IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

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

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

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

Tag Team Titles: War Raiders vs. Undisputed Era

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pete Dunne and Toni Storm are here.

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

Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno

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

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

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

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

Velveteen Dream arrives with some good looking women.

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

North American Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler vs. Bianca Belair

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

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

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

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

Velveteen Dream and said women are in the front row.

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

NXT Title: Aleister Black vs. Tommaso Ciampa

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

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

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

Johnny Gargano b. Ricochet – Slingshot DDT

Shayna Baszler b. Bianca Belair – Kirifuda Clutch

Tommaso Ciampa b. Aleister Black – Fairy Tale Ending

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

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

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

Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Overall Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

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

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

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

Kassius Ohno vs. Matt Riddle

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

Women’s Title: Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler

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

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

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

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

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

X-Pac is here.

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

Johnny Gargano vs. Aleister Black

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to help with the California wildfires.

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

NXT Title: Velveteen Dream vs. Tommaso Ciampa

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dream is still out cold after the recap video.

Nita Strauss is here.

The cage is lowered.

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

Pete Dunne/Ricochet/War Raiders vs. Undisputed Era

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

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

Shayna Baszler b. Kairi Sane – Rollup

Aleister Black b. Johnny Gargano – Black Mass

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

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

How has Takeover never been to California before? Somehow this is the twenty second edition of Takeover ever and they’ve never been to California. Anyway this should be one of the better ones with some very storyline driven matches with some great action involved. Normally I would say you can’t tell what’s coming on a show…but I think you know what you’re going to get with a Takeover. Let’s get to it.

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

We’ll start with a title match because on a four match card, you have two title matches, a grudge match and the show’s namesake match. This is one of the longest running feuds in NXT history and, which I would have said their match at Evolution was the blowoff, we’re here with a 2/3 falls match as Sane cashes in her rematch clause. My guess is this is the final, final, FINAL match in the feud, though if it’s not, it’s not the worst thing in the world as the matches have been pretty good.

I’m going with Sane getting the title back for a few reasons, starting with the idea that Sane has far more heel challengers to come after the title than Baszler. You have Bianca Belair and Lacey Evans, among a few others for some fresh matches. Baszler on the other hand really doesn’t have much else to do in NXT and would make a good choice for a promotion. Like, say, as the final member of the Smackdown women’s team at Survivor Series.

NXT Title: Tommaso Ciampa(c) vs. Velveteen Dream

What does it say that this is arguably the third biggest match on the show? It’s also the second match to come from the Aleister Black attack, which we’ll get to soon enough. Dream accused Ciampa of attacking Black and somehow got a title match out of it. The key to this whole thing has been turning Dream into a star, which has been taking place over the last several months. He’s become one of the hottest stars in NXT because the fans want to see him win. Throw in some off the charts charisma and it’s no surprise that Dream is as awesome as he’s become.

I’ll go with Ciampa retaining though, as there’s very little reason to believe that Johnny Gargano isn’t going to be involved in Ciampa losing the title. Dream is going to come close and probably even hit the Purple Rainmaker, but he’s not taking the title. At the end of the day, they’ve set up the Gargano vs. Ciampa feud for way too long to have Dream get in the middle of it now. Ciampa retains after a heck of a fight.

Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano

On any other show, this would be the headliner. Gargano’s heel turn has been a work of art as he was revealed as Black’s attacker, all in the name of destroying Ciampa once and for all. That promo with him walking along the path where Black was attacked was excellent and came off like one of the best things NXT has done in a long time (and that’s covering a lot of ground. Black has reason to want to take Gargano apart and h can start by kicking his head off.

That being said, Gargano should win here with some kind of nefarious means. They can set up a rematch down the line in what should be one of Black’s last matches in NXT. He’s ready for the main roster and after wrapping things up with Gargano, he should head there. Gargano’s heel turn is way too hot to have him lose his first big match so it makes a lot more sense to have him win here, likely after some form of cheating. As long as we get more Gargano promo greatness, everything will be fine.

WarGames: Undisputed Era vs. Ricochet/Pete Dunne/War Raiders

And we wrap it up with this. Last year’s match was kind of an awesome mess with the trios version, but now it seems that we’re back to the regular formula. These four have been feuding for months and while the faces have been having issues for a long time, this is the kind of match where you can put those differences aside and have a great come together moment. Or you can fight each other and let the other four man team take you apart in even shorter order.

I’m really not sure on this one as you could go either way but I’ll take Ricochet and company. A win over one of them could set up the War Raiders for a Tag Team Title shot down the line or set up a Ricochet vs. Dunne showdown over who got the win. The Undisputed Era won last year and it wouldn’t be shocking to see them win again, but I’ll take the makeshift team to send the fans home happy (though they would likely be happy either way).

Overall Thoughts

I’ve said this a few times but it’s still true: the amount of mileage NXT has gotten out of Black’s real life injury is astounding. Half of this card, including the NXT Title match, which doesn’t even have Black involved, has spun off of the Black story. The whole thing fell into their lap but they’ve managed to turn it into something interesting. This card looks great and is going to fly by while also being a lot of fun. WarGames itself will be enough to carry the show but if we get three great matches to go along with the main event, I guess I can just force myself.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: November 14, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the go home show for Takeover: WarGames II and the card seems to be mostly set. This time around there might only be four matches, but one of them will be 2/3 falls and another is WarGames so things should be fine. Tonight is the big final push towards the show and that should make for a fun show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Bianca Belair vs. Mia Yim

This was set up last week in a backstage argument. Belair grabs her by the hair to start and throws Mia down without too much effort. Mia is right back with a headlock takeover and some trash talk, followed by the knee strikes. A pair of dropkicks have Belair in trouble and two more knock her down but Mia gets sent outside. Back in and Belair cranks on the neck, which does as much damage as you might expect. Some choking in the corner keeps Mia down but Belair spends too much time bragging to the crowd.

A missed legdrop lets Mia start the comeback, including sending her face first into the middle buckle. An assortment of kicks are cut off by a spinebuster to give Belair two but Mia is back with palm strikes. The cannonball in the corner connects and looks to set up Soul Food, which is reversed into the KOD to give Belair the pin at 8:04.

Rating: B-. This started slow but got much better by the end in a good match. Belair has all the natural talents you could ask for and the character work is coming along. A veteran like Yim is more polished and that’s always something valuable to have around. They’re testing Belair more every time and it’s becoming very fun to watch.

Ricochet and Pete Dunne argue over who will face a member of the Undisputed Era in the match for an advantage in WarGames. Hanson gets tired of the argument and says he’ll take the spot himself.

Long video on Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano with clips of the investigation spliced together with clips of Johnny’s big explanation last week and Gargano’s obsession with Tommaso Ciampa. It’s very, very impressive to weave three stories together like that and they knocked it out of the park.

Matt Riddle talks about how awesome his time here has been so far when Kassius Ohno comes in. Why hasn’t Riddle challenged him to a match yet? When Ohno came back to NXT, he challenged Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Roode but Riddle hasn’t done a thing. Riddle is cool with that and the match is set for next week.

Karisa Rivera vs. Lacey Evans

Rivera is a second generation wrestler. A drop toehold takes Karisa down and that means some pushups on her back. Rivera comes back with a dropkick for one, which just annoys Evans. She rams Karisa’s head into the mat over and over, followed by the Woman’s Right for the pin at 1:50.

Post match Lacey says so many ladies have forgotten about sophistication, but she’ll lead by example.

Video on Tommaso Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream, which also spun off from the Aleister Black attack. Ciampa, who talks to his title, wants everyone out of his spotlight and you just don’t say that to the Dream. Lars Sullivan isn’t mentioned at all.

Video on Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler. They’ve feuded for over a year now and what should be the final showdown is 2/3 falls with Baszler defending again. Sane holding up her empty treasure chest is a great visual and exactly what you would expect from her.

Takeover rundown.

Hanson vs. Kyle O’Reilly

The winners team gets the WarGames advantage. Kyle’s early right hands have no effect and Hanson screams at him. After a shoulder puts him down, O’Reilly tries sitting on the mat and kicking from his back. Hansen picks him up without much effort and puts him on the corner for some slaps to the chest. O’Reilly finally gets smart by kicking at the knee but not being able to get a half crab.

Instead he slaps Hanson in the head a few times and then chop blocks the monster down. The kneebar goes on so Hanson uses the free leg to kick O’Reilly square in the jaw. Hanson is up with a swinging powerslam for two and O’Reilly bails to the floor, only to get caught with a suicide dive. O’Reilly is dead and here’s Adam Cole for a distraction, causing Hanson to miss a moonsault.

A running knee gives O’Reilly two and it’s off to an ankle lock. Hanson makes the rope and Cole hits an enziguri to give O’Reilly two more. Cue Rowe to take care of Cole, allowing Hanson to clothesline O’Reilly down. Fish and Strong come out to take care of Rowe, drawing Dunne out as well. Ricochet comes out and hits a big flip dive over the referee to take everyone out. The distraction lets O’Reilly hit Hanson with a title for the pin at 11:59.

Rating: B-. Nice match here with all of the interference being appropriate for once. You had to know the Undisputed Era was going to win here because it’s WarGames, but it was nice to have the match actually be fun. It helps that all of the Undisputed Era can put on a good match so throwing them out there in singles works just fine.

One last WarGames video wraps us up.

Overall Rating: A. Good wrestling, very good build towards Takeover, angle advancement and a big match being set up for next week. What else could you ever ask for out of a go home show? This show did everything it could be asked to do and that made for a really easy show that made me want to see Saturday’s show. That’s as good as it gets and NXT nailed it again.

Results

Bianca Belair b. Mia Yim – KOD

Lacey Evans b. Karisa Rivera – Woman’s Right

Kyle O’Reilly b. Hanson – Belt shot to the head

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: October 31, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph, Percy Watson

Things got cranked up in a hurry last week as we now have two major stories going on at once. First and foremost, Johnny Gargano revealed himself as the man who attacked Aleister Black a few months ago, ending a long whodunit mystery and likely setting up a war at Takeover. Other than that, we might be heading for a triple threat match for the NXT Title with Tommaso Ciampa defending against Lars Sullivan and Velveteen Dream. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the search for Black’s attacker, with Nikki Cross saying she knew who did it and Black showing up last week, only to be attacked by Gargano. The “I’M RIGHT HERE” line is great.

Opening sequence.

Nikki Cross vs. Mercedes Martinez

This could be interesting. The fans are behind Martinez as Nikki seems rather pleased to be shoved back into the corner. With that not working, Nikki takes her down by the arm instead. Back up and Martinez charges into a boot in the corner but blocks the tornado DDT without much effort. A guillotine choke with the leg hooked keeps Cross in trouble but Mercedes lets go, allowing Cross to make a comeback with a bulldog.

Nikki is bleeding from the cheek as Martinez counters the fisherman’s neckbreaker into a spinebuster for the double knockdown. A pair of backdrop drivers set up a release German suplex but the fisherman’s buster is countered into a Regal Cutter. Nikki plants her with a DDT and the fisherman’s neckbreaker is good for the pin at 6:20.

Rating: B-. Well you knew Martinez would be a few steps ahead of almost anyone else they brought in. Nikki wasn’t about to lose when she was in such a prominent role in the Black/Gargano story and we even got a good match out of the whole thing. I don’t know if Martinez is going to be staying around but WWE could get a lot out of having her in the division.

Post match Candice LeRae (now with bangs that made me barely recognize her) to ask what Nikki is doing, but she leaves without saying anything. Nikki runs into Black at the entrance though and leaves the other way. Black goes to the ring where Candice says Johnny isn’t here. Black says Johnny is gone.

We recap the Street Profits vs. the Mighty with Montez Ford’s knee being hurt to give the Mighty the win. They even stole the Profits’ cup.

The Mighty vs. Street Profits

Thorn and Dawkins start things off and it’s already time for Thorn to bail towards the ropes. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the Profits clear the ring in a hurry. Ford’s big flip dive takes both of them out but Miller busts up his spine back inside. The pace slows a good bit with Ford trying to fight out of the corner but getting caught in a Falcon Arrow for two.

Ford finally goes aerial by diving over Thorn and making the hot tag off to Dawkins to clean house. Dawkins’ powerbomb is countered with a hurricanrana so Thorn loads up Miller in a powerbomb as Miller superplexes Ford for a cool double team spot. That’s good for two with Dawkins making the save, leaving Ford to hit the frog splash for the pin on Thorn at 7:07.

Rating: C-. It’s very rare that a feud in NXT does nothing for me but that’s the case here. I don’t know if it’s the Mighty (though that seems to be a strong possibility) but this has been one of the most lifeless stories I can remember NXT putting on in a long time. It’s not that it’s terrible or even bad. Instead, it’s not interesting and that’s actually worse.

The Profits regain the cup.

William Regal makes Velveteen Dream vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the title at Takeover. Black comes in and wants Gargano, so Regal makes that match for Takeover as well.

Lars Sullivan is throwing a bunch of stuff because that was his title shot. If Dream is in that spot now, Sullivan will take him out and replace him.

Luke Menzies vs. Matt Riddle

Riddle’s theme music starts with BRO, he’s billed as the King of Bros, and he jumps into the air to kick his flip flops into different corners, meaning he’s wrestling barefoot. Riddle takes him by the leg to start and flips him into a quickly broken cross armbreaker. Menzies hits him with a running shoulder so Riddle starts snapping off the kicks to the chest. A running forearm in the corner misses and Menzies tosses him with a belly to belly.

Riddle is right back up with a kick to the head and another one to the chest as the fans are WAY into the BRO chants. A running knee to the chest sets up the hard elbows to the face, followed by something like a seated abdominal stretch (also called a Twister, or the Bromission here) for the tap at 3:22.

Rating: C. Well that worked. Riddle looked awesome (because he is awesome) and while Menzies got in some offense, Riddle shrugged all of it off and destroyed him for the win. You can pencil him in for a bigger match at Takeover against Kassius Ohno and that’s where we’ll get the real showcase. Good debut here though, with the match going as it should have and the submission finisher looking great.

Clip of Shayna Baszler regaining the Women’s Title at Evolution.

After the match, a still weakened Sane went after Baszler but just didn’t have the energy.

Next week: Sullivan vs. Dream.

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. Raul Mendoza/Humberto Carrillo

Mendoza and Burch start things off and we get a nice handshake. A headscissors takes Burch down and it’s off to Carrillo to work on the arm. Some European uppercuts get Burch out of trouble though and it’s already off to Lorcan. Humberto gets caught in a double top wristlock but backflips out with a double armdrag.

Lorcan and Burch are sent outside for stereo suicide dives but Humberto’s moonsault hits raised boots (with Lorcan shoving his feet up instead of just holding them up). Mendoza comes in and hits some running forearms, followed by an enziguri for each of them. Burch hiptosses him into the corner though and it’s the spike DDT for the pin at 3:17.

Rating: C+. That was WAY better than I was expecting, which is a nice relief as I was hoping they wouldn’t squash someone as talented as Mendoza. They had me thinking we might even see the big upset here, which is hard to pull off in a match this short. Both teams could go somewhere and I hope we see more from Mendoza and Carrillo.

The Undisputed Era is doing their usual promo in the back when the War Raiders run in and jump them ahead of their scheduled match. They fight outside with Cole being lawn darted into a production truck but Strong comes back with a trashcan. Some weapons shots have the War Raiders down but here’s Ricochet to dive off a table to take everyone down. Fish tries to get inside but Hanson shows up and throws him into a garage door.

With Ricochet and Cole fighting elsewhere, the other five come inside with the Raiders wrecking the three of them. Ricochet and Cole join them but a shot to Hanson’s knee cuts him down. The Era takes over but here’s Pete Dunne (POP) with a chair for the save. Cole’s hand is smashed as Ricochet and Rowe are back up. Cue Regal and the fans know what’s coming. WARGAMES is officially confirmed between the eight of them, sending the Era into a panic to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The ending announcement alone is cool to see and helps the show itself, which was already pretty good. This was the night where a lot of Takeover’s card was set up in one night and that often makes for some of the most entertaining shows they have. I’m fired up for the show now and that means they did their job here, as the perfect timing of these things continues.

Results

Nikki Cross b. Mercedes Martinez – Fisherman’s neckbreaker

Street Profits b. The Mighty – Frog splash to Thorn

Matt Riddle b. Luke Menzies – Bromission

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch b. Raul Mendoza/Humberto Carrillo – Spike DDT to Mendoza

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: October 17, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

It’s time for another title match because NXT is smart enough to set these things up in advance. This time we have the Tag Team Titles on the line as the Undisputed Era puts the titles on the line against the War Raiders. That sounds like a recipe for destruction but NXT likely has a few tricks up its sleeve. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at the Tag Team Title match.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: War Raiders vs. Undisputed Era

Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong are defending. Rowe drives Strong up to the ropes but gets pounded down by both champs. That just means a double clothesline and it’s off to Hanson so the champs can be knocked to the floor without much effort. Back in and Rowe slams Strong before slamming Hanson on top of him. A cheap shot to the back of Rowe’s knee slows him down though and Strong hits the first backbreaker for two.

The leg is bent around the rope and you know Kyle can kick at a bad leg with the best of them. More shots to the leg set up some strikes to the chest in the corner and Kyle adds a dragon screw legwhip. Rowe staggers to the corner and catches a charging O’Reilly with a spinebuster, finally allowing the hot tag to Hanson. House is cleaned in a hurry and the Bronco Buster gets two on Strong. For some reason it’s back to Rowe and Strong slams O’Reilly onto the bad leg.

Rowe is fine enough to springboard up for a clothesline as Hanson holds O’Reilly up in a German suplex but here’s Adam Cole….for nothing as he’s beaten down before he can do anything. The match continues with Strong getting two off an Angle Slam and O’Reilly slaps on a kneebar. Hanson powerbombs Strong onto O’Reilly for the save and it’s a suicide dive onto Strong and Cole. Fallout connects but Bobby Fish comes in with a chair for the DQ at 12:43.

Rating: B. I can’t say I’m surprised at the ending as you can almost guarantee a rematch at the Takeover after WarGames and that should be the title change. The Raiders looked like their usual dominant selves and I’m not sure how much longer the Undisputed Era really needs to be around here. They’re not going to grow enough to do anything else on the main roster so they might just take their chances up there.

Post match the Era wrecks the Raiders and poses.

Nikki Cross is in a hall way with a bunch of papers saying she knows what happened.

Shayna Baszler vs. Britt Baker

Baszler isn’t playing this week and takes Baker down into an armbar, followed by the big elbow stomp. The referee stops the match at 1:22.

Post match Shayna lays her out again.

William Regal needs to talk to Nikki Cross soon and will address this after her match.

Tian Bing/Rocky vs. Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan

Lorcan and Bing start things off with Bing chopping away before grabbing the arm. Rocky comes in for a full nelson but Lorcan shrugs it off. Burch comes in and starts slugging away, including the headbutts to the chest. The double hanging DDT is good for the pin on Rocky at 2:29.

Bianca Belair vs. Nikki Cross

They head straight to the floor to start with Belair being reversed into the steps. Back in and a monkey flip sends Belair flying but she catches Nikki with an elbow. The neck crank goes on until Belair throws her down by the neck. The double chickenwing is reversed into a rollup for two and Cross ties her in the Tree of Woe for a lot of stomping. Belair can barely stand so a bulldog takes her right back down.

The high crossbody gets two and Cross chokes away, only to get powerbombed in half for two more. Belair is stunned on the kickout so Nikki goes up, only to get gorilla pressed for a long time. There’s too much trash talk though and Cross slips down into a sleeper. A reverse DDT gives Cross two but she gets hair whipped down. Belair takes too much time (a common problem for her) going up so it’s a superplex to bring her back down. The lights go out before a cover though…and Aleister Black is sitting in the middle of the ring. Since Belair is nowhere to be seen, we’ll call it a no contest at 11:22.

Rating: C+. They beat each other up rather well here and there’s more than enough reason for a third match between the two. That could be either a big TV main event or a Takeover match and either would be just fine. Black being back is more important though as the big story finally gets to take the giant step forward.

Black stares at Nikki and beckons her over so Nikki makes the slow crawl. Black growls at her to tell him so Nikki whispers something in his ear. He starts shaking and gets up as Nikki leaves to end the show. And let me guess: Black will somehow not say a word about this to anyone in the next week.

Overall Rating: B. The title match was rather good and the storyline advancement makes me want to see what happens next week. I’m not sure what else you can ask for out of a 53 minute show and I don’t need much more than this to have a good time. I want to see what happens next week and with Takeover coming up, they’re getting close to peaking at the right time. Again.

Results

War Raiders b. Undisputed Era via DQ when Bobby Fish interfered

Shayna Baszler b. Britt Baker via referee stoppage

Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan b. Tian Bing/Rocky – Double hanging DDT to Rocky

Nikki Cross vs. Bianca Belair went to a no contest

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: June 20, 2018
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

It’s another slow down week as we’ll be looking at what happened this past Saturday plus the two matches taped before Takeover went on the air. Therefore it’s not going to be the most important show in the world, but after everything WWE has had going on this week, a little break sounds like just the ticket. Let’s get to it.

Here are Saturday’s results if you need a recap.

In Memory of Vader.

We get a highlight package from Takeover, with a crawler of tweets about Vader’s passing.

Opening sequence.

It’s always a little jarring to see the big arena for NXT.

Dakota Kai vs. Bianca Belair

Belair throws her around to start but takes a kick for an early two. A suplex takes Kai down for two and Belair is rather cocky about this level of dominance. With Kai not being able to fight her off, we hit an abdominal stretch to keep Belair in control. That goes nowhere so Belair tosses her down again, only to have Kai come back with some running kicks in the face. A hard forearm to the jaw takes Kai down though and the sitout torture rack faceplant finishes Kai at 6:03.

Rating: D+. This was nearly a squash with Belair running over Kai and not even blinking during the destruction. That’s what this match should have been, as Belair looks to have all the potential in the world. Let her run with that and see how far the natural athleticism can take her. At the moment, it looks quite far.

Video on Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream. That was awesome.

Ricochet says he showed tonight that the spotlight belongs to him.

Velveteen Dream says Dream Over.

Video on Shayna Baszler vs. Nikki Cross.

Baszler, along with two more of the Four Horsewomen, say you defeat chaos by putting it to sleep. Baszler: “And still.”

Video on Aleister Black vs. Lars Sullivan.

Aleister Black is too banged up to talk.

Video on Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. Undisputed Era.

Lorcan and Burch are upset that they lost but glad that they got here.

Long recap of Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano.

EC3 isn’t sure why he wasn’t on Takeover but that won’t happen again. He goes into Regal’s office and demands to face EVERYBODY.

War Raiders vs. The Mighty

TM61 of course, with a better name. The Mighty, now in matching tights, jump the Raiders to start but Rowe demands that the match start anyway. Rowe cleans house and Hanson throws him into Thorn in the corner. Fallout is broken up and Miller gets two with his feet on the ropes. It’s Rowe in trouble for a bit until he runs Thorn over, allowing the hot tag off to Hanson. Everything breaks down with Hanson using the size advantage to clean house with reckless abandon. Fallout ends Miller at 4:33.

Rating: C-. That wasn’t much more than a squash and that’s what War Raiders should be doing. They’re bigger and stronger than any team around and having them flatten a team with some success like The Mighty is as good of an idea as they could have. There’s a real chance that the Raiders are going to be in the title hunt sooner rather than later, and really that’s what they should be doing.

Overall Rating: C. As usual, this was just a rest stop on the way back from Takeover and there’s nothing wrong with that. The wrestling was there to warm the crowd up and prevent them from having to put together a full show between Saturday and today. The recaps were a nice touch and as usual this is one of those shows that helps new viewers if they watched Takeover on a whim. Exactly what this show should have been.

Results

Bianca Belair b. Dakota Kai – Sitout torture rack faceplant

War Raiders b. The Mighty – Fallout to Miller

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

War Raiders vs. Ricky Martinez/Justin Storm

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

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

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

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

EC3 vs. Kassius Ohno

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

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

Bianca Belair vs. Aliyah

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

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

EC3 b. Kassius Ohno – 1%er

Bianca Belair b. Aliyah – Torture rack into a facebuster

Pete Dunne b. Kyle O’Reilly – Bitter End

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: May 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