The Undisputed Era was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

from

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

's NXT brand. It formed on August 19, 2017 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III shortly after

Adam Cole Austin Kirk Jenkins (born July 5, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Adam Cole. He is also known for his tenures with WWE and Ring of Honor (ROH). Col ...

Bobby Fish Robert Anthony Fish (born October 27, 1976) is an American professional wrestler currently appearing on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenure with WWE, where he performed on the NXT brand and was a member of The Undisputed E ...

, and

Kyle O'Reilly Kyle Edward Greenwood (born March 1, 1987) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs under the ring name Kyle O'Reilly. He is also known for his time in Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2009 to 20 ...

signed with WWE, although Fish and O'Reilly had already been a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

since 2012 under the name reDRagon. After, Fish suffered an injury in March 2018, April 7 at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans marked a turning point for The Undisputed Era: during the event, Cole became the inaugural

NXT North American Champion The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is primarily defended as the secondary men's championship of the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmenta ...

, he and O'Reilly won the 2018 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, and

Roderick Strong Christopher Lindsey (born July 26, 1983), better known by his name Roderick Strong, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand, as the leader of Diamond Mine, but is currently inactive due to ...

joined the stable at the end of a lengthy

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

against it; both Cole and Strong were subsequently recognized as co-Tag Team Champions under the

Freebird Rule The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed ...

. O'Reilly later had two more additional reigns as NXT Tag Team Champion, one with Strong and one with Fish, while Cole became NXT Champion at NXT TakeOver: XXV, becoming NXT's second

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

winner. On September 18, Strong won the NXT North American Championship, making The Undisputed Era the first stable to simultaneously hold all the male titles on NXT. All four stayed champions until January 22, 2020, when Strong lost his title to Keith Lee. The group's tenure in WWE ended after the conclusion and aftermath of NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day in early 2021, after Cole attacked O'Reilly. Strong is the only member of the stable who is still currently employed by the promotion, as Fish was released in August 2021, while Cole's contract expired in the same month. O'Reilly's contract would later expire in December and the three would separately join AEW, reuniting upon O'Reilly's debut on December 22, 2021, as a sub-group of The Elite.

Background

In 2010,

and

debuted in

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...

as a tag team that would later be named "Future Shock", but the two split up in 2012 and began a longstanding rivalry against each other. In December 2012, O'Reilly formed a new tag team with

known as reDRagon, with the two winning the

ROH World Tag Team Championship The ROH World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, i ...

on three occasions, while Cole would form his own stable in 2014 known as The Kingdom. In the summer of 2015, reDRagon entered into a feud with The Kingdom, and began teaming with Cole after he seemingly had a falling out with his teammates and left the group. However, Cole's exit from The Kingdom was revealed to be a hoax when he attacked O'Reilly during his match for the

ROH World Championship The ROH World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Ring of Honor (ROH). It is considered the most prestigious title in the promotion. The current champion is Claudio Castagnoli, who is in his second ...

All Star Extravaganza VII All Star Extravaganza VII was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH). It took place on September 18, 2015 at San Antonio Shrine Auditorium in San Antonio, Texas. It was the seventh event under the All Star Extra ...

on September 18. Their reignited rivalry continued until January 2017, when O'Reilly left Ring of Honor in hopes of signing with

. Cole and Fish would follow suit, with Cole leaving in May and Fish in June. During their years in Ring of Honor, Cole, O'Reilly and Fish each had several matches against, and occasionally teaming with, fellow ROH wrestler

. On the July 12, 2017 episode of ''

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

'', Fish made his

debut, losing to

Aleister Black Tom Budgen (born 19 May 1985) is a Dutch professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Malakai Black. He is also known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Aleister Black from 2017 ...

. On the August 2 episode of ''NXT'', O'Reilly made his NXT debut, also losing to Black. The Undisputed Era during their WWE run can be compared to

D-Generation X D-Generation X (DX) is an American professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, stable, and later a tag team, who consisted of Triple H and Shawn Michaels. The group originated in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF ...

and

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

, which

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as on ...

, the founder and producer of the NXT brand, was a member of both stables.

History

WWE (2017–2021)

Formation and tag team success (2017–2019)

At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III on August 19, Fish and O'Reilly debuted as a team, attacking the newly crowned NXT Tag Team Champions,

SAnitY Sanity (from la, sāntā) refers to the soundness, rationality, and health of the human mind, as opposed to insanity. A person is sane if they are rational. In modern society, the term has become exclusively synonymous with ''compos mentis'' ( ...

( Alexander Wolfe and Eric Young), as well as their opponents for the night,

The Authors of Pain Legion of Pain are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Sunny Dhinsa and Gzim Selmani. They are best known for their time in WWE as the Authors of Pain, under the ring names Akam and Rezar, where they are former one-time Raw Tag Tea ...

. Later that night, the two aligned themselves with Adam Cole and attacked newly crowned

NXT Champion The NXT Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. It is defended as the top championship of the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. I ...

Drew McIntyre Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June 1985) is a Scottish professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre. McIntyre is a two-time WWE Champion, one-time WWE Int ...

. The following month, the trio of Cole, Fish and O'Reilly was officially dubbed "The Undisputed Era". On the October 11 episode of ''NXT'',

Taynara Conti Taynara Melo Guevara (née de Carvalho and formerly Conti; born June 9, 1995) is a Brazilian professional wrestler and judoka. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she performs under the ring name Tay Melo () and is a member of th ...

interfered in a triple threat match between

Nikki Cross Nicola Glencross (born 21 April 1989) is a Scottish professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Nikki Cross. She is a one-time WWE Raw Women's Champion, three-time WWE Women's Tag Team ...

Peyton Royce Cassandra McIntosh (born 10 November 1992) is an Australian professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Peyton Royce and for her time in Impact Wrestling where she performed as Cassie L ...

and

Liv Morgan Gionna Jene Daddio (born June 8, 1994) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Liv Morgan. She is a former SmackDown Women's Champion. In 20 ...

on behalf of The Undisputed Era, preventing Cross of SAnitY from winning. At NXT TakeOver: WarGames, The Undisputed Era defeated SAnitY and The Authors of Pain and

in a

WarGames match WarGames is a specialized steel cage match in professional wrestling. The match usually involves two teams of either four, five, or more wrestlers locked inside a steel cage that encompasses two rings placed side by side. The cage may or may not ...

, the first of its kind in 20 years. On the December 20 episode of ''NXT'', (taped on November 29), Fish and O'Reilly defeated SAnitY (Eric Young and

Killian Dain Damian Mackle (born 20 February 1985) is an Irish professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Killian Dain and since his departure from WWE he has reverted back to his ring name on the indep ...

) to capture the NXT Tag Team Championship, marking their first title win in WWE. On the January 10, 2018 episode of ''NXT'', Fish and O'Reilly were scheduled to defend their titles against SAnitY in a rematch, but assaulted them backstage, rendering them unable to compete. Later that night, they were forced to defend their championships against Black and Strong by NXT

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

William Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is known for his over 20 years spent in WWE, as both a performer and an on-screen authority, and for his ti ...

, and successfully retained their titles after Cole interfered and distracted Black. At NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, The Undisputed Era defeated The Authors of Pain to retain the titles. On March 4, Fish suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee at an NXT live event. Undisputed Era champions TakeOver NOLA crop

Undisputed Era champions TakeOver NOLA crop

On April 7 at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, Cole became the inaugural

in a

ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself becom ...

also involving EC3,

Lars Sullivan Dylan Miley (born July 6, 1988) is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his time in WWE under the ring name Lars Sullivan. He joined WWE in 2013 and spent several years training at the WWE Performance Center before making his ...

Ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...

and

Velveteen Dream Patrick Clark Jr. (born August 19, 1995) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE where he performed under the ring name Velveteen Dream. Clark began his professional wrestling career in 2014, when he debuted in ...

. Later in the night, O'Reilly and Cole (in place of the injured Fish) successfully defended the NXT Tag Team Championships in the finals of the 2018 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic against The Authors of Pain and Strong and

Pete Dunne Peter Thomas England (born 9 November 1993) is an English Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Butc ...

after Strong turned on Dunne to allow O'Reilly to pin him, joining the faction and turning

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

in the process and allowing the group to win the tournament despite not being in it originally. With Strong joining the group, he was also recognized as part of the NXT Tag Team Champions. At NXT TakeOver: Chicago, O'Reilly and Strong successfully defended the titles against

Danny Burch Martin Harris (born 31 December 1981) is an English professional wrestler best known for his time with WWE, where he performed on the NXT brand under the ring name Danny Burch. He is a former one time NXT Tag Team Champion with Oney Lorcan ...

and

Oney Lorcan Christopher Girard (born December 21, 1985) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE as a coach at their Performance Center. Previously he performed on the NXT brand under the ring name Oney Lorcan. He is a former NXT Tag Te ...

. After developing a rivalry with

British Strong Style British Strong Style was a professional wrestling stable made up of Pete Dunne, Trent Seven and Tyler Bate, best known for their tenure together in WWE. Dunne currently competes on the SmackDown brand (now under the ring name "Butch") and Bate ...

(Dunne,

Trent Seven Benjamin Maurice Webb (born 21 August 1981), better known by the ring name Trent Seven, is an English professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and actor. He was signed to WWE on their NXT UK brand, where he is a former NXT UK Tag Team Champi ...

and

Tyler Bate Tyler Bate (born 7 March 1997) is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he performs on the NXT brand. In 2017, he became the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion (later renamed NXT United Kingdom Championship), ...

), the two factions faced off on the first day of the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament event, where The Undisputed Era lost. On the second day of the event, O'Reilly and Strong lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to Seven and Bate. However, O'Reilly and Strong regained the titles just two days later (aired on tape delay on July 11). With the win, O'Reilly and Strong became just the second team in NXT history to win the titles more than once (the other being The Revival (

Dash Wilder Daniel Marshall Wheeler (born May 17, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Cash Wheeler. Wheeler is also known for his time in WWE, under the ring name Dash Wilder. ...

and Scott Dawson). At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4, O'Reilly and Strong retained their titles against Bate and Seven. After the match, O'Reilly and Strong were attacked by the debuting War Raiders (

Hanson Hanson or Hansson may refer to: People * Hanson (surname) * Hansson (surname) * Hanson (wrestler), ringname of an American professional wrestler Musical groups * Hanson (band), an American pop rock band * Hanson (UK band), an English rock ...

and

Rowe Rowe may refer to: Places * Rowe, Massachusetts, U.S. *Rowe, New Mexico, U.S. *Rowes Bay, Queensland, a suburb of Townsville Australia *Rowe, now Rówek, Poland Other *Rowe (surname) *Rowe (musician), solo project of Becky Louise Filip, former me ...

). On the same night, Cole lost the North American Championship to

. On the August 29 episode of ''NXT'', Cole and Strong defeated Ricochet and Dunne and attacked them along with O'Reilly after the match. However, the War Raiders came to the ring, chasing The Undisputed Era away. On the October 10 episode of ''NXT'', Ricochet defeated Cole and Dunne in a triple threat match to retain the North American Championship. On the October 17 episode of ''NXT'', O'Reilly and Strong retained the NXT Tag Team Championship against the War Raiders by disqualification after Fish returned from injury and attacked Hanson and Rowe. On the October 31 episode of ''NXT'', Cole and Fish were scheduled to face the War Raiders. However, Hanson and Rowe attacked The Undisputed Era during a backstage promo. The brawl ended up in the ring, where The Undisputed Era got the upper-hand. Ricochet and Dunne entered on the War Raiders' behalf as the brawl progressed to even the odds. While the groups were fighting, general manager William Regal announced that The Undisputed Era would face the team of the War Raiders, Ricochet and Dunne in a

at NXT TakeOver: WarGames. At the event, The Undisputed Era were defeated after both Ricochet and Dunne pinned Cole. At NXT TakeOver: Phoenix, The Undisputed Era lost the NXT Tag Team Championships to The War Raiders.

Domination of NXT (2019–2021)

All four members competed at NXT TakeOver: XXV. Strong lost to

Matt Riddle Matthew Fredrick Riddle (born January 14, 1986, in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand, but is currently inactive due t ...

in the opening match. Fish and O'Reilly were unsuccessful in a four-way

for the vacant

NXT Tag Team Championship The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on January 23 ...

. In the event's main event, Cole defeated

Johnny Gargano John Anthony Nicholas Gargano (born August 14, 1987) is an American professional wrestler best known under the ring name Johnny Gargano. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is best known for his time in NXT, wh ...

to win the

NXT Championship The NXT Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. It is defended as the top championship of the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. In ...

. The win made Cole the second

winner in NXT history (behind Gargano). On the August 15 tapings of ''NXT'', O'Reilly and Fish defeated

Street Profits The Street Profits are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford. The team is currently performing in WWE on the Raw brand. They are three-time tag team champions in WWE, having held the Raw, Sm ...

(

Angelo Dawkins The Street Profits are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford. The team is currently performing in WWE on the Raw brand. They are three-time tag team champions in WWE, having held the Raw, Smac ...

and

Montez Ford The Street Profits are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford. The team is currently performing in WWE on the Raw brand. They are three-time tag team champions in WWE, having held the Raw, Smac ...

) for the NXT Tag Team Championships, making O'Reilly the first wrestler to become a three-time NXT Tag Team Champion. On September 18, 2019 during the debut episode of ''NXT'' on the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

, Roderick Strong defeated

for the NXT North American Championship, marking Strong's first singles title in WWE, and making The Undisputed Era the first group to be draped in gold and hold all male championships on the NXT brand; the WWE Cruiserweight Championship became the NXT Cruiserweight Championship on October 9, therefore elevating the number of male NXT titles to four. In the build-up for the ''NXT'' and

NXT UK ''NXT UK'' is a professional wrestling television programme that was produced exclusively in the United Kingdom by the American promotion WWE. It aired on BT Sport and 5Action (previously known as Paramount Network). In the United States, the s ...

co-branded pay-per-view, Worlds Collide, The Undisputed Era began feuding with Imperium (

WWE United Kingdom Champion The NXT United Kingdom Championship was a men's professional wrestling championship that was created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It was primarily defended as the top championship of the NXT UK brand division, a sister brand of WW ...

Walter Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

, Alexander Wolfe,

Fabian Aichner Fabian Aichner (born 21 July 1990) is an Italian professional wrestler signed to WWE where he performs on SmackDown brand under the ring name Giovanni Vinci. He is a member of Imperium. Aichner previously worked on the U.S. independent circuit ...

and

Marcel Barthel Marcel Barthel (born 8 July 1990) is a German professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Ludwig Kaiser. He is a member of Imperium. Before coming to WWE, Barthel wrestled primari ...

), which was further intensified during the closing moments of NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II on January 12, 2020, where the group attacked Imperium following Walter's successful title defense against Joe Coffey. At Worlds Collide, Imperium defeated The Undisputed Era despite being outnumbered 4-3 after Wolfe suffered an injury early in the match. In parallel, Strong lost his title to Keith Lee, while Fish and O'Reilly took part in the 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, defeating

NXT UK Tag Team Champions The NXT UK Tag Team Championship was a men's professional wrestling tag team championship that was created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It was defended on the NXT UK brand division, a sister brand of WWE's developmental territory ...

Gallus (

Mark Coffey Mark Coffey (born February 13, 1990) is a Scottish professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand. He is the younger brother of Joe Coffey and the pair occasionally tag team together as The Coffey Brothers. ...

and Wolfgang) in the first round and losing to Grizzled Young Veterans ( James Drake and

Zack Gibson Jack Rea (born 8 August 1990) is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Rip Fowler. He is also known for his work as Zack Gibson on the UK independent circuit. H ...

) in the semifinals thanks to a distraction from

Imperium In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from ''auctoritas'' and ''potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic an ...

. At NXT TakeOver: Portland, Cole successfully retained his title against

Tommaso Ciampa Tommaso Whitney (born May 8, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Tommaso Ciampa. Whitney began his career in 2005, working on several independent ...

after receiving assistance from the rest of The Undisputed Era and

, who attacked Ciampa with the belt. However, Fish and O'Reilly lost the tag team titles to Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic winners The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle and

), leaving The Undisputed Era with only one title for the first time since August 2019. On the April 22 episode of ''NXT'', Velveteen Dream and

Dexter Lumis Samuel Robert Shaw (born January 17, 1984) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Dexter Lumis. He is also known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestli ...

(replacing Keith Lee, who was attacked by

Damian Priest Luis Martínez (born September 26, 1982) is an American professional wrestler of Puerto Rican descent. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Damian Priest, and is a member of the stable The Judgme ...

before the match) defeated Cole and Strong in a tag team match, where Dream pinned Cole. This led to an NXT Championship match on the May 6 episode of ''NXT'' where Cole successfully retained his title against Dream and again at TakeOver: In Your House on June 7 in a last chance Backlot Brawl match, due to the stipulation at the event where if Dream lost he can no longer challenge for the NXT Championship again while Cole was still champion.

then entered a feud with

. On the June 17 episode of NXT, Roderick Strong underwent

therapy A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...

to get over his fear of Lumis. On the June 24 episode of NXT, Strong and Lumis faced each other but Lumis won via

countout Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

after Strong refused to fight Lumis. On the July 1 episode of ''NXT'', ''The Great American Bash'' Night 1, Strong faced Lumis in a strap match but lost, thus ending their feud. On the July 8 episode of ''NXT'', ''The Great American Bash'' Night 2, Cole lost the NXT Championship to Keith Lee in a Winner Take All match, ending his historic reign at 403 days. Though Cole later turned face after entering into a feud with Pat McAfee, Fish and Strong remained as heels. On the September 8 episode of ''NXT'', Fish and Strong entered into a feud with

, with

Drake Maverick James Michael Curtin (born 30 January 1983) is an English former professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE as a writer on Raw. During his time as an on screen performer in the company, he worked under the ring name Drake Maverick. He ...

making the save and the Undisputed Era running off. On the September 16 episode of ''NXT'', O'Reilly turned face after saving

Jake Atlas Kenny Sanchez Marquez (born October 5, 1994), known by his ring name Jake Atlas, is an American professional wrestler known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and WWE. Professional wrestling career As a native resident of Los Angeles, San ...

from a beatdown at the hands of

. On the September 23 episode of ''NXT'', O'Reilly won a gauntlet match earning him a title match against

Finn Bálor Fergal Devitt (born 25 July 1981) is an Irish professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Finn Bálor (), and is a member of The Judgment Day. Devitt is widely known for his ten ...

NXT TakeOver 31 NXT TakeOver 31 was the 31st NXT TakeOver professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The event took place on October 4, 2020, ...

. Cole cemented his

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

turn on the September 30 episode of ''NXT'' after calling out Austin Theory, who had insulted O'Reilly earlier in the night during a backstage promo. At NXT: Takeover 31, O'Reilly lost to Bálor. On October 21, Fish and Strong were mysteriously attacked before their tag team title match against Breezango and were replaced by Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch. It was revealed that Pat McAfee was behind the attacks, thus turning all the members of the Undisputed ERA into fan favorites. At NXT: Halloween Havoc, Kyle O' Reilly confrontEd McAfee, Burch and Lorcan. A returning

assisted Kyle O' Reilly. However this partnership was short lived as Dunne hit O' Reilly with a steel chair turning

in the process and aligning himself with McAfee, Lorcan, and Burch. On the November 18 episode of

, The Undisputed Era made their return and brawled with Pat McAfee,

and The NXT Tag Team Champions,

and

then announced that the two teams would face each other at NXT Takeover: WarGames. At NXT Takeover: WarGames, Undisputed Era defeated Team McAfee. Kyle O' Reilly faced Pete Dunne on the December 16th episode of NXT where the winner would face Finn Bálor at NXT: New Years Evil for the NXT Title. O' Reilly defeated Dunne and earned himself another opportunity at the NXT Title in which he was unsuccessful. It was announced in late December 2020 that Adam Cole and Roderick Strong would be teaming up to represent The Undisputed Era in the 2021 annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team classic. They defeated Breezango in the first round, but lost against the team of Ciampa and Thatcher in the quarter-finals.

Cole's betrayal and split (2021)

At NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day, after saving Finn Bálor from a post match assault from Dunne, Lorcan, and Burch, Cole superkicked Bálor. Following a confrontation, Cole also superkicked O'Reilly, turning Cole heel. On the March 24th edition of NXT, it was announced that The Undisputed Era had officially disbanded. Cole and O'Reilly fought each other in an

Unsanctioned match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, where O'Reilly was victorious. Cole defeated O'Reilly in a rematch at

The Great American Bash The Great American Bash is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. Created by Dusty Rhodes, the event was established in 1985 and was originally produced by the National Wr ...

. Cole and O'Reilly ended their feud in a 2-out-of-3 falls match at NXT Takeover: 36 in a match labeled "The Undisputed Finale", with O'Reilly defeating Cole. After a brief feud with Roderick Strong, Bobby Fish was released from his WWE contract and Adam Cole departed WWE. Both joined

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, w ...

, with Kyle O'Reilly following suit in December.

Championships and accomplishments

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W 5 ...

** Feud of the Year (2019) – Cole ** Match of the Year (2019) – Cole ** Wrestler of the Year (2019) – Cole * ''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

'' ** Feud of the Year (2019) – Cole ** Tag Team of the Year (2019) – Fish and O'Reilly ** Wrestler of the Year (2019) – Cole ** Ranked Cole No. 2 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishi ...

'' in 2020 ** Ranked Strong No. 29 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''PWI 500'' in 2020 ** Ranked O'Reilly No. 38 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''PWI 500'' in 2017 ** Ranked Fish No. 53 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''PWI 500'' in 2017 ** Ranked No. 13 of the top 50 tag teams in the '' PWI Tag Team 50'' in 2020 * ''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

'' ** Feud of the Year (2019) – Cole *

( 1 time) – Cole **

NXT North American Championship The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is primarily defended as the secondary men's championship of the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) – Cole (1), Strong (1) **

( 3 times) – Fish, O'Reilly, Cole and Strong (1)¹, O'Reilly and Strong (1), Fish and O'Reilly (1) **

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is an annual professional wrestling tag team tournament held by the American promotion WWE, and is featured on its NXT brand, having first been established in 2015. In subsequent years, wrestlers from the NXT UK and ...

(

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

) – Cole and O'Reilly ** Second NXT Triple Crown Champion – Cole **

NXT Year-End Award The NXT Year-End Awards is a concept used by WWE, where awards, similar to the Academy, Grammy and WWE's own Slammy Awards, are given to professional wrestlers who have competed in NXT in the previous year. There have been five editions of the c ...

(10 times) *** Tag Team of the Year (2018) – O'Reilly and Strong *** Tag Team of the Year (2019) – Fish and O'Reilly *** Tag Team of the Year (2020) – Fish, O'Reilly, Cole and Strong *** Male Competitor of the Year (2019, 2020) – Cole *** Overall Competitor of the Year (2019) – Cole *** Match of the Year (2019) – Cole *** Match of the Year (2020) – O'Reilly *** Rivalry of the Year (2019) – Cole *** Rivalry of the Year (2020) – Cole ¹For The Undisputed Era's first reign, Fish and O'Reilly won the title as a duo, with Cole and Strong later being recognized as co-champions under the

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Undisputed Era, The WWE NXT teams and stables All Elite Wrestling teams and stables