5 Ups And 5 Downs From NXT TakeOver: WarGames

1. All Fun And War Games

Don't think for a second simple WCW nostalgia was the reason behind this WarGames match. As much as Triple H may love the defunct Georgia promotion (though that's not what he told Sting), TakeOver's headlining gimmick contest was a cynical, circumlocutory way to sell all those excess toy shark cages. Can you think of another twelve month period when you've heard that term quite so often?

That being the case, manufacturers Mattel can't have been best pleased by the total, resolutely non-PG bloodbath transpiring between the two rings. But that's the price you pay for linking your carriage to a concept with the word 'war' in the title. Blushing plastic pushers aside, this clusterf*ck of chaos was absolutely fantastic - if not a little scary.

The waiting game at the start of the match meant it took a while to take off, but once it did it launched to outer space. No problem here, Houston. With so much commotion taking place in every corner, it was hard to always keep track of the action - even the cameramen struggled - but you couldn't miss the highlights. An arena shaking stereo set of powerbombs by the Authors of Pain set the tone, before Akam earned comeuppance by crashing through a pair of tables. The spot created the most sickening visual of the night, with executor Alexander Wolfe on the receiving end of wood through the head. The blood - it was everywhere.

But it wasn't even the most arse-clenching moment. That was reserved for a frankly ludicrous superplex from the cage's summit on Cole - with clever camerawork hiding the waiting fielders for the sake of maximum tension. Oh, and just for fun, the massive Dain bust out his indy favourite coast-to-coast.

In the end, the right team won as well. It was crazy, condensed carnage - and absolutely incredible.