Ranking Every WWE NXT WarGames Match From Worst To Best
7. Io Shirai, Kay Lee Ray, Raquel González, And Cora Jade Vs. Dakota Kai, And Toxic Attraction (2021)
The first of this year’s WarGames bouts tried to do something different. Instead of an overstuffed affair ending only after a truly hellacious bump, this was a cagier and more tactical scrap that ended in surprising fashion with the injured Cora Jade grabbing the pin on Jacy Jayne amid the chaos and confusion.
It’s smart to have a WarGames match conclude under different conditions, but couldn’t help feeling a little deflating, too. The rings had only just filled up, and we were ready for battle, only for the match to quickly come to a close.
There were some impressive moments - Jade’s genuinely frightening senton from the top of the cage, Raquel Gonzalez’s domineering show of strength - and some smart character work, like Io Shirai (a perennial WarGames MVP) moonlighting as a shoulder surgeon. There were also some sloppy moments, though, particularly with some of the newer performers who never quite seemed in sync.
For various reasons, this just didn’t seem to have the heft of previous WarGames matches. Not a flop by any means - indeed a perfectly enjoyable watch - but the high bar of years past was hard to clear.