WWE NXT Report – 12/7/2021

Dec 7, 2021 - by Staff

– The post-WarGames edition of WWE NXT 2.0 opens up on the USA Network with a video package of highlights from Sunday’s WarGames event. We’re live from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida as Vic Joseph welcomes us. He’s joined at ringside by Wade Barrett. This is their first night without WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix, who has moved on to spend more time with her kids and her husband, WWE Hall of Famer Edge.

Steel Cage Match: Von Wagner vs. Kyle O’Reilly

We go right to the ring and out comes Von Wagner to boos. Kyle O’Reilly suddenly attacks from behind as fans go wild. O’Reilly beats Wagner around the ringside, and into the Steel Cage. The cage door is locked and the bell rings. O’Reilly unloads in the corner with kicks. Kyle charges again but Wagner levels him with a strike. Fans boo Wagner.

Wagner rams Kyle into the corner and beats him down. Wagner keeps control until Kyle ties his arm up and works him over. Kyle goes for the arm again but Wagner turns it into a back suplex in the middle of the ring. Fans boo louder. Kyle dodges a diving headbutt, then grounds Wagner with a knee to the back, and more strikes and more knees into the ribs. Kyle with two more big charging knees to keep Wagner down.

Kyle grabs at Wagner’s face a bit and man-handles him some but Wagner fights up and out, leveling O’Reilly again and pounding him to keep him down. Fans chant “you suck!” at Wagner now. Wagner with another big slam as “you still suck!” chants go on. Wagner keeps O’Reilly down with boots. More back and forth now but Wagner overpowers and keeps control. Wagner with a slam in the middle of the ring and the headbutt. Fans rally for Kyle now as Wagner grounds him on the mat. O’Reilly starts to fade but fans continue chanting his name and rallying.

Wagner rolls Kyle over for 2 but continues holding him on the mat. Kyle fades some more as the referee checks on him. O’Reilly finally fights to his feet but Wagner is still on his back. O’Reilly finally breaks the grip with back elbows. O’Reilly with kicks now. Wagner ends up lifting Kyle for a powerbomb, holding him there and ramming him into the steel wall, then going for the powerbomb to the mat but O’Reilly turns it into a DDT. We go to a picture-in-picture commercial break.

We see more back & forth action during the break. Wagner levels O’Reilly with an elbow for a 2 count. Wagner grounds O’Reilly some more. Back from the break and O’Reilly shows some frustration, then begins to mount offense. Wagner headbutts him. Wagner charges but Kyle moves and sends him into the steel wall of the cage. O’Reilly with big knee strikes and forearms now, sending Wagner to his knees. Kyle follows up with a running knee strike.

Fans chant to rally for O’Reilly now. He traps Wagner in between the ropes and the steel, then keeps charging in with forearms. Kyle climbs up but comes back down and applies the Guillotine, bringing Wagner back to the mat from in between the steel and the ropes. Wagner powers up and breaks the Guillotine with a big suplex in the middle of the ring. Fans chant “you still suck!” again. Wagner levels Kyle with a high knee for a 2 count. Fans rally for O’Reilly again as he nails a chop block from behind to bring Wagner back down. O’Reilly with more offense to keep Wagner down.

O’Reilly goes to the top to a “Kyle!” chant but Wagner jumps up and walks out on the top rope with O’Reilly. They trade strikes on the top rope. Wagner sends O’Reilly face-first into the steel but O’Reilly knocks him to the mat. O’Reilly follows up with a flying elbow drop for a close 2 count. O’Reilly grabs Wagner but Wagner connects with a low blow right in front of the referee.

Fans boo the legal low blow. Wagner launches O’Reilly into the steel a few times, then drives him into the mat in the middle of the cage with a big slam. Wagner covers for the pin to win.

Winner: Von Wagner

– After the match, Wagner stands tall as his music hits. The crowd has been silenced in disappointment. We go to replays. Wagner makes his exit as the referee checks on O’Reilly. Wagner comes back over and takes O’Reilly to the top turnbuckle as fans boo. Wagner turns O’Reilly upside down from the turnbuckle and taunts him. Wagner then slams the cage door in O’Reilly’s face while he hangs upside down, and again. Fans boo as officials try to get Wagner to leave. He comes back over to the cage door and smashes it in O’Reilly’s face one more time. Fans chant “you still suck!” now.

– The announcers show us how Johnny Gargano gave an emotional speech to the crowd after WarGames, promising to explain everything on tonight’s show. Vic says Gargano will address his NXT future later tonight.

– We see Bron Breakker walking backstage. Back to commercial.

– Joe Gacy is backstage somewhere with Harland standing right behind him. Gacy says the outcome of the WarGames match with NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong was not as important as their bigger vision because what they did is more important than the title. He says they ended years of division, broke down barriers, and he’s currently working on changing the name of a show that promotes such exclusivity, apparently WWE 205 Live. He goes on about how Harland has dealt with discrimination and has been misjudged his whole life, but people don’t consider the size of his heart. Gacy says he accepts Harland and next week, he will make his official in-ring debut and it’s only a matter of time before everyone accepts Harland also. Harland places his hand on Gacy’s shoulder and Gacy says together we can change the world.

– We go back to he ring and out comes Bron Breakker to a pop. Fans chant “Breakker!” as he takes the mic. Bron says two teams went to war at WarGames and he can honestly say Team Black & Gold is as tough as nails. They laid the foundation for today’s NXT and he has nothing but respect for them. Bron says he and NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa are 1-1 as Ciampa beat him at Halloween Havoc, and he beat Ciampa at WarGames. Breakker issues a challenge for the title, one more time.

The music interrupts and out comes The Diamond Mine – Malcolm Bivens, Hachiman, The Creed Brothers, Ivy Nile, but no sign of NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong. Bivens says before The Creed Brothers come destroy Briggs and Jensen, he wanted to come out and congratulate Breakker. He says Bron is the real deal but not the only one who had a strong night at WarGames. He says Strong has wiped the cruiserweight division clean, and now the weight limit has been lifted, so he’s looking for more. Bron tells Bivens to get to the point before he throws his ass in the front row. Bivens says The Creeds won’t let that happen. Bivens says Bron forgot to acknowledge how Strong gave Team Black & Gold the blueprint to laying the foundation he mentioned earlier.

Bivens says Strong now has his sights set on Breakker. Breakker asks where Strong is, he doesn’t see him. Bivens says don’t worry about it because Strong will return next week and he will destroy Breakker. Bivens asks if Bron accepts the challenge. Bron accepts and says he doesn’t care who he has to run through to get back to Ciampa. Bron drops the mic and steps through The Diamond Mine, saying he will see them next week. Bron makes his exit as the music hits.

The Creed Brothers vs. Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs

The music hits as Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen hit the ring. The Creed Brothers, Julius Creed and Brutus Creed, get ready in the ring. We go to commercial.

Back from the break and we get a video package hyping the reveal of MSK’s “The Shaman” later tonight. We go back to the ring and The Grizzled Young Veterans are on commentary. Before Brutus can lock up with Jensen, the music interrupts and NXT Tag Team Champions Imperium appear up on the platform above the crowd. Fans sing their theme song as the action begins in the ring. Brutus unloads on Jensen and they trade offense. Briggs gets the upperhand and takes Brutus to the corner with right hands as the referee warns him.

Jensen with a stiff elbow to the back for a 2 count. Briggs tags in for a double team shoulder block to Brutus as Imperium looks on. Brutus uppercuts Briggs to stun him. Julius tags in but Briggs unloads with power strikes. Briggs blocks a shot, clubs Julius again, and nails a big one-arm slam, then a big splash for a pop.

Julius rocks Jensen as he comes in and in comes Brutus with an overhead throw, then an elbow drop. Brutus works Jensen over and in comes Julius for another double team. Julius slaps Jensen around now, talking some trash. Julius with a powerslam. Brutus tags back in and rocks Jensen, then they deliver another double team. Brutus ends up sending Jensen over the top rope to the floor with a clothesline. Julius follows with a big suplex on the floor.

The Grizzled Young Veterans hit the apron to remove the tag rope while the referee and others are distracted. Brutus brings Jensen back in for a 2 count. Julius tags back in and applies a Stretch Muffler to Jensen. Jensen kicks his way free but Julius slams him. Jensen kicks Julius away and they both go down after swinging big right hands.

Briggs rallies from the apron, but sees that there’s no tag rope. He goes to tag but the referee stops him due to the missing tag rope. Briggs sees James Drake and Zack Gibson standing on the announce table with the tag rope. Jensen tangles with Brutus and ends up rolling him for the pin to get the shocker win.

Winners: Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs

– After the match, GYV are disappointed at ringside as The Creed Brothers seethe at them. Jensen and Briggs make their exit while celebrating.

– McKenzie Mitchell is backstage with Von Wagner. She mentions how they’re waiting for a medical update on Kyle O’Reilly. Von asks what did we think would happen? Von says WarGames is over, Kyle is over, but his War Games have just begun. Von walks off and Robert Stone walks up but McKenzie sends it back to the announcers.

– Still to come, the new Duke Hudson is here. Back to commercial.

– Back from the break and Xyon Quinn is backstage warming up. He sends a warning to Santos Escobar ahead of tonight’s match.

– We go back to the ring and out comes Duke Hudson with a really bad looking blonde wig on. Duke says if the last 48 hours have taught him anything, it’s that you should not believe everything you read on the internet. He’s seen articles saying Cameron Grimes shaved him bald at WarGames, but here he is with a head full of hair. He says maybe Grimes shaved a little bit off, but he fixed it and now here he is. Hudson goes on ripping into Grimes but the music interrupts and here he comes to a pop.

Grimes says he knew Duke would come out and do this, but he didn’t expect… this. We all saw how Grimes shaved Hudson bald at WarGames, but here he is denying it. Grimes says Duke put him through a table, cut his h air and even embarrassed him, but Grimes came out and stood here face-to-face like a man, but that’s because he can’t change the way he is, but Duke can’t handle losing. They have words and Grimes offers to have a No Holds Barred match. Duke accepts the challenge. They start brawling but Duke retreats to the floor. Grimes grabs the wig and tries to rip it off but Hudson gets away. Grimes stands tall in the ring as his music hits and fans cheer him on.

– Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen are backstage celebrating. Kushida and Ikemen Jiro walk in and congratulate them. The Grizzled Young Veterans show up and take credit for Briggs and Jensen’s win. They have words until Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro walk by and say a win is a win. They have two extra concert tickets for whoever wants them. Briggs and Jensen will take them. They leave right behind Carter and Catanzaro. A brawl breaks out between Jacket Time and GYV. We see Karen Q’s new character standing in the background, named Wendy Choo. This is the same new character seen laying on a couch last week during a segment with Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta. Wendy rises up behind a counter, and then apparently goes right back to sleep to end the segment.

NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes vs. Dexter Lumis

We go back to the ring and out comes NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes with Trick Williams for this non-title match. We see how they recently injured Dexter Lumis. Hayes and Trick stand tall in the ring as we go to commercial.

Back from the break and Grayson Waller is backstage talking with indie star Tesha Price, asking what she’s doing tonight. Price says she already has something going on, but Waller asks what could be more important. She’s already hanging out with someone else. Waller says he was in the WarGames main event, so couldn’t she push this other person back? Waller asks who could it be? She points to LA Knight, who is leaning against his red sports car. Knight taunts Waller while opening the passenger side door for Price. Knight drives off with as Waller seethes and apparently has something up his sleeve for payback tonight. We go back to the ring and out comes Lumis making his return from the recent beatdown at the hands of Hayes and Trick. The bell rings and Lumis catches Hayes, counters a move and rocks him with a big right hand.

Trick warns Lumis from ringside, and is bandaged up from the WarGames beatdown by Lumis. Hayes and Lumis tangle in the middle of the ring now. Hayes with a takedown for a quick pin attempt. Fans chant do dueling chants as Lumis stalks Hayes some. Hayes chops Lumis a few times and applies a headlock but Lumis launches him into the turnbuckles. Hayes is wearing a bandage around his ribs from the WarGames match, and Lumis rag-dolls him by using the bandage after sending him ribs-first into the turnbuckles.

Lumis slams Hayes again and stalks Trick some to prevent him from getting involved. Lumis goes to ringside and Trick hides behind the announcers. Hayes tries to take advantage but Lumis drops him as he approaches. The referee counts but Lumis comes back in at the 6 count. Lumis picks Hayes up and rams him across the ring into the corner, then delivers another few shoulder thrusts. Lumis sizes Hayes up and charges but Hayes moves. Hayes with a springboard clothesline from the second rope. Hayes with a 1 count. Hayes stomps on Lumis’ injured hand as fans do more dueling chants. Hayes takes Lumis down with an arm bar. Lumis tries to get free as Hayes works him over in the hold, focusing on the hand.

Fans rally for Lumis and he breaks free. Hayes with a knee to the gut. Hayes ducks a clothesline but Lumis nails a Thesz Press. Lumis with more offense as fans cheer him on. Lumis goes on and tosses Hayes to the floor. Lumis drops to his knees and slithers at Trick, who looks on from ringside. Lumis slides half way out of the ring but Hayes runs over out of nowhere and nails a big kick to the head. Lumis is laid out, hanging off the apron to the floor as we go to commercial with Hayes recovering.

Back from the break and Hayes is in control, continuing to focus on Lumis’ injured hand. Hayes grounds Lumis with a headlock in the middle of the ring now. Hayes with more offense in the corner now. Hayes launches Lumis from corner to corner as Trick cheers him on. Hayes stomps away in the corner now to keep Lumis down. Lumis terrifies Trick, then fights Hayes away but gets leveled by a big kick. Lumis finally drops Hayes to a big pop. Lumis mounts some offense now, nailing a clothesline in the corner and a bulldog. Lumis with a big back suplex for a close 2 count. Lumis stares Hayes down as he recovers on the mat. Lumis goes for the Silence but Hayes counters with a roll-up for 2. They tangle and Lumis applies another Silence but Trick breaks it up from ringside through the ropes, forcing the referee to call the match for the disqualification.

Winner by DQ: Dexter Lumis

– After the bell, Lumis grabs Trick from the ring and applies the Silence as the referee tries to separate them. Hayes makes the save and decks Lumis to get Trick free. Lumis stands tall in the ring as his music hits while Trick and Hayes look on from the entrance-way.

– Vic says Johnny Gargano is being given all the time he wants tonight, and he will speak from the heart.

– We go to a video for the reveal of “The Shaman” for MSK. It’s RAW Tag Team Champion Riddle, who has been waiting for them to knock on his door forever as he watches NXT every week. Nash Carter and Wes Lee are excited. Riddle puts on his shaman hat and they take a seat around some candles. Riddle asks what’s on their minds. They talk about thinking they’d be at the bottom of the totem pole when they came to NXT, but then they had all this success, so much so fast, and are now worried if they ave peaked. What happens when you accomplish your goals so fast, is this it for them? Riddle gives some encouragement and they wonder if NXT Tag Team Champions Imperium have their numbers, do they need to change? Riddle goes on with the words of encouragement, and says they need to be MSK all day and all night. They will climb to the top of the mountain again together, and Riddle will be there every step of the way. They’re surprised and ask if Riddle is leaving them and he says no. But what’s in the bag you brought, bros? Sharing is caring, Riddle says. The bag is opened and Riddle is impressed with what they have, and it’s possibly implied they have some weed there but we can’t see it. They all “Bro!” it out to end the segment.

– We go back to the announcers but they’re interrupted by NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose in the back. She tells Vic to shut up, and is joined by NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne. They start walking backstage and Rose says Dolin and Jayne have some business to take care of, like real women, not these girls in NXT with hand-me-downs and skateboards. Rose tells Vic to stop drooling, and Toxic Attraction keeps walking as we go to commercial.

– Persia Pirotta and Indi Hartwell are backstage. Persia asks Indi if she knew Dexter Lumis would be at WarGames, and she didn’t, but she’s so glad he’s back. Persia is glad also because now Indi can focus, get back on track and do what they did back in Australia as a tag team. Persia talks about finally getting here from Australia after the world opened back up, but as soon as she got here everything was all about the wedding and engagement. Persia needs Indi focused at 100%, focused on their team and winning the NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles, and to do that she needs to leave the love at home. Indi says she is committed to Lumis, but she’s also committed to this team. Lumis walks up and Indi jumps in his arms. Johnny Gargano also walks in and he’s happy to see the family back together. Persia isn’t thrilled.

NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne vs. Valentina Feroz and Yulisa Leon

We go back to the ring and waiting in the ring are Valentina Feroz and Yulisa Leon for this non-title match. The music hits and out comes Toxic Attraction – NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne with NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose. The champs hit the ring and stand tall as Rose watches from ringside.

Jayne starts off with Feroz and smacks her around. They go at it and Feroz takes control. Feroz with an early roll-up for 2 out of the corner. Leon tags in and takes Jayne to the mat, working on her arm. Dolin tags in and kicks Leon in the back as she runs the ropes. Fans chant for Dolin as she works on Leon. The champs keep control and in comes Jayne for another slam and pin attempt on Leon.

Jayne grounds Leon with a headlock in the middle of the ring. Leon powers up but Jayne fights off her shoulders. Leon puts Jayne back on her shoulders and delivers a big running DVD across the ring.

Dolin tags in as does Feroz. Feroz unloads and screams out to a pop. Feroz with a top rope crossbody but Dolin kicks out just in time. Feroz grabs Dolin from behind and rolls her up but Jayne tagged in. Jayne levels Feroz to save Dolin. Feroz with a big superkick to Feroz for the pin to win.

Winners: Toxic Attraction

– After the match, Rose enters the ring and takes the mic. She says this is how it’s done and here they stand even after WarGames, as the baddest bitches in town, still with all the gold. Rose knows everyone wants a shot at them, everyone is talking about them and honestly she can’t blame them because when you’re this damn good, it’s expected. Rose says they are not running from anyone, so if there’s anyone who wants an opportunity, please bring it on. Whether it’s little Cora Jade, or Io Shirai, or Raquel Gonzalez, Toxic Attraction will be waiting as they are still the attraction. The music interrupts and out comes Jade with her shoulder in a sling. Jade thanks Rose for talking about her again. Jade reminds Rose how she beat her two weeks ago. Rose says she got lucky. Jade also points at the WarGames win, and figured she’d come out and see if Rose wants to finish this face-to-face. Jade is on the apron now. Rose says Jade is not the one but if she wants to be embarrassed, she can get her little ass in the ring right now and they can settle it. The music interrupts and out comes Gonzalez with a steel chair. Gonzalez and Jade stand tall as fans cheer them on and the champs retreat.

– We get a new vignette on Tiffany Stratton. She says her daddy says she was a natural born athlete and he hired her a full time trainer when she said she wanted to do gymnastics. She says she dominated every competition, and was on Team USA but her daddy said she is too good for a team. Stratton deserves gold and what better than the NXT Women’s Title. Stratton will be “coming soon” to NXT.

– McKenzie is backstage with Tony D’Angelo now, asking about WarGames and Pete Dunne. He told us the money was on Team 2.0, and he was right. He says things might be personal between he and Dunne, but he got a little piece of memorabilia from Dunne during WarGames – his mouthpiece. Andre Chase walks up clapping. He congratulates D’Angleo but says if he would’ve listened to his plan before WarGames, then D’Angelo would’ve come out of WarGames as the star, not Grayson Waller. D’Angelo threatens Chase and tells him to meet him in the ring next week. D’Angelo walks off to deal with some appointments while Chase is running his mouth but they cut the segment on him mid-promo.

Santos Escobar vs. Xyon Quinn

We go back to the ring and out comes Legado del Fantasma – Santos Escobar with Elektra Lopez, Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza. Back to commercial.

Back from the break and Cora Jade is backstage with Raquel Gonzalez, thanking her for making the save earlier in the ring with Toxic Attraction. Jade says things have been crazy around here and if she gets a title shot, she could become the next NXT Women’s Champion. Gonzalez tells her to slow down because if anyone deserves to face Mandy Rose next, it’s her. Jade says but she’s never been champion and it would be crazy if she won, just imagine. Gonzalez laughs and tells her they’ve had a rough night, it’s time to relax. Kay Lee Ray walks up with her baseball bat. She hands the bat to Jade and says Jade might need it more than her after WarGames, trust her. Jade says OK but what will Ray use. Ray says she has plenty to use, don’t worry. KLR then walks off. We go back to the ring and out comes Xyon Quinn. Escobar and Quinn stare each other down as Alicia Taylor does the introductions. They both stare over at Lopez before going at it.

Escobar and Quinn lock up and trade offense, looking at Lopez again. Santos with a big chop in the corner. Santos charges but Quinn stands firm and Escobar falls to the mat. Quinn locks Escobar up and grinds him over the top rope. Quinn with a big elbow strike. Quinn keeps control and sends Escobar face-first into the turnbuckle. Lopez watches as Quinn works Escobar around the ring, taking his time. Quinn with another big right hand to the back of the head. Quinn beats Escobar down in another corner. The match continues to move at a slow pace with Quinn beating Escobar around. Quinn with a scoop slam.

Quinn goes to the apron but is distracted by Mendoza and Wilde, allowing Escobar to rock him to the floor. Escobar follows but Quinn sends him into the edge of the announce table. Quinn returns to the ring and stands tall as Escobar regroups with Wilde and Mendoza. Back to commercial.

Back from the break and Escobar has dominated during the break, focusing on the lower back and sending Quinn into the steel ring steps at ringside. Escobar with running double knees to the back in the corner. Escobar grounds Quinn by his arm now. Quinn powers out of the hold to his feet but Escobar puts him right back down. Quinn powers out again and unloads with strikes, then a headbutt. Quinn with a right hand and a running clothesline for a pop. Quinn launches Escobar across the ring out of the corner, then runs with a big shoulder thrust in the corner.

Fans boo and cheer as Quinn puts Escobar back down, then covers Escobar for a 2 count. Escobar gets a quick opening and turns it around. Escobar rallies in the corner and delivers double knees to send Quinn back to the corner. Quinn counters a move and slides out, nailing a forearm to the back. Quinn with a big slam in the middle of the ring. Lopez distracts Quinn but he stays on Escobar, ramming him back into the corner again. Quinn with more shoulder thrusts against the turnbuckles.

Quinn takes Escobar to the top turnbuckle and rocks him. Quinn climbs up for the superplex but Escobar fights back. They’re both standing on the top rope now, getting their balance. Escobar sends them both flying to the mat with a huge Spanish Fly. Fans chant “holy shit!” now as Wilde and Mendoza pop at ringside. No one sees Lopez put brass knuckles on Quinn’s hand. Quinn realizes this and has words with the referee.

Quinn knocks Wilde off the apron with the brass knuckles. Quinn turns around to a stiff strike from Escobar, then the Phantom Driver in the middle of the ring for the pin to win.

Winner: Santos Escobar

– After the match, Escobar stands tall as the music hits and Lopez looks on. We go to replays. Legado del Fantasma stands together at the entrance-way as fans chant for them. Escobar looks at Lopez and raises her arm. She nods at him.

– The Diamond Mine is out in the parking lot with a camera man. Malcolm Bivens talks about how NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong will defeat Bron Breakker next week. NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams show up. Hayes says if you are talking about champions, you have to talk about him. Bivens mentions the weight limit being scrapped, and says Strong has beaten Odyssey Jones and Joe Gacy, and will beat Breakker next week. Hayes says he knows all about Strong, but Strong is not The A Champion of NXT. Hayes and Trick walk off after talking some more trash. Bivens wonders why everyone is so damn disrespectful around here.

– The announcers hype next week’s NXT 2.0 episode.

– We see Candice LeRae and her dog backstage. Johnny Gargano walks up and kisses her, then walks off. We go back to commercial.

– Back from the break and we see Boa backstage sitting somewhere on his throne. He addresses Edris Enofe and says you don’t understand the fire you’ve ignited. He goes on and says impending doom awaits Enofe, and as quickly as Enofe came into NXT 2.0, he will take Enofe out of it. A mist blows over and Boa is now sitting there in his face paint. He says “next week!” and that ends the segment.

– We go back to the ring and out comes Johnny Gargano as fans chant “Johnny Wrestling!” and cheer him on.

Gargano takes the mic and jokes about the USA Network, and how he was told he has as much time as he wants. Fans pop and Gargano says he loves the fans too. They chant “please don’t go!” and Gargano says this won’t be his most eloquent promo. He talks about how his one regret from the past 6 years is that he didn’t enjoy everything more because he was always worried if his match or promo was good enough. He goes on about how the fans deserve the best. He recalls his first WWE tryout and how he was told he’d never be in NXT. He recalls how William Regal brought him back to Full Sail for a dark match to Apollo Crews, and due to fans chanting for him each week, they kept bringing him back. Gargano says this is all because of the fans. They chant “Johnny Wrestling!” again. He goes on about how fans helped him live his dream, from championships to video games, and he can’t thank them enough. He says he’s still the shy, chubby 8 year old wrestling fan, and he’s doubted himself his whole life, including right now, but the only place he’s felt confident and sure of himself is in the ring in front of the fans.

Gargano says he was asked for years why he’s been in NXT for so long, and that’s because he truly loves the place and believes in it. A “we love you!” chant breaks out. He goes on about the NXT family, naming Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Steve Corino, Matt Bloom, Sara Amato, Jeremy Borash, and many others. He says this is his family and it will never change, and he knows change is scary, but sometimes it needs to happen. Fans chant “no!” now. Gargano says the one message he wants to leave with the fans is that you will never fail if you bet on yourself.

Gargano says he’s not sure what his immediate future holds, it’s up in the air still and he may do some things here and there, but he knows one thing for sure – in February he starts the most important job of his life – becoming a dad. He goes on and talks about the most important thing to him right now is to worry about Candice LeRae, and his son, and to show his son… Grayson Waller attacks from behind and lays Gargano out with a steel chair.

Waller stands over Gargano and talks trash, then sends him out of the ring. Fans chant “asshole!” now. Waller follows and talks more trash, wrapping the chair around Gargano’s neck and spiking him into the steel ring steps. Waller clears the announce table and puts Gargano through it with a big powerbomb. Waller tells the camera if you want views, come to Grayson Waller, this is his. Waller kneels down to Gargano and talks some more trash as the boos get louder. Fans chant “piece of shit!” now as Waller stands tall over Gargano, smiling. The post-WarGames edition of NXT goes off the air.

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