. 4/10
