Team New School Defeats Team Old School in Men’s WarGames Match at NXT WarGames 2021

WarGames lived up to its name as the main event featured plenty of mayhem, including some moments of teamwork between former tag partners Ciampa and Johnny Gargano.

With NXT 2.0 placing more emphasis on younger and less-experienced Superstars over the past couple of months, there was a clear divide among the roster leading up to NXT WarGames.

Rising stars like Breakker, Hayes, Tony D’Angelo and Grayson Waller became cocky and brazen in their disrespect of the veterans, which didn’t sit well with the likes of Ciampa, Gargano, Pete Dunne and LA Knight.

Breakker has had his sights set on the NXT Championship ever since Ciampa won it on the first night of NXT 2.0 in September. Ciampa beat Breakker in a subsequent title match last month at Halloween Havoc, but the son of Rick Steiner and nephew of Scott Steiner made it clear he still had gold on his mind.

Knight and Waller have been at odds for quite some time dating back to Knight beating Waller in a match for the right to host Halloween Havoc. Knight was late for the show and replaced by Waller, however, after Waller did something to Knight’s vehicle.

Waller also talked trash about Ciampa, resulting in a non-title match between Ciampa and Waller, which Ciampa won.

D’Angelo got involved in a rivalry with Dexter Lumis and his wife Indi Hartwell, and after D’Angelo beat Lumis in a match, Hayes put Lumis on the shelf by injuring his hand.

Meanwhile, Hayes made some enemies among the old guard because of his attitude and actions while holding the North American Championship. That led to him having to defend the title against both Gargano and Dunne in a Triple Threat.

Hayes won that match thanks to D’Angelo providing a distraction, and all hell broke loose afterward with Ciampa, Gargano, Dunne and Knight brawling against Hayes, Breakker, D’Angelo and Waller.

A WarGames match between the new school and old school teams was made official amid the brawl, giving both sides an opportunity to prove who runs NXT.

Team New School was favored given how NXT has largely put them in the spotlight as of late, and by virtue of their win over Team Old School, it is clear that Breakker, Hayes, D’Angelo and Waller are viewed as the present and future of NXT 2.0.

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