Once again, NXT TakeOver delivered as Saturday's fourth installment of the Brooklyn show ended up being one to remember.
Every match was different and the brisk pace of NXT TakeOver continued to overshadow the main-roster event that follows it. Sunday's SummerSlam certainly has a lot to live up to.
NXT TAKEOVER: BROOKLYN 4 RESULTS:
Ciampa outlasts Gargano in another classic
Undisputed Era vs. Moustache Mountain: A
This was one exceptional tag-team match as the division continues to deliver in NXT.
The trilogy ended in emphatic fashion: Undisputed Era hammered home the nail in the coffin by destroying Trent Seven with the high-low to end a brilliantly paced match.
Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly and Seven all were brilliant, but Tyler Bate again proved to be one of the finest performers in NXT. From his German suplex of Strong with O'Reilly on his back to being a house on fire after using a one-armed powerbomb to send O'Reilly into Strong to escape a triangle submission, the 21-year-old was absolutely scintillating.
The match was already great when it hit another gear as Bate went nuts after the powerbomb spot.
All four demonstrated great chemistry and used callbacks to their previous matches to keep the crowd invested. The towel tease when Bate was trapped in an O'Reilly heel hook was a little too on the nose but didn't hurt what was a fine outing from these two teams. The end came definitively when Strong decimated Bate with a jumping knee and followed with a high-low to finish off Seven.
After the match, the War Raiders annihilated Strong and O’Reilly and will have their sights set on the champions.
What’s next: It’s obvious that a collision with War Machine is on the horizon, and with WarGames coming in November, who wouldn’t want to see these guys demolish each other inside a cage?
Velveteen Dream vs. EC3: B-minus
This was an all-charisma match with solid work from both wrestlers.
What Dream lacks in the ring, he more than makes up for it with charisma. From the “Call me up, Vince” tights to his mannerisms throughout the match, Dream had the crowd in the palm of his hand. EC3 wasn’t too shabby, either. Their work was disjointed at times, but they meshed when it mattered.
The end came when Dream hit a Dream Valley Driver on the edge of the apron and followed it with a flying elbow on the outside.
Dream finally earned a much-needed victory after coming up short in his past couple TakeOvers, but EC3 didn't take too much of a hit. He'll have his time, but just not right now.
What’s next: It’s anybody’s guess where Velveteen Dream goes from here. It's likely that we’ll see him end up in a feud with one of the newer signees. Here's hoping that rumors of a call-up are just rumors because the main roster is far too crowded for him.
Adam Cole vs. Ricochet: B-plus
This was a tale of two matches, with the ongoing narrative of Cole being one step ahead of the high flyer carrying through to the very end.
Cole maintained having the higher ring IQ by cutting off a majority of Ricochet’s high-flying attempts and forcing The One and Only to play chess rather than checkers with Undisputed Era’s leader.
Ricochet had his moments early when he showed he could counter his opponent's counter. A missed moonsault into a standing moonsault followed by a second-rope phoenix splash mid-match demonstrated Ricochet's ability to adjust. Still, the affair was solid, but unspectacular, until one move changed it all.
What started as a routine handspring moonsault was timed beautifully by Cole, who crushed Ricochet with a superkick and sent the match into another gear. A wicked exchange of strikes that looked like something out of a strong style match followed. After a heartstopping exchange of near-falls, Ricochet finally figured out his foe.
A missed shining wizard by Cole resulted in a reverse hurricanrana from Ricochet. Cole thought he had outsmarted Ricochet yet again when he rolled out of the ring to stall a 630 attempt, but Ricochet proved to be the smarter man as he darted across the ring and hit a beautiful leaping hurricanrana that sent Cole to the outside. Ricochet finally nailed the 630 to become the NXT North American champion.
What’s next: Ricochet has plenty of options for his first title defense, but it’s important that he successfully establish the title with a few meaningful defenses. As for Cole, he’ll likely find his way into a WarGames match with The Undisputed Era. Matt Riddle appears to be a perfect feud for him.
Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane: B-minus
This was easily Baszler's best match to date and is in the running for best women's match of the year in both NXT and the main roster. Much of the credit has to go to Sane, who is a phenomenal performer and sold everything that Baszler had to offer. Baszler’s progression has been intriguing to watch, to say the least. Her title run probably came too early as she was clearly an unfinished product, but she has demonstrated growth as a performer in each and every match, and that growth peaked in this match.
Baszler chopping down Sane with limb work early was an intelligent play, but you can nitpick that Sane brushed it all off a little too soon. Nevertheless, this was a battle of the catch wrestler doing her best to dissect Sane while the Pirate Princess’ rage pulled her through when it mattered most. It appeared that her rage to finish Baszler would cost her when she opted to not cover her nemesis after landing an In-Sane elbow.
Instead, Sane climbed the top rope for another elbow and saw Baszler roll out of the ring. Sane hit a flying crossbody on the outside and rolled Baszler back into the ring. Another In-Sane elbow landed but Baszler surprisingly kicked out. The two exchanged finishers as the match heated up. Sane was a wonderful babyface in peril whenever Baszler slapped on a submission. The end came out of nowhere when Baszler got her legs up during an In-Sane elbow attempt and sunk in yet another rear naked choke. This time, Sane reversed position to pin Baszler while her shoulders were down during the choke. It was a wonderful sequence to crown a new champion.
Baszler still needs some polish but her improvement after each match has been promising. A great finish overshadowed a ho-hum early portion of the match.
What’s next: Sane and Bianca Belair are absolutely on a collision course. Baszler now has real-life friends Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir in NXT to form three-fourths of the Four Horsewomen (Ronda Rousey remains on the main roster) and could wreak havoc on the women’s division.
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano (Last Man Standing match): A
Another NXT TakeOver main event, another show where Ciampa and Gargano beat the absolute hell out of each other.
We are reaching territory where it can be legitimately debated that Ciampa-Gargano is one of the best feuds in pro wrestling history. Somehow, these two managed to put on yet another brutal match that left fans in awe from the savagery.
Ciampa has done everything right to establish himself as the best heel in the WWE while Gargano is the ultimate babyface in the vein of a Daniel Bryan. The difference between Gargano and Bryan is that it doesn’t feel like Gargano is being held back by politics. Instead, it’s his own rage that continues to do him in, and the same can be said about their third consecutive main event at NXT TakeOver.
With Aleister Black out of the picture, Ciampa and Gargano ended up in a Last Man Standing match and needed to find a way to keep their feud fresh. They did exactly that while pushing the brutality up another notch. A fast and furious start culminated with Ciampa sending Gargano through the announce table with an air raid crash. That was only the beginning. We saw everything from a lawn dart into a chair to Gargano smashing a steel chair into the leg on which Ciampa had surgery.
The match hit yet another gear when Gargano hit a trio of Project Ciampas and sat in a chair while the referee counted. Gargano bounced to his feet and superkicked Ciampa, to the elation of the crowd. This led to an insane sequence where they destroyed one another and both hit the canvas. Rather than the usual struggle to their feet before the count of 10, both popped up at the count of one and resumed their annihilation of one another as the crowd unleashed a deafening pop.
Ciampa once again exposed the wood underneath the canvas in a callback to their unsanctioned match, but Gargano landed the DDT for a near fall.
Unable to keep Ciampa down, Gargano’s rage kicked into high gear. A missed superkick left an official down and out and led to Ciampa smashing a monitor into his foe’s head. It looked like the end when Ciampa threw the official and furniture on top of Gargano but Johnny Wrestling got to his feet again. The crowd was white hot at this point and saw Gargano superkick Ciampa through a pair of tables on the outside. Ciampa brilliantly used a crutch to get to his feet but Gargano hunted him down with superkicks and a Gargano escape finisher and then handcuffed Ciampa to the stage up the ramp.
A wonderful closing sequence saw Ciampa begging for mercy but Gargano shredding him with superkicks. Gargano's rage finally cost him when he smoked Ciampa with a running knee and found himself tumbling off the stage, clutching his knee. The handcuff actually held Ciampa up as he rolled off the stage while Gargano was unable to get up because of what the commentary team called a dislocated knee.
This one is far from over but the injury angle could give us some space before we see these two again.
What’s next: You have to figure that Gargano’s storyline injury will lead to Ciampa and a soon-to-be returning Black engaging in a feud. Whenever this feud resumes, it will surely culminate in what we can only hope to be NXT’s first Hell in a Cell match.
Overall: A
NXT TakeOver delivered yet another stellar installment. No match mirrored the other and everything was above-average. It has become expected that NXT will show out, but it continues to go above and beyond those already lofty expectations.
