IMG Credit: WWE

Takeover: Chicago II
Date: June 16, 2018
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

It’s time for a sequel and that means things might not be quite as good as it was before. However, the card looks very strong here with all five matches having the potential to steal the show. The main event will likely be Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano II in a street fight, which is completely different than an unsanctioned match. Let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on pain, which every match on tonight’s card has felt in one way or another. As you might have guessed, the video shifts into focusing on Gargano vs. Ciampa, which is pretty easily the biggest thing on the card.

The announcers welcome Joseph for the night as Mauro Ranallo is off covering Showtime Boxing.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era vs. Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan

Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly are defending and have Adam Cole in their corner. The fans are behind the champs here (well duh) as Strong headlocks Lorcan to start. It’s off to O’Reilly for a headlock takeover and some right hands to Burch’s head but Burch easily wins a slugout. Everything breaks down and Kyle gets suplexed onto Strong before the champs are sent to the floor.

That just leaves Burch and Lorcan to get booed out of the building as the heels are going to be over all night long. Back in and it’s Kyle taking a hard beating with Burch unloading on him in the corner. A distraction lets Strong dropkick Burch down though and the champs take over for the first time. Strong’s backbreaker gets two and a running kick to the face drops him again. We hit the armbar for a bit until Burch fights up for a heck of a headbutt to take O’Reilly down.

That’s enough for the hot tag off to Lorcan and it’s time for the running uppercuts. Lorcan nails a big running dive over the top and alternates chops to both champs. The double elevated DDT gets two on Strong but a Doomsday Device is broken up with Lorcan being shoved hard onto the apron. O’Reilly scores with an enziguri on Burch and the cross armbreaker goes on. Somehow that’s rolled over so Burch can grab a rope and the fans are NOT happy that he survived. Geez guys give the bald guys a chance.

The High/Low is broken up and Lorcan is back up with a double Blockbuster off the apron. Now the Doomsday Uppercut gets two as Cole pulls Strong out at the last second. That means an ejection and the fans now hate the referee too. Strong saves another elevated DDT but Lorcan suplexes his way out of a guillotine choke.

A blind tag brings Strong back in so Lorcan powerbombs him down as the referee tells them they have one minute left. The champs get caught in a double submission with O’Reilly having to kick Lorcan off a half crab to break up Burch’s Crossface. A slugout actually goes to the champs and the High/Low ends Lorcan at 15:59.

Rating: B. This was getting close to the great level and that’s a very solid place for an opener. They were also smart to let the fans cheer for the Undisputed Era early on as you know they’re going to be the most popular guys on the card all night long. Burch and Lorcan looked great here and they might have their day later on. This was all it needed to be though and you can probably have War Raiders waiting on the champs in Brooklyn.

With the champs gone, Lorcan and Burch get the standing ovation.

Kairi Sane is here.

We recap the Velveteen Dream vs. Ricochet. The idea here is Ricochet gets a lot of attention due to being an athletic freak and it’s not cool with Dream that someone else is getting this kind of attention. Dream has said that anything Ricochet can do, he can do better. This caused Ricochet to hit a big flip dive the top to the ramp, leaving Dream speechless.

Velveteen Dream vs. Ricochet

Dream is in full Hogan gear, with bandanna and a DREAM STILL OVER shirt, plus all the mannerisms, including the posing and swinging his arms back and forth. I saw Dream at a house show earlier this week and he was doing some Hogan offense so suddenly this makes a lot more sense. He also has some tights on that look a lot like Ricochet’s Prince Puma gear from Lucha Underground. Ricochet on the other hand now has full on superhero gear, complete with a cape designed to look like wings. The fans are behind Dream here and seem rather pleased when he strikes his pose.

They hit the mat with Ricochet grabbing a headscissors, making Dream lose his bandanna in the process. Dream’s running headscissors doesn’t work as Ricochet lands on his feet, meaning it’s time to start the flips. Ricochet flips off the ropes and moonsaults into his pose, frustrating Dream all over again. A springboard is broken up though and Ricochet lands throat first on the top rope to really cut him off. Back in and Dream drops him throat first across the ropes again, followed by a slow motion slingshot flip splash. A hip swivel neckbreaker gives Dream two and he wants the Bingo hall guy to get up.

Ricochet gets sent to the floor and a running springboard flip dive drops him again. Back in again and a chinlock doesn’t get Dream very far as the chant switches to BOTH THESE GUYS. Ricochet fights up and scores with a suicide dive, followed by a spinning flip dive over the top to really wake the fans up. The springboard back elbow and standing shooting star gives Ricochet two but he gets crotched on top. That means a super Death Valley Bomb for a very near fall as Dream was banged up off the landing.

Ricochet heads up again but this time it’s Dream suplexing him off the top and out to the floor in a very painful looking crash. The fans are VERY pleased and it’s even better when both guys dive back in at nine. Another Death Valley Bomb gives Dream a close two but his snap DDT is broken up. Ricochet’s back gives out on a suplex attempt so they trade kicks to the face instead. Now the DDT gives Dream two and the fans give both downed guys a standing ovation.

Dream says that he’s homegrown and Ricochet belongs in a Bingo hall so Ricochet comes back with a Death Valley Bomb of his own. Ricochet goes up, strikes Dream’s pose, and hits the Purple Rainmaker for a very close two. With Dream still rocked, Ricochet goes up for one of the longest shooting stars I’ve ever seen but it only hits knees. Ricochet is down in the other corner so Dream tries a Coast to Coast Purple Rainmaker but only hits mat (though he more than had the distance). The 630 gives Ricochet the pin at 22:18.

Rating: A. Can we get Dream a statue already? For someone who came over from Tough Enough, I don’t remember the last time he didn’t knock a big match out of the park. Throw in the great gear and story being told here of Dream doing everything Ricochet could do until he made the same mistake in the end and he’s just amazing. Ricochet shows that he could do more than fly too, which is a positive sign for someone so known for one style. Great match and another star making performance for both guys.

We recap Shayna Baszler vs. Nikki Cross. Baszler took over the division by being a bully who broke all the rules. She bullies Dakota Kai so the insane Cross came to Kai’s defense and showed Baszler what it really meant to break the rules. Cross is just so out there that Baszler might not be able to handle her.

Women’s Title: Nikki Cross vs. Shayna Baszler

Baszler is defending. Shayna has her fists up to start but Cross stands there with her arms at her side. Cross tells Baszler to do it, motioning for the Kirifuda Clutch. Then she gets down on all fours to chase Baszler around and the champ is confused. Cross turns her back and offers a free chance, only to cut Baszler off with a growl. The first choke has Baszler in trouble and Cross ties her up in the ring skirt for some forearms to the back.

They fight on the ramp and this time Baszler drops her back first to slow Cross down for the first time. Back in and Baszler tries to smother Cross so Nikki comes up smiling. Well of course she does. The crowd is distracted by something as Baszler knees her in the face, only to have Cross block the second one.

The Clutch is reversed with a belly to back suplex and Cross kicks away in the corner. A layout reverse DDT (not the Slop Drop Nigel) on the apron gives Cross two and a handing swinging suplex gets the same. Shayna reverses another suplex into the Clutch and Cross is in trouble in the middle of the ring. Cross fights a lot but starts smiling before passing out at 9:26.

Rating: B-. Well that was disturbing, though completely the right way to go. Cross is so completely insane that it makes sense for her to enjoy being choked out in a loss. It was straight out of Raven vs. Chris Benoit at Souled Out 1998 and that’s what I was hoping to see coming into this. Not a great match, but I’m curious to see who goes after Baszler next as the division is absolutely stacked right now.

EC3 is here.

Keith Lee (making his debut) is here.

We recap the NXT Title match. This is a pretty basic idea as champion Aleister Black has been able to take care of anyone with Black Mass but Lars Sullivan is too strong for it to have much effect. Sullivan has dominated him for the most part and Black has to find a way to survive.

NXT Title: Aleister Black vs. Lars Sullivan

Black is defending and gets to do his rising up entrance. They stare each other down for a good while to start until Black starts in with the strikes. Both finishers are blocked early on so Black knocks him to the floor for a running forearm. Black comes off the apron with a Meteora but gets his head knocked off back inside. A running knee to the head gives Black one and it’s off to a Fujiwara armbar as they slow things down a bit. Black’s right hand is twisted around and a clothesline only hurts Black’s arm.

They head outside again and Sullivan catches Black’s middle rope moonsault (egads) and drops him face first onto the apron. Back in and we hit the chinlock to give them their first actual break. Black escapes a pop up powerslam but his rollup is countered into a World’s Strongest Slam for two. Now the pop up powerslam gets two more so Sullivan goes up, which can’t end well. Black kicks him in the head so Sullivan just smacks him in the face to put Black back down.

The top rope headbutt hits a raised knee, which thankfully hurts Black’s knee. I’ve never gotten why raising your knees doesn’t cause you damage right back so it’s nice to see for a change. Black’s knee is fine enough to speed up the strikes and the standing Lionsault gives the champ a near fall of his own. Black Mass is blocked again so Sullivan goes after the knee again. We hit a Brock Lock for a good while until the Freak Accident is countered into a DDT for a double knockdown.

Sullivan is up first and gets two more off the top rope headbutt. Black avoids a charge and stomps on the back but misses Black Mass by a good six inches. That gets two anyway, but no reaction as they couldn’t hide how off that was. Another jumping knee to the face sets up Black Mass (to the arm) but Sullivan gets up anyway. With Sullivan on his knees, Black Mass catches him on the top of the head to retain Black’s title at 14:29.

Rating: B+. Missed Black Masses aside, this was a heck of a fight with Black throwing everything he had at the monster in something close enough to Vader vs. Sting to be the classic formula. Just having Black go at him that hard and finally pull it off in the end was the right call and Sullivan can be back with some dominant squashes so he’ll be fine. This is a classic story and it’s always going to work if you can make the fans get behind the underdog, even if that’s the champion.

We recap Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano. They used to be best friends but last year, in this building, Ciampa stabbed him in the back out of jealousy. Gargano defeated Ciampa in an incredible unsanctioned match in New Orleans but Ciampa couldn’t let it die. Therefore, more attacks ensued and it’s time for a street fight rematch. The other important note is Johnny’s wife Candice LeRae, who got caught in the cross hairs and doesn’t approve of Johnny being in the fight again.

Gargano is walking through the back when Candice comes up to him and gives Johnny the broken crutch from New Orleans. Candice: “Kick his a**!”

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano

Street fight. Ciampa has his own crutch and they’re both in street clothes. They swing the crutches at each other to start before just going with the punches. They’re on the floor in a hurry with Gargano throwing him over the announcers’ table and then fighting into the crowd. Gargano finds a USE THIS SIGN JOHNNY and bashes Ciampa in the head with it, revealing a stop sign inside. A high crossbody off a platform crushes Ciampa again and it’s time to go back to ringside with Gargano throwing some weapons inside.

Ciampa shrugs off the left hands for some rolling German suplexes to work on Gargano’s bad neck. Gargano knocks him to the floor again and scores with a suicide dive. A whip into the barricade gets Ciampa out of trouble and it’s time for a chair and a trashcan lid. The chair gets wrapped around Gargano’s head and Ciampa sends it straight into the steps. Ciampa pelts the trashcan at his head and Johnny is bleeding from the hand. It’s handcuffs time and you can tell the fans are nervous about where this is going.

Ciampa can’t get them on so Gargano goes with the slingshot spear instead. Gargano takes his belt off and gives Ciampa the whipping that he deserves. The trashcan goes over Ciampa’s head for the low superkick but of course it’s too early for a cover. Instead Gargano puts the trashcan in the corner, allowing Ciampa to hit Project Ciampa. The knee to the face gets two and a running knee into a trashcan lid into Gargano’s head knocks him even sillier. They head to the apron and White Noise onto the steps gives Ciampa another close two.

We need more weapons so Ciampa pulls out….bolt cutters? He starts cutting the ropes that hold the mat to the bottom of the ring and pulls the canvas and mat away, revealing the plywood. Ciampa puts him on the top and tells Gargano that he deserves this, but a super White Noise is countered. Gargano can’t get a sunset bomb, even as he pulls Ciampa’s pants half down. Instead he settles for a superkick to bring Ciampa back down and it’s time for a slugout.

Ciampa hits a crutch shot while Gargano gets in a trashcan lid shot, knocking them both down at the same time with Gargano falling on top for two. Gargano tries a slingshot dive but goes straight into a trashcan lid shot to the head. The running knee (the bad one mind you) hits the steps and Ciampa is in trouble again. He takes the brace off so Gargano hammers away at the knee, even beating on it with a chair. Ciampa is fine enough to kick Gargano into the chair in the corner and the Gargano Escape has Gargano in big trouble.

That’s let go as Ciampa wants the STF with a crutch like Gargano used in New Orleans. With that not working either, Ciampa fixes his knee brace as Gargano is getting to his feet. A crutch shot to the back of the neck only gets two and Ciampa is getting even madder. Gargano is almost out on his feet so Ciampa takes him up the ramp while shouting about how they used to be friends. It’s time for Gargano to say goodbye to everything and Ciampa sends him into the set, just like he did last year.

Ciampa says it’s never enough and takes him on top of some equipment, above a pair of tables. He even takes off Gargano’s wedding ring, spits on it, and throws it away. That fires Gargano up enough to hit his own White Noise through the tables and they’re both done. Fans: “MAMA MIA!” Medics come out to put a neck brace on Ciampa as Gargano sits from above and watches the stretcher come out. The fans tell Gargano to DO IT but he just watches as Ciampa is put on a table.

Gargano looks at his ring finger and that’s enough to send him after Ciampa again. He wheels Ciampa back down to ringside and slaps on the Gargano Escape for the tap but there’s no referee. Instead Gargano beats up some guys in suits for trying to make a save and cuffs Ciampa’s hands behind his back. Six straight superkicks set up another Gargano Escape so here are a bunch of guys to break it up. The referee is finally back as Gargano beats up the suits, but Ciampa catches him with a hanging DDT onto the exposed boards for the pin at 35:22.

Rating: A+. That ending was sick with the thud being as cringe inducing of a sound as I’ve heard in a long time. Ciampa winning was the right call of course and it was an incredible fight until we got there. The first match was more about just having the two of them hit each other as much as they could but this was all about the violence and the weapons, with Gargano going so far over the line that he got caught in the end, which adds another layer to the story. I have no idea what they have planned for the final match, but they’ve got their work cut out for them.

The fans are STUNNED at the ending and you can feel the air go out of the place. Ciampa can barely move but gives an evil smile as he pulls himself up the aisle using the stretcher. He waves goodbye to Gargano as the fans swear at him a lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: A+. The two creepy smiles carry this one as far as it needs to go and the matches were as great as they could have been. This was much more about the violence and the action and that’s exactly what we got all night long. It’s another incredible show as NXT had its foot on the gas all night long. I know I keep saying they can’t get better than this, but I’m getting tired of being wrong. Bring on Brooklyn, as things might even be better there if that’s possible. Another incredible show, as you kind of have to expect.

Results

Undisputed Era b. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch – High/Low to Lorcan

Ricochet b. Velveteen Dream – 630 Splash

Shayna Baszler b. Nikki Cross – Kirifuda Clutch

Aleister Black b. Lars Sullivan – Black Mass

Tommaso Ciampa b. Johnny Gargano – Hanging DDT

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

I took in the NXT house show last night in the Broadbent Arena in Louisville, Kentucky. The arena isn’t the biggest in the world with a capacity of 6,600. It was cut in half for the sake of the show and the seats off the floor were mostly empty. The floor was full, but the arena still didn’t look great and the lights were kept low all night. I’m not great at judging attendances but there couldn’t have been more than a thousand people there at the very most.

Unfortunately there was a bad wreck on the interstate and traffic caused me to arrive twenty minutes after the show started as it took forty five minutes to drive about three miles. Therefore, I missed the opening two matches, which included:

1. War Raiders b. TM61

2. EC3 b. Fabian Aichner

I arrived just at the end of the EC3 match and could hear the bell on the way to my seat.

3. Kairi Sane/Candice LeRae b. Aliyah/Vanessa Borne – Insane Elbow to Aliyah. 11:44. C.

The crowd was very hot for this with LeRae getting a strong CANDICE WRESTLING chant but they got even hotter for Sane, who came off like a major star. If nothing else she has a great entrance with the pirate motif working very well. This was a longer match than I was expecting with a lengthy heat segment on LeRae. It was also very formula based with LeRae and Sane taking over to start until LeRae got beaten down for several minutes. The hot tag brought in Sane and LeRae cut Borne off, leaving Sane to win with the elbow. Aliyah is rather enjoyable as a heel but I was a fan of hers for a long time. Maybe it’s the right move.

4. North American Title: Adam Cole b. Raul Mendoza – Last Shot. 11:52. B-.

This was probably the match of the night with Cole getting to show off a lot of what made him popular in the first place and Mendoza getting a little chance to shine. The bigger problem was Cole vs. the crowd, as they were cheering loudly for nearly every single thing that he did. Cole tried everything he could to get them to boo him, from not throwing his shirt to the crowd after seeing which side could make the most noise to running the ropes several times before stopping for a chinlock. The latter just earned him a HOLY S*** chant for a funny moment.

Mendoza got to show off as well here, and it’s clear that he has some talent. There’s always room for a high flier who can make a spirited comeback and that’s what Mendoza got to do here. Of course Cole retained in the end with the Last Shot and the fans were very, very pleased, but Mendoza gave a more than respectable showing of himself and hopefully someone was paying attention.

5. Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era b. Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan – High/Low to Lorcan. 13:30. C+.

It’s always cool to see a dress rehearsal for an upcoming Takeover match and we got to see three of them in one night. Lorcan and Burch were game challengers here and did what they could, but the match never kicked into the higher gear that you might expect it to. What we got was certainly fun though and the Era continues to look more and more like a polished team every time they’re out there. All those years in Ring of Honor are paying off and it makes for a useful situation. Not a bad match, but I’d hope for more on Saturday.

There was actually a post match angle which wound up on WWE’s YouTube channel:

Velveteen Dream got a quick promo on the video screen, saying that it didn’t matter if you were a Louisville Cardinals or Kentucky Wildcats fan, you all sucked. While he wanted to fight Ricochet, he’ll have to settle for beating someone else up tonight as Ricochet is being held out due to injury (not mentioned).

Twenty minute intermission. At the end a fan got to play the What Happens Next game and won a Raw: The First 25 Years book.

6. Velveteen Dream b. Kassius Ohno – Purple Rainmaker. 13:47. C.

Now this was a weird one, mainly for one place. First of all, the fans loved Dream, giving him one of the biggest reactions of the night. The match was about all you would expect, with Ohno hitting him really hard (and loud) and Dream doing all his shenanigans to try and play some mind games. The first odd moment was near the beginning, when it turned into a very random Hulk Hogan tribute match. Ohno knocked Dream down and did the hand to the ear to all four ropes but missed a legdrop. Dream hit one of his own, then dropped two elbows before raking Ohno’s eyes with his boot in another Hogan trademark.

Ohno did hit a Hero’s Welcome (a rolling cutter, which he shouted by name before hitting it) and did all of his other usual stuff. He also banged up Dream’s knee but Dream was perfectly fine enough to hit the elbow for the pin. That’s exactly the kind of thing Ohno is great at: making someone else look good and then taking the loss which doesn’t do him any real damage.

Post match Dream told everyone to buy the Network so they could see him do this again on Saturday. Ricochet came out and said that he wanted to see Dream take the spotlight, so let’s see a flip. Dream played to the crowd a lot and loaded one up but Ricochet came in and scared him off. After being chased off, Dream said that Saturday will be a one star match and that one star was him. As he was leaving, Dream said if you wanted to see him do a flip, it would be 9.99. Ricochet said nothing was going to stop him from being in Kentucky and nothing would stop him from being in Chicago to punch Dream in the face.

7. Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler b. Nikki Cross – Kirifuda Clutch. 9:21. C.

This was about one thing: Cross is a psycho who messes with Baszler’s mind. There really is something to be said about how nuts she comes across as, which adds a lot of fun to her character. Baszler tried to use her skills and work her over but Cross kept going nuts and throwing Baszler off. In the end, Baszler got the Clutch for the knockout, but Cross didn’t tap in a smart move. She’s not the kind of person to tap out and they went with the more appropriate passing out, hopefully with a smile on her face at the time.

8. Aleister Black b. Lars Sullivan via DQ when Sullivan shoved the referee. 13:20. C+.

Black was in more of a traditional face mode here as he wasted no time in throwing all of his strikes at Sullivan. This included a few kicks to knock Sullivan to the floor but a moonsault got caught in midair. Sullivan worked on the leg to take away the kicks but the Freak Accident was countered into a DDT. He beat on Black some more but couldn’t put him away, eventually grabbing a chair instead, leading to shoving the referee down for the DQ. I’d assume an actual finish in Chicago, but this was energetic while it lasted and they worked well enough together. Black kicked the chair into his face post match to end the night.

Overall, this was your run of the mill NXT house show. It wasn’t great and for the most part, none of the matches really jumped off the page at me. However, it did a good job of making me want to see Takeover on Saturday and really that’s what these shows are for: to get you to want to see the bigger events. Most of the big names were there and if Ricochet had been healthy, I would have gotten to see four of the five matches on Saturday’s card. I had a good time and counting parking, the whole night was only $30. It was a fun time and if you like NXT, you’ll have a good time going to one of the shows.

IMG Credit: WWE

It’s time, once again, for everybody to come aboard the Takeover train. We’re back in Chicago for the second year in a row and hopefully we get a match that matches last year’s Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne for the United Kingdom Title. The card looks solid this time around and there’s a chance that it lives up to the hype. It’s the usual five match card and that has worked very well for NXT in the past. Let’s get to it.

Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream

We’ll start with one that could go either way. Dream is one of the few times where WWE has built someone from the ground up and he plays the gimmick as perfectly as anyone could have possibly done. At the same time though, you have Ricochet who is still pretty new (his first on screen appearance for NXT was only back in January with his in-ring debut two months ago). The idea here is a fight over the spotlight with Dream saying he can do anything better than Ricochet, earning himself a heck of a shutting up with Ricochet’s flip over the ropes to the floor.

You could go either way here but I can’t imagine Ricochet losing this time. While Dream needs a big win at some point, he has the kind of gimmick that can bounce back from a single loss. Ricochet on the other hand is newer and hasn’t had a major win during his short time with the promotion. Ricochet wins here with some kind of impressive flip to take the spotlight from Dream, who moves on to his next obsession and probably gets the big win there. Either way, they’re both going to be fine for different reasons each.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era(c) vs. Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan

This one feels more like more of a foregone conclusion and that’s just fine. The Undisputed Era has held the titles since January (albeit with Roderick Strong coming in as a replacement for the injured Bobby Fish with Adam Cole defending the titles during a major match as well) and could hold them for a very long time. Burch and Lorcan are fine for a pretty thrown together team but they’re still going to be able to go after the titles in a short term yet well done story.

In case it’s not clear, I’ll take the champions to retain here, albeit in a good match. You can have Burch and Lorcan get very close but ultimately fall to the better team, which is going to enhance the champions and give Burch and Lorcan a boost at the same time. They can continue to be a team if necessary and feud with some of the other teams in the division. Maybe they’ll get back to the titles later, but for now they’re just going to put the Undisputed Era over and that’s perfectly fine.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler(c) vs. Nikki Cross

Now this one actually interests me as we have two women who break the rules in entirely different ways. The big idea here is that Baszler has gone after Dakota Kai but now Cross has come in and stood up for Kai while also being just crazy enough that she throws Baszler off. The idea here is Baszler broke the rules to get here but Cross breaks the rules of being a sane and rational human being.

I’m going with Baszler to retain here as Cross certainly doesn’t need the title to get over as a star (though I’d be very curious to see how she acted as the champion). Baszler is the kind of champion where you need someone to be built up over time and slay the dragon who cheated her way through the system to get to the title. This should be a heck of a fight and I’m hoping it ends with Cross smiling and laughing ala Raven at Souled Out 1998 as she passes out. It wouldn’t make sense to have her tap and Baszler should be disturbed by what she sees, which is all you need to sell the story.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Oh dear. Oh dear indeed. I’m not sure on having this one happen again so soon but there’s a little more to it than that. First of all, there’s the problem that the first match was one of the best matches NXT has ever done. It was unsanctioned and I’m not sure how different that’s going to be than a street fight. They’ve added some extra stuff here with Candice LeRae not approving of what Gargano does, and you can almost guarantee that it’s going to factor into the finish.

I’m going to take Ciampa here, likely setting up a third match between the two for the big blowoff. I’d have LeRae cost Gargano the match, albeit not having her change sides or anything of course. LeRae can come out and beg Gargano to stop or something and Ciampa can get the win as a result as she wants to have her husband back and is trying to appeal to the last of his humanity. The final match can see LeRae backing Gargano one more time so he can slay Ciampa once and for all, likely in Brooklyn. But yeah, Ciampa wins here, setting up the third and final match in the war.

NXT Title: Aleister Black(c) vs. Lars Sullivan

This one is similar to the Tag Team Title match as Sullivan might not be the most likely option to win the title but it’s not like it would be the biggest shock in the world. Black is in a weird place as he’s kind of just off to the side while Gargano and Ciampa have the top feud in the promotion. I’m still not sure he needed to win the title yet, especially as we’re more than two months into Andrade Cien Almas moving up to the main roster and he still hasn’t had a major match yet. Did they really need to have Black get the title at this point?

I’ll go with Black to retain though, even if he doesn’t manage to hit Black Mass. There are other things they could do, like have Sullivan get annoyed and throw the ref down for a DQ (not really an NXT way to finish things) or just keep beating on Black until he gets disqualified. Either way, I think Back retains the title and they’ll do something else between these two later on, which is about as good as anything else they can do until we get a better challenger build up for Black. The match will be fine with a fired up Black fighting a gorilla but it’s going to take something special to blow the roof off.

Overall Thoughts

Overall….I think I actually have some more confidence in this one than I do in most Takeovers. Nothing on the card looks bad and there’s a good chance that all of them live up to the hype (save for maybe Gargano vs. Ciampa, which is fighting an uphill battle). Takeover has yet to really disappoint me and I have no reason to believe that this will be anything more than very entertaining. Ricochet and Dream could steal the night, but on a show where everyone is trying to do just that, it’s a little easier said than done.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: June 13, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

It’s the go home show for Takeover: Chicago and that means it’s time to put the final touches on everything. The five match card is already set and this week’s show will feature a focus on the NXT Title match between Aleister Black and his monster challenger Lars Sullivan. The match doesn’t need a lot of focus but at least they can have something to get us to Takeover. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

War Raiders vs. Ricky Martinez/Justin Storm

Hanson shoves Storm into the corner to start and cartwheels away from a charge to show off a bit. Martinez comes in and tries a forearm on Rowe but hurts himself in the process. The shotgun knees send Martinez into the corner and Rowe tosses Hanson onto him for good measure. The yet to be renamed Fallout ends Martinez at 2:38. Total squash.

Post match the Raiders call out TM61 and beat Storm up. They didn’t want him to feel left out you see.

Adam Cole yells at a cameraman for filming Undisputed Era without his permission.

Long recap of Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa, focusing on the time from their first match in New Orleans through now. Gargano won the unsanctioned match but Ciampa wasn’t done, attacking Gargano a few weeks later. Now it’s time for a street fight, though Johnny’s wife Candice doesn’t approve. Candice got take out in one of the fights and both guys were more than a little shake. Now it doesn’t have to be a wrestling match because they can just hurt each other.

EC3 vs. Kassius Ohno

This was set up last week when EC3 interrupted Ohno’s photo shoot. Ohno shoves the smiling EC3 down to start but EC3 is right back with a ram into the corner and some forearms of his own. The neck crank doesn’t last long as Ohno fights up with a knee to the face. Three straight backsplashes keep EC3 in trouble until he snaps Ohno throat first across the top rope. The 1%er (TKO) ends Ohno at 4:07.

Rating: D+. Just a quick win for EC3 here, which is a good thing as he doesn’t have a feud at the moment and has nothing else to do other than win random matches. That’s exactly why Ohno is here too as he’s more than fine enough to put on a good performance in a loss that isn’t going to hurt his credibility.

Bianca Belair vs. Aliyah

Aliyah takes some time to show off her new fire look and gets the bandanna forearmed off of her head. Belair runs her over in the corner and talks trash out of her blue lips. A guillotine doesn’t get Aliyah very far as Bianca suplexes her down instead. Belair deadlifts her into a gorilla press and a torture rack into a sitout faceplant is good for the pin on Aliyah at 2:52. Another squash.

Video on Shayna Baszler vs. Nikki Cross. Baszler came in and broke all the rules but Cross doesn’t live by any rules in the first place and seems to want Baszler to hurt her. It also seems to be part of the bigger Baszler vs. Dakota Kai feud with Cross standing up for her.

Kai is proud of standing up to Baszler but Belair comes in to take over the interview because she’s awesome. Belair talks a lot of trash about how great she is and how Kai is nothing but a Team Kick catchphrase. They set up a match for next week.

United Kingdom Title: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Pete Dunne

Dunne is defending and has a taped up leg. The fans are way into this as they tease kicking each other to start. A test of strength drives Dunne to the mat but he reverses into a failed double wristlock attempt. They head outside with an X Plex dropping O’Reilly onto the apron before Dunne takes it back inside for a double fish hook. Dunne loads up the moonsault out of the corner get but gets kicked in the bad knee to bring him back down.

It’s already off to the kneebar but Dunne gets to his feet and enziguris his way to freedom. Now the moonsault out of the corner works and Dunne goes back to the arm. The Bitter End is blocked and O’Reilly is back on the knee. That’s reversed into an X Plex, only to have O’Reilly go after the kneebar again. Dunne breaks that up as well and they trade enziguris until a right hand drops O’Reilly. Another shot to the face sets up the Bitter End to retain the title at 10:20.

Rating: B. Another good match from Dunne, even if there was no doubt that the title was safe. O’Reilly is great as some who can go after a body part without being a threat to win a big match most of the time. It’s almost like a Ken Shamrock without the crazy insanity that came along with him. Dunne looked great again here, and that’s all you can expect him to be anymore.

Post match the Undisputed Era runs in but Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan make the save.

Here’s Aleister Black for a chat to end the show. Black says that nothing is too powerful to be stopped by Black Mass and he will fade to black. Cue Lars Sullivan and the fight is on in a hurry. Black slugs away but gets clotheslined down, followed by the Freak Accident. A second and third Freak Accident plant Black so Sullivan can take him up to the announcers’ table. Black is out as Sullivan poses above the champ to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a perfectly acceptable go home show with everything on Sunday getting some time in the form of either a promo, a video or a match. I was already fired up to see Takeover and with a nice push towards the NXT Title match, there’s not much else left to do. Good show tonight with a strong main event as NXT does it again.

Results

War Raiders b. Ricky Martinez/Justin Storm – Fallout to Martinez

EC3 b. Kassius Ohno – 1%er

Bianca Belair b. Aliyah – Torture rack into a facebuster

Pete Dunne b. Kyle O’Reilly – Bitter End

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: May 29, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

It’s time for a big fight here, though it might not be the definitive fight. The big match on the card this week will see Shayna Baszler defending her title against Dakota Kai. Dakota has been running scared of Baszler but Nikki Cross has been poking her head around things lately, which offers a very odd twist to the whole thing. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Johnny Gargano seemingly considering retirement last week when Tommaso Ciampa interrupted and another fight almost began. During the melee, Johnny’s wife Candice LeRae was knocked down by mistake, seemingly freaking Ciampa out in a rare occurrence. Both are banned from the arena tonight but are set for a street fight at Takeover: Chicago, provided they both sign contracts.

Here’s Aleister Black for a chat. He says all it takes is one shot for his opponents to fade to black and here’s Lars Sullivan to interrupt. William Regal has made Sullivan #1 contender to the NXT Title for Takeover: Chicago. For sixteen years, Black has made people fade to black but he’s never faced anyone like Sullivan. Black can ignore his emotions all he wants but he can’t ignore what’s going to happen to him in Chicago. The fight is almost on and Black Mass is casually blocked, followed by a Freak Accident to leave Black laying. For a one off title match (which this will likely be), this was fine.

War Raiders vs. George Hickson/Cody Vincent

Rowe headbutts Hickson down as the RAIDERS chants begin. It’s off to Vincent, who gets pummeled in the corner just as badly. Shotgun knees into the Bronco Buster crush Vincent and a springboard clothesline/German suplex combination knocks Hickson silly. Fallout ends Vincent at 2:49. Total squash.

We recap Kai vs. Baszler. Kai wants to be Women’s Champion but Baszler sees her as weak and toys with her like the bully that she is.

Lacey Evans is ready to win the rubber match with Kairi Sane next week.

EC3 vs. Fabian Aichner

EC3 takes him into the corner for what he calls the top 1% forearm. An elbow to the jaw into a gutwrench suplex gives Aichner two but his springboard is broken up pretty easily. EC3 goes out to get him but here’s Gargano through the crowd to grab a mic and say his contract is signed. The distraction lets Aichner hit a crazy high crossbody to the floor for two back inside. Not that it matters as EC3 grabs the One Percenter (TKO) for the pin at 2:41.

Video on Bianca Belair, who was a natural athlete from childhood. We see some clips of Belair’s athletic accomplishments, with her saying that she never tried because she was that much better than everyone else. After being an All American in college, she got into competitive CrossFit and that got her into NXT. She’s here to be the best because she always has been.

Ricochet vs. Chris Dijak

This is Dijak’s TV debut. The much bigger Dijak (stands about 6’9) takes Ricochet into the corner but gets kicked in the head for his efforts. Dijak bails to the floor and still catches the suicide dive with a chokeslam onto the apron. Back in and Dijak hits a springboard elbow but misses a moonsault, allowing Ricochet to roll some vertical suplexes. The 630 ends Dijak at 2:08. Dijak looked great while it lasted.

Post match Ricochet says Velveteen Dream wants the spotlight and really, he deserves it. The thing about spotlight is it shows your flaws and last week, Dream showed what he really was. Ricochet mentions Chicago but here’s Dream to interrupt. Dream says tonight was Ricochet’s spotlight but last week was their spotlight. Last week Dream showed that he can do anything Ricochet can do but better.

That sounds like a challenge to Ricochet so Dream says it’s on for Chicago. Dream says whatever Ricochet can do, he can do better so Ricochet gets a running start and flip dives (no hands of course), landing perfectly on his feet right in front of Dream. That’s a bit too much for Dream, who looks impressed. Fair enough as that looked awesome.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler vs. Dakota Kai

Kai is challenging. Baszler backs her into the corner to start and Kai is intimidated but still comes out ready to fight. That earns her a quick takedown and Baszler starts in on the leg. The ankle gets twisted around and stomped again as this is one sided so far. Baszler tells her to try some kicking so Kai tries a right hand, only to get pummeled even more. An ankle lock goes on but Kai actually makes a rope. The hold goes on again but Kai hits a quick kick for the break. More kicks, including a running kick in the corner have Baszler in trouble, only to have Kai get caught in the Kirifuda Clutch for the tap at 5:34.

Rating: C. This felt like another part of a bigger story, assuming they go with Kai as something important in the division. I’m not sure that’s where they’re going, but it’s certainly a story that has some potential. You let her grow up and come back later on for the big Takeover match and money can be made.

Post match Baszler puts the hold on again but Nikki Cross comes in to scare the heck out of Baszler, who backs off. That’s not it though as Cross runs up and steals the title, laying it on the mat as an offer for Baszler to come get it. Baszler comes to get it but Cross snatches it up again. Cross wants a title shot TONIGHT and seems to ask Kai for approval. She hands Kai the title so Baszler goes after it, earning herself the Purge with Kai counting a pin. Cross celebrates with the title in the crowd to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. They added two matches to Takeover and planted the seeds for a third with Baszler vs. Cross. I’m a lot more interested in Takeover than I was coming in and that’s a very nice thing to be able to say. The wrestling wasn’t the point here and that’s often the case around here. Let the stories be told and the whole thing will take care of itself. Another good show here and I want to see Cross vs. Baszler, among other things. Well done.

Results

War Raiders b. George Hickson/Cody Vincent – Fallout to Vincent

EC3 b. Fabian Aichner – One Percenter

Ricochet b. Chris Dijak – 630

Shayna Baszler b. Dakota Kai – Kirifuda Clutch

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: April 25, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson

After a few weeks of insanity on the main roster, it’s rather nice to see how things are going down in NXT. This week we have the first defense of the North American Title as Adam Cole defends against Oney Lorcan, but there’s a slightly bigger title match. Tonight we have Aleister Black making his first defense of the NXT Title against Johnny Gargano. The shenanigans should be high with this one. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s the Undisputed Era to open things up, with Roderick Strong officially announced as a Tag Team Champion. Adam Cole talks about how much gold the team has, which is what happens when you back the team into a corner. NXT has fought against them from the start but ladies and gentlemen, here they stand.

Bobby Fish talks about having the deck stacked against them every time but they’re always winding up in front. Strong says he isn’t here to pat himself on the back so everyone else can do it for him. For once he did something for himself by taking the safer long term prospect. All Pete Dunne cares about is the United Kingdom Championship so how long would it be until he turned on Strong?

During the match, Strong had an epiphany: it’s always Roddy vs. the world, but why fight on your own and come up short? They are done being backed into a corner and now they can’t be stopped. Cole is ready to defend the North American Title on his own, just like he won it. It’s not like he needs any help defeating Oney Lorcan. Now why is it so hard to get an explanation for actions like the one Strong just gave us?

North American Title: Oney Lorcan vs. Adam Cole

Cole is defending and has heavily taped ribs. Lorcan is smart enough to go for a waistlock to send Cole bailing to the floor. Mauro’s analysis: he doesn’t think Cole is at 100%. On the way back in, Lorcan shoulders him in the ribs to keep the champ in trouble. Cole comes back and stomps him down before hitting a chinlock.

The fireman’s carry neckbreaker plants Lorcan again but he’s right back up with a running elbow. The running Blockbuster gets two and Cole gets dropped ribs first onto the top rope. Cue Kyle O’Reilly with a trainer to throw up the X, followed by a belly to back suplex to put Lorcan on the apron. Cole is just fine and the Last Shot retains the title at 5:54.

Rating: C-. They did the smart path here with the Lorcan staying on the bad ribs. Having someone come out and throw up a fake X is a smart idea and something I don’t remember seeing before. The Undisputed Era could be around for a long time and that’s going to make things interesting in the future. These first few title defenses aren’t the most thrilling but the logic was sound.

Post match Danny Burch runs in for the save but gets superkicked down.

Video on Shayna Baszler.

We look at Candice LeRae defeating Zelina Vega last week.

Video on Bianca Belair, who faces Candice next week.

Heavy Machinery vs. Tino Sabbatelli/Riddick Moss

I don’t say this often (if ever) in NXT but yes, again. Knight headlocks Moss to start and double shoulders put Sabbatelli and Moss on the floor early on. Back in and Heavy Machinery rams them into each other before standing on their chests to pose. Things finally settle down and Moss hammers Dozovic into the corner to take over. It’s back to Sabbatelli to throw some punches but Dozovic launches him to the floor. Moss comes back in and slugs away but Sabbatelli walks away, leaving Moss to take the Compactor for the pin 4:07.

Rating: D+. Good. Not only is the team finally done after not having any chance to go higher than they were, but now we don’t have to watch this match anymore. There’s nothing left for Sabbatelli and Moss to do as they’re not all that interesting as so many of their stories were about that car. Sabbatelli could be ok on his own, but neither is exactly jumping off the page at me. Splitting the team is the right move, even without much upside.

Post match Heavy Machinery calls out the War Raiders, saying they’re going to eat all the steaks and lift all the weights. If the Raiders are ready to face them, Heavy Machinery is ready for war.

Video on the women’s division.

Dakota Kai doesn’t want to talk about Shayna Baszler and her injury. Baszler comes in and demands that Kai looks at her. Kai came all the way here but needs to understand that the women’s division under Baszler is Kai’s worst nightmare. If they go through with this, Kai rising up to fight Baszler could be money.

Kona Reeves is coming.

Video on Lacey Evans. Dang there are a lot of these tonight.

Next week: TM61 vs. Street Profits and Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong.

NXT Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Aleister Black

Black is defending.

Hang on though as Tommaso Ciampa, now with face paint (or maybe tape), jumps Gargano from behind. Johnny fights out of White Noise through a table though and dives onto Ciampa. The beatdown is on until Ciampa gets in a low blow. White Noise through another table leaves Gargano laying. A stretcher is brought out with Candice LeRae out to help her husband too. We follow the stretcher to the back with Kassius Ohno (in a Larry Sweeney shirt) holding Gargano’s hands. The ambulance leaves and Ciampa is shown standing on a production truck, watching it leave. Heck of an angle here and the rematch will rock.

Back in the arena, here’s an angry Aleister Black to take a mic. Black calls out Ciampa but gets….Sanity? Eric Young says Gargano provided hope in the chaos. Out of the chaos we will find sanity but Black cuts him off, asking if Young is looking for the title. If so, let’s do this.

NXT Title: Aleister Black vs. Eric Young

Young is challenging. They take each other down and Young grabs a headlock. That goes nowhere so Young elbows him down instead. Black knocks him to the floor and moonsaults into the seated pose to remain calm. Back in and Young gets caught in an armbar but Alexander Wolfe offers a distraction to get him out of trouble. Some choking has Black down and Young gets two off an elbow.

Black fights out of the chinlock and hits a big boot for a breather. A running knee knocks Young silly and more strikes make things even worse. Black gets two off a Lionsault to a standing Young and grabs something like an Octopus hold, albeit with Young standing straight and Black hanging to the side. A Death Valley Bomb gets Young out of trouble for two and he goes to the top. That’s broken up so Young tries his slide through the legs into the sunset flip, only to eat Black Mass to retain the title at 8:51.

Rating: B. It’s amazing how much easier Young is to watch in this role. He has more than enough skill to make the matches work and keeping his talking short is the best idea NXT could have for him. Black was strong here as well, showing that he can work with anyone and hitting Black Mass is going to get him out of any trouble. Good match here and better than I was expecting.

Post match the rest of Sanity gets Black Mass as well to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was about setting things up for the future and oh my did they do a good job with that. On top of the great angle with Ciampa and Gargano, there’s the potential for War Raiders vs. Heavy Machinery, someone coming up to challenge Undisputed Era and Kai vs. Baszler (that’s more long term). I’m interested in all of those things and that’s a rare feeling to have. Takeover: Chicago should be a lot of fun and as usual, I fully believe NXT can pull that off.

Results

Adam Cole b. Oney Lorcan – Last Shot

Heavy Machinery b. Tino Sabbatelli/Riddick Moss – Compactor to Moss

Aleister Black b. Eric Young – Black Mass

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: April 18, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson

We’re out of New Orleans and back home now, albeit without a few names. Over the last week and a half, the Iconics, Ember Moon, Sanity and Andrade Cien Almas/Zelina Vega have moved up to the main roster, meaning it’s time to start rebuilding things. It’s also time for the fallout from Takeover so let’s get to it.

Here’s last week’s show if you need a recap.

In memory of Bruno Sammartino. I’d expect to hear that a lot in the next week and I’d be angry if I didn’t.

Opening sequence.

Here are Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae to open things up. Johnny talks about dreaming of being here because for the longest time, he was defined by the words Tommaso Ciampa. Then after thirty seven of the most intense minutes he’s ever spent inside a wrestling ring, he stands here with his life back. Johnny thanks the fans for sticking those signs in Ciampa’s face for months and now Johnny Wrestling is back.

That brings him to Candice because he couldn’t have done this without her. Enough of the mushy stuff though, because they have something left to do. That would be Candice fighting Zelina Vega tonight, and if Almas interferes, Johnny will drop him like his name is Tommaso Ciampa. After that, there’s one place left for him to go: the NXT Title. If they do the story right, Gargano going after the title could be insane.

Killian Dain, looking off camera, says that Lars Sullivan took something from him in New Orleans. Tonight, in a No DQ match, he’s taking everything from Sullivan.

Ricochet vs. Fabian Aichner

Ricochet is very popular here, just like he was in New Orleans. An early headscissors takes Aichner down but he grabs a fireman’s carry gutbuster to slow things way down. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker stays on Ricochet’s ribs and we hit a waistlock. That’s broken up as well and Ricochet rolls forward into a dropkick. Ricochet is right back with a springboard European uppercut and a standing shooting star for two. After Aichner gets knocked off the top, the 630 puts him away at 4:35.

Rating: C. This was just a way to get Ricochet his first win and there’s nothing wrong with that. He wrestles like a superhero and that’s going to work very well as long as you have the high flying skills to back it up. Ricochet looked good here, though I could go for some more Aichner. You don’t waste that kind of look, size and skill.

Post match Ricochet talks about watching people become stars in NXT and now it’s his turn to crank it up a notch.

We look at the War Raiders debuting last week.

Video on EC3. He’s at 97% charisma and 3% body fat.

Sullivan is ready to do whatever he wants to Dain.

War Raiders vs. Chris/J.C.

Chris and J.C. don’t get last names but they’re dressed like Deuce N Domino. Rowe knees one of them down before handing it off to Hanson for a cartwheel dropkick. Whatever they’re calling Fallout is good for the pin on Chris at 1:50.

Shayna Baszler addressed the locker room at the Performance Center where she ripped the name off of Ember Moon’s locker. Everyone here needs to get in line or get out. Dakota Kai gets up and leaves.

Kona Reeves, now saying he has the finest everything (hair, clothes, etc) is back in two weeks.

Pete Dunne leaves but first says he’ll be back with his thoughts about Roderick Strong.

Lars Sullivan vs. Killian Dain

No DQ and the fans greet it with a HOSS FIGHT chant. They waste no time in hammering on each other with Dain getting the better of it by putting Sullivan on the floor. A suicide dive is caught though and Dain sends him into the steps. Back in and Sullivan muscles him up for a German suplex to put Dain outside again. A top rope clothesline drops Dain again and let’s hit those NXT chants. Dain is bleeding from the nose as Sullivan drops a middle rope headbutt for two.

Sullivan brings in a chair but eats a shotgun dropkick as the blood is starting tso flow a little more freely. The Belfast Blitz gets two and it’s time for a table. The table is set in the corner but Dain is smart enough to chair him in the back a few times. Sullivan is right back with the World’s Strongest Slam for one but Dain bicycle kicks him in the face. A running crossbody puts Sullivan through the table….and Dain loads up Coast to Coast? Sullivan gets up though and chairs him down again, setting up the Freak Accident onto the chairs for the pin at 10:50.

Rating: B. Now that was more like it with both guys looking like major monsters who gave each other a run for their money. Sullivan has more potential on his own and Dain is on his way up to the main roster anyway. The best thing here: when Dain loaded up Coast to Coast, I was thinking he could actually do it. That’s not normal but it’s also kind of amazing.

We recap Candice LeRae vs. Zelina Vega, which is an offshoot of Almas vs. Gargano.

Undisputed Era is very proud of what they’ve done.

Candice LeRae vs. Zelina Vega

Zelina talks a bunch of trash to start and gets shoved down, allowing Almas to come onto the apron for a distraction. With Vega pulling Candice down, here’s Johnny to even things out. Things settle down with Candice being sent into the corner and kicked in the head. Vega hits the running knees in the corner for two but the hammerlock DDT is reversed into a small package. Candice gets all fired up and hammers away in the corner, setting up a missile dropkick for two. The Gargano Escape goes on and Johnny grabs one on an invading Almas as Zelina taps at 3:29.

Rating: C. This was a quick way to wrap up the feud between these four as Vega and Almas are main roster bound. It helps having Vega able to work a match in a situation like this as she can be another kind of threat. LeRae was fine in the ring here and the image at the end of the double submission was pretty definitive. Good stuff, especially for a short match.

Post match Candice and Johnny celebrate with Gargano officially challenging Aleister Black for the title. Cue Aleister to say the title match is on for next week.

Overall Rating: B-. This felt more like a wrapping things up episode as some stories had a finish put on them before things move towards the next Takeover. Black vs. Gargano should be fun until Ciampa (likely) interferes to set up the rematch. The rest of the show was a lot of fun with Sullivan vs. Dain as a fun hoss battle and War Raiders/Ricochet looking good in short bursts. It’s a positive sign for the future, and I don’t expect NXT to botch things.

Results

Ricochet b. Fabian Aichner – 630 splash

War Raiders b. Chris/J.C. – Fallout to Chris

Lars Sullivan b. Killian Dain – Freak Accident onto chairs

Candice LeRae b. Zelina Vega – Gargano Escape

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

It’s a big wrestling weekend and that means it’s time for another NXT Takeover special. As is almost always the case, that means NXT could steal the weekend again. It’s not like they haven’t done it before as their previous special featured one of the best matches WWE has produced in a good many years. This time around there’s a match that has been built up for the better part of a year and if the build is any indication, it could be a masterpiece. Let’s get to it.

Women’s Title: Ember Moon(c) vs. Shayna Baszler

We’ll get one of the easier ones out of the way first with this rematch. Moon won the title after Asuka moved up to the main roster and hasn’t exactly impressed as champion. She’s not very interesting and never actually beating Asuka didn’t do her any favors. Why should I buy her as the top star of the division when Asuka never lost and Moon gets to be the best of the ones still in NXT?

Naturally I’m taking Baszler to win here as there’s no reason not to. Baszler has been the best character in the division for a long time now and can choke people out for awhile until the next challenger is ready. There’s nothing left for her to do but win the title and dominate as champion, though I’m not sure where that leaves Moon. I’m not sure what she would do on the main roster other than just being another name, but there isn’t much left for her in NXT.

North American Title: Adam Cole vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Ricochet vs. EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream

Take six guys, put a ladder above the ring and see what happens I guess. This is for the inaugural title and there’s really not much else to say. Two of the participants are brand new and the match is wide open. I’d rather this be a pinfall or submission match with elimination rules but that’s never been WWE’s path forward on something like this. The match should be fun but there’s a good chance of it being a total mess, as is often the case in a big match with ladders involved.

That being said, I’ll take…..geez Dream I guess. There’s no wrong answer to this and while seeing Sullivan win the title would make sense, I’m seeing Dream going on to Brooklyn and winning the NXT Title so this is a good place to start. I’ll give NXT this though: they’ve put together six people and you really could pick any of them to win the title. That’s not the case very often and it’s really cool to see for a change.

NXT Title: Andrade Cien Almas(c) vs. Aleister Black

The more I think of this, the more unsure I am of the outcome. Almas is being presented as Black’s next victim but that was the same thing that was said when he faced Drew McIntyre. I’m not sure if that’s the case here as Almas winning and holding on to the title until “Takeover: Brooklyn” could be interesting. I could easily see Gargano getting one more chance in Brooklyn, but I’m not sure that’s where they’re going.

I’ll take Black winning the title and getting rid of Almas to send him to the main roster, but I’m almost thinking I’m wrong as I write this out. Almas and Zelina Vega are an amazing act together and having him give Black his first singles loss could be a great crowning achievement for him. This could be interesting, but they better not let it main event with a certain other match on the card.

Tag Team Titles/Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: Adam Cole/Kyle O’Reilly(c) vs. Authors of Pain vs. Roderick Strong/Pete Dunne

This is one of those things that will be wrapped up by the time you read this and really, I’m not sure where to go here. Bobby Fish being injured throws everything up in the air, though Cole and O’Reilly continuing for months as a team would be just fine. This is getting more and more confusing the more I think about it as they really could go with any of the three teams here and get the right call.

I think I’ll go with Undisputed Era retaining and winning the tournament at the same time (ignore how ridiculous that sounds). The Authors don’t have anything else to win and I’m not sure if they’re going to go with a makeshift team winning to give Dunne a second title. The Era feels like the safe pick here but just like in the ladder match, it’s a wide open field where anyone could come out with the titles.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

This needs to main event the show, full stop. These two have put on one of the biggest rivalries in years, despite not actually having a match yet. This is unsanctioned and anything goes (as it should be) but it’s going to be all about emotion. If you have a match where they both come out looking to kill each other, it’s a complete pick em and could be one of the most heart wrenching matches NXT has ever done.

I’ll go with Gargano in what should be a layup. I’m scared of the idea of him going to the main roster and being the latest big star on “205 Live” because that place hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire in the near year and a half’s worth of chances it’s had. I want to see these two tear each other’s heads off and that’s not something you can put together over night. Let us see something special, and let it close the show.

Overall Thoughts

I’m looking forward to this, which is almost a weird feeling coming in to a Takeover. For some reason the build doesn’t always have me fired up for a show but this could be a classic up and down the card. NXT has stolen many a big wrestling weekend and there’s no reason they can’t pull it off all over again. This is what they do and I hope to see them pull it off one more time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: March 14, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

It’s another big night as we have four weeks left before Takeover: New Orleans. That means knocking out more matches in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, but on top of that we have some build towards a title match. This week NXT Champion Andrade Cien Almas and Aleister Black will sign the contract for Takeover: New Orleans which could be interesting. Let’s get to it.

Here’s last week’s show if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Sanity vs. Riddick Moss/Tino Sabbatelli

Sabbatelli and Moss seem to be having some issues coming into the match. Moss knees Wolfe in the ribs to start and hits a release Hot Shot to really take over. It’s off to Sabbatelli and the fans aren’t exactly thrilled to see him. A good looking dropkick (Mauro: “That dropkick certainly didn’t suck!”) keeps Wolfe in trouble and Tito begrudgingly brings Moss back in.

Some stomps in the corner look to set up a running forearm but Moss hits Sabbatelli by mistake (telegraphed by a mile and still exactly the right move) and it’s off to Young. House is quickly cleaned and Young gets two off the top rope elbow. Moss pulls Young to the floor but Nikki Cross dives off the apron with a crossbody. The belly to back suplex into a neckbreaker is enough to pin Sabbatelli at 3:45.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure what Moss and Sabbatelli are supposed to do if they split up. They’re not the best team in the world in the first place and having them go their separate ways might be it for both of them. Sanity winning makes the most sense as they’re not going to win but the team that beats them will get a nice rub.

Here’s Tommaso Ciampa with another microphone but again, the Johnny Gargano signs and chants leave him unable to speak. The fans send him off with the Goodbye Song.

Dakota Kai vs. Lacey Evans

Dakota has a taped up shoulder. Evans goes right for the arm by taking her down and dropping a knee, followed by an armbar. Not that it matters as Kai rolls her up for a very fast pin at 55 seconds.

Post match here’s Shayna Baszler to go after Kai but Ember Moon makes the save. The fight is on and Kai breaks up an armbar, allowing Moon to hit the Eclipse. They needed to do something like this as Moon hasn’t gotten to do much of anything since the title match.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Heavy Machinery vs. Street Profits

Dozovic and Ford start things off with Ford getting run down by a shoulder. With the wrestling not working, Ford tries to offer him the cup. Otis seems to like it but clotheslines Ford’s head off instead. A double slam gets two on Ford and it’s off to Knight for a bearhug. Ford finally gets over for the hot tag to Dawkins. The big man starts firing away but Otis hits a heavy Thesz press. The Compactor is broken up though and Dawkins gets in a DDT. Ford adds the frog splash for the pin at 3:38.

Rating: C. This was almost a squash until the hot tag to Dawkins. The Profits are a better act than Heavy Machinery, who lost most of their steam as soon as they lost their first match. I’m digging the Profits more and more each time and it’s a good idea to let them get a win in the tournament. Not much of a match here but at least the right team won.

United Kingdom Title: Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole

Cole is challenging and we get the big match intros. Dunne has to go after the Undisputed Era before coming back in for a forearm to Cole. That means it’s time to crank on the fingers and the jumping stomp to the arm. Dunne takes him to the apron and stomps down on the arm again as this is completely one sided. An Undisputed Era distraction lets Cole tie him up on the ropes though and Dunne comes up holding his knee.

Back from a break with Dunne hitting an X Plex and winning a slugout as the knee seems fine. There’s an enziguri in the corner and a Batista Bomb gets two. The Bitter End is reversed into a Backstabber and they’re both down again. It’s off to the standing armbar but Cole comes right back with the Last Shot (a fireman’s carry backbreaker here rather than the brainbuster) for two.

Another slugout goes to Dunne, with one forearm knocking Cole from the middle of the ring into the corner. Dunne tries a moonsault out of the corner but Cole superkicks him out of the air (with Dunne upside down) for a very near fall. Dunne goes after the Era again and the distraction lets Cole hit the Last Shot (now the brainbuster version). That’s still not enough though as Dunne snaps the fingers and loads up the Bitter End, drawing in O’Reilly for the DQ at 11:57.

Rating: B. Dunne continues to be a treat to watch and he’s pretty much been turned face just through his great performances. This was another example of those skills, but at some point Cole needs to win something. I know he has a great presence and can talk quite well but he hasn’t won a big match in a long time now and it’s getting noticeable.

Post match the Era beats Dunne down until Roderick Strong makes the save. Strong gets taken down as well but Dunne gets up and helps chase them off.

General Manager William Regal is here for the contract signing between Andrade Cien Almas and Aleister Black. Aleister comes out but there’s no Almas with Zelina Vega taking his place. Vega moves the table and we have a staredown but Almas has a seat in front of her. Black: “Well at least now we’re on the same level.” Vega promises to make him reap what he sows and gives him a slap. Black signs the contract and says he didn’t come alone. Cue Candice LeRae to go after Vega. Candice knocks her onto the announcers’ table and lays Vega out with a bulldog to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. A good match and they moved towards New Orleans. You can put together most of the pieces from here (save for the tournament maybe) and that’s a good thing given how few weeks they have left. Vega vs. LeRae needs to take place at some point and if they let them go nuts, it could be a lot of fun. I don’t know about having it at Takeover but it needs to take place at some point. Solid show here with good wrestling and angle advancement, which is a nice combination.

Results

Sanity b. Tino Sabbatelli/Riddick Moss – Belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination to Sabbatelli

Dakota Kai b. Lacey Evans – Rollup

Street Profits b. Heavy Machinery – Frog splash to Dozovic

Pete Dunne b. Adam Cole via DQ when Kyle O’Reilly interfered

Remember to check out my new forum at steelcageforums.com, follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: March 7, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson

It’s tournament time! Just in case two tournaments going on at the same time wasn’t enough, tonight we start the third Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. This time, the winners will be challenging for the NXT Tag Team Titles at Takeover: New Orleans. Other than that we need to start building to the rest of that show so let’s get to it.

Here’s last week’s review if you need a recap.

We open with a look at the tournament, accompanied by Dusty Rhodes’ iconic theme song.

Opening sequence.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Authors of Pain vs. TM61

Rematch of the 2016 finals where the Authors won the whole thing. Razar and Thorn start things off with the former throwing Shane into the corner and driving some shoulders into the ribs. The fans are behind TM61 and a flapjack doesn’t really slow down the cheering. Thorn gets driven into the corner and brings Miller in for a double Russian legsweep. The Authors bail to the floor for a bit so Thorn is right there with the big flip dive over the ropes. Now that’s a Dusty move if I’ve ever seen one.

Back in and Akum shrugs off the right hands to the face and drives Miller HARD into the corner. We take a break and come back with Razar continuing to pummel Miller with hard shots to the head. A cobra clutch keeps Miller down until a DDT gets him out of trouble. The hot tag brings in Thorn for a clothesline and dropkick to finally drop Razar.

One heck of a Falcon Arrow gets two but Razar kicks Thorn’s head off to take him down. A powerbomb/neckbreaker combination gets two but Miller and Thorn slip out of stereo Death Valley Drivers. Miller gets two off Blue Vengeance (moonsault) with Akum making the save. Akum powerbombs Thorn over the top and ONTO THE APRON for a sick landing. The Last Chapter ends Miller at 11:02.

Rating: B. These guys beat the heck out of each other and while I’m kind of surprised that TM61 is out so soon, I’m also glad that the Authors are moving forward. I don’t think they win again but the team that beats them is going to look like giant killers. This was a very nice power vs. speed match and they beat the heck out of each other, especially with that powerbomb.

William Regal is talking to the press about the Dusty Classic but has to leave. Pete Dunne comes in and says the UK Title is staying in the UK. Roderick Strong pops in to ask for a rematch. Before Dunne answers, the Undisputed Era comes in to laugh at Strong for losing. Dunne brings up Cole never winning anything, drawing Regal back over to ask if there’s a problem. Apparently not.

Sanity says chaos rules everything and in this year’s tournament, united they purge. Tonight, Killian Dain is ready to unleash chaos on Aleister Black.

Bianca Belair vs. Miss Drew Renee

Belair wastes no time in rolling some vertical suplexes and the Alley Oop is good for the pin at 1:21.

Lacey Evans wants to face Ember Moon next week but bails when Shayna Baszler comes in. Baszler knows Moon is a hypocrite for ignoring her for another week.

Heavy Machinery talks about being the good beef this year.

Here’s Tommaso Ciampa with no music to be booed out of the arena. Much like Roman Reigns the night after last year’s Wrestlemania, Ciampa is cut off every time he brings the microphone to his mouth. The WE WANT JOHNNY chants set Ciampa off and he throws the microphone down.

Ciampa slowly walks around the ring as the fans sing the Goodbye Song and then the DELETE chant. He takes a Gargano sign from a fan and rips it up (make sure to give the fan a gift so he doesn’t go home sad) before beating on the pieces with his crutch. Ciampa leaves without saying a word. Really good segment here, especially considering Ciampa looks like an actual psycho half the time.

Next week: Cole vs. Dunne for the UK Title and two more first round matches.

Aleister Black vs. Killian Dain

Dain charges straight into the corner for a shotgun dropkick and a near fall. Black is right back up with kicks and knees to send Dain outside, followed by a big dive to take him out again. We take a break and come back with Dain running Black over and getting a delayed two. Dain grabs a seated abdominal stretch and adds a pair of splashes for two.

A slam doesn’t work though as Black slips out and fires off the kicks to drop Dain. Black gets two off a standing Lionsault but gets clotheslined out of the air for two more. With Dain getting a bit too strong, Black goes simple by just kicking him in the head. That only earns Black a spinebuster and Vader Bomb for another near fall. Black gets two off a victory roll and catches Dain right in the face with Black Mass for the pin at 11:52.

Rating: B-. It wasn’t the biggest surprise ending in the world but at least Black took a beating before coming back with Black Mass for the win. If he hits that on Almas to win the title, or even for a near fall before winning the title later, it’s going to blow the roof off of New Orleans. Good match here though and Black gets one step closer to the title.

Overall Rating: B+. You can see things moving towards New Orleans now and that means a lot of good things, at least in theory. There’s going to be a lot of good stuff taking place on that show and it makes for a lot of fun television on the way to the big show. Two good matches and a nice squash makes for a very solid 45 minutes of wrestling.

Remember to check out my new forum at steelcageforums.com and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6