NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day

**NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day** was the first annual **Vengeance Day** pay-per-view and the twenty-ninth episode of **WWE 2K22 Universe Mode**. The pay-per-view, split into two parts, was released on September 30th and October 1st, 2023. **Vengeance Day** was the first **Takeover** event in Universe Mode history, and also was the only Takeover event to be held in **WWE 2K22**.

## NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day

Poster for the event, featuring Tommaso Ciampa

#### Production

Vengeance Day was announced on the first episode on NXT in April 2022, with production beginning on the event a year later in early June 2023, with recording of the matches finishing up a week later. The backstage segments seen throughout the show were, however, not finished until September 2023. In that period, commentary from **Icon G** would be continuously delayed, something later explained as "stuff coming up". Commentary for the event finished up in September 2023, and the pay-per-view itself would be completed not far long after.

The pay-per-view was originally supposed to air on September 23rd and 24th, 2023. However, the event was pushed back as so not to coincide with fellow Universe Mode content creator, Crater's SummerSlam pay-per-view taking place on September 23rd, with the reasoning for the pushing back, explained by Ceasar in a community post, was because "that pay-per-view is going to be so long, and it's going to take so much out of me that I'm not even going to want to have to watch another premiere..."

#### Storylines

On the first episode of NXT, NXT Champion, Tommaso Ciampa laid out an open invitation to see who would be his next challenger for the NXT Championship, a call that was answered by Johnny Gargano, Cameron Grimes, Kyle O'Reilly and Pete Dunne, who all staked their claims to the championship. To remedy the situation, NXT General Manager, William Regal put together a four-man tournament with the winner facing Ciampa for the NXT Championship at Vengeance Day. The following week, Grimes defeated Dunne in the first semi-final match, while Gargano would defeat O'Reilly on the following episdoe. At New Year's Evil, Grimes would defeat Johnny Gargano in the tournament finals to set up his championship showdown with Ciampa at Vengeance Day. The following week, Ciampa would question whether or not Grimes was ready for the main event of Takeover and saying that he didn't have any "killer instinct", to which Grimes responded by hitting Ciampa with a knee in the face, setting off multiple weeks of back-and-forth attacks between the two leading up to Vengeance Day, with a notable brawl occuring on the go-home episode of NXT that saw their brawl be separated by William Regal.

After losing his NXT North American Championship to Santos Escobar at New Year's Evil, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott issued a challenge for a rematch against the current champion which Escobar accepted, however, on the conditions of the rematch being held under best two-out-of-three falls rules, a staple of lucha libre. Scott would accept, setting up the rematch for Vengeance Day.

On the first episode of NXT, NXT UK Women's Champion, Kay Lee Ray attacked NXT Women's Champion, Io Shirai after a tag team match loss, and set her sights upon taking the championship from her former friend, a challenge that the champion quickly accepted. The rivalry would quickly intensify between the two; with Shirai unleashing a kendo stick assault on Kay Lee Ray in the weeks leading up to their match. During the contract signing for their match, Kay Lee Ray would attack Shirai with the table, before Shirai took control of the brawl and sent Lee Ray fleeing. On the go-home episode of NXT, Kay Lee Ray would attack Io Shirai in the parking lot.

On an episode of NXT, Kyle O'Reilly explained his intentions to depart NXT, seeing as that he wasn't sure if he deserved to be there anymore following the repeated losses he had sustained. He would be interrupted by LA Knight, who's constant bashing of O'Reilly ending up with O'Reilly accepting Knight's challenge for a match at Vengeance Day by hitting Knight with a brainbuster, setting up O'Reilly's final match in NXT. Knight would then attack O'Reilly during his match against Cameron Grimes the following week, after which, O'Reilly would attack Knight backstage in a brawl separated by William Regal. This ultimately led to Knight requesting and receiving a no-contact clause in which O'Reilly could not touch him before their match at Vengeance Day, a stipulation that Knight abused in the two weeks before Vengeance Day as the agreement never said Knight couldn't touch O'Reilly, first attacking O'Reilly with a Low Blow and a BFT, and then, on the go-home episode of NXT, as O'Reilly was giving his farewell address backstage, Knight would hit him with a BFT.

The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic began on the third episode of NXT, with Legado Del Fantasma's Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza defeating Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch. The following week at New Year's Evil, Moustache Mountain would defeat Roderick Strong and KUSHIDA, setting up the finals of the tournament the following week in which Legado Del Fantasma won, setting up a match at Vengeance Day against reigning NXT Tag Team Champions, Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aicher of Imperium.

After KUSHIDA's run of dominance throughout the Cruiserweight division, NXT Cruiserweight Champion, Roderick Strong attempted to recruit KUSHIDA into the Diamond Mine by entering him and KUSHIDA into the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic behind KUSHIDA's back. Although initially hesitant, KUSHIDA decided to give the team a try. However, in their semi-finals match at New Year's Evil, Strong was incredibly controlling of KUSHIDA, something that ultimately cost them their match against Moustache Mountain. After Strong's championship defense against Tyler Bate, KUSHIDA returned and attacked Strong, setting his sights on the Cruiserweight Championship with a match for Vengeance Day being made official as a result.