SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The following is the latest in a new series of weekly in-depth articles exclusive to PWTorch which will help put in perspective major wrestling promotions with a weekly overview, looking at news and roster developments, results, future line-ups, social media activity, key interviews, plus a timely commentary at the end. We will be featuring similar features on other promotions each week and each will be updated weekly.
•Top Stories of the Week
- NXT TakeOver WarGames takes place this Saturday night live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The card seems one match light with only four total matches on the card, but in his most recent conference call, Triple H said that was due to the two-out-of-three falls match and the WarGames match needing match time.
- NXT wrestlers Roderick Strong and Marina Shafir tied the knot this week. WWE.com actually teased an alliance between the two dominant factions these two are a part of (Undisputed Era and Four Horsewoman of MMA). Can you imagine that eight-person multi-gender faction running wild in NXT?
•NXT Live Event Results
Nov. 8 Cocoa Beach, Fla.
- Humberto Carrillo and Raul Mendoza beat The Mighty
- Kavita Devi beat Reina Gonzalez
- Lars Sullivan beat Babatunde Aiyebusi
- Vanessa Borne and Kona Reeves beat Kacy Catanzaro and NXT N.A. Champ Ricochet
- Adam Cole beat Stacey Ervin Jr.
- Io Shirai and Kairi Sane beat Chelsea Green and Lacey Evans
- Kassius Ohno beat Saurav Gujar
- Aleister Black and War Raiders beat The Forgotten Sons
(Results courtesy F4Wonline.com)
Nov. 9 Tampa, Fla.
- EC3 beat Dan Matha
- Xia Li beat Chelsea Green
- Matt Riddle beat Punishment Martinez
- Humberto Carrillo and Raul Mendoza beat Danny Burch in Handicap Match
- Lars Sullivan beat Luke Menzies
- NXT UK Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley beat Candice LeRae
- War Raiders beat Boa and Rocky (w/Mansoor)
- Babatunde beat Mansoor
- NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa beat Velveteen Dream
(Results courtesy F4Wonline.com)
Nov. 10 Daytona, Fla.
- Heavy Machinery and Jessie Elaban beat Boa and Rocky and Xia Li
- Punishment Martinez beat Brenna Williams
- Io Shirai and Taynara Conti beat Reina Gonzalez and Aliyah
- Matt Riddle beat Dominik Dijakovic
- Johnny Gargano beat Humberto Carrillo
- Undisputed Era (Cole, O’Reilly, and Fish) beat The Mighty and Saurav Gurjar
- Mia Yim beat Chelsea Green
- NXT North American Champion Ricochet beat Kona Reeves (w/Vanessa Borne)
Results courtesy of F4Wonline.com)
•Upcoming Major Show Line-up: NXT Takeover WarGames 2
NXT Takeover WarGames 2
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Los Angeles, Calif. At Staples Center (3:15 p.m. start time)
- Tomaso Ciampa (Champion) vs. Velveteen Dream – NXT Men’s Title match
- Undisputed Era vs. Ricochet/Pete Dunne/War Raiders
- Shayna Bayzler vs. Kairi Sane – NXT Women’s Title match – Two-out-of-Three Falls
- Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano
•Upcoming Events
- Thursday Nov. 15 – SJSU Event Center (San Jose, Calif.)
- Friday Nov. 16 – Visalia Convention Center (Visalia, Calif.)
- SATURDAY NOV. 17 – STAPLES CENTER (LOS ANGELES, CALIF.)
- Thursday Nov. 29 – The Reserve Pavilion at Hilton Ocala (Ocala Fla.)
- Friday Nov. 30 – Maxwell Snyder Armory (Jacksonville, Fla.)
- Thursday Dec. 6 – Dade City Armory (Dade City, Fla.)
- Thursday Dec. 6 – Turner Hall Ballroom (Milwaukee, Wis.)
- Friday Dec. 7 – Havert L. Fenn Center (Fort Pierce, Fla.)
- Friday Dec. 7 – Shopko Hall (Green Bay, Wis.)
- Saturday Dec. 8 – Venice Community Center (Venice, Fla.)
- Saturday Dec. 8 – Roy Wilkins Auditorium (St. Paul, Minn.)
- Sunday Dec. 9 – Hy- Vee Hall (Des Moines, Iowa)
- Thursday Dec. 13 – Orlando Live Events (Casselberry, Fla.)
- Friday Dec. 14 – Citrus Springs Fla.
- Saturday Dec. 15 – Minnreg Hall (Largo, Fla.)
- Saturday Jan. 5 – Crystal River Armory (Crystal River, Fla.)
- SATURDAY JAN 26. – WWE NXT TAKEOVER PHOENIX – TALKING STICK RESORT ARENA (Phoenix, Arizona)
•Latest TV Highlights: 11/7 NXT TV Report
- (1) Bianca Belair beat Mia Yim by pinfall (3:02 – 11:08)
- Cathy Kelly backstage interview with War Raiders/Dunne/Ricochet (12:30 – 13:08)
- Johnny Gargano/Aleister Black video package (15:43 – 19:19)
- Cathy Kelly backstage interview with Matt Riddle (19:21 – 21:01)
- Interrupted by Kassius Ohno
- (2) Lacey Evans beat Karissa Rivera by Pinfall (24:03 – 25:54)
- Tommaso Ciampa/Velveteen Dream video package (27:48 – 32:00)
- Shayna Baszler/Kairi Sane video package (34:01 – 35:52)
- (3) Kyle O’Reilly beat Hanson (39:12 – 51:12)
Check out PWTorch’s full detailed TV Report HERE.
•NXT in the Media
- Triple H presented his NXT WarGames Takeover conference call this week and there were a ton of interesting tidbits in it. One of the more notable ideas coming out of it was that Triple H thinks there could be some underutilized main roster talents coming back down to NXT to get some work. Take a listen to the entire call on YouTube HERE.
- NXT’s newest wrestler The King of Bros Matt Riddle sat down with WWE.com for an interview and explained how William Regal gave him his “King of Bros” nickname. When asked who were his favorite wrestlers were, he named some classic “bros” and said, “I always enjoyed the intense wrestling style. My favorites were guys like Kurt Angle, Brett Hart, Rob Van Dam, Jerry Lynn, Eddie Guerrero, and Dean Malenko.” Check out the rest of the interview HERE.
- Johnny Gargano sat down with UPROXX for an interview to discuss a wide variety of topics from video games, to WarGames, to his current role in NXT. “In my head, the ends justify the means,” he said. “The end is me defeating Tommaso Ciampa, for the NXT Championship, everyone celebrating, everyone going nuts, you’ll be happy.” Definitely a good read for Johnny Wrestling fans.
•Latest NXT Podcast – “PWT Talks NXT” PWTorch Livecast
“On the Eve of War.” This week Harley R. Pageot, Tom Stoup, and Justin James discuss the final build to TakeOver: War Games II including their full card predictions. Plus thoughts on Bianca Belair, the Kassius Ohno-Matt Riddle feud, the tag team midcard division, possible post-TakeOver matches and stories, and eight listener emails.
-On Tune In Radio HERE
-On Apple Podcasts HERE
-Or search “PWTorch” or “Pro Wrestling Torch” on your podcast app of choice
•Top NXT Tweets of the Week
Ciampa’s Tweet of the Week
The Champ is amused by all of the twitter dorks (fans and wrestlers alike) rejoicing over Bryan’s title win, as if he represents you.
You just don’t get it. Hopeless.
PS: Day 111
The. Greatest. Sports. Entertainer. Of. All. Time. pic.twitter.com/desS0sAfQd
— BLACKHEART (@ProjectCiampa) November 14, 2018
After WarGames….the title shot shouldn’t be far behind…
.@MiaYim I respect your grind, but I don't respect your "entitlement"
Respect & Opportunities are earned.
I want MY Title Shot.
NeXT pic.twitter.com/ONZTicVjnL
— Bianca Belair (@BiancaBelairWWE) November 15, 2018
If I were to tell you last year at this same time that Johnny Wrestling AND Daniel Bryan were going to be top heels, would you have believed me? Absofreakinglutely NOT!
https://twitter.com/JohnnyGargano/status/1062542436633899009
Becky Lynch is taking over the world… and it’s fantastic!
https://twitter.com/LaceyEvansWWE/status/1063068203344117761
•Thoughts and Comments
Predictions for NXT TakeOver WarGames
Tomasso Ciampa over Velveteen Dream: My heart tells me Dream but my mind tells me Ciampa and my mind is almost always right when it comes to wrestling. Only consolation to this match will come either Monday or Tuesday night when Velveteen’s entrance music hits and he makes his main roster debut. But come to think about it….do I trust the main roster writing team to do the Dream justice? No, I don’t. Please stay in NXT Dream.
Kairi Sane over Shayna Baszler: Again this is not so much about NXT as it is about the main roster. It’s only a matter of time before Baszler is called up to either join Rousey or start a feud with her and if Sane loses, I just don’t see a direction for her to go. After her win, Sane will have a date with Bianca Belair in the very near future.
Aleister Black over Johnny Gargano: The defeat will knock Johnny further down the heel rabbit hole and propel Black to the rematch he’s entitled to with Ciampa. It’ll be interesting to see how Johnny is received by the crowd and how he works his first match as a heel.
Undisputed Era over War Raiders & Dunne & Ricochet: Undisputed Era doesn’t get booked to lose too often and I don’t think this match will be any different. Dunne eats the pin and heads off to dominate NXT UK, Ricochet and Cole will continue to battle for the North American title, and Undisputed Era will go to “war” with the War Raiders in the coming months. This match is going to be pure carnage.
NOW CHECK OUT OTHER WEEKLY OVERVIEWS HERE.
OR JUMP TO LAST WEEK’S WWE OVERVIEW: WEEKLY OVERVIEW – NXT (thru 11/8): Latest news, injuries, live event results, schedule of live events, next big show line-up, noteworthy social media posts, closing commentary on NXT Tag Teams and War Games
The following is the latest in a new series of weekly in-depth articles exclusive to PWTorch which will help put in perspective major wrestling promotions with a weekly overview, looking at news and roster developments, results, future line-ups, social media activity, key interviews, plus a timely commentary at the end. We will be featuring similar features on other promotions each week and each will be updated weekly.
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