Ranking Every NXT TakeOver From Worst To Best

24. WarGames (2017)

Finn Bálor Samoa Joe
WWE.com

A one-match show for the most part, and though that one match was absolutely f*cking fantastic, NXT's inaugural effort to replicate reinvent WarGames was a bit of a swing and a miss.

The three-team format was a touch clunky and only really offered the magic moment in which Adam Cole didn't take a move amidst a host of disconnected spots and endless brawling. The show had already been stolen by then anyway - Aleister Black and Velveteen Dream had an impossibly brilliant outing that elevated both men beyond their static statuses at the time.

Black was just about ready to ascend to NXT's topline, whilst Dream looked as if he was in a stirring reminder that losers can get just as much as winners if the matches are made to matter. This was the black-and-gold brand operating at a new level of developmental purity, even if Ember Moon's fatal four way win over Kairi Sane, Nikki Cross and Peyton Royce masked the Women's Division's bright future and the battle that saw Andrade 'Cien' Almas crowned NXT Champion over an injured Drew McIntyre was a touch on the dry side.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett