The road to WarGames and Survivor Series is getting shorter and shorter as we are less than two weeks away from both. NXT this week was full of the women’s roster which is something that RAW and SmackDown seem to have troubles in doing.
Throughout the night, members of Team Ripley for WarGames was attacked. First, we saw team captain Rhea Ripley and Tegan Nox who were laid out by an unknown attacker. Later on, in the night their fellow team member Candice LeRae suffers the same attack. *Cue Scarlett Bordeaux who made an appearance by helping LeRae after the attack*
What was interesting though is Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke was also attacked at the same time LeRae was. These two ladies are not part of the WarGames match but this could mean they will be on the NXT women’s team for the traditional Survivor Series match. There have been no names announced for the Survivor Series match just yet.
There were two matches this week. The first was Xia Li who took on Aliyah in a short match. The second was the highly advertised Women’s Ladder Match which had Io Shirai vs. Mia Yim in the main event. This match being the main event was the exact right choice. The match definitely was slow to start, but by the end it had me invested. As a result of Io Shirai winning this slugfest of a match, we now know that Kay Lee Ray is the fourth and final member of Team Baszler for WarGames.
Let’s get right into the Winners & Losers of this week’s NXT:
WINNERS: Mia Yim & Io Shirai
Say what you want of Mia Yim but she delivered and beyond by the end of this main event. Between the hit to the face with the ladder and the ending of going through the ladder on the outside shows that she isn’t afraid to take bumps and get hurt. She may not have won the match, but she certainly made an impact.
Shirai did a great job throughout this main event ladder match at selling especially with her hand after it was targeted by Yim with the ladder. She won the advantage for her team for WarGames which is a huge positive heading into this type of match.
WINNER: Kay Lee Ray
An obvious winner of the night is NXT UK Champion Kay Lee Ray. With having WWE just recently in Manchester it was odd that she wasn’t involved in any sort of way. Now it makes more sense as to why she wasn’t used like her male UK roster counterparts were.
This is a good way to get exposure to not only the NXT UK brand but for Ray herself. This definitely isn’t a brand everyone watches, but seeing her in a high profile match such as the first-ever women’s WarGames match is a big win for her.
WINNER: Bayley
Bayley continues to be present during this feud and build up for Survivor Series for her match against Becky Lynch and Shayna Baszler. Many people wrote Bayley off from day one for many reasons, but they are still giving her moments to show she is a force. Her taking out Shayna and possibly being the one that took out Team Baszler along with Shafir and Duke was good to see and what was needed.
LOSER: Aliyah
Sigh. Unfortunately, Aliyah has wound up on the loser end this week. Not only was the match super short, but she was the victim of a busted nose.
Aliyah deserves better, but unfortunately due to the nature of what went down on this week’s show, there isn’t much hope of her to be pushed in any sort of fashion. In fact, if they allowed her and Vanessa to actually be the tag team they are then maybe it would paint Aliyah in a different light.
LOSERS: Rhea Ripley’s Team for WarGames
Ripley and her team were taken out this week besides Mia Yim. Not only was she taken out, but so was Tegan Nox and Candice LeRae. By the end of the show, it was not 100% clear of who took them out, but according to a tweet by Bayley, it is assumed to be her. If it was just Bayley she took out five women plus Shayna and well there ya go.
What were your thoughts on this week’s NXT? Are you enjoying what is being delivered on the black and gold brand? Are you looking forward to WarGames and Survivor Series in less than two weeks? Who were your Winners & Losers this week?
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