1. Ladder Match – NXT North American Title: Ricochet vs. Adam Cole vs. EC3 vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Killian Dain
Love that the One and Only, Future of Flight Ricochet is from PADUCAH, KENTUCKY.
This was an absolute sugar rush of a gimmick wrestling match that had all the craziness of a big WWE multi-man Ladder Match but with the added aura of TakeOver opener buzz and the fact that all six of these guys come off as fresh, future stars. Not the deepest most psychologically-sound thing, but I loved it.
The first move Ricochet did in a WWE ring was a springboard Shooting Star Press – so poetic. That he looked halfway credible vs. Lars and Dain was impressive, his moonsault off the ladder to the floor moreso. EC3 comes off as such a Top Guy, a dude ready for way beyond NXT… until he starts doing his wrestling moves. Let’s work on that. Adam Cole’s strength continues to be his reactions. Lars and Dain were used well as big fellas in a ladder match and paired off well. I dug Dain’s tope, Lars just chucking a ladder at everybody, and Dain straight headbutting Cole. Dream had a couple off moments but when you do that highlight reel elbow drop it doesn’t matter, the guy moves well and is just bursting with charisma.
The match totally delivered as a complete treat for the crowd – Ricochet flying, big fellas hurtling themselves at each other, EC3 making funny faces, massive ladder bumps, fun character moments, Superkick and Elbow Drop Parties, and so much more. The first half was great fun and they built to some insane car crash spots and an amazing peak with all six guys on ladders. The Dream DVD on the ladder, Lars’ Freak Accident through the ladder to the floor, and Dain’s Michinoku Driver to Cole through Ricochet and the ladder to the floor was an incredible triple shot, absolute insanity. Everybody fighting on ladders, Ricochet springboarding onto Lars’ back, Lars’ bleeding from the ear, Ricochet almost sealing the win, and Cole stealing it from him – chef’s kiss. Tremendous. Fuck Adam Cole, but – tremendous. ****1/2
2. NXT Women’s Title: Ember Moon [c] vs. Shayna Baszler
In a way this was kind of a perfect follow-up to the crazy ladder match, a match completely based in reality. It wasn’t fancy, didn’t exactly have the crowd early, but everything made sense in the confinements of the cool story they’ve been telling and by the end I was loving it. I mean this was a WWE women’s wrestling match that built to a spot where a gal popped her shoulder back on the turnbuckle post. C’mon! Incredible! Most of the match was Shayna going for the kill but Ember using her hurt arm to keep her at bay, and the finish was awesome: Shayna countering the Eclipse with a sleeper, Ember trying to break Shayna’s arm to escape, and Shayna just keeping the sleeper on by wrapping around her good arm and fancy new hairdo. Wow. Awesome. ***3/4
3. Triple Threat Tag Team Match – Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Final & NXT Tag Team Title: The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly) [c] vs. Roderick Strong & Pete Dunne vs. The Authors of Pain
This was a completely fun Triple Threat Tag Match, nothing memorable but everybody went balls out and brought the action. I liked O’Reilly’s attempt at a fighting spirit fire up only to fall outside – his gimmick is coming along as a guy who is so bad at sports entertainment that it becomes good. Outside of that nothing really hit me until the big Roddy swerve, which was cool and all but, like, why was he fighting so hard with O’Reilly all match? ***1/4
4. NXT Title: Andrade “Cien” Almas [c] w/ Zelina Vega vs. Aleister Black
This took a bit to get going but once it did WOW. Andrade “Cien” Almas has found himself and is a special performer who can adapt to whatever his opponent brings to the table. He went toe-to-toe with Black on strikes, sold big, and looked all sweaty and exhausted, but also managed to be an athletic freak who can backflip with the best of them. Black isn’t my favorite guy in long matches but his charisma and ability to bring drama later on is undeniable.
Just a great, stiff, strike-based championship match with a ton of awesome moments in the last half and a tentative crowd eventually completely losing their shit. Amazing sequence with both guys ducking shots until Almas caught Black with a rapid-fire back elbow, leading to Almas blocking Black’s quebrada by just pushing him over the top, leading to an insane triangle corkscrew plancha by Almas. Great, GREAT near falls off the Black Mass, Almas’ double stomp to the floor and double knees in the corner, and Almas’ hammerlock DDT. Everything at the end was just so dramatic and frenetic. The finish with Zelina’s interference backfiring was so good too, well timed and a suitably vicious Black Mass. Hope we’re getting main roster Andy Almas ASAP. ****1/4
5. Johnny Gargano’s NXT Career on the Line – Unsanctioned Match: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa
God did I love this wrestling match. The story. The atmosphere. The crowd. The emotion. The action. The viciousness. The EVERYTHING. It was the perfect end to a blood feud without one drop of blood, a 30+ minute brawl that never wavered, never had a moment where it seemed like these guys didn’t want to do damage, never not having the crowd hanging on every moment and pulling for Their Guy, Johnny Wrestling.
They brought the brawling and intensity right at the start and didn’t slow down. It was a good guy that the crowd is actually connected to versus a heel that the crowd actually hated and a delivery of that story, a poetic end to this fantastic feud that referenced their past and successfully blew off everything that has been the saga of #DIY since they came in as a thrown together team, succeeded in spite of that, clashed at the CWC in an epic, got the crowd on their side, had MOTYs with The Revival culminating in championship gold, crushed our dreams when Ciampa turned on his friend, and had underdog Johnny climbing the ranks against all odds as the evil injured Ciampa lurked in the background, finally striking when he was ready to return.
At the end of the day: good guy vs. bad guy and a crowd that completely buys in. You’d think it’s simple but it is rarely pulled off so well, and when it does every stupid thing about wrestling makes sense.
You had the atmosphere. A hot TakeOver crowd. All the Johnny Wrestling signs. Ciampa entering to a soundtrack of nothing but boos. The veins popping out of Ciampa’s bald head. The POP for Johnny. The battle between two men who not only came to the big leagues together but became stars and got RIPPED together.
You had the crowd; you had the emotion. Almost 14,000 fans were living vicariously through one Johnny Gargano, hanging on every movement as Gargano took punishment or dished it out. The #DIY finish call-backs. Gargano about to impale his former friend with a crutch, but deciding to give it one last shot and sit next to him ala the CWC, before Ciampa showed his true colors and our hero Johnny had to finish him off.
The action. Ciampa’s brilliant running knee counter of the slingshot DDT. Incredible sequences like this one: Johnny slapping and lariating the shit out of Ciampa, doing a tilt-a-whirl that seemed like it could’ve worked in a bar fight, Ciampa landing on his feet and clotheslining Johnny’s head off, Johnny coming back with a reverse hurricanrana that wasn’t clean but felt reckless and REAL, and finally Gargano locking in the Gargano Escape. This thing just didn’t let up.
The viciousness. Johnny’s early mudhole stomps. A superplex off the table to the floor, which was nastier than any spot in the ladder match. Ciampa just punishing Johnny after that, booting him on the apron and aggressively clapping. Gargano grabbing Ciampa’s beard a lot to keep him in place. Ciampa STEALING A GUY’S CRUTCHES trying to decapitate Gargano with said crutches. The tease and delivery of the powerbomb on the CONCRETE and YOU DESERVE IT chants. Ciampa clawing at Johnny’s eyes to escape the Gargano Escape. Each guy just PASTING each other with the crutch. So good. So, so good.
And ultimately just the EVERYTHING, the extra intangible that makes a match really resonate. Johnny’s selling is normally the best part about him but it barely registered to the end; I just completely bought in to the fight in front of me. Loved the last few minutes, such an ideal end to this battle. Both guys throwing punches, held together by wrist tape. Johnny’s fired up punches and Ciampa going LOW then wrecking him with the crutch. Both guys trading slaps leading to a big superkick and lariat by Gargano and delivery of the LAWN DART to the exposed turnbuckle they teased earlier in the match. All-time great nearfalls off of Johnny’s superkick and Ciampa’s super powerbomb lungblower. And the final act, with Gargano about to wreck Ciampa with the crutch only to show some remorse, only for Ciampa to try to attack Gargano with his kneebrace, followed up by a big Gargano Escape struggle and an STF WITH THE KNEEBRACE which led Ciampa to finally give up.
Special. Special, special, special. Gargano’s second five-star match for me this year. *****
Incredible show. There was an epic star-making Ladder Match, tremendous Women’s Title match unlike any other women’s wrestling there is in WWE, a fun Triple Threat Tag with a phenomenal angle, an NXT Title match that way over-delivered, and an all-timer pro wrestling fight between Gargano and Ciampa. Perfect. 10/10
