Tag: nxt takeover toronto

NXT TakeOver Toronto live results: Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano

Posted on by Chris Aiken

Preview by Joseph Currier

WWE’s first major event of SummerSlam weekend takes place tonight as the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada hosts NXT TakeOver: Toronto.

A two-out-of-three falls match for the NXT Championship will headline the show. It will be Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano — and each fall will have a stipulation. Gargano has chosen a street fight, Cole has chosen a normal wrestling match, and William Regal will pick the stipulation if they go to a third fall.

Three other titles will be on the line tonight. Shayna Baszler faces off with Mia Yim for the NXT Women’s Championship, Velveteen Dream defends his North American Championship against Roderick Strong and Pete Dunne in a triple threat match, and The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) will defend their Tag Team titles against The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish).

After Io Shirai turned heel against her, Candice LeRae will take on Shirai tonight.

Our live coverage begins at 7 p.m. Eastern time.

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The pre-show was mostly all hype and hard sell. Charly Caruso hosted the kickoff show alongside panel members Sam Roberts and Pat McAfee. She was much better than the other two.

One newsworthy aspect was the third fall of the match was revealed to be a weapons-filled cage match. So it is basically “Three Stages of Hell”, although they didn’t use that name.

The main card opened with the tag team title match.

NXT Tag Team Champions The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) defeated Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) to retain the titles

Ford pinned O’Reilly after a five-star frog splash. This was a really good opener. The crowd started the match with dueling chants while Dawkins and O’Reilly started in the ring. They each tried to punk out the other. Ford tagged in to hit Fish with a high Okada dropkick. Some quicks tags by the Profits as they worked over Fish’s arm. A distraction turned the tide in the Era’s favor.

O’Reilly and Ford had some great sequences. The Profits were using double team moves when Ford was tripped up and knocked off the apron by Fish. Dawkins was cleaning house, but he was soon outnumbered. Undisputed Era worked over Dawkins as they grounded him. He eventually tagged out and Ford ran wild with a lariat and a standing moonsault. A spinbuster set up Ford teasing a People’s Elbow. O’Reilly grabbed Ford’s leg to break up the attempted elbow. Ford a moment later delivered a Rock Bottom.

A chop block to a knee cut off Ford. The Era did cool combo that as a DDT into a German suplex. Ford and Fish fought while perched on the top turnbuckle. Fish gave him a super exploder, and O’Reilly leapt off the top with flying knee drop. O’Reilly then applied an achilles lock. Dawkins made the save in dramatic fashion.

Dawkins ran wild off a hot tag. Profits executed a Doomsday Blockbuster on O’Reilly for a nearfall, and Fish made a save. A melee developed with all four taking part in a slugfest. Ford flew over the ropes with a tope con giro.

Dawkins speared both O’Reilly and Fish. Ford jumped off the top into a frogsplash on O’Reilly for a pinfall.

Ricochet was shown in the crowd.

Io Shirai defeated Candice LeRae

Shirai won via referee stoppage after applying a Koji Clutch in a grudge match. This was an exciting match, and very unlike most WWE women’s matches. It was unlike many men’s macthes in WWE too. The style could have worked on a G1 card. Overall I thought it was the best bout on the card.

LeRae attacked Shirai before the bell to start a brawl. The fight spilled out of the ring where Shirai suplexed LeRae onto an announce table. LeRae sold it big as Shirai shined her up for an eventual comeback. Shirai worked her over and used an Air Raid Crash to get a near fall.

Shirai missed a missile dropkick and LeRae began to rally. She applied an octopus stretch on Shirai. LeRae blocked a 619, and she hit a neckbreaker. Nevertheless, Shirai delivered a 619 moments later.

LeRae flew out of the ring with tope suicida that she turned into a tornado DDT on the floor. Back in the ring, LeRae hit Shirai with a double foot stomp for two. They traded Germans and were going back-and-worth. A reverse rana by LeRae netted her a two-and-a-half count. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride got LeRae another close two count. 

They went to the top where Shirai executed a Spanish Fly, but LeRae kicked out on a lateral press. Shirai countered a backslide into a backbreaker to set up her moonsault off the top. LeRae kicked out again to a huge pop. They had the crowd feeding out of their hands at this point. Shirai then applied the Koji Clutch, and LeRae passed out so the referee called for the bell to end it.

Matt Riddle interrupted the show as he stormed through the crowd and got in the ring wearing street clothes. He called out Killian Dain and wanted a fight. Dain entered the scene and a brawl erupted. They brawled around ringside and up the ramp. Officials poured out trying to separate them. Riddle fired up with a ripcord knee. In a stunt to end the brawl, Dain came back to put Riddle and a plant through a pair of tables off the side of the stage.

NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream defeated Roderick Strong and Pete Dunne in a triple threat to retain the title

Dream pinned Dunne after stealing the pinfall from Strong. This was action packed and the crowd loved it.

The dance squad from the Toronto Raptors came out dressed as mounties as the theme song for The Mountie blared. They did a dance rountine before Dream made his entrance wearing a mountie hat.

Dream was sent outside at the outset to leave Strong and Dunne in the ring for an explosive start to the match. Dream took off his suspenders and got serious. Dunne and Strong teamed up on Dream. Strong was sent outside, leaving Dunne to face off with Dream. Dunne was unimpressed by Dream doing Rick Rude gyrations. They grappled, and Dream blocked a Bitter End only to get crotched by Strong.

Strong fired up with a flurry of backbreakers on the floor. Strong worked over Dunne and stretched him. Dream jumped back in to run wild. He did a tribute to Bret Hart and applied a sharpshooter on Strong. Dunne broke up the hold with a missile dropkick. 

Strong flew outside with a wrecking ball dropkick. Dunne did an Asai moonsault on the floor. This led into a series of three-way spots and slugfests. Dunne delivered a DVD, but Strong hit Dream with an Olympic Slam. Dunne then hit Dream with an X-plex. They did a convoluted Tower of Doom-esque spot off the top turnbuckle. 

Dunne was applying a triangle on Strong in a corner when Dream broke it up with a coast-to-coast flying elbow drop. Strong was soon on fire with series of suplexes and strikes. He put both in the Stronghold at the same time. Dream went for a double DVD, but it was blocked. Dunne then did a double finger break spot.

A Bitter End by Dunne on Strong led to Dream diving in to stop the count. Dunne tied Dream in a knot and hit him with a curb stomp. Strong did a Lance Storm roll into applying a Stronghold. Dream executed a DVD on Dunne. Strong delivered End of Heartache, and Dream stole the pin to get the win.

NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler defeated Mia Yim to retain the title

Baszler submitted Yim with a triangle heascissors. The story of the match was them both targeting an arm. A subplot was Yim resorting to dirty fighting. Yim got a special entrance with a bunch of people on the stage dressed in all black apparel. They wore backwards ball caps and bandanas covering their faces much like Yim does.

They started with intense grappling. Yim with a cannonball in a corner, and the fight then spilled outside. Yim targeted an arm and pinned it between the ring steps and the ring. Baszler sold the arm the rest of the match. Baszler soon cut her off and she targeted Yim’s arm while also selling hers.

Both were selling arms. Baszler applied a wristlock and Nigel on commentary got in a Volk Han reference. I popped huge for that. Long live RINGS!

Yim with dirty tactics by raking the eyes to swift the momentum. Yim flew through the ropes with a tope suicida, and she followed up by springboarding into a tornado DDT. Baszler soon cut her off with strikes.

Yim did an avalanche Code Red for a close near fall, but Baszler a moment later caught Yim in a Kirifuda Clutch. Baszler’s injured arm was too weak so Yim was able to pry herself free. Yim then gave Baszler a receipt by stomping her arm much like the champ did in the past.

Yim went for armbar, and Baszler again counters into applying the Kirifuda Clutch. Yim was able to escape as Baszler’s arm was still weak. Baszler then transitioned into a headscissors in the middle of the ring. Yim could not escape so she tapped out.

NXT Champion Adam Cole defeated Johnny Gargano in two-out-of-three falls to retain the title

Cole was awarded the first and third falls to win the match. In my opinion, this was the weakest of their TakeOver matches. Not that it was bad, but the concept hurt the match more than helped. The weapons-filled cage in the third falls came off very hokey with all the gimmicks. It was blood and guts without the actual blood and guts.

Maybe because I’ve spent the last five weeks watching G1 matches, but this match seemed very contrived instead of serious. The gimmicks were hard to take serious even though they pushed it as being deadly serious. Seemed like overkill. These two guys don’t need all the smoke and mirrors. They are such good wrestlers that they also don’t need all the gimmicks. Just seemed like weapons for the sake of weapons.

Cole won the first fall via DQ when Gargano used a chair in a straight wrestling match. Gargano then evened the falls in a street fight when Cole tapped out to the Gargano Escape. Cole went on the pin Gargano in a cage match after both fell off the top of the cage through tables.

The opening fall was a straight catch-as-catch-can wrestling match, and it was arguably the best of the three falls. They grappled and ran through sequences, which was great as usual for these two. Gargano had Cole reeling and trapped in an Indian Deathlock, but Cole eventually made the ropes. Cole gave Gargano a wheelbarrow suplex into the side of the apron. Ouch. Cole then went for his Panama Sunrise — only for Gargano to counter with an exploder suplex in a corner. More counters by both followed.

A Michinoku Driver netted Gargano a two count. He jumped off the ropes with a double foot stomp on Cole’s knee to set up a figure-four leglock. Cole was able to escape, and he soon delivered a wheelbarrow suplex for two. They traded kicks, and Gargano used a sunset driver for another two count.

Cole countered with a Michinoku Driver for another near fall. They both went down on a double clothesline. Cole would roll out outside where he blocked an attempted tope using an enzuigiri. Gargano countered another attempt at a wheelbarrow suplex. He then used a slingshot DDT to get yet another two count.

Cole grabbed a chair from ringside and brought it into the ring. The ref took it from him. That was the distraction Cole needed so he could hit a low blow behind the ref’s back. Gargano still managed to kick out at two-and-a-half. Cole sat in the chair while taunting Gargano.

Cole began arguing with the ref, and walked into a superkick from Johnny Wrestling. Gargano then grabbed the chair and hit Cole with it for the DQ — so Cole won the first fall.

The second fall was a street fight so the chair was now legal. Gargano waffled Cole with the chair repeatedly in a take off of Steve Austin doing the same spot with The Rock in one of their famous matches.

Gargano then sat in the chair much like Cole had previously done. Cole took a powder, and Gargano hurled the chair at Cole on the outside. Gargano followed with a tope suicida.

They brawled into the crowd and fought around the building. As they approached the corral area, Gargano jumped into a flying crossbody, and they crashed through the barricade. Cole took control and went for a move on top of an announce table. Gargano countered with a backdrop that sent Cole through an adjacent announce desk. It crumbled into pieces.

Gargano brought tables into the ring. Those props wouldn’t factor into the match until much later during the finish.

Cole cut off Gargano with a shining wizard. He then gave Gargano a ushigoroshi on a chair for a near fall. Cole wedged a chair between two turnbuckles. He would live to regret it when Gargano sent him into the chair like a lawn dart. Upon application of the Gargano Escape, Cole tapped out to even the falls at one apiece.

The cage lowered over the ring for the third falls. The crowd chanted “ECW”, but nothing was seemingly ever this hokey in an ECW cage match. Props like kendo sticks, chairs, ladders, and other gimmicks were hanging around the cage. The top of the cage was surrounded by barbed wire. This was the light beer equivalent of full flavored FMW style. 

The rules were pin or submission, so at least one hokey aspect of WWE cage matches was dropped. The escape the cage rule was waved. Cole tried to escape at one point, but he was fleeing instead of trying to win.

They started the third fall with a slugfest inside the cage. They then traded shots with kendo sticks. A double superkick sent both into a double down. Gargano hung from a ladder suspended above the cage. He dropped down to catch Cole with a hurricanrana. Gargano then gave him a reverse rana. Cole was seated in a chair so he could eat a superkick. 

Cole still fought back to deliver a backstabber for a two count. Gargano sprayed Cole with a fire extinguisher. He then leapt into a tornado DDT on Cole for another near fall. Gargano battered Cole with kendo stick shots.

They were on the top rope fighting over a sledgehammer when Gargano delivered sunset bomb. Gargano retrieved the sledgehammer, but Cole caught him with a superkick. Cole twice delivered the Panama Sunrise, and Gargano somehow kicked out both times. 

Gargano used a kendo stick to help apply a crossface. Cole bit Gargano, forcing him to release the hold. Gargano off the top with an avalanche Canadian Destroyer for a close near fall.

Gargano emptied a burlap sack to reveal wire cutters. He climbed atop the cage so he cut clip a section of barbed wire. This was when Cole tried to flee. They fought on a platform on top of the cage. Below them were two tables set up side-by-side.

Using the barbed wire, Gargano went to rake the face of Cole. They both fell off the platform and crashed through the tables. Cole was able to drape an arm across the chest of Gargano, and the referee counted three. Cole won the match, and his Undisputed Era stablemates came out to help him get out of the ring.

NXT TakeOver Toronto preview: Cole vs. Gargano, Baszler vs. Yim

Posted on by Mike DellaCamera

Joni Mitchell has a great quote about things going stale: “My name had gone stale, and no matter how progressive I got, it was my time to die.”

Like any truly great quote, it’s a bit over the top, but her message is true. No matter what Johnny Gargano does on Saturday, it’s time for his NXT run to end.

There’s a reason that most people like an artist’s early work. Besides being new and fresh, they still have plenty to say, haven’t told all their stories yet, and their gimmicks haven’t become overwrought and cliche. But, even the best artists run out of meaningful things to say. Kanye West’s last three albums have been real bad because he’s just a rich and successful guy now. What’s his struggle? We already heard his story. We’ve already heard Gargano’s story, and that’s a problem.

Minus the War Games TakeOvers, Gargano has been in the main event of the six of the last seven TakeOvers. Even on the one that he didn’t main event, he won the North American title and still closed the show on stage. This is John Cena levels of oversaturation. Imagine if there wasn’t so much time between TakeOvers? What if they ran every few weeks like the main roster did? The internet wrestling hivemind would be coming undone about something like that (and they already kind of are). If the matches weren’t, you know, good (but tiresome and long), the backlash would have started long ago.

So, why is this happening? Did Tomasso Ciampa’s injury and the call-ups of Ricochet and Aleister Black actually send everything into such chaos that they decided to just keep running Gargano out there to close shows? Was he actually supposed to be on the main roster now? The answers to these questions might be fun to know, but they don’t matter. Playing the what if game is fun, but inevitably pointless. For the past few years, all roads in NXT led to Johnny Wrestling and it’s time for something different.

TV Tapings

NXT Breakout tournament finals: Jordan Myles vs. Cameron Grimes

This tournament was a fantastic idea and a great way to introduce a whole bunch of new characters to NXT. I especially liked that not everyone in the tournament was great or is even expected to be great. PWG runs the best independent wrestling tournament every year in The Battle of Los Angeles and every year it’s incredible. I went to the 2018 version and it should be on every wrestling fan’s bucket list. My only problem with it is that it can be too stacked. They bring in the cream of the crop, and only one person can win it. In the past, there has been very little chaff so weird things would happen like Ricochet losing in the first round back in 2015.

What NXT did differently was to include guys that didn’t have a realistic shot at winning which freshened everything up. If people like Matt Riddle and Keith Lee were in the tournament, it would be kind of obvious who was going to be in the finals. But since dudes like BOA, Bronson Reed, and Dexter Lumis were in there, it created a nice dichotomy of talent levels and oh my god I am such a nerd.

Another thing this tournament did was give guys screen time immediately, and it was clear who had a presence and who didn’t. The actual breakout star was Angel Garza who isn’t in the finals, but should immediately be on television regularly. The two guys who advanced are realistically the best choices to put on a live special. Myles has wrestled all over the world and is more than comfortable working in front of a huge live crowd. The same is true for Grimes, a television veteran and as natural a heel as there is. Neither of them had an actual breakout performance so far in the tournament, but if they’re given 10-12 minutes, they could really show out here. Babyfaces almost always win tournaments like this and Myles is the logical pick to win here. 

Main Card

Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai

It feels good to see a TakeOver with two women’s matches on them. My infallible research tells me the last TakeOver with more than one women’s match was TakeOver Brooklyn II, which had Asuka vs. Bayley and Ember Moon vs. Billie Kaye, almost three years and 15 TakeOvers ago. Unacceptable might seem like an overreaction, but it isn’t. If there is enough talent to have a women only PPV, there surely is enough to have multiple women’s matches on TakeOvers.

The arrival of LeRae as a fully formed character in NXT is long overdue. For too long, she was Johnny Gargano’s wife who also wrestled instead of Candice LeRae, the wrestler who main evented PWG cards. Even if it took awhile to get here, we still got here and I’m so glad we did.

Unfortunately for her, she is running into the fully realized heel and fully leveled up version of Io Shirai, a woman who is so preternaturally gifted that she doesn’t need any friends, and certainly doesn’t need any of us. She is wonderful and she is perfect. You can tell NXT is serious about this because they immediately gave her new theme music after she turned on Candice.

And on Saturday, she is going to do more than turn on Candice; she is going to do everything she can to end Candice. Io winning is a fait accompli. She is more than the genius of the sky. She is the star of stars who is the future of the women’s division in NXT. Candice may put up a good fight, but will be nothing more than a speed up on Io’s road to the top.

NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream vs. Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong 

Guys in this match who have said ‘ain’t no laws when you’re drinking the claws!’ unironically, ranked:

  1. Roderick Strong
  2. Roddy Strong
  3. Rod Strong

As they say on the internet, that’s it. That’s the list. This match, more than any other, shows the difference between NXT and the main roster. This match would never happen on the main roster mainly because this collection of characters would never exist on the main roster. 90% of the guys on Raw and SmackDown are just various shades of gray. They all blend together, and very few stand out. The standouts are the ones who really stand out: The New Day. Bray Wyatt. R-Truth. They all do something so different than everyone else.

Kevin Owens is playing a face battling against the bad authority figure, just like everyone else in wrestling history. Even Daniel Bryan, one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, was part of the same story idea. Those two elevate that blase level of storytelling because of their talent, but not everyone can do that. NXT allows the characters to breathe. They let even a cookie cutter character (Roddy) be themselves in some way. They’ve invested in the characters so the audience will invest in them. It’s not that hard.

I realize that whenever I write up a Dream match I inevitably talk about character, but that’s the entire point of him. He’s a larger than life character that just happens to be a wrestler. Just because he’s larger than life doesn’t mean he’s unbelievable. We’ve seen him establish himself as something serious (his match with Aleister Black) into a true champion, and it’s been a fun ride. Roddy has tread a similar path in his own way, going from a happy-to-be-here family man, to turning on his tag team partner so he can hang out with his bros in the back of freight trucks.

Even Pete Dunne whose emotions range from ‘angry’ to ‘more angry’ is showing signs of being more than that. Did he leave NXT UK because he couldn’t beat WALTER? Did he leave because he wants to payback Roddy for turning on him? Or did he leave because North America is bigger than the UK and he wants a bigger stage? We don’t know yet, but the seeds to develop those aspects of his character are there.

It kind of makes sense for Roddy to win here and for the Undisputed Era to leave with the belts. If he loses here, that’s two TakeOver losses in a row and it would be hard to rationalize him getting another singles match during the fall TakeOver. Dream doesn’t need this particular belt, and if Pete is sticking around NXT proper, he and Roddy would have a banger of a match at any point in the near future.

NXT Tag Team Champions Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) vs. The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish) 

The Profits finally winning gold, and celebrating in the crowd was one of the best moments of the year and they’re following that up by leaving NXT. This is the second time in a row that the NXT Tag Champs have left for the main roster before formally dropping the belts. I suppose that kind of thing comes with the territory when we are watching developmental. One of the reasons it works so well is that acts typically cycle through, keeping the card fresh. But can we please just leave the good tag teams in NXT so they can actually wrestle? I was real excited to see Montez Ford confront Drake Maverick about not having sex with his wife on Monday. We live in the stupidest time in human history. Imagine watching Ford this week and not seeing the biggest star in the company? The promo he cut was just spot on and proved he can cut any type of promo they ask of him. He’s turning drinking milk out of a solo cup into must see television.

If this is the end for the Profits, it makes sense for them to drop the belts to Fish and O’Reilly, two incredibly good workers who can make anyone look good. The tag team division in NXT is a bit thinner that it has been in awhile. Using Fish/O’Reilly as pseudo gatekeepers while new face tag teams get built up will make for a lot of fun. The only team with a believable shot at taking the belts are Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch, two dudes who can really go but seem destined for a mid-card run at best. All that matters is that MY president Kyle O’Reilly is walking out of Toronto. I know he’s Canadian but I don’t care. Our world is falling apart and only Kool Kyle can save us.

NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler vs. Mia Yim

The second women’s match on the card is also the second most exciting women’s match on the card. I guess thems the breaks when Io Shirai achieves her final form and Candice LeRae is finally given the platform she deserves.

We are supposed to buy into this idea that Shayna Baszler is scared of…Mia Yim. Shayna Baszler, the forever NXT Champion, the SHOOT BADASS, is afraid of Mia Yim? It just does not compute. There is a disconnect in this story somewhere and I just can’t quite place it. I don’t think the dialogue has done her any kinds of favors. The line “game recognize game and you look real unfamiliar right now” was supposed to sound tough, but it just came across as all sorts of cringey. I mentioned it last time when I said Yim just isn’t for me. She is very good and very talented, but she just doesn’t get me excited to watch her.

On the other hand, Baszler is very much for me, but she is also very much not for a lot of people. She only wrestles one style, and that style isn’t exactly over the top exciting. Her presence and her character continue to carry her matches. The same issues that plague Gargano could theoretically apply to Baszler as well. She’s been the fulcrum of the women’s division for years now. The story they’re telling is one that leads to a believable win for Yim. The crowd is behind her, but I just can’t help but think she’s not the won to send Baszler out of NXT.

It took a Mae Young Classic winner (Kairi Sane) to take the title from her once, and Yim just isn’t quite there yet.

NXT Champion Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano: Two-out-of-three falls match

Here we go again. In the words of Ric Flair, “One more time, I’m gonna show ya how to do it.” Did I rework this intro more times than I want to admit just so I could shoehorn that reference in there? You know I did but that doesn’t make it any less true. Before WWE got real horny for two-out-of-three falls matches for the past month, NXT established that type of match as the ultimate payoff to a feud. It’s just real strange because…they already wrestled this match in April. If people are already tired of Cole and Gargano wrestling each other, letting them wrestle what is essentially three small matches at once is an interesting choice. This has to be the end. This has to be it. It’s high time for a new babyface to hang out at the top of the NXT card.

This is going to be the shortest capsule I’ve ever written about a main event on a TakeOver. Everything that needs to be said about Cole/Gargano has already been said, and already been seen. The match will objectively be good, but is it actually going to be something that you just have to see? I just can’t see it. Much like I just can’t see a world where Gargano somehow closes the show as NXT champion again. We don’t need anymore vignettes. We don’t need to know how much this means to him. We know it does. We don’t need to see a legacy cemented because it already has been. We know his story, and it’s time for something else. 

HHH TakeOver audio: NXT-FS1 rumors, Simone Johnson updates

Posted on by Josh Nason

WWE COO Paul “HHH” Levesque held his traditional pre-TakeOver conference call Thursday morning, answering questions about the show, the talent, and even a few about the company.

– He was asked whether he was under consideration for the Paul Heyman-Eric Bischoff director roles for Raw/ and SmackDown.

– He said they are in the process of finalizing some things and hope to announce something on the Mae Young Classic soon.

– He was asked about EVOLVE’s 10th anniversary show and said it was a grand slam and that WWE Network will be “the one stop shop for everything you could ever need and want in the industry.”

– With regard to the NXT on FS1 rumors, he said there is always ongoing discussions on where content goes, regardless of platform. He added that he’s heard the chatter about how an FS1 show on Wednesdays would be counterprogramming AEW (without mentioning them by name), but that NXT has been on that day and time “forever”. 

– He said they’ve made a big push to have talent treat live and taped shows the same. He noticed that when SD was taped, the energy level was lower, equating it to a tightrope walker with a net under them. Part of the prep at the PC has been to work through that.

– He discussed Simone Johnson’s training at the PC and confirmed her dad has been there from time to time watching her train. He added that the PC is like a fountain of youth for older talents who come back to help out.

Hear all that and more by clicking below:

Right click save

Two stipulations revealed for Cole vs. Gargano at TakeOver: Toronto

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Two of the stipulations have been revealed for Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano’s two-out-of-three falls match at NXT TakeOver: Toronto.

Cole is defending his NXT Championship against Gargano at the SummerSlam weekend special. In storyline, Gargano is picking the stipulation for one of the falls, Cole is picking the stipulation for the other, and NXT general manager William Regal will choose the stipulation if they go to a third fall.

Promos from Gargano and Cole aired on this week’s episode of NXT television. Gargano announced that he’s picking a street fight for his stipulation, and Cole chose a normal one-on-one wrestling match for his stipulation. Cole said that’s the type of match he defeated Gargano in at TakeOver XXV and in the first fall of their match at TakeOver: New York. Cole said Gargano won’t be able to call himself “Johnny Wrestling” after Toronto.

Regal’s stipulation has yet to be announced.

TakeOver: Toronto is taking place at the Scotiabank Arena on Saturday, August 10. This week’s NXT TV episode also included the announcement that Velveteen Dream will defend the North American Championship against Roderick Strong and Pete Dunne in a triple threat match at TakeOver. Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish will challenge for The Street Profits’ NXT Tag Team titles.

Tag Team title match official for NXT TakeOver: Toronto

Posted on by Joseph Currier

After it was confirmed at June’s television tapings, the Tag Team title match for NXT TakeOver: Toronto has now been officially announced.

The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) will defend their titles against The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) at the SummerSlam weekend special. The Scotiabank Arena is hosting TakeOver: Toronto on Saturday, August 10.

Dawkins & Ford have been NXT Tag Team Champions since defeating O’Reilly & Fish, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch, and The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler) in a ladder match for the then-vacant titles at TakeOver XXV last month. O’Reilly dealt with a staph infection after hurting his back in that match.

The Street Profits made their main roster debut on the July 1 episode of Raw. They’ve continued to appear in segments since then but have yet to wrestle.

Adam Cole will defend the NXT Championship against Johnny Gargano in a two-out-of-three falls match in the main event of TakeOver: Toronto. In storyline, Gargano will pick a stipulation for one fall and Cole will pick the stipulation for the other. If it goes to a third fall, William Regal will choose the last stipulation.

Cole vs. Gargano stipulation match official for NXT TakeOver: Toronto

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano will be facing off in a two-out-of-three falls match with a few added stipulations at NXT TakeOver: Toronto.

WWE has announced that Cole will defend his NXT Championship against Gargano at the SummerSlam weekend TakeOver event. In storyline, Gargano will pick a stipulation for one of the falls and Cole will pick a stipulation for the other. If it goes to a third fall, William Regal will pick the last stipulation.

The stipulations for the match have yet to be revealed.

After Tommaso Ciampa had to vacate the title due to injury, Gargano defeated Cole in a two-out-of-three falls match at TakeOver: New York this April to become NXT Champion. Cole then won the title from Gargano by defeating him at TakeOver XXV in June.

Cole vs. Gargano at TakeOver: Toronto is being hyped as a rubber match that will settle their rivalry.

On the episode of NXT television that aired this week, Gargano returned and beat down Cole in the show-closing angle. He attacked Cole all around the Full Sail arena, with Gargano then putting Cole in the Gargano Escape back in the ring. 

The Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is hosting TakeOver: Toronto on Saturday, August 10.

Daily Update: All Out, NXT TakeOver spoilers, Gedo rumor killer

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News

Latest Audio

We’re looking for reports on tonight’s WWE show in Winnipeg to [email protected].

BELLATOR’S BIGGEST EVENT OF THE YEAR TONIGHT IN MADISON SQUARE GARDEN ON DAZN

Top prelim bouts starting at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time

  • Rena Kubota (111.2) vs. Lindsay VanZandt (111.4)
  • Robson Gracie Jr. (168.6) vs. Oscar Vera (168.8)
  • Valerie Loureda (125) vs. Larkyn Dasch (125.8)
  • Heather Hardy (127.8) vs. Taylor Turner (127.8)
  • Aaron Pico (145.4) vs. Adam Borics (145.4)

Main card: at 10 p.m. Eastern time

  • Darrion Caldwell (134.6) vs. Kyoji Horiguchi (134.4) for Bellator bantamweight title
  • Eduardo Dantas (145.6) vs. Juan Archuleta (145.8)
  • Ricky Bandejas (136) vs. Patrick Mix (135.6)
  • Dillon Danis (175) vs. Max Humphrey (174.4)
  • Lyoto Machida (204.4) vs. Chael Sonnen (205.6)
  • Rory MacDonald (169.4) vs. Neiman Gracie (169.8) for welterweight title

NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING AT 8 P.M. EASTERN TONIGHT ON AXS TV

  • Shingo Takagi vs. Satoshi Kojima
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jay White & Chase Owens & Taiji Ishimori
  • Jon Moxley vs. Shota Umino
  • Dragon Lee vs. Will Ospreay for IWGP jr. title
  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Chris Jericho for IWGP heavyweight title

CMLL FROM ARENA MEXICO IN MEXICO CITY TONIGHT AT 9:30 P.M. ON THE CMLL FACEBOOK PAGE AND AFTER THE EVENT ON YOUTUBE

  • Triton & Esfinge & Rey Cometa vs. Polvora & Kawato San & Tiger
  • Valiente & Soberano Jr. & Atlantis Jr. vs. Cuatrero & Sanson & El Hijo de Villano III
  • Euforia vs. Rey Bucanero
  • Austin Theory & Caristico & Volador Jr. vs. Rush & Negro Casas & Cavernario
  • Block B in the Copa Dinastias tournament with Mistico & Dragon Lee, Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero, Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja and Mascara Ano 2000 & Sanson

IMPACT AT 10 P.M. ON PURSUIT TV IF SOMEBODY AT THE STATION IS AWAKE

  • Willie Mack vs. Michael Elgin
  • Rob Van Dam & Sabu vs. Ethan Page & Josh Alexander
  • Havok vs. Marsha Slamovich
  • Madison Rayne vs. Jordynne Grace 

We’re looking for reports Saturday from the Raw show in Anaheim, CA and Smackdown show in Denver to [email protected].

MLW AT 9 P.M. EASTERN ON BEINSPORTS

  • Sami Callihan vs. Mance Warner

NEW JAPAN FROM KORAKUEN HALL IN TOKYO AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERN ON SUNDAY ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

  • Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura
  • Tomohiro Ishii & Tomoaki Honma & Ren Narita vs. Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Douki
  • Juice Robinson & Mikey Nicholls & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa & Jado
  • Kota Ibushi & Yuji Nagata & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask & Shota Umino vs. Tetsuya Naito & Evil & Sanada & Shingo Takagi & Bushi
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe & Toru Yano vs. Jay White & Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
  • Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi & Toa Henare vs. Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. & Lance Archer
  • Sho & Yoh vs. El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori for IWGP jr. tag titles

Sunday has WWE with a Raw house show in San Diego and a Smackdown house show in Salt Lake City.

AAA VERANO DE ESCANDALO SUNDAY FROM THE POLIFORUM ZAMINA IN MERIDA ON THE AAA TWITCH CHANNEL

  • Lady Shani vs. Keyra vs. Chik Tormenta for the Reina de Reinas title
  • Faby Apache vs. El Hijo del Tirantes
  • Mamba & Maximo vs. Australian Suicide & Sammy Guevera
  • Laredo Kid & Taya Valkyrie vs. Daga & Tessa Blanchard
  • Aerostar & Pagano & Puma King vs. Chessman & Killer Kross & Monsther Clown
  • La Parka & El Hijo del Vikingo & Myzteziz Jr. vs. La Hiedra & Rey Escorpion & El Texano Jr.
  • Young Bucks vs. Pentagon Jr. & Fenix for AAA tag titles
  • Blue Demon Jr. & Black Taurus vs. Psycho Clown & Dr. Wagner Jr.

NEW JAPAN FROM KORAKUEN HALL IN TOKYO AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERN MONDAY ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

  • Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura
  • Yuji Nagata & Shota Umino vs. Tomoaki Honma & Toa Henare
  • Kota Ibushi & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Tetsuya Naito & Evil & Sanada & Shingo Takagi & Bushi
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson & Mikey Nicholls & Ren Narita vs. Jay White & Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa & Taiji Ishimori
  • Togi Makabe & Toru Yano & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. El Phantasmo & Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi for Never six man titles
  • Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii& Yoshi-Hashi & Sho & Yoh vs. Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. & Lance Archer & Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru in an elimination match

Raw will be Monday from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. There is no Smackdown house show on Monday night.

Smackdown and 205 Live will be taped on Tuesday in Ontario, CA.

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: WWE’s Super Showdown embarrassment 

The ending of Super ShowDown brought a scary end to what was an embarrassing night for WWE.

Goldberg vs. The Undertaker reinforced the amount of risk that exists when you put two 50-year-old wrestlers against each other. The match was laid out exactly as it should have been and was on its way to being good, but things fell apart when Goldberg got knocked out.

Goldberg (who already had a mark on his forehead going into the match) got busted open when he went for a spear into the corner and rammed his head into the post less than three minutes in. From there, things only got worse.

WON NEWSLETTER: June 17, 2019 Observer Newsletter: Scary incidents in the ring, NJPW Dominion review

A look at Undertaker vs. Goldberg, Naito vs. Ibushi and why referees and doctors need to be stopping matches when talent is legitimately hurt is the lead story in the new issue of the Observer.  Look at how small independents are ahead of the game when it comes to precautionary measures involving talent this past week.

Read complete coverage of New Japan Dominion, WWE Super Showdown and UFC 238, with business notes, poll results, match-by-match coverage and star ratings for the pro wrestling shows.

Look at the injury situation and risks, look back at the Undertaker vs. Mick Foley Hell in a Cell match and what resulted from that, and the heyday of All Japan Pro Wrestling.

Look at what happened with the attempt to put on a women’s match in Saudi Arabia, the silliness of TV coverage in the past and not allowing women to wrestle there, and more behind the scenes at the show.

Also look at the upcoming G-1 Climax tournament and who to expect to be in it, TV coverage in the U.S. expanding, the newcomers to G-1, who is out from last year, the new Super J Cup tournament, a history of the Super J Cup, G-1 announcement plans and New Japan going to Australia.

Look at a wrestling television show being voted on for a nomination for a major award, John Cena’s future, FS 1 talk show on wrestling, HHH working in Japan and latest cards, and a Sasha Banks update.

ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE

Not sure of the weekend schedule but Garrett Gonzalez and I will be doing a show on business sometime in the next 24 hours and Bryan and I will be doing a weekend show. The biggest weekend shows are Bellator tonight and Verano de Escandalo on Sunday. Verano de Escandalo tickets are almost sold and that is very rare for a show in Mexico because most tickets are still bought day of.

The final number of those who were in the queque and tried to get tickets for All Out on 8/31 in Chicago, the next AEW PPV show, was 72,500 after about 30 minutes, and that is verified as they actually gave people their number in line. Keep in mind a few things about that stat. Some people logged in multiple times. Some of those people were fake. And those who ordered tickets probably averaged at roughly three tickets per order. Based on how quick it took to sell out, how many went through, which factors in multiples and fakes, the actual number of tickets that would have been sold would be just over 130,000.  That ticket demand first 30 minutes beat any WrestleMania in history and would be the highest for any pro wrestling show I’ve ever heard of. The only show higher would have been the first time UFC went to Rio when the ticket demand was legit 250,000 for a 16,000 seat arena. Obviously they way undershot in booking the Sears Center and these numbers are both insane and telling. Stubhub had 893 tickets on sale the last time I checked. With most prices going at 4x ticket value, there will be more put up as they are moving and people are putting more up just because of the markup. The secondary market was on fire today as well.

We do have tickets for Bryan and my show in Chicago but all combined show and tickets sold out in like a minute.

The story going around about Gedo being out as New Japan booker is false. No idea where it came from but New Japan has denied it, and Gedo has told friends he has no idea where it came from.

Takeover Toronto will have:

  • Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano for the NXT title
  • Velveteen Dream vs. Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong for the North American title
  • Shayna Baszler vs. Mia Yim for the women’s title
  • Street Profits vs. Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly for the tag titles
  • Finals of the Breakout tournament

WWE

  • Becky Lynch is not listed on tonight’s Raw show in Winnipeg but is listed for Anaheim and San Diego. Charlotte Flair is listed as being back on the road tomorrow in Denver for the Smackdown tour. No word on Andrade but he is not being advertised. Lars Sullivan is off with an injury.
  • Ric Flair and Ron Simmons were being interviewed today for an A&E documentary on Booker T according to Mike Johnson.
  • An interview with Seth Rollins.
  • A story on A.J. Kirsch setting up Becky Lynch meeting a fan whose home was destroyed in one of the many Northern California fires.
  • Finn Balor will be signing at Eternal Con at NYCB Live on 6/22.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Willie Williams, a karate expert who had a legendary match with Antonio Inoki on February 27, 1980 for the old WWF World Martial arts championship (I’ll tell the story of it, but it is one of the most famous matches in Japan of that generation), passed away last week at the age of 68. The match is fascinating to watch now, very intense, realistic but not real, but tensions were very high like you would rarely see. Nobody would do the job. In Japan in 2003 it was listed as the greatest martial arts fight of the 20th century. The legend of that match was such that in 1992 Akira Maeda brought Williams back to be one of the big stars in RINGS. His matches there were pro wrestling matches but he is listed as having a 9-4 MMA record. He actually did do one MMA fight but it was when he was about 45 years old. Inoki vs. Williams finally had their rematch at the Tokyo Dome in 1997 and he also wrestled for FMW. This wasn’t as famous as Inoki’s match with Muhammad Ali or Willem Ruska, but was more famous that his supposed (not real) fights with Andre the Giant, the later Ruska match, Chuck Wepner, Leon Spinks, Allen Coage, Shota Chochoshvili and others.
  • Steve Austin will return to podcasting on 6/18 with a show with Tony Khan as his guest.
  • The G-1 tournament blocks will be announced early Sunday morning during the broadcast of the Korakuen Hall shows. The main events for every show on the tour will be announced early Monday morning.
  • FITE TV has announced it is broadcasting Fyter Fest on 6/29 for iPPV outside the U.S. (B/R Live), the U.K. and Ireland. No word yet on the U.K. but the fact it was specifically excluded would indicate a deal being worked on.
  • Daga won’t be used going forward by MLW. The promotion said that he pulled himself off the 6/1 show in Milwaukee saying he was going on vacation, only for them to find out he was wrestling in Mexico. He was then pulled from future bookings.
  • Slam Wrestling in Rauma, Finland on 6/29 has Sadie Gibbs vs. Meiko Satomura vs. Ivelisse in the main event, plus Tajiri vs. Starbuck, Shanne vs. Natalia Markova vs. Betty Rose and more.
  • Former wrestlers Jon Stewart and Cue Ball Carmichael have inked a developmental deal on a reality show called “The Graveyard Shift,” about murder and crimes committed after hours in the U.S. Adam Wilkenfeld (“Saw Dogs”) is the producer.
  • Ross & Marshall Von Erich have been announced for the 7/25 MLW tapings in New York at the Melrose Ballroom.
  • NSPW sold all of its 548 available tickets for its 11th anniversary show on 10/5 in Quebec City at the new Le Diamant. Le Diamant is partly the brainchild of Robert Lepage, an actor, playwright, stage director and award winning film director who is a part of Quebec’s entertainment landscape. Shawn Spears vs. Matt Angel will headline.
  • The Hannibal TV’s nearly 3 hour interview with UFC Hall of Famer and former New Japan Pro Wrestling Star Mark “The Hammer” Coleman is now posted free.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: The Steiners win WWF Tag Team titles

CONTACT INFORMATION

Two title matches announced for TakeOver: Toronto at NXT tapings

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Editor’s note: This article includes spoilers from NXT television episodes that have yet to air.

At Thursday’s television tapings, two title matches were made official for NXT’s SummerSlam weekend TakeOver special.

NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler will defend her title against Mia Yim at TakeOver: Toronto, while The Street Profits will defend their Tag Team titles against Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish. TakeOver: Toronto is taking place at the Scotiabank Arena on Saturday, August 10.

Baszler retained her title against Io Shirai in a steel cage match at this Wednesday’s NXT TV tapings. Shirai appeared to blame her loss on Candice LeRae getting involved. Shirai attacked LeRae after the match.

The Baszler vs. Shirai cage match will air on the June 26 episode of NXT.

Yim defeated Aliyah at Wednesday’s tapings. NXT has been building up Yim getting the title shot, with her defeating Bianca Belair twice on TV in recent weeks.

The Street Profits defeated Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler by disqualification at Wednesday’s tapings. Jaxson Ryker interfered for the DQ. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch made the save for The Street Profits, then indicated that they wanted the Tag Team titles. The Street Profits retained against Lorcan & Burch on Thursday.

A contract signing for the Street Profits vs. O’Reilly & Fish title match at TakeOver was also held at Thursday’s tapings.

Our JJ Williams has reports from night one and night two of the tapings, which featured the final build to TakeOver: Toronto. NXT Champion Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano’s feud continued at the tapings, while Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne appears to be the direction for the North American Championship.

NXT TakeOver Toronto live results: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Samoa Joe

Posted on by Arya Witner

Welcome to our live coverage of NXT TakeOver: Toronto! Tonight, for the first time ever, NXT invades Canada as Survivor Series weekend begins with a TakeOver special.

All three championships are on the line, with Samoa Joe challenging Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT Championship in the main event. They first squared off at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, with Nakamura ending Joe’s four-month title reign. Joe laid out Nakamura in September and Nakamura is back not just to defend his championship, but to also look for revenge.

The returning Mickie James has a shot against the undefeated, undisputed, reigning, defending NXT Women’s Champion, Asuka. Can James do what no other woman on the NXT roster has been able to do and end the winning streak and title reign of The Empress of Tomorrow?

The show will also feature two big tag team matches, with The Revival defending against Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa in a two-out-of-three falls match and the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic concluding with TM-61 facing The Authors of Pain with Paul Ellering suspended above the ring in a shark cage.

Also on the card, Tye Dillinger goes for revenge against Bobby Roode after Roode abandoned him in their Dusty Classic match against SAnitY.

Our live coverage kicks off at 8 p.m. ET.

**********

12,649 is the announced attendance.

**********

Bobby Roode defeated Tye Dillinger

Roode won with the Implant DDT after running Dillinger shoulder-first into the ring post in what was a really good opener.

Roode has a choir singing his theme. Hot crowd from the bell, chanting “This is awesome” before they even locked up. The match started with Dillinger destroying Roode on the arena floor for three minutes, but Roode took over back in the ring by back dropping Dillinger over the top rope.

Roode’s major league presence made this match even better, even when it got slow at times. Roode used a schoolboy with his feet on the ropes for a near fall and Dillinger used a Sharpshooter near the end. Dillinger got a standing ovation after the match.

Jim Ross was seen at ringside.

**********

The Authors of Pain defeated TM61 to win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic

Authors of Pain won the second annual tournament with The Last Chapter in a match that was better than expected, but still not very good.

Paul Ellering was being held up in the air by a giant contraption that looked like the TNA Ultimate X structure. The match started with a four way brawl outside the ring, highlighted by Rezer carrying Nick Miller up the structure, but then Miller got loose and did a dive off of it, onto the AOP.

The crowd was in and out of this match, making noise for big moves, but sitting quietly the rest of the time. TM61 did Thunder Valley near the finish. Paul Ellering dropped a chain into the ring at the end, but it ended up in the third row by accident. One of the AOP tried to hit Nick Miller, but Miller blocked it and the chain flew.

Triple H, William Regal and Dustin Rhodes congratulated the winners and presented them with the trophy.

**********

DIY defeated NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival in a 2/3 falls match to win the titles

DIY won the tag team titles 2 falls to 1, with the final fall happening with a double submission where Gargano used a version of the crossface, while Ciampa used the armbreaker. DIY becomes the 11th NXT Tag Team Champions.

First Fall: A quick first fall. Both teams looked good. Dash was moving well coming off his knee injury. Ciampa got cut off, made the big tag to Gargano. Gargano ran wild until being blocked when going for the Slingshot Spear and it was turned into the Shatter Machine, giving Revival the first fall.

Second Fall: DIY won with the superkick/knee strike combo to Dawson. The champs spent the entire fall working over Gargano. They went for another Shatter Machine, but Gargano turned it into a Tornado DDT on Dawson where he kicked Dash on the way over. The fans exploded for Ciampa’s eventual hot tag.

A lot of hot near falls, including Gargano kicking out of a Hart Attack. Ciampa used a Rough Ryder to the back of Dawson and hit a high crossbody when Dawson went for a piledriver on Gargano.

Third Fall: DIY hit one hot move after another to start, with Revival doing everything possible to hold them off. They cut off Gargano yet again, this time with a European Uppercut/German suplex.

Behind the referee’s back, Dash threw Dawson a title belt and Dawson smashed Gargano’s knee with it when Gargano went for a superkick. Dawson put on the Inverted Figure Four that won them the match in Brooklyn, but Gargano barely made the ropes.

Dawson accidentally superkicked Dash before the finish when they tried to use DIY’s finish and DIY got a near fall with a Shatter Machine on Dawson. Dawson then used a schoolboy and got a handful of tights, but he wasn’t the legal man, so the ref didn’t count.

This was an excellent tag team match, just as good as their bout in Brooklyn, in my opinion.

**********

NXT Women’s Champion Asuka defeated Mickie James to retain

Asuka retained with the Asuka Lock. The finish saw Asuka fight for it and fight for it and Mickie tried to get out of it, but she got caught. This was an excellent match as well.

Every fan in the first row, all the way up the aisle, was wearing an Asuka mask. Do you believe in coincidences? A different type of Asuka match, as Mickie had such an advantage that Asuka had to roll to the outside. Mickie held the ropes open for Asuka, which led to the fans chanting “Asuka’s gonna kill you” before Asuka got back in under the bottom rope. Later Asuka knocked Mickie to the floor and held the ropes open for her, but when Mickie tried to get back in Asuka gave her a hip attack to the face.

Outside the ring, Mickie went for a Mick Kick, but Asuka caught it and dropped Mickie with a German suplex on the floor, which was sold big. Mickie kept making comebacks, which would constantly make Asuka angrier. All of Asuka’s offense kept getting reversed before the finish.

After the match, Mickie reached out for a handshake, but Asuka just raised the title belt over her head and walked off.

**********

Samoa Joe defeated NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura to win the title

Joe regained the title with a Muscle Buster after a low kick and a uranage on the steps outside the ring. Joe becomes the first ever 2-time NXT Champion and the 10th champion, following Seth Rollins, Big E, Bo Dallas, Neville, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, Joe and Nakamura.

Once again, they used live violinists to play Nakamura’s theme. It’s weird because they’re playing the violin, but Nakamura’s theme was playing so loud over the house mic you couldn’t hear them anyway. The match started with a series of leg kicks by both men, which culminated in a hard inner thigh kick by Joe. Joe worked on the knee the bulk of the match, with Nakamura trying to fend the challenger off with his other foot, including up-kicks to Joe’s face.

Nakamura seemed to forget that his knee hurt while on offense as he used hard knees to Joe’s ribs and face. Nakamura used a Kinshasa from the middle rope, but sold that he landed hard on his head and couldn’t make a cover. Nakamura knee’d the turnbuckle when Joe moved and Joe rolled into Nakamura’s knee to further injure it. Joe kicked out of a Kinshasa and got in the Coquina Clutch when Nakamura went for a second one.

Nakamura hit a second Kinshasa to the back of Joe’s head, which sent Joe outside the ring, which led to the finish. The fans were in shock and after the match, production accidentally played Joe’s first NXT theme before correcting their mistake.

Another excellent Takeover event, making it three great shows and one very good show this year. Thank you for reading!

The Revival vs. DIY booked for NXT TakeOver: Toronto

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The NXT tag titles will be on the line in Toronto.

It was announced on tonight’s episode of NXT that The Revival would defend their titles against Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa in a two-out-of-three falls match at NXT TakeOver: Toronto. The teams had been set to meet in the second round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic before The Revival had to forfeit the match due to a storyline injury to Scott Dawson.

Gargano and Ciampa failed to advance in the Dusty Classic on tonight’s show with Paul Ellering and The Revival helping The Authors of Pain pick up the win in their semifinal match. Gargano and Ciampa previously faced The Revival for their titles earlier this year at TakeOver: Brooklyn in a match that received rave reviews.

The finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic were set on tonight’s show with TM61 advancing to face The Authors of Pain at TakeOver. William Regal said that Ellering would be suspended above the ring in a cage for the finals.

TakeOver: Toronto will take place on November 19th at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto as part of three straight nights in the arena over Survivor Series weekend. The updated card for the show is:

  • NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura defending against Samoa Joe
  • NXT Women’s Champion Asuka defending against Mickie James
  • NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival defending against DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) in a two-out-of-three falls match
  • Bobby Roode vs. Tye Dillinger
  • TM61 vs. The Authors of Pain in the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic

Asuka vs. Mickie James set for NXT TakeOver: Toronto

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Asuka has found her next title challenger.

It was announced at Thursday night’s NXT TV tapings that Mickie James would challenge NXT Women’s Champion Asuka for her title at NXT TakeOver: Toronto on November 19th. The news was also confirmed by WWE in an Instagram post.

The storyline leading up to James’ return at TakeOver had been Asuka running through the NXT women’s division and claiming that there wasn’t enough competition for her. James, a former WWE Women’s and Diva’s champion, last wrestled for WWE in 2010 before being released from the company.

It was also announced on Thursday that Shinsuke Nakamura would defend his NXT Championship against Samoa Joe in the main event of the November TakeOver special. The second annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will also conclude on the show as this year’s winners are crowned.

TakeOver: Toronto will be the first of three shows WWE holds at the Air Canada Centre during Survivor Series weekend.