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NXT TakeOver: WarGames (2019): Two Cage Matches, Two Defining Performances

The factual record, historical context, match-by-match analysis, and WrestleFile verdict.

WWE/NXTNovember 23, 2019Allstate Arena
THE WRESTLEGRADEA9.2 / 10FINAL EVENT SCOREMASTER FILE RANK#31OF 1015
PROMOTION
WWE NXT
DATE
November 23, 2019
VENUE
Allstate Arena
LOCATION
Rosemont, Illinois
ATTENDANCE
10,500
EVENT TYPE
PPV
THE FILE

NXT TakeOver: WarGames 2019 is a compact, violent and unusually consequential TakeOver built around two WarGames matches that both justify the gimmick. The first women's WarGames creates a star-making Rhea Ripley performance and a memorable Dakota Kai heel turn, while the men's main event delivers Kevin Owens' surprise return, Keith Lee's breakout presence and Tommaso Ciampa's spectacular finish on Adam Cole. Between them, Finn Bálor and Matt Riddle produce an excellent singles match and Pete Dunne survives a very good three-way contender bout.

Read the Full FileContinue the event-level analysis

There is no dead match on the main card. The final A / 9. 2 lands there because the two anchors are also historically and directionally important, but it stops short of A territory because two WarGames matches on one night create some repetition and the middle triple threat is merely very good.

Event ContextBackground, stakes & historical setting

NXT TakeOver: WarGames 2019 took place on November 23 at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, before an announced crowd of 10,500. It was the twenty-seventh NXT TakeOver and the third annual NXT WarGames event, staged on the eve of Survivor Series. The show was also the first TakeOver after NXT had been positioned alongside Raw and SmackDown as one of WWE's three main brands.

Five matches were held across the event, with Angel Garza against Isaiah 'Swerve' Scott taking place on the Pre-Show. The four-match main card opened with the first-ever women's WarGames match, followed by Pete Dunne against Damian Priest and Killian Dain for an NXT Championship opportunity at Survivor Series, Finn Bálor against Matt Riddle, and the men's WarGames main event between Team Ciampa and The Undisputed Era. The NXT Championship itself was not defended.

The event's place on Survivor Series weekend matters because NXT was about to compete directly with Raw and SmackDown the following night. WarGames therefore functions both as its own TakeOver and as a statement of the brand's depth before the interbrand pay-per-view. The two cage matches, the surprise Kevin Owens appearance and the Rhea Ripley showcase all strengthen that message.

VIEWING GUIDE

Watch, Skim or Skip?

WATCH
  • Team Ripley vs. Team Baszler — Women's WarGames
  • Pete Dunne vs. Damian Priest vs. Killian Dain — NXT Championship No. 1 Contender
  • Finn Bálor vs. Matt Riddle
  • Team Ciampa vs. The Undisputed Era — Men's WarGames
SKIM
  • No main-card match — the four-match card is compact enough to watch in full.
SKIP
  • No main-card match — every completed TakeOver match contributes meaningful wrestling or storyline movement.
MATCH-BY-MATCH ANALYSIS

The Card, On the Record

01Team Ripley def. Team Baszler — Women's WarGamesA

The first women's WarGames match immediately justifies the experiment because the structure is not treated as a ceremonial milestone; it is used to advance multiple stories at once. Rhea Ripley and Candice LeRae are forced into a two-on-four disadvantage after Dakota Kai turns on Tegan Nox before entering, creating a dramatic central problem rather than a routine numbers sequence. Io Shirai, Bianca Belair and Kay Lee Ray fill the match with high-risk offense, while Shayna Baszler keeps the opposing side organized around control and punishment. The finish is excellent: Ripley handcuffs herself to Baszler and hits Riptide through chairs for the pin. The match makes Ripley feel like a future centerpiece and turns Kai's betrayal into one of the night's defining images.

VERDICT

A historic first women's WarGames match that succeeds because the booking, heel turn and Rhea Ripley payoff all matter beyond the novelty.

02Pete Dunne def. Damian Priest and Killian Dain — NXT Championship No. 1 ContenderB+

Dunne, Priest and Dain give the card a useful change of pace after the opening cage spectacle, leaning on physicality and three-way timing rather than trying to match WarGames for scale. Dain supplies the mass, Priest provides range and athletic bursts, and Dunne works as the technician who can turn almost any scramble into a submission threat. The match occasionally feels long for its position, but the offense stays purposeful because the winner earns an NXT Championship match against Adam Cole at Survivor Series the next night. Dunne steals the decisive pin after Dain crashes onto Priest while trapped in a hold, sending Dunne to the title match. It is a very good triple threat that keeps the show from becoming a one-gimmick card.

VERDICT

A very good three-way contender match that gives the show variety and sets up the next night's NXT Championship challenge.

03Finn Bálor def. Matt RiddleA-

Bálor and Riddle are given just over fourteen minutes and use the time well, avoiding the temptation to overbuild a match that already has enough intensity from Bálor's recent character shift. Riddle's striking and explosive transitions force Bálor to wrestle with urgency, while Bálor's control and timing give the bout a sharper edge than a simple showcase. The action escalates quickly without becoming rushed, and the finish is decisive when Bálor lands 1916 for the clean victory. That result matters because it reinforces Bálor as a serious threat after his return to NXT while keeping Riddle competitive throughout. It is the night's best non-WarGames match and one of the card's easiest recommendations.

VERDICT

A sharp, compact singles match that reinforces Finn Bálor's renewed edge without sacrificing Matt Riddle's credibility.

04Team Ciampa def. The Undisputed Era — Men's WarGamesA+

The men's WarGames main event is deliberately excessive, but it earns most of that excess because the match is built around escalating surprise, violence and star-making moments rather than random weapons. Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic look enormous whenever they enter, The Undisputed Era use the numbers advantage with precision, and Kevin Owens' reveal as Team Ciampa's mystery partner gives the match an immediate emotional spike. The closing stretch is packed with memorable set pieces, including Owens' frog splash through a table, Lee's super Spirit Bomb and Adam Cole's Panama Sunrise on the steel platform. The final image is the one that lasts: Tommaso Ciampa drives Cole from the top of the cage through two tables with an Air Raid Crash for the pin. It is one of NXT's most spectacular WarGames matches and a fitting main event for the night.

VERDICT

An outstanding WarGames main event powered by Kevin Owens' surprise return, Keith Lee's breakout presence and an unforgettable Ciampa-Cole finish.

BOOKING VERDICTA

The women's WarGames booking is the sharpest piece of storytelling on the show. Mia Yim is removed before the match, Dakota Kai becomes the replacement and then turns on Tegan Nox before entering, leaving Ripley and LeRae at a massive disadvantage. Rhea still pins Shayna Baszler, which turns the apparent handicap into a star-making victory instead of a cheap surprise.

The middle matches are similarly decisive. Dunne earns the Survivor Series title shot, and Bálor beats Riddle cleanly with 1916, reinforcing his new direction without relying on interference. Both results create movement for the next stage of NXT television rather than simply filling time between cage matches.

The men's WarGames match combines spectacle with multiple pieces of future direction. Kevin Owens is revealed as the mystery partner, Keith Lee looks like a breakout heavyweight, and Ciampa pins Adam Cole after the cage-top Air Raid Crash. That finish keeps the NXT Championship story alive while giving the live audience a conclusive, unforgettable ending.

CROWD & PRESENTATIONA

The Allstate Arena crowd understands NXT's rhythms well enough that the show rarely needs to manufacture urgency. The first women's WarGames gets immediate investment, and Dakota Kai's turn changes the emotional temperature of the match before the audience has time to settle into a predictable numbers sequence. That reaction helps Rhea Ripley's comeback feel larger than the stipulation itself.

The card also benefits from being short. With only four main-card matches, the event avoids the fatigue that can come with multiple long gimmick bouts on a larger WWE show. Dunne-Priest-Dain and Bálor-Riddle provide stylistic separation between the cages, which keeps the second WarGames match from feeling like a simple repeat of the opener.

The men's main event is the production peak. Kevin Owens' entrance creates a huge surprise reaction, Keith Lee's power spots look enormous inside the cage and the final fall through the tables gives the show a definitive visual endpoint. For a TakeOver built around spectacle, the presentation remains focused enough that the wrestlers still feel more important than the set.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCEB+

The event's biggest historical first is the inaugural women's WarGames match. It proves the stipulation can support the women's division without changing the format into a novelty, and Rhea Ripley's victory becomes one of the defining steps in her rise within NXT. Dakota Kai's betrayal of Tegan Nox also launches a feud that continues well beyond this night.

WarGames 2019 is also important to NXT's brief period as a third main WWE brand. The show takes place one night before NXT competes with Raw and SmackDown at Survivor Series, and several performers from this card immediately become central to that interbrand event. The weekend helps elevate Keith Lee, Rhea Ripley and others beyond the normal boundaries of NXT programming.

The event later won NXT TakeOver of the Year, which fits its reputation as one of the stronger TakeOvers from the USA Network era. Kevin Owens' surprise return, the first women's WarGames and the two high-level cage matches give the card several lasting hooks. Its historical value is substantial without needing to inflate an already excellent wrestling grade.

WHAT AGED WELL
  • The first women's WarGames match remains a major milestone and a star-making night for Rhea Ripley.
  • Dakota Kai's heel turn is still one of the most memorable story beats from the 2019 NXT run.
  • Finn Bálor versus Matt Riddle remains an excellent compact singles match.
  • Kevin Owens' surprise appearance gives the men's WarGames match a huge emotional lift.
  • Keith Lee's performance still reads as part of the weekend that elevated him toward a much larger audience.
WHAT AGED POORLY
  • Two WarGames matches on one card create some unavoidable structural repetition.
  • The men's main event leans heavily into increasingly elaborate table spots and spectacle.
  • The NXT Championship is not defended on a TakeOver card centered so heavily around championship-level stars.
  • The event sits within a very brief period when WWE treated NXT as a third main brand, making some of its broader positioning feel temporary in hindsight.
RESEARCH VERDICTWhere the Evidence Lands

The research consensus is strongly positive. TJR Wrestling scored the show 8.5 out of 10, Daily DDT graded the event at four-and-a-half stars, 411Mania reviewers landed around 8 out of 10, and multiple outlets praised both WarGames matches while identifying little or nothing actively bad on the card. Cagematch's 7.94 event average is slightly cooler but still clearly positive.

That figure is driven by a pair of elite cage matches and an excellent Bálor-Riddle bout, while the triple threat keeps the floor high. Unlike some anchor-heavy events, WarGames 2019 does not need one masterpiece to rescue weak material because the entire main card is good to outstanding.

The final A / 9.2 reflects a consistently strong card whose historical firsts and major moments add context rather than rescue weak wrestling. The final WrestleGrade also reflects the historical first of the women's WarGames match, the star-making Rhea Ripley performance, Kevin Owens' surprise and the main event's finish without double-counting those qualities. The score remains below 9.0 because the show is excellent rather than transcendent and because the duplication of the WarGames structure slightly lowers the complete-card ceiling.

RESEARCH SOURCESSources & Methodology
18 sources

These sources support the event record, historical context, critical reception, and streaming information used throughout this Event File.

  1. TJR WrestlingFull-event review and overall grade
  2. Daily DDTResults, highlights and event grading
  3. GameRantLive results and review of both WarGames matches
  4. Bleacher ReportFull-event results, grades and reaction
  5. Bleacher ReportMatch star-rating analysis
  6. Cageside SeatsEvent recap and reaction
  7. Cageside SeatsMatch-of-the-night community reaction
  8. FanBuzzMatch-by-match reaction and grades
  9. SportskeedaBest-and-worst event analysis
  10. FightfulSean Ross Sapp match ratings
  11. RDB ReviewsFull-event retrospective
  12. FOX SportsOfficial-style event results and WarGames context
  13. CagematchEvent rating, card, date and venue cross-check
  14. ProFightDBEvent results and historical match-rating cross-check
  15. POST WrestlingLive event report from Allstate Arena
  16. Smark Out MomentPost-show review and full-card discussion
  17. TJR WrestlingRetrospective ranking of NXT WarGames matches
  18. WWETakeOver of the Year recognition
WHERE TO WATCH

Stream This Event

Checked August 21, 2026STATUS
No confirmed full-event stream

The linked YouTube video was not treated as confirmed full-event availability for NXT TakeOver: WarGames 2019.

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