NXT TakeOver: WarGames - Every Match Ranked Worst To Best

4. Leon Ruff Vs. Johnny Gargano Vs. Damian Priest

Raquel Gonzalez Io Shirai NXT TakeOver WarGames
WWE.com

Would it have been great to see Leon Ruff somehow eek out another fluke win here? Possibly. Would it have been great to then see Cameron Grimes and his sh*t-eating grin take the North American Championship from Ruff over the next few weeks? Absolutely.

Instead, we're about to enter the age of Johnny Three-Times, with Johnny Gargano emerging victorious in this triple-threat encounter.

There were some good near falls here, especially those that played up to Ruff getting another shock W over Gargano, or those where Gargano or Priest were frantically trying to stop the match's weakling from being beat. Ultimately, it would be Johnny Wrestling putting the proverbial underdog of Leon Ruff away with One Final Beat after Damian Priest had been taken out of the reckoning courtesy of a steel pipe-wielding Austin Theory.

Priest may not have gotten the win here, but it was his outside-the-ring Razor's Edge on Ruff that stands out as the highlight of the match, with the former Punishment Martinez having warned his much smaller opponent not to get in his way. After a so-so start with NXT, these past several months have seen the Archer of Infamy feeling far more natural in whatever he does - whether that's verbally or physically - and his coolness and charisma seems destined for the main roster sooner rather than later.

The match itself here was yet another strong one - which we've all come to expect from a TakeOver match featuring Johnny Gargano - and the biggest sense of intrigue moving forward (at least for your writer) is what now happens to Leon Ruff.

Gargano and Priest seem destined to dance again in the immediate aftermath of WarGames, but the path of Ruff is a far more unclear one.

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