4 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE NXT TakeOver: WarGames 2020

Downs...

5. Marathon Night Drags Hard

Pete Dunne Oney Lorcan Danny Burch
WWE.com

The WWE Network runtime for TakeOver: WarGames 2020 sits at just 3:03:18 - just under 35 minutes longer than last year - but it felt at least an hour longer than that.

Though only five matches deep, this TakeOver dragged. Hard. There was no sense of pacing as the night shambled from one overlong bout to another, with all but perhaps the Strap Match going around 20-25% longer than needed. In the WarGames matches, crescendos were teased, built towards, and abandoned, before the cycle repeated ad nauseam. Neither match broke into a higher gear as a result of the writers and road agents shooting for "epic", resulting in a show that produced nothing even close to the word, even as wrestlers soared off cages and took crazy, career-shortening bumps.

"Too long" isn't a specific runtime, but something has been stretched beyond its natural conclusion. It is a feeling rather than a number - and therefore subjective. Still, almost everything on TakeOver: WarGames suffered from being a little too ambitious, attempting six or seven dramatic peaks when two or three would have done.

Three hours should never feel like a long night, particularly given the colossal lengths of WWE's pre-pandemic pay-per-views.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.