NXT

Eli Drake has signed a deal with WWE and will start in NXT, according to PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson.

WWE looks set to welcome a new class to its Performance Center. Johnson also reported former Knockouts champion Taya Valkyrie signed and will eventually debut in NXT.

Drake appeared on the pre-show for NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day and was rebranded as LA Knight:

This marks Drake's second run in NXT. Billed as Slate Randall, he briefly worked out of NXT's developmental arm across 2013 and 2014.

The 38-year-old subsequently made his name with Impact Wrestling. He was a tag team champion with Scott Steiner and captured what was then known as the Global Championship in August 2017.

Drake most recently competed for NWA. He and James Storm won the NWA tag titles in January 2020 and continued to be recognized as the champions until Aron Stevens and JR Kratos took the belts in November.

Whereas some new signings initially work out at the Performance Center before showing up on NXT, it appears WWE is looking to make LA Knight a fixture on Wednesday nights right out of the gate.

The fallout from Vengeance Day could help lay the groundwork for his first storyline.

Taya Valkyrie is signing with WWE and will start with the NXT brand, according to PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson.

Valkyrie has long been one of the biggest stars in Impact Wrestling's Knockouts division. She held the Knockouts Championship for 377 days, the longest single reign in the promotion's history.

Johnson reported Valkyrie is likely to be announced with the newest class for WWE's Performance Center.

Mia Yim and Chelsea Green are both former Knockouts champions and started at the Performance Center upon officially joining WWE in October 2018. Valkyrie going the same route wouldn't come as a surprise.

During a media call ahead of NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day, Triple H revealed the PC would soon see an influx of talent for the women's division.

"The current class coming in to the Performance Center, this rookie class coming in very soon is the largest female class we had in history, so that speaks of the commitment and where we're going with female performers and seeing them as exactly that—as performers, as nothing else and really trying to strengthen that even further," he told reporters.

Given how much she burnished her profile with AAA, Lucha Underground and Impact Wrestling, Valkyrie shouldn't have to wait long before she regularly features on NXT.

The 37-year-old is also married to John Morrison, opening the door for plenty of possibilities were she to move to Raw or SmackDown.

Johnny Gargano defeated Leon Ruff and Damian Priest in a Triple Threat match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames on Sunday to become the first three-time North American champion in the brand's history.

Gargano had a helping hand—or hands—from his army of enforcers in Ghostface masks. One of the Ghostface flunkies hit Priest with a lead pipe, taking Priest out of the match.

That allowed Gargano to turn his focus solely toward Ruff. One Final Beat was enough for him to take back the title belt.

After the match, Austin Theory revealed himself to be among those in the Ghostface masks, aligning himself with Gargano.

Sunday's match was born from a rivalry between Priest and Gargano, which reached new heights on the Halloween Havoc edition of NXT in October when Gargano received help from someone dressed like Ghostface from the Scream movie franchise and beat Priest for the North American Championship.

Johnny Wrestling became cocky and overconfident from his win to the point that he decided to put the title on the line. To determine his opponent, he spun a wheel that was clearly fixed and landed on Ruff's name.

While Ruff is a talented performer who enjoyed success in Evolve as a tag team champion with AR Fox, he wasn't used as much more than an enhancement talent in NXT before his match against Gargano.

Gargano seemed destined to cruise to an easy victory, but in an effort to get back at him for what he pulled at Halloween Havoc, Priest got involved. The Archer of Infamy distracted Gargano enough that it allowed Ruff to beat him with a roll-up, marking the most shocking title win in NXT history.

While Gargano received a rematch, Priest foiled his attempt to recapture the North American title by punching Ruff, which gave the champion a disqualification victory.

Although Ruff retained the title, he was none too pleased with what Priest did. In response, he slapped The Archer of Infamy across the face and made it clear he wasn't a joke.

Ruff later had an altercation with both Priest and Gargano during which he used his high-flying ability to wipe out both Superstars and prove his worth as a champion.

With all three wrestlers at each other's throats, NXT general manager William Regal came up with a solution in the form of pitting each of the past three North American champions against each other in a Triple Threat match at TakeOver: WarGames.

Sunday's match represented a huge opportunity for Ruff since it was his first NXT pay-per-view bout and it came against two of the most successful Superstars on the NXT roster.

While Ruff performed well and set himself up for future success, Gargano's victory suggests the NXT creative team is very much behind him as one of the top stars on the black-and-gold brand.

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Dexter Lumis defeated rival Cameron Grimes in a strap match Sunday night on the undercard of NXT TakeOver: WarGames.

Grimes gained an upper hand early on because he attacked Lumis before the referee had placed the strap around the wrists of both wrestlers. Lumis was able to turn the tables eventually, however, and applied his Silence submission hold, forcing Grimes to tap out.

The issues between the pair began on Sept. 30 when they had a run-in backstage, which led to a series of matches that Grimes constantly tried to avoid because of his fear of Lumis.

Picking up on Grimes' fear, NXT general manager William Regal made the decision to book him in a match against Lumis on the Halloween Havoc edition of NXT, but it came with a twist in the form of a Haunted House of Terror stipulation.

A terrified Grimes was driven to an undisclosed location, and upon entering the house, he was greeted by not only Lumis but also a host of zombies and ghouls, which prompted him to run all the way back to Full Sail University.

Once there, Grimes was again confronted by zombies, and amid the paralyzing fear, he was officially beaten by Lumis in the match.

Grimes had a solution to get back at Lumis, that being a blindfold match. He reasoned that he could not be afraid of him in a blindfold match since his rival's piercing eyes would be covered.

After accidentally taking out the referee, Grimes tried to take advantage by attacking the blindfolded Lumis, but they ultimately both took off their blindfolds, and it turned into a brawl with Lumis getting the upper hand.

Since no winner was determined, they were booked in another match, and it was Lumis' idea to have a strap match so Grimes wouldn't be able to run away.

Grimes initially resisted and said he wouldn't face Lumis in such a match, but Regal didn't give him a choice and made the strap match official for NXT TakeOver: WarGames.

The stipulation gave Lumis an opportunity to take care of Grimes once and for all, and with Lumis picking up the victory, it seems likely their rivalry is over.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

The team led by Candice LeRae defeated Shotzi Blackheart's team in a WarGames match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames on Sunday.

Raquel Gonzalez put the finishing touches on the win, powerbombing Io Shirai through a ladder that was draped between the two rings.

In general, the bout delivered the kind of physicality fans associate with WarGames.

Shotzi has had issues with Candice ever since The Poison Pixie first turned heel in April, but it truly became personal on Nov. 4 during a match between Blackheart and Toni Storm.

While going move for move with Storm, Blackheart was interrupted by LeRae on the big screen. She somehow got her hands on her rival's tank and had it destroyed by a truck while Blackheart looked on in horror and rage.

Shortly thereafter, Blackheart went to work on rebuilding her tank and informed LeRae she would have to answer for her deeds in a WarGames match.

The announcement was met with a great deal of excitement among fans since it marked only the second women's WarGames match in NXT history following last year's bout, which saw Rhea Ripley, LeRae, Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai defeat Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair, Shirai and Kay Lee Ray.

After the WarGames match was announced, both Blackheart and LeRae went to work on assembling their teams with some of the top female talent NXT has to offer.

One match was key in determining who would take part in WarGames, as Ember Moon and Storm teamed up on Nov. 18 to take on Kai and Gonzalez in a tag team match.

Moon and Storm won the match, but LeRae seemed to extend an olive branch to Kai and Gonzalez when she and Indi Hartwell attacked the winning tandem after the contest.

As a result, Kai and Gonzalez became part of Team Candice, while Moon ultimately joined forces with Blackheart.

It initially seemed as though Storm was ticketed for Team Shotzi as well, but she shocked the world by turning heel and attacking Moon along with LeRae, Hartwell, Kai and Gonzalez.

As a result, Team Candice was completed with Storm joining LeRae, Kai and Gonzalez. Team Candice made a tactical error, though, when it interrupted a Rhea Ripley promo by attacking NXT Women's champion Io Shirai.

With Ripley and Shirai sharing mutual respect, they joined forces and agreed to round out Team Shotzi alongside Blackheart and Moon.

Sunday's WarGames match gave some of the top women's wrestlers in the world a platform to impress, as NXT always does, and they made the most of the opportunity.

Ultimately, LeRae got one over on Blackheart again, but every performer stood out and contributed to an entertaining match in some way.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

After narrowly losing the viewership battle last week, AEW Dynamite bounced back to beat WWE NXT this week with its Winter Is Coming edition of the show. 

According to Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com, Dynamite averaged 913,000 viewers during its two-hour show on TNT, while NXT garnered 658,000 viewers on USA Network.

Dynamite was headlined by an AEW World Championship match between Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega, which resulted in a new champion being crowned, as Omega beat Mox with some help from his friend and mentor, Don Callis.

Callis, who began the match on commentary, handed Omega a microphone, which he used to bust Moxley open before hitting him with multiple V-Triggers and a One-Winged Angel.

After Omega's win, he and Callis ran out of the building, and Callis told an interviewer that Omega would appear on Tuesday's episode of Impact to explain what happened, perhaps signaling the beginning of a working relationship between the two companies.

Also, on Dynamite, WWE Hall of Famer and former WCW star Sting made his shocking debut following a tag team match pitting Cody Rhodes and Darby Allin against Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs.

Following Sting's appearance, it was announced that AEW President Tony Khan had signed The Icon to a multiyear, full-time deal, meaning fans will be seeing a lot of the 61-year-old legend moving forward.

On NXT, the focus was primarily on building toward Sunday's NXT TakeOver: WarGames pay-per-view, as the show was headlined by a ladder match between Shotzi Blackheart and Raquel Gonzalez to determine which team will have the advantage in the women's WarGames match.

Blackheart somewhat surprisingly won thanks to interference from NXT Women's champion Io Shirai, who was named the final member of Team Shotzi.

Undisputed Era and Pat McAfee's squad hyped up their WarGames match as well, and the unlikely duo of North American champion Leon Ruff and Damian Priest beat Santos Escobar and Raul Mendoza of Legado del Fantasma in a tag team match to set up Sunday's Triple Threat between Ruff, Priest and Johnny Gargano.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).