NXT TakeOver WarGames 2019: Full show preview and predictions

Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair, Io Shirai, and Kay Lee Ray vs. Rhea Ripley, Tegan Nox, Mia Yim, and Candice LeRae – Women’s WarGames Match

Before diving into this one, can we talk about how contrived those ladder matches to determine which WarGames team gets the advantage? It’s understandable that Triple H and his creative team wanted to arrive at the usual destination of giving the heels the unfair edge in a unique way, but it felt like an excuse to not only add flimsy stakes to a pair of ladder matches, but also serve as a reason to put Kay Lee Ray in a match that doesn’t seem to need her outside of “We ran out of heels and didn’t want to turn Dakota Kai…yet”.

Speaking of that, I don’t think we’ll see Kai turn to the dark side at NXT TakeOver, either. It’s possible that she runs down and costs the babyfaces the match, but such interference would ding the mystique around WarGames and after Hell in a Cell, WWE doesn’t need anymore gimmick matches losing credibility.

So with that out of the question, the only logical direction is for the babyface team to win, especially if the creative team wants to have Rhea Ripley eventually beat Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s title. There are other ways to get there, but let’s keep this simple.

Prediction: Rhea Ripley’s team wins (Ripley pins Bianca Belair)

The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O’Reilly) vs. Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Dominik Dijakovic, and TBA – Men’s WarGames Match

As far as that open spot on Ciampa’s team is concerned Velveteen Dream and Johnny Gargano are the only ones who stick out as obvious replacements for Matt Riddle. But both men are apparently nursing legit injuries — Dream isn’t expected back anytime soon and if Gargano were healthy, he would be wrestling Finn Balor — so the chances of them getting the nod are slim.

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If those two are out, it’s anybody’s guess who the fourth man could be. Maybe it’s a main roster wrestler coming to NXT or someone from NXT UK. Who knows, maybe it’s no one and the babyfaces wrestle at a further disadvantage (Adam Cole won his team the man advantage in a ladder match this past Wednesday), which would give the babyfaces an out for losing.

But as is the case with Ripley, Ciampa needs a big win to keep his momentum going and eventually get an NXT Championship match. That would be hard to do if his team loses inside War Games.

So, look for the mystery man — if there is one — to come out last and help Ciampa and his teammates beat The Undisputed Era, probably by pinning either Bobby Fish or Kyle O’Reilly.

Prediction: Tommaso Ciampa’s team wins (Ciampa pins Bobby Fish)