NXT WarGames 2021

NXT WarGames 2021 was the fifth annual WarGames professional wrestling event produced by WWE. It is held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The event aired on pay-per-view (PPV) worldwide and available to stream through Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network elsewhere, which makes it the first WarGames to air on Peacock. It took place on December 5, 2021, at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. 
This was NXT's first WarGames event to not carry the NXT TakeOver name, as the events from 2017 to 2020 were held as a subseries of TakeOvers titled "TakeOver: WarGames". It was in turn be NXT's first PPV event following the discontinuation of the TakeOver series, and subsequently NXT's first event to not be promoted under the TakeOver name since Halftime Heat in February 2019. It was also be the brand's first PPV event held following its restructuring as NXT 2.0 in September.
==Production==
===Background===
From 2017 to 2020, WWE's NXT brand held an annual subseries of events under the TakeOver series titled WarGames, based around the WarGames match originally used in the National Wrestling Alliance and later, World Championship Wrestling, which WWE acquired in 2001. In September 2021, the NXT brand went through a restructuring, being rebranded as "NXT 2.0", reverting, in part, to a developmental territory for WWE. In October, it was speculated that the company may end the TakeOver series as another TakeOver event was not scheduled for 2021 after August's TakeOver 36. On November 9, 2021, NXT's fifth WarGames event was announced to be held on December 5, 2021, at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The announcement confirmed that the event would not be a TakeOver event, thus marking NXT's first non-TakeOver event to air on pay-per-view and the WWE Network following TakeOver's discontinuation, as well as the first non-TakeOver to air on either of these broadcast outlets since Arrival in February 2014.
===Storylines===
The card included matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters to build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines are produced on their weekly television program, NXT 2.0.
==Event==
Raquel Gonzalez, Io Shirai, Cora Jade and Kay Lee Ray took an important step toward cleansing the brand of Toxic Attraction when they overcame NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose, NXT Women’s Tag  Team Champion Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne and Dakota Kai inside WarGames.
Kay Lee Ray stepped into the pair of unforgiving steel cages first with a bat in hand and Dakota Kai with several Kendo sticks. In a brutal back and forth that followed, both Superstars suffered the effects of the foreign objects, as their respective partners stood locked in cages to await their chance to join the action. Cora Jade entered next with skateboard in hand to put Kai on the wrong side of a two-on-one disadvantage.
Things turned toxic when Gigi Dolin then joined the fray with a metal trash can and completely turned the tide of the action. Io Shirai was the next to enter with a bunch of steel chairs and two more trash cans, but a vicious assault by Kai and Dolin kept the advantages dispute the odds.
A misdirection around the time Jacy Jayne joined the fray allowed Shirai to turn the tides thought and soon Jade leaped off the top of the cage onto Jayne and through a table. The move hurt Jade’s shoulder big time, though, but "Dr." Shirai popped it back into palce so she could keep going despite the pain.
Raquel Gonzalez then brought more steel cans, chairs and a shovel into the ring.When her opponents tried to keep her out of the cage, Gonzalez hit them with a fire extinguisher to get in and then put Kai in a trash can and spun her in a dizzy frenzy. Rachel then dropped her other opponents from the side of the cage with a double powerslam before again putting Kai in the trash can so Shirai flipped off the top rope and onto the steel.
With a one-armed Jade fighting with her shoulder in unbearable pain, Mandy Rose finally entered the action and the match officially began, with all the weapons playing a brutal role in the action that followed. 
Then in the final moments, it was the injured Jade that scored the startling win on the Jayne after Gonzalez's Chingona Bomb.
Imperium moved one step closer to purifying the squared circle when they successfully defended their sacred ring against the formidable tandem of Kyle O’Reilly & Von Wagner in a hard-fought NXT Tag Team Titles Match at NXT WarGames.
The explosive effects of Wagner & O’Reilly both inside and outside the ring provided an incredible challenge from start to finish, but the tag team precision of Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel ultimately proved the be the difference.
Although Aichner took out Wagner outside the ring in the final moments of the action, O’Reilly locked in a painful submission to try and counter. Nevertheless, Aichner still had the strength to lift Kyle into the air and move him to his own corner. Barthel then tagged himself in and laid out O’Reilly with the Imperium Bomb for the victory.
In the aftermath, Kyle O’Reilly soaked in the cheers from the NXT Universe and dodged a sneak attack from Von Wagner that seemed to bring an unceremonious end to their partnership.
At NXT WarGames, Cameron Grimes climbed his way out of a very "hairy" situation to overcome the aggressive Duke Hudson in a high-stakes Hair vs. Hair Match.
Typical of a master poker player, Duke played a calculated game from the start, as he set out to punish and humiliate Grimes. Despite Cameron’s resilience, Hudson continuously applied the pressure that ran the table with a very effective arsenal.  
Grimes soon battled back, though, and put his cards on the table with several near falls. When it looked like Duke might be ready to take the pot with Razor’s Edge, Grimes managed to escape and sent his foe into the turnbuckle, before picking up the pin with a hand full of trunks.
In the aftermath, Duke attacked Grimes and tried to cut off his hair anyway. Grimes, however, hit the big boot and proved to have the winning hand when he began clipping away his defeated opponent’s hair!
Malcolm Bivens may have cast aside the weight limit for the Cruiserweight Title Match at NXT WarGames, but Roderick Strong ultimately hit the heaviest blow of the night to overcome a very game Joe Gacy and added to the prestige of Diamond Mine.
Gacy brought his full weight to bear and took a great deal out of the champion throughout the contest. Gacy put his equal opportunity mantra on display with a high-flying splash that bowled over nearly the entire Diamond Mine on the outside. As Harland attempted to enter the fray, Gacy calmed the menacing Superstar and lured him away from Ivy Nile
Despite Gacy's commendable fight to make the ring a safe space, Strong managed to stay one step ahead and hit a smashing backbreaker across the spine to pick up the win.
==Match Preview==
Team Raquel vs. Team Dakota 	Preview
Imperium vs. Kyle O'Reilly & Von Wagner	Preview
Duke Hudson vs. Cameron Grimes 	Preview
Roderick Strong vs. Joe Gacy 	Preview
WarGames match 	Preview
==Results==
;
;
*Raquel González, Cora Jade, Io Shirai & Kay Lee Ray defeated Dakota Kai, Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne in a WarGames match (31:23)
*Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) (c) defeated Kyle O'Reilly & Von Wagner to retain the NXT Tag Team Championship (14:54)
*Cameron Grimes defeated Duke Hudson in a Hair vs. Hair Match (10:24)
*Roderick Strong (c) (w/ Brutus Creed, Hachiman, Ivy Nile, Julius Creed & Malcolm Bivens) defeated Joe Gacy (w/ Harland) for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship (8:27)
*Team 2.0 (Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Tony D'Angelo & Grayson Waller) defeated Team Black & Gold (Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne & LA Knight) in a WarGames match (38:13)
==Other on-screen talent==
;Commentators
*Vic Joseph
*Beth Phoenix
*Wade Barrett
*Carlos Cabrera 
*Marcelo Rodríguez 
;Pre-show Panel
*Sam Roberts
*McKenzie Mitchell
*Denise Salcedo
;Interviewers
*McKenzie Mitchell	
;Ring announcer
*Alicia Taylor
;Referees
*Darryl Sharma
*Dallas Irvin
*Daphne Lashaunn
*Derek Sanders
*Blair Baldwin
*Felix Fernandez
==See also ==
*List of NXT pay-per-view events
==External links==
* WarGames 2021 at WWE.com
* WarGames 2021 Pre-Show on WWE Network
* WarGames 2021 on WWE Network
* WarGames 2021 at CAGEMATCH.net
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events
Category:2021 NXT pay-per-view events
Category:NXT Takeover
Category:2021 events
Category:events with Hair vs Hair Matches