The Best Match From Every 2021 WWE PPV

It didn't quite carry the same gravitas of 2017's #DIY split. It might not have recaptured the overall storytelling magic of the Gargano-Ciampa saga that dominated 2018. Nevertheless, full credit goes to Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly for taking the demise of the most decorated faction in NXT and producing a respectable trilogy. Any shortcomings were shored up by a commitment to mutually assured destruction, particularly in the maiden voyage.

Born of Cole's unwillingness to yield as centerpiece of The Undisputed Era, tensions erupted when the longest-reigning NXT Champion superkicked nearly four years of WarGames dominance and championship gold to the curb. Openly resentful of O'Reilly, who had recently come into his own during a pair of stellar showings against then-NXT Champion Finn Bálor, Cole emphatically informed the world and his brethren that he wasn't about to take a back seat to the tag specialist.

The result was a punishing 40-minute odyssey two months later. On a card littered with championship showcases and match of the night candidates, Cole and O'Reilly entered a relentless clash with nothing at stake but personal welfare and weaponized everything not bolted to the arena floor. O'Reilly secured the decision after tattooing Cole's neck with a top rope knee drop wrapped in a length of chain.

After dropping the rematch at July's Great American Bash, O'Reilly closed the book on Cole at August's NXT TakeOver 36 before departing WWE himself in December. With every member (minus Roderick Strong) now under AEW's umbrella, a reunion appears in the works.