Smackdown
Date: February 19, 2019
Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

Kofi Kingston! Rhythmic Clapping! Sunday’s Elimination Chamber match for the Smackdown World Title was one of the most dramatic moments WWE has presented in years. Kingston was on the verge of becoming WWE Champion and while he came up short, the question now is can he actually pull off the upset. With the nothing Fastlane coming up, Bryan is going to need a challenger. Let’s get to it.

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

Shane McMahon comes out but during his entrance, let’s go to the video on the Elimination Chamber match. Back in the arena, Shane brings up the NXT names who made their debuts last night. They impressed him so much last night that they’re going to be here tonight as well. Cue Miz to interrupt, saying that he hasn’t slept in two days because of the guilt he’s feeling over Sunday’s loss. Miz admits to using Shane to make his dad proud (still one of the dumbest stories going today) and then Shane brought his dad out here.

That made his dad say how proud he was of Miz and that he loved him. It was one of the best moments of his life and now he needs something. There are no more automatic rematches but this is Shane McMahon. If anyone can do anything about it, Shane can. This brings out the Usos to say whoa whoa whoa. Jey is willing to give them a chance to admit that Miz is a joke and a loser. Shane doesn’t want to hear his partner insulted like that so the rematch is on for Fastlane in Miz’s hometown.

So to recap: Miz is the weak link of the team and his dad is the worst parent of all time because main eventing Wrestlemania doesn’t mean a thing compared to teaming with Shane McMahon. I’m still not sure how this story is supposed to make sense but WWE is likely riding it all the way through Wrestlemania.

Video on Aleister Black, talking about everything he’s gone through to get here. Now, this show is two hours long and has the time to do this, but the three hour Raw can’t have something like this?

Aleister Black vs. Andrade

Black took the NXT Title from Andrade in this same building back in April, which thankfully is mentioned. They start fast with Black sliding between his legs but getting chopped down as Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano watch from the back. A running knee drops Black again but he sends Andrade outside for the moonsault into the sit as we take a break. Back with Black busting out the strikes but the springboard moonsault gets shoved out to the floor for a crash.

Black is fine enough to hit a Meteora and get two off a German suplex. Almas sends him into the corner for the running knees (with Graves saying Black is seeing shadows for an in-joke) for two of his own but the hammerlock DDT is blocked. Black Mass finishes Almas at 8:41.

Rating: C+. Well it wasn’t quite their Takeover classic but it was an entertaining match with the fans being way more into things than they were before. That’s the kind of thing that gives me some hope here, though it does make me wonder why they didn’t have these debuts in New Orleans, which has been a good town for WWE over the last few years.

Gargano and Ciampa say they’ve made a career out of defying expectations and Ciampa does his best work under the spotlight. Gargano talks about how they went to war here a year ago in this building and now they’re here together as the future. So yeah, NXT storylines are officially non-cannon on Raw and Smackdown. The Bar comes in to say no one knows or cares who they are. Johnny says they’re here to break the bar.

Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles agree to work together tonight. Kofi Kingston comes in and offers a pancake branch for the sake of peace.

The Bar vs. Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa

Sheamus shoves Ciampa around to start before it’s quickly off to Cesaro for a big uppercut to Gargano. Everything breaks down and the Bar gets sent outside for a suicide dive from Gargano. Ciampa’s dive off the apron is countered with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker as we take a break.

Back with Ciampa getting uppercutted out of the air and it’s off to Sheamus to take him up top. The super White Noise is countered into a sunset bomb but Sheamus lands on Ciampa’s knee, which seemed to buckle. The hot tag bring sin Gargano to clean house, including a flip dive off the apron to Sheamus and a slingshot DDT for two on Cesaro.

The spinning faceplant sets up the Gargano Escape but Cesaro powers out as he knows how to do. Some backbreakers set up Sheamus’ top rope knee with Ciampa having to dive in (knee seems ok) for the save. A superkick gets two on Sheamus and Ciampa tags himself back in for a slingshot into a rollup to pin Cesaro at 11:37.

Rating: C+. Thankfully the knee seems ok as he’s walking around without much of a limp. You knew the win was coming here though I’m still not sure what to expect from these NXT names, though at least the crowd was hotter here. Now if only they could acknowledge the NXT storylines, things would be that much better.

Video on Ricochet, showcasing a lot of his flip dives.

D-Generation X is going into the Hall of Fame.

Here’s Asuka to have her resume listed off but right now, does she feel lost in the shuffle? Right now all she wants is a fresh challenge because she wants to know who is ready for Asuka RIGHT NOW. This brings out Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville with Mandy saying that she’s ready.

Asuka vs. Mandy Rose

Asuka beats the count and kicks away, followed by a middle rope dropkick. The spinning strikes to the face get two and a sliding knee gets the same. Another shot seems to hurt Mandy’s eye but she’s goldbricking of course, sending Asuka throat first into the middle rope. That’s enough to set up a rollup pin for the huge upset at 9:49.

Rating: D+. Asuka needs to stay out of New Orleans. I get what they’re going for here but they couldn’t have Mandy win via countout off that knee or something like that? Mandy is only a step up the ladder from Carmella and that’s not enough to have her pin Asuka like this. I’m not a fan of this kind of booking but WWE seems to love it, probably over how easy it is.

Charlotte recaps Becky Lynch attacking her over the weekend and says she’s going to the main event of Wrestlemania. It’s the main event because she’s in it, which is a good line.

Miz’s dad will be in the front row at Fastlane. Shane gives that a bit of a weird look.

Ricochet vs. Eric Young

Joined in progress with Ricochet speeding things up until a Killian Dain/Alexander Wolfe distraction lets Young punch him in the face. A middle rope knee to the back sets up the chinlock for a bit, only to have Ricochet fight up and avoid a charge in the corner. Another running shoulder to the ribs in the corner sets up the springboard uppercut. Ricochet’s running shooting star gets two and a dropkick knocks Wolfe off the apron. The big running flip dive hits Young and Dain, followed by the 630 to finish Young at 6:29.

Rating: C-. That’s the kind of match Ricochet needed to have last night: fighting against the odds and making the comeback with the face paced, high flying offense. It worked well here and I had a good time watching him here. If nothing else, it’s nice to see Sanity getting a spot on the show. There’s no reason to not have them around, at least once in awhile.

New Day says Kofi’s rise hasn’t been over seven days, but over eleven years. That’s longer than Instagram has been around! Xavier and Big E. push for Kofi to get the Wrestlemania title shot, but Kofi says they deserve the thanks for letting him be in the Elimination Chamber in the first place. Tonight, they need to meet his friend Momentum, so Big E. hits the intro.

We see the same Kevin Owens movie theater promo from last night.

Kofi Kingston/AJ Styles/Jeff Hardy vs. Daniel Bryan/Randy Orton/Samoa Joe

During his entrance, Bryan talks about how ignorant everyone here is for not knowing Thomas Beckett. These people put him inside the Elimination Chamber but he survived. Bryan is going to educate us on his opponent for Fastlane but he won’t be saying who it is. The only thing he’ll tell us is that the opponent is NOT in this match. Bryan tags out to Joe at the bell, leaving him to face Kingston. An exchange of shots to the face allow the tag off to Hardy for the legdrop between the legs.

Orton comes in and grabs the chinlock, which is quickly broken up with a jawbreaker. It’s already back to Kofi to pick up the pace as things break down a bit. Orton drops Kofi onto the announcers’ table and we take a break. Back with Bryan hammering on Kofi until a dive allows the tag to Styles. AJ unloads on Bryan and cleans house, allowing the hot tag off to Kofi. That means the real comeback is on, including a pair of dives. Trouble in Paradise hits Bryan for the clean pin at 12:11.

Rating: C. The wrestling wasn’t the point here, at least not until the very ending. This was all about Kofi getting the pin on Bryan to set up what has to be the title match at Fastlane. There’s no reason for it to be anything else either before or after this match and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially after how things went over the last week.

Post match Shane comes out to make Kingston vs. Bryan for Fastlane to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. As usual, it’s almost impossible to believe that Smackdown and Raw come from the same company. Tonight had some vignettes for the new stars, a new challenger for Asuka (method of setting up the challenger aside) and, above all else, the World Title match that the fans want to see. Kingston is on fire right now and deserves the title shot, so that’s what they get. It’s going with what makes sense rather than “here’s what we’re doing, get used to it.” Good, efficient show tonight and I’ll take that every night.

Results

Aleister Black b. Andrade – Black Mass

Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa b. The Bar – Slingshot rollup to Cesaro

Mandy Rose b. Asuka – Rollup

Ricochet b. Eric Young – 630

Kofi Kingston/AJ Styles/Jeff Hardy b. Randy Orton/Samoa Joe/Daniel Bryan – Trouble in Paradise to Bryan

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

NXT
Date: February 6, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson

We’re back to the regular shows and it’s just in time too as we’re about two months away from Takeover: New York. That could mean some matches being set up in a hurry, though it’s not clear what some of those could be. The big draw this week is Johnny Gargano appearing as North American Champion for the first time, which could be rather interesting. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s Gargano to open things up and he’s very proud of his new title. The fans give him a JOHNNY CHAMPION chant and Johnny says we deserve it. He doesn’t say which we he’s talking about but here’s Tommaso Ciampa to cut him off. Ciampa says they do deserve it and that Johnny showed that he can follow the champ’s lead. Now they’re both champions and WE own NXT. There is nothing that can stop them because this is their home. Johnny: “No.”

There is no “our moment” because he only came out at the end of Takeover: Phoenix to show that he’ll never need Tommaso Ciampa. This brings out Velveteen Dream to say tonight isn’t about any of them. Tonight is about the moment and the man that stole Takeover: Phoenix. He took everything over just by showing up and while they were putting the finishing touches on their fairy tale ending, Dream was winning the Worlds Collide tournament.

That gives him a title shot of his choice so Ciampa stares him down. Dream doesn’t want him to steal the spotlight, because he’s more interested in Gargano. Johnny says he was putting on another Match of the Year and winning the title before representing the NXT Universe in the Royal Rumble. If this is what Dream wants, then go for it because Johnny wins. Dream is cool with that, but wants to know if he’s facing Johnny Champion or Johnny Jack***. The staredown is on and the fans are rather pleased.

This worked very well, as the story continues to go on and on without dropping steam. I know the end goal of all of this is Gargano taking the title from Ciampa once and for all, but that moment isn’t set in stone somewhere. We’re not counting down to some predetermined moment (Such as EVERYTHING HAS TO HAPPEN AT WRESTLEMANIA OR SUMMERSLAM!!!) and the story is getting to grow on its own. That would make a huge difference on the main roster, but for some reason it’s completely against the rules. That’s a very different way of storytelling and it works quite well.

Jaxson Ryker vs. Mansoor

Mansoor is from the Saudi Arabian tryouts. Ryker takes him into the corner and ties Mansoor into the Tree of Woe for some kicks to the ribs. Mansoor gets in a few shots but Ryker spears him out of the air, setting up a sitout chokeslam (almost more of a spinebuster) for the pin at 1:32. Just a squash.

Post match Ryker chokebusters him again.

Adam Cole cuts off an interviewer before Ricochet can be brought in. Cole says he’s championship material unlike the one trick pony Ricochet. This brings in Ricochet to say he must have knocked Cole’s screws loose when he beat him for the North American Title. A match is made for next week.

In two weeks, Gargano defends against Dream.

Drew Gulak vs. Eric Bugenhagen

Eric, with a sweet 1970s mustache, plays the air guitar on the way to the ring to a rather confused reception. He even throws out a guitar pick, which the camera tracks down. I’m sure you can imagine Nigel and Drew’s reactions to this. The fans DEMAND an encore as Bugenhagen stops so the match can begin. A very high pitched scream ensues as Gulak stomps him down, earning a BU-GEN-HA-GEN chant.

Gulak snap suplexes him for two and we hit the chinlock. Eric fights up and slaps on an abdominal stretch, which of course turns into more air guitaring (Eric: “YOU WANNA ROCK???? LET’S ROCK!!!!”). Drew has had it and suplexes him down, setting up the Gulock for the tap at 2:34. We might have the next Blue Pants here.

Post match Gulak isn’t pleased with fighting “Ben Stiller from Dodgeball” because he’s the best submission wrestler in the world. Is this the best NXT has to offer? The open challenge is on and we have a very quick answer.

Drew Gulak vs. Matt Riddle

They grapple against the ropes to start until Riddle takes him straight to the mat in an armbar. A pull of the hair gets Gulak out of trouble so Riddle slams him right back down to take over again. More grappling goes nowhere until Gulak takes him down into a headscissors. One heck of a kick drops Drew though and a backsplash makes things even worse. Back up and Drew stops a charge with a hard boot to the jaw, followed by a dropkick to put Riddle on the floor.

Gulak slaps on a headlock to keep things slow before switching into a double arm crank with Riddle face down on the mat. Riddle finally fights up and hits a fisherman’s buster for the break and a double knockdown. A dragon screw legwhip takes Riddle right back down and it’s off to a Fujiwara armbar. Riddle has had it with Gulak and powerbombs the heck out of him, setting up a knee to the face for a crazy close two. The Bromission makes Gulak tap at 9:25.

Rating: B+. This was a blast with both guys doing everything they could think of to each other, making for a heck of a performance. Gulak showing up is a nice touch as he’s one of the more talented people around and can wrestle with anyone. It gave Riddle a sweat and beating a main roster talent, even a lower level one like Gulak, means something. Very nice match.

Post match they do the Catch Point (stable from Evolve) handshake.

Sky Pirates/Bianca Belair vs. Shayna Baszler/Marina Shafir/Jessamyn Duke

Baszler works on Belair’s arm to start until Belair does the same. Shafir and Duke take their turns and get slammed down without much effort. Belair presses Sane up for a drop onto Duke but Shafir takes over in the corner to take over. Sane isn’t having that and unloads with strikes to Shafir, including a hard kick to the back. Shafir gets headbutted down as the fans chant PLEASE TAG SHAYNA. Geez that’s harsh.

The fans get their wish a few seconds later as Shayna comes in and takes over on Sane, including a few shots in the corner. It’s back to Shafir for a hard headbutt before Shayna comes back in to kick at Sane. Shayna cranks on the leg to make Sane scream and Duke coming in, earning herself a YOU CAN’T WRESTLE chant. Sane finally sends Duke outside and rolls over for the tag to Sane as the pace picks way up.

Running knees to Duke in the corner set up a 619 and a springboard missile dropkick to Baszler. It’s already back to Sane for the Insane Elbow and another near fall as Shafir makes the save. Belair tags herself in (fair enough as Sane was going to tag Shirai in again) and hits the KOD but Baszler makes the save. Everything breaks down and Sane dives onto Shafir and Duke, leaving Shirai to hit a moonsault for the fast pin on Baszler at 9:28.

Rating: C+. Shafir and Duke are pretty clearly not ready for this level and need more time, but I heartily approve of Shirai going after the title. High flier vs. submission wrestler can make for some great matches and the fans are going to be behind Shirai no matter what she does. I had a lot of fun with this, though the NXT fans ripping on Duke and Shafir isn’t the best sign for their futures.

Belair doesn’t seem happy that she didn’t get the pin to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. What didn’t this show have? You had an awesome match from Riddle and Gulak, a move forward in the women’s division, some major developments at the start of the show, and the Bugenhagen wackiness. As can be the case, NXT knows how to do a lot of things on one show and mix things up like no other show. This was an incredibly entertaining hour with so many different things running around that it’s almost impossible to get tired of any of them. Check this one out, especially Riddle vs. Gulak.

Results

Jaxson Ryker b. Mansoor – Chokebomb

Drew Gulak b. Eric Bugenhagen – Gulock

Matt Riddle b. Drew Gulak – Bromission

Sky Pirates/Bianca Belair b. Marina Shafir/Jessamyn Duke/Shayna Baszler – Moonsault to Baszler

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Halftime Heat
Date: February 3, 2019
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Shawn Michaels, Vic Joseph

So since the four hours of content enough yesterday, we’ll take a look at this quick show here, which is comprised of one match from the NXT crew. That’s not the worst idea in the world, and since it’s just a quick thing that isn’t even half an hour, it’s hard to get too annoyed over the whole thing. Let’s get to it.

Aleister Black/Velveteen Dream/Ricochet vs. Adam Cole/Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa

There’s no waiting around here as we get straight to the match. Makes sense as this match is literally the only thing on the show. Dream of course is in football themed gear, because that’s how he rolls. Johnny and Ricochet start things off and I begin to smile. Johnny’s headlock doesn’t last very long as Ricochet nips up and flips to his feet to counter a hurricanrana. The always good dropkick has the fans into things even more, which is quite the feat.

Cole comes in so Ricochet spins around him as well before handing it off to Black. The strikes start fast and it’s off to Ciampa, who is fast/smart enough to duck. Dream gets the tag and runs Ciampa over as they’re certainly moving out there. With Dream down in a three point stance, Ciampa blasts him in the face to take over for the first time. Dream goes to the air for some ax handles though and the villains bail to the floor, leaving the other three to strike their poses.

Back in and Gargano hits the slingshot spear to take over on Dream but a superkick takes Cole down. Dream is holding his knee but manages to tag in Ricochet anyway, meaning the kicks and flips are back on. The Gargano Escape is escaped and Black comes in for the sliding knee to the face. There’s the middle rope moonsault to the floor as they haven’t stopped so far. Ricochet dropkicks Ciampa to the floor and there’s the big flip dive, with Ricochet jumping over Gargano’s slingshot sear attempt.

The fans (including Oney Lorcan and various other wrestlers sprinkled here and there) are rather pleased until Cole gets in a superkick to Black to slow things down again. Johnny adds the slingshot DDT to Ricochet but Dream kicks him down for two more. Ricochet has to fight off Gargano and Cole, which actually works for a bit until Cole superkicks his moonsault out of the air (with some pinpoint accuracy in a great visual).

Everyone slugs it out, pauses for a minute, and then slug it out again for a strong reaction. Gargano hits a reverse hurricanrana on Ricochet, leaving Dream to suplex Ciampa (and himself) to the floor. Cole’s middle rope Canadian Destroyer (still waiting until WWE realizes that’s a piledriver) for a crazy close two on Ricochet.

The villains surround Ricochet for a double superkick/running knee to the back of the head combination with Black having to make another save. Dream comes back in and says bring it, only to walk into a double superkick. Black breaks up the Fairy Tale Ending and there’s Black Mass to Gargano. Another hits Cole and it’s the Dream Driver into the 450 into the Purple Rainmaker for the pin at 16:15.

Overall Rating: A-. It’s just one match so there’s no need to do a rating for the match and the show as a whole. This was VERY entertaining stuff as all six were working hard and had a fun match, which gave you something a little better than a Maroon 5 concert. The right person got the pin on the right person, making this not only a lot of fun, but well done. I could go for more things like this, if nothing else just for a quick surprise.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Takeover: Phoenix
Date: January 26, 2019
Location: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

I don’t think I need to waste your time suggesting that this show might be awesome. Takeover has raised their standard up so high that there’s no reason to suggest that it’s going to be anything less than great. The question now is how great, which should make for a heck of an evening. Let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on the desert, where it’s hot, dry and quiet. Until there’s a loud chant for NXT of course. The card gets a rundown, which works quite well when there are only five matches. The sound of a rattlesnake is a nice touch.

Kingdom Hearts III is sponsoring the show. I’m home.

We go to the Spanish broadcasters but the lights go out as they’re talking….because we have vikings.

Tag Team Titles: War Raiders vs. Undisputed Era

The Raiders are challenging and have a full legion of vikings with shields and spears (one of which was apparently played by Rowe’s newlywed Sarah Logan). I’m not big on vikings most of the time (now Cowboys on the other hand….) but this was freaking awesome. Bobby Fish is out with the champs here. The fans seem to be behind the champs, who jump the Raiders to get things going.

Rowe takes both of them outside with clotheslines, followed by Hansen doing the same. Just to show off a bit, Rowe slams Hansen off the apron onto both of them and then shrugs off a flying shoulder back inside. O’Reilly breaks up Fallout and the champs finally get in some offense. A bunch of strikes have Hansen in trouble as kicking at the legs slows him down. Hansen shrugs off a guillotine choke and brings in Rowe, who no sells a forearm and throws O’Reilly at Strong.

Everything breaks down and Hansen misses a suicide dive for a nasty looking crash. That doesn’t seem to bother Rowe, who hammers both of them down anyway. A backbreaker cuts him off though and Rowe gets dropped ribs first across the top rope. The dueling chants begin as O’Reilly hits a half nelson backbreaker for two. O’Reilly tries a rear naked choke so Rowe walks him into the corner, drawing Strong in for the double teaming.

The fans rather approve as they’re certainly split here. Rowe tosses O’Reilly to the floor, followed by winning a strike off back inside. That’s enough for the second hot tag to Hansen so house can be cleaned again. Hansen cartwheels into a dropkick and tries the forever lariats in the corner. A Bronco Buster gets two on Strong but Strong is right back with a running clothesline.

The pop up powerslam plants O’Reilly and Hansen dives onto Strong as Kyle kicks out in a heck of a near fall that I almost bought as the finish. A powerbomb into a top rope splash gets two more but Fallout is broken up again. Instead Strong hits a top rope superplex into a top rope knee from O’Reilly for a VERY close two and that’s a standing ovation. Strong scores with the Angle Slam for two more, followed by High/Low for ANOTHER two as Hansen just won’t stay down.

Another High/Low is countered and it’s a Tajiri handspring elbow to both champs. Rowe comes back in and it’s a powerbomb/World’s Strongest Slam to O’Reilly and Strong at the same time. Because that can just be done you see. O’Reilly is DONE and Fallout gives us new champions at 16:58.

Rating: A-. This was the long form tag team formula and it told a great story with the Era hitting everything they could on the monsters but not being able to do enough. It makes the Raiders look like the truly better team because the Era couldn’t stop them no matter what. That’s how you do a match like this and the Raiders are going to hold those titles for a very long time. Great opener.

Pete Dunne and Toni Storm are here.

We recap Kassius Ohno vs. Matt Riddle. Ohno has lost to him twice in a row now but after the second loss, he attacked Riddle in a huge heel moment. The idea is that Ohno isn’t happy with Riddle for being the new NXT toy and wants to give him a welcome beating.

Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno

Riddle is ready with the strikes at the bell and knocks Ohno to the floor for a running forearm off the steps. Back in and Riddle knees him in the ribs, followed by a running forearm on the apron. A sunset bomb is countered with a stomp to the face (sometimes it makes more sense to go simple) and we hit the cravate on Riddle. An elbow to the face gets two more and Ohno erupts on him in the corner.

They head outside again with Ohno sending him head first into the steps, just like he did in the post-second match attack. Back in and Ohno stomps hard on Riddle’s fingers but Riddle is fine enough for a bridging German suplex. That means it’s time for the kicks to the chest….so Ohno BITES THE TOE. Good grief dude I know you have a good sized gut but if you need a snack during a match, we’re reaching Bastion Booger territory.

Ohno gets two off a Liger Bomb and a moonsault (THUD) connects for the same. Riddle pulls him straight down into a rear naked choke but Ohno is in the corner pretty fast. The offer of a fist bump just gets Ohno beaten up even more, with Riddle taking him down and unloading with forearms to the back of the head for the tap at 9:49.

Rating: C+. Not too bad at all here, but it wasn’t exactly in doubt, save for a surprise Keith Lee turn. The action was fine with Ohno seeming desperate to beat Riddle, who has beaten him twice before. That was a fine story and the ending was the right call, though it wasn’t exactly some thrilling stuff. They didn’t overstay their welcome though and that’s how things should have gone here.

Velveteen Dream arrives with some good looking women.

We recap the North American Title match. Champion Ricochet is answering a challenge, as Tommaso Ciampa suggested that Johnny Gargano go after the title. Ricochet is an amazing talent, but Gargano is full of evil and seemingly being manipulated by Ciampa, but this has the potential to be an instant classic. They’re heavily pushing the good vs. evil story here, as Ricochet is almost pure while Gargano is willing to do whatever it takes to shake off his demons and become champion. Heck of a story indeed.

North American Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet

Ricochet is defending. It’s a feeling out process to start with no one getting the advantage early on. Johnny’s headlock doesn’t get him very far but Ricochet nips up off a shoulder. What looked like a Gargano Escape winds up being a crucifix for two but Ricochet is right back up with some flips to avoid a hurricanrana. Another headscissors attempt earns Gargano a dropkick to the floor, setting up a step up moonsault from the middle rope, because Ricochet can just do that.

Back in and Ricochet gets caught in a hot shot onto the top turnbuckle as Gargano isn’t just evil, but he’s also smart. A chinlock backbreaker gives Gargano two but the slingshot spear misses, allowing Ricochet to hit a moonsault to the back. Ricochet picks up the pace with a running hurricanrana and a 619 in the corner. There’s the spring European uppercut into the rolling suplexes for two more.

Another hurricanrana is countered into a sitout powerbomb into a crossface and now it’s Ricochet in trouble. It’s too early for the Gargano Escape but the slingshot DDT is countered with a backdrop out to the apron. You know that means the flip dive, because that’s what Ricochet does. Back in and it’s a standing shooting star into a middle rope moonsault for two on Gargano as things are getting faster. Ricochet goes up but Gargano catches him with a hurricanrana….so Ricochet lands on his feet. The fans are VERY impressed, as they should be to be fair.

Ricochet tries a handspring but gets pulled into the Gargano Escape, again much to the fans’ delight. That’s broken up with some power (an underutilized part of Ricochet’s offense) and Gargano gets suplexed into the corner. It’s too early for the 630 as Gargano rolls outside before Ricochet can launch. Instead it’s a running flip dive over the corner as Ricochet gets to show off again.

The springboard 450 gives Ricochet two but a way too long shooting star press hits knees. Gargano superkicks him to the floor, where Ricochet catches a suicide dive in a fireman’s carry….which is reversed into a reverse hurricanrana to drive Ricochet head first into the floor. Back in and Gargano’s slingshot DDT is only good for two as even commentary needs a minute to breathe. With frustration setting in, Gargano pulls the floor mats back but a little humanity sinks in, causing Gargano to take it back inside instead.

A clothesline drops Gargano, who avoids the Phoenix splash. Instead Ricochet throws him down and slaps on a Gargano Escape of his own, sending Gargano crawling to the ropes. They head to the apron with Gargano sending him head first into the post (which was done to him last year), setting up a suplex/brainbuster hybrid on the concrete. Ricochet is out on his feet so it’s another slingshot DDT (with a spike) to give Gargano the pin and the title at 24:25.

Rating: A. What a spectacle but they actually had a story being told as well. Ricochet is the ultimate athlete with a combination of power (not a great amount but it’s there) and incredible athleticism, but Gargano is just talented all around, combined with a never say die attitude. The story here though was Gargano doing whatever it took to win because he knew what would happen if he didn’t. There was also the resistance to use the concrete before giving into the demons in the end and winning the title by any means necessary. Heck of a story but an even better match. This is an early Match of the Year contender, which shouldn’t surprise anyone.

We recap Shayna Baszler vs. Bianca Belair. Bianca is an athletic freak who has run over everyone through sheer athleticism and talent. Baszler is a bit older but more experienced and arguably well rounded. All Belair can say is that she’s undefeated, which makes her seem way too confident.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler vs. Bianca Belair

Bianca is challenging and drives her into the corner a few times to start for some bragging clean breaks. Thankfully Baszler gets tired of the UN-DE-FEA-TED chant and tries an O-VER-RA-TED version. A hard shoulder puts Baszler down and Belair takes over on the floor. Baszler shows off the intelligence though and grabs the hair to pull Bianca into the post. It’s only good for a nine count so Baszler is right onto her with shots to the face and an armbar.

The Dakota Kai arm stomp has Belair getting checked in the corner as Baszler is on a roll. We hit the armbar (makes sense in this case) for a bit until a hard kick to the face gives the champ two. The O-VER-RA-TED taunt earns Baszler a slap in the face and a spear with the bad arm gets two more. Baszler kicks her in the ribs and gets two off a running knee strike. The slugout is on until Belair whips the heck out of her with the hair, actually busting Shayna’s stomach open.

A toss into the corner knocks the referee down though and the KOD connects, meaning there’s no one to count. Cue Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke to interfere and be taken out, allowing Shayna to grab the Kirifuda Clutch. Belair still isn’t done though and fights up, somehow swinging Baszler to the side, setting up a suplex for the real break. Back up and Belair completely misses a 450, allowing Baszler to grab the Kirifuda Clutch. Belair somehow stands up again and we get an EST chant but she collapses and passes out at 15:13.

Rating: B-. There was some great athleticism on display here, but egads that UN-DE-FEA-TED thing isn’t exactly making me want to cheer for Belair. They did everything here to make her into a face and that worked well enough, but was I supposed to like her coming into this? Baszler winning made perfect sense here and was what I was expecting, though it was a little jarring to suddenly be cheering for the cockiest woman in the division. You can almost guarantee Belair wins the rematch though.

Velveteen Dream and said women are in the front row.

We recap Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black. Ciampa won the NXT Title thanks to some accidental interference from Johnny Gargano. Since then Ciampa and Gargano have tentatively reunited as Ciampa has gone on a rampage. Tonight, Black gets his long awaited rematch after trading wins with Gargano. This feels like a stop on a longer road, but that doesn’t mean it’s not looking great.

NXT Title: Aleister Black vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Ciampa is defending and sweet goodness Black’s entrance is still cool. That’s similar to Undertaker’s where you can do it time after time and it never gets old. They go straight to a hard lockup and fall to the floor without letting go. Back in and Black takes him down with a few more headlocks as you can certainly feel the anger. I mean, they’re some pretty harsh headlocks. Back up (eventually) so Black starts in with the kicks, sending Ciampa down onto the mat to duck a big one.

Black has a seat as well as the mind games are strong with this one. Mauro suddenly dubs Tommaso Tommy, all so he can say Black wants to “End Tommy.” Egads that was a stretch and even too hard of a pun for me. Black hits a big flip dive to the floor and Ciampa needs a breather. Instead he gets a kick to the head before getting smart, sending the knee into the steps. A suplex sends the knee into the steps again and it’s Ciampa in full control for the first time. Back in and Ciampa cranks on the knee like a smart villain should.

The leg gets tied in the ropes for a kick to the knee and Ciampa calls him a one trick pony. After wrapping the knee around the post one way, Ciampa does it again from the other side in a smart move. We’re not done yet either as Ciampa drops the knee onto the announcers’ table before having a rather evil seat. We continue the streak of leg work with a trip to the Tree of Woe but Ciampa lets him go pretty quickly. It’s a bit too quickly as Black hits a running kick to the head in the corner.

Back in and the kick to the chest with the good leg gets two but Black is slow to follow up. Neither finisher can connect on either of two attempts so Ciampa forearms him in the back of the head. Ciampa tries the Fairy Tale Ending for the third time, only to be reversed into a bridging German suplex (on one leg) for two. Black Mass is loaded up but the knee gives out, allowing Ciampa to dragon screw legwhip him into a half crab. That’s reverses into the same thing on Ciampa but since Ciampa’s knee is fine, it doesn’t last long.

Black tries his middle rope moonsault to the floor, which of course takes forever. Instead it’s a Tower of London (hanging cutter) onto the apron to give the champ two more. They slug it out with Black getting the better of it, including a double stomp to the chest. A brainbuster gets two on the champ and he heads outside with the middle rope moonsault connecting this time around. Black slips on the way back in though and the Fairy Tale Ending gets a very close two.

With nothing else working, Ciampa pulls the floor pads back (popular move around here) but the yelling referee allows Black to hit a Meteora off the apron. Back in and Black Mass connects in full but Black’s knee is way too banged up for the cover. Ciampa is able to roll onto his side and they’re back up again. Another Black Mass nearly hits the referee so Ciampa sends him into the ropes for the hanging DDT. The Fairy Tale Ending gets a heck of a near fall so it’s a third Fairy Tale Ending into a fourth Fairy Tale Ending to retain the title at 26:31.

Rating: A-. As tends to be the case on a lot of Takeovers, this wasn’t exactly surprising but they worked very hard and told a story with Ciampa taking away Black’s best weapon to slow him down. Black gave him a great fight but came up short, because Ciampa really is as good as he brags about being. It did feel like a stop on the way to a bigger story, but they beat the heck out of each other in a match that lets Ciampa look better without Black losing a ton in defeat. He would seem to be main roster bound pretty soon anyway so it doesn’t mean too much in the long run.

After a bunch of replays, Ciampa heads up to the stage to pose, drawing out Gargano to hold up his own title for the big super evil pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. And somehow, that feels like it belongs on the lower end of the series. This was another excellent show with three great matches and the worst match on the card being perfectly watchable. I’m almost scared to imagine what they have for the final, mega blowoff between Gargano vs. Ciampa, but somehow I completely believe that they could make it live up to the hype. Now where else are you going to see something like that other than NXT? This lived up to the hype and really, that’s all you would have expected around here.

Results

War Raiders b. Undisputed Era – Fallout to O’Reilly

Matt Riddle b. Kassius Ohno – Forearms to the back of the head

Johnny Gargano b. Ricochet – Slingshot DDT

Shayna Baszler b. Bianca Belair – Kirifuda Clutch

Tommaso Ciampa b. Aleister Black – Fairy Tale Ending

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

I’m really not sure what to say about Takeover anymore. You know it’s going to be great. You know it’s going to be impressive. You know it’s going to be one of the best shows of the year. We’re WAY past the point of believing that it’s going to be anything else, so now the question is how good can it be. This show’s card is rather impressive and there’s a good chance that their first show in the desert could be great. Let’s get to it.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler(c) vs. Bianca Belair

We’ll start off with a match that got a great boost from the final push. I’m not completely sold on how the match is going to go as Belair doesn’t have much experience against a top name as she’s only wrestled a bunch of squashes and Nikki Cross for the most part. That being said, Baszler is someone who can help carry her through and the story of Belair being the natural athlete not being able to handle someone with the skills and experience of Baszler. It worked in Top Gun.

I really could see this going either way but I’ll go with Baszler retaining. Belair is someone who is going to come back and win the title later on, perhaps on a big episode of TV, but I think she needs to learn something before getting the ultimate goal. The idea of Baszler catching her for trying to do something a little too big or impressive works for me, though I also wouldn’t be shocked to see Belair win, sending Baszler into the Women’s Royal Rumble and the main roster in general. I’ll go with Baszler retaining, but her days are numbered.

Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno

This is one where the ending isn’t exactly in doubt. Riddle is going to be one of the biggest stars in NXT and Ohno’s entire job is to put people over. Ohno has already lost to him twice, both times in pretty definitive fashions. There is still the possibility of Keith Lee turning on Riddle to cost him the match, though that seems to be a bit of a bad idea, especially after Lee has lost twice now.

I’ll go with Riddle winning here, which is exactly what he should do. Lee can take him out after the match or on the next TV show, but having Ohno defeat Riddle, even through shenanigans, doesn’t make a ton of sense. Going with what makes sense fits NXT far better than anything else. Riddle wins, though watch out for the rather large and athletic man lurking around.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era(c) vs. War Raiders

I’m thinking this one is a little more straightforward like the previous match. The War Raiders debuted last year around Wrestlemania time and I don’t think have actually lost a match since (a rather common trope around here and something that works well because, believe it or not, wins and losses matter in wrestling). The Undisputed Era has held the titles almost uninterrupted since November 2017 and it’s time for a change.

So yeah we’ll go with the title change here because there’s no reason for it not to happen. The Raiders have been built up perfectly for this and the Era is pretty much out of people to face. Let them chase the titles for the time being until someone else gets built up to take the titles from the Raiders several months from now. It makes sense, and NXT isn’t the kind of place to go completely off the beaten path with some crazy move.

North American Title: Ricochet(c) vs. Johnny Gargano

Yes. That word seems rather appropriate here as there’s a very strong chance that this is going to be a match of the year candidate. These two tend to do that and I could very easily see Ricochet moving up towards the main event scene in short order. He’s that good, and his star power has been on the rise since his debut, when it was huge in the first place. However, does he lose the title here to someone who is already a major star?

The more I think about it, the less sure I am. I’m going with Gargano winning the title in an upset here as he embraces the darkness even more and goes full on evil to win the title, likely running off Candice LeRae in the process. This is all setting up an insanely awesome tag match with Aleister Black/Ricochet vs. the evil DIY (if the title wasn’t a factor, that could be the feature match in New York) and having Ricochet chase the title that he was cheated out of could work wonderfully. Gargano wins, in my least confident pick of the show.

NXT Title: Tommaso Ciampa(c) vs. Aleister Black

This is actually a weird one as I’m not sure what’s going to happen. The match itself is more of a stopping point on the major story and I’m not sure where that’s going to end. I do like the idea of having the Takeover match not needing to be the big definitive ending because the story isn’t ready to be there yet. Black deserves his rematch and the aggression he shows against the master manipulator should be great.

However, it’s not going to be enough as Gargano likely helps Ciampa retain the title, reforming the team once and for all (or at least until Johnny exorcises his demons and wins the title in the biggest blowoff NXT will ever have). Black can join forces with Ricochet (sadly not Velveteen Dream it seems) and set up the dream tag match, but this time around it’s the evil DIY standing tall to end the show.

Overall Thoughts

It’s kind of a weird show in the series as it feels like a pit stop on the way towards the New York show. The cool thing about NXT though is they know how to make this work anyway and I want to see the show. It might be one of the weaker Takeovers, but that means it more like the poorest millionaire. The show is going to rock and that’s all that matters. It’s also all that’s expected, which isn’t something you can say about much anything else.

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

NXT
Date: January 23, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

It’s the go home show for Takeover: Phoenix and that means it’s time for the big final push. That’s one of the places where NXT excels and that should be the case tonight. The card is all but set and we get to see the last touches they put on the matches. I’m sure there will be some good wrestling to go with that so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s Velveteen Dream for a chat. He has a sparkle in his eye tonight and that sparkle is championship gold. It’s the North American Title but here are Bobby Fish and Adam Cole to cut him off. Since Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly are defending the Tag Team Titles, it’s time for the two of them to get some singles gold because this is Undisputed Era’s year. Fish says something similar but Dream says he’ll dispute that, if it’s ok with Adam. The Era rushes the ring but Dream slips out in a hurry.

Video on Shayna Baszler vs. Bianca Belair. Both of them do the confident thing really well.

We look back at Kassius Ohno cheating to beat Keith Lee last week.

Kassius Ohno vs. Matt Riddle is set for Takeover.

Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan vs. Marcel Barthel/Fabian Aichner

Oh yay. Barthel. Lorcan and Barthel start things off with an exchange of hard shots to the face. Aichner comes in so Lorcan punches them both down and brings Danny in to clean house. A middle rope dropkick puts Aichner down as the pace stays fast. Barthel takes Burch down and Aichner clotheslines Lorcan inside out (Nigel: “Achtung baby! That’s German but he’s Italian.”) and Barthel dives onto Danny, leaving Aichner to hit the double springboard moonsault for two on Lorcan.

Oney pops up with a rolling half crab but Aichner makes the save with an enziguri. They stop to breathe (and soak in some applause) for half a second until Lorcan starts slugging away and dives onto Burch and Barthel. Aichner dives onto all three but Lorcan rolls him up for the sudden pin at 4:50.

Rating: B. Sweet goodness they didn’t stop in that span. That was one of the most action packed matches I can remember seeing in a long time and it was awesome to see so much energy. Burch and Lorcan are great in these sprint style matches and it’s always nice to see Barthel lose. This was a lot of fun and worth seeing as it’s not even five minutes long.

Video on Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black. Back in July, Ciampa had said that the title made Black instead of vice versa. Since then Ciampa has made the title and he’s going to prove that Black never was that good. Johnny Gargano has been dragged into it as well but all that matters is day 184 coming and going as Aleister fades to black. Another awesome video here, as you knew was coming.

Io Shirai/Kairi Sane vs. Tanea Brooks/Amber Nova

Nova was a semi regular in Impact Wrestling for a few months. Shirai cartwheels and backflips away from Nova before dropkicking her into the corner. Sane comes in for a running Blockbuster and the sliding elbow in the corner makes it even worse. Brooks gets in a cheap shot from the apron and comes in, only to be speared down. A 619 from Shirai sets up a springboard dropkick to both villains. With Nova on the floor, Brooks takes a pop up Insane Elbow into an assisted moonsault for the pin at 2:50. That was a heck of a performance and the finishing sequence looked awesome.

Post break Sane and Shirai promise to take care of business. Marina Shafir (who towers over both of them) and Jessamyn Duke come in and make threats.

Velveteen Dream vs. Bobby Fish

Fish hits a hard shoulder to start and has to slip out of the Dream Valley Bomb. A clothesline sends Fish rolling outside and they come back inside for an exchange of forearms. Fish starts in on the leg though and a dragon screw legwhip sends Dream outside. Back in and a slingshot hilo to the knee gives Fish one and it’s off to a half crab.

Dream gets out and uses the good knee for some shots to the head. A spinebuster sets up the Purple Rainmaker but Fish grabs a kneebar after the landing bangs up the knee again. Dream rolls out and manages a fireman’s carry until the knee gives out. The second attempt works just fine and now the Purple Rainmaker is good for the pin at 8:35.

Rating: C+. This was a nice win for Dream as he came from behind and won in the end while Fish even had Cole there as a bonus. Fish is a perfect choice to lose over and over again for the Era as he looks impressive just by association. He can more than hold his own in the ring too and that makes him a rather valuable asset.

We look back at the Forgotten Sons laying out the Street Profits last week. They meet next week.

Duke/Shafir vs. Sane/Shirai next week as well.

Here’s Ricochet for a chat. He knows Johnny Gargano and has seen everything that Gargano has done lately. At Takeover, Ricochet will show him the meaning of One and Only. Gargano comes in and the fight is on but Ciampa comes in and decks Ricochet (the pop in New York if Ricochet beats Ciampa for the title would be insane), allowing Gargano to hammer away.

That allows Black to run in and kick away at Ciampa but Gargano comes in to help him. Gargano gives Ricochet the slingshot DDT and Ciampa hits the Fairy Tale Ending on Black as the fans chant for DIY. Gargano and Ciampa go up to the stage and Ciampa extends his hand but Candice LeRae comes out and says this isn’t happening. Gargano leaves with her to end the show. If I have to watch a dream tag match between these four with Candice being all nervous, I guess I can force myself through it.

Overall Rating: A-. Some snappy matches and all the angle advancement you could need is more than enough to make this a great show. I want to see where the main event scene is going as you know this isn’t wrapping up in Phoenix. The rest of the show covered everything about Takeover and the card looks great, as you knew it would. Just deliver the whole thing and be another incredible Takeover.

Results

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch b. Marcel Barthel/Fabian Aichner – Rollup to Aichner

Kairi Sane/Io Shirai b. Tanea Brooks/Amber Nova – Assisted moonsault to Nova

Velveteen Dream b. Bobby Fish – Purple Rainmaker

NXT
Date: January 16, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

We’re almost to Phoenix and things continue to get more and more interesting around here. That’s one of the best things that you can have happen to you at the right time and since it’s NXT, they know exactly how to do so. Keep building things in the NXT way and everything will be just fine. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Street Profits vs. Metro Brothers

Ford and Chris Metro start things off with a takedown and dancing having Chris in early trouble. Dawkins comes in to fire Ford up and accidentally knocks him down in a funny bit. JC comes in and slaps Dawkins, earning himself a fast knockdown. Ford is very pleased with his partner and a heck of a frog splash finishes JC at 1:49. Total destruction.

Post match the Forgotten Sons run in and beat down the Profits. Fans: “WE FORGOT YOU! STAY FORGOTTEN!”

Matt Riddle is still banged up and can’t be in Keith Lee’s corner tonight against Kassius Ohno. He just hopes Lee leaves a little bit for him.

Aleister Black says Tommaso Ciampa knew he wasn’t safe. At Takeover, he will absolve Ciampa of his sins but let’s start the fight early next week. It was nice to see an old school talk to the camera promo instead of the hold your phone style that they love anymore.

Here’s Bianca Belair for a chat. After bragging about getting rid of Nikki Cross last week, we hear about how she’s going to take the title at Takeover, no matter what Shayna and her horse friends think. This brings out Shayna Baszler with Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir with Shayna saying she doesn’t see it.

Yeah Belair set a bunch of records at the Performance Center and maybe the fastest and the strongest, but she’s not the smartest. Belair shrugs it off but Shayna promises to turn Belair from un-de-feat-ed to over-ratted. Shayna as Duke and Shafir go to the corner but walks into a slap. Belair bails from the numbers advantage in a smart move. This worked well and Shayna continues to look like a star.

Dominik Dijakovic vs. Adrian Jaoude

Jaoude can’t get anywhere off an attempted ankle pick but a double leg works far better. Dijakovic can’t wrestle up so it’s so kicks to the ribs into a spinning elbow to the face instead. A hard clothesline (the Bloodline) sends Jaoude into the corner but he grabs a kneebar to slow Dijakovic down. Jaoude can’t follow up though and it’s a big boot to set up Feast Your Eyes for the pin at 4:23.

Rating: C-. Jaoude continues to impress in defeat as he has the look and mat skills to go somewhere. There’s a lot more to it than that of course but at least he has the unique part down. Dijakovic is certainly good as well, though that name is just stupid when he already had a bit of a name coming in. At least he’s winning though.

The War Raiders are out in a field and light a bonfire with Undisputed Era chairs on top. They’ll destroy the champs in Phoenix, and that is undisputed.

Video on Takeover: Blackpool. Walter’s debut still makes it worth the whole thing.

Johnny Gargano vs. Humberto Carrillo

Apparently Carrillo is the nephew of Hector Garza. Doesn’t really change anything but an extra detail doesn’t hurt anyone. They fight over a wristlock to start until Carrillo backflips out of the corner. A nipup confuses Johnny and an enziguri makes his head hurt. Carrillo sends him outside but charges into the slingshot spear.

An abdominal stretch keeps Carrillo in trouble and lasts about as long as any other abdominal stretch. Gargano gets elbowed to the floor for a dive from Carrillo and a heck of a high missile dropkick puts Johnny down again. The moonsault takes too long though and Johnny gets his feet up. The Lawn Dart sets up the slingshot DDT to finish Carrillo at 4:43.

Rating: C+. This was reminiscent of Lex Luger getting ready to face the Giant back in WCW as he fought someone of a similar style, like Roadblock in his situation (Raise your hand if you thought you’d get a Roadblock reference this week). Carrillo is VERY impressive and I’m glad he got the call up to 205 Live this week as the division needs that kind of skill.

Post match Johnny calls out Ricochet for next week.

Tommaso Ciampa says if he’s the puppet master, Aleister Black is the ultimate puppet. The champ only fights on the biggest stage so we’ll wait until Phoenix for the real fight. Just be careful what you wish for.

Velveteen Dream video.

Kassius Ohno vs. Keith Lee

A very big shoulder takes Ohno down early and Lee follows up with a spear for two. That’s enough to send Ohno outside for a breather but he has to move before Lee can try a dive. Back in and Lee unloads with the heavy lefts and rights but Ohno scores with a running big boot. The running backsplash gives Ohno two and it’s off to the double arm crank.

Ohno forearms him in the back of the head for two more and it’s time for the chinlock. That’s broken up so Ohno tries another backsplash, which just hits knees. Lee slugs away and gets two off a slingshot crossbody. A Mongolian chop sets up the Pounce but Ohno grabs the rope to get out of the fireman’s carry. Lee shoves the referee by mistake and gets hit low, setting up the rolling elbow to finish Lee at 9:14.

Rating: C+. Nice power brawl here with both guys looking good. I get where they’re going with Ohno winning as it sets up another showdown with Riddle, but did they need to have Lee take a second straight loss? The Riddle match was already done a few weeks ago and doesn’t exactly need to happen again after a clean loss. The story makes sense from where they went with it, but not so much with having Lee lose again.

Post match Riddle runs out to chase Ohno off.

Overall Rating: C. This was a much lighter show and there’s nothing wrong with that. Next week will be the big hard push and we did get a nice build towards the Women’s Title match here. Other than that we likely saw the setup for Ohno vs. Riddle III at Takeover so at least we got something extra as a result. Not a bad show, but not one that you really need to see.

Results

Street Profits b. Metro Brothers – Powerbomb/European uppercut combination to JC

Dominik Dijakovic b. Adrian Jaoude – Feast Your Eyes

Kassius Ohno b. Keith Lee – Rolling elbow

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

NXT
Date: January 9, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson

It’s time for the final push towards Phoenix with three weeks left before the big show. The main event is already set and you can probably guess some of the other matches from here. That means it’s time for the really good shows as NXT knows hot to get things ready in a hurry, which is what we’ll be getting both this week and next. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s Johnny Gargano for an opening chat. He wishes us a happy new year and gets straight to the point: you measure success around here with titles, which is why he’ll be better in 2019. In 2019, he’s going to become a champion, which the fans don’t seem to mind very much. As for Tommaso Ciampa, the moment in the cage was a one off thing and he’s still a piece of garbage with a title Johnny wants.

Ciampa did have a good idea though: Gargano winning the North American Title. Ricochet has told Johnny to come get it, so here’s Ricochet to interrupt. The fans deem Ricochet a champion, which certainly seems to please him. If Johnny wanted a title shot all he had to do was ask, but now he’s just going to take it? Is he going to take it from his face or after an attack in the parking lot?

Ricochet seems to agree to the match but here’s Ciampa to interrupt. Johnny cuts him off in a hurry and here’s Aleister Black on the screen. He promises to make Ciampa fade to black in Phoenix and then appears behind Ciampa for the beatdown. In the melee, Gargano kicks Ricochet in the face and looks down at him. I love seeing these stories merged together like this.

At Takeover, the Undisputed Era defends against the War Raiders.

Nikki Cross vs. Bianca Belair

Third match between the two after they fought to a double DQ and a no contest. Cross starts fast with a crossbody (always nice to have a namesake move) but Belair is right back with a dropkick. A backdrop puts Cross on the floor but she ties Belair up in the ring skirt and hammers away. Belair is fine enough for a gorilla press into a standing moonsault for two back inside and it’s off to an abdominal stretch. A backbreaker gives Belair two but her suplex is countered into a DDT for the same.

Cross hits another crossbody and a reverse DDT for two more and it’s time for the creepy smile. Belair is right back up with a spear for two of her own but a splash hits knees. The Purge sends Belair bailing to the floor so Cross follows her with a jump onto Belair’s back. The drop down onto the ramp gives us a very close double nine count as they both dive back in. Belair gets sent shoulder first into the post for two more as the fans are VERY pleased with this so far. They’re both down again so Cross goes up but misses a high crossbody, setting up KOD for the pin at 10:38.

Rating: B-. These two work well together and the result wasn’t a surprising one. You don’t want to have Belair lose when she’s getting a title shot later this month. It’s not like having Cross lose here does any real damage to her as she’s on her way to the main roster sooner rather than later. Good way to end the rivalry here as Belair finally has to work for a victory.

The Street Profits talk about evolving last year (ha) and don’t like being locked out of a building. There have been a lot of those in 2018 but they get one open, just like they’ll be doing in 2019. They have big plans this year and they’re going to beat every team in front of them.

Marcel Barthel/Fabian Aichner vs. Hector Kunsman/Stanley Watts

Oh come on I have to watch Barthel here too??? The jobbers don’t even get first names to start as Barthel takes Kunsman down with a hammerlock. It’s off to Watts (Mauro: “No relation to Cowboy Bill.”) to work on a wristlock but Barthel punches him in the face. Aichner holds Watts up but has to kick out of a sunset flip.

Kunsman comes back in and slugs away at both guys until a spinebuster into a penalty kick cuts him down for two. A baseball slide crushes Kunsman again but he kicks Aichner in the face. Watts comes back in and scores with some shots of his own, only to have Aichner powerbomb him into a German suplex (with a nasty landing) to give Barthel the pin at 4:31.

Rating: C. The match was entertaining but it’s a really bad sign when these two “stars” had this much trouble against a pair of jobbers. I haven’t liked Barthel since he debuted in NXT UK and it wasn’t much better here. The team isn’t working but I have a feeling they’re going to be pushed for a long time because there aren’t many teams over in the UK at the moment. Lucky us.

Ricochet wants Gargano now because Gargano superkicked all the respect away.

We look back at Kassius Ohno destroying Matt Riddle last week.

Keith Lee is Riddle’s friend and what Ohno did isn’t standing. Next week, Ohno can learn a lesson about respect and bask in Lee’s glory.

EC3 vs. Adam Cole

The Undisputed Era is here in full force. Feeling out process to start with an exchange of nothing holds until EC3 knocks him out to the floor. An Era distraction lets Cole get in a jumping enziguri and a whip sends EC3 shoulder first into the steps. Back in and Cole starts on the arm with an armbar, only to get suplexed right back down. A back elbow to the jaw puts Cole down and the EC3 elbow keeps him in trouble.

Cole is right back up and goes after the arm again, including a running big boot. The Backstabber gets two as Bobby Fish is having a ball playing cheerleader/coach on the floor. A heck of a clothesline with the good arm turns Cole inside out for two but the suplex onto the knee gets two. Cole can’t get a cross armbreaker as EC3 powerbombs his way out, drawing in the rest of the Era. That’s enough for Cole to hit a superkick into the Last Shot for the pin at 7:55.

Rating: C+. I liked this one more than I was expecting to as both guys were working here. The ending was fine and keeps EC3 looking strong, even if it was a little easy to guess. The Undisputed Era could be an even bigger deal in 2019 and it wouldn’t make sense to have them lose in their first match of the year. Nice stuff here, with EC3 looking better than usual.

Post match the Era comes in for the beatdown until the War Raiders run in for the save and the real beatdown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Good matches throughout the card, a few matches announced for Takeover and a hot finish. That’s about as good as you can get for an hour (well, unless NXT is really cranking it up that week) and I had a really easy time watching this. Takeover is going to be a blast again, because that’s just what happens on that show. Really efficient night here, as tends to be the case.

Results

Bianca Belair b. Nikki Cross – KOD

Marcel Barthel/Fabian Aichner b. Hector Kunsman/Stanley Watts – Powerbomb into a German suplex to Watts

Adam Cole b. EC3 – Last Shot

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

So it’s the beginning of the year and that means it’s time to look at some End of the Year Awards. WWE has its own version and since we live in a random and chaotic universe, we don’t have the Slammys anymore. What we do have are the NXT Year End Awards and WWE has their own version of nominees. The nominees are rather lengthy but I’ll take a look at them and see how ridiculous they might be.

Female Competitor Of The Year

Nikki Cross
Shayna Baszler
Kairi Sane
Ember Moon
Bianca Belair

Well they’re starting with an interesting one. As is going to be the case with a lot of these awards, I’m going to go with the person who had the most success. That eliminates Cross and Belair, who didn’t win any titles throughout the year and didn’t make a huge impact in the ring. Moon was Women’s Champion to start the year and was on the main roster before the middle of April.

That leaves you with Sane and Baszler and this might as well be a coin flip. I’m going to go with Baszler though, as I love her character work and can see her doing big things for a long time to come. Sane was awesome too and found her footing, but I think Baszler was just that much better. It’s a case where I’m not going to argue with a pick for Sane though, as they were both that good.

Male Competitor Of The Year

Tommaso Ciampa
Johnny Gargano
Ricochet
Aleister Black
Velveteen Dream
Andrade Cien Almas
Adam Cole
Pete Dunne

…..I’m going to need coffee. Egads this is already a tough one and we’re only on the second award. I’ll eliminate Dunne for the simple fact that he doesn’t wrestle full time. What he does is great, but he doesn’t do enough of it. Dream is out as well as while an incredible performer, he has a bad record in the bigger matches. Almas had a heck of a first quarter of the year, but it’s just a quarter and that’s not enough. If I have to eliminate someone else from here it would be Cole, just because everyone else is that much better.

That leaves you with Ricochet, Black, Ciampa and Gargano and…..egads I have no idea. I think I’ll go with Gargano, who had the in-ring work and the character work to put him ahead of everyone else. Ciampa was a better heel than Gargano was either a face or a heel but Gargano was significantly better in the ring. Ricochet has every bit of star power you could ask for and Black showed range that I never would have bet on from him, but this year goes to Gargano for the overall package.

Overall Competitor Of The Year

Nikki Cross
Shayna Baszler
Kairi Sane
Ember Moon
Bianca Belair
Tommaso Ciampa
Johnny Gargano
Ricochet
Aleister Black
Velveteen Dream
Andrade Cien Almas
Adam Cole
Pete Dunne

So this is a mixture of the men and the woman and it’s still Gargano. I’m not sure why we still have the other nominees when this should just be the male winner vs. the female winner.

Continued on next page.

Tag Team Of The Year

Undisputed Era
War Raiders
Street Profits
Heavy Machinery
Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch
Moustache Mountain

Did we really need the Street Profits on there? Moustache Mountain had a great match in England and a really solid rematch in the States, but it wasn’t enough to make them the team of the year. Lorcan and Burch had a heck of a run but the lack of titles and longevity hold them back. Heavy Machinery is the same, though they were a lot of fun that I wasn’t expecting.

That leaves the War Raiders and the Undisputed Era, which is really just the case because I need two teams here. This is the Undisputed Era’s win by a mile, as they’ve dominated the Tag Team Title scene from the beginning of the year to this day in an absolute landslide. Maybe War Raiders will get there one day, but there’s no competition in this one and I think everyone knows it.

TakeOver Of The Year

Philadelphia
New Orleans
Chicago II
Brooklyn IV
WarGames II

Talk about a pick em. As usual there isn’t a bad one in the bunch but I’ll keep this a little more simple and go with New Orleans. Maybe it was me being in the arena for the show, but this was an incredible night with an amazing opener and an even better main event. I’ll go with this one, but holy flaming corndogs this could go to any of the options and I’m not going to try to point out flaws that don’t exist.

Match Of The Year

WarGames Match (TakeOver: WarGames)
Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas (NXT Championship Match, TakeOver: Philadelphia)
Moustache Mountain vs. Undisputed ERA (NXT Tag Team Championship Match, NXT TV, July 11, 2018)
Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (Unsanctioned Match, TakeOver: New Orleans)
NXT North American Championship Ladder Match (TakeOver: New Orleans)
Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT Women’s Championship Match, TakeOver: Brooklyn IV)
Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream (TakeOver: Chicago)
Aleister Black vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT Championship Match, NXT TV, July 25)
Pete Dunne vs. Zack Gibson (WWE U.K. Championship Match, NXT TV, Aug. 22)
Aleister Black vs. Adam Cole (Extreme Rules Match, TakeOver: Philadelphia)
Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O’Reilly (WWE U.K. Championship Match, NXT TV, June 13)
Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan vs. Undisputed ERA (TakeOver: Chicago)
Nikki Cross vs. Bianca Belair (NXT TV, Sept. 12)
Ricochet vs. Pete Dunne (North American Champion vs. WWE U.K. Champion Match, NXT TV, Sept. 19)
Ricochet vs. Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole (North American Championship Triple Threat Match, NXT TV, Oct. 10)

Well that’s quite the list and I’m not going to bother to try and break these things down. Instead I’ll go with the best options, which for me would be Gargano vs. Almas, Gargano vs. Ciampa I, the New Orleans ladder match and Black vs. Ciampa. The others are all great, but you can only have so many options here and you have to go with the best of the best for something like this.

Out of the shortened list, I have to go with Ciampa vs. Gargano from New Orleans. It had the build, it had the interest, it had the hype and it more than delivered in the top spot on the card. The ladder match was an incredible spot fest (a good thing in this case), Gargano vs. Almas was an incredible wrestling spectacle and Black vs. Ciampa was some incredible storytelling (though not as good as Black vs. Gargano in the cage, which should be on the list as well). Gargano vs. Ciampa was the story of the year though and for me, they never topped their first match.

Rivalry Of The Year

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa
Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler
Aleister Black/Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa/Nikki Cross
Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas
Moustache Mountain vs. Undisputed ERA
Ember Moon vs. Shayna Baszler
Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream

….are they kidding? Moving on.

Continued on next page.

Breakout Star Of The Year

Bianca Belair
Lacey Evans
Rhea Ripley
Dakota Kai
Lars Sullivan
Ricochet
War Raiders
EC3

When I posted the NXT review on another site, I received the following comment:

“Here are the nominees for Breakout Star of the Year:

Ricochet

Shortened to reflect the real list.”

He was right. The others are all good to great, but Ricochet debuted in April and became one of the top stars in the promotion in his first match. He’s the North American Champion, could win the NXT Title in the new year (tell me him winning the title in New York wouldn’t be incredible) and has apparently been moving tickets at house shows. There were some great newcomers in 2018, but Ricochet is on another planet.

Future Star Of NXT

Matt Riddle
Keith Lee
Mia Yim
Fortunate Sons
Dominik Dijakovic
Io Shirai
Candice LeRae
Marina Shafir/Jessamyn Duke
Kona Reeves

Let it go with Reeves as it’s just not going to happen. I don’t know what they see in that guy but it’s not working. The Fortunate Sons are a great idea but it’s not working at the moment. Unless they fix something, that’s just not happening. It’s a bit too early to tell with Shirai but they could strap a rocket on her back at the drop of a hat. I don’t think LeRae/Yim are going to be top stars, but they can be solid midcard/upper midcard acts for a long time to come. It’s WAY too early to tell with Shafir/Duke/Dijakovic, though you know the plans are there for all of them.

That leaves you with the two best options of Lee and Riddle and I’m going to need a minute here. Riddle is clearly a big deal already and someone that WWE wants to push to the moon and back, though every time I see Lee I don’t know what to think. The guy does things that just shouldn’t be possible and makes them look easy. That’s not normal and he’s one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen, but I have to go with Riddle. He’s the kind of prodigy you never see and it would be insane to not make him a star. This one goes to Riddle, and while Lee is close, it’s not close enough.

Sweet free toasters from a bank it was a heck of a year for NXT. They somehow got better and better over the course of the year. I know we keep saying that they can’t keep it going and then they blow that away. If they come close to that in 2019, I have no idea how good it could actually get. It’s awesome to watch every single week and these awards show you just how good things really were and still are in NXT.

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

NXT
Date: January 2, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

It’s getting close to Takeover time and the show is starting to come into focus. With some of the matches already set, the rest of the card can be put together over the next few weeks. As tends to be the case in NXT, you can probably guess what’s coming but the journey is the most entertaining part. Let’s get to it.

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

This is a special two hour edition as we look at the NXT Year End Awards. Well so much for seeing what we’ve got coming up.

In Memory of Gene Okerlund.

Opening sequence.

We go to Cathy Kelley at WWE Headquarters to hype up the Year End Awards nominees being announced tonight.

And we’ve got a Best Of show. As usual, full versions of the matches will be listed even if clipped versions are shown.

From Takeover: New Orleans.

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

Ladder match for the inaugural title with EC3 and Ricochet making their in-ring debut. Cole is the heavy crowd favorite here but they’re not opposed to some of the others. The fans deem this awesome at the opening bell and it’s EC3 bailing to the floor. Ricochet is thrown outside with Dream and Cole following, leaving the battle of the monsters in the ring. Actually never mind as they both go outside to surround EC3, which doesn’t take much effort.

That allows Ricochet to dive off the top with a shooting star onto the giants though and the fans go even nuttier than they were just a few seconds ago. The first ladder is set up but Dream catches Ricochet before he can go anywhere. Ricochet flips around into a headscissors and a dropkick in an incredibly smooth sequence. Dream breaks up a springboard and goes up, drawing in Cole for a save this time around.

EC3 comes in with a jawbreaker and a Hennig necksnap to Cole but it’s Sullivan time again. A pair of powerslams later and both normal sized guys are gone, leaving Dain to knock Sullivan outside. Dain isn’t done with a HUGE suicide dive taking Sullivan out. Cole, Ricochet and EC3 manage to get Dain down and it’s a big brawl with the monsters down. That doesn’t last long either though as it’s Sullivan throwing a ladder at them and wiping everyone out without much effort again.

Dream gets gorilla pressed onto the ladder and Sullivan goes up, drawing some incredible booing. Ricochet can’t sunset bomb him off so EC3 and Dream help, along with Cole punching Sullivan in the face to FINALLY put him down. Now it’s Dain shoving Cole down though and backdropping Ricochet onto the ladder. Cole and EC3 get together to take out Sullivan and Dain in a smart move. With the monsters down, a ladder is bridged between the announcers’ table and ring, which can’t possibly end well.

Hang on though as EC3 does Cole’s pose and that’s just not cool with Cole, who AA’s EC3 onto the ladder. A series of superkicks put a bunch of people down and here’s the REAL pose. Sullivan is up to push the ladder over but this time it’s Dream getting up and cleaning house. Dream even shoves a ladder into a charging Sullivan’s face to cut him off, setting up a HUGE Purple Rainmaker off the ladder (with his head above the belt) to crush Sullivan.

The writhing in pain means Dream’s climb is rather slow and EC3 powerbombs him off one ladder and into another. A TKO off the ladder drops Cole as well but it’s Dain back in to kick EC3 down. He puts a ladder onto EC3 and drops a Vader Bomb, followed by a second with Cole on his back to make it even worse. It’s finally time for Sullivan vs. Dain but Ricochet runs back in….and is tossed back and forth between the two of them like a ball. With Ricochet thrown away, the big men slug it out until Sullivan powerslams Dain down to get the better of it.

Ricochet makes another save and climbs up but Sullivan shoves the ladder over, only to have Ricochet moonsault off (as the ladder is falling back) onto Cole and Dain outside. You know, because of course he can do that. Back in and Ricochet hits a shooting star onto EC3 onto the ladder, because he hasn’t taken enough abuse so far. Dream is back up though and bridges a ladder into the standing ladder, with Ricochet standing on the platform. That means a Death Valley Bomb to drive Ricochet into the ladder and everyone is down again.

Sullivan and Dream are up first with the former putting Dream on the bridged ladder. A Freak Accident puts EC3 through Dream through the ladder, leaving EC3 with a look of physical shock on his face. Not to be outdone, Dain drives Cole through Ricochet through a second bridged ladder to put all six down even longer this time. Sullivan and Dain crawl back in and go up the ladder, only to have EC3 and Cole come in with a ladder of their own to climb next to them.

Naturally Dream and Ricochet are up on a third ladder and Cole gets knocked down. Ricochet and Dream go down with EC3 falling as well, leaving a battle of the monsters. Sullivan gives Dain a huge Freak Accident off the ladder and goes up again, drawing even more booing. Cue Ricochet to springboard in and land on Sullivan’s back, dropping two ladders down in the process. Ricochet goes up but Cole turns it over and pulls down the title at 31:15.

Rating: A+. Well that was incredible. I mean really, what else can you say? This never felt longer than it needed to be and was one insane spot after another. Coming in and during the match, it always felt like all six could have won, meaning that nothing felt like a waste of time. Cole winning is one of several acceptable choices and no one comes out of this looking worse than when they came in. Just an amazing spectacle and one of the best things I’ve ever seen in NXT, or any promotion for that matter.

Quick look at Ricochet winning the title from Cole at Takeover: Brooklyn IV.

Here are the nominees for Breakout Star of the Year:

Ricochet

Dakota Kai

Lars Sullivan

Rhea Ripley

War Raiders

Lacey Evans

EC3

Bianca Belair

Video on the rise and split of DIY. The fact that this is still going strong nine months later is remarkable.

From Takeover: New Orleans again.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Unsanctioned match, meaning anything goes and it’s pinfall or submission only with Gargano’s NXT career on the line. Ciampa comes out to no music, looking as carved up as you could imagine him being. The fans are all over him with some rather vulgar chants and Ciampa is reveling in soaking them all in. Ciampa gets on the corner and says that its his show and his moment. Fans: “F*** YOU CIAMPA!” He even closes his eyes to listen to the chants. Gargano’s music gets a heck of a reaction and you can feel the energy here. In a nice touch, the referee has a black shirt on instead of the usual referee gear.

They stare each other down at the bell and now it’s on with wild punches. That’s how it should start as there’s no reason for this to be about wrestling. The slingshot spear puts Ciampa down and Gargano stomps a heck of a mudhole in the corner before taking it to the floor. Ciampa gets sent over the barricade and Gargano dives right at him to get even more. This time Ciampa gets something out of it though by dropping Gargano ribs first across the barricade.

Gargano tries a piledriver on the table but Ciampa hits him with a monitor. That’s followed by a suplex to take Gargano off the table and to the floor with a sick thud. Ciampa gets creative by slamming Gargano onto the table cover as the pace slows. They get back inside with Ciampa’s face looking more and more evil by the second. Gargano uses the sneering break to get up for a slugout until a belly to back suplex cuts him off for one. A modified Texas Cloverleaf (more like a Liontamer) has Gargano in more trouble until he makes the rope….which means nothing here, as it shouldn’t.

Gargano crawls over the apron to force the break so Ciampa stomps on the back of his head, followed by applauding himself. The fans call Ciampa a rather mean British term and it’s made even worse as he steals a plant’s crutches. Back in and Gargano takes the crutch away and hits the rolling kick to the head to send Ciampa out to the apron. The slingshot DDT is blocked so Ciampa loads up an Air Raid Crash to the exposed concrete.

To prevent a bad case of death, Gargano reverses into a powerbomb onto the same concrete. Fans: “YOU DESERVE IT!” Thank goodness, as I was worried about the fans cheering Ciampa for being too good of a villain. Somehow that’s not enough to end Ciampa so Gargano unloads with crutch shots. Ciampa backdrops him to the floor to save himself and Gargano hits his back on the apron. He’s fine enough to crutch Ciampa in the head though and the slingshot DDT gets two.

Gargano pulls the turnbuckle pad off but can’t hit the Lawn Dart. Instead he’s sent to the apron and the slingshot spear is kneed out of the air. A torture rack powerbomb gives Ciampa two more before he goes old school with the Meet in the Middle knee to the back of the head. That’s only two again and frustration/disbelief sets in. Back up and Gargano grabs the beard so he can hammer on Ciampa even more. A reverse hurricanrana is more like a Backstabber as Gargano can’t get Ciampa over.

Not that it matters as he grabs the Gargano Escape instead, even rolling back into the middle of the ring for good measure. Ciampa rakes the eye for the break, drawing a heck of a heel reaction from the fans. With nothing else working, Ciampa chokes with his wrist tape but Gargano grabs it and they slug it out (great touch as they’re attached here, just like they always have been).

Gargano gets the better of it but a low blow cuts him off. A crutch to the back and Project Ciampa (a powerbomb onto knees) give Ciampa two and they’re both spent. Ciampa pulls himself up and says this is his so Gargano slaps him in the face. A superkick has some more effect and now the Lawn Dart sends Ciampa into the buckle. The low superkick (and a GREAT one at that) gets two in an incredible false finish. They head up top and it’s a SUPER PROJECT CIAMPA (onto Ciampa’s bad knee) for two in an even better false finish that I bought even more than the previous one.

Ciampa takes the brace off instead and loads up the big running knee, only to get hit in the knee with the brace to cut him off. Gargano gets the crutch again and bends it down a bit….only to stop when Ciampa begs off. They sit next to each other (in a callback to their match in the Cruiserweight Classic back in 2016) but Ciampa swings with the brace. That misses though and it’s the Gargano Escape again. Gargano switches to an STF, using the brace to pull on Ciampa’s face for the tap at 36:59.

Rating: A+. And that might be the best match NXT has ever produced. This was a complete roller coaster with both guys looking like they wanted to kill the other, going from one great bit of violence to the next. Some of those near falls were great too, with the possibility that either of them could have won at different points. That being said, Gargano winning was the right call no matter what, as he was the hero in the end.

The emotion here was awesome too, with some perfect callbacks to the deep history between these two. I’ve seen this match a few times now and it does not get old, nor does it ever feel long. It’s an incredible performance and one of the best things I’ve ever seen in wrestling. Absolutely see this, but do yourself a favor and watch a lot of the earlier matches to set it up first. That’s the extra stuff that puts it over the top, making it one of the best things NXT has ever done.

Quick look at Ciampa winning the rematch at Takeover: Chicago which sent Gargano on a downward spiral.

Clips of Aleister Black winning the NXT Title from Andrade Cien Almas, also from Takeover: New Orleans.

From July 25.

NXT Title: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black

Ciampa is challenging and still has no music. He even breaks up Black’s pre-match poses like a real villain. They lock up hard to start with Black getting the better of a technical exchange on the mat. It’s almost weird to see Ciampa wrestling but it makes sense because his hatred is at Johnny Gargano alone. A small package gives Black two as they’re still firmly in first gear. The hanging DDT is quickly broken up and Black hits his first kick to the chest to keep Ciampa down.

More kicks have Ciampa on the floor and Black moonsaults into the seated position so he can mock Ciampa’s wave. Back in and Ciampa gets in his first real shots to put Black on the floor for a whip into the steps. Now it’s Ciampa’s turn to mock Black’s pose because what’s good for one devil is good for another. Ciampa stays on the back with a backbreaker and an abdominal stretch.

Nigel is right there to talk about how this will weaken the Black Mass because it’s based on core strength because Nigel actually knows how to analyze a match. A Texas Cloverleaf switches over to the legs but Black is in the ropes pretty quickly. Black is fine enough to escape a super White Noise and a collision gives us a double knockdown, continuing the odd theory of one move balancing out a long stretch of offense.

More kicks have Ciampa in trouble and the standing Lionsault gets two. A hard kick to the head is good for the same and some kicks to the chest (Black: “TWEET ABOUT THIS!”) rock him even more. He’s fine enough to hit a top rope DDT for two but Black is right back with kicks to the head. A big spinning kick to the head sets up a German suplex for a near fall and Ciampa bails to the floor. Black misses a moonsault though and Ciampa sends him into the cameraman.

Back in and the hanging DDT gets a VERY close two so it’s time to pull the ring mats up. The referee starts yelling so Ciampa comes back in, only to be shoved into the referee, knocking him to the floor. Black Mass connects but there’s no one to count. Ciampa goes for the eye and grabs the title but here’s Gargano to superkick him. Gargano tries to take the belt away, sending it square into Black’s head. Ciampa sends Gargano outside and a lifting sitout Pedigree (Christopher Daniels’ Angel’s Wings, a FAR better finisher than that lame neckbreaker Ciampa was using) finishes Black at 22:18.

Rating: A-. It’s basically Shawn/Bret/Undertaker at Summerslam 1997 and that’s not a bad place to be. You could easily get to a triple threat from here and for once I like that idea instead of going with the trilogy. Black vs. Gargano could be awesome on its own and you could really milk the build to Gargano vs. Ciampa III where Gargano goes back to his normal self (how fitting of a first line to his theme music: “Be yourself, can’t be no no else.”) to defeat the evil once and for all.

The match itself was a great piece of drama with Black knowing he had the big weapon ready to win in the end but getting caught by outside interference and Ciampa being evil enough to take him down. Black is kept very strong as he knocked Ciampa cold and didn’t lose clean, making this another near perfectly booked match.

Recap of the Whodunit story to find out who attacked Black.

From Takeover: WarGames II.

Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno

Knee to the face beats Ohno in six seconds.

Ohno wasn’t happy and jumped Riddle a few weeks later.

Here are the nominees for Tag Team of the Year:

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch

Street Profits

Heavy Machinery

Moustache Mountain

War Raiders

Undisputed Era

From Takeover: Chicago II.

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’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.

Burch and Lorcan get a standing ovation post match.

Here are the nominees for Rivalry of the Year:

Andrade Cien Almas vs. Johnny Gargano

Shayna Baszler vs. Ember Moon

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Undisputed Era vs. Moustache Mountain

Velveteen Dream vs. Ricochet

Aleister Black vs. Nikki Cross vs. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano

Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane

Here are the nominees for the Future Star of the Year:

Matt Riddle

Mia Yim

Keith Lee

Forgotten Sons

Candice LeRae

Marina Shafir/Jessamyn Duke

Kona Reeves

Dominik Dijakovic

Io Shirai

Here are the nominees for Match of the Year (only a sampling listed here but the full list is from WWE.com):

WarGames Match (TakeOver: WarGames)
Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas (NXT Championship Match, TakeOver: Philadelphia)
Moustache Mountain vs. Undisputed ERA (NXT Tag Team Championship Match, NXT TV, July 11, 2018)
Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (Unsanctioned Match, TakeOver: New Orleans)
NXT North American Championship Ladder Match (TakeOver: New Orleans)
Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT Women’s Championship Match, TakeOver: Brooklyn IV)
Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream (TakeOver: Chicago)
Aleister Black vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT Championship Match, NXT TV, July 25)
Pete Dunne vs. Zack Gibson (WWE U.K. Championship Match, NXT TV, Aug. 22)
Aleister Black vs. Adam Cole (Extreme Rules Match, TakeOver: Philadelphia)
Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O’Reilly (WWE U.K. Championship Match, NXT TV, June 13)
Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan vs. Undisputed ERA (TakeOver: Chicago)
Nikki Cross vs. Bianca Belair (NXT TV, Sept. 12)
Ricochet vs. Pete Dunne (NXT North American Champion vs. WWE U.K. Champion Match, NXT TV, Sept. 19)
Ricochet vs. Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole (NXT North American Championship Triple Threat Match, NXT TV, Oct. 10)

From August 22:

Bianca Belair vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Purrazzo has wrestled all over the indies and had a few appearances with NXT a few years back. The fans seem very pleased to see her as some early headlock takeovers are escaped with a nipup and a handstand. A headscissors into a Fujiwara armbar doesn’t work so Purrazzo tries it again, only to get caught in a gutbuster to put her in trouble. Belair crashes down onto Purrazzo’s back and we hit the full nelson.

Back up and some elbows to the ribs have Purrazzo in more trouble as the EST chants begin. Belair’s standing moonsault misses and a basement dropkick connects. The Fujiwara armbar goes on but Belair fights up and hits a torture rack into the faceplant (kind of a reverse Samoan driver) for the pin at 5:40.

Rating: C-. This was exactly what it needed to be with the fans getting a little taste of Purrazzo as Belair goes over strong in the end. Purrazzo is going to be fine around here with her skill level (at 24 years old) and charisma so everything is going to be fine. Belair is likely coming for the title sooner rather than later.

Clips of Johnny Gargano vs. Aleister Black from Takeover: WarGames II.

We look at what seemed to be a DIY reunion in the cage match from two weeks ago.

Gargano isn’t sure what to think of what happened in the cage but he beat Black, which helps him become the hero at the end of the story.

Here are the nominees for Male Competitor of the Year:

Adam Cole

Pete Dunne

Andrade Cien Almas

Ricochet

Velveteen Dream

Johnny Gargano

Aleister Black

Tommaso Ciampa

Here are the nominees for Female Competitor of the Year:

Ember Moon

Nikki Cross

Kairi Sane

Bianca Belair

Shayna Baszler

Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno

Riddle misses an early jumping knee so it’s off to some kicks in the corner, followed by some running forearms. Ohno can’t block an exploder suplex and a backsplash crushes him all over again. Back up and Ohno hits a few shots of his own before giving Riddle a flipping backsplash of his own. A loud kick to the head rocks Riddle again but he somehow scores a German suplex. Ohno scores with a jumping knee to the head of his own and the cyclone kick gets two. Riddle isn’t having this though and kicks him down, setting up the Bromission, with some slaps to the chest, to make Ohno tap at 6:05.

Rating: C-. It was hard hitting with Riddle winning as he should have. Riddle needs to move on from Ohno now though as there isn’t anything left for him to do there. The first match didn’t mean anything other than a surprise so this was the right way to go for the rematch. Ohno is still fine for the role, though they might want to have him win something along the way so these things can mean something.

Post match Ohno looks devastated and near tears. Riddle offers him a fist bump but Ohno sadly walks away. He turns around and gets back in though, eventually giving Riddle the fist bump….and sending him into the post. Another posting on the floor sets up some whips into the steps, followed by a rolling elbow. A fist bump to the unconscious Riddle ends the show. This was rather long and didn’t need to happen as the feud should be done instead of continuing.

Overall Rating: B. With the matches you got to see on here, either in nearly full or shortened form, you can’t go wrong. It was a great year for NXT as things somehow got even better than they had been before, which I didn’t think was possible. It’s an outstanding collection of matches with a few things that didn’t need to be there but were harmless for the most part. NXT is incredible, but I’m pretty sure you already know that.

Results

Matt Riddle b. Kassius Ohno – Bromission

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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