NXT TakeOver: New York (April 5, 2019) -- Results & Afterthoughts

NXT TakeOver: New York was a professional wrestling show and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their NXT brand. The event took place on April 5, 2019, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Five matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Johnny Gargano defeated Adam Cole in a Two-out-of-three falls match to win the vacant NXT Championship. Other matches on the undercard saw Walter defeat Pete Dunne to win the WWE United Kingdom Championship (also ending Dunne's historic reign at 685 days), Shayna Baszler retaining the NXT Women's Championship in a Fatal 4-Way match, Velveteen Dream ending Matt Riddle's undefeated streak and retaining the NXT North American Championship, and the War Raiders retaining the NXT Tag Team Championship against Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic winners Aleister Black and Ricochet.

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Tag Team Match for the NXT Tag Team Championship

War Raiders (Hanson and Rowe) (c) def. Aleister Black and Ricochet

I thought this match was a fun way to start the show. I felt there wasn't nothing too surprising given what we have come to expect from the talents involved. This match ended up being the swansong/goodbye for Aleister Black and Ricochet to the NXT crowd before they move up to the main roster for good. After seeing how the main roster has treated most of the recent NXT call-ups, I can see why Ricochet was crying. The sooner him and Aleister Black are regulated to singles feuds instead of tag team matches, I think they will be better off. I thought the War Raiders showing respect post-match was a nice touch as well.

Nothing but respect from the champions to the challengers after a hard-fought battle. 

Minor gripe, but I was so damn happy that NXT gave Aleister that platform that raises him up for his entrance here. It looks so stupid to me on the main roster to see him walking out without any flair or mystique about him like every other generic guy on the roster.

Triple H wishing another batch of his NXT kids best of luck on the main roster.

NXT North American Championship Match

Velveteen Dream (c) def. Matt Riddle

Velveteen Dream invoking his own version of the State of Liberty scene from Ghostbusters 2.

Match of the weekend for me personally. Topped my personal favorite TakeOver match between Shinsuke Nakamura and the then departing Sami Zayn going to the main roster. I had to laugh at Dream coming out dressed like the Statue of Liberty with entourage of "boys" carrying him out to the ring. Sadly, Dalton Castle would say "hold my beer" and top this entrance the next night during G1 Supercard.

The majority of this match consisted of Riddle beating the piss out of Dream with strikes, only for Dream to "hulk up" like Hulk Hogan and invoke a lot of the late "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan's offense.

I still cringe watching this spot. To say that Kota Ibushi will take this exact same bump the following night on G1 Supercard. 

At one point, Riddle performs a deadlift german suplex off the ropes to forcefully bring Dream back into the ring from off the ring apron. Dream landed and sold that shit so well that I thought he literally died off that bump. They really drew me into the drama off that spot, even more so than before up to that point.

A well-deserved fist bump. These two "bros" killed it tonight.

WWE United Kingdom Championship

Walter def. Pete Dunne (c)

I'll admit that I don't watch NXT UK nowhere as much as I should on a weekly basis. Despite that fact, I thought this was an impressive showcase of Walter's power and in-ring ability. I have seen a little of his work in the UK prior to signing to WWE, but seeing it on display here during this TakeOver match, I can easily see why they call him the Ring General.

Pete Dunne will never stop looking like the real life version of Roger Klotz to me.

Even though Walter was beating on Pete Dunne like he was Mr. Bone's nephew bullying Roger Klotz on that one episode of Doug, Dunne didn't give up nor went down easily. They told an excellent story here of Dunne gradually getting more and more offense in on the powerhouse than anyone originally expected he would. Eventually, Pete Dunne was able to turn the tide into his favor, finally hitting the Bitter End after multiple unsuccessful attempts.

That top rope Last Ride/Avalanche Release Powerbomb from Walter reminded me of Ultimo Guerrero doing the same thing to Kazarian a few years ago during the World X Cup 2008 (I think?) competition, throwing him across the ring like yesterday's garbage. At least this dude actually won off that shit.

NXT Women's Championship

Shayna Baszler (c) def. Io Shirai, Bianca Belair and Kairi Sane by submission

The Sky Pirates are truly something else on this roster.

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the Sky Pirates teaming up throughout this match only to for them to be heartbroken as they had to face off against each other towards the end. Kairi Sane looked like she was genuinely heartbroken to have to fight against her best friend. Io Shirai gave Kairi her best too and I really hope they follow up with this down the road. A TakeOver match featuring them going against each other one on one is pure money. It doesn't even have to be for the NXT Women's Championship either.

Say what you will about Bianca Belair, but there's no denying her power. 

I know I wasn't alone in being shocked to see Shayna Baszler pick up the win here. I was certain that she was losing the title to one of her challengers here tonight and getting called up to the main roster. That decision alone makes me intrigued on what the plan is going forward for her and the NXT Women's Championship.

One more thing, can we finally have Bianca Belair shut the fuck up about she's "UNDEFEATED" now? She's lost CLEAN to Shayna twice now, there's no way she can keep making that excuse like she's in denial. Don't give me that shit about she's undefeated in her mindset either as that sounds even stupider.

Two-out-of-three falls match for the vacant NXT Championship

Johnny Gargano def. Adam Cole 2–1

Crazy.

First two falls did absolutely nothing for me as everyone knew that they were just milking it until the final fall - just like every single one of these best of three matches in WWE currently. NXT is no different in that level of predictability in this match type.

As usual, Gargano does FAR too much here in a single match. At the same time, Adam Cole was at fault too for WAY too many damn Super Kick spots to the point where I started rolling my eyes in response. Between the Young Bucks, the Usos, and almost everyone from Lucha Underground have bastardized that move to the point I really don't buy into that move being a finish/signature period anymore. It's just a spot for cheap pops that is overused as much as a tope/cross body out of the ring or damn superplex.

It was really clever for Cole to use Ciampa's "Fairy Tale Ending" finisher to garner a near-fall via count out, but it was out at ringside for a table bump so that was a little odd too.

I'll admit that found myself caught up in the finish with all of the near-falls, but once again, it's abused in Gargano's matches to it's detriment. I get it - there's a lot of people who love Gargano's matches for that, but out of all of Gargano's TakeOver matches, I liked his one with Aleister Black solely for the fact that it was a one and done affair where it was like someone had to beat the life out of Gargano to keep him down, only for him to keep popping up like that Robot Chicken Jesus meme.

All members of the Undisputed Era poured out of the locker room to assist Adam Cole in hopes of helping him capture the gold. Unfortunately, their interference got another near-fall at best, only for Gargano to Superman/John Cena his way through the opposition to fight them off and pick up the win.

In the end, Adam Cole ended up being a great filler villain for Gargano to topple to end his story or rather ascension to the top of the ladder of NXT as it's first Triple Crown Champion, winning the NXT Tag Team, NXT North American, and NXT Championships. I don't know where he's going to go from here, but the sky's the limit for Johnny Wrestling.

I know kayfabe's dead, but you don't have to remind me with stuff like this.

I know that I give Gargano a lot of shit at times and love making fun of his showcomings since that gives me an excuse to use that "Johnny Failure" moniker that Velveteen Dream cooked up, but the guy is at his best on NXT as the babyface underdog, scratching and clawing his way to victory. Tonight was the perfect example of that as the culmination of a two year journey to the top of the NXT brand. Unlike like a lot of NXT Champions, I don't want to see Gargano get called up to the main roster anytime soon. Without Ciampa, I can't see him working magic with anyone on the main roster as how it stands. Remember how well Kevin Owens did once he had his best friend turned bitter rival, Sami Zayn, to battle on the main roster for months on end. I expect to see those two tied at the hip on the main roster as well. Besides, it won't hurt to keep Gargano on the brand a while longer until Ciampa heals up. There's a ton of talent that he hasn't had high profile matches with on the brand and a wealth of talent down at the Performance Center that could benefit from his wealth of knowledge to boot. I'm sure Gargano doesn't want to be separated from his wife either to say that the NXT brand has barely done anything with her either.

Speaking of Ciampa, I have mixed feelings about him coming out and joining Gargano and Candice LeRae in the post-match celebration. I get it - they are best friends outside of the ring in their personal lives. That's what made their feud for the past few years so great. It was "real" - but that's part of the problem. We just saw Ciampa attempt to turn on Gargano again, only for it to backfire as Gargano threw him off of the stage in the same manner that Ciampa did to him to break up DIY. That was the angle to write Ciampa off television to go get his neck surgery while Triple H vacated the NXT Championship.

To see him come out here and hugging both of them like nothing transpired was a bit of a slap to the face. I know people are going to say that kayfabe's dead, but stuff like that is always going to irk me as an older wrestling fan. I know it's not "real" but c'mon let me stay in the moment, y'know? They could've saved that bit for a WWE 24 special or something backstage. I didn't need to see that to close the show. The shot of Candice hugging Johnny in the ring was enough to close on for me - either that or the shot of him celebrating in the crowd.

Afterthoughts

I'm writing this review/write-up of sorts AFTER watching everything from WrestleMania weekend, namely Impact Wrestling's United We Stand, Ring of Honor/New Japan's G1 Supercard, and WrestleMania 35, and I have to say that this was the best show from top to bottom without a doubt. Consistency across the board in terms of match quality and nothing that I can say that I flat out didn't enjoy. I'll never understand how people can go and call every TakeOver event the best one ever when all of these shows are consistently good. That's all I can say really. NXT continues to be the brand that sets the bar in terms of quality for WWE's eventful weekends like this of professional wrestling and it's always a tough act to follow.

NXT TakeOver: Phoenix (Jan. 26, 2019) -- Results & Afterthoughts

NXT TakeOver: Phoenix was a professional wrestling show produced by WWE for their NXT brand and streamed live on WWE Network. The event took place on January 26, 2019, at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. NXT TakeOver: Phoenix was the twenty-third overall show held under the NXT TakeOver banner and the first to be held in 2019.

Five matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Tommaso Ciampa defeated Aleister Black to retain the NXT Championship. In the penultimate match, Shayna Baszler defeated Bianca Belair by technical submission to retain the NXT Women's Championship. Other matches included War Raiders defeating The Undisputed Era to win the NXT Tag Team Championship, and Johnny Gargano defeated Ricochet to win the NXT North American Championship.

NXT Tag Team Championship Match - War Raiders (Hanson & Raymond Rowe) def. The Undisputed Era (c)

A solid opener, but I felt that this was deja vu to a few years ago when these guys where in Ring of Honor. Replace Roderick Strong with Bobby Fish and you couldn't have told the difference between this or any of their previous encounters during their days as War Machine and reDRagon in Ring of Honor for those coveted tag titles. That being said, it wasn't a bad match at all. I say it time and time again, but damn, Hanson's agility surprises me every time. Him and Rowe really play off each others' strengths and it shows brilliantly. Roderick Strong and Kyle O'Reilly were the perfect guys to bump around for them and take that punishment while simultaneously reminding everyone why they have held the NXT Tag Titles for so long.

The title change here was a little jarring since Undisputed Era made that declaration that they would be holding all of the gold in 2019, but I can see them getting it all back come WrestleMania weekend. If I'm perfectly honest, I can't see Undisputed Era collectively staying in NXT past Summerslam/Survivor Series this year. I'm sure that WWE Creative would love to shoehorn them into a Survivor Series elimination match this year. I mean c'mon... they can't be in War Games THREE years in a row. That would be overkill at this point.

Matt Riddle def. Kassius Ohno

This was my least favorite match on this entire card if I'm perfectly honest. After the quick KO (no pun intended...) during the last TakeOver special, I didn't need to see them go at it again, especially in a long, drawn out match like this when they had a similar match on NXT programming a few weeks ago. No offense to the talent involved, but this match did absolutely nothing for me. That's not a knock on the talent either as I've seen both Riddle and Ohno in some stellar bouts. I just felt like this was a slight mismatch of talent - not to mention that Ohno is sitting on a pile of losses here in terms of TakeOver appearances.

NXT Women's Championship Match - Shayna Baszler (c) def. Bianca Belair

After the NXT episode over the past week, I was a little surprised that the Full Sail crowd were actually turning on Bianca a bit after Shayna's "overrated" comment. Outside of her performance in the initial Mae Young Classic, I honestly don't see all of the hype behind Belair and her husband (Montez Ford on the Street Profits) from a lot of podcasters and journalists, touting them as the "future" of the product. Let's be real here... the Street Profits will go down as another failed Cryme Tyme clone, just like the Primetime Players before them. Ford might see some gold in a singles run, same for Bianca down the road, but there's far too many other noteworthy talent that can and will overshadow them in the meantime. Don't forget that NXT, along with the main roster, is STACKED with talent that they've raided from the indies and every other promotion that isn't AEW. It's hard to say that WWE's "homegrown" prospects will be allowed to shine over the more seasoned and more experienced "indie darlings" as how Triple H used to refer to them before he started making a profit off of them.

In relation to this match, I saw it as make it or break it time for Bianca. The first half of this match wasn't bad at all with Bianca enduring everything that Shayna was throwing at her. Then the ref bump happened and this match seemed to fall apart in a sense. Maybe it was nerves, but Bianca hit one of the worst and weakest looking slams on Shayna during this entire show for what was supposed to be the cliched "near-fall" but the ref was still down. Marina Safir and Jessamyn Duke race down to make the save and they took some awful (as in execution) looking bumps to the mat. I'll give Marina a pass as she was wearing a facial protection mask as she must've gotten roughed up training but geez, her and Jessamyn don't seem to be taking to this wrestling thing as well as Shayna and Ronda have.

The match continues a bit longer after the ref bump, only for Bianca's "undefeated" (insert ghetto ass claps for each syllable) streak to end after she passes out in Shayna's hold to retain. I still want to know what was in Bianca's weave whip thingy to make it cut Shayna across the abdomen like that.

As for this post-match comment/rebuttal aimed at Sam Roberts, who apparently went "heel" shooting on Bianca Belair not deserving to be in this match and Shayna having nothing to be afraid of, I can't tell if they trying to get an angle going out of this or what. I tend to tune out a lot of what Sam Roberts says nowadays since he's wired into WWE's bubble, so you can't trust if he's working people or trying to be legitimate anymore. That being said, I didn't think Bianca was ready for a title match either, but at the same time, I'm not going to bury her like he did there, saying that her match belonged on the preshow. Bianca's not ready for that spot now, but that doesn't mean she won't pick up steam down the road. Remember Sasha Banks' rough beginnings on NXT? It wasn't until she refined what "The Boss" character was down there and picked up in stride to get the ball rolling where she was force to be reckoned with on NXT. Just give it time. Baby steps.

NXT North American Championship Match - Johnny Gargano def. Ricochet (c)

When this match started during the introductions, I joked to a friend that I wanted Gargano to lose here just for everyone can say that shit hasn't changed for Johnny Failure. Everyone on social media seems to be raving about the actual ring work in this match, but I was more impressed by the narrative from bell to bell. The story here was that as good as Gargano THOUGHT he was in terms of keeping up move for move, counter for counter with Ricochet, it wasn't enough. All of 2018, Gargano would put his all into these TakeOver performances, earning the moniker of "Johnny TakeOver" as printed on his trunks here tonight, but ultimately, he would fall short of the victory every single time, causing many people - notably Velveteen Dream, to refer to him as Johnny Failure. Johnny Failure wasn't going to chuck up another L in the column tonight as he did what he thought he would never do and crossed the dark side to cement his victory over the One and Only.

While Ricochet did some impressive stuff here in this match, I wasn't losing my mind about it (double goes for Gargano's ring work) when I've seen the guy work in New Japan, Pro Wrestling Guerilla, and Lucha Underground doing similar theatrics. I'm more surprised that they would take the title off Ricochet so soon, but I guess they must have plans for him to capture the NXT Championship sooner more than later. There seems to be talk/rumors floating around about a title for title match to be the finale in the Gargano vs. Ciampa series during the NXT TakeOver special during WrestleMania weekend and I hope that's not the case. I rather see a multi-man match for the title instead of another played out Gargano/Ciampa match.

That being said, this was easily the match of the evening without a shadow of a doubt.

NXT Championship Match - Tommaso Ciampa (c) def. Aleister Black

This match had an interesting narrative about it too, but nowhere as great as the one in the match that proceeded it. Ciampa was at his worst of his villainy here, doing everything in his power to cripple Aleister Black. He targeted his knee and lower calf for the majority of this match. Boy, after tweaking BOTH of my knees/lower calf within the span of a week I couldn't help but sympathize with Black's pain and agony here. Aleister Black did put up a good effort in this match, but ultimately fell short to recapture the NXT Championship. They fooled me for sure with that near-fall (or rather no fall after Ciampa rolled onto his stomach) off that sickening SMACK off that one Black Mask from out of nowhere. I thought that was it for sure. It was a nice touch to have Ciampa troll Black by raising his head off the mat with his foot like how Black did to Gargano at the previous TakeOver special.

I know people are convinced that Aleister Black is pretty much a lock to be moved to the main roster, but I'm not buying into that. He still has unfinished business in NXT. He hasn't repaid both Ciampa and Gargano properly after their unofficial DIY reunion in the steel cage match and I wouldn't mind seeing him get one more crack at the NXT Championship before being called up. I think we deserve an Aleister Black vs. Velveteen Dream rubber match for the NXT Championship before either one of those guys get called up and it would stupid not to book that match sooner more than later.

All in all, I thought this was a solid show, despite a few hiccups with the NXT Women's Championship Match and that Riddle/Ohno bout. As always, I'm anxious to see where they go from here. They got three months of NXT tapings to layout the ground work for the next TakeOver special during WrestleMania weekend, so it should make for some good TV.

NXT TakeOver: War Games II -- Results & Afterthoughts

NXT TakeOver: WarGames (2018) was a professional wrestling show and WWE Network event that took place on November 17, 2018 in the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The event was produced by WWE for the NXT brand that is streamed live on the WWE Network.

Five matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Pete Dunne, Ricochet, and War Raiders defeated The Undisputed Era in a WarGames match. In the penultimate match, Tommaso Ciampa defeated Velveteen Dream to retain the NXT Championship and Aleister Black defeated Johnny Gargano.

Note: Much like my Survivor Series 2018 write-up, I'm not covering this show in order that the matches played out.

WarGames Match
NXT Champion Ricochet, WWE U.K. Champion Pete Dunne & The War Raiders def. The Undisputed ERA

I don't remember much of the old WCW WarGames matches and I kick myself every year for not revisiting them with adult eyes, but I never was too crazy about this match type when TNA/Impact Wrestling did their own spin on it with their Lethal Lockdown annual matches in this format. Boy, did NXT make me a fan of this match type over the past two years though. Honorable mention goes to MLW doing a stellar WarGames match earlier this year too by the way.

Amazing - that's the best way to describe this match during it's final quarter. I hate the first part of these matches like this because you know nothing good is going to happen until all 4 members of each opposing team are in the match and the cliched gimmick to this match is that the heels always have the advantage until that point - not to mention that Pete Dunne was dealing with a real life injury but you couldn't tell that from too much as he was protected for the bulk of this affair. Despite all of that going on, everyone involved managed to keep things interesting.

This was the coming out party for the War Raiders. This was giving me flashbacks to their feuds with Fish and O'Reilly as reDRagon during their War Machine days in Ring of Honor. For a big guy, I find myself always surprised at how mobile and agile that Hanson is. If he wasn't above 205 lbs., I'm sure WWE would have found a way to push a guy like him with the cruiserweight title.

NXT Championship Match
Tommaso Ciampa (c) def. Velveteen Dream to retain the title

I felt sorry that these two had to follow Black and Gargano on this card, but to my surprise, this match delivered big time as well. They had me fooled, just like everyone else, with the near fall after the Macho Man Elbow Drop. I thought they were going to have Ciampa drop the title to Dream there for sure. Then they did the "injury" finish and that moment of excitement went completely out of the window. I guess they really are keeping the NXT title on Ciampa until WrestleMania weekend. I honestly don't see anyone dethroning NXT's top heel anytime soon, especially while Gargano is doing this "crazy" gimmick for a while. He should look at what Eddie Edwards did in Impact over the past year and take notes of the mistakes of running that angle too long - people are going to stop caring and start tuning out. I'm anxious to see where they go with Velveteen Dream from here because it's not like a loss here is going to hurt his stock value. The fans still dig him and I'm sure Triple H and the rest of his NXT staff are fully behind the guy. I'm hoping a North American Championship run/title shot in the cards soon. His first encounter with Ricochet may have been in a loss but it wouldn't hurt to have his rematch result in a win. If I were to suggest a match, how about a triple threat between him, Adam Cole, and Ricochet with the gold on the line if you don't want to keep Dream in the NXT title conversation.

Aleister Black def. Johnny Gargano

Black and Gargano put on a masterclass showcase here as they showed off how to make your strikes look as vicious and stiff as possible without legit injuring your opponent. I hope Nia Jax took notes. Great storytelling here from start to finish and I thought the right man won here. Black was robbed of his opportunity to regain the title that he lost mistakenly to Tommaso Ciampa, thanks to Gargano's obsession, and he got his payback here.

As it currently stands on NXT programming, they are set to have a rematch at the next TakeOver special during Royal Rumble weekend, but I honestly don't see a point. Black beat the piss out of Gargano here. Doing a rematch in a steel cage isn't going to make me to expect any other different result. I'll give Gargano credit where it's due though - every match that he's had at TakeOver events for 2018 have been nothing short of amazing from bell to bell. The only downside is that as great as those matches are, he never wins when it matters. He keeps this up and people really are going to be calling him Johnny Failure. The one I think back to fondly is the one against Ciampa where he came out decked out in the Captain America Avengers: Infinity War gear and flat out lost. I just found that to be comical given to the events of that film.

NXT Women’s Championship 2-out-of-3 Falls Match
Shayna Baszler (c) def. Kairi Sane to retain the title

While I enjoyed this match, my biggest issue with it was the feeling like they were rushing for time. The first two falls went by extremely too fast for my taste, but they made up for it on the third. I marked the hell out watching this live when Io Shirai showed up to make the save and honestly rolled my eyes into the back of my head at Dakota Kai coming out to even the odds against Marina Safir and Jessamyn Duke helping out Shayna. I get why they put Kai in there as payback for all of her months of getting bullied and jobbed out to get Shayna over as a heel, but I felt that they could've added Mia Yim for that last bang that this faction needed.Then again, Dakota Kai needs something to sink her teeth into too and it wouldn't hurt to have her into a high profile program like this to erase the stigma of her being merely enhancement talent and finally ascend to a prominent role on the NXT brand instead of just being filler air time on both the NXT TV tapings and even the recent NXT UK episodes that aired to boot.

As for Shayna's title reign, I don't see anyone beating her for that title before WrestleMania weekend, unless they really plan on fast tracking a suitable challenger for the title by then. I read the spoilers and I'm already aware that Bianca Belair is going to challenger her next at the next TakeOver special, so that should be interesting there. Much like the Velveteen Dream, Belair is really talented, but I personally feel like she's missing something before moving up as NXT's face of that division. I just can't put my finger on what it is.

Matt Riddle def. Kassius Ohno

This was an impromptu match to kick off the show following a promo from Riddle calling out Ohno. As soon as the bell rung, Ohno did the job here, getting KO'd literally for Riddle to pick up the win. To say that Ohno's current gimmick is him being upset that he's welcoming mat for the newest NXT signees, he sure didn't do anything here to argue that point. Great way to introduce Riddle, but did absolutely nothing for Ohno here. So much for his moniker as a "Knockout Artist" when he's the one who got knocked out (laughs).