IMG Credit: WWE

Back in 2017, NXT shocked a lot of wrestling fans by announcing the WarGames was making its WWE debut at the November Takeover, which happened to be called Takeover: WarGames. Then they had the match….and it wasn’t exactly WarGames with a weird three way format that only kind of worked. The problem was fixed the following year with a much more traditional format, but since WWE can’t keep things the same, we are up for a different format this year with TWO WarGames, including the first women’s WarGames match. The card is shorter than the usual Takeover, but that makes sense. Let’s get to it.

Pete Dunne vs. Killian Dain vs. Damien Priest

This, which was originally announced for this week’s TV, is now taking place here with the winner moving on to Survivor Series for a shot against NXT Champion Adam Cole. That could go multiple ways, but with Cole in WarGames and having wrestled in a ladder match on Wednesday, it would be a big stretch to have him lose to anyone (barring some form of interference from the Undisputed Era, which would be pretty lame).

I’ll take Dunne to win here and go on to become NXT Champion. Yeah that sounds like the easy way to go, but at the same time, Dunne is someone that could easily become a top guy. The Undisputed Era holding all four titles is not something that can last forever and after having them exposed to the main roster with so much success, how much longer can you really keep them together down in NXT? If Cole can beat Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan, it’s a bit much to believe that he belongs in the third brand. So yeah, Dunne wins and becomes champion in my prediction almost guaranteed to go wrong.

Matt Riddle vs. Finn Balor

Riddle is taking the place of Johnny Gargano, who was injured at Balor’s hands. That’s such a major perk of NXT: they have the kind of roster where one star is out so they can just pop another one in like it’s nothing. That kind of thing is so valuable to them and almost no one can come close to doing that. There isn’t much of a personal issue here, but it’s Balor’s first major match since his heel turn and you know what that means.

On paper, this should be Balor’s all day, but you never know what you might get. My guess is Balor, but Riddle getting one of the biggest wins of his career isn’t out of the question either. I would go with Balor winning to establish him as something bigger though, especially with the big showdown with Gargano coming sooner or later. If you have Balor lose here, what is the point in having Gargano beat him later? Balor wins here, and likely by cheating to show how he’s fully evil now.

Women’s WarGames

So this is a first and we even have the lineups set in advance for this one (Rhea Ripley/Mia Yim/Tegan Nox/Candice LeRae vs. Shayna Baszler/Io Shirai/Bianca Belair/Kay Lee Ray). This match has been built up well enough, though I’m not sure how much sense it makes to put them inside of WarGames. It would seem more suited for something like a street fight, but I’ll take what I can get. Letting them have weapons would make sense, as Shirai can certainly swing a kendo stick. I’m curious to see how this goes, but I’m not sure how well it is going to work.

I’ll take Team Ripley to win as Ripley seems primed to be the next person to go after Baszler. She doesn’t have to beat Baszler herself, but that swinging Cloverleaf is one of the coolest looking finishers going today. Have her slap that on Belair for the win and then move on to FINALLY (and I do mean FINALLY) take the title off of Baszler. Just let everyone get some time to shine and everything should be fine.

Men’s WarGames

This one is about who will be the final member of Team Ciampa (Tommaso Ciampa/Keith Lee/Dominik Dijakovic/???) as they face the Undisputed Era. Triple H has hyped up the final member of the team being a big deal but I don’t think it’s going to be Triple H himself. The question now is who gets the big spot, which is more intriguing to me than who wins. I’m not sure who it is going to be, but that is the more fun part.

I’ll certainly take Team Ciampa to win as there is little point in having the all champions team go over here. That brings up the big question of the mystery partner and I’ll take….let’s go with Sami Zayn. It would be a surprise, the place would be rather pleased and it would fit well. Either him or Isaiah Scott, who has been treated as a big deal. Or maybe they have a fresh name coming in, though that isn’t something NXT does very often. And no, it won’t be CM Punk, even in Chicago.

Overall Thoughts

The car has one fewer match than usual but come on. It’s TWO WARGAMES matches, which has never actually happened before in any major company. They have title implications plus the question of the mystery entrant, which really could be quite a number of people. I’m excited to see the show and the fact that I’ll be in the arena has nothing to do with that, I assure you.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: November 6, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness

Things have changed in a hurry with this show as it is suddenly a show being treated like it belongs on the main roster. NXT has invaded Monday Night Raw and Smackdown and the question now is will those shows wind up here. It’s a nice feeling to not know what’s coming, though we also have to set up this month’s Takeover. Let’s get to it.

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

We open in the back with the OC attacking the Undisputed Era.

The OC comes into the arena with AJ Styles not being so impressed with NXT. They’re taking over NXT tonight and that is undisputed. Cue Tommaso Ciampa (Fans: “DADDY’S HOME!”) to say he’s been asked about being promoted tot he main roster for years. Instead, he welcomes the OC to the main roster. Ciampa doesn’t like them being in his ring but AJ points out that he’s here all alone. Cue Matt Riddle and Keith Lee with the challenge being made and accepted. Nigel says we could have a cracking main event. Yes cracking.

Pete Dunne vs. Damian Priest

Rematch from two weeks ago when Priest cheated to win. Neither can hit their finisher or a kick to the face to start and we take a break. Back with Priest striking away and hitting a Falcon Arrow for two. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Dunne fights up with the X Plex. Dunne starts striking away including a dropkick to the knees but he can’t hit a German suplex.

Neither can Priest though as Dunne flips out and kicks him in the head. The moonsault to the floor hits Priest as well and they’re both down. Priest is back up with a chokeslam onto the apron, though Dunne is fine enough to hit a sitout powerbomb for two back inside. The Bitter End is broken up though and Priest kicks him in the head.

Dunne heads outside and it’s a big flip dive from Priest as we take another break. Back again with stereo kicks to the head giving us a double knockdown. South of Heaven is broken up so Priest settles for a Razor’s Edge toss powerbomb for two more. Dunne gets tired of getting beaten up though and cranks on the fingers, setting up a cross armbreaker with more finger cranking for the pin at 15:11.

Rating: B-. The two commercials hurt things a bit here though having both of them getting to show off made up for a lot of it. Dunne evens things up and there is a good chance that we’ll be seeing a third match. Priest has already gotten his big win out of the thing and that is what matters most here. Dunne is going to be a big deal so giving him the win to at least even it up for now gives me a good reason to believe his time is coming.

Post match Killian Dain runs out and beats up Dunne, including knocking Priest to the floor. Priest goes after Dain as well but gets sent into the steps, setting up the Cannonball to crush him again.

We look at the WarGames teams, with Rhea Ripley picking Tegan Nox and Candice LeRae and Shayna Baszler picking Bianca Belair and Io Shirai.

Dakota Kai is ready to stand up to Shayna Baszler tonight because she isn’t scared anymore. She’s going to prove why she belongs in WarGames.

Santana Garrett vs. Taynara

This is something of an audition for the final WarGames spots. Taynara takes her down by the arm to start but Garrett is right back with some armdrags into a Russian legsweep for two. A hard running knee to the face gives Taynara two and it’s time to kick Garrett in the face. Taynara starts cranking on the arm but Garrett gets up and hits a few forearms. Garrett misses the handspring moonsault and it’s a hard kick to the face to put her away at 4:07.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have time to go very far but it was the standard veteran gets to beat a plucky rookie, which is an acceptable way to go. Taynara is someone who has enough capital that you can buy her winning and it’s not like Garrett got squashed in any way. Good enough debut from Garrett here, who has the experience and look to keep her relevant for a long time.

Video on Tony Nese.

Video on Angel Garza.

Survivor Series rundown, which looks pretty decent.

Dakota Kai vs. Shayna Baszler

Non-title and the rest of the Horsewomen are here with Baszler. Kai shoves her in the face and teases a kick before stopping for a quick mocking. Now the kick to the face sets up an armdrag and a flying mare of all things. A running kick to the face puts Baszler outside but she catches a charge to send Kai crashing into the post.

Back in and Baszler starts in on the braced knee, including a bunch of stomps to send us to a break. We come back with Kai hitting a double stomp to the chest out for he corner but hurting her leg again. A pump kick rocks Baszler again and a running knee to the face gets two. Kai goes up top but gets gutwrench superplexed back down for a crash and near fall.

A headbutt rocks Baszler and the running kick in the corner puts them both down. The Kawada kicks put Baszler in more trouble but she’s fine enough to hit a good looking jumping knee to the face. The Kirifuda Clutch is broken up but the second attempt goes on and the arm is trapped to make Kai tap at 11:14.

Rating: B-. Kai looked completely different than her earlier matches with Baszler here and that’s what they were going for. The history here is something that played well into the rebuilt Kai, who I wanted to be the one to come back and take the title from Baszler. Either way, Kai has a good future going at this point and I’m looking forward to seeing what she does next.

Post match the Horsewomen are in for the beatdown but it’s Team Ripley for the save. Io Shirai cuts off Candice LeRae though and the rest of Team Baszler is down for the beatdown. Cue Mia Yim with the kendo stick for the save though, including some shots to Baszler.

We recap NXT invading Smackdown and Raw.

Tommaso Ciampa isn’t worried about finding a fourth member for his WarGames team (I don’t remember that being confirmed before) against the Undisputed Era. As for tonight, if anyone wants to come after them, the front door is open.

Video on Isaiah Swerve Scott, who says Swerve is confidence.

Tony Nese vs. Angel Garza

The winner gets a Cruiserweight Title shot at some point in the future. Garza goes after the arm to start but it’s an early standoff. With that not working it’s time to start on the leg but Nese manages to get on top for a fast two and it’s another standoff. This time Nese takes him down by the arm for all of a few seconds, meaning it’s Garza snapping off a running hurricanrana.

That means it’s time for GARZA TO TAKE….a chop to the chest to prevent his disrobing. Garza puts him on the top and hits an enziguri, only to have Nese try a sunset bomb. That’s blocked and NESE TAKES OFF GARZA’S PANTS! Garza gets in a kick to the face and we take a break. Back with Garza hitting another kick to set up the moonsault to the floor. Nigel: “A thing of beauty from the most beautiful man in the world!”

Nese’s sitout pumphandle powerslam gives him his own two but Garza is back up with a reverse Project Ciampa. It’s Nese’s turn to knock him down and this time it’s a 450 for two with Garza getting a foot on the rope. They chop it out again until Garza flips around into a sitout powerbomb for his own near fall. A double underhook drop down (think a Bubba Bomb but with Nese turned the other way and with a butterfly instead of a full nelson) called the Wing Clipper finishes Nese at 11:19.

Rating: C. Garza winning is the right call and it makes more sense to push the NXT guys over the 205 Live guys. Point blank, most of the people on 205 Live are there for a reason and while Nese is good, he doesn’t feel like someone who would be a star around here. I’m still not sure how much longer 205 Live can last, but I’ve been saying that for two years now so what do I know.

Post match Lio Rush comes out and Garza slaps him in the face. Their title match is next week.

Rhea Ripley picks Mia Yim for the fourth spot on her team. She tells Dakota Kai that she just didn’t make the cut. Kai walks away in near tears.

Takeover rundown, which is just WarGames at the moment. Both Baszler and Ciampa’s teams still need fourths, and that previous segment seems like a clue.

Dominick Dijakovic vs. Isaiah Scott

This could be interesting. Scott starts dodging early on but jumps into a fireman’s carry. It’s too early for Feast Your Eyes so Dijakovic hits some standing knees to the back before tossing him to the side. The toss suplex gets two on Scott and a backbreaker lets Dijakovic hit a falling middle rope splash for two more. Scott gets in a quick Downward Spiral and a Release German suplex offers a surprise power display.

A DDT out of the corner gives Scott his own two and it’s time to go up, only to have Dijakovic nail a superkick. Feast Your Eyes is broken up though and Scott hits an enziguri to a kneeling Dijakovic. The cyclone boot staggers Scott though and a chokebomb gets two. Scott is fine enough to come back with a reverse hurricanrana to send Dijakovic to the apron for the big top rope double stomp. A big kick to the face gives Scott two more so he tries the rolling cutter but Dijakovic counters into Feast Your Eyes for the pin at 7:16.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a match and a great way to showcase the different styles. Scott can work with anyone and Dijakovic is such a freak that he can as well, despite his huge size. Really good stuff here and Dijakovic seems ready to move up to the next level at any given time. Scott needs to win a bigger match at some point, but he’s far from losing steam otherwise.

Next week: the Cruiserweight Title match plus Yim vs. Shirai in a ladder match for the WarGames advantage.

OC vs. Tommaso Ciampa/Matt Riddle/Keith Lee

The brawl is on before the bell until it’s AJ vs. Ciampa to get us going. Ciampa is knocked outside early on and the slingshot forearm hits Riddle on the floor. Back in and Willow’s Bell gives Ciampa two and it’s off to Lee vs. Gallows. A hard shoulder rocks Gallows and a pretty slow motion Pounce puts him on the floor.

Back in and Gallows kicks him in the ribs, as does the now legal Anderson. Lee goes simple with a crossbody and we take a break. We come back to Ciampa in AJ’s chinlock and Gallows driving in elbows to the neck. Ciampa fights up but Gallows is smart enough to knock Lee off the apron in advance. Anderson dives into a jumping knee to the face and the hot tag brings in Riddle.

Jumping knees and shoulders abound, followed by the string of Brotons. The Final Flash into the Bro To Sleep into a bridging German suplex gets two with Anderson making the save. Ciampa breaks up the Magic Killer to Lee, who curls Gallows just to show off. AJ’s tornado DDT plants Lee (Mauro: “Like a palm tree!”) and a brainbuster gets two on Riddle. There’s the Pounce to AJ but it takes out the referee at the same time.

Riddle tries a running flip dive but gets caught in the ropes and nearly lands on the apron for a bad crash. Ciampa loads up the Fairy Tale Ending but here’s Finn Balor. That’s enough for AJ to hit the Pele on Ciampa and 1916 plants Riddle on the floor. AJ throws up Too Sweet to Balor, who points the finger guns back at him. Cue Adam Cole to break up the Styles Clash to Ciampa and hit the Last Shot on Ciampa. Cole stares Balor down to end the show, meaning we’ll say it was a no contest at 13:25.

Rating: B. I’m not sure where this is going but it was enough good action and more importantly, the NXT guys were going step for step with the WWE talent and no one took a fall at the end. The match was entertaining and they gave enough of an ending to make me want to watch next week. I’m not sure where they’re going with WarGames and that makes for an interesting ending, especially when you tie in the invasion stuff.

Overall Rating: B. Heck of a show here again as they set up/advanced the big matches at Takeover and tied in the Survivor Series invasion stuff at the same time. I’m not sure what else they are going to have for the rest of the card, but we could be in for a shorter show due to two matches taking up sixteen people. There is still room for a lot of stuff though and under the right circumstances, we could be in for another classic, depending on how the WarGames matches go.

Results

Pete Dunne b. Damian Priest – Cross armbreaker

Taynara b. Santana Garrett – Kick to the face

Shayna Baszler b. Dakota Kai – Kirifuda Clutch

Angel Garza b. Tony Nese – Wing Clipper

Dominick Dijakovic b. Isaiah Scott – Feast Your Eyes

OC vs. Tommaso Ciampa/Keith Lee/Matt Riddle went to a no contest

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: October 2, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuiness

As big of a night as it is on the other show, this one is huge in its own right with the first full two hour broadcast on USA. The card is completely stacked with three title matches for a new Takeover level show. I’m not sure what to expect from this show but NXT knows how to bring it on the big nights. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video talks about how this is the exclusive brand of wrestling and if that’s what you’re looking for, welcome home (nice touch).

NXT Title: Matt Riddle vs. Adam Cole

Cole is defending and has a broken bone in his wrist. Riddle goes straight for the armbar to start in a smart move but Cole is straight over to the rope. Some rolling gutwrench suplexes give Riddle one and he kicks Cole outside without much effort. Cole is fine enough to hit a jumping kick to the head to stagger Riddle though and Cole sends him into the steps for a bonus.

Back in and the fireman’s carry backbreaker gives Cole two and we hit the figure four necklock. Riddle fights up and hits some running forearms in the corner, setting up the standing moonsault. That doesn’t connect so Riddle hits a Broton into a running kick to the chest for two. The Final Flash into the fisherman’s buster gets the same and a dead lift German suplex gets the third two.

Riddle puts him in a fireman’s carry but Cole slips down into a Backstabber for the double knockdown. Cole gets smart by stomping on Riddle’s bare feet before superkicking him in the face. Riddle is fine enough to hit a knee before tossing Cole onto the back of his head with a release German suplex. Cole is right back up with the brainbuster onto the knee for two more and they’re both down to a huge NXT chant.

Back up and Riddle kicks him in the face but can’t hit something on the apron. Instead Cole kicks him to the floor but dives into a knee to the face. Back in and the Floating Bro hits knees, setting up Cole’s Panama Sunrise for two more. Another Panama Sunrise is countered into a Bro To Sleep and a powerbomb. Another Floating Bro connects for a very hot two and Riddle is stunned at the kickout.

Riddle tries a flip over the ropes but gets superkicked, setting up the second Panama Sunrise. The Last Shot misses and the Bromission goes on in the middle of the ring. Cole flips back and stacks him up for two, only to get pulled into the Fujiwara armbar. That’s escaped as well and Cole gets in a cast shot, setting up the Last Shot to retain at 13:49.

Rating: B. Good match here, even if some of the submission escapes were a bit of a stretch. What we got was some high enough quality stuff though and the always hot Full Sail crowd helped make it even better. I’m a bit surprised Riddle lost, though I’m certainly not surprised that Cole cheated to win, which protects Riddle enough.

Post match Cole poses….and here’s Finn Balor. He soaks in the cheers and stares Cole down before declaring that as of now, he is NXT.

Shayna Baszler watched Candice LeRae’s match at a house show last week and LeRae isn’t surprised. LeRae is ready to win the title.

Here’s Velveteen Dream, surrounded by an army of women, for a chat on the stage. Dream talks about the experience and how the Undisputed Era tried to steal it. He’s never had a problem with taking on more than one man at a time so he has a challenge for Roderick Strong. If he accepts, the next thing he knows it’s going to be dream over, and a snap takes the lights off.

Next week: Drew Gulak defends the Cruiserweight Title against Lio Rush. The title is officially the NXT Cruiserweight Title.

Video on Lio Rush.

Io Shirai vs. Mia Yim

Shirai starts fast and takes it to the floor with a kick to the face staggering Mia. We go picture in picture for a break and come back with Shirai hitting a running dropkick to the side of the head for two, meaning it’s time for some frustration. A flapjack into a handstand double knees to the chest gets two more but Mia is back with a suplex. Some shots to the face and a clothesline give Yim two but some kicks to the chest cut her off.

A 619 into a springboard missile dropkick get two more on Yim, who is right back with Code Blue. Shirai bails to the floor for a suicide dive and we go picture in picture again….which switches to a full commercial and then back to picture in picture again. Anyway we’re back with Yim hitting a superplex for two. Shirai is done with this though and kicks her in the face, setting up the moonsault for the pin at 14:43.

Rating: C+. It was a good, hard hitting match but I still cannot bring myself to care about Mia. I don’t know if it’s the bad nicknames or the character but it’s really not clicking at all. Hopefully this loss seems to indicate that she is going down the card, which almost feels like a relief at this point. She’s not terrible, but I can’t get into anything she does.

The Outsiders are here.

The Street Profits arrived earlier today. Of note: Bianca Belair is mentioned as Montez Ford’s wife, I believe for the first time on television.

Video on Tegan Nox’s injury and long time recovery.

Shane Thorne vs. Johnny Gargano

Johnny teases a kick to the face so Shane goes to the safety of the mat instead. Gargano rolls him up for two and tries the Gargano Escape to send Throne to the ropes. Back from a break with Johnny hitting the rolling kick to the head before sending Thorne outside. The suicide dive is blocked so Johnny tries it again and knocks Throne down in a crash.

The slingshot spear gets two but the slingshot DDT is countered. A Cannonball into a heck of a powerbomb gives Thorne two so he kicks Gargano in the head. That’s fine with Johnny, who snaps off a reverse hurricanrana. The low superkick (ala his half of Meet in the Middle) gives Johnny the pin at 8:53.

Rating: C. Just a match here as it’s almost strange to see Gargano winning a short match instead of some epic. I don’t think anyone was really expecting Thorne to take off as the next big thing so a short match with Gargano was about as good as he was going to get. What we got here was fine enough, though I’m not sure what Gargano can do next.

Women’s Title: Candice LeRae vs. Shayna Baszler

Baszler is defending. Feeling out process to start with Candice knocking her to the floor. The slingshot dive takes us to an early break and we come back with Candice being knocked off the top. Baszler crushes the arm in the steps and it’s time to crank away back inside. Candice is right back up and hits a DDT onto the apron, setting up the suicide dive to drop Baszler again.

A second and third dive connect as well and Candice heads up top, only to get superplexed right back down as we take another break. Back again with Candice snapping off a German suplex and grabbing her own Kirifuda Clutch. Baszler is out of that in a hurry and grabs her own clutch out of the corner, which is reversed into Ms. LeRae’s Wild Ride for two more. The Lionsault misses though and now the real Kirifuda Clutch goes on. Candice flips around a bit and almost breaks it but has to tap at 14:50.

Rating: B-. I am genuinely at a loss for who is supposed to take the title from Baszler. They’re going to have to import some names at this point with Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai being too fresh off of injuries to go to so soon. Rhea Ripley has already had her match so maybe….Toni Storm? Perhaps? I mean is there anyone other than someone from NXT UK?

Stephanie McMahon, Mark Henry and Alundra Blayze are here.

Video on Kushida vs. Walter, which takes place next week.

Pete Dunne vs. Danny Burch

Dunne nips out of a wristlock to start as they fight over early arm control. Burch avoids having his fingers stomped and reverses an armbar into a quickly broken Crossface attempt. A missed right hand gives us a staredown until Dunne blasts him with a clothesline. Back from a break with Burch getting the better of a slugout as someone is bleeding from somewhere. Dunne hits a Batista Bomb for two but Burch headbutts him into a powerbomb of his own. The top rope hanging DDT gets two but Dunne has had it and snaps the fingers. Dunne grabs the Bitter End for the pin at 7:13.

Rating: C. Good, hard hitting brawl here as I’m still trying to get my head around the idea of Dunne as a regular wrestler instead of the big specialty star. Burch is very good for a spot like this as he can wrestle against anyone and has good enough matches to keep himself solid despite almost never winning anything.

Post match Dunne poses but Damian Priest runs in and lays him out.

Cole tells the Undisputed Era to forget about Balor and go keep the Tag Team Titles.

We look at the Street Profits winning and losing the Tag Team Titles.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era vs. Street Profits

The Profits are challenging and Wale raps them to the ring. Dawkins wrestles O’Reilly down to start before running him over with a shoulder. That means an early standoff and the champs bail to the floor. We take a break and come back with Ford getting taken into the champs’ corner. Ford get knocked down so O’Reilly dances a bit, allowing Ford to nip up. That earns him another beating though, including a slingshot hilo to give Fish two.

Some forearms to the face keep Ford down as the heat segment rolls on. Three Amigos give Fish two and it’s a double kick to the chest for two more. We take another break and come back again with Fish kicking Ford down again. Ford finally gets in a Rock Bottom but Fish is right there to pull Dawkins off the apron. Some rolling butterfly suplexes keep Ford in trouble and we hit the abdominal stretch.

Ford finally gets out and dives over for the hot tag to Dawkins, who runs through a double kick to the chest. A clothesline drops Fish and Dawkins bulldogs O’Reilly onto him for a cool spot. Everything breaks down and Dawkins’ spear is blocked with a knee to the face, allowing O’Reilly to come off the top onto Dawkins’ knee. The kneebar goes on and Fish adds a guillotine to Ford.

That’s broken up as Ford drives forward for the double escape and everyone is staggered. Ford hits a splash onto Fish’s back but an electric chair is broken up. The champs tease leaving so Ford hits a running flip dive over the post onto all three. Cue Roderick Strong to grab Ford’s foot so Dawkins spears him down. The distraction is enough for the High/Low to retain the titles at 20:06.

Rating: B. These four have chemistry together but it was pretty clear that the Profits were going to be the short term, one time champions. There’s nothing wrong with that and it makes sense to have them lose here. I’m not sure who is next to go after the titles, though Breezango would seem like a logical way to go.

Post match the Era celebrates with Cole coming out to the stage to pose….and here’s Tommaso Ciampa to circle Cole and look at the title. The place goes nuts and singes along with Ciampa’s song as the staredown ends the show. Well he’s the biggest face in the company now. Maybe? Dang it’s cool to have two huge names appear on one night like that.

Overall Rating: B+. Yeah they brought the big time atmosphere as they always do and had the wrestling to back it up. What matters most here though is the two major returns as NXT’s main event scene is instantly energized again, which is a place where WWE has a major advantage: with so much talent on all of their rosters, they can swap people in and have fresh matches and moments for years. “Hey here’s a former World Champion who is a god in NXT. Oh and to close out the show, one of the most popular stars NXT has ever seen.” Not bad for two hours and there happened to be an awesome show in between.

Having seen both shows, NXT was a better (though not much better) show but this really isn’t a fair comparison. NXT has a long history, established stories and a far deeper roster with WWE support. Coming into tonight, AEW has about as much total time on air as WWE produces in about two weeks. The comparisons can come in a few months when AEW has gotten its footing, but NXT won by a bit tonight, though you can’t go wrong watching either show.

Results

Adam Cole b. Matt Riddle – Last Shot

Io Shirai b. Mia Yim – Moonsault

Johnny Gargano b. Shane Thorne – Low superkick

Shayna Baszler b. Candice LeRae – Kirifuda Clutch

Pete Dunne b. Danny Burch – Bitter End

Undisputed Era b. Street Profits – High/Low to Ford

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: September 11, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness

This is where things wrap up for the old era of NXT, with the show moving over to the USA Network next week (for half of it at least as the second half will be airing on the WWE Network for the first two weeks). We’re going out with a champion in action as Shayna Baszler faces Rhea Ripley in a non-title match. Let’s get to it.

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

Rhea Ripley arrives.

Opening sequence.

Damien Priest vs. Boa

Boa tells Priest to run the ropes so Priest knocks him into the corner with raw power. The toss Falcon Arrow sends Boa flying and a discus clothesline cuts off the comeback bid. The cyclone kick and the Reckoning finish Boa at 2:32. Total squash.

Here’s Johnny Gargano to a hero’s welcome, meaning we have to pause for a very long JOHNNY WRESTLING chant. Johnny has heard all of the rumors and everyone is wondering what the future holds for him. The last time he was in this ring, he got knocked cold and woke up to an arena chanting THANK YOU JOHNNY. They built this arena together and Gargano has been around for a long time. He has seen a lot of people coming and going and he has made his decision on his future.

Cue Shane Thorn to interrupt though because he’s sick of Johnny Time. This place is going to be better without him so take a bow and take a walk. Gargano goes to leave but says he isn’t going anywhere and knocks Shane down. Johnny writes NXT and does the NWO 4 Life sign to a roar. That’s probably the best thing for him as he would be banished to nothing on Raw or Smackdown.

Video on the Forgotten Sons.

Pete Dunne vs. Angel Garza

Garza holds up his hand to Dunne before realizing that is a very bad idea. Hold on as Garza….doesn’t get to take off his pants as Dunne pulls him down by the leg. Dunne goes for the fingers but misses the stomp on the arm. Garza offers another handshake but manages to sucker Dunne to the floor. With that out of the way, GARZA CAN TAKE OFF HIS PANTS!

Dunne drops him with a forearm so Garza hits him right back to leave Dunne on the floor. That just earns Garza some chops to the chest and an enziguri in the corner. A big kick to the head gets two on Garza, who rolls Dunne up for the same. Dunne gets caught in the corner for a running dropkick to the leg but Dunne is back with a nasty kick to the head. Garza kicks him in the ribs and tries a moonsault, which is caught in the triangle choke. The finger snap finishes Garza at 8:03.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of match that you almost never see from Dunne as he is so well known for the big epics instead of a regular TV match. Dunne looked rather good, but it’s a weird spot for him to be in as he’s such a big star coming out of NXT UK. Garza got in some offense here and certainly didn’t get squashed, so he probably is in line for a nice spot around here.

The Street Profits are proud of being in Madison Square Garden this past Monday. It’s not the same without the Tag Team Titles though, meaning the challenge is on for next week on USA.

Raul Mendoza vs. Cameron Grimes

Mendoza starts fast with La Majistral for two and a hurricanrana but Grimes dropkicks him out to the floor. Back in and the armbar goes on but Mendoza is back up with an enziguri in the corner. A rope walk dropkick into a running shooting star press gives Mendoza two. Mendoza heads up but has to bail out of the Phoenix splash, allowing Grimes to hit his standing double stomp for the pin at 3:50.

Rating: C. Grimes is someone who did nothing for me in TNA so it’s nice to see what he can do elsewhere. This wasn’t a great match by any stretch but I’ve gotten more out of him here than I ever did elsewhere. Mendoza continues to be one of the most guaranteed completely acceptable performances around here and someone who gets in a good deal on almost every match he has. If they ever need to push him, it wouldn’t be much of a jump whatsoever.

Candice LeRae complains to William Regal about Io Shirai being rewarded for everything she does. Regal agrees and makes next week’s #1 contenders match a four way. If Ripley wins tonight, it might be a five way.

Video on Dakota Kai.

Next week: Strong vs. Dream for the North American Title and Matt Riddle vs. Killian Dain in a street fight.

Rhea Ripley vs. Shayna Baszler

Non-title. Baszler takes her to the ropes to start so Ripley trips her for the early surprise. A standing armbar works a bit better for Baszler until Ripley slams her down for the break. Ripley misses a big boot though and Baszler kicks the leg to tie it in the ropes. Baszler grabs the Kirifuda Clutch in the corner so it’s broken in a hurry, allowing Ripley to dropkick her off the top. Ripley follows her out for an electric chair drop onto the steps. Cue the Horsewomen for a distraction so Baszler can get in a knee. A chair is tossed in but Ripley takes it away and hits Baszler for the DQ at 5:27.

Rating: C+. You can probably pencil in a title match either on USA or at Takeover: WarGames and that’s a good way to go. Baszler has cleaned out the division at this point so bringing in some fresh talent is far from a bad idea. I wouldn’t be shocked if next week’s match became a five way with Ripley winning just to get things to the point faster. Ripley looked like a monster here and is more than ready to at least challenge for the title.

Post match it’s a big staredown.

The Undisputed Era takes credit for NXT moving to USA and promises to fulfill the prophecy next week. Strong says he’ll take the North American Title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a bit of an odd show as it was much more of a commercial for next week than anything else and in that regard, it worked well. As a show of its own it was nothing of note with only the main event match having any storyline advancement. I’m almost scared of what is going to happen in the next few weeks but there is nothing that can be done about it at this point. Hopefully it still works, because I would hate to lose one of the best weekly shows ever.

Results

Damien Priest b. Boa – Reckoning

Pete Dunne b. Angel Garza – Finger snap

Cameron Grimes b. Raul Mendoza – Standing double stomp

Shayna Baszler b. Rhea Ripley via DQ when Ripley used a chair

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

TakeOver: Toronto
Date: August 10, 2019
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix, Mauro Ranallo

We’re going north for this one with the second Takeover from Toronto. The second part is rather appropriate as the main event is a rematch (of a rematch) with NXT Champion Adam Cole defending against former champion Johnny Gargano in their second 2/3 falls match. A lot of the show centers around Cole’s Undisputed Era so there is certainly a theme. Let’s get to it.

There is no special narration for the opening video, which is your standard highlight package, though we do watch the crowd watching it from the arena. At least they’re not cutting back and forth between a normal video and the crowd watching shot.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Undisputed Era

Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish are challenging for the Era. The Profits won the titles in a four way ladder match in June and the Era say that was a fluke win. The champs have their always high energy entrance as the fans have the red solo cups. Dawkins takes O’Reilly into the corner to start and shouts that O’Reilly thinks he’s a joke. A takedown goes to Dawkins but it’s off to Fish, who gets run over with a big shoulder.

The champs start taking turns on Fish’s arm until a shot to Ford’s face gives Fish a breather. O’Reilly comes in but everything breaks down for a few seconds, with Fish walking into a double flapjack. O’Reilly gets knocked outside and manages to get Dawkins to follow him, allowing Fish to get in a surprise shot to take over for the first time. Some running/sliding knees to the ribs have Dawkins in trouble and O’Reilly adds a Samoan drop.

Mounted palm strikes set up a front facelock but Dawkins wins a slugout with O’Reilly. A backdrop lets Ford come in off the tag and it’s a standing moonsault for two. Ford hits the spinebuster but O’Reilly breaks up a People’s Elbow. Instead, Ford goes with a Rock Bottom for two on Fish. Dawkins gets knocked off the apron, leaving Ford to get caught with an elevated DDT into a wheelbarrow suplex for two.

We settle down to Ford being in trouble, including a superplex from Fish and a top rope knee to the knee. O’Reilly slaps on an Achilles lock with Fish adding a top rope headbutt and the fans are rather nervous. Dawkins comes back in and spinebusters Fish onto O’Reilly for the save. Ford makes the hot tag and everything breaks down.

A spinebuster/super Blockbuster combination gets two on O’Reilly and they’re all down again. The slugout is on with Dawkins and Fish being knocked outside. O’Reilly is sent to the floor as well, meaning it’s a big running flip dive from Ford. Back in and a spear from Dawkins sets up Ford’s frog splash to retain the titles at 15:50.

Rating: B+. I had the Street Profits retaining in my predictions and even I’m surprised that they pulled it off. Every sign pointed to the Era winning the titles here but I’m glad they didn’t. There was no need to have them get the belts back outside of setting up the Era having all of the titles as the Profits needed the win a lot more than the Era. It was a hot opener with an only slightly cooler ending, but the Profits winning is better in the long run.

Ricochet is here.

We recap Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae. Candice had tried to help Shirai win the Women’s Title but Shirai kept coming up short. Shirai snapped and turned on LeRae, saying that she didn’t need anyone’s help. Tonight is about revenge for LeRae and for Shirai to prove herself.

Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae

Candice starts the fight before the bell and it’s Shirai bailing to the floor. That means a baseball slide from Candice but Shirai suplexes her onto the announcers’ table to knock her silly. That’s only good for a nine so Shirai keeps pounding her down for a cocky near fall. The early chinlock goes on until Candice fights up with a headscissors, only to have Shirai land on her feet. A camel clutch goes on for a bit but Shirai misses a missile dropkick.

Candice hammers away in the corner and gets two off a brainbuster, setting up an Iron Octopus of all things. That’s broken up as well so Shirai tries the 619, which is countered into a neckbreaker. Candice is sent to the apron though and now the 619 hits the back of her head. That goes nowhere as Candice sends her outside for a suicide tornado DDT, which looked better than expected.

Back in and a top rope double stomp to the back gets two more on Shirai, who is right back with a Crossface. That’s reversed as well with Candice flipping over so Shirai puts her on her shoulders, only to get reverse hurricanranaed for two. Ms. LeRae’s Wild Ride gets two and the fans declare this to be awesome. Shirai catches her on top with a super Spanish Fly for another near fall and frustrated screaming ensues. A double underhook backbreaker plants LeRae again and the moonsault….gets two? With nothing else working, Shirai grabs a Koji Clutch to knock LeRae out at 15:00.

Rating: B. That was a good change of finisher for Shirai as something like a moonsault isn’t befitting a new heel persona. You need to have her do something a bit more sinister and they had set up all of the neck stuff throughout the match. Candice was always going to come up short here and it wouldn’t have made sense to have her win over the newly heel Shirai. They were both working here though and I was buying Shirai being angrier and more aggressive than usual here.

Here’s an unscheduled Matt Riddle through the crowd to call out Killian Dain for a fight. Dain comes through the crowd and the fight is on with Dain hitting a jumping kick to the head. Referees come out for the save with Dain stomping on Riddle’s bare foot. Riddle doesn’t care and they fight to the stage so Dain goes for the eyes. Some knees to the face put Dain down and Riddle takes care of security, including with a GTS to a guard. Dain uses the distraction to hit a crossbody, only to have Riddle jump on his back for a choke. They dive off the stage with Riddle being crushed through a table to finally wrap up a hot fight.

Evolve Champion Austin Theory is here.

We recap the North American Title match. Velveteen Dream has held the title longer than anyone in its history and Roderick Strong pinned him in a tag match. Then just to mess with what seemed to be an obvious ending, Pete Dunne was added to the mix as a wildcard.

North American Title: Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne

Dream is defending and goes full Canada with his entrance, complete with an army of Mounties (and yes with the Mountie song of course), who then morph into Toronto Raptors dancers before Dream himself comes out. Strong says the other two don’t matter and it’s Dream being sent outside early on. Dunne clotheslines Strong down and it’s time to go after Strong’s fingers.

Dream is back in and tosses Strong but it’s the big showdown with Dunne. That lasts all of one stare though as Strong comes back in and gets punched in the face by the champ. A Bret Hart pose looks to set up the Sharpshooter but Strong slips away. That just means it’s time for Dream and Dunne to beat him up at the same time, with Dream holding the arm for Dunne’s stomp.

Strong is sent outside so Dream can gyrate the hips, earning himself most of a cross armbreaker. It’s too early for the Bitter End as Dream slips out, only to get crotched against the post (Mauro: “NOTHING BUT NUTS!”). The backbreakers start for Strong and the UNDISPUTED chants get going again. Back in and Dream finally gets the Sharpshooter but Dunne comes off the top with a double stomp to Dream’s back for the save. Dunne starts throwing suplexes and alternates with stomps onto both of them.

Strong and Dream get together to beat him up before fighting each other (duh). Dunne is back up as well and it’s a three way slugout for a triple knockdown. Dream and Strong get their fingers snapped but it’s a Dream Valley Driver to Dunne, an Olympic Slam to Dream and an X Plex to Strong to put everyone down. Dunne catches Dream up top and Strong joins them for an Olympic Slam to Dunne, which brings Dream down with them.

Strong is up first with a backbreaker to Dunne, who tries to grab a triangle. They go into the corner with Dream hitting a springboard Purple Rainmaker to Dunne for the break. You know, because he can do that. Back up and Strong grabs a Stronghold on both of them at once. That falls apart so Dream tries a double Dream Valley Driver, which is a bit too much for him.

Dunne snaps a pair of fingers and hits the Bitter End on Strong but Dream has the referee. The delayed cover is cut off as Dream grabs the referee’s hand at two. Dream gets sent outside as Strong grabs the Stronghold on Dunne. The save doesn’t take long and it’s the Dream Valley Driver on Dunne, with Strong coming back in for End of Heartache. Dream makes another save and steals the pin to retain at 17:25.

Rating: B+. I’m not sure what they’re going to do with the title now as Dream has held the thing for six months and doesn’t really have anyone left to fight for the thing. That being said, NXT knows how to build someone up in a hurry and there is a good chance that they could do just that at a moment’s notice. The cool thing is NXT has all the talent they could need to put together a challenger, but more importantly they know how to do it. The match here was quite good, though it never hit that next level.

We recap Mia Yim vs. Shayna Baszler. Mia grew up in a horrible situation and had to fight from the streets to get here. Baszler doesn’t think anything of her and thinks Yim is just a thug. Shayna has held the title for a long time now and thinks Yim is going to be just another challenger.

Women’s Title: Mia Yim vs. Shayna Baszler

Mia is challenging and comes out with a bunch of people in black with their faces covered to not the strongest reaction. Baszler goes to the arm to start but gets armdragged down a few times. Miz traps the arm between the steps and post for a dropkick and Baszler is in early trouble. Back in and Shayna takes her down for some left handed punches and a stomp on Mia’s left arm.

The champ stays on the arm by wrapping it around the bottom rope and then bending it at a rather disturbing angle. A pull of the hair gets Mia out of trouble so Shayna dropkicks her for two. Back up and they seem to get completely out of sync as they run the ropes for a bit. Mia sends her to the floor and shouts OK before hitting a suicide dive. A tornado DDT gets two but Baszler kicks her in the face for two with the fans not even teasing a reaction to the kickout.

Mia goes up top and traps Shayna’s arm for a super Code Blue and another near fall. Shayna pulls her into the Kirifuda Clutch but Mia pulls the bad arm for the break. A stomp on the champ’s arm (Mia: “This is karma.”) looks to set up a cross armbreaker but Shayna rolls over into the Clutch again. Another pull of the arm gets Mia out, only to have Shayna wrap her legs around the neck for another choke and the tap at 14:42.

Rating: C+. I actually sighed in relief when Baszler retained. Mia tries and has a good story but I could never take her seriously with the name Head Baddie In Charge. She never felt like the big challenger who could take the title and I was almost dreading the idea of her taking the title. The problem now though is who can challenge Shayna for the title as she has almost completely cleaned out the division. That’s where they need to bring some people up, and NXT knows just how to do something like that.

Walter and Tyler Bate are here.

We recap Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole. They’ve fought at the last two Takeovers with Gargano winning the vacant title and then losing it to Cole the next time. The idea here is Cole believes he belongs at the top and Gargano wants to earn his legacy by getting the title back. Each fall has a different stipulation: regular match, street fight, weapons filled cage.

NXT Title: Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano

Gargano, in Wolverine inspired gear, is challenging and the first fall is a regular match. Cole is roughly 18x more popular than Gargano during the Big Match Intros. Feeling out process to start with an early Last Shot and Gargano Escape attempt missing for each. Cole can’t hit the Panama Sunrise either as Gargano sends him outside for a running dropkick through the ropes. Cole’s running knee hits steps and Johnny sends the knee into the apron. Back in and it’s Indian Deathlock to keep Cole’s knee in trouble and an enziguri makes it worse for the champ.

Cole is fine enough to pull Gargano outside for a wheelbarrow suplex onto the apron. Back in and a neckbreaker sets up a triangle choke to Gargano, who gets smart by grabbing the bad leg. An ankle lock is quickly broken up with Cole sending him face first into the middle buckle. The Panama Sunrise still doesn’t work as the leg gives out and Johnny sends him into the corner as well. Gargano’s rolling kick to the head and it’s a fisherman’s driver for two.

Cole misses a superkick in the corner and Johnny stomps on the leg again, setting up the Figure Four. The rope gets Cole out of trouble and it’s a German suplex for two on Johnny. Another Panama Sunrise is countered into a sunset driver to give Johnny two more. Cole STILL can’t get the Sunrise as the leg gives out but he’s fine enough to catch a diving Gargano in a gutbuster.

A Samoan driver gives Cole two and it’s a double clothesline for the double knockdown. Gargano is up first and hits the slingshot DDT for two but the slingshot spear hits a superkick. Cole’s fireman’s carry backbreaker gets two so it’s time for a chair. The referee throws that out and Cole gets in a low blow for two. Cole sits in the chair but Gargano gets up and takes it away, setting up a shot to Cole’s back for the DQ at 20:50.

Gargano shrugs and unloads with the chair as the second fall, a street fight, begins. Cole bails to the floor so Gargano throws the chair at his head and hits the slingshot DDT. They fight into the crowd with Gargano beating Cole all over the place, though he does stop for a picture with a fan’s phone. Gargano hits a superkick and they head back to ringside with Cole being driven through the timekeeper’s area.

They fight onto the announcers’ tables with Gargano backdropping his way out of a Pedigree to send Cole through the Spanish Announcers’ Table in the huge crash. Gargano throws Cole back inside, plus a table and some chairs. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gives Cole two but he stops to wedge a chair in the corner. That’s not a good idea as Gargano lawn darts him into the chair, setting up the Gargano Escape for the tap and the tie at 29:37.

The weapons cage lowers, showing off the barbed wire around the top. There is no escape here and you can only win by pinfall or submission. They slug it out with superkicks slowing down the kendo stick shots, only to have them beat each other senseless with the sticks. Stereo superkicks put both guys down and the fans find this awesome. A reverse hurricanrana sends Cole into a chair for another superkick and a near fall.

Cole gets in a chair shot to the back and a Backstabber with a kendo stick across the throat connects for two. Johnny gets in a blast with a fire extinguisher and hits a tornado DDT onto the open chairs, with Cole’s face hitting the open edge for a rather terrifying landing. Gargano goes up to try and grab a sledgehammer but has to stop for a spinning sunset bomb instead. Cole goes up top and throws a ladder at Johnny, who ducks to avoid a bad case of death.

Now the super Panama Sunrise gives Cole two and another one off the ladder gives Cole two more. The Last Shot in the chair only hits knee though and Gargano grabs the STF with the kendo stick. Cole bites his way to freedom so Gargano sledgehammers him in the ribs. Instead of following up, Gargano loads up two tables and climbs the ladder, only to have to come back down when Cole rolls away.

Instead Gargano hits a super Canadian Destroyer for two as these kickouts are getting comical. Gargano isn’t done and pulls out a bag of tools, including some wire cutters to cut some barbed wire down. Cole climbs onto the top of the cage and gets on the table bridged over the corner, right above the two tables already set up. Gargano puts the wire on his head and they dive off through a table (Mauro: “MAMA F’ING MIA!”), with Cole covering to retain at 51:05.

Rating: A-. This was way past the point of going long for the sake of going long with the kickouts and non-covers being ridiculous more than once. Gargano almost has to go up to the main roster full time now as there is nothing left for him to do. You can find something else for Cole to do as he has a bunch of people to defend against, but after seeing these two fight for about two and a half hours in three matches, I never need to see them together again. Crazy violence (the ending and the DDT onto the chair were nuts) and an awesome match, but it needed to be a good bit shorter.

Overall Rating: A. It exceeded my expectations with only the Women’s Title match not being very good, but it wasn’t really close to some of the Takeovers they’ve done before. What worries me the most are the rumors of the move to Fox Sports 1, as this could be the last of the great Takeovers under the classic formula. We can worry about that later though because this was another excellent show. I’m hoping they get the right amount of time and build to the next one so it can have some fresh matches, but what we got here was quite good and a way to wrap up the summer with a great show, though not as great as before.

Results

Street Profits b. Undisputed Era – Frog splash to O’Reilly

Io Shirai b. Candice LeRae – Kofi Clutch

Velveteen Dream b. Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong – End of Heartache to Dunne

Shayna Baszler b. Mia Yim – Leg choke

Adam Cole b. Johnny Gargano – Crash through a table

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

It’s time to go north of the border for the next edition of one of the best series in wrestling history. Takeover has gone from a few specials for the minor league to some of the most must see wrestling events of the year. This one feels a bit different though as the build towards Takeover: Toronto hasn’t been the strongest in the world. Maybe the card isn’t as strong or maybe it feels a bit rushed, but it hasn’t felt as great on the way up. It’s still worth looking at though so let’s get to it.

Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai

This is a grudge match after Shirai couldn’t beat Shayna Baszler to become Women’s Champion. Instead of blaming herself, she blamed LeRae, who had tried to help even the odds against the Four Horsewomen. Shirai snapped and beat the fire out of LeRae, who came back and did the exact same thing to her. This one is all about the violence and that could make for an intense match.

I’ll take Shirai to win here as she seems like someone who could be quite the challenger for Yim, assuming she wins the title. LeRae vs. Baszler seemed to be the way to go for a long time, but for some reason they never did it on the big stage. Maybe they still could, but I think Baszler is on her way up sooner, meaning that Shirai is a better choice for a challenger and the win here would get here there. LeRae will work as hard as she always does, but Shirai is going to be too much for her.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler(c) vs. Mia Yim

It makes sense to go here next. Baszler has dominated the NXT women’s division like no one other than Asuka in the title’s history. If she can somehow make it another three and a half months as champion, she will actually surpass Asuka’s record for most combined days as champion. However, in doing so, she has run through almost everyone there is to defeat, save for Yim, who is being billed as the underdog who has fought through everything to get here. That sounds like a setup and I think I know where this is going.

Yim winning the title seems to be the most likely ending here as Baszler may not be long for NXT. There is nothing left for her to do down there other than set records and given that she is in her late 30s, there is no reason to leave her down in NXT any longer. There are all kinds of reasons for her to come up to the main roster and putting Yim over for the title makes a lot of sense. Granted I’ve been saying this for months and have been wrong every time, but it has to connect at some point.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits(c) vs. Undisputed Era

It’s Roderick Strong/Kyle O’Reilly representing the Undisputed Era here and that means we might be in for a big story. The idea seems to be the Undisputed Era holding all of the titles at the same time and you can’t do that with two of the titles missing. Unfortunately that means we can’t have the Street Profits holding the titles any longer, which is going to take away some of the spark that she show has had. They’re as entertaining as you can get, but I’m not sure what happens here.

The more I think about it though, I don’t think the titles change hands. NXT isn’t the place to have transitional champions and the Street Profits have only held the titles for about two months. I just can’t imagine NXT making the Undisputed Era three time champions, especially for the sake of setting up the group as the Four Horsemen of NXT. Odds are I’m wrong here and it’s more hope than anything else, but I’ll go with the champs retaining.

North American Title: Velveteen Dream(c) vs. Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne

This was set up as a singles match with Strong challenging Dream, but Dunne was thrown in to shake things up a bit. That’s exactly the case too, as I would have bet on Strong taking the title but now I have no idea where things are going. I can’t imagine Strong losing, I can’t imagine Dream losing and I can’t imagine Dunne losing. That’s a very impressive way to build to the match and they’ve done it well here.

I’ll go with Strong winning here as the Undisputed Era has to do something and get some extra gold. The Dream is ready to do something else as he has far longer than anyone else in history. Dunne is a complete wildcard though as he’s someone you could see as one of the top stars in the entire company one day. I don’t know if he’s going to be around NXT full time though and that leaves you with Strong, who needs his big singles win. I’ll take Strong here, but I’m completely lacking certainty.

NXT Title: Adam Cole(c) vs. Johnny Gargano

This might be why I’m not wild on the whole show. At the end of the day, we’ve seen this match headlining the last two Takeovers and Gargano has been in the main event scene for going on two years now. Eventually you need something fresh and it doesn’t feel like that is the case at the moment. The match is 2/3 falls as well, making it feel even longer.

I think they’ll stick with Cole here as Gargano is much better as the challenger instead of the champion and tends to lose the big matches. He’s already been there once and that’s about all he needs to cement his legacy. The build for it has been good (the final video from this week’s TV was outstanding) but both guys are ready for something new and there are more challengers for Cole than Gargano. It will be entertaining, but Gargano loses in the end, as he should.

Overall Thoughts

Here’s the thing about NXT: even if the show is one of the weakest in the history of Takeover, it’s still going to be one of the best shows of the year. That’s just how NXT works and they’re incapable of having a truly bad show. It’s going to be a great time and likely a blast, but you never can tell just how things are going to go. I’m more into the show than I was three days ago so the go home episode did well, but they’re going uphill this time around.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: August 7, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix

It’s the go home show for Takeover: Toronto, which is probably the weakest Takeover they’ve done in a long time. The show is likely to be good, though I’m not exactly sure how interesting it’s going to be. We still have this show to help with the build though and they’ve pulled off some great final pushes before. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

William Regal is in the ring for the contract signing for the Tag Team Title match. The Street Profits are out first but before the Undisputed Era joins them, Montez Ford gives the a New Age Outlaws style intro. That brings out “O’Reilly Auto Parts and Lawrence Fishburn Jr.”, with the Profits dancing to their music. Fish, who has to shrug off an AUTO PARTS chant, says the Profits need to cover their ears because Fish says they’re not on their level.

For once their autographs mean something because the Era wants them on those contracts. Before we get there though, Fish says they’re funnier than the Profits too. Kyle tells a joke: “The Street Profits are NXT Tag Team Champions.” Fish: “EVERYONE LAUGH!” Ford talks about how the Era has had their chance by being on TV every week and that they’ve beaten every team in NXT history. So what makes them think that losing is an option for the Profits?

The fans have seen them and believe in them so why is losing an option? As far as they’ve come, losing is not an option for them because all they can do is WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN! The Era is getting a beating in Toronto and that is undisputed. Everyone signs. Ford looked like a star here with an incredibly fired up promo. Couple that with the next level athleticism and he could break out in a hurry.

Video on the North American Title match. Velveteen Dream has been a pretty dominant champion but Roderick Strong beat him in a tag match to earn a shot. Then Pete Dunne was added in as a wild card and instantly felt like one of the biggest stars in all of NXT.

A member of Slipknot talks about the Takeover theme song.

Video on Shayna Baszler vs. Mia Yim. Mia grew up with a hard life and has fought all the way here. Baszler says it takes more than a great story to impress her. Every story with her ends in the same way: tap, nap or snap. Shayna earned her spot based on what she accomplished. Mia is here because a bunch of fans wanted her here. Mia took out the lackeys that gave Shayna an advantage so it’s one on one. Shayna: “Mia doesn’t deserve a title shot. She deserves a prison sentence.”

Joaquin Wilde vs. Shane Thorne

Wilde takes him down and flips over Thorne’s back, setting up some rhythmic shouting. Thorne flips out of a wristlock but Wilde flips up into a standoff. The high angle springboard wristdrag takes Thorne down and Wilde flips up again for two. Thorne is right back with a brainbuster before working on the arm some more. Wilde is right back with a slingshot clothesline and a middle rope elbow to the face. Back up and Thorne goes to the middle rope, earning himself a powerbomb right back down.

The rolling DDT is blocked and Thorne hits him in the face. Wilde loads up a monkey flip but kicks Thorne in the face instead, sending Thorne outside. The suicide dive over the corner takes him down again and it’s a running flip dive to drop Thorne for the second time in a row. That’s good for a nine count, with Thorne sliding back to the floor. Wilde follows him out and gets posted, setting up a running knee to give Thorne the pin at 7:23.

Rating: C. I can go with a Thorn push as I liked TM61, though it will be nice to not have to remember which is which. It’s been a long time since the team did anything so Thorne is basically starting over. That might be the best thing for him as well, as the team wasn’t exactly successful in the first place.

Video on Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae, with Candice trying to give Io a fair shot at the Women’s Title. Shirai lost anyway and beat Candice down, saying she didn’t need help.

Harley Race tribute video.

Matt Riddle vs. Killian Dain

Fallout from Dain attacking Riddle after his last match. Dain seemed to like the idea as he jumps Riddle during the entrance and lays him out against the steps. No match for now.

Video on the Breakout Tournament, with the finals featuring Cameron Grimes vs. Jordan Myles. The finals are next week.

We look back at Fandango returning to reform Breezango.

Tyler Breeze asks Fandango where he has been. Fandango was in deep and realized that his fashion sense was way off. Fandango: “It was whack!” Breeze: “I don’t know what that means.” Fandango: “Bad.” Breeze: “BAD???” They need a makeover, like Breezango reimagined. Breeze likes the idea. Next week: Breezango vs. Forgotten Sons.

We look back at Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano. They’ve fought at back to back Takeovers with Cole winning the title at Takeover: XXV. They’ll be fighting again in Toronto in another 2/3 falls match, with a regular match, a street fight and a third stipulation to be decided if they go to the third fall.

Gargano has been looking at the pictures on the walls of the Performance Center, which have been eating away at him because he isn’t the best. What matters is what you do in NXT and he has something left to do. Some wrestlers talk about how Johnny is an inspiration and he’s been coaching a bit. Johnny says Shawn Michaels is Mr. Wrestlemania and Johnny wants to be Mr. NXT.

We see some clips of Adam Cole’s Bay Bay Championship Celebration Tour, with Cole beating a bunch of challengers because he’s that great. Back at the Performance Center, Seth Rollins gave Johnny a pep talk. Then Cole defended the title some more. Then Gargano talked to Finn Balor, who thinks Gargano is awesome. The fans are split on who will win and Regal won’t give an answer. Various wrestlers aren’t sure on who wins either. The story ends in Toronto.

This was a mini documentary and it did an outstanding job of selling me on the title match. The idea of Gargano wanting to take the respectful route and earn his legacy vs. Cole who thinks he’s earned all of this already was a great way to set up their differences and I’m buying the important of Saturday’s match a lot more. As usual, NXT knows exactly what they’re doing with these things and this was excellent.

Overall Rating: B. I know a lot of people aren’t going to be pleased with the show consisting one one lower card match but that’s not the point of a show like this. The point of this show was to make me want to see Takeover more and it did so very well. This hasn’t been the strongest build to a show they’ve done and giving us an hour long commercial for the show was a good idea. That was more important than having some midcard stories advanced and it’s a good sign that NXT knew what to do. I liked this more and it was what they should have done, because a wrestling show is about a lot more than the wrestling.

Results

Shane Thorne b. Joaquin Wilde – Running knee

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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

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IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: June 26, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

We’re rapidly approaching Takeover: Toronto and that means things need to start coming together in a hurry. One such match that needs to be taken care of is a big main event on this week’s show as Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler defends against Io Shirai in a cage match. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Shirai vs. Baszler, which is a rematch from Takeover: XXV when Shirai snapped and attacked Baszler after losing clean. Now most people would call that….never mind.

Opening sequence.

Breakout Tournament First Round: Joaquin Wylde vs. Angel Garza

That would be DJZ vs. Garza Jr. Garza starts with some mind games but Wylde is right there to shove him back, giving us an early standoff. What looked to be a tilt-a-whirl is countered into a faceplant to give Wylde two but a tilt-a-whirl faceplant gives Garza the same. Hold on though because GARZA TAKES OFF HIS PANTS! A running knee to the ribs in the corner keeps Wylde in trouble and a powerbomb into a release X Factor gets two. The straitjacket chinlock goes on and Garza adds a knee to the back, only to have Wylde backflip out into the same hold.

Two feet to the face set up a rollup for two on Garza, who gets sent outside. That means a suicide dive from another side of the ring (think Bayley’s dropkick through under the bottom rope) but Garza is right back with a heck of a super Spanish Fly…for two. The fans go nuts on that kickout and then do it again when Wylde grabs a quick crucifix for the same. Garza is right back up with a butterfly Stunner (That’s what Nigel calls it. Think of a Bubba Bomb but off a double underhook.) for the pin at 7:29.

Rating: C+. These are always hard to rate as they’re people having a match. I don’t know anything about them in NXT and they don’t really have characters so it’s just about who wins. It was a good match though and that made it a lot better. Just letting two guys go out there and fly is going to work most of the time and it did here.

Video on Kushida, who is excited to be here and wants to see what’s waiting for him.

Street Profits vs. Forgotten Sons

Non-title and the Profits come through the crowd for the always high energy entrance. Before the match, the Profits talk about handing out free smoke and offer to make this a title match. Ok then.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Forgotten Sons

The Sons are challenging and it’s Cutler taking Ford into the corner to start. With Ford down on the ropes, Cutler hiptosses Blake onto his back, followed by an Angle Slam/neckbreaker combination for two. Ford is right back up and slides over for the tag off to Dawkins as everything breaks down. The spinebuster into the frog splash looks to finish but Jaxson Ryker pulls Ford out for the DQ at 2:21.

Post match the beatdown is on until Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch come in for the save. The Sons bail with Ryker pulling them back. Lorcan and Burch pick up the titles but hand them back, saying the Profits owe them.

Someone who looked like Killian Dain is watching footage.

Vanessa Borne and Aaliyah don’t get why we’re applauding Mia Yim for being poor. They just can’t understand it because they’re so pretty. They’ll teach Mia a lesson as long as she keeps the bandanna over her face through the whole match.

Nykos Rykos vs. Keith Lee

Nykos tries to go after Lee and gets sent flying with one of the biggest Pounces I’ve ever seen. The Limit Breaker is good for the pin at 1:07. Lee continues to be impressive.

Adam Cole went to the Download Festival in England and defended the title against Dave Mastiff. Once he was back home, he went to Gargano’s Sandwich Shop, which we’ll see more of later.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler vs. Io Shirai

Baszler is defending inside a cage and there are no seconds here. We get the Big Match Intros and Baszler is looking extra confident due to being inside the cage. The early punches have Shirai in trouble but it’s too early for the Kirifuda Clutch. A stomp to the head has Shirai in more trouble but she’s up in time to stop an early escape attempt. Shirai can’t get out either though as Baszler pulls her right back down. A whip into the cage starts a SHAYNA chant and it’s off to a neck crank.

Baszler kicks her in the back for two and sends Shirai face first into the cage for a nasty crash. Shirai ducks a charge to send Baszler into the cage though and a pair of dropkicks into the steel have Baszler in actual trouble for the first time. A German suplex gives Shirai two and the running knees in the corner make it even worse. Shirai goes all the way up top but Baszler is right back up to throw her down.

That’s not enough for an escape either as Shirai pops up with a German superplex and a delayed two. That means an escape attempt but Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir hold the door closed. Shirai slips out of a Kirifuda Clutch and hits a double stomp but Shafir locks the door. Instead of covering, Shirai goes up but has to deal with Shafir. Cue Candice LeRae to cut off Shafir but Duke opens the door to pull Baszler.

Candice dives onto Duke and Shirai moonsaults down onto Baszler to put everyone down. They both try for the crawl and Shirai almost makes it until Baszler dives over with the Clutch. Shirai grabs the door to slam it into Baszler’s head for the break….but Baszler falls out of the cage to retain at 13:32.

Rating: B-. It never had the top level urgency but the lack of gimmick matches around here makes this feel so much more important. It’s been a good while since we’ve seen a cage match in NXT and that changes a lot about the atmosphere. I’m not sure what Shirai does from here but she’s lost just about every way you can now so it’s either LeRae or Yim next.

Post match Candice helps Shirai up….and gets laid out as Shirai snaps and beats the heck out of her. Shirai finds a chair and beats on Candice even more, albeit with some pretty weak chair shots. A suplex onto the open chair crushes Candice to end the show. Shirai: “I don’t need friends.”

Overall Rating: B. The card had a little bit of everything here including two title matches, which is a big deal on any card. Couple that with a fun squash and the tournament match and there wasn’t much missing from the whole thing. Shirai as a heel is something different and it gives Candice something to do other than going after the title. That might be what’s next for Candice but there is time to get there before Toronto. Rather good show this week as things are actually getting better.

Results

Angel Garza b. Joaquin Wylde – Butterfly Stunner

Street Profits b. Forgotten Sons via DQ when Jaxson Ryker interfered

Keith Lee b. Nykos Rykos – Limit Breaker

Shayna Baszler b. Io Shirai – Baszler escaped the cage

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Takeover: XXV
Date: June 1, 2019
Location: Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

We’re at the latest big show, even without as much time as it seems that we usually get for these things. The big story here is Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole in a rematch for the NXT Title after Cole defeated him in the first fall of a 2/3 falls match. The card doesn’t feel as strong as others but that’s never stopped them from having a great show before. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the history of Takeover with some of the biggest moments the show has ever seen. There are certainly some great ones in there, plus a shot of all twenty five logos the show has ever had. We move into the regular video on the five matches tonight, including Cole vs. Gargano.

Roderick Strong vs. Matt Riddle

Riddle has been dealing with the entire Undisputed Era and it’s time to go after them one at a time. Strong can’t get anywhere on the mat to start and gets taken down with ease. The early Bromission attempt is broken up and it’s an early standoff. Some shoulders in the corner work better for Strong but Riddle is right back with some rolling gutwrench suplexes. Strong bails to the floor and gets forearmed off the steps for his efforts.

They forearm it out on the apron and Strong hits the first backbreaker to take over. A Rock Bottom backbreaker gets two and it’s time to go outside again with Riddle going ribs first into the post. Back in and some right hands give Strong two, followed by the Olympic Slam for the same. A very quick Bromission attempt is broken up so Riddle grabs a fisherman’s buster for a breather instead.

The rapid fire strikes give Riddle some more momentum and an exploder suplex makes it even better. The Broton into the running kick to the chest gets two and Riddle is spent. Some YES Kicks drop Strong again and a GTS into the German suplex gets two more. Strong enziguris him in the corner though and a top rope superplex gets a rather near fall. They slug it out again with Riddle’s back flaring up again, allowing Strong to tee off on him with a series of shots to the face.

The belly to back faceplant gets a VERY close two and Strong is stunned. The Stronghold is broken up and Riddle is back with a ripcord knee (the ripcord V Trigger according to Mauro) into a powerbomb. Riddle hits the Final Flash for two but Strong blocks a top rope twisting Broton with raised knees.

A tiger driver and a gutbuster get two and it’s straight into the Stronghold. That’s switched into a Liontamer but Riddle powers out of that as well, this time switching into the Bromission. The back gives out again though so Riddle elbows him in the face, setting up a reverse Neutralizer (the Bro Derrick, or at least that’s what it sounded like) to give Riddle the pin at 14:41.

Rating: A-. This was a match where you knew the end result but they managed to make me care about how we got there. Riddle survived a bunch in there and managed to win in the end, which was a good test for him. It’s clear that he’s (or Velveteen Dream) is going to get the rocket push soon enough and this was a great performance on the way there.

Shawn Michaels and Road Dogg are here.

We recap the Tag Team Titles, which were vacated by the Viking Raiders to head up to Raw (where they have been so well used). Therefore the titles are vacant and are hanging above the ring in a ladder match with four teams coming for them.

Tag Team Titles: Forgotten Sons vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. Street Profits vs. Undisputed Era

Ladder match for the vacant titles and there are no seconds. It’s a brawl to start as you had to see coming with the Era taking over early on. Blake gets low bridged to the floor and it’s time for a showdown with Lorcan and Burch. Lorcan chops away but Burch gets knocked down and the Era takes over again. It’s time for the first ladder but Blake suicide dives down to take the Era out. A bunch of people wind up brawling in front of the ring so Dawkins can dive onto all of them.

The Profits climb a ladder at the same time, allowing the Era to come back in for the save. Blake knocks the Era down again with O’Reilly landing back first on the ladder. The Sons put the ladder around their heads to clean house until Burch and Lorcan hit stereo release German suplexes, sending the ladder flying in a spot that could have gone a lot worse. The Profits are back in to take down Lorcan and Burch, with Ford hitting a heck of a frog splash.

O’Reilly is back in with a missile dropkick to break up a climb attempt but he bangs up his back even worse. It’s the Era loading up the ladder with Fish going up, only to have Blake toss powerbomb O’Reilly into the ladder for the huge crash, with Fish thankfully landing on O’Reilly. The big ladder is brought in and Cutler goes up….but stops to stomp onto Fish as Cutler hits a reverse DDT. There was absolutely nothing stopping him from getting the belts there.

Now the Sons go up again but Burch and Dawkins make the save with a Doomsday elbow/Doomsday Blockbuster each. O’Reilly starts going up but here’s Jaxson Ryker to buckle bomb him into a ladder. Ryker shoves Dawkins down and crushes him with a ladder in the corner over and over. Lorcan charges at Ryker and gets backdropped onto the edge of the ladder for a scary spot. Fans to Ryker: “WE DON’T LIKE YOU!”

Everyone gets together to beat down Ryker, who I don’t think got over as well as NXT would have liked him to here. About eight ladder shots to the back crush him for good and it’s back to “regularly scheduled hostilities.” Ryker is getting back up as the Era loads up a ladder so they hit him in the face with it instead. Ford adds a big running flip dive and it’s time for Burch and Lorcan to beat everyone up with the ladders.

They throw the ladder at the Forgotten Sons and go up the big ladder with the Era making the save. The four of them wind up on a pair of ladders but the Sons shove all of them over. The Profits come back in though with Dawkins spearing Cutler down and Ford springboarding onto the ladder to knock Blake off. Ford pulls down the titles at 21:19.

Rating: B. Ryker getting this much attention hurt things a bit as he almost had his own section in the middle of the match. What matters here though is they pulled the trigger on someone new and paid off their chase over the last few months. They were the right choice and they have a bunch of matches waiting on them, which is a great future.

Candice LeRae says she has Io Shirai’s back.

We recap Tyler Breeze vs. Velveteen Dream. Breeze has gone up to the main roster without the greatest success while Dream has taken over NXT. Now Breeze is back and wanting to reclaim his spot, but Dream says there is only room for one spotlight and it belongs to him. Breeze hit him with his phone and the match was set.

North American Title: Tyler Breeze vs. Velveteen Dream

Dream is defending and has some fans (as in the kind you wave in your face) for his entrance, which isn’t quite as big as I was expecting. He even throws a glove at Breeze and the fans are split to start. They fight over arm control to start and Dream bails from an early Unprettier attempt, allowing Breeze to lay on the ropes and wave a foot at Dream. A modified Backstabber gives Breeze one and he sends Dream to the floor.

The suicide dive hits forearm and it’s Dream coming back in with a double ax handle. Breeze is right back and wraps the knee around the post to take over. Dream punches him out of the air on the floor for a breather but the Dream Valley Driver is broken up. The half crab has Dream in more trouble and Breeze dropkicks him out to the floor. Breeze follows and eats a superkick, followed by some face first rams into the announcers’ table.

With Breeze down, Dream grabs a phone and the title, demanding that Breeze say cheese for a selfie. The distraction lets Breeze get in the Supermodel Kick but Dream snaps off a Dream Valley Driver. It’s too early for the Purple Rainmaker though as Breeze gets in an enziguri but Breeze’s high crossbody is rolled through for two. The DreamDT is blocked as well and Breeze’s second Supermodel Kick gets two more.

Dream blocks the Unprettier again and plants him with the DreamDT for another near fall. It’s time to go up again and this time Dream gets crotched but he’s fine enough for a hard knee to the face. They fight over a Tombstone of all things until Dream hits his own Unprettier for two.

The Purple Rainmaker hits raised knees (still don’t get how that doesn’t hurt the knee even more) and it’s the Supermodel Kick into the Unprettier to give Breeze his own crazy near fall. The Beauty Shot out of nowhere sends Dream outside and you can see the frustration setting in for Breeze. That’s nearly enough for the countout but Dream has the title, which is thrown to the referee. Now it’s the Dream Valley Driver into the Purple Rainmaker to retain at 16:47.

Rating: B+. That was teasing a heel turn at the end there but Dream didn’t actually cheat so we can chalk it up to mind games. Turning Dream isn’t going to work anyway as the fans just are not going to boo the guy so I don’t see the point. It’s another very good match and that’s all you would have expected from these two on this stage.

Post match they do take the selfie together and everything seems cool.

Damian Priest (Punishment Martinez) is coming.

We recap Io Shirai vs. Shayna Baszler. Shirai is the best talent from Japan and wants to prove that she can do it here too. Baszler says no one has been able to beat her and everyone who has tried has been run out of NXT.

Women’s Title: Io Shirai vs. Shayna Baszler

Baszler is defending. Shirai charges straight at her but gets taken down so Baszler can load up the arm stomp. That doesn’t quite work though and Shirai slaps her in the face. The champ gets sent outside and the baseball slide her has in trouble. Back in and the arm stomp works the second time around as Shirai is down for the first time.

Baszler starts in on the arm with stomps and pulling but Shirai gets in a German suplex for a breather. A 619 gives Shirai two more and she pulls Baszler down into a Crossface. That’s reversed into a side slam and they head up top with Shirai dropkicking him down to the floor. Shirai hits the big moonsault, followed by some running double knees back inside. Cue Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir but LeRae makes the save with the kendo stick.

The distraction lets Baszler get in a failed Kirifuda Clutch attempt as Shirai slips out in a hurry. Shirai’s moonsault misses but she backflips out of another Clutch for two. Shirai tries to bridge back into a cover but gets caught in the full Clutch. The hold stays on for a very long time until Shirai finally taps at 12:12.

Rating: B. Another rather good match here as Baszler cleans out a little more of the division. Candice is pretty much the only one left and that should be a rather good match. If nothing else the moment will work very well with the fans being rather pleased. Baszler staying in NXT as long as she can is the right call though as she is going to be buried horribly on the main roster.

Post match Shirai snaps and destroys Baszler with the kendo stick, plus hitting a moonsault while holding a chair. That almost has to be a heel turn after Shirai lost completely clean.

Stephanie McMahon is here.

We recap the main event. Cole beat Gargano in the first fall of a 2/3 falls match and has claimed that he deserves a rematch since. The Undisputed Era and Matt Riddle have been brought in since and this is the big rematch.

NXT Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole

Cole is challenging and gets rapped to the ring. Gargano on the other hand has Captain Marvel inspired gear. Cole wastes no time in trying for the Last Shot but heads outside when Gargano glares at him. Back in and it’s time to fight over wrist control as the fans are split again. The Gargano Escape attempt earns Johnny a forearm to the face so he hurricanranas Cole to the floor.

The running flip dive from the apron has Cole down again and Gargano seems a bit stiff off the landing. Gargano starts in on the arm as the technical side continues. With the armbar broken up, Cole superkicks the leg to go after a limb of his own. Cole wraps the knee around the ropes and tries to bend it forward for a bit. Gargano comes back with a small package and a middle rope….something is countered into a powerbomb to give Gargano two.

There’s an overhead belly to belly and the rolling kick to Cole’s head makes it even worse. A middle rope Downward Spiral gets two and the slingshot spear gives Gargano the same. Gargano goes up and has to fight out of a sunset bomb, only to dive into a Backstabber for two more. The jumping enziguri rocks the champ and it’s a reverse fireman’s carry facebuster to bang up Johnny’s face again. Cole hits a superkick but dives into one from Gargano so they head to the floor for an exchange of superkicks and a double knockdown.

Cole gets back in first, allowing Gargano to hit the slingshot DDT for the very near fall. With Cole on the floor, Gargano wants the suicide dive but the leg is too hurt, allowing Cole to kick him in the head. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gets two more on Gargano and they’re both winded. Gargano throws him off the ropes so Cole lands on the bad arm, setting up the Gargano Escape. There is indeed an escape though and Cole gets in a Figure Four to go back to the leg.

Gargano gets smart by grabbing the arm to make Cole scream, setting up the turnover and the escape. That’s enough for Cole as he snaps and stomps away at the knee even more, setting up a JOHNNY DEFENSE chant. Johnny kicks away another Figure Four attempt and hits the slingshot DDT, which sends Cole to the floor again. The suicide dive is superkicked out of the air and a Canadian Destroyer off the apron knocks Gargano silly….for two. Cole tells Johnny that it’s over but the Last Shot misses.

Gargano can’t get the Gargano Escape as Cole reverses into one of his own, which is escaped as well. Now it’s Gargano hitting his own Last Shot for two, meaning we need a strike off. They trade even more superkicks until Gargano grabs a reverse hurricanrana. Cole pops up for the Last Shot and the very near fall so it’s time for a chair. Gargano doesn’t care and it’s a suicide dive….which hits the referee. With the referee down, Cole signals for someone from the back so Gargano grabs the chair, allowing Cole to hit a hanging piledriver for the next very near fall.

Gargano collapses to prevent the Last Shot from hitting again, which suckers Cole in for the Gargano Escape with Gargano crossing his legs to prevent Cole from hitting him. Cole rolls over and elbows the knee to get out though and some more kicks to the knee look to set up another Destroyer. Gargano sits down on it for two but Cole kicks him in the face again. Now the Destroyer into the Last Shot finishes Gargano at 31:47.

Rating: A-. I liked this one better than the previous match and the ending was the right call. Cole had to win the title at some point and beating Gargano clean here was the right way to go. Gargano is the kind of guy who can bounce back from a loss in a hurry and is better off as the guy who loses and has to fight back. This was rather great, though I was getting a little tired of the same moves over and over at the end.

The Undisputed Era comes in to celebrate (with Fish’s arm in a sling) to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. Just once, just once, I’d like to see NXT have a bad match (let alone a bad show) to see how the reaction went. The worst match they had here would have been one of the best matches on almost any other show, which just isn’t normal. It’s another great show with nothing even close to bad, though somehow it pales in comparison to how incredible New York was. Two title changes made it feel important though and Breeze being there tied it into the past. It’s worth seeing (of course) and now we can move on to Toronto with a proper build.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

It might not feel like that much time has passed since the last Takeover special and really….it kind of hasn’t. We’re less than two months removed from Takeover: New York and therefore things are a bit rushed, mainly due to the Saudi Arabian show moving things up. The card looks rather good for the most part, but things aren’t feeling as exciting as they usually are. That’s never stopped them before though so hopefully everything goes well. Let’s get to it.

Matt Riddle vs. Roderick Strong

It’s pretty rare to have a Takeover match that is this obvious but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be boring. Riddle is one of the few people in wrestling that is close to an actual prodigy so it makes sense to feature him on these Takeover shows. Strong is no slouch though and it’s a good idea to have someone in there with this much experience to help make Riddle look great.

So yeah of course it’s going to be Riddle here, who is pretty clearly going to be challenging for the title at the next major Takeover. We’ll get to who he faces later, but this is going to be Riddle getting tested with a bunch of backbreakers and the Stronghold before making Strong tap while saying BRO a lot. That’s all it should be but they’ll give us a fun ride before we get to the obvious ending.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler(c) vs. Io Shirai

Aside from the main event, I try to go in order of how confident I am in order of the matches but with this show (as tends to be the case with Takeover) it’s just a random order because you could go with every option in almost any match. That’s the case here as Shirai seems ready to get the big win….but that would mean Baszler loses and that’s almost hard to imagine.

I’ll go with Shirai winning, though I’m scared of the idea of Baszler going up to the main roster. That’s been such a plague as of late (by that I mean years) and Baszler is someone they could screw up in a hurry. Shirai could be the face of the division, though I’m not sure I can imagine Baszler losing. She has to at some point though and I’ll go with Shirai taking the title.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. Street Profits vs. Forgotten Sons

The titles are vacant coming in and this is a ladder match as the Viking Raiders vacated the belts to move up to the main roster. You know, because THAT has gone so well (hence my fear about Baszler) and they couldn’t be put in here and lose the titles before moving up. Anyway, this is really a battle between two teams, though you can never guarantee what is going on.

There are two main options here but I’ll go with them making the smart choice and going with the Street Profits. The fans want to see them getting the titles and they gave the Viking Raiders a run for their money, though NXT certainly likes the Forgotten Sons as well. Lorcan and Burch and the Era feel like they’re there to add in more bodies, even if the Era winning isn’t out of the question. I’ll take the Profits, though the Sons are a strong option as well.

North American Title: Velveteen Dream(c) vs. Tyler Breeze

The battle of the entrances alone is going to be amazing. This is a heck of a story between the only two people who could really pull it off, but what makes this work so well is that I’m not sure who is going to win. Breeze could be back in NXT full time and he has never won the big one, but Dream seems ready to be the biggest breakout star in forever and having him lose here wouldn’t be the best idea in the world.

The more I think about it though, the more I think it makes sense to keep the title on Dream. He has everything you could want in a star but I’m completely terrified of WWE trying to “fix” him. This has the show stealing potential as Breeze is going to want to use his opportunity to get noticed and Dream is Dream. I’m looking forward to this though and it should be awesome.

NXT Title: Johnny Gargano(c) vs. Adam Cole

This is a rematch from April at Takeover: New York where Gargano won the title in a pretty polarizing 2/3 falls match. Cole won the first fall and got the rematch though, which makes quite a bit of sense. That’s also been his big sticking point in the promos leading up to it and that’s about all he can talk about it coming in as well. There’s going to be some screwiness in the match with all the people involved on the floor (Riddle is all but guaranteed to be involved) and this one depends on where things are going from here.

I’ll take Cole to win the title, though it’s another match where I have next to no confidence in the pick. Cole has been chasing the title for a long time now and at some point he needs to win the thing. Either way, I can’t imagine anyone but Riddle walking out of Toronto as champion so the winner is just keeping the title warm until then. I’m looking forward to the match, and it could be better than the previous version.

Overall Thoughts

This should be a blast for the most part, though coming off an all time show like Takeover: New York, there are only so many things they can do. The show feels like it’s being added into the calendar because it has to be, but I’ve long since had enough faith in NXT to make anything work. I’m sure it’s going to be awesome, and that’s still leaving it so much higher than anything else at the moment that it’s hard to truly be worried.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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