IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kairi Sane is here.

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

Velveteen Dream vs. Ricochet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Women’s Title: Nikki Cross vs. Shayna Baszler

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

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

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

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

EC3 is here.

Keith Lee (making his debut) is here.

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

NXT Title: Aleister Black vs. Lars Sullivan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

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

Ricochet b. Velveteen Dream – 630 Splash

Shayna Baszler b. Nikki Cross – Kirifuda Clutch

Aleister Black b. Lars Sullivan – Black Mass

Tommaso Ciampa b. Johnny Gargano – Hanging DDT

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. War Raiders b. TM61

2. EC3 b. Fabian Aichner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

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

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

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

War Raiders vs. George Hickson/Cody Vincent

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

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

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

EC3 vs. Fabian Aichner

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

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

Ricochet vs. Chris Dijak

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

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

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

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler vs. Dakota Kai

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

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

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

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

Results

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

EC3 b. Fabian Aichner – One Percenter

Ricochet b. Chris Dijak – 630

Shayna Baszler b. Dakota Kai – Kirifuda Clutch

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: May 23, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

The build to Chicago is slowly taking form with Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch looking likely to challenge for the Tag Team Titles. Other than that, we really don’t have anything set up yet. That being said, NXT has an amazing track record of being able to catch up in a hurry so it’s not like they’re in any real trouble. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jonathan Coachman is in the front row.

Heavy Machinery vs. TM61

Dozovic goes with the power to start and runs Thorn over with a shoulder, followed by a double shoulder to give Knight two. Everything breaks down for a few seconds with Miller being run over as well while Thorn is put in the Tree of Woe. That allows Miller to be driven into his partner’s ribs as this is one sided so far. A shot to the back cuts Knight off though and the fans stay completely behind Heavy Machinery.

Mauro makes a rare mistake by saying TM61 made it to the finals of the first Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (it was the second) as the beating continues, including a clothesline to the back of Knight’s head. A double suplex takes both Miller and Thorn down in an impressive power display and it’s back to Dozovic to speed things up. The Caterpillar Elbow gets two on Miller but Dozovic takes WAY too long going up, even stopping to wipe himself down. The delay allows Thorn to kick him in the face so Miller can get a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 7:23.

Rating: D+. Cheating wins are better than boring matches where I can’t remember what happened so this is an upgrade for TM61. I still like Heavy Machinery but they’ve hit their ceiling and are falling back to earth. To be fair, it’s not like the team had much of a chance to go very far in the first place. At least they’re still fun and the fans seem to like them quite a bit.

Video on Bianca Belair. Next week, we get a special sitdown interview.

Video on EC3. He brags about taking over NXT in just three matches, so imagine what he can do in number four.

Kairi Sane vs. Lacey Evans

Sane dropkicks her in the face at the bell so Evans hits one of the loudest chops in recent memory. A reverse DDT gets two on Evans but she kicks Sane down and grabs a chinlock. Evans starts in on the arm and keeps being aggressive with a bunch of stomping in the corner. We hit a neck crank for a bit before Sane fights up for a running ax kick. There’s the Interceptor spear and the sliding forearm in the corner, sending Lacey outside. Sane goes up but dives into the Woman’s Right for the big upset pin at 5:03.

Rating: C. Evans getting a win is a major boost for her and that’s what the women’s division needs right now. Sane continues to wait for the big push off but it just doesn’t seem to be in the cards. You would think her challenging Shayna Baszler for the Women’s Title would make sense but at the moment, we’re still waiting for it to take off.

The injured Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae arrive and have an announcement on his future. They’ll make that in the ring in front of the people though.

We look at the end of last week’s show with the Undisputed Era losing to Pete Dunne/Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch.

Lorcan and Burch want a title shot.

The Undisputed Era blow the loss off as the luckiest night of the British guys’ lives. There’s no reason to give them a title shot but Strong wants to face Burch next week.

Lars Sullivan vs. Velveteen Dream/Ricochet

Fallout from Sullivan interfering Dream vs. Ricochet last week. Ricochet can’t do anything with the power to start so Dream comes in for some alternating right hands and a double dropkick. That’s not enough to put the big guy down so Ricochet goes up for a springboard missile dropkick to finally get Sullivan off his feet.

They stay on him with the running forearms in the corner and a kick to the head gets Ricochet out of trouble. Superkicks put Sullivan down for a double two but he won’t stand for a double suplex. One heck of a clothesline puts Ricochet on the floor and Dream gets tossed away. We hit the chinlock with Sullivan throwing in some crossface shots for good measure.

Dream fights up and tries for the tag, only to be thrown right back down. A top rope headbutt gets two on Dream with Ricochet making a save. That doesn’t sit well with Sullivan and the distraction lets Dream kick him down and make the hot tag. More kicks to the head set up a standing shooting star for two. Ricochet nails a springboard 450 but Dream turns on him with the Death Valley Bomb. Dream walks away and the Freak Accident gives Sullivan the pin at 9:47.

Rating: B-. That’s a smart way to end the match and really, there’s not much of an excuse for Sullivan to not be #1 contender. Seeing Aleister Black trying to kick him in the head could be interesting and the drama could be awesome. Dream vs. Ricochet in Chicago should get quite the reaction and give one of them a big win.

Next week, Dakota Kai gets a Women’s Title match.

Kai is worried but ready to fight because this is what means so much to her. Baszler comes in and says Kai has no chance. She makes fun of Kai for being scared and leaves with Kai almost cowering in fear.

Here are Gargano and LeRae for their big announcement. Gargano talks about being here last time and everything that happened to him while he was here. After the attack by Tommaso Ciampa, he sat down with Candice and started to think about his future. With everything that’s happened and after talking to Candice, he knows it’s worth it and wants Ciampa out here RIGHT NOW.

Candice tries to talk him out of this but the neck brace is off. Cue Ciampa on the stage as LeRae runs through the crowd. Ciampa comes to the ring and here’s LeRae again with referees to get between them before anything can happen. Candice gets him away but Ciampa says be a good little boy and listen to your wife. Gargano charges the ring but gets knocked off the apron, right into Candice, who is slammed onto the ramp. Even Ciampa looks like that was too far and everyone checks on Candice to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Some good wrestling and even better storyline development makes it another solid hour of NXT. Chicago should be a lot of fun and the card is starting to come together. You can get to five matches without much trouble and the crowd is going to more than carry any issues the show might have. Another good outing this week, as expected.

Results

TM61 b Heavy Machinery – Rollup with feet on the ropes

Lacey Evans b. Kairi Sane – Woman’s Right

Lars Sullivan b. Ricochet/Velveteen Dream – Freak Accident to Ricochet

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: May 16, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson

We’re a month away from Takeover: Chicago and that means we need a card. If there’s one thing NXT is capable of doing, it’s putting together a card in a hurry. There’s a bunch of stuff already set up and that’s enough to build a show in just a few weeks. If nothing else you can probably set up Gargano vs. Ciampa II. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Johnny Gargano’s music starts but it’s Tommaso Ciampa instead for a swerve. He says that he’s won the war with Gargano because Johnny has been broken and dispatched. Now there is only Ciampa. This brings out Candice LeRae to say that she’s done. She’s done putting up with the man who stood next to her and her husband on their wedding day. All Ciampa has to remember is that Gargano was better than him.

Ciampa says that Johnny may be better than him, but he’s more of a man than Gargano. That’s why Johnny sent Candice out here to do this for him. Candice talked about their wedding and it made Tommaso wonder how she was marrying Gargano. That earns him a slap to the face and Ciampa walks away. I know NXT is smart enough to not consider turning LeRae, but that’s what it felt like they were planting seeds for here.

Brandi Lauren vs. Lacey Evans

Lauren appeared in TNA as Ava Storie. Evans sends her into the corner for a chop and punches her down, setting up a picture perfect middle rope moonsault. A hard right hand (the Woman’s Right) is good for the pin on Lauren at 1:23.

Post match Kairi Sane runs out and spears Evans, who bails from the threat of an Insane Elbow.

We look back at Ricochet and Velveteen Dream’s exchange last week.

Aleister Black says if Ricochet thinks he’s the one and only, come prove it. He’s ready for them both.

Dakota Kai doesn’t know what’s up with Nikki Cross, who pops up with her own phone like a reporter and asks when Kai will be facing Shayna Baszler. As usual, Cross sounds like a psycho and says fight over and over.

Velveteen Dream vs. Ricochet

The fans like both of these guys, even as Ricochet works on an armbar. Dream can’t nip out of a headscissors so they trade headlocks instead. Back up and Dream armdrags him to the floor but Ricochet slides in for an enziguri. The threat of a dive has Dream sliding back in and landing right in front of Ricochet in the superhero pose. They fight into the corner and here’s Lars Sullivan to jump Ricochet for the DQ at 3:43, though they’ll call it a no contest because he beats Dream up a few seconds later.

Rating: C. It was fun while it lasted but this was angle advancement instead of a big time match. I’m glad they went with this ending because this could be a big time match and they would be foolish to put it in the middle of a regular episode of NXT. Ricochet is so smooth in the ring and Velveteen is like a more athletic Goldust from the 90s (well, the PG version at least) and that’s a very interesting combination.

Lars beats them both up and, indeed, it’s announced as a no contest.

Kona Reeves vs. Raul Mendoza

Reeves cranks on the arm and runs Raul over before going more aggressive with a bunch of stomping in the corner. A falling middle rope elbow hits Mendoza (ala Ted DiBiase, who Mauro was comparing Reeves to at the time) and it’s off to a cobra clutch, which can’t be a coincidence. Raul breaks out with a jawbreaker and an enziguri but Reeves kicks him out of the air. The Hawaiian Drop puts Raul away at 3:47.

Rating: D. I still have no idea what they’re seeing in Reeves because it’s not coming out here. There’s no real edge to him and his work isn’t great, especially that rather bad finisher. If they went with the Million Dollar Man idea it would at least be something but this is just “hey he’s Hawaiian”. If nothing else have him use different people’s offense every week or something. Just….more than this.

Ricochet is trying to get into Regal’s office when Dream shows up to do the same. They both want Sullivan and go into the office together.

Heavy Machinery talked about eating steaks with their mothers on Mother’s Day when they ran into TM61, who make fun of Machinery eating too much. A match is set up for next week. Otis says anyplace anytime, but I think he means at Full Sail and he’s specified a time.

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch/Pete Dunne vs. Undisputed Era

Strong bails from Dunne to start and it’s off to O’Reilly vs. Burch. Danny takes him to the mat without much effort and grabs a headlock. O’Reilly gets him into the corner and it’s time for the rotating villainous knees to the ribs. They start in on the arm but Burch slips out of a fireman’s carry and drags Strong to the corner for the tag to Dunne. It’s time to start cranking on the arm and goes for the fingers, even as everyone else comes in.

Everything breaks down and Burch gets two off a clothesline. Dunne gets sent outside though and it’s a fireman’s carry backbreaker into a running kick to Burch’s chest for two. With everyone else on the floor, Burch snaps off a Crossface on O’Reilly. Everyone else comes back in and Dunne armbars Cole while Lorcan gets a half crab on Strong.

Roderick kicks Lorcan off and the domino effect finally breaks up the Crossface. Dunne and Cole fall to the floor and the regular teams slug it out inside. O’Reilly hits Cole by mistake though and Lorcan Blockbusters both of them at the same time. A wheelbarrow DDT ends Strong at 11:22.

Rating: B-. This feels like a preview for the British Strong Style vs. Undisputed Era match that has to be coming. If nothing else it sets up the Tag Team Title match at Takeover and you could probably make Dunne vs. Cole down the line (if nothing else, at Takeover as well) as a bonus. On the top of the list though, it’s NXT taking two people with talent but not doing much and turning them into something. That’s nice to see being done properly.

Next week: Dream/Ricochet vs. Sullivan in a handicap match.

The Brits want the belts to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a storyline development show and it came at the right time. They needed to start setting things up for next month and that’s exactly what they did here. Instead of doing random matches that don’t get you anywhere or a week of stand alone stuff, NXT put together a show that addressed multiple stories at once and probably gave us three matches for Takeover that can be announced in the coming weeks. As usual, well done.

Results

Lacey Evans b. Brandi Lauren – Woman’s Right

Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream went to a no contest when Lars Sullivan interfered

Kona Reeves b. Raul Mendoza – Hawaiian Drop

Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan/Pete Dunne b. Undisputed Era – Wheelbarrow DDT to Strong

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: May 9, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

We’re in that odd period of NXT as we’re too far away from the next Takeover to really start building there but too far from the previous Takeover to deal with fallout. NXT is capable of pulling off something in the meantime though and that should be more than enough to bridge the gap. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s Ricochet to get things going. Everywhere he’s gone in his career, he’s tried to have people talking about him. Over Wrestlemania weekend, his goal was to leave people talking. You can call it confidence or cockiness but it’s who he is. Now the only thing on his mind is the NXT Championship but here’s Velveteen Dream to interrupt. Dream says no no no and wants to know who gave Ricochet the authority to come out here and ask for title shots. He needs Ricochet to take a step back and asks about the One and Only nickname.

Dream questions if Ricochet makes things look good because Ricochet is looking at the one experience. Ricochet can jump around all he wants but remember he’ll land in the back of the line behind the Dream. Ricochet says Dream is a lot, but he’s not Ricochet so enjoy the spotlight while you can. That’s fine with Dream, because anything Ricochet can do, Dream can do better. Ricochet: “Prove it.” Dream teases throwing a punch but drops to the mat instead, leaving after Ricochet winks at him. I could go for this feud, but I’m not sure where Dream goes if he loses another big match.

Raul Mendoza vs. EC3

Mendoza grabs a headlock to start, followed by a missile dropkick. EC3 is right back with a reverse bulldog driver (I’m not sure how much that would hurt) and sends him face first into a buckle. A TKO is good for the pin (with two hands on the chest for the cover) at 2:44.

Post match EC3 says he doesn’t care about losing at Takeover because adversity makes a man. The only thing you’ll see out of him going forward is victory after victory. Then this place will be NX3.

Last week Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch told Pete Dunne that they don’t like him but they’ll have his back because they don’t like Undisputed Era either. Dunne leaves without saying anything. That’s about what I expected.

Dakota Kai vs. Vanessa Bourne

Kai hits a running dropkick but misses a running version in the corner. Bourne is right back with a kick to the ribs and a swinging fisherman’s neckbreaker for two. We hit the double arm crank for a bit before Kai is back up with more kicks. Now the running kick in the corner rocks Bourne, followed by a running sunset flip into a Backstabber (cool) for the pin on Bourne at 2:36.

Post match Shayna Baszler comes out and Kai is terrified. Shayna drops the title and chokes Bourne off as Kai leaves in fear (with Baszler staring her down) instead of making a save. When Kai stands up for herself, many months from now, the pop is going to be crazy.

Back from a break with Kai being unsure what just happened. Baszler comes in and tells her to do something about it. Kai still can’t move so Shayna laughs and leaves. Kai hears more laughter and Nikki Cross is hanging from piece of metal and laughing at her too. Now that’s kind of interesting.

Heavy Machinery vs. War Raiders

Rowe and Dozovic start things off and it breaks down into a four way forearm slugout in no time. Knight gets sent outside and Dozovic gets kneed in the ribs. He’s still able to suplex Hanson down so it’s off to Knight vs. Rowe. Hanson is right back in with a suicide dive to Dozovic, leaving Knight to take Fallout for the pin at 2:52. That’s all this needed to be.

We look back at TM61 cheating to defeat the Street Profits.

The Profits are training because this is serious.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Kassius Ohno

Still no music for Ciampa. Ohno takes it to the floor early on and sends Ciampa into the barricade. One heck of a right hand sends Ciampa back into the ring but he snaps Ohno’s throat across the top rope. A running knee to the head rocks Ohno again and a kick to the side of the head puts him down as Ciampa asks if Ohno is Gargano’s big brother. Ohno blocks a chop and hits a bicycle kick. It’s time to go simple as Ohno stands on Ciampa’s head and then drops an exposed knee onto Ciampa’s damaged eye.

A shot to the face knocks something out of Ciampa’s mouth and puts on a cravate choke into something like a Bubba Bomb (with a cravate instead of a full nelson) for two. Ciampa is right back and pulls at Ohno’s eye, setting up a running knee to the back of the head for a near fall of his own (I thought that was it). A clothesline sets up a neckbreaker into a faceplant to put Ohno away at 9:32. Mauro is LIVID that Ciampa won.

Rating: C+. I can appreciate the idea of Ciampa as a violent guy who wants to injure people but sweet goodness he needs to switch those last two big moves up. A neckbreaker faceplant is a move that anyone could use and doesn’t look nearly as good as the running knee. It doesn’t fit the violent nature that Ciampa had been going for all match and didn’t feel like the end of the match. The rest was the right call with Ohno out for blood to avenge his friend and Ciampa not caring because he wanted to hurt someone. Just fix that finish.

Post match Ciampa hits Ohno in the back of the head with his knee brace and chokes him with it. Ciampa shouts that he broke Johnny’s spirit and broke Candace’s heart so the Gargano fairy tale is over.

Overall Rating: B. What more could you ask for? They covered about six stories in less than an hour and didn’t even touch the Undisputed Era or Aleister Black. As I’ve said before, if there’s one thing NXT knows how to do, it’s make everything feel like the most important thing in the world. This show flies by and that’s far more than you get anywhere else. Another very good show here that makes me want to see what they have in store.

Results

EC3 b. Raul Mendoza – TKO

Dakota Kai b. Vanessa Bourne – Sunset Backstabber

War Raiders b. Heavy Machinery – Fallout to Knight

Tommaso Ciampa b. Kassius Ohno – Neckbreaker into a faceplant

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Takeover: New Orleans
Date: April 7, 2018
Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

As is so often the case with Takeover, the card for this show looks incredible. As isn’t so often the case with Takeover, Wrestlemania looks very good as well. I don’t remember the last time WWE outdid NXT but maybe that can be the case tonight. You know, assuming NXT falls apart at one of these for the first time ever. Let’s get to it.

Here’s the go home show if you need a recap.

I was in the arena for this show, sitting in the lower bowl on the hard camera side with the ring on my left.

We open with the lights off and a few glow sticks in the air. There were supposed to be far more as Mike Rome announced that everyone should have gotten some. A WE WANT GLOW STICKS chant broke out and the scene really isn’t as good as it should have been. Anyway, Cane Hill performs a heck of a theme song with It Follows. This was great and a solid way to open the show, especially rather than doing the performance in the middle of the show.

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

Ladder match for the inaugural title with Ricochet and EC3 (who is still said to be coming from a rich family) making their in-ring debuts. Cole is the heavy crowd favorite with Ricochet a close second but anyone is a potential winner. The fans declare this awesome before the opening bell, and can you really blame them?

EC3 bails to the floor and it’s Dain/Sullivan clearing the ring for the big showdown. The two of them head outside as well, leaving Ricochet to springboard into a shooting star press to drop them in short order. Now that we’re a minute into the match, it’s time to go for the first ladder but Dream pulls Ricochet down. Back in and Ricochet moonsaults into a headscissors before snapping off a dropkick. He’s already one of the smoothest high fliers you’ll ever see in NXT and this is a heck of a first impression.

Cole pulls Dream off the ladder, setting up the fireman’s carry neckbreaker. EC3 comes in but Sullivan and Dain are right back to clean house. Dain suicide dives onto Sullivan (because a man his size can just do that) and picks up EC3 and Ricochet at the same time. Cole makes the save but Sullivan throws a ladder at everyone else to clear the ring. It’s time to hammer away with said ladder, including the Terry Funk ladder around the head to swing away. I’ve missed that spot.

Dream gets dropped ribs first onto the ladder and it’s time for Sullivan to climb. That’s actually booed out of the building, which really surprised me. Ricochet, EC3 and Dream powerbomb him off the ladder but Dain pulls Cole off the ladder. Dain backdrops Ricochet onto a ladder in the corner and it’s time for EC3 and Cole to team up for some house cleaning. They bridge a ladder from the announcers’ table to the apron and there’s no way this could end well.

Back in and EC3 does Cole’s pose, earning himself a trip into the ladder as well. Superkicks abound and Cole shows us how to really do the pose. Dream comes in with some Purple Rainmakers, including one to Ricochet after the referee moves the ladder. Sullivan and Dream are left alone with Lars charging into a ladder shot….and it’s time to climb the big ladder. In the spot of the match (so far), Dream drops the HUGE Purple Rainmaker (getting ABOVE THE TITLE), possibly breaking everything in the process.

EC3 is up with a powerbomb to put Dream onto the ladder though and it’s time for another climb. This time it’s Cole making the save, earning himself a TK3 (TKO) off the ladder for a huge crash. The fans declare this awesome (perceptive crowd) as Dain gets up and crushes EC3 with a Vader Bomb onto a ladder onto EC3. Dain loads up another one, but this time Cole jumps on his back. That means a DOUBLE VADER BOMB onto the ladder onto EC3. A quick look into EC3’s mind likely sees him screaming “I LEFT IMPACT FOR THIS???”

Ricochet breaks up another Sullivan vs. Dain fight but Sullivan throws him across the ring. Dain picks him up (Fans: “THROW HIM BACK!”) and does just what the fans want, meaning it’s the big slugout at last. Sullivan plants him and goes up with Ricochet making the save. Ricochet goes up but the ladder is shoved over….so he MOONSAULTS OFF AS IT GOES DOWN, taking out Dain and Cole in the process. I don’t even know how you do that but he pulled it off like a good Kentucky boy.

EC3 chops Ricochet in the ring but gets kicked down, setting up a shooting star onto the ladder. Dream FINALLY comes back in (after spending a long time being attended to on the floor thanks to being busted open earlier) and is promptly punched in the face. A ladder is bridged between the standing ladder and the corner so Dream hits the rolling Death Valley Driver to drive Ricochet onto but not through the bridge. Egads that was a scary looking one, but compared to everything else in the match it was almost tame. That’s nuts.

We haven’t had carnage in all of ten seconds so Sullivan puts Dream on the bridged ladder outside the ring and gives EC3 a Freak Accident through Dream through the ladder. Mauro absolutely loses his mind (again) and the three of them are dead. I’m not sure why Sullivan is but that’s WWE for you. Dain isn’t about to be outdone and puts Ricochet on another bridged ladder and hits a World’s Strongest Slam on Cole, driving him through Ricochet to put all six down at once.

The fans want them to fight forever but settle for Sullivan and Dain climbing the ladder inside. EC3 slows them down with some ladder shots to the ribs and climbs another with Cole going up the other side. Of course Dream and Ricochet climb their own ladder, putting all six up on ladders at the same time. Cole gets knocked off but climbs back up to grab a Russian legsweep on EC3.

Dream touches the title but Ricochet neckbreakers him down as well. A Freak Accident brings Dain down as well and all six are on the mat again. Sullivan, with blood coming down the side of his face, goes up but Ricochet springboards up and lands on his back, breaking one of the ladders in the process to put everyone down again. Cole turns the ladder over and gets the title for the win at 31:25.

Rating: A+. Like this could possibly get anything else. There are matches where they have a major story going on and all kinds of stories tied in at the same time. Then there are matches with so much carnage and violence with near title grabs and crazy spots. This would be the latter and my goodness it was incredible. These six guys left EVERYTHING they had in the ring and there was so much stuff that made your eyes bug out. It also helps that the match was a complete pick em coming in, making this one of the best ladder matches I’ve ever seen. Watch this as soon as you can.

Andrade Cien Almas and Zelina Vega are in the back. Not exactly noteworthy but this cut off in the arena.

We recap Shayna Baszler vs. Ember Moon. Baszler has run roughshod over the division so far but got caught in a quick fall against Moon. Baszler talked about ignoring the system and getting exactly what she wanted in the process. She got underneath Ember’s skin and Ember challenged her to another match. Tonight is the rematch with Baszler a little more experienced and ready to take the title.

Ronda Rousey and Jessamyn Duke are in the front row (in the same spot as all other guests tonight) to cheer Baszler on.

Women’s Title: Ember Moon vs. Shayna Baszler

Moon is defending and gets played to the ring. It’s not bad but pales in comparison to the pretty awesome opening song. Moon misses a charge at the bell and gets punched right in the face. They head outside early on with Moon sanding her into the steps, followed by a middle rope Codebreaker for two back inside. Baszler catches a kick from the apron though and sends Moon face first instead.

Back in and the chinlock doesn’t last long, allowing Moon to get in a hard palm strike. They’re certainly going back and forth here and that’s not the worst idea in the world. A knee to the face gives Baszler two but her rear naked choke is countered as Moon drops her down onto the mat for a break. Baszler steps on her hand and loads up a big stomp but Moon switches places (like a magician) and stomps on Baszler’s arm instead.

Shayna is in real trouble as her arm is hanging there but catches Moon on top and kicks her in the face. With Moon down, Baszler RAMS HER OWN SHOULDER INTO THE POST to pop it back into socket. Well that certainly….works? I think? Baszler rolls outside and gets caught with the Eclipse (Moon is going to shatter her tailbone one day) to the floor. Moon can’t follow up so Baszler grabs the Kirafuta Clutch back inside before switching into a triangle choke.

That’s broken up by a powerbomb for two and Moon is either shocked by the pain or the near fall. The second Eclipse is countered into another Kirafuta Clutch (first time it’s been countered) with one arm (didn’t notice that live). Ember goes for the ropes and fights for a very long time, even cranking on the bad arm, before eventually collapsing, giving Baszler the title at 12:55.

Rating: B. There was a story being told here with Moon being angered to the point of trying to play Baszler’s game instead of going with what brought her to the dance. Baszler had also studied the Eclipse since last time and was ready for it this time around, allowing her to catch Moon and win the title. It was a heck of a fight with Moon trying, but there was no doubt that Baszler was getting the title here. Throw in the spot on the card (this was the only thing that could have followed the ladder match) and this was a rousing success.

Baszler celebrates with Rousey and Duke.

Paige introduces us to a clip from the movie about her family. I saw this so many times over the weekend that I’ve almost memorized Rock’s joke.

Adam Cole isn’t sure he can wrestle the Tag Team Title match. This also cut off early in the arena.

We recap the Tag Team Title match/Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic final. The Undisputed Era interfered in the final so it was turned into a triple threat for both the trophy and the titles. Adam Cole is filling in for the injured Bobby Fish as William Regal continues to stick it to the Undisputed Era.

Tag Team Titles/Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: Roderick Strong/Pete Dunne vs. Authors of Pain vs. Undisputed Era

The Era is defending (and challenging for the trophy at the same time). The Authors won the tournament two years ago (the most recent edition) and Strong and Dunne have been thrown together. Cole is heavily taped up and the Authors waste no time in slugging away to take over. They send Cole outside for a double powerbomb through the announcers’ table for a huge crash as we’re still not even two minutes in.

O’Reilly dives off the apron with a knee to Razar as reality has struck him very quickly. Back in and Dunne goes for O’Reilly’s arm but Kyle is more than capable of escaping. Strong is up with a backbreaker to Kyle and a running knee to Akum. O’Reilly grabs a guillotine to slow Strong down before switching to a triangle choke. Since that’s not enough, Kyle grabs an ankle lock on Akum at the same time. Razar is back up though and powerbombs Dunne onto the pile for the big break.

Everyone else is cleared out so Razar grabs a choke on Strong as this actually turns into a tag match. I’m as shocked as you are. Kyle comes in but walks into a German suplex. He pops up with a shout….and then collapses to the floor in a funny bit. Strong finally kicks him away and it’s off to Dunne with the hot tag. Dunne flips over Kyle and kicks him in the back (with O’Reilly pretty clearly sitting there waiting on it, even looking over his shoulder for the contact).

Rating: B. Not the best match in the world but my goodness that was the right call. Strong just was not working on his own and having him join the Undisputed Era is the best fit for him. He won’t have to talk and O’Reilly needs a new partner with Fish out injured. This was another wild brawl and I’m glad they didn’t bother wasting time trying to have a match. Sometimes it’s just not needed and that was the case here.

Post match Strong takes Cole’s armband and puts it on to officially join the group. The trio heads up to the trophy with Fish joining them, meaning they won a tournament they weren’t even in (notice Vince Russo frantically scribbling things down).

Of note, Goldust and Jeff Jarrett were watching this from the front row. Shane McMahon was on the hard camera side (at least from before this match on) and ran over to hug them during a video package.

Nita Strauss is here.

We recap the NXT Title match, meaning Gargano vs. Ciampa is in its rightful main event slot. Aleister Black wants the NXT Title and has yet to be pinned in a singles match. Andrade Cien Almas, with manager Zelina Vega, has rocketed up the charts and become a heck of a champion in his own right. I could see this one going either way, which isn’t often the case in the title matches.

NXT Title: Andrade Cien Almas vs. Aleister Black

Black is challenging and misses a running boot at the bell. Instead he goes with strikes anywhere he can hit them to put Almas on the floor. The moonsault into the seated position doesn’t rotate enough so he lands on his stomach, only to pop up and moonsault onto the floor to take Almas down again. Some right hands have Almas on the run but Vega hits a hurricanrana off the apron to send Black into the steps. I’m not sure how the referee couldn’t see that but wrestling is funny that way.

Back in and Almas stomps away (Mauro: “Nothing tranquilo about the champion tonight.”) before sending Black shoulder first into the post. The fans are split as Almas gets a backbreaker out of the corner for two and it’s off to a chinlock with an arm crank. Back up and Black knees Almas out of the air and both guys are down. A Lionsault gives Black two more and the fans sounded like they were into the kickout.

Almas kicks him outside for a springboard corkscrew plancha but still can’t put Black away. That means it’s time to bring in the belt as a distraction so Vega can hit another hurricanrana with Black going head first into the mat. Back up and Black Mass hits out of nowhere with Vega putting the foot on the ropes. The heat is strong with this one.

Vega interferes for a FOURTH TIME with a distraction allowing Almas to crotch Black on the ropes. The Alberto Del Rio double stomp connects, thankfully not driving Black down to the apron in the process. Almas scores with the running knees in the corner for a VERY close two and Vega is panicking on the floor.

Black Mass is countered with a dropkick to the back and it’s out to the apron again, this time with the running knees driving Black into the post. Black sends him outside but a quick hammerlock DDT….gets two? Vega has had enough and goes up top, only to get caught by Almas instead. The opening lets Black Mass knock Almas silly for the pin and the title at 18:20.

Rating: A-. I know Johnny Gargano is getting all the praise, but these two deserve some serious consideration for Wrestler of the Year at this point. They just tore the house down and if not for the opener, this would have stolen the show so far. Vega was a great addition here and the ending makes perfect sense: Almas got where he is with Vega’s help and her interference became his downfall. Great match here and I can see why they went with Black, as he’s on fire right now.

We recap Gargano vs. Ciampa, which is nearly a year in the making. They’ve been friends for years and came to NXT as a tag team. After rising all the way to the Tag Team Titles, they came crashing back down, followed by Ciampa tearing his ACL. Ciampa accused Gargano of making the team all about himself even though Ciampa was carrying it. With Ciampa out, Gargano tried to get back to his peak but Ciampa was always in the back of his mind.

Then Ciampa cost him his NXT career, sending Gargano into a rage against Ciampa, stalking him at the Performance Center and even at his house. Ciampa went to William Regal to get rid of Gargano, setting up tonight’s unsanctioned match. If Gargano loses, he’s gone forever. If he wins though, he’s back in NXT. This is an INCREDIBLE build to the point where everyone wants to see Gargano kill Ciampa after everything he’s done but Ciampa looks that dangerous. In other words, this is the main event, full stop.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Anything goes and the referee isn’t in his regular gear because this isn’t sanctioned. Ciampa nails the entrance, slowly walking out with no music and just soaking in the utter hatred from the crowd. This is Ciampa’s first match since May and he looks absolutely chiseled. The place goes nuts for Johnny but it’s not as strong as the hatred for Ciampa. His entrance was just great stuff but it’s all working anyway.

They stare each other down to start and it’s time for the slugout with Gargano getting the better of it (of course). The slingshot spear cuts Ciampa in half and more left hands have him in trouble. Gargano stomps away in the corner as this is ALL Johnny to start with the fans loving him more every time he hurts Ciampa. A clothesline puts Ciampa on the floor for a suicide dive, followed by a trip over the barricade. Johnny dives onto him but gets dropped ribs first onto the barricade.

Back at ringside and Ciampa goes VERY old school by pulling back the floor mats. I haven’t seen that one in a long time. Gargano throws him over the announcers’ table and takes Mauro off headset in the process. Don’t worry though as the fans are right there with the MAMA MIA chant to make up for it. Ciampa isn’t done yet though as he grabs a suplex off the table to the floor (SICK thud) and they’re both down again. These guys are beating the heck out of each other and the hatred is awesome so far.

In a unique spot, Ciampa picks up the top of the table and suplexes Gargano through it, breaking the wood in the process. Back in and Ciampa rips at Johnny’s face before stomping on the hands. The fans aren’t letting up on Ciampa a bit here, even as he sends Gargano hard into the corner. A Texas Cloverleaf starts on Johnny’s leg for a change of pace and the rope break DOESN’T COUNT BECAUSE NXT IS ACTUALLY SMART WITH THIS STUFF. It always drives me crazy when that breaks a hold in a No DQ match and thankfully NXT got it right.

Johnny crawls to the apron for the break so Ciampa stomps him down and applauds the crowd. The fans refer to Ciampa by a rather mean term (in England at least) and he makes it worse by STEALING A FAN’S CRUTCHES. I mean, the fan was placed there before the match but still, great visual. Johnny takes it away though and knocks Ciampa silly, followed by a kick to the head for a double knockdown. The slingshot DDT onto the apron is broken up so Gargano POWERBOMBS HIM ONTO THE CONCRETE. Fans: “YOU DESERVE IT!” I almost lost it at that chant.

Back in (since Ciampa is somehow not dead), they both grab the crutch in the middle of the ring with Gargano coming away with it. Some HARD shots to the ribs and knee set up the slingshot DDT for two. The middle turnbuckle pad is taken off but Ciampa gets two off a torture rack powerbomb. With Johnny on his knees, Ciampa does the DIY pose and hits a running knee to the back of the head for two more. Now the fans want tables, because this brawl isn’t enough for them or something.

They slug it out with neither getting the better of it until a clothesline drops Gargano. A reverse hurricanrana doesn’t quite work as Ciampa lands on Gargano’s back but the Gargano Escape goes on anyway. Ciampa makes the ropes to no avail so he goes to the eyes for the real escape. With wrestling not working, Ciampa takes off the wrist tape but Gargano grabs onto it and they slug it out while joined together by the tape. Nice visual there. Ciampa gets out punched so it’s a low blow and crutch to the back.

Project Ciampa (powerbomb into double knees to the back) gets two more but Gargano is back with two superkicks, followed by the DIY superkick for a red hot near fall. They head up top for a change of pace and a super Project Ciampa….gets two. I had bet on that as the finish, especially with Ciampa banging up his knee even more in the process. Ciampa takes the knee brace off but Gargano picks it up and hits him in the knee with it instead.

Now he picks up the other crutch (which the referee had placed in the ring) but stops as Ciampa begs off (ala what Ciampa did to Gargano in the Cruiserweight Classic). Ciampa grabs the brace and swings away, only to get pulled into the Gargano Escape. Gargano gets the brace and wraps it around Ciampa’s face for an STF and the tap at 37:00.

Rating: A+. Of course that’s what it gets. This match was built up like nothing else has been in NXT and they hit every possible point they could have done here. It was incredibly entertaining and one of the hardest hitting fights I’ve seen in a long time. The symbolism at the end was great and called back to almost every major point that these two have had since coming to WWE. Gargano winning to put Ciampa away (I can’t imagine there won’t be a rematch) for now was the right call, but I really wasn’t sure at times. Incredible match as Gargano’s outstanding runs continues.

Candice LeRae runs out for the celebration. This went on for a long time, even after the show ended. The pair eventually went up the ramp to pose, only to have Johnny look over his shoulder to make sure Ciampa wasn’t back. One more pose ended the night.

Overall Rating: A+. I knew this was going to be great but I didn’t know it was going to be this. We had one of the best pair of opening and closing matches that I’ve ever seen, an any other show stealing classic NXT Title change and two other matches that were very good in their own right. Somehow this topped Dallas as the best show I’ve ever seen and is probably the best Takeover of all time. Incredible night here and something they’re going to have to work hard to top, if they even can (which I would have said about their other top efforts as well, though it happened here too). Watch this as soon as possible.

Results

Adam Cole b. Lars Sullivan, Killian Dain, Velveteen Dream, Ricochet and EC3 – Cole pulled down the title

Shayna Baszler b. Ember Moon – Kirafuta Clutch

Undisputed Era b. Authors of Pain and Roderick Strong/Pete Dunne – End of Heartache to Dunne

Aleister Black b. Andrade Cien Almas – Black Mass

Johnny Gargano b. Tommaso Ciampa – STF

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: April 4, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

It’s the final show before the big night in New Orleans and as usual, things continue to change around here. Last week saw the announcement of the six man ladder match for the North American Title and this week we have the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Things are picking up at the right time so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a video package on the Dusty Classic with various big names (Terry Taylor is included so take this with a grain of salt) showing up to watch the finals. Bobby Fish’s knee injury is confirmed for the first time on NXT TV though and he is NOT currently cleared.

Opening sequence.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: Authors of Pain vs. Roderick Strong/Pete Dunne

After the Big Match Intros, Strong is sent straight into the corner so the Authors can start the beating early. It’s off to Dunne and the fans are VERY pleased as we take an early break. Back with Dunne in trouble with a hard knee to the ribs cutting him off. Akum comes in for a knee to the chest of his own and Dunne is rocked. The top rope stomp/side slam gets two on Dunne but he snaps Akum’s finger and grabs a faceplant for the tag off to Strong.

Akum gets knocked off the apron and some kicks to Razar’s head give Strong two. Dunne comes in for a running enziguri in the corner and top rope double stomp to the back gets two more. Akum is back in and Razar is low bridged to the floor. The assisted Bitter End gets two with Razar making the save but the Authors just run them over with raw power. Everyone is down and here’s the Undisputed Era for the double DQ at 11:53.

Rating: B. The ending feels like storyline advancement and that’s fine, though the match was rocking by the end. Dunne and Strong work well together and the Authors are great giants to slay. You can feel the triple threat coming because that’s how anything WWE related works, but at least the match was good to set it up.

Post match here’s William Regal to make the triple threat because champions attacking both challengers NEVER WORKS. As a bonus, the winners will also win the Dusty Classic.

We recap the ladder match announcement.

All six participants are ready to win the title. These are just quick sound bytes about how they should win but at least all six of them are getting TV time.

Long video on the rise and fall of DIY, leading to Tommaso Ciampa turning on Johnny Gargano. After rehabbing his torn ACL, Ciampa came back and screwed Gargano over, forcing him out of NXT. That set up Saturday’s grudge match, which has been built up for nearly a year. Ciampa said he carried the team but it was always about Gargano. For the first time, this is Ciampa’s moment. As usual, this was an excellent video to recap the whole thing and make you want to see the match.

Kairi Sane vs. Vanessa Bourne

Bourne goes simple by stomping on Kairi’s foot, only to get rolled up for a few near falls. A flapjack works a bit better for Bourne and she sends Kairi face first into the buckles over and over. Sane cuts her in half with a spear and the sliding lariat in the corner keeps Bourne in trouble. A top rope forearm looks to up the Insane Elbow but Bourne catches her on top. That just earns her the Alberto Del Rio double stomp and the Insane Elbow is good for the pin on Bourne at 4:17.

Rating: D+. Not quite a squash but Sane got in all of her major stuff and wins clean over a game opponent. There’s a good chance that we’ll get Sane vs. Baszler for the title at whatever the next Takeover is and that’s a very good thing. Sane certainly has the star power and look to make such a run work and the history with Baszler is already there.

Lacey Evans has shown us what a strong woman is capable of and doesn’t like Nikki Cross. She doesn’t like that complete psychos are getting chances instead of her. Evans doesn’t think much of the rest of the division either but plans to take Sane’s chance.

The Undisputed Era catches up with Regal (How hard can he be to find?) with Cole yelling about having to compete twice. Regal says there are three options: Cole wrestles twice, O’Reilly defends the titles on his own, or Cole drops out of the ladder match. None seem agreeable.

Video on Aleister Black vs. Andrade Cien Almas. Black says Almas is buying into his own hype and needs to get the monkey off his back by winning the NXT Title. Zelina Vega says there’s a monster in Almas that Black will soon meet.

We look back at Shayna Baszler and Ember Moon brawling last week. Thankfully TM61 isn’t cut off in mid promo this time.

Moon promises to end the war that Baszler started.

Next week: Kairi Sane vs. Lacey Evans.

Lars Sullivan vs. Killian Dain

They do the big shove off to start with Sullivan getting the better of it and knocking Dain out to the floor. Back from a break with Dain getting his neck cranked. That’s broken up and a backsplash sets up a Vader Bomb, which hits Sullivan’s raised knees. Lars goes up top with Dain trying a superplex but a headbutt knocks them both to the floor instead. With everyone down, here are Velveteen Dream, Adam Cole and EC3 for the staredown. Ricochet runs in and moonsaults into his pose as we’ll say the match is thrown out at 5:30.

Rating: C. This is a hard one to rate as they were there for the sake of beating each other up for a few minutes until all the run-ins started. As a way to set up the ladder match this was fine, but it wasn’t supposed to be any kind of a definitive match. I’m sure we’ll see these two have a longer match in the future, as they should.

A big staredown ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Most of that is for the video packages alone, as NXT knocked them out of the park yet again. The main thing here was they made Takeover look awesome and there’s even the issue of what Cole will do on Sunday about having to wrestle in two matches. The wrestling wasn’t the point here and now I’m wanting to see where things go on Sunday. Good stuff.

Results

Authors of Pain vs. Pete Dunne/Roderick Strong went to a double DQ when Undisputed Era interfered

Kairi Sane b. Vanessa Bourne – Insane Elbow

Lars Sullivan vs. Killian Dain went to a no contest when EC3, Ricochet, Adam Cole and Velveteen Dream interfered

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: February 28, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

We’re still closing in on Takeover: New Orleans but this time we’ll be doing it without Johnny Gargano. Last week Gargano put his NXT career on the line for another shot at the NXT Title but former partner Tommaso Ciampa cost him the title with a crutch shot to the back. Now we need to figure out what’s going on in New Orleans so let’s get to it.

Here’s Last Week’s Show

We open with a recap of last week’s title match with Gargano and wife Candice LeRae stared back at the ring in sadness as Ciampa looked at them in contempt.

Opening sequence.

Velveteen Dream vs. Tyler Bate

This should be good. Dream crawls away in reverse and the fans are split, albeit more for Dream than Bate. Tyler puts on a short form clinic by sliding between Dream’s legs, jumping over him, and wristlocking Dream into a rollup for two. A dropkick has Dream livid on the floor as we take a break.

Back with Bate slipping out of a suplex but running into an elbow to the jaw. Dream gyrates a bit and grabs a reverse chinlock, followed by a reverse chinlock for good measure. Bate fights up and hits a running elbow in the corner for two as the pace picks up a bit. The airplane spin has Dream in trouble but he’s still able to elbow his way out of the reverse version.

The Tyler Driver 97 is countered with a backdrop and one heck of a spinning spinebuster gives Dream two. They slug it out from their knees with Bate getting the better of it but Dream sends him hard into the buckle. Dream goes to the top but gets crotched. Bate is shoved down anyway and the Purple Rainmaker is good for the pin at 12:08.

Rating: B-. Bate is settling into the role of the bulletproof wrestler, which is about as bad of a spot as you can get. I can’t remember the last time that he won a match and now he’s stuck losing over and over again. That being said, he’s still one of the most consistently strong performers around and it’s almost always a good performance. Dream is on another level than almost anyone else right now though and I’d be surprised if he isn’t NXT Champion by the end of the year.

Paul Ellering and the Authors of Pain want the Tag Team Titles back.

We see William Regal giving Gargano his termination papers, but Gargano will still be required to make media appearances and live events that he was already signed for. That sounds important. The referee admitted that he made a mistake and is sorry that he cost Gargano his career. Gargano seems to accept it.

Cezar Bononi vs. Adam Cole

Actually hang on a second as Cole grabs a mic and offers Bononi a spot on the team. O’Reilly throws him a shirt but it’s a ruse so Cole can stomp him down in the corner. Bononi is right back with a Michinoku Driver for two but another distraction lets Cole hit a superkick. A running knee to the back of the head ends Bononi at 2:55. Just a win to keep Cole hot until he gets a match at Takeover.

We recap Kairi Sane winning the Mae Young Classic by defeating Shayna Baszler, who has gone full villain since. Baszler has destroyed various people, typically by wrecking their arms. It seems that Baszler is on her way to the Women’s Title but Sane is trying to slow her down.

The Street Profits interview people about the upcoming Dusty Classic. The first round starts next week.

Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler

Sane hammers away to start but Shayna takes her down by the leg. Kairi is sent to the apron and Baszler starts in on the ribs to slow Sane down. A knee to the ribs takes us to a break with Sane in trouble. Back with Baszler getting two off a gutwrench suplex before starting on the arm.

The armbar is reversed into a rollup for two and Sane chops away in the corner. Sane gets a breather off a spear and the sliding knee in the corner has Baszler in trouble. A top rope forearm gives Sane two and a spinning backfist puts Baszler down again. It’s too early for the Insane Elbow though as Baszler kicks her in the head, setting up the Kirifuda Clutch to make Sane tap at 7:22.

Rating: C+. This was exactly how the match should have gone: Baszler gets the win back and looks dominant in the process, showing that she is now better than Sane and can beat her in rather short order. The match should set Baszler up for the Women’s Title match in New Orleans, where she needs to win the title in similarly dominant fashion.

Post match Baszler calls out Ember Moon, promising to leave with either the title or her limb.

Here are Andrade Cien Almas and Zelina Vega for a chat. Vega calls Almas Mr. 4-0 (over Gargano) and laughs about Gargano having his wife there for the last loss. Gargano was bragging about earning respect but Almas earns MONEY. Almas talks about making Johnny Wrestling Johnny Jobless but Almas is still called the NXT Champion. They go to leave but Aleister Black cuts them off. Before Black can say anything though, here’s Killian Dain for the brawl, including a running crossbody to take Black down and end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Well there’s the next title match and they went out of their way to suggest that Gargano isn’t quite gone yet. I’m starting to get excited for Takeover and that’s a good sign with nearly six weeks left. The show could be a heck of a card and it’s nice to have good TV setting us up on the way there. Throw in what should be the start of a good tournament next week and things are rolling.

Results

Velveteen Dream b. Tyler Bate – Purple Rainmaker

Adam Cole b. Cezar Bononi – Running knee to the back of the head

Shayna Baszler b. Kairi Sane – Kirifuda Clutch

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: February 21, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

We have a main event quality main event here with Andrade Cien Almas vs. Johnny Gargano in a title vs. NXT career match. Gargano lost to Almas in a classic at Takeover: Philadelphia and now he has one more chance. The stipulations would suggest an obvious ending, but that’s not exactly the way NXT tends to operate. Let’s get to it.

Here’s last week’s show in case you need a recap:

We open with a long recap of Almas vs. Gargano, including the champ’s rise and their match in Philadelphia. Two weeks ago Gargano asked for one more title match and was granted his request, albeit with his career on the line.

Opening sequence.

Velveteen Dream vs. No Way Jose

The fans are WAY into Dream and Jose happens to be there too. Dream pops him in the jaw to start and gets in some forearms in the corner. Jose is right back with an elbow and backdrop to the floor, followed by a slingshot dive. The fans aren’t against Jose here but Dream is just crazy popular. Back from a break with Dream hitting a hot shot and a swinging neckbreaker. Jose gets in a small package for two but the Toma Punch is countered with a dropkick. The rolling Death Valley Bomb and the Purple Rainmaker (Dream: “DREAM OVER!”) is good for the pin on Jose at 7:15.

Rating: C-. What the heck happened to Jose? He seemed ready to go to the main roster as the house show opening act and now he’s little more than a jobber to the stars. Dream on the other hand is the hottest thing in NXT right now and if it weren’t for Black and Gargano, would be the biggest face in the promotion despite being a heel.

Post match Dream says he was the Competitor of the Year with the Match of the Year and his name is on everyone’s lips. If people don’t get that, he doesn’t have time for you.

William Regal announces the return of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, which starts in two weeks. The winners get a Tag Team Title shot at Takeover: New Orleans.

Nikki Cross vs. Vanessa Borne

Cross goes crazy to start and jumps on Borne’s back with a choke. Borne manages to throw her down for some near falls before grabbing a chinlock. The fans are entirely behind Cross here, even as she smiles at being in trouble. Borne looks scared as Nikki hits a running crossbody and a splash in the corner. The fisherman’s neckbreaker ends Borne at 2:54.

We look back at Killian Dain coming out to face Aleister Black last week.

TM61 have officially entered the Dusty Classic.

We look back at Kairi Sane saving Ember Moon from Shayna Baszler last week.

Moon vs. Baszler next week.

NXT Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade Cien Almas

Almas is defending and Candice LeRae and Zelina Vega are the respective seconds. Gargano bails from an early hammerlock DDT attempt and we take a break. Back with Gargano loading up a dive but pausing when Vega steps in his way. Candice doesn’t mind diving onto her, leaving Gargano to cannonball off the apron and take the champ down. Candice fights Vega to the back and it’s one on one.

Almas is right back up and drives Gargano back first onto the apron for two before starting in on the arm. The shoulder goes into the buckle and Almas wraps the arm around the ropes to keep him in trouble. Back from another break with Gargano chopping in the corner but banging his arm up some more. The slingshot spear gets two but Gargano misses the superkick.

Almas takes him into the corner for two off the running knees. The hammerlock DDT is broken up again and they slug it out on the apron with Johnny getting the better of it. Another slingshot spear is countered into the Fujiwara armbar on the bad arm. With that not working, Almas reversed into the Gargano Escape, which is escaped pretty quickly. Gargano charges into a hiptoss in the corner and Almas loads up the Alberto top rope stomp to the apron.

That’s broken up as well and Almas shoves him to the floor, followed by a tornado DDT on the floor. The slingshot DDT gets two back inside for a VERY hot near fall with the fans buying into it the whole way. They slug it out from their knees but Almas decks the referee by mistake. The Gargano Escape has Almas ready to tap….and here’s Tommaso Ciampa to break a crutch over Gargano’s back. Almas hits the hammerlock DDT to retain at 22:23.

Rating: A-. It’s almost unfair to compare this to their first match but it was still very good as these two continue to have excellent chemistry together. You know they’re going to get to Gargano vs. Ciampa somehow (perhaps with Gargano as a visiting wrestler or a WWE wrestler or in an unsanctioned match etc.)

Johnny gets the big sendoff until the announcer says Gargano must now leave NXT. Candice consoles her husband and we get the THANK YOU JOHNNY chants. Ciampa looks on to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The main event carries this show of course and there’s nothing wrong with that. The Dusty Classic should be more than enough to carry the midcard all the way to New Orleans, meaning you can probably guess four matches from here, most of which should be quite good. It’s another strong episode though as NXT continues to have goals and the steps to get there.

Results

Velveteen Dream b. No Way Jose – Purple Rainmaker

Nikki Cross b. Vanessa Borne – The Purge

Andrade Cien Almas b. Johnny Gargano – Hammerlock DDT

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

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

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

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