[2017-11-18-WWE-NXT Takeover: War Games] Roderick Strong & The Authors of Pain vs Sanity (Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe & Killian Dain) vs The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole & Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly) (War Games)

[ShittyLittleBoots]

Best match on the show. Some awkward moments but that was to be expected. Once Wolfe & Dain got involved, things kicked up a notch & the action remained really good from that point on till the end. Everybody gave really good performances. ***3/4

[EnviousStupid]

I planned on revisiting all these NXT War Games matches after watching how the concept was used in WCW and paid homage to across various independents over the 2000s. In hindsight, that was probably the worst thing I could've done. This is a disappointing match on its own, but to call it War Games feel like an insult to its history. Match starts with three guys churning out clusterfuck moments devoid of emotion and in front of a silent crowd, like we're all just waiting for something worthwhile to happen. Undisputed Era are the only heels I can recall that get the advantage in War Games and still can't work a proper heat segment. AOP managed to elicit a few pops once they enter the fray, but it's clear by that point how soulless this entire affair is. Garbage spotfest where the cage is only there for people to jump off of. The introduction of weapons by Dain and Wolfe only reinforce this. No one can bleed because the stipulation is only here for marketing. The spots have all been seen and done before on WWE programming, probably without the wrestlers standing around to base for moves. You have Adam Cole kick out of the biggest moment of the night (superplex from the top of the cage) and the way he wins is with a Shining Wizard to Eric Young, who is basically holding a chair to his own face. Awful, awful stuff. Ages like milk. Excluding the women's one in 2019, I have zero expectations for these knock-offs.