Sean: WWE, NXT, HHH and the Ghost of Dusty Rhodes brings violence, for the sake o’ violence! Houston, Tx is in for a LOOOONG weekend of solid action packed rasslin’! …. It’s WAR GAMES time bay-bay!
Shawn: YEEEESSS!!! TONIGHT WE DINE WITH KINGS AND QUEENS!!! Marks, smarks and fan boys, your prayers have been answered and the man with three H’s has FINALLY given us the return of WAR GAMES!!!!
Sean: Five matches on this card will put Raw & Smackdown in a position to once again be outshined by the “stars of tomorrow, today!”
Shawn: Six, if you count Pete Dunne defending the UK Championship against Johnny Gargano in … a dark match??? … in the words of the Hurricane, “What’s up wit dat?!?!” And wait… what ever happened to that Ab contest between Gargano and Shawn Michaels??? What a tease!!
Sean: For some reason William Regal wanted Kassius Ohno’s comeback to stop dead in it’s tracks when he gave Ohno a bit more fight than he was anticipating. Lars Sullivan is a one man tag team. Which works out better that way for Lars’ former tag team partners. This will be the first time Lars will be in a match where he doesn’t have a size advantage but that doesn’t mean Ohno will be able to stop this massive beast in motion. Your roaring elbows will land and land hard – but when it the bell rings, it will be Kassius looking at the lights.
Shawn: What do you mean, Lars doesn’t have a size advantage?? Are you serious?? Chris Hero Sandwich… I mean Fatshit Ohno… I mean Kassius Ohno might be a little on the plus size but he’s still no Lars. Sullivan STILL has 30 pounds on Ohno even though they’re about the same height. The big difference is Lars is a brick house and Kassius… well, let’s just say he could land the role of the Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man in the next Ghost Busters movie. Also, don’t go blaming Regal for this one. Kassius was the one who barged into his office and basically DEMANDED a match with Sullivan at Take Over, so I have no sympathy for what we’re about to see. My prediction? … At the end of the day, the only person in Houston saying Ohno will be Kassius right before Lars decimates him and it will be more like, “OH, NO!!!”
Sean: The Velveteen Dream wants Aleister Black’s attention. Well, you asked for it – and you’re going to wish he was still ignoring you. Both of these men are working their way up the ranks. Two different paths but the goal is the same. Black needs to keep his promos short and sweet, while Dream needs to learn to pick his opponents wiser. When that vicious Black Mass kick lands upside your head ? That sound left ringing in your head ? That is the sounds like, when doves cry.
Shawn: I can’t even with this guy. The Velveteen Dream?? Really?? Am I the only one who thinks the Artist Formerly Known as Prince Iaukea whenever this guy walks out from the back?? He wants Aleister’s attention? What is he Delirious?? I’ll tell you one thing, it’s sure not going to take 17 Days for Black to do the Batdance all over the Velveteen One. He needs to hop back in his Little Red Corvette and take off back Uptown to 1999 and find his Darling Nikki. Call this one Automatic, but, like Thieves In The Temple, I’m expecting to hear The Velveteen Dream asking Aleister Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad? when this one is over.
Sean: The Women’s division on NXT is stuffed to the gills with talent. This four way dance to fill the vacated title is going to be a barn burner for sure. Peyton Royce, Ember Moon, Nikki Cross and new edition Kari Sane just might steal the show. Each woman here has something to prove. Moon needs to show the world why she was robbed of her opportunity to pin the champ, Cross needs to show us that she is most dangerous member of SAnitY, Peyton needs to show that she deserves to be here and can stand toe to toe with these women, while Kari needs to establish herself as the top of the division with that Mae Young Classic Trophy and NXT Women’s Title Belt would make a lovely pairing. What i love about this match is that no matter who wins the belt ? We all win. Nikki Cross for the win
Shawn: This should be a great match. All four of these women can go. I think you hit the nail on the head for the most part my brother. Buuuuuuut…. we can’t agree on anything. First off, let’s get #HEELite… Kairi Sane. … Sure, she’s cute and she can fight. I take nothing away from her skill, but the woman has no charisma and is like a piece of cardboard out there. Her mannerisms are so robotic and her music makes her even less likable in my opinion. I hope she doesn’t win this thing just because she’s as dry as stale bread. Sorry Travis, I know she’s your girl, but it is what it is. Peyton Royce is incredible eye candy, but she really doesn’t even belong in this match with these other three women, but I appreciate knowing she’s going to be on my screen for a little while. That’s about it for her. Now onto the other two. Nikki Cross is a beast… and, dare I say, extremely sexy in her own right (I dig crazy chicks), so I would LOVE to see her walk away with the title around her waist, (DON’T CALL IT A BELT SEAN!!!) … but, I think it’s Ember’s time and we should see her walk out with her arm raised as the NEW NXT Women’s champ and hopefully set up what will be an amazing feud between her and Nikki Cross.
Sean: Lets be honest here, this match exists because the NXT Championship title picture is in a bit of a holding pattern. Especially when you have most of the contenders locked inside a cage later in the night. But Drew McIntyre isn’t looking past Andrade “CIEN” Almas. That’s not the kind of man he is. Cien didn’t impress me when he first debuted. Once his losing streak began, along with his flippant attitude he wasn’t winning anyone over. Enter : Zelina Vega. This is one dangerous manager. Sheri would be SO proud. Now Cien has a purpose, a fire, an a whole new man in the ring. But tonight isn’t his night. The Scottish Giant Drew McIntyre is here for the long haul.
Shawn: Andrade who??? Is this for real??? So someone explain to me how Andrade “Cien” Almas has earned a title shot. … I’ll wait … Exactly. He beat Johnny Gargano twice and he hasn’t beaten anyone either. Clearly my bro is right here. Almas is a place keeper until they can finish up with the War Games feud and we can get Adam Cole into the title picture Bay-Bay!! Zelina Aries… err… Vega does make this a little interesting, but no matter what she does, Almas is NOT walking out of Houston the champion. I’m still dumbfounded that he’s even in this match. I think it’s safe to say that it’s time for NXT to restock the talent pool with some serious contenders. … I hear that’s a lot of former Impact guys looking for a job. Just sayin’.
Sean: W A R G A M E S !!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS GONNA BE THE GREATEST RETURN SINCE THE McRIB ! Three Teams, Six Men, Two Rings, One (topless) Cage to Contain all this Carnage ! The Tag Champs SAnitY have the cards stacked against them here. But who are the babyfaces and who are the heels ? Who cares ? It’s Wargames baby ! The Undisputed Era have the speed advantage, The Authors of Pain have the strength, while SAnitY has the teamwork that helped them capture the gold. Lets not forget about Roderick Strong. Roddy was courted by the UE, but Roddy’s memory isn’t as short as his trunks. The UE recruitment drive is going to prove to be their downfall here. I honestly believe the AOP are at the end of their NXT career with their debut on the main roster being sooner rather than later. It’s too soon for SAnitY to lose their belts, so i expect that when the dust settles, those crazy fools will hold most of the gold here in NXT !
Shawn: Wait… what??? Umm… you do know that this isn’t for the titles right?? Whatever. … Anyway, I’m super psyched or the return of War Games. I’m on of those marks that have been dying for this return for YEARS and it’s finally happening. Ok. So it’s a little bit different. But I’m cool with that. No roof on the cage. Probably a good thing considering Sid Vicious almost decapitated Brian Pillman attempting a snap powerbomb that one time during War Games. With no shortage of big men in this one, I’m sure that was a good decision. I don’t expect to see anyone utilize the open air possibilities in this one but it’ll open it up for future War Games matches with some high fliers. I’d mark out like a you know what if E.Y. decided to leap from the top of the structure tonight though. The 3 teams of three instead of 2 teams of four or five adds a nice little twist too.
These three groups have been nothing short of impressive in their build up to this one. I’m expecting another MOTY contender with this one. Two rings. Submit or surrender. It’s been 20 years! I don’t even know what to say. I’m giddy. This makes me want to go back and watch old War Games matches… Hmmmm…. maybe the next Flashback Friday?? I think so. Oh yeah. I winner. I almost forgot. While I agree that AOP is on their way out and SAnitY isn’t dropping the tag straps for a little while, I’m counting on them continuing the momentum of the Undisputed Era with an undisputed victory at War Games.