WWE 2K22 Universe Mode - Episode 8: Survival Of The Fittest

"**Survival Of The Fittest**" was the eighth episode of **WWE 2K22 Universe Mode**. The episode, released in two parts, was released on August 11, 2022. It was the third episode of NXT and the final episode before the New Year's Evil special episode the following week. The episode featured the continuation of the NXT Championship Number 1 Contendership Tournament, with the main event featuring the second match in the tournament and final semi-final match as Johnny Gargano defeated Kyle O'Reilly. Also, the episode saw the beginning of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament as Legado Del Fantasma's Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza defeat Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch in a semi-final match.

## Survival Of The Fittest

#### Synopsis

To kick off the episode, Cameron Grimes attempted to speak to the WWE Universe, only to be attacked by the man who he beat the previous week in the NXT Championship Number 1 Contendership Tournament, Pete Dunne, who threw Grimes into the steel steps. Dunne challenged Grimes to a rematch from last week. Backstage, William Regalannounced the participants in the [[ Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza from Legado Del Fantasma, Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan, Roderick Strong and KUSHIDA and the NXT UK Tag Team Champions, Moustache Mountain.

In the opening match, the NXT Cruiserweight Champion, Roderick Strong defeated Wes Lee in a non-title match after hitting the End of Heartache. After the match, Strong would attack Wes Lee, prompting KUSHIDA to come out and save him. The next match was the first in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic as Legado Del Fantasma defeated Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan after Mendoza hit a Pumphandle Driver on Lorcan.

The following match saw Cameron Grimes take on Pete Dunne in a rematch from the previous week on NXT, hitting a Small Package Driver to Dunne to win. Io Shirai then came down to the ring to address her challenge to Kay Lee Ray at Takeover: Vengeance Day, only to be interrupted by Candice LeRae and Dakota Kai, who challenged Shirai to a triple threat match at New Year's Evil, which Shirai accepted.

The next match saw NXT Champion, Tommaso Ciampa defeated Timothy Thatcher in a non-title match with the Fairytale Ending. Following that, Santos Escobar and Isaiah "Swerve" Scott met face-to-face in the ring before their match at New Year's Evil. Their confrontation ended with it descending into chaos, with Escobar taking out Swerve with a suicide dive, and picking up the championship.

The main event saw the second match of the NXT Championship number #1 contendership tournament and the final semi-final match as Johnny Gargano took on Kyle O'Reilly. The match ended with Gargano tapping O'Reilly out to the Garga-No Escape. After the match, Gargano attacked O'Reilly, only for Cameron Grimes to come to O'Reilly's rescue, hitting Gargano with the flying forearm, before tossing him into the ring for O'Reilly to hit him with a suplex. The episode ended with Grimes standing tall at ringside.

#### Results

 **2** | **Legado Del Fantasma** (Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza) defeated Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch by pinfall
This match was a semi-final match in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic
 **3** | Cameron Grimes defeated Pete Dunne by pinfall
 **4** | Tommaso Ciampa defeated Timothy Thatcher by pinfall
 **5** | Johnny Gargano defeated Kyle O'Reilly by submission
This match was a semi-final match in the NXT Championship number #1 contendership tournament