The War Report: March 10, 2021 - Bálor vs. Cole, Christian Cage Meets Kenny Omega

An Extreme Rules match has been added to the card for NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, pitting Aleister Black against Adam Cole.

On last night's NXT episode, William Regal made the match after the Undisputed Era vs. Black & Roderick Strong main event. The NXT Tag Team Champions, Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish, won after help from stable leader Cole - prompting Regal to make the match as punishment.

Both Black and Cole have a lot of momentum in NXT, and the winner of this match could possibly be regarded as the next no. 1 contender for the NXT Championship. The title is currently set to be defended in Philadelphia, with champion Andrade Almas taking on Johnny Gargano.

Black, known on the independent scene as Tommy End, has been pushed as one of the most dangerous members of the NXT roster since his debut - but suffered a pinfall loss to Gragano in a fatal four-way bout to decide Almas' opponent. He defeated Velveteen Dream in a widely-praised match at TakeOver: WarGames in November.

Cole is a three-time ROH World Champion (the only person to have enjoyed that many reigns with the title), and has quickly become one of the top heels in NXT since his debut at TakeOver: Brooklyn III.

He is the leader of the Undisputed Era trio, comprised of fellow ROH alumni O'Reilly and Fish. The pair have wrestled recently, with Black defeating Cole in a singles match on NXT.

It'll be interesting to see how the Extreme Rules stipulation affects the match. It can also be seen as a thematically appropriate match type, given Philadelphia's history with extreme wrestling - most notably ECW.

TakeOver: Philadelphia takes place on January 27th, the night before the Royal Rumble. Other matches have been set up on NXT tapings, but those episodes haven't yet gone to air.