This Pat McAfee stuff better be a work
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After his team’s loss at TakeOver WarGames earlier this month, Pat McAfee hasn’t been on NXT.
That seemed perfectly reasonable. Wrestling is not his full-time gig, and that was a reasonable stopping point for at least that chapter of his story. McAfee remained a total pro, selling his injuries and putting over the other men in the match with him from his full-time gig on
The Pat McAfee Show.
An item from last week’s
Wrestling Observer Newsletter about Pat Mac’s status got picked up by every outlet on the wrestle web (including by our Randall Ortman). It indicated that WWE made the call to take McAfee off television, and that he could be off until the spring. The former NFL All-Pro took screenshots of a bunch of the headlines and tweeted this:
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NXT s Rhea Ripley vs Raquel Gonzalez Rematch Teased After They Overpower an Army In Crazy Brawl
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Tonight s NXT featured a throwdown between Rhea Ripley and Dakota Kai, who last did battle at TakeOver WarGames, where Kai came out the victor as part of Team LeRae. This time Raquel Gonzalez was banned from ringside though, so it was just these two stars one on one, but from the outset Kai made a point to show she doesn t need anyone backing her up to be a threat. Despite an early barrage from Ripley, Kai went right to work knocking Ripley down and grounding her, and then slammed her into the post.
NXT s Kyle O Reilly Wins Chance to Challenge Finn Balor at New Year s Evil
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Tonight Kyle O Reilly and Pete Dunne followed up their crazy battle at TakeOver WarGames between Undisputed ERA and Team McAfee with a one on one affair to decide who got the chance to challenge Finn Balor for the NXT Championship at New Year s Evil, and if you were expecting a technical showcase, you got it. Both stars dished out a myriad of counters, transitions, submissions, and brutal offense throughout the match, and both stars looked worn down about midway through. Dunne s mouthguard even got knocked out of his mouth courtesy of a running knee from O Reilly.
NXT s Johnny Gargano Reveals Star Wars Mandalorian Inspired Faction Name
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Johnny Gargano was able to take back the North American Champion at TakeOver WarGames with the help of Austin Theory, and to celebrate the new Gargano Clan came out to the ring to address the NXT Universe. Gargano, Candice LeRae, Theory, and Indi Hartwell all came out to the ring, and as Gargano teased in our interview earlier in the day, the name of their faction was officially revealed. If you happen to be a fan of Star Wars The Mandalorian, you re going to live it, as Gargano said the crew is now known as The Way. They also have a tagline utilizing the Way, and you can bet we re going to hear a lot of it moving forward.