The 2021 NXT WarGames was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

produced by

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

. It was the fifth annual and final

NXT WarGames NXT WarGames (originally known as NXT TakeOver: WarGames) was a professional wrestling event produced annually by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. Held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's developmental territo ...

held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's NXT brand division, which reverted to being WWE's

developmental territory Development of the human body is the process of growth to maturity. The process begins with fertilization, where an egg released from the ovary of a female is penetrated by a sperm cell from a male. The resulting zygote develops through mitos ...

in September. The event took place on Sunday, December 5, 2021, at the

WWE Performance Center WWE Performance Center (WWE PC) is a group of professional wrestling schools owned by American company WWE. They serve as tryout and training facilities for WWE, and also contain sports science and medical facilities as well as live events and ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, and aired via

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

(PPV) and

livestreaming Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming of video or audio in real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature of livestreaming differentiates it from other non- liv ...

, marking the first WarGames to livestream on

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

. It was also the last WWE PPV and livestreaming event to carry the term "pay-per-view" as WWE began to use the term "premium live event" for these major events beginning with Day 1 the following month. This was NXT's first WarGames event to not carry the

NXT TakeOver NXT TakeOver was a series of periodic professional wrestling events produced by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE for its NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand division. The first TakeOver was simply titled NX ...

name, as the events from 2017 to 2020 were held as a subseries of TakeOvers titled "TakeOver: WarGames". It was subsequently NXT's first PPV and livestreaming event following the discontinuation of the TakeOver series, and subsequently NXT's first event to not be promoted under the TakeOver name since

Halftime Heat ''Halftime Heat'' was a series of professional wrestling broadcasts produced by WWE used as Super Bowl counterprogramming. They aired during their respective year's halftime of the Super Bowl. History Originally produced under the World Wrestli ...

in February 2019. It was also the brand's first PPV and livestreaming event held following its restructuring as NXT 2.0, which reverted the brand to its original function as WWE's developmental territory. This was also NXT's last major event to air on traditional PPV, as in 2022, WWE shifted to only broadcasting NXT's major events on the livestreaming platforms. In 2022, the WarGames concept was moved to the main roster as part of

Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...

with the NXT WarGames event being replaced by

NXT Deadline Deadline (stylized as DEADL1NE) is a professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. Established in 2022, it is held annually in December for the promotion's developmental brand, ...

. There were five matches scheduled on the event's

card Card or The Card may refer to: Common uses * Plastic cards of various types: **Bank card **Credit card **Debit card **Payment card * Playing card, used in games * Printed circuit board, or card * Greeting card, given on special occasions Arts an ...

, as well as one

dark match Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that o ...

that occurred before the

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

broadcast. Of the five matches that were broadcast live for the event, two were WarGames matches. In the main event, Team 2.0 (

Bron Breakker Bronson Rechsteiner (born October 24, 1997) is an American professional wrestler and former football player. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Bron Breakker. He is a former two-time WWE Intercontinenta ...

NXT North American Champion The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended as the secondary men's championship of NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The current champio ...

Carmelo Hayes Christian Brigham (born August 1, 1994) is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Carmelo Hayes. He ...

Grayson Waller Matthew Farrelly (born 21 March 1990) is an Australian professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Grayson Waller, and is in a tag team with Austin Theory as A-Town Down Under, where he is ...

, and

Tony D'Angelo Joseph Ariola (born June 9, 1995) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Tony D'Angelo. Working with a American Mafia, mafia gimmick ...

) defeated Team Black & Gold (

Johnny Gargano John Anthony Nicholas Gargano (born August 14, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. , he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand and is one-half of #DIY with Tommaso Ciampa. Gargano is known for his time in NXT, where ...

LA Knight Shaun Edward Ricker (born November 1, 1982) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name LA ...

Pete Dunne Peter Thomas England (born 9 November 1993) is an English professional wrestler best known under the ring name Pete Dunne. As of April 2017, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand, and is one-half of the New Catch Republic wit ...

, and NXT Champion

Tommaso Ciampa Tommaso Whitney (born May 8, 1985) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Tommaso Ciampa () and ...

) in the men's WarGames match, while in the opening bout,

Cora Jade Brianna Coda (born January 14, 2001) is an American professional wrestler. She is performing on the independent circuit under the ring name Elayna Black. She is best known for her tenure in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Cora Jade. ...

Io Shirai is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name (stylized in all caps) and is the current Women's World Championship (WWE), Women’s Wo ...

Kay Lee Ray Kayleigh Kerr (née Rae; born 11 August 1992) is a Scottish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Alba Fyre and is a member of The Green Regime stable. Rae began her wrestlin ...

, and Raquel González defeated Toxic Attraction (

NXT Women's Champion The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT (WWE brand), NXT, th ...

Mandy Rose Amanda Rose Saccomanno (born July 18, 1990) is an American professional wrestler, television personality, and fitness and figure competitor. She is best known for her career in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Mandy Rose, and was ...

and

NXT Women's Tag Team Champions The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling Women's professional wrestling championship, women's tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE. It w ...

Gigi Dolin Priscilla Lee Kelly (born June 5, 1997) is an American professional wrestler and former reality television personality. She is best known for her tenure in WWE where she performed under the ring name Gigi Dolin. She is a former record-tying two- ...

and

Jacy Jayne Taylor Grado (born June 2, 1996) is an American professional wrestler. , she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Jacy Jayne, and is the current NXT Women's Champion in he ...

) and

Dakota Kai Cheree Georgina "Charlie" Crowley (born 6 May 1988) is a New Zealand professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in the WWE, where she performed under the ring name Dakota Kai. Prior to her signing with WWE, Crowley performed under t ...

in the women's WarGames match.

Production

Background

From 2017 to 2020,

's NXT

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

held an annual subseries of events under the

TakeOver In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are publicly listed, in contrast to the acquisi ...

series titled

WarGames ''WarGames'' is a 1983 American techno-thriller film directed by John Badham, written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes, and starring Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood and Ally Sheedy. Broderick plays David Lightman, a ...

, based around the

WarGames match WarGames is a specialized steel cage match in professional wrestling. The match usually involves two teams of four or more wrestlers locked inside a steel cage that encompasses two rings placed side by side. The cage may or may not have a roof, de ...

. In September 2021, the NXT brand went through a restructuring, being rebranded as "NXT 2.0", reverting, in part, to a

for WWE. In October, it was speculated that the company may end the TakeOver series as another TakeOver event was not scheduled for 2021 after TakeOver 36 in August. On November 9, 2021, NXT's fifth WarGames event was announced to be held on Sunday, December 5, 2021, at the

. The announcement confirmed that the event would not be a TakeOver event, thus marking NXT's first event to air on

(PPV) and via

following TakeOver's discontinuation, as well as the first non-TakeOver to air on any of these broadcast outlets since

in February 2019. It was also the brand's first PPV and livestreaming event held following its rebranding as "NXT 2.0". It was also the first WarGames to livestream on

after the American version of the

WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, a division of TKO Group Holdings. The service relied on technology develo ...

merged under Peacock in March; other countries maintained the WWE Network service. On the day of the event's announcement, WWE had originally made a post on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that had the event titled as "TakeOver: WarGames"; however, the tweet was quickly deleted and WWE reposted the announcement with the "TakeOver" title removed.

Storylines

The card included matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television program, '' NXT''. At ''NXT'': Halloween Havoc on October 26, Raquel González lost the

NXT Women's Championship The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The current champion is Jacy Jayne, who is in her fi ...

after interference from

. A match between González and Kai was later scheduled for the November 16 episode of ''NXT'', which ended in a disqualification win for González after interference from Toxic Attraction (Rose and

and

). After the match,

attacked Dolin and Jayne, only for Rose to overpower her.

then grabbed a crutch from the injured

Zoey Stark Theresa Serrano (born January 25, 1994) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE where she works under the ring name Zoey Stark. She is a former 1-time NXT Women's Tag Team Champion. Professional wrestling career Independe ...

and attacked Kai and Toxic Attraction with it, sending them retreating. Shirai, Jade, and González then challenged Toxic Attraction and Kai to a WarGames match at NXT WarGames. A day later, the match was made official. The following week, Rose lost to Jade in a non-title match after interference from

, who later joined Shirai, Jade, and González's WarGames team. On the November 30 episode, Ray defeated Kai in a

ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself become ...

to earn her team the WarGames advantage. At ''NXT'': Halloween Havoc,

defeated

to retain the

NXT Championship The NXT Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defended as the top men's championship of NXT (WWE brand), NXT, the promotion's Farm team, de ...

. On the November 23 episode of ''NXT'', Halloween Havoc hosts

and

engaged in a brawl that spilled backstage. Later that night,

retained the

NXT North American Championship The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended as the secondary men's championship of NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The current champi ...

against

and

in a

triple threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

after interference from

. After the match, the brawl between Waller and Knight returned to the ring before Ciampa sent Hayes, D'Angelo, and Waller retreating. However, Breakker appeared and sided with Hayes, D'Angelo, and Waller. They then challenged Ciampa, Knight, Dunne, and Gargano to a WarGames match before the two teams brawled as the show ended. A day later, the match was made official for NXT WarGames. On the November 30 episode, Breakker defeated Gargano in a ladder match to earn his team the WarGames advantage. At ''NXT'': Halloween Havoc,

Cameron Grimes Trevor Lee Caddell (born September 30, 1993) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE as Cameron Grimes and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Impact Wrestling as Trevor Lee. Caddell mad ...

was invited to

Duke Hudson Brendan Vink (born 8 February 1990) is an Australian professional wrestler currently performing in the independent circuit under the ring name Duke Hanson. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Duke Hudso ...

's Poker Room on the following week's episode, where he beat him with a full house of 2's against his Aces. On the November 16 episode of ''NXT'', Hudson challenged Grimes to a poker showdown where he lost again due to his bluff, and powerbombed him through the poker table before trimming his beard and ponytail. The following week, a short-haired Grimes challenged Hudson to a

hair vs. hair match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

at NXT WarGames, which he accepted. On the November 23 episode of ''NXT'', Malcolm Bivens and the

Diamond Mine There are a limited number of commercially available diamond mines currently operating in the world, with the 50 largest mines accounting for approximately 90% of global supply. Diamonds are also mined alluvially over disperse areas, where dia ...

confronted

Joe Gacy Joseph Ruby (born August 8, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. As of August 2020, he is signed to WWE, on the WWE SmackDown, SmackDown brand, where he performs under the ring name Joe Gacy and is a member of The Wyatt Sicks faction. Gac ...

in the ring for stealing the spotlight away from them last week, and wanted to take it back by asking him to leave the ring so that Ivy Nile could have her match. Gacy respected Nile's right to have a match but had no respect for NXT Cruiserweight Champion

Roderick Strong Christopher Lindsey (born July 26, 1983), better known by his ring name Roderick Strong, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Paragon stable and is a former one-time AEW I ...

, saying his name invoked "toxic masculinity" and that the cruiserweight division divided people by promoting exclusivity and "weight shaming". Strong said he wanted to embarrass Gacy, leading Bivens to set up a match between the two at NXT WarGames. The following week, Gacy (accompanied by Harland) hosted an all-inclusive invitational in response to the Cruiserweight division being a "toxic environment" that left out "height, weight, and gender bias." After Gacy's matches against two enhancement talents, Gacy left Strong lying following a handspring clothesline before retreating with Harland. On the November 30 episode of ''NXT'',

Kyle O'Reilly Kyle Richard Thomas Greenwood (born March 1, 1987), better known by his ring name Kyle O'Reilly, is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Paragon (professio ...

and Von Wagner defeated

Legado Del Fantasma Legado Del Fantasma (sometimes shortened as LDF) is a Mexican professional wrestling stable that performs in WWE on the SmackDown brand. The stable consists of leader Santos Escobar and Los Garza (Angel and Berto). Los Garza are the current AAA ...

(

Joaquin Wilde Michael Paris (born October 5, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand, under the ring name Joaquin Wilde. He is a member of the Latino World Order. He was a former founding member o ...

and Raul Mendoza) to become the number one contenders for

Imperium In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from '' auctoritas'' and '' potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic a ...

's (

Fabian Aichner Fabian Aichner (born 21 July 1990) is an Italian professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Giovanni Vinci. Aichner signed with WWE in 2017 and joined the group Imperium, becoming a two-t ...

and Marcel Barthel)

NXT Tag Team Championship The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's Professional wrestling championship, professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT ...

. The match was subsequently scheduled for NXT WarGames.

Event

Dark match

Before the event went live on pay-per-view and the streaming services, Odyssey Jones defeated

Andre Chase Chance Barrow (born April 22, 1989) is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE, where he performs for the NXT brand under the ring name Andre Chase (often referred to as Mr. Chase). He is a former two-time NXT Tag Team Champion. Barrow ...

in a

Preliminary matches

The actual event began with the women's WarGames match, which saw Cora Jade, Kay Lee Ray, Io Shirai, and Raquel González take on Toxic Attraction (Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin, and Jacy Jayne) and Dakota Kai. Kai and Ray started the match. Ray dominated the first few minutes. As Ray's team had the WarGames advantage, Jade entered next. Ray performed a KLR Bomb on Kai onto a trash can wrapped around Dolin before Shirai entered next. She brought multiple chairs and another trash can into the cage. However, Kai performed a Pump Kick on Shirai as she entered the cage. Kai and Dolin then dominated Shirai and Jade. Dolin then sent Jade into the cage wall before Jayne entered next. She brought a table into the cage while Dolin set it up. After the tide shifted, Shirai, Ray, and Jade placed Jayne onto the table, and Jade performed a Senton from the top of the cage on Jayne through it, dislocating her left shoulder in the process. Shirai then placed Jade's shoulder back into place, after which, González entered next with Rose entering last. Rose set her sights on the injured Jade until Shirai attacked her. After Rose, Dolin, and Jayne dominated González, Jade broke up a pinning attempt with a kendo stick. Rose performed a Bicycle Knee to Jade's injured shoulder, but Jade kicked out. In the climax, González performed a Chingona Bomb on Jayne, after which, González and Dolin took each other out. Jade then pinned Jayne to win the match for her team. In the second match, Imperium (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel) defended the NXT Tag Team Championship against Kyle O'Reilly and Von Wagner. In the closing moments, after an evenly contested match, O'Reilly applied a Kimura Lock on Aichner, who made it to his feet, and he and Barthel performed the European Bomb on O'Reilly to retain the titles. After the match, Wagner attempted to attack O'Reilly, but O'Reilly saw it coming and attacked Wagner before doing

The Undisputed Era The Paragon, known previously as The Undisputed Era, are a professional wrestling stable consisting of Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong. The group is currently performing in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The group is widely known for th ...

handsign and crotch drop. O'Reilly then brawled with Wagner as he walked away. In the third match, Cameron Grimes took on Duke Hudson in a hair vs. hair match. In the closing moments, Hudson attempted a Razor's Edge on Grimes, but Grimes countered into a hurricanrana into the turnbuckle and rolled up Hudson to win the match. After the match, Hudson performed a Clothesline on Grimes and attempted to shave his hair, but Grimes recovered and performed a Cave In on Hudson before shaving his hair. Following this, it was announced that ''NXT'': New Year's Evil would take place on January 4, 2022. In the penultimate match, Roderick Strong (accompanied by Diamond Mine) defended the NXT Cruiserweight Championship against Joe Gacy. During the match, Gacy performed a Brainbuster on Strong for a one count. Strong performed an Angle Slam on Gacy for a nearfall. Strong applied a Boston Crab on Gacy, who escaped. Gacy then applied a Crossface on Strong, who also escaped. Gacy performed a Tope Con Hilo on Strong and

The Creed Brothers The Creed Brothers are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Brutus Creed (Drew Kasper; born May 13, 1996) and Julius Creed (Jacob Kasper; born October 3, 1994). they are signed to the professional wrestling promotion ...

( Brutus Creed and

Julius Creed The Creed Brothers are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Brutus Creed (Drew Kasper; born May 13, 1996) and Julius Creed (Jacob Kasper; born October 3, 1994). they are signed to the professional wrestling promotion ...

). In the climax, Harland appeared and lifted up Ivy Nile, but Gacy told him to put her down. Gacy then performed a Gutwrench Powerbomb on Strong for a nearfall. Strong then performed a Jumping Knee and an End of Heartache on Gacy to retain the title. Before the main event, Kyle O'Reilly was interviewed backstage about his attack on Von Wagner, and also talked about not being in a WarGames match for the first time since WWE began using the concept. O'Reilly then challenged Wagner to a

Steel Cage match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

for the following episode of ''NXT''.

Main event

The main event was the men's WarGames match, which saw Team 2.0 (Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Tony D'Angelo, and Grayson Waller, accompanied by Trick Williams) take on Team Black & Gold (Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne, LA Knight, and Tommaso Ciampa). Hayes and Gargano began the match. Team 2.0 had the WarGames advantage as Waller entered next. Williams tossed a chair into the cage and attempted to climb the cage, only for Gargano to use the chair to knock Williams off. Dunne entered next. Waller then performed Stunners on Dunne and Gargano before D'Angelo entered next. Williams brought kendo sticks, a table, and a trash can in the cage before

Dexter Lumis Samuel Robert Shaw (born January 17, 1984) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Dexter Lumis ( ) and is a member of The Wyatt Sicks faction. He is also known fo ...

, who Hayes and Williams viciously attacked a few weeks earlier, appeared from underneath the ring, sending Williams running. D'Angelo padlocked the cage shut before Knight entered next. He climbed the cage and dominated D'Angelo, Waller, and Hayes himself. Referees unlocked the cage with bolt cutters before Breakker entered next. Breakker proceeded to dominate Team Black & Gold until Ciampa entered last. Notable moments that occurred after WarGames officially began included Knight performing a belly-to-belly suplex from the top rope on Waller through a table, Waller performing an elbow drop from the top of the cage on Knight through another table, D'Angelo removing Dunne's mouth guard before performing a neckbreaker with an assist from a crowbar, and Gargano and Ciampa performing their old DIY finisher, Meeting in the Middle, on Breakker. In the closing moments, Hayes performed a low blow on Gargano, after which, Ciampa knocked out both men. As Ciampa went for a Fairytale ending on Hayes, Breakker performed a Spear on Ciampa through a table positioned in the corner. Breakker then performed a Military Press Powerslam on Ciampa to win the match for his team.

Reception

John Moore of ''Pro Wrestling Dot Net'' gave praise to both WarGames matches, highlighting the women's bout for telling a "multi-part dramatic story", and called the NXT Tag Title match the "best Tag Team Match NXT has had in a long long time". He concluded by calling the event "a great show and definitely a Takeover which I'm glad they're sticking with formula-wise for now". Matthew McFarlin of ''Slam Wrestling'' reviewed the event and gave it 4 out of 5 stars. He wrote: "Rarely is NXT 2.0 an enjoyable watch, but NXT WarGames certainly was. In fact, it was pretty captivating. The utter carnage of both WarGames matches is an annual tradition, and in between were some solid cageless matches. The legitimate scenarios regarding contract statuses and the state, in whole, of NXT gave NXT WarGames the genuine emotion that the weekly programming just doesn't have". Chris Mueller of ''

Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...

'' called the men's WarGames match the "biggest highlight of the show", praised the Hair vs. Hair bout for being a "pretty good showcase" for Grimes and Hudson, felt the women's WarGames match had "poorly planned" spots, and criticized the "overall pace and story" of the Cruiserweight Championship bout, concluding that: "This was a decent show but when you compare it to most TakeOvers, it had a lot less excitement". Thomas Hall of ''411Mania'' gave the event a 7.5 out of 10, which was lower than last year's event that got an 8.5 out of 10. He was critical of both WarGames matches having long runtimes and being mostly filler until the final minutes, saying the women's bout would have been "better suited as an elimination tag" and was more "dull than actively bad", and felt the NXT Tag Title match lacked importance on the card but saw both teams putting in the effort. He called the event "far from some disaster or even that bad a lot of the time," but questioned how the NXT brand will do once the veterans leave, concluding that, " e show is still holding it together and as usual, things are better when they focus on wrestling, but the future isn't exactly looking bright".

Aftermath

On the following episode of ''NXT'', Kyle O'Reilly and Von Wagner faced each other in a Steel Cage match, where Wagner was victorious. Wagner viciously attacked O'Reilly with the cage door after the match. This ended up being O'Reilly's final WWE appearance, as his WWE contract expired after the event and chose not to renew it. O'Reilly then made his

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...

debut at AEW Holiday Bash later that month. Also on ''NXT'', Johnny Gargano addressed the NXT fans and talked about his future, only for Grayson Waller to viciously attack him with a steel chair. Waller ended the attack after planting Gargano with a Powerbomb through the announce table. This was also Gargano's final WWE appearance, as his contract expired after the event, but he returned on the main roster as part of the Raw brand on the August 22, 2022, episode of '' Raw''. Gargano then returned to NXT at ''NXT'': Roadblock on March 7, 2023, where he was revealed as Waller's opponent at that year's Stand & Deliver, where Gargano was victorious. On the December 14 episode of ''NXT'', after Bron Breakker defeated NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong in a non-title match, Tommaso Ciampa appeared and laid out Breakker with Willow's bell before standing tall with the NXT Championship as the show ended. The following week, Ciampa told Breakker that he would get another shot at the NXT Championship at New Year's Evil. At the event, Breakker defeated Ciampa to win the title for the first time. A non-title match between Dexter Lumis and NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes took place on the following episode of ''NXT'', where Lumis won via disqualification after interference from Trick Williams. After the match, Lumis attacked Williams before Hayes saved him and retreated. Two weeks later, Lumis defeated Williams. Tony D'Angelo taking Pete Dunne's mouth guard during the men's WarGames match would start a rivalry between the two. On the December 14 episode of ''NXT'', Dunne took his mouth guard back from D'Angelo. A match between the two took place the following week, where Dunne won. Following the match, however, D'Angelo attacked Dunne with a crowbar. A Crowbar on a Pole match between the two took place on the January 11, 2022, episode of ''NXT'', where D'Angelo won. On the January 25 episode, D'Angelo lost a match to determine the number one contender for the NXT North American Championship after interference from Dunne. Eventually, a weaponized steel cage match between the two was scheduled for Vengeance Day, where Dunne won to end the feud. Also on the following episode of ''NXT'', Duke Hudson, who was wearing a blonde wig, talked about his loss to Cameron Grimes at WarGames when Grimes interrupted. Hudson told Grimes that he cheated to win and challenged him to a

No Holds Barred match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

for the following week, and Grimes accepted. On that subsequent episode, Grimes defeated Hudson to end the feud. After the match, Grimes removed Hudson's wig to reveal his bald head. Cora Jade took on Dakota Kai on the December 14 episode of ''NXT'', where Jade was victorious. After the match, however, Kai attacked Jade, but Raquel González sent Kai retreating. Moments later, Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne distracted Jade, allowing Mandy Rose to attack her. Later that night, González and Kai were being pulled apart by referees while in the parking lot. Afterwards, González challenged Kai to a street fight for the following week, which was later made official. On that subsequent episode, González defeated Kai. Following the match, González called out Rose to demand a title rematch but got Jade instead. Moments later, Rose appeared on the TitanTron and challenged both of them to a triple threat match for the NXT Women's Championship at New Year's Evil. On the December 28 episode, Rose arranged a

tag team match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

pitting Jade and González against Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray for that episode's main event, where the winning team got to challenge her for the NXT Women's Championship at New Year's Evil. The match was won by Jade and González. The 2021 NXT WarGames would be the final WWE PPV and livestreaming event to carry the term "pay-per-view", as beginning with Day 1 the following month, WWE began to use the term "premium live event" for all of their events airing on pay-per-view and their livestreaming platforms. In addition, the 2021 NXT WarGames would be NXT's last major event to air on traditional PPV as beginning with the 2022 calendar year, NXT's major events became only available via WWE's livestreaming platforms. In 2022, the WarGames concept was moved to the main roster as part of

, with that year's event rebranded as Survivor Series: WarGames. This subsequently ended the NXT WarGames event, which was replaced by

Results

References

External links

* {{WWEPPV, NXT TakeOver 2021 in professional wrestling in Florida 2021 WWE Network events 2021 in Orlando, Florida December 2021 in the United States Professional wrestling shows in Orlando, Florida WWE NXT