IMG Credit: WWE

Takeover: WarGames II
Date: November 17, 2018
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

Yeah I think this is going to do just fine. Not counting the show’s namesake match, it’s a big card with a 2/3 falls title match, an NXT Title match and what could be a heck of a grudge match. As usual, NXT knows how to present a big card with all the junk trimmed off to give us the best show possible. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the four matches on the card, with WarGames getting a little more attention than everything else.

The announcers preview the show with Mauro talking about Stan Lee passing away and comparing the main event to the Infinity War.

Here’s Matt Riddle, who isn’t scheduled to be on the show. He’s supposed to face Kassius Ohno on NXT this Wednesday but since they have a ring….two rings right here, let’s do this right now. Ohno comes out and says ring the bell.

Kassius Ohno vs. Matt Riddle

Bell, Riddle knees him in the face, pin in six seconds. Oh yeah I think they’ve got something with Riddle.

Women’s Title: Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler

Baszler is defending and this is 2/3 falls after they’ve traded the title a few times over the last several months. Sane dropkicks her in the corner at the bell and hits a neckbreaker, followed by a running Blockbuster. The running seated clothesline sends Baszler outside and a running elbow from the apron takes her down again. With the referee checking on Baszler, Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir run in and beat Sane down. Back in and the Kirifuda Clutch makes Sane tap for the first fall at 2:00.

The fans aren’t happy and Sane makes it worse by trying it again early on, sending Sane to the ropes this time. Baszler stomps her in the head and puts on the neck crank before going back to the Clutch. Sane flips back for two and the break before going into a slugout. That goes badly for her too as Shayna knocks her silly and hits a hard clothesline.

Baszler takes her to the apron for a suplex but Sane reverses into a DDT, freaking out Duke, Shafir and the referee. With Shayna confirmed to not be dead, Sane ducks some kicks from Duke and Shafir, setting up the big dive onto everyone. Back in and the Insane Elbow ties things up at 7:37.

Three straight spears and a pair of spinning backfists look to set up another Elbow but Baszler pops up. They slug it out on top with Sane managing a sunset bomb for two. Duke offers a distraction so Shafir can shove Sane off the top. Cue Dakota Kai and Io Shirai for the save with Shirai hitting a moonsault off the top onto everyone. The distraction lets Sane get up top for the Insane Elbow, but Shayna reverses it into a rollup for the pin to retain at 10:56.

Rating: B. Where’s the rest of this match? This felt like the first two thirds or even one half of a great match but they cut it off as things were starting to cook. You would think this sets up a six woman tag as Shayna shifts over to either Kai or Shirai. Either way, good match, but I could have gone for a lot more of this. I do remember hearing something about Baszler being hurt so maybe that’s why it wasn’t quite as long.

X-Pac is here.

We recap Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano. Black was attacked by a mystery man, sending NXT into a month plus long whodunit story. It turned out to be Gargano, who was rapidly losing his grip on reality as he became more and more obsessed with stopping Tommaso Ciampa. He did one horrible thing for the sake of the greater good and has started living in the darkness. The problem: he’s starting to like it there.

Johnny Gargano vs. Aleister Black

Gargano: “Bring me the Black Mass!” Black’s rising up entrance is back and now his vest has horns. They stare each other down to start as the fans seem split. Gargano slaps him in the face so Black kicks him right back. Another kick puts Gargano on the floor and it’s time for Johnny to duck some right hands. Gargano avoids them so well that he sits in the middle of the ring to taunt Black even more. A few more punches are ducked so Black kicks him in the face and a knee sends Gargano outside.

Black moonsaults into the seated position and gets kicked in the face for his efforts. The fans aren’t happy as Gargano stomps away in the corner and it’s off to a surfboard. The over confident Johnny slugs away in the corner but misses the rolling kick to the head. Instead a running big boot sends Gargano outside for the big flip dive. Back in and a Lionsault to a standing Gargano for two and Black kicks him outside again. The middle rope moonsault misses so Johnny hits a suicide dive DDT. A slingshot DDT gives Gargano two and the chance to say that he’s the chosen one.

Black, apparently not one to have Jeff Jarrett’s good name sullied, strikes away but gets caught with a reverse hurricanrana. Gargano charges into a knee to the face though and they’re both down again. The slingshot spear is kicked out of the air and Black hits a springboard spinning knee to the chest. A German suplex gives Black two and we have dueling THIS IS AWESOME chants. Johnny is fine enough to spin into the Gargano Escape, which Black escapes by rolling Gargano up.

The Lawn Dirt sends Black face first into the middle buckle and it’s time for the DIY superkick. Hang on though as Black sits down and demands Johnny’s best shot. Gargano does just that, followed by a running knee for two. That’s too much for Johnny and he’s not sure what to do next. He lifts Black to his knees and forearms him in the head, starting the slugout.

This goes badly for Gargano but he shoves Black of the top to break up a springboard. Another suicide dive is kneed out of the air though and they’re both down on the floor. Gargano begs both off and forgiveness before asking for Black Mass. That’s reversed into a rollup and then the Gargano Escape, with Black again rolling his way out. A jumping spinning knee to the face rocks Gargano and Black Mass knocks Johnny silly. Black won’t let him go down though and hits a second Black Mass for the pin at 18:06.

Rating: A-. The story here was Gargano trying to go to the levels of evil that he needed to beat Black but not being able to get that deep yet. There’s still too much humanity in Johnny and the old good guy held him back just enough from being able to beat Black. On the other hand, this match was about two guys hitting each other in the face really, really hard and that’s entertaining every single time. Black winning is a little surprising, but you know Gargano isn’t done with Ciampa yet. Losses don’t affect him like they do with most people so we’re a long way from done.

How to help with the California wildfires.

We recap Tommaso Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream. The Dream accused Ciampa of attacking Black and said he wanted a title shot to give the fans an experience at Takeover. The match was made and Dream is ready to stop Ciampa from stealing the spotlight any longer.

NXT Title: Velveteen Dream vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Dream is dressed as Hollywood Hogan (complete with boa) so the announcers make as many Hogan references as they can, complete with Nigel reciting Real American lyrics. Ciampa makes sure to step into the middle of the ring for the spotlight during the Big Match Intros. The fans are behind the Dream here and a lockup nearly sends Ciampa to the floor. Instead Dream takes him to the mat and poses a bit as Ciampa covers his head. Ciampa even goes for the hair so Dream slaps him in the face.

The Fairy Tale Ending is broken up but Ciampa manages to steal the headband. That’s cool with Dream, who rolls outside and grabs the title. Ciampa isn’t having that so the chase is on with Dream hammering away and snapping Ciampa’s throat across the top (Dream: “Welcome to the experience!”). Dream gets the head band back and puts a hand to his ear, setting up a big boot but Ciampa rolls away before the big leg. Instead Dream settles for a top rope ax handle to the floor, only to have a springboard broken up.

Back in and the running knee (with the brace) knocks Dream silly and a second one sends Dream outside again. The chinlock goes on (with a long piece of spit falling out of Dream’s mouth) with Ciampa shouting NIGHT NIGHT. Dream comes back with a neckbreaker and a forearm into the nipup. Now the three right hands set up the big boot and a pair of legdrops (Is he trying to kill him???), followed by a spinebuster for two.

Ciampa bails so Dream dives on him but it’s too early for the Purple Rainmaker. Dream goes after the knee instead and puts on the Figure Four around the post. Ciampa taps, but it doesn’t matter since they’re in the ropes. Back in and Dream wisely goes with a regular Figure Four so Ciampa tries to roll it over. In something I’ve never seen, Dream lifts his leg, kicks Ciampa in the face, and puts it right back down to keep the hold on. The hold is finally broken so Dream suplexes him over the top but falls outside with him. They’re both down on the floor, with Ciampa untying his boot.

Both of them are back in at nine and Ciampa rolls him up with tights but the referee catches it just in time. The Dream Valley Driver gets two but hits springboard crossbody is kneed out of the air. Project Ciampa gets two more so Ciampa unlaces the boot even more and tries to walk out. Dream isn’t having that and hits the twisting DDT onto the title for a VERY close two. Another Figure Four is broken up and Ciampa loses his boot, setting up the hanging DDT for an even closer two.

With nothing else working, Ciampa pulls the floor mats back but another hanging DDT on the floor is broken up with a crash over the announcers’ table. Ciampa actually stops to yell at Mauro, allowing Dream to hit the Dream Valley Driver on the exposed concrete. Back in and the Purple Rainmaker connects for a crazy close two but a second on the apron completely misses. Ciampa hits the hanging DDT onto the steel partition between the rings to retain at 22:26.

Rating: A. There was no reason for this to so good but egads Dream pulled off another classic here. I bought the heck out of some of those near falls, even though Dream winning the title was a long shot at best. This was a great example of two guys doing everything they could when the spotlight was on bright and that’s a great sign. Outstanding match here as Dream continues to come up huge on the grand stages.

Dream is still out cold after the recap video.

Nita Strauss is here.

The cage is lowered.

We recap WarGames. The Undisputed Era have been tormenting Ricochet, Pete Dunne and the War Raiders for months, causing the four of them to reluctantly band together to fight them off. This led to a bunch of brawls and of course that means WarGames. The Undisputed Era won last year so they have some experience, but that doesn’t mean much in this match.

Pete Dunne/Ricochet/War Raiders vs. Undisputed Era

There is a big cage (still no roof) over both rings. Both teams will send in one man to start the match and the two of them will fight for five minutes. After that, the Undisputed Era (who won the advantage in a match on NXT) will send in a second man for a 2-1 advantage for three minutes. When that time is over, the other team can even things up for three minutes. They alternate until all eight are in and then it’s first pin or submission to win. You cannot win the match until everyone is in. If you escape or leave the cage, you forfeit the match for your team.

Cole and Ricochet (with which face paint just like his partners) start things off. They each stay in their own ring until Ricochet comes across to start the fight. Some early right hands don’t do much to Ricochet, who bounces back up with his headscissors into the dropkick. Ricochet dives into a Backstabber though and the fireman’s carry backbreaker keeps him in trouble. The slow beating continues (makes sense as you want to conserve energy) until Ricochet kicks him out of the corner.

A springboard (from one ring to the other) uppercut drops Cole and it’s Kyle O’Reilly coming in next (albeit a little after five minutes). O’Reilly goes straight after the back and takes out Ricochet’s knee with a dragon screw legwhip. The double stomping continues until Ricochet sends them into each other. Another fireman’s carry backbreaker, this time from Cole onto O’Reilly’s knee, keeps Ricochet in trouble and it’s Hanson, with a bad knee, coming in to even things up.

The big man starts cleaning house with a seated senton out of the corner and a cartwheel just to annoy Cole. A long series of running corner clotheslines sets up a double Bronco Buster and Ricochet is back up. That means Hanson dropping down to be a launchpad for a running shooting star (cool) to O’Reilly. The spinning powerslam is broken up though and it’s back to Ricochet chopping Cole in the corner.

Roderick Strong is in to make it 3-2 and the pace picks up again with running knees in the corner. A half nelson backbreaker drops Ricochet and a torture rack backbreaker does it again. The Era is back up for the triple teaming on Hanson, including an Angle Slam from Strong. More running strikes in the corner keep Ricochet and Hanson in trouble as the announcers are already saying the Era is going to win.

Rowe evens things up and the Era is smart enough to be waiting on him in the same cage. That doesn’t seem to matter as Rowe starts throwing suplexes and heavy forearms. O’Reilly’s choke goes nowhere as Hanson is back up. Just to show off, Rowe hits a powerbomb on Strong and a World’s Strongest Slam on O’Reilly at the same time. That’s not normal by any definition. Cole immediately bails but backs into Ricochet so the Raiders send him face first into the cage. Bobby Fish is released from his cage but steals the lock and doubles up Dunne’s cage in a smart move, throwing the key into the crowd.

Fish pulls out some Undisputed Era chairs and the Era starts unloading. Rowe gets Rock Bottomed through an open chair and the dominance is on. The clock runs out but the referees can only open one lock. Back to back superplexes have the Raiders mostly done, allowing Cole to talk trash. The referees finally find some bolt cutters so the also injured (knee) Dunne limps to the ring and finds a kendo stick to battle his way inside. Ricochet adds a dive to take out all of the Era, allowing Dunne to find some more weapons.

That includes some tables and Dunne finally gets in, meaning the match is now officially on. The weapons are in full force with the Era taking a heck of a beating. Dunne starts breaking fingers and Hanson puts a trashcan over Cole’s head so Rowe can lift him up and drive Hanson into Cole in the corner. Rowe slams Hanson onto O’Reilly and Strong takes a German suplex/springboard clothesline combination. A trashcan to the head saves Strong from the same fate and the comeback is on again.

Dunne is surrounded but fights off all four of them at once, including a kneebar on Fish. O’Reilly makes the save and finds a chain but Dunne ties him up with it and grabs a guillotine choke. That’s broken up with a chair to Dunne’s bad knee and the ankle lock goes on with the chairs being used to hold off Ricochet and the Raiders. Strong pulls back on Dunne’s face with a chair at the same time until Ricochet dives over for the save. Everyone is down again until Hanson gets up to start punching.

Ricochet is up with a super hurricanrana to Fish while Dunne hits a butterfly superplex on Strong at the same time. Hanson loads up a table, which breaks as soon as he puts Cole on it. Instead it’s a pop up powerslam for two on Cole but Fish drives Rowe through a table between the rings. O’Reilly gets Ricochet in a triangle choke on a table, allowing Hanson to splash him through the table for the break (in more ways than one). Strong makes a save though and everyone is down again.

Cole and Ricochet go up top for a slugout but Strong has the bright idea of trying to knock Ricochet off, which is the same as forfeiting. I guess we needed a tribute to the Bunkhouse Stampede as well. Dunne and Rowe come over for the save and it’s a Tower of Doom off the side of the cage. Ricochet is left on top of the cage though so everyone stands up right in front of him (never liked that) for a near 720 moonsault onto everyone for the big knockdown. Mauro: “MAMA F’N MIA!” Oh I think that one was deserved.

Everyone gets up with each team standing in one ring and it’s time for the big standoff, which does look rather cool. They all get between the rings and erupt. That doesn’t last long so it’s Fallout to Strong with O’Reilly making another save. Hanson handsprings O’Reilly and Fish down but gets superkicked by Cole. Ricochet gets superkicked as well and Dunne takes the Last Shot for two. Dunne hits a quick Bitter End and Ricochet adds a shooting star press for the double pin on Cole at 47:06.

Rating: A. I’m not exactly sure what to think of this. First of all, the original format is WAY better. Having nine people on three teams was too messy and didn’t really suit the way this match has gone over the years. WarGames is one of those nearly perfect concepts and there’s very little reason to tweak it that much. This style was much, much better and made it a lot more enjoyable.

I liked the match a lot, though it felt like it dragged at some point (which can happen in WarGames) it really could have been about ten minutes shorter. They did a very good job with building up the drama and it felt more like WarGames, but it wasn’t quite as brutal as last year’s match. The ending was the right call as there wasn’t anything to be gained by having the Undisputed Era win again. That spot with all eight of them going into the center was excellent and drew me right back in though and the double pin was a great way to wrap it up.

Above all else, this felt more like WarGames, which was lacking last year. I could still go for less weapons in there and more use of the cage (the lack of a roof doesn’t bother me and makes for better camera shots) and of course blood, but that’s just not going to happen, which is understandable. Anyway, great match but it didn’t quite hit the level of the best WarGames matches.

Dunne and Ricochet look at each other and then pose on top of the cage with their titles.

Overall Rating: A+. With that kind of match quality up and down the card, what else could you go with here? Just one incredible match after another with a lot of doors being left open for the next Takeover in January. The people were on their games tonight with Dream and Black looking awesome (Black/Dream vs. a reunited DIY anyone?) in particular and WarGames blowing the roof (ok the non-existent roof) off the place. Another incredible entry in the series with a level of match quality that you just don’t get anywhere else.

Results

Matt Riddle b. Kassius Ohno – Jumping knee to the face

Shayna Baszler b. Kairi Sane – Rollup

Aleister Black b. Johnny Gargano – Black Mass

Pete Dunne/Ricochet/War Raiders b. Undisputed Era – Shooting star press to Cole

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-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 7, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph

There are two shows left before Takeover and after last week’s show, we now have the big namesake match set up. There should be some interesting things before we get there as the card needs to be pushed hard as we head towards Los Angeles. Tonight we have Lars Sullivan wanting to destroy Velveteen Dream for daring to take a step towards the NXT Title. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Heavy Machinery vs. Forgotten Sons

Cutler and Blake for the Sons here. Blake armbars Knight to start before it’s off to Cutler, who gets taken down by a double crossbody. That means a tag to Dozovic so some people can be thrown around. The Worm hits Blake but a blind tag brings in Cutler for a shot to the arm to take over. The stomping on the arm begins and Dozovic’s arm is wrapped around the rope.

Blake grabs a triangle choke but gets powerbombed down, allowing the hot tag off to Knight. A Backstabber/top rope elbow combination gets two on Knight so it’s a PowerPlex of all things for the same. Dozovic makes the save but the Compactor is broken up with a low bridge. Blake gets shoved off the top though and it’s a pop up World’s Strongest Slam to finish Cutler at 8:25.

Rating: C+. This was a match that had no business being anything but they worked hard and turned it into something pretty entertaining. Heavy Machinery is a really fun team and that’s the kind of team that you can throw on almost any show for a good time. I’m surprised they got the win here, but at least they had some fun.

We look back at Candice LeRae yelling at Nikki Cross last week and Aleister Black coming out to yell at her.

Candice isn’t talking about what happened.

Shayna Baszler is with her fellow Horsewomen when William Regal comes in to announce Baszler defending against Kairi Sane at Takeover in a 2/3 falls match. An annoyed Shayna throws out the interviewer.

Dakota Kai vs. Taynara Conti

Kai blocks an early kick attempt and throws Conti down. Conti misses a charge into the corner and gets rolled up for two as they’re starting fast. A kick to the wrist slows Dakota down and another kick to the face gets two. Conti goes after the wrist but misses a charge in the corner so Kai can start in with the kicks. The Facewash sets up the running kick to the face, followed by the sunset flip Backstabber (the Kairopractor) to finish Conti at 4:49.

Rating: C-. Both of these two feel like they should be bigger stars than they are but neither has really clicked just yet. Kai is adorable and Conti has some great ability but it’s just not working yet. Their matches aren’t too bad either and they had something here with the strikes vs. the judo stuff.

Mia Yim is glad to be here but Bianca Belair comes in, wondering why a newcomer is getting this kind of attention when Bianca still hasn’t gotten her title shot.

We look back at Matt Riddle debuting last week.

Riddle and Keith Lee were celebrating the win but ran into Kassius Ohno, who didn’t seem impressed at all.

Video on WarGames, focusing on last year’s edition with the Undisputed Era winning and how we got to this point.

Johnny Gargano has sent in a video to respond to the questions of why Johnny why. Black has talked about being on a path but Johnny is on one too. He’s walking on the same path he was on the night Black was attacked. Johnny is on the path to defeating Tommaso Ciampa and winning the NXT Title. Black got in his way and he was just collateral damage. One evil thing doesn’t mean Johnny isn’t the hero at the end of this story. He still fights for what’s right, but NXT has taught him to fight a little dirty.

Now Black wants to kick his face off and that’s fine. He’s not afraid of the dark anymore and now he’s starting to like it. Johnny goes to the place where Black was found and promises to leave him laying again. Awesome stuff here, as Gargano has become so obsessed with Ciampa that he’s gone insane and abandoned himself to get there. The key to a heel is their actions have to be logical to themselves and themselves alone, because from Johnny’s perspective, he’s still the good guy. This was great and makes a lot of sense.

Velveteen Dream vs. Lars Sullivan

Dream gyrates a bit and then goes straight at him in a bit of a surprise. Lars throws him down but a running knee sends the monster outside. We get a little lucha Dream (totally could have been a hilarious Dusty Rhodes gimmick) with a dive to the floor and Sullivan gets sent into the steps. A belly to back toss sends Dream into the apron though and a running splash inside crushes him again. Dream gets tossed around and a HARD shot to the side of the head almost flips him over. Lars throws him to the floor and Dream is knocked silly.

Back in and Lars throws him into the air but gets dropkicked down twice in a row for two. Another slam cuts Dream off but he superkicks Lars on top. A superplex is broken up and Lars misses a Swan Dive, allowing Dream to hit the Dream Valley Driver. It’s time for the Purple Rainmaker but here’s Ciampa for the distraction. Back in and the Freak Accident finishes Dream at 8:59.

Rating: B. This was the David vs. Goliath story and they nailed it up and down. Dream knows how to play this role far better than I would have expected and they told a heck of a story with Dream surviving the whole way through. The ending keeps both guys looking strong too as the elbow might not have been enough to finish Black. Really good one here with the drama rolling.

Post match Lars leaves and Ciampa comes in to lay Dream out, saying he’s not in the champ’s league. Dream fights back though and hits a superkick, followed by the twisting DDT onto the title. The Purple Rainmaker is loaded up and, after pausing due to referees, Dream crushes Ciampa to end the show. Dream looked like a star here and that’s exactly the idea.

Overall Rating: B. Well, they’re definitely in Takeover mode and gave the focus to everything but WarGames tonight in a smart move. That match is going to be ready just due to the cages alone so setting up everything else was the right way to go. This was a heck of a show and Gargano’s explanation was a big highlight. He has some serious long term potential with that and I’m glad we’re getting to see the story unfold instead of rushing to the next idea in a month. More solid work this week, as Takeover is sounding great.

Results

Heavy Machinery b. Forgotten Sons – Pop up World’s Strongest Slam to Cutler

Dakota Kai b. Taynara Conti – Kairopractor

Lars Sullivan b. Velveteen Dream – Freak Accident

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-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 24, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

It’s a big night this time around as Aleister Black now knows who attacked him. Therefore, it’s highly likely that we find out tonight too, which should be a heck of a moment. There are several suspects out there and a lot of them are strong possibilities. Other than that though, it’s time to get ready for the next Takeover. Let’s get to it.

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

Earlier today, William Regal assigned security to have Black see him before getting inside.

Opening sequence.

Here’s the Undisputed Era to get things going. Bobby Fish is officially back and that’s something everyone should fear. Just as the War Raiders. The Undisputed Era is NXT, which brings Cole to Ricochet, who still has his property. A few weeks back, Ricochet beat Pete Dunne to retain the North American Title in a triple threat match but didn’t pin Cole, because Ricochet can’t do it. Cue EC3 to interrupt because he sees Cole as trying to sound impressive because the team is scared. Cole cuts off the catchphrase with a SHUT UP EC3 and a match is made.

Adam Cole vs. EC3

Cole gets aggressive to start and hammers away in the corner but EC3 punches him outside without too much effort. A superkick slows EC3 down on the way back in though and a swinging neckbreaker keeps him down. Cole grabs a front facelock and gets two off the fireman’s carry neckbreaker. The facelock goes on again as Fish orders the referee to ask him. EC3 finally fights up and snaps off a German suplex but the Era offers a distraction. Cole’s superkick looks to set up the Last Shot but EC3 is up with a clothesline. That’s not enough or Cole though as EC3 grabs a rollup for the pin at 6:56.

Rating: C-. Kind of a dull match here but that’s been the case for a lot of EC3’s stuff. He looks and talks well but once the bell rings, he’s only so interesting. Cole can have a great match with the right opponent, though it’s clear that EC3 doesn’t fit in there. It also doesn’t help that EC3 was kind of thrown into this match, as the Era already has enough enemies.

Post match the beatdown is on, with a High/Low to EC3 setting up the Last Shot. Fish crushes the leg with a chair. Fans: “THANK YOU BOBBY!”

Nikki Cross warns security, telling them that he’s coming. Vic: “Who does she mean?” Do they write these lines to try and sound as dumb as possible?

Aaliyah vs. Mia Yim

This is Mia’s first NXT match in four years and first as a member of the roster. Aaliyah snaps her throat first across the top and puts on an early chinlock, followed by the right hands to the head. The second chinlock goes on so Mia drives her back first into the corner for the break. Some clotheslines and a dropkick put Aaliyah in the corner for a Cannonball. Soul Food is good for the pin on Aaliyah at 3:39.

Rating: D+. I’m not as big on Yim as some people but it makes sense to bring her in. She was one of the most popular stars in the Mae Young Classic and she has more than enough of a resume outside of WWE. Aaliyah is a good first win for her as it gets her feet wet, which I’m sure will set her up for something down the road.

Bianca Belair demands that Regal give her a title shot. With Bianca gone, Regal says he doesn’t know what Nikki said to Black last week but….here’s the Era to interrupt. With Kyle O’Reilly talking to himself, Cole tells Regal to get his act together. Regal says it’s the other way around, because next week the War Raiders will face Fish and Cole.

We see the Roman Reigns segment from Raw.

Video on Lacey Evans.

Video on Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler. I’d assume they had to cut something for the sake of that Reigns segment and it’s throwing things off a bit. This is a lot of videos in a row.

Justin Xavier vs. Kassius Ohno

Xavier’s shoulder bounces off of Ohno but an elbow works a bit better. That’s fine with Ohno, who hits a heck of a big boot. A fireman’s carry slam sets up a running legdrop and another running boot cuts Xavier off. Back to back backsplashes set up the rolling elbow for the pin at 3:05.

Rating: D. Just a squash to set up Ohno to face Matt Riddle at the next Takeover. Ohno is the perfect choice for something like that as Ohno is one of the few guys guaranteed to have at least a passable match. He’s also still enough of a name that beating him means something and they’ve set up a nice little story for the debut.

Post match Nikki comes out to say he’s coming. Nigel says it’s clearly Black (meaning it’s not) and wonders who he’s coming for.

Matt Riddle makes his in-ring debut next week.

Here’s Regal to announce the NXT Title match at Takeover. This brings out Tommaso Ciampa, who tells Regal not to stare at the title. If Regal has some announcement, go ahead with it so here’s Velveteen Dream to interrupt. Dream says the WarGames fans want an experience so Regal needs to say his name. Now it’s Lars Sullivan interrupting, saying they need to be mindful of where they are. He recommends they leave his territory because the NXT Title belongs to them.

Dream understands that Lars thinks of himself as a nightmare, but when you speak to the Dream, wear some pants. Lars grabs him but here’s Cross to point to the back. We cut to said back where Black is kicking everyone he can find. Black comes into the arena and kicks Sullivan but want to know where HE is. Regal doesn’t know but Johnny Gargano comes in and lays Black out. Gargano: “I’m right here.”

It wasn’t the biggest secret in the world, but that was a really effective reveal. The fans got very quiet when Gargano attacked and that’s the entire point. Gargano was a prime suspect due to never actually denying what happened and suddenly being his old self again, which felt rather out of place for NXT storytelling. This can set him up for a long heel run, possibly even teaming with Ciampa again, before he finally becomes NXT Champion at some point down the line. Very well done here.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling wasn’t great here but really, none of that means much of anything as this was ALL about the big ending. Black vs. Gargano, especially a freshly heel Gargano, should be a heck of a fight as Takeover starts to look even better. This show took some steps towards the show and I’m looking forward to seeing how we get there. The reveal was the best part of the show and it’s all that really mattered.

Results

EC3 b. Adam Cole – Rollup

Mia Yim b. Aaliyah – Soul Food

Kassius Ohno b. Justin Xavier – Rolling elbow

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-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 3, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

As usual, NXT knows how to build towards the future and that’s what they’ve done here. Next week we get the triple threat match for the North American Title and the week after that it’s the War Raiders getting their shot at the Tag Team Titles. Other than that, it’s time to continue searching for Aleister Black’s attacker and Lars Sullivan vs. EC3. Let’s get to it.

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

Nikki Cross talks about being ready to play with Bianca Belair again because Bianca didn’t play fair last time. Speaking of people who didn’t play well, she knows what happened.

Opening sequence.

Candice LeRae vs. Lacey Evans

Fallout from Evans insulting Candice’s abilities as a wife last week. They shove each other to start with the much bigger Evans taking her down by the throat. LeRae gets driven into the corner as well so she sends Evans face first into the buckle. A faceplant gets two so Evans runs her over without much effort. Hang on though as Evans needs to pat down her lipstick before taking LeRae down into a headscissors, complete with pushups.

A kick to the face sets up the chinlock as Evans pulls the hair for some bad measure. Evans misses a slingshot elbow though and Candice scores with an enziguri. The middle rope swinging Downward Spiral gets two more and Evans says LeRae is a loser, just like her husband. That ticks LeRae off but she charges into the Women’s Right for the pin at 6:18.

Rating: C-. It seems like they really want to push the heck out of Evans but there’s such a firm gap between the title picture and everything else that there isn’t really a middle ground for him. They’re getting that right hand over as a finisher though and Evans is easy enough to hate that she’s likely going to get a title shot at a Takeover one day though and that’s fine.

Video on the North American Title triple threat match and what it means to everyone. Ricochet cares because it’s his, Cole cares because it’s proof that he’s the future and Dunne wants to prove even further that he’s the best in the world.

Video on the Forgotten Sons, in sepia.

Tommaso Ciampa sits in the back and says everyone is going to try to chop you down. They’re speculate and lie to try and steal your spotlight for themselves. Perhaps it’s to cover their own tracks and hide their own guilt, which is what Velveteen Dream is doing. Dream is living in a dream world where Ciampa attacked Aleister Black, but they both know what Black experienced. Maybe he should keep his theories to himself because Ciampa will turn the Dream into a nightmare. Ciampa vs. Dream sounds oddly fascinating.

Forgotten Sons vs. Vinny Mixon/Cesar Rise/Torry Kirsh

Who names these jobbers? Steve Cutler has a mask due to a broken nose in the team’s debut match. Ryker runs Kirsh over to start so it’s off to Mixon to get beaten up as well. The Tree of Woe makes things even worse for Rise as the announcers don’t bother trying to call the jobbers by their names. An armbar keeps Mixon in trouble for a few moments until it’s off to Rise for some failed clotheslines. Blake shows him how it’s done, followed by a middle rope double stomp/reverse DDT combination. A slingshot jackknife finishes Kirsh at 2:28. Exactly the kind of squash it needed to be.

We look back at Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane being set up for Evolution.

Video on Baszler vs. Sane over the last year, which has been a pretty under the radar rivalry. Baszler has been going back to the basics, which means more MMA-style training.

Tony Nese wants top competition so he’s going to beat Johnny Gargano tonight.

Bianca Belair doesn’t want to play with Cross. She’ll embarrass Nikki instead and repeats Un-de-fea-ted over and over.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tony Nese

They fight over a wristlock to start until Nese runs him over with a shoulder. A running hurricanrana sends Nese to the floor but the suicide dive is broken up with a hard clothesline. Nese misses a charge in the corner so Gargano rolls him up, followed by the rolling kick to the head. Now the suicide dive hits as Gargano is looking more confident than he’s seen in a long time.

Nese suplexes him down for two and we hit the bodyscissors. Gargano leans back for a rollup but can’t break the hold. I’ll certainly take someone trying to do something other than just laying on the mat. Gargano fights up and hits the slingshot DDT, followed by the slingshot spear. Some kicks to the head have Nese in more trouble but he rolls out of the Gargano Escape. A buckle bomb has Gargano right back in trouble and Nese dumps him to the floor.

The second slingshot DDT attempt is countered into a backdrop for a nasty crash to the floor, setting up the big Fosbury Flop to the floor. Back in and Nese hits a great looking 450 for two, followed by a sick looking German suplex into the corner. The running knee is blocked by a superkick though and the Gargano Escape makes Nese tap at 9:43.

Rating: B. When Gargano is on his game, he can have some of the best matches in the world at the moment. Gargano looked like his old self here and that should mean a big match at the next Takeover. He doesn’t need to go after the title again right away, but one day he’s going to get his hands on that thing and it’s going to be one of the best reactions NXT has ever seen.

Video on Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan, who got together after beating each other up in a series of matches. That’s a story that has worked before and it’s working well here. Lorcan has been out for a few months with a broken orbital bone. No word on when they’re back in the ring.

Lars Sullivan vs. EC3

EC3 gets aggressive to start and goes right at Sullivan, only to be taken to the floor for a choke. Some rams into the steps FINALLY put Lars down and EC3 hammers away at the head back inside. A whip into the corner sends Sullivan shoulder first into the post and a slam puts the big man down again. Sullivan finally gets going with some shoulders in the corner and the heavy crossface shots to the jaw.

The big neck crank goes on for a few seconds but EC3 fights up and manages a suplex. A not great looking high crossbody gets two on Sullivan, who comes right back up with a huge clothesline. The Freak Accident is broken up and it’s a Cactus Clothesline to the floor. EC3 makes the mistake of charging at Sullivan though and it’s a Freak Accident on the apron. Back in and the diving headbutt finishes EC3 at 6:45.

Rating: B-. They did this the right way by keeping things moving but not letting it go on too long. The point here was EC3 chopping at the tree as well as he could but Sullivan was just too much for him. That’s a good story and the match was entertaining as a result. I’m not sure what EC3 can get out of NXT as he has everything he needs to be on the main roster. Give him a win and let him go up, hopefully as a heel like he should be.

Overall Rating: B. You know what impresses me the most about NXT? The amount of mileage they can get out of any given match or story. They’re still talking about the ladder match from New Orleans (in the main event) and then the Aleister Black injury, which dropped into their lap, is fueling EC3 vs. Sullivan, Ciampa vs. Dream, and the whodunit story, which is spinning into the Undisputed Era vs. everyone else story. You don’t get that out of any other company and it’s really impressive to see here.

The show itself was good with two strong matches and more setting the table for the bigger stuff down the line. Next week’s triple threat match has the makings of a classic and with WarGames coming up next month, it’s more good forecasts for NXT. I’m not sure I can remember the last time that wasn’t the case and that’s remarkable.

Results

Lacey Evans b. Candice LeRae – Women’s Right

Forgotten Sons b. Vinny Mixon/Cesar Rise/Torry Kirsh – Slingshot jackknife to Kirsh

Johnny Gargano b. Tony Nese – Gargano Escape

Lars Sullivan b. EC3 – Top rope headbutt

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-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 26, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

The road to WarGames continues and you can see most of the card from here. At the same time though, we’re also trying to find out who attacked Aleister Black. The investigation has been going on for weeks and it should be about time we know whodunit, especially with Takeover starting to come into focus. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s William Regal to talk about what he’s found in the Black situation but the Undisputed Era cuts him off almost immediately. Adam Cole thinks Regal is going to come out here and not do his job and that’s on Regal. It’s also in the past and now Regal’s responsibilities is to make sure that such a thing doesn’t happen again. On top of that, what is Regal going to do about the War Raiders? Regal finds it interesting that the three of them interrupt him when he’s talking about the investigation.

The three of them get in the ring and accuse Regal of trying to get away from the War Raiders. Cole wants to know why Ricochet has been ducking him or why Pete Dunne got a title shot. Regal says Dunne asked for a shot and Cole gets a little more serious. There’s no title shot for Cole right now because it wouldn’t be fair. However, in two weeks Cole can have his rematch in a triple threat match with Ricochet and Dunne. As for the War Raiders, they’ll get their title shot in three weeks.

Johnny Gargano is in a good mood and ready to face Tony Nese next week. He’s apologized for his failures and for the man he was becoming. Next week, he starts back down the right path. Johnny goes over to Candice LeRae when Lacey Evans comes in to say Candice should have been fighting next to him. Gargano has to hold Candice back.

Video on Lars Sullivan.

Velveteen Dream isn’t going to talk about Johnny Gargano or Aleister Black, though he seems to accuse Tommaso Ciampa of being the attacker. He’s not a snitch though and the writing is on the wall.

Lars Sullivan vs. Victor Orchant

Forearms to the back set up a pop up powerslam as the fans chant for the jobber. A pair of beals sent Orchant to the floor but here’s EC3 from behind for the DQ at 1:28.

EC3 actually wins the post match brawl and knocks Sullivan to the floor.

Regal has narrowed down his list of suspects but Nikki Cross comes out of his office. She wants to face Bianca Belair again and Regal says he’ll consider it. Cross won’t let him into his office and keeps saying “I know”. She leaves and Regal seems to think she’s a bit out there. Nobody knows what Nikki knows.

Street Profits vs. The Mighty

The Mighty have the Profits’ cup and jewelry from a few weeks back. The Profits are serious this week, which you don’t see every day. Thorn laughs at them to start so Ford knocks him senseless with a single right hand (that looked GREAT) to start things off. Ford hammers on Miller to start things off and a spinning Stinger splash makes things even worse. A double bulldog takes the Profits down and Ford adds a big dive to the floor.

Back in and Dawkins charges into a boot in the corner as Percy says this issue is about the “principalities” of the thing. Nigel: “What does THAT mean?” Total silence from Percy, as there should be there. Dawkins slips away and brings in Ford to clean house. They head outside though and Thorn dropkicks the steps into Ford’s knee to take over.

A double Russian legsweep sets up a clothesline for two on Ford and it’s off to a leglock. That goes nowhere so it’s a double clothesline for the double knockdown but Miller pulls Dawkins off the apron. Ford flips out of a suplex but tweaks the knee, allowing Thorn to roll him up for the pin at 7:41.

Rating: C. Both of these teams are kind of floundering at the moment and it’s a good idea to have one of them get a clean pin here. I could have gone for more of the Profits but it seems that their time is over. The Mighty don’t do much for me but at least they’re getting a win here to hopefully get somewhere.

Kairi Sane vs. Vanessa Borne

Non-title. Borne gets serious by STEALING KAIRI’S HAT and throwing it away. Kairi blocks some strikes and takes her down by the knee but a swinging suplex gives Borne two. The chinlock goes on for a bit before Sane is back with a DDT. The spear sets up the Insane Elbow to finish Borne at 3:06.

Rating: D+. Not quite a squash but Sane was never in any real danger and destroyed her in the end. Borne is still someone who could be a player in the division and losing clean to the champ isn’t going to really hurt her though at some point she needs to actually win something of note.

Post match here’s Shayna Baszler to say she’s coming for the title. She’s invoking her rematch clause so Sane says we’ll do it at Evolution.

Keith Lee wants competition and goes in to see Kona Reeves. Kona doesn’t think much of him because Lee interrupted his interview prep. Lee: “You’re the man with the finest set of losses in NXT.” A match is made for next week.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Otis Dozovic

Non-title. Dozovic runs him over with some shoulders and throws Ciampa over the corner to the floor. Back in and a spinning slam plants Ciampa again, followed by a backdrop to the floor. That means a Worm from Dozovic as Ciampa isn’t sure what to do. Dozovic makes the mistake of going outside and Ciampa slams him head first into the ramp to take over for the first time.

Some hard forearms to the back of the head have Dozovic in trouble and there’s a braced knee to the head for two. Another knee to the face gets another two and we hit the sleeper. You don’t jump on the back of a monster though and Dozovic drops backwards onto Ciampa for the crash. Some clubbing shots to the face and a hard clothesline give Dozovic two so Ciampa goes for a walk.

Cue Tucker Knight to cut him off though and Dozovic suplexes him on the floor. A big elbow gets two back inside so Ciampa rakes the eyes. He still can’t hit the Fairytale Ending though so Dozovic gives him a sitout powerbomb for two instead. Ciampa is fine enough to hit a hanging DDT onto the apron though and the regular version is enough to finish Dozovic at 9:39.

Rating: B. This is a great example of a match that had no business being anything worthwhile whatsoever and turning into something very entertaining. Dozovic got a lot out of this and Ciampa had to sweat a bit for a win because he underestimated Dozovic coming in. Why can’t we get something like this on Raw every now and then? Like AJ Styles vs. Luke Harper or something. Let them have some fun and see what talent is out there.

Overall Rating: C+. Good show here as you can see WarGames from here and a lot of interesting stuff is coming up as well. With stuff like Black’s attacker likely being revealed soon and the impending arrival of Matt Riddle, we could be in for some very entertaining shows in the next few weeks.

Results

Lars Sullivan b. Victor Orchant via DQ when EC3 interfered

The Mighty b. Street Profits – Rollup to Ford

Kairi Sane b. Vanessa Borne – Insane Elbow

Tommaso Ciampa b. Otis Dozovic – Hanging DDT

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-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 12, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

We’re still in the hunt for Aleister Black’s attacker and that can make for some interesting television. Other than that though, the big story seems to be Johnny Gargano finally cracking and not being able to keep going as Johnny Wrestling due to losing everything that matters to him, including the fans’ support. Let’s get to it.

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

Tommaso Ciampa arrived earlier and had nothing to say.

Opening sequence.

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. Cezar Bononi/Adrian Jaoude

This is Lorcan’s first match back after suffering a broken orbital bone in June. Burch and Bononi start things off with Danny headbutting him into the corner for an uppercut. It’s already off to Lorcan for a double suplex but Bononi uses some trunks to pull Burch into the wrong corner. Jaoude cranks on both arms before tossing Burch down and handing it back to Bononi. That’s not enough to keep Burch away from Lorcan though and it’s time to clean house, including some hard shots to the face. Burch comes back in as Lorcan lifts Jaoude up for a hanging DDT and the pin at 3:41.

Rating: C-. There is nothing wrong with a solid face tag team who hit people in the face really hard. Burch and Lorcan aren’t likely to ever get the Tag Team Titles but they’re a great middle of the road team who can give you a very good match under the right circumstances. Not bad at all here and Lorcan looked good in his return.

Here’s Ciampa, now with music and a cool heart monitor sound during his entrance. You can also hear some pops for him, which you had to know were coming. Ciampa says that music is his personal way of telling the fans to shut up. He’s seen everyone pointing their finger at him for attacking Black, but what is that based on? Ciampa doesn’t play make believe and bases his opinions on facts. If he wants to confront someone, he comes out here and does it to their face.

The thing is, Black would have lost even if he had made it to Brooklyn because Black loses, Gargano loses, Ciampa wins. The title tells Ciampa that it felt really good to be back in the main event of Takeover and Ciampa is the greatest success story in the history of NXT. He is YOUR NXT Champion and to be a winner, follow his lead. Oh that sounds like it’s going somewhere.

Shayna Baszler vs. Violet Payne

Baszler wastes no time in taking her down and hammering away as this isn’t likely to last long. A kick to the chest sets up the arm cranking and egads that’s painful to watch. The stomp on the bent elbow into the Kirifuda Clutch makes Payne tap at 1:27. That was a massacre.

Post match Baszler comes back to the ring and chokes her out two more times.

Heavy Machinery thinks Ciampa attacked Black when Ciampa walks up to yell at them. Dozovic calls Ciampa dumplin and challenges him to a fight but William Regal comes in to demand Ciampa come to his office.

The Undisputed Era isn’t worried about the War Raiders because Roderick Strong always beats his son at hide and seek. The viking helmets are so seventh century and Kyle O’Reilly can’t go out and get groceries because he’s too famous. Adam Cole wants to talk about next week’s champion vs. champion match because the winner gets to lose to win. No one is on their level and that is undisputed.

Lars Sullivan vs. Raul Mendoza

That silhouette of Sullivan is a great visual. As for Mendoza, it might be time for him to get a new accolade besides being in the Cruiserweight Classic. Mendoza’s kicks to the leg have no effect but a Disaster kick works a bit better. That’s about it for the good though as Sullivan picks him up and tosses him from one corner to the other without much effort. The neck crank goes on, which isn’t a move you see in a squash, meaning they seem to see something in Mendoza (as they should).

Mendoza jawbreakers his way to freedom and avoids a charge to send Sullivan into the post. Another enziguri sets up a springboard missile dropkick but Sullivan catches him with a pop up powerslam. Some crossface shots to the face set up the Freak Accident for the pin at 4:12.

Rating: C. This wasn’t quite a squash and that’s a good sign for Mendoza. He might not do anything spectacularly but he’s got something to him and I could see him becoming a nice fixture in the midcard. Sullivan is going to be a big deal around here for a while though as pushing a monster like that is about as much of a layup as you can get.

We look back at Ricochet taking out Pete Dunne by mistake in their tag match two weeks ago.

Dunne is worried about his champion vs. champion match next week because he’ll have to figure out how to put two titles on his mantle.

Ricochet likes that Dunne doesn’t think he can handle these high pressure situations. He’s been in high pressure situations far longer than he’s been in NXT and next week, Dunne is just another hurdle to leap over. Ricochet might not be the best talker but he has the charisma to make whatever he says work.

Video on the Forgotten Sons, playing up the whole forgotten aspect for the first time. Now that is something I could get behind.

Last week, Aaliyah and Dakota Kai were arguing when Lacey Evans and Deonna Purrazzo came up to join the respective sides. Tag match next week.

Kairi Sane is investigated for the Black attack and seems to be cleared. Kassius Ohno (in a Cesaro/Kidd shirt) replaces her but Regal doesn’t need to talk to him. Sane just gave him an alibi but Ohno still isn’t happy. Maybe he needs to sit in the crowd at Takeover to get noticed. When Regal’s shiny new toy gets here, Ohno will take care of him. Bro.

Bianca Belair vs. Nikki Cross

Cross sits in the corner but Belair shoves her down. That seems to make Cross happy, so she waves and shouts HI BIANCA. A monkey flip puts Belair down and it’s off to a sleeper, with Belair reversing into a backbreaker in short in order. Belair puts on a bearhug and a gorilla press makes things even worse.

Cross avoids a splash though and it’s a Thesz press into the right hands. That’s enough to send Belair outside so Cross ties her up in the ring skirt and unloads with forearms to the chest. The hair whip to the ribs puts Nikki down but she chokes Belair onto the ramp. Bianca drops her down for the big crash though and it’s a double countout (or no contest as the ring announcer says) at 5:17.

Rating: C-. This was more of a “come back next time” match and that’s fine. You can only have Belair run through everyone before she runs into a different kind of animal in Cross. Belair is almost guaranteed to win the rematch but at least they gave her a little bit of a sweat. It’s still clear that she’s one of the big prospects in the division though and that’s going to be the case for a long time.

Post match the fans want to see them fight so Cross chases her into the crowd. A high crossbody off the announcers’ table leaves Belair laying and Cross smiling to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. There’s nothing wrong with a show designed to st things up for later and that’s what we had here. You can see some things being set up for later and that can make for some good television going forward. NXT has a great track record with stuff like this and they’re more than capable of taking all these things in some good directions.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-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: August 29, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson

Every now and then you get a match that sounds so awesome on paper that it has to be great no matter what they do. That’s what we have tonight in the form of Pete Dunne teaming up with Ricochet to face the Undisputed Era in an all champions match. Other than that, the hunt for Aleister Black’s attacker continues. Let’s get to it.

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

William Regal is outside his office where a bunch of people are working. Tonight, he’s starting the investigation into who attacked Black. They’re being very smart by not just having Tommaso Ciampa do it and making an angle out of that. On the main roster, it would have been “Aleister is injured and he’ll be back in a little while.” Here, it’s turned into a big angle because it’s an opportunity presented to them. I know WWE loves to tout its own brilliance, but if you’re handed something like this, run with it and enjoy the free chance.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Johnny Gargano on a crutch for a chat. Gargano says the fans have always had his back and a JOHNNY WRESTLING chant cuts him off. He doesn’t deserve that right now and it’s a dueling YOU DESERVE IT/NO YOU DON’T chant. Johnny made a lot of promises like bringing the NXT Title back but he didn’t live up to his words. He lost both the match and himself and now he doesn’t know what to do.

After everything he’s been through, he doesn’t know what’s left. In Brooklyn, he became Tommaso Ciampa and now he’s in Gargano’s head. Johnny doesn’t know how to get him out and he has to be better for everyone. As Gargano is about to snap, here’s Regal to interrupt. Regal gets straight to the point: did Johnny attack Aleister Black? Gargano says you tell me so Regal asks him again.

Cue the Velveteen Dream to say he’s tired of hearing Woe Is Johnny. Tonight shouldn’t be about Johnny because it should be about the experience. It’s the experience that stole Brooklyn and tonight should be about the Velveteen Dream instead of Johnny Failure. That’s not cool with Johnny, who says his knee is just fine and throw the crutch at Dream. Regal says they fan fight next week. I completely support this.

Dakota Kai vs. Aaliyah

They lock up to start with Aaliyah using the hair to take her down. Kai kicks away and gets one off a double stomp but Aaliyah is right back up. Some shots to the back set up a camel clutch as the fans are split on Aaliyah here. Aaliyah runs her over for some more right hands, followed by the bodyscissors. Kai powers up and drives her into the corner for the break and hits some running kicks to the face. A hair takedown drops Kai again though and Aaliyah calls her stupid. That’s just rather mean so Kai hits her sunset flip Backstabber for the pin at 5:13.

Rating: C. I liked this more than I was expecting to as Aaliyah has found something with the aggression. She’s been around for a long time now and this is the closest she’s gotten to being anything. Kai is still around but she’s nowhere near as hot as she used to be. Not a bad little match though and Aaliyah looked stronger than usual.

Regal clears Dream in the Black situation for now. The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler, Wesley Blake and Jaxson Ryker) come in and say a security guard saw them in the parking lot at the time of the attack. That’s ok with Regal, who says they’ll have a tag match next week. Of note: Regal has his brass knuckles in a display on his desk.

Lars Sullivan seems to have attacked EC3.

Regal asks Nikki Cross what she saw from the roof during the attack. She says she saw it and knows who the attacker was but stops to answer the phone. The phone wasn’t ringing, but Cross talks into it anyway. Bianca Belair storms in to complain about being kept waiting and yells at Nikki for trying to touch her hair. Belair deserves a title shot and tells Regal to let her know the right decision when he’s done with his pet. She leaves and Regal says he has lots more questions for Cross. As usual, Cross comes off as actually nuts instead of the scripted nuts.

Raul Mendoza vs. Lars Sullivan

Sullivan is taking EC3’s place. Mendoza jumps Lars before the bell and gets destroyed, including a pop up powerslam. The Freak Accident leaves Mendoza laying. No match.

Tommaso Ciampa is in the back and says when he left about a year ago, he promised to come back as the ultimate SOB. He’s exceeded his own expectations though and is the greatest sports entertainer of all time. The title is his proof and it takes someone special to climb to the top of the mountain. It takes something even more to stay there though and that’s why he’s the main event.

Keith Lee vs. Luke Menzies

Menzies has some size to him and used to play professional rugby. Lee wastes no time with the hurricanrana and tells Luke to stop so he can bask in the glory. A few right hands have Lee rocked but he runs through Menzies in an impressive pounce. The Spirit Bomb (sitout Last Ride) is good for the pin on Menzies at 3:02.

Rating: C-. Lee is a crazy talented guy and there’s little reason to not push the heck out of him in short order. You don’t have someone who can do hurricanranas and sitout Last Rides and not do something with him. Thankfully NXT seems to get that idea and there’s some serious potential there.

Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan are back in two weeks.

Ricochet/Pete Dunne vs. Undisputed Era

Non-title. Actually hang on as Adam Cole wants Ricochet and asks Kyle O’Reilly to sit this one out. Fans: “EVERYBODY!” Dunne clotheslines the heck out of Cole to start and goes for the fingers, meaning it’s off to Ricochet vs. Strong. With Cole shouting that his loss was a fluke, Strong sends Ricochet face first into the middle buckle to take over. Ricochet is right back with a jumping neckbreaker to Strong and a rolling clothesline to Cole.

Since Dunne is fine with letting Ricochet do this on his own, Strong sneaks in with a backbreaker to take over. Cole hits a neckbreaker of his own and Strong adds a gutbuster to keep Ricochet in trouble. Strong grabs a cobra clutch as the fans are split between Ricochet and Cole. It’s back to Cole, who simplifies things with a chinlock. Ricochet fights up and kicks Cole away, allowing the hot tag off to Dunne.

Everything breaks down and it’s an X Plex to Strong but the Bitter End is broken up. Dunne’s triangle attempt is countered into a failed Stronghold attempt, with Dunne hitting a sitout powerbomb for two instead. Strong takes out Ricochet but Dunne takes out Strong, followed by the middle rope moonsault to take the Era out. That leaves Ricochet alone but he dives onto Dunne by mistake. O’Reilly throws Dunne back in and the Last Shot gives Cole the pin at 9:51.

Rating: B-. Well of course this was pretty good and setting up Ricochet vs. Dunne is a great idea. There are multiple options for where this story could go with Cole seeming to be a challenger as well. No one seems capable of beating Dunne one on one so doubling up on the challengers is as good of an idea as they have.

Ricochet gets beaten down as well but the War Raiders chase the Era off to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a show where they were setting up things for the future instead of doing things now and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m really interested in seeing where the Whodunit story goes as there are almost endless suspects, including people who might not have even been around when the attack happened in the first place. Other than that we could be in for some very good TV in the next few weeks as there’s no Takeover for nearly two months, meaning a lot of this will play out on the regular shows. In other words, things are going to be getting even better.

Results

Dakota Kai b. Aaliyah – Sunset flip Backstabber

Keith Lee b. Luke Menzies – Spirit Bomb

Undisputed Era b. Pete Dunne/Ricochet – Last Shot to Dunne

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-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: Brooklyn IV
Date: August 18, 2018
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

It’s time for the biggest show of the year and as usual, there are multiple options for most of the card. The key to tonight though is going to be the live crowd, who are going to be over the top for a show like this. If Gargano vs. Ciampa III is anything resembling the previous matches, we’re in for a major treat. Let’s get to it.

Here’s this week’s TV if you need a recap.

The opening video focuses on the main event, talking about Ciampa winning the title due to Gargano’s actions. The rest of the card gets a focus as well, but not as detailed.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era vs. Moustache Mountain

The Era’s Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly are defending after having traded the titles with the Brits over the summer. It’s an early slugout with Mountain getting the better of it off the sucker punches. We settle down to Seven getting two on Strong as the fans are split (well duh). O’Reilly comes in for the knees to Seven’s face and a kick to the head takes him down. Seven gets over to the corner for the tag though (way too early to consider it hot) and a hurricanrana has Strong in trouble.

Bate gets the swing/airplane spin at the same time but O’Reilly jumps on his back for a choke. That’s fine with Bate, who German suplexes Strong with O’Reilly still on his back (sometimes, there are no words) to take the champs down again. The running corner clotheslines have Bate in control again until O’Reilly scores with a running clothesline of his own. The champs start in on Bate’s knee with Kyle kicking him down and slapping on a leglock.

A Flair cannonball onto the leg keeps Bate down but he kicks Strong to the floor. O’Reilly is sent outside as well and there’s the hot tag to Seven. Suplexes abound until Strong kicks him in the head, setting up a brainbuster from O’Reilly for two. There go the dueling chants again and Strong’s Olympic Slam gets two more. Strong grabs the Stronghold on Seven and O’Reilly triangle chokes Bate. That’s fine with Bate, who lifts O’Reilly up with one arm and slams him into the other two for the break.

Bate wins a slugout with Strong to knock him outside, setting up the crazy no hands dive. The Tyler Driver 97 gets two on Strong (not a move that many people get to kick out of) so Bate goes up. After shoving Strong off for a crash, O’Reilly is back up to take out Bate’s knee. That means a heel hook with Bate screaming as he crawls across the ring. Seven starts coming in, allowing Strong to pull the two of them back to the corner. That’s enough for Seven to get the towel…..which he throws into the crowd before screaming for Bate to come on.

Bate keeps crawling and actually makes the tag while still in the hold, allowing Seven to hit the Seven Stars Lariat for a very close two on O’Reilly. Bate comes back in for the Burning Hammer/top rope knee (how they won the titles) for an even nearer fall and the fans are WAY into this all over again. It’s back to Seven for a full nelson so Bate can try something, only to be kneed in the face. The High/Low to Seven retains the titles at 18:06.

Rating: A-. And somehow, that’s probably the most controlled and tamest of their matches. I liked this one a little better than the previous two but you can’t go wrong any way. Bate is SCARY good for his age (or any age for that matter) and with some more time could be one of the best in the world. This was a blast and a great choice for the opener, though you could have gone with any possibility. Really hot match, as expected.

Post match the War Raiders come in and wreck the Era, which you knew was coming at some point. That might make things more interesting for the North American Title match as Cole might not have backup.

The announcers talk about someone attacking Aleister Black with results being promised at some point. A whodunit story could be rather interesting.

We recap Velveteen Dream vs. EC3. Both of them want to be in the spotlight and they both want to claim it in their own ways. They were a team in London but Dream walked out on him, which didn’t sit well with EC3 (Dream: “The Dream has no memory of that.”). Apparently EC3 didn’t bask in the experience, so now he has to learn the hard way.

EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream

Dream rises out of a hole in the stage and is wearing a crown, plus “Notorious D.R.E.A.M.” tights. On the back: “Call Me Up Vince.” EC3 shoves him around to start, including a second shove to the floor. Back in and Dream gets caught on the top for some kicks to the ribs, which bounce him up so high that he gets crotched on the top. Dream’s sunset flip is countered with a hip swivel so Dream tries to pull him down, meaning the trunks go a little low.

Some shots to the jaw (EC3: “TOP ONE PERCENT”) look to set up the 1%er but instead it’s the headlock driver (the old 1%er) for two. Dream slaps him in the face and that means the beating is on until Dream hits him in the throat. EC3 muscles him up for a sitout powerbomb and a top rope superplex drops Dream again. The delayed cover only gets two and Dream is back up with a superkick. A Dream Valley Driver gets two so Dream hits a second onto the apron. The Purple Rainmaker, again on the apron, is good for the pin on EC3 at 15:05.

Rating: B. Another typically very good Dream match. The neck played throughout the entire match and of course Mauro was RIGHT THERE to make that clear. Dream needed this more than EC3 did as he’s turned into one of the guaranteed need to see performances. I’m scared about him getting the call up as Vince not getting his character could kill his career dead. EC3 will be fine based off of his look and mic skills alone so the loss doesn’t hurt him all that much.

Matt Riddle is here. That’s going to be a big deal.

We recap Adam Cole vs. Ricochet. Cole debuted a year ago and has taken NXT by storm. He knows Ricochet is very good if not great, but Ricochet isn’t special like Cole. Ricochet just wants to be the best, and happens to be a crazy good high flier. Cole won the North American Title in New Orleans with Ricochet getting close to it. Tonight he wants to take it home.

North American Title: Ricochet vs. Adam Cole

Cole is defending and comes to the ring on his own. The fans are behind Cole here but the Ricochet chants are there too. Feeling out process to start with Cole shouting about how Ricochet isn’t special. A headlock keeps Ricochet in trouble until he dropkicks Cole to the floor. That means a backflip into the superhero pose but Cole takes him down inside again.

More slaps to the head and more YOU’RE NOT SPECIAL’s tick Ricochet off but the fireman’s carry backbreaker takes him down again. Ricochet fights up from another chinlock and sends Cole to the floor for a no hands spinning dive. Back in and a springboard European uppercut gets two, followed by a standing shooting star and a middle rope corkscrew moonsault for two more. Mauro: “This guy’s a cheat code!”

An exchange of hard (and loud) strikes to the head gives us a double knockdown with Cole landing on top for two more. Ricochet is back up with his reverse hurricanrana but doesn’t cover, instead going up top, allowing Cole to roll outside before Ricochet can dive. A running hurricanrana brings Cole off the apron and to the floor (Mauro: “MAMA MIA!”), setting up the 630 for the pin and the title at 15:24.

Rating: B+. Egads Ricochet is fun to watch. That kind of flipping just isn’t normal and he makes it look way too easy every single time he’s out there. I’m fine with them changing the title as Cole is the kind of guy who can be a star no matter what he does. Ricochet winning the title gives him some more legitimacy and whoever gets to beat him will be an awesome heel. Awesome match, again.

Kevin Owens and Mark Henry are here.

We recap Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane. Kairi beat her in the finals of the Mae Young Classic but Baszler has rocketed up the card ever since. She won the Women’s Title and has been the classic bully, with Sane being one of the only people who has figured her out. Baszler beat her in the rematch but this is the rubber match for Shayna’s title. Sane has been extra aggressive as of late, which could be an issue for the champ.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane

Baszler is defending and the rest of the MMA Four Horsewomen are in the crowd, meaning the fans all look at Ronda. Shayna is extra cocky here but Sane starts more aggressive, going after the leg and trying an early Stretch Muffler. The champ bails out to the floor and Sane is right there with a shot off the apron to take her down again.

Back in and Shayna gets in a shot at the knee and bends it back while throwing some MMA style strikes to the head. The knee gets bent backwards before Shayna stands the leg up and stomps on the ankle, bending it at a VERY scary angle. Sane gets all fired up and hammers away with Shayna not being able to keep up with her. A spinning backfist sets up a slow motion Walking the Plank and Sane goes up.

The delay is getting worse though and Baszler catches her with a gutwrench superplex for a big crash. Baszler gets in a knee to the face for two but the Interceptor cuts her down. A middle rope Insane Elbow to the back has Shayna down and she rolls to the floor before Sane can hit the big one. Instead it’s a high crossbody to drop Shayna again and the Insane Elbow gets two back inside.

Sane puts on the Anchor but Baszler spins around and snatches her into the Kirifuda Clutch. The arm begins to fade until Sane pops up and grabs the rope for the break. Baszler goes for the heel hook but gets reversed into the Anchor. Sane puts it on again in the ropes and goes up for the Insane Elbow, which hits knees. The Kirifuda Clutch goes on again, only to have Sane backflip into a rollup for the pin and the title at 13:46.

Rating: A-. My goodness they’re on a roll tonight and who cares if my predictions are through the floor. Sane winning actually surprised me and that’s a great way to end the match. They can have a fourth match down the line if you absolutely have to, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Baszler on the main roster pretty soon now. She’s clearly gotten the hang of this in a hurry and putting her on the main roster isn’t the craziest idea in the world.

We recap Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano. Johnny has been driven mad by Ciampa, who is the embodiment of evil. After defeating Gargano in Chicago, Ciampa set his sights on Aleister Black and the NXT Title. Gargano cost Black the title by mistake so Black blamed Johnny for Ciampa being champion. That looked to set up a triple threat match but Black was attacked in the parking lot, meaning it’s a Last Man Standing match for the title instead.

NXT Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Ciampa is defending in a Last Man Standing match and still comes out with no music. Even the New York fans are all over Ciampa and Johnny jumps him during the entrance to get things going in a hurry. They head outside with Ciampa shoving him into the steps but Johnny whips him into the barricade and pulls the floor mat up. Johnny slips out of a hanging DDT from the barricade and hits a flip dive off the apron. With Percy saying HERE WE GO, Johnny tosses Ciampa at him for another crash.

Ciampa is fine enough for a running White Noise through the Spanish announcers’ table but Johnny is up at eight. They head inside with Ciampa grabbing a chair for some choking in the corner. Ciampa tries a charge but gets a chair pelted at his knee instead. The chair is wedged in the corner but Ciampa slaps on a sleeper in a smart move. The referee says 22 as Ciampa puts his feet on the rope, which is perfectly legal here.

We get the dueling chants as Johnny fights up and Lawn Darts him face first into the chair. It’s table time with Johnny stacking up two of them with one upside down on top of the other. Not wanting to die off a suplex through the tables, Ciampa reverses into some rolling German suplexes, followed by chair shots to the back. Three straight Project Ciampas have Johnny mostly dead and Ciampa sits down to watch the count. That’s such a heel move. Johnny somehow pulls himself up for a superkick and they’re both down.

A slugout goes to Gargano and he rolls over for the kick to the head. The slingshot spear is countered into the Fairy Tale Ending (Angel’s Wings) but Johnny reverses that with a hurricanrana. Now it’s Johnny’s turn for a German suplex and a double clothesline puts them both down again. They’re up at ONE and slug it out again until Johnny hits a clothesline but can’t follow up. Ciampa rolls outside and Gargano is up at nine for another superkick from the apron.

The Cannonball misses though and Gargano lands with a thud. The Fairy Tale Ending on the steps knocks Gargano silly again for nine, though he’s down again at nine and a half. Gargano can’t remember what planet he’s on so Ciampa starts cutting up the ring mat, which is how he won in Chicago. That takes too long though and Gargano sprays him with a fire extinguisher before pulling out the faithful old crutch. That’s broken over Ciampa’s back and Gargano hits his own hanging DDT onto the exposed wood.

Ciampa slides out at nine again so Gargano suicide dives him onto the announcers’ table. A superkick hits a production worker by mistake so Ciampa hits a running knee to drive a chair into Gargano’s head. Ciampa isn’t done yet though as he buries Gargano underneath everything he can find, including the barricade, a bunch of chairs and the unconscious production worker. That’s only good for nine and Ciampa falls down in disbelief.

With nothing else working, Ciampa tries to handcuff Johnny but gets punched in the face instead. Now it’s Johnny trying to handcuff him, only to get elbowed right back. Instead they fight over towards the tables set up a long time ago and a superkick puts Ciampa through the wood. Johnny can’t even look at Ciampa uses the crutch to get himself up (smart move). Ciampa tells him to follow up the ramp so Gargano does just that, eventually locking on the Gargano Escape to make him tap. With that not working, Gargano cuffs him to a piece of the stage.

Ciampa begs off but Johnny grabs him by the beard and superkicks him in the face again. Johnny yells that Ciampa did this as Ciampa keeps getting to his feet at seven, though he can’t stay up due to the cuffs. The knee pad comes down and Johnny hits the running knee but goes flying off the stage and into a bunch of equipment, injuring his knee in the process. Ciampa comes off the stage and lands on his feet to retain at 33:55.

Rating: A. It’s very good, but it’s not quite up to the level of their previous matches. To be fair though, that’s not exactly something you can ask them to do given how incredible the first two were. The other problem is having three straight incredibly brutal and violent matches in a row was pushing it a bit too far. It’s still a great match though and when this was just below the masterpieces they did the first two times, they’re in pretty awesome shape.

Overall Rating: A+. What does it say when these shows have figured out how to be so good for so long in a row that the surprise and shock factors are just gone? It’s an amazing show and one of the best of the year, but that’s what you expect from these things anymore. That’s the kind of place that almost no wrestling company has ever been to and I have no idea how to react to something like this.

It’s another outstanding show with Dream vs. EC3 lagging behind in a match that was only a solid “good to very good”. Come on guys, pick up the slack already. The formula NXT has figured out should be required reading (possibly omitting the sections about the budget and having WWE hand pick all this talent) as they know how to get the most out of everyone they have. These are compelling stories with insanely great matches to blow them off. That’s great wrestling, and this was another instant classic show.

Results

Undisputed Era b. Moustache Mountain – High/Low to Seven

Velveteen Dream b. EC3 – Purple Rainmaker

Ricochet b. Adam Cole – 630

Kairi Sane b. Shayna Baszler – Rollup

Tommaso Ciampa b. Johnny Gargano – Gargano couldn’t answer the ten count

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-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

You can tell it’s serious when you get to part four. This show has become NXT’s flagship event of the year, even beating the annual Wrestlemania weekend show. They’ve had to change the main event around due to an injury, but since NXT is the charmed/prepared promotion, they’ve managed to switch the match up into something that may work even better. Imagine that: a promotion actually having a backup plan and making it a good one. Let’s get to it.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler(c) vs. Kairi Sane

The more I think about this one, the less sure I am about anything. In theory, Baszler is holding onto the title for the sake of eventually dropping it to a fired up Dakota Kai. However, Kai hasn’t exactly done much as of late and that part of the story seems to be over. Maybe they’re going with the long game, but every week that goes by makes it seem less likely. So where do we go from here instead?

Well I think it’s going on to find someone else to take the title from Baszler, because I don’t see Sane doing it. Sane has defeated her before in a good match last year, but I don’t think she wins the rubber match. Baszler is awesome at the moment and whoever takes the title from her is going to get a heck of a rub. The thing is Sane is already over and doesn’t need the title, though she does need something. I just don’t think it happens here as Baszler retains the title.

Velveteen Dream vs. EC3

I know I’ve said this a lot, but Dream needs to win this match. The problem is, you can only say that so many times before it stops mattering. At least that’s the case most of the time, but Dream has a special kind of charisma where his wins and losses almost don’t matter. He’s at the point where he’s the gatekeeper to the higher levels of NXT and while that’s a good spot to be in for the sake of security, you can only be there for so long without winning something of note.

That being said, I’ll take him to win here in the upset. EC3 is still pretty new around NXT and that would make him the likely candidate to pick up the win, but I think Dream finally gets the big win (beating Kassius Ohno seven months ago doesn’t count). You can easily make this a cheating win for Dream, who needs to do something to cut off all of the face reactions he’s receiving. EC3 can bounce back and even win the rematch, but Dream has to get something and soon.

North American Title: Adam Cole(c) vs. Ricochet

It’s kind of amazing how similar Ricochet and Dream are, especially when they’re so different on the surface. It turns out that they’re in a similar situation though as Ricochet needs a win as well, but it’s not as bad as Dream’s situation. Ricochet is clearly destined to be a big star on the roster (both developmental and main) but in a way it’s the Andre the Giant syndrome: if you put the title on him, you have to take it off of him. Having him lose clean would be a bad idea but here, you have the option of the Undisputed Era helping Cole retain.

That’s what I think happens here. Ricochet can have his day later on (and you know that’s coming, perhaps against Tommaso Ciampa should he retain) but for now, Cole retains and loses to someone else in a few months. Just have the Undisputed Era help him (Bobby Fish doesn’t have a match later in the night) and everything falls into place. This is the one that I’m the least sure about, but it’s going to be a fun match regardless of the finish.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era(c) vs. Moustache Mountain

Speaking of the Undisputed Era, they’re defending in the match that is likely to blow the roof off of the Barclays Center. These two have had two rocking matches already and there’s a great chance that they’re going to do it again on the biggest stage they’ve had yet. They’ve already traded the titles so a title change is certainly a possibility.

That being said, I don’t think it’s going to be a reality. Moustache Mountain is a great team but they’re going to be over no matter what they do. Undisputed Era is a team that is defined by the amount of gold that they have and keeping the North American and Tag Team Titles would be a great way to show that off. Throw in some cheating and everything will be fine, including a prodigy like Tyler Bate. The question here is how great can this match be and the answer, much to my delight, is likely quite.

NXT Title: Tommaso Ciampa(c) vs. Johnny Gargano

Last Man Standing and EGADS there are some possibilities here. This was originally going to be a triple threat match also including Aleister Black, but that left you with the pretty obvious ending of Ciampa retaining by pinning Black. Now though, you have SO MANY CHOICES. Do you have Gargano lose and join up with Ciampa? Do you have Gargano finally win the title to end the feud? Do you go to a double knockout and allow them to do the triple threat later? Does Candice LeRae turn on Gargano and join Ciampa? Any of these is a very possible and rather interesting option.

I’m going with….Ciampa retaining but you again I’m not even remotely sure. There are too many ways to go to know something like this for sure and that’s what makes this so much fun. The one thing I know for sure is that these guys are going to beat the living heck out of each other than that’s what they specialize in doing. Throw in the possibility of it tying into whoever attacked Black and this is the most interesting thing on the show by a wide margin.

Overall Thoughts

This is another show where the card looks great and there isn’t a single thing on there that makes me think it’s going to be bad. NXT knows how to tear the freaking house down and I have no doubt that they’re going to do it all over again here. This show should be a complete blast and if the previous Brooklyn events are any indications, we’re in for a fun night all around.

Oh and no Matt Riddle. Just a hunch that is likely to be wrong.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-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: August 8, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

It’s time for a big match this week with Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano. These two have a shared enemy in Tommaso Ciampa, who won the NXT Title thanks to Gargano accidentally knocking Black out. We’re very close to Takeover and that means we need a main event, which is likely to be announced tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at Gargano costing Black the title, which really was a well done piece of business.

Opening sequence.

Nikki Cross vs. Amber Nova

Nikki drives her into the corner and laughs a lot so the spunky Nova tries a hurricanrana. That’s blocked without much effort so Nova uses the legs to pull Nikki face first into the top turnbuckle. A straitjacket choke has Nikki in trouble for a few moments but Nova gets thrown down with ease. The fisherman’s neckbreaker finishes Nova at 3:24.

Rating: D+. This was actually a few steps above a squash with Nova getting to shine a little bit. Cross is in a weird place as she’s no longer in the Women’s Title picture and doesn’t really have a story at the moment. That’s one of the good things about NXT though: they’re smart enough to put these people on TV, even in short matches like this, just to keep things fresh.

Video on Keith Lee, who debuts tonight.

Ricochet comes out for a match but gets jumped by the Undisputed Era. Adam Cole promises to mangle Ricochet at Takeover.

Vanessa Borne’s plan for tonight: win the match and qualify for the Mae Young Classic. Tonight the world is getting the vision that it deserves. She yells at the interviewers for taking up too much of her time.

Adrian Jauode vs. Kassius Ohno

Jauode, who looks a lot like Tommaso Ciampa, is in a sleeveless gi and has a martial arts background. Some cartwheels distract Ohno and Jauode takes him to the mat. That goes nowhere as Ohno kicks him in the face and drops the backsplash. Another big boot has Jauode in trouble but he comes back with a belly to back suplex. Ohno shrugs it off and hits the Dream Crusher for the pin at 2:56.

Earlier today, EC3 went to Velveteen Dream’s home for the Experience. They go for a walk around the pool with EC3 thinking he’s about to be shoved in. He came here to fight Dream but he’ll wait for Takeover. It’s going to be worth the wait when it’s the one (“allegedly”) vs. the top 1%. Dream doesn’t care for being disrespected like that but drops his sunglasses. EC3 picks them up and sends a charging Dream into the water. Dream seems to be drowning but EC3 points out that it’s three feet deep and everything is fine. This was as odd as you would expect a trip to Dream’s house to be.

Marcel Barthel vs. Keith Lee

Barthel is German and the h is silent. Lee is nicknamed Limitless and weighs 325lbs but can wrestle like a cruiserweight. The fans are way behind Lee as Barthel looks concerned. Barthel: “NEIN!” Lee pops him with a left hand and shouts the exact same thing. A leapfrog into a dropkick has Barthel down again but he’s back up with a corner enziguri. Lee misses a charge in the corner but easily blocks a suplex attempt. Barthel gets knocked away with something like a pounce, followed by a fireman’s carry into a Jackhammer for the pin at 4:24.

Rating: C+. You would have expected a squash here but Barthel didn’t look bad at all. He has a good look, he had a presence and his stuff looked good. That being said, this was all about Lee, who is an athletic freak and can do things that people his size just shouldn’t be able to do. His progress around here should be interesting to see.

The Street Profits are at an ATM for an episode of Street Talk, where they rip on the Mighty, both for being Australian and for talking weirdly. They meet next week.

Mae Young Classic Qualifying Match: Vanessa Borne vs. Taynara Conti

Conti is in a gi as well. Borne isn’t interested in fighting over a lockup to start and sends Conti face first into the buckle. With shouts of I DESERVE IT, Borne takes her to the mat for a dragon sleeper. That’s broken up and Conti kicks at the arm but gets smacked in the face. A right hand annoys Conti so she reverses a crucifix into a spinning slam for the pin at 4:05. That looked like it was edited as I don’t think Conti hit it very clean. I think it was supposed to end in a Rock Bottom or side slam but Conti just shoved her down instead.

Rating: D+. I’ll give them some points for the surprise ending there as Borne seemed like the big star and just got pinned clean. They like to go for the international picks in the Mae Young Classic so going with the Brazilian wrestler is a smarter way to go. Borne is already somewhat established so a win over here means a little something for Conti.

Quick look at Kairi Sane saving Candice LeRae from Shayna Bazler last week.

Next week: Sane vs. Aaliyah and Tyler Bate vs. Roderick Strong.

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velazquez is here.

Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano

They go right at each other to start and Black scores first with a hard kick to the chest. Gargano rolls over for a kick to the head and that means the suicide dive. As one fan is VERY pro-Black, Johnny throws him back in for some stomps in the corner. The slingshot spear is countered with a knee to the face and Black wants Gargano to look at him. They trade clotheslines and kicks for a double knockdown but here’s Ciampa to throw Gargano outside for the DQ at 2:30. I’m glad they kept this very short as Gargano vs. Black is a match that should get the full on treatment instead of going long and then having interference.

Ciampa beats them both up as the fans chant for a triple threat. Gargano gets in a shot on him so Ciampa bails, leaving Black and Gargano to fight some more. Referees break it up but here’s William Regal to make a triple threat for the title in Brooklyn to end the show. Somehow that’s the first ever triple threat NXT Title match in Takeover history (assuming it happens due to Black’s injury).

Overall Rating: B-. This was a different kind of show as they touched on a bunch of stuff while also setting up the big main event. A bunch of wrestlers got some focus tonight and that’s a good thing, especially with so many people on the NXT roster. The wrestling was nothing great but the storytelling was there and that’s the more important thing. Good show here and a way to make me care about Takeover that much more.

Results

Nikki Cross b. Amber Nova – Fisherman’s neckbreaker

Kassius Ohno b. Adrian Jauode – Dream Crusher

Keith Lee b. Marcel Barthel – Fireman’s carry Jackhammer

Taynara Conti b. Vanessa Borne – Spinning Slam

Johnny Gargano b. Aleister Black via DQ when Tommaso Ciampa interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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