Tag: takeover brooklyn

NXT TakeOver Brooklyn IV live results: Ciampa vs. Gargano

Posted on by Chris Aiken

Images: WWE

NXT’s fourth annual SummerSlam weekend special takes place tonight as the Barclays Center hosts TakeOver: Brooklyn.

Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano are set to headline their third straight TakeOver. They’ll face off in a last man standing match for Ciampa’s NXT Championship after an originally planned triple threat match fell through due to an injury to Aleister Black.

NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler will defend her title against Kairi Sane in a rematch from last year’s Mae Young Classic finals. The NXT Tag Team Championship match will also be a rematch, with The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong) and Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) continuing their rivalry.

Undisputed Era member Adam Cole will put his NXT North American Championship on the line against Ricochet. Plus, Velveteen Dream takes on EC3.

The TakeOver pre-show will begin at 6 p.m. Eastern time prior to the card starting at 7 p.m.

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The first televised WWE event of SummerSlam weekend began with the NXT TakeOver Pre-Show. The panel consists of host Charly Caruso alongside Sam Roberts and Pat McAfee. Mike Rome was also part of the broadcast team as a rovering reporter.

Mostly just hype and hard sell on the pre-show so far. McAfee was way over the top — even by WWE standards.

Ricochet joined the pre-show for a split-screen interview. Caruso asked how he was feeling. Ricochet said his match tonight is the moment he has been working towards during his entire 15-year career. At the end of the day, Ricochet says he knows he can win. Ricochet was all smiles throughout the segment.

Roberts asked Ricochet if he thought he was more special than Adam Cole. This relates to Cole in storyline saying he was more special than Ricochet. Answering Roberts question, Ricochet said he was better than Cole. McAfee then asked a rambling question about feeling pressure. Ricochet admitted he felt pressure. He concluded by vowing to win the NXT North American Championship tonight.

William Regal joined the panel to discuss the Aleister Black injury angle. He was very serious, and so was the rest of the panel — except McAfee. He joked. Roberts chided McAfee for it.

Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, and Nigel McGuinness were on commentary for the broadcast. The live card begins with a tag team title match.

NXT Tag Team Champions Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong) defeated Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) to retain their titles

O’Reilly pinned Seven in a fantastic match. They all had a slugfest at the outset. Moustache Mountain gained an early advantage until Strong cut off Seven. Strong & O’Reilly then targeted Seven. Bate was a house of fire when he tagged in. With O’Reilly on Bate’s back applying a sleeper, Bate still managed to suplex Strong in a feat of strength. Strong soon caught Bate with a lariat to change the momentum.

Undisputed Era began to work over Bate. Strong at one point used a Gory Special. The champions made quick tags and cut the ring in half. Bate sent both O’Reilly and Strong sailing over the top rope in a sequence that led to a hot tag. Seven cleaned house and traded near falls with Undisputed Era. Bate tried to make a save to no avail — not yet at least. He would soon try again.

Strong applied a Boston crab on Seven. Meanwhile, O’Reilly caught Bate with a triangle. Bate then deadlifted O’Reilly into a powerbomb on Strong to break the crab. The crowd popped huge for that spot. Moments later, Bate suplexed Undisputed Era on to each other. Bate followed with a dive over the ropes to the floor. Rolling Strong back in the ring, Bate delivered the Tyler Driver ’97 for a two and a half count. Another huge pop.

O’Reilly applied an ankle lock on Bate. This set up a tease of Seven throwing in the towel — spoofing a finish in the previous match in the rivalry. Seven got a hot tag instead. Moustache Mountain ran wild and hit their double-team finisher of a flying kneedrop combined with a Burning Hammer on O’Reilly — but he kicked out. The closing moments were wild, and the crowd was rabid.

Strong cut off Bate with a running knee strike to dispatch him. Outnumbered, Seven became prey. Undisputed Era used Total Elimination, and O’Reilly covered Seven for the pinfall. What this match lacked in drama compared to their last meeting on NXT TV, it made up for in action. Great way to start the show.

Velveteen Dream defeated EC3

Dream pinned EC3 with a Dream Valley Driver and a flying elbow drop. EC3 dominated in the early portion of the match. Dream countered the onslaught with a twisting DDT outside on the metal ramp. Dream worked the neck when they returmed to the ring. EC3 eventually made a comeback. The first half was plodding.

They would trade near falls and big moves down the stretch. EC3 superplexed Dream — but EC3 sold his neck upon impact. Dream countered moments later to deliver a Dream Valley Driver for a two count. Somewhere in there EC3 bled from a cut over his eye. After a Dream Valley Driver on the apron, Dream then dropped a flying elbow. Dream folled EC3 back inside the ropes to cover him for the pin.

Matt Riddle was shown sitting in the crowd. So he has likely indeed signed with WWE.

Ricochet defeated NXT North American Champion Adam Cole to win the title

Ricochet pinned Cole with a 630 splash at the conclusion of an excellent match. They more than delivered. This was breathtaking at times. It is definitely worth going out of your way to see. 

Early exchanges relied on basic wrestling holds. Ricochet then started flying around. Cole was backpedaling until he sent Ricochet crashing to the floor. Cole grounded Ricochet — but not for long. Ricochet would dive outside the ring with a Fosbury Flop. A springboard uppercut followed for a near fall. Ricochet then launched into a flurry of flight. He springboarded into a corkscrew moonsault, and then did another even more spectacular than the first. Cole somehow kicked out.

Cole soon cut off Ricochet with a backstabber. Ricochet retaliated with more of his aerial arsenal. When Ricochet went for a quebrada, Cole cut him down with a superkick out of nowhere. That was an amazing sight. Cole followed with a ushigoroshi for a two count. The crowd was going crazy by this point.

They traded more near falls with dazzling highspots. Ricochet did a reverse rana that spiked Cole. A moment later, Ricochet leapt over the ropes for a Frankensteiner from the apron to the floor. Ricochet rolled Cole back into the ring to set up his finisher. Ricochet hit the 630 splash to score the pin and win the title.

Kairi Sane defeated NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler to win the title

Sane pinned Baszler while countering a choke into a cover. They told a great story in a match that was arguably better than their previous bout last year in the finals of the Mae Young Classic. Baszler looked strong despite losing. Sane looked like a superstar in winning. The Horsewomen — including Ronda Rousey — were front row ringside to cheer on Baszler.

Sane was out-wrestling the submission specialist as the match began. Baszler turned vicious to counter Sane. Baszler would then target a leg. She twisted and stomped on the leg. Baszler briefly stopped to mock Sane. Showing fighting spirit, Sane fired up with strikes. A spinning back fist led to two rolling neckbreakers. Baszler caught Sane on the top rope for an avalanche gutwrench suplex. A knee strike by Baszler got a two count.

Sane countered a suplex and speared Baszler. Sane jumped off the top with a flying elbow drop onto the back of Baszler. Baszler rolled outside. Sane leaped off the top to the outside with flying body press. Baszler kicked out after a flying elbow drop from Sane. Baszler countered The Anchor by applying the rear naked choke. Sane escaped. Baszler applied a leglock — then a counter led to Sane applying The Anchor. Baszler got a rope break.

For the finish, Sane went for another flying elbow drop. Baszler blocked the elbow and applied a choke. Sane fell backwards to cover Baszler for a pinfall to win the title. The last spot was similar to the finish Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper at WrestleMania VIII — or Hart vs. Steve Austin at Survivor Series. Great finish to a trememdous match.

NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa defeated Johnny Gargano to retain the title in a last man standing match

Ciampa retained when Gargano failed to answer the ten count. The rules — or lack thereof — were from the old school Texas Death Match playbook. At the finish, Gargano hit a running knee strike only to injure his knee in the process. Therefore, he was unable to stand. They had a great match much like their previous matches. They had callbacks that played on their rivalry.

Gargano attacked Ciampa before the bell. They brawled on the floor. Ciampa rammed Gargano into the ring steps. For a receipt, Gargano threw Ciampa into the barricade. Gargano pulled the mats off the concrete floor. Ciampa gouged the eyes and went for a draping DDT. Gargano countered by ramming Ciampa into the ring post. Gargano then cleared off an announce desk. He went to give Ciampa a piledriver on the desk. Ciampa instead scooped him up for an Air Raid Crash through an adjacent desk. 

A chair came into play. Gargano cut off Ciampa by hitting him in the knee with the chair. Gargano repeatedly hit Ciampa with chairshots. Ciampa was able to counter by applying a sleeper hold. Ciampa put Gargano to sleep. Gargano was able to stand and break the count at six. Ciampa quickly swooped in to again apply the sleeper. Gargano escaped to send Ciampa like a lawn dart into a chair wedged in a corner.

Gargano rolled out of the ring for some DIY remodeling. He stacked two tables on top of each other — with table legs sticking upward on one table. Ciampa rained down chairshots on him. Ciampa followed with a trifecta of Project Ciampas. He then sat down in a chair while the referee began counting. Gargano broke the count and superkicked Ciampa out of his seat.

A “yay/boo” slugfest developed. That led into a wild exchange of strikes and highspots. They both went down only to rise again for another slugfest. A second double down saw them stay down longer as the ref counted. They both broke the count as the fight soon spilled outside the ring. Gargano crashed and burned on an attempted senton cannonball. Ciampa executed a Devil’s 
Wings on the ring steps. Gargano miraculously got to his feet to break the count.

In a callback to their last match, Ciampa removed the padding covering the ring to expose the wooden planks underneath. Gargano blasted Ciampa with a fire extinguisher. Gargano then grabbed a crutch and beat Ciampa with it. Sprinboarding into the ring, Gargano delivered a draping DDT on the wooden planks. In a clever way to get back on his feet, Ciampa broke the ten count by rolling outside the ring into a standing position on the floor. A similar situation would play into the finish later on.

Gargano twice did a tope suicida as he ran wild. Ciampa sidestepped — causing Gargano to superkick a member of the production crew. With the added effect of also using a chair, Ciampa delivered a running knee strike that sent Gargano crashing through the timekeeper’s area. Ciampa piled debris and the prone production crew member on top of Gargano trying to bury him so he could not answer the count. Gargano still broke the count nonetheless.

Ciampa got a pair of handcuffs. Gargano wrestled them away and cuffed Ciampa by one arm. Ciampa would wear the handcuffs on one arm the rest of the match until the finish. Gargano superkicked Ciampa off the apron — and Ciampa went through the stacked tables. Ciampa got to his feet with the help of a crutch to break the count. Ciampa backpedaled up the ramp. Gargano gave chase.

They fought on the stage in a callback to the angle where Ciampa turned on Gargano. This time, Gargano was the person administering the beatdown. Gargano handcuffed Ciampa to the stage. Ciampa pleaded and begged for forgiveness as Gargano rained down strikes. Gargano pulled down his kneepad before delivering a running knee strike. Upon impact, Gargano tumbled over production equipment and fell in a heap.

With both down selling, the ref started a double count. Gargano was unable to stand as he sold an injured knee. However, Ciampa rolled off the stage to land on his feet. Therefore, Ciampa broke the count and was declared the winner. Ranallo put over a narrative that Gargano had dislocated his knee. So, he cost himself the match in the end. Ciampa retains to fight another day.

Previewing NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn

Posted on by Mike DellaCamera

The best weekly wrestling show on television returns to Brooklyn for the 4th time this weekend. Apparently, SummerSlam is also this weekend, which is something I actually forgot about until I started writing this article.

What I didn’t forget about was the summer oasis that is NXT. Yet again, our pals from Florida are stacking a card that will undoubtedly please even the most cynical of wrestling fans. It’s becoming old hat to write about how they constantly put on the best shows of the year as the worst TakeOver this year will be better than the best main roster PPV by a large margin.

One reason it works so well is the weekly content is packed into a one hour show. When you have so much talent and so little time, the writing absolutely can’t be lazy; there just isn’t room for it. You can mail in an episode of Raw because next week, there will be another 3+ hours of new stuff. It’s a lot different when there’s only sixty minutes to fill. It trims the fat, and forces everyone to be at their best at all times. By not having every wrestler on every show, it allows for everyone to feel important. Would Velveteen Dream be as successful as he is if he came out every week to cut meaningless promos? Well, he probably would because he is a treasure, but you get the point.

On name vaue alone, tonight has the chance to be one of the best TakeOvers ever, which is saying something. You can make an argument that every match has a chance to be match of the night. Now like we always do at this time, let’s rundown the card and see how TakeOver Brooklyn should shake out.

EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream

This match might not be for a formal championship, but it absolutely is for the championship of my heart. The video of the two of them by the pool should be nominated for best short film every year for the rest of time. I listed this match first because it’s the only one where I’m not sure the actual wrestling will be great. For all of EC3’s strengths, and they are many, he really isn’t a standout in-ring performer. That doesn’t mean he isn’t good, but he doesn’t really do anything that makes you want to re-watch his matches. I’m pretty well sold on Dream being an excellent worker, I’m just curious as to how their styles will go together. I also can’t wait to see Dream’s ring gear. I hope he get Dixie Carter’s face airbrushed on his tights.

Dream is in this weird place where he doesn’t need to win to feel important…but he probably needs to start winning. That’s kind of what happened with Bray Wyatt; he was so over just based on him, that it didn’t matter if he won or lost. (Until he lost all the time and guess what? It actually wound up mattering.) I’d like EC3 to win because he needs it more, setting up an easy redemption story about how Dream can’t win on the biggest stage. People already cheer for him, so just lean into that a little bit more and have him go over big at the next TakeOver.

NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane

One of the main (and few) criticisms I have about Baszer as champion is that all of her feuds and matches, with the exception of Nikki Cross, kind of follow a similar formula: Big, bad MMA fighter turned wrestler can IRL beat down any of her smaller, weaker opponents. It’s tried and true, and it absolutely works for her. It doesn’t ask her to do anything she isn’t comfortable with while buying time for her to gain experience and round out her skill set. That’s how you develop a talent and how you make someone a real star. You play to their strengths and hide their weaknesses. 

NXT is perfect, because they haven’t handled Sane well at all. They failed to capitalize on her momentum from winning the first Mae Young Classic and from having the best finisher on the roster. Don’t get me wrong, she still feels important, but not nearly as important as someone who won the first MYC should be.

What it ultimately comes down to is this: I haven’t really felt emotionally invested in any of the women’s title matches since Baszler has had the belt as the stories just haven’t quite been there. I think this one comes the closest with Sane finally getting the coveted ‘mean streak’ on this week’s NXT. The three elbow drops combined with the shot of her locking in her submission while staring at the champion did more for me than any of the promo work combined. But, this just doesn’t seem like the right time to take the belt off of Baszler as it makes too much sense keeping it on her at least up to the Evolution event in September.

NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong) vs. Moustache Mountain

The Undisputed Era continues to be one of the best things on television week after week. Their smarmy backstage promos are always unnecessary and utterly fantastic. Everything they do is slimy and skeezy and I love it. I even love that they keep Bobby Fish around while he rehabs his injury just so he won’t get a big return pop. I just love it all.

In my younger and more vulnerable years, I didn’t appreciate tag team wrestling like I do now. I would always like one person in a team more than the other, and wondered why I couldn’t see more of just them. Now at the wise and sage-like age of 32, I’ve come to appreciate the perfection of tag matches. Tag teams aren’t keeping my favorites from me; they’re making me like my favorites more. Like I said earlier, it’s so important to accentuate a wrestler’s positives while hiding their weak points, and tag wrestling does that. Strong is perfect in this way. He can get tagged in, do a million moves (his strength) and not have to continuously sell (his weakness).

This match could steal the show. I’ve written like 200 words and haven’t even touched on how good British Strong Style is, or how well they can play to an audience. Trent Seven and his perfect hair is one of the better tag workers around. Tyler Bate is an absolute stud who can do just about anything in the ring — from deadlfiting a 300 pounder like WALTER to a shooting star press — his potential is almost staggering. Putting those two with absolute workhorses like Roddy and O’Reilly is a recipe for fireworks. Just look at how good the tag title match was at the last TakeIver. No disrespect to Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan, but Seven and Bate are just better. I have high hopes for this match and wouldn’t be surprised to see the titles change hands.

NXT North American Champion Adam Cole vs. Ricochet

This is the first proper showcase of Cole since he came to NXT as this is his first one-on-one matchup on a TakeOver card. He showed up last year in Brooklyn to beat down Drew McIntyre and since then, he was in a War Games match; a street fight; and a ladder match AND a tag match on the same night which is insane. I can’t remember another time a big name has gone a full year in the company and hasn’t wrestled a regular singles match on any of the big shows they were on. There isn’t any rhyme or reason behind it, but it’s still weird.

Anyway, this match is going to rule and should play to the strengths of both guys. Cole is better wrestling as a heel on top, and it goes without saying that Ricochet’s clear strengths are playing the high flying babyface. The crowd is going be beyond hot for both these guys. Their insane natural charisma is really only matched by their wrestling ability. What’s really cool is how different the charisma is. Cole is one of the best mic workers in the entire company and carries himself like a star. Ricochet doesn’t have anywhere near the same promo skills, but is arguably the most physically gifted wrestler in the entire world.

As an aside, Cole’s presence kind of needs to seen to be believed. Of course the crowd goes nuts for him whenever he’s on, but seeing it live is something else. I was live at an EVOLVE show when he wrestled WALTER in a non-brodcast match and the building went nuts when he came out even after a tremendous card finishing up a doubleheader of wrestling. Not one person was sitting down; the dude just has it.

Let’s say Cole retains here and continues to establish the North American championship as important. The title is still new and the midcard is flush with people ready to come after it. Put Ricochet on Raw right now while he can still move like he can.

NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano – Last Man Standing

So it’s come to this: These two one more (last?) time for the NXT championship. Did Aleister Black’s injury speed up the timeline for this feud? Sure. Is that a bad thing? Sure isn’t. I wasn’t crazy about Black’s run with the title because no matter what he did, he was always going to play second fiddle to whatever the latest chapter of the Gargano/Ciampa story was. That’s not necessarily an indictment on him, it’s just that there are more interesting and better guys right in front of us. Ciampa really is on Emperor Palpatine levels of evil right now and everyone needs to step aside and respect the one true king.

This is a match that doesn’t really need a preview. I don’t need to write how it’s going to be real good because if you are reading this, you presumably have eyes and have watched NXT before. I just wonder what story there is left to tell. Do we really want to see a long Gargano redemption story? Didn’t we already kind of see that while Ciampa was out? Didn’t we see him fighting through the spectre of Ciampa, finally moving past him, only for him to return and send the whole thing back to square one?

That Gargano and this Gargano are two different people entire with one thing in common: a singular focus on Tommaso Ciampa. While the first version tried to move past the obsession, to get over the betrayal and become his own person, the current version is nothing like that. This version is only focused on destroying Ciampa, and taking everything from him. This version is also flat out unlikeable. If it wasn’t for how great Ciampa is at playing his role, no one would be rooting for Gargano. He’s completely unlikeable and hard to root for, which all leads to one question. What next?

Gargano has already put his NXT career up once against Andrade “Cien” Almas, so would they really go to that well again? And if he wins the title, then what? We do this again in the fall? Now seems like the time to end everything once and for all. It’s the rubber match of the greatest feud and greatest story in the history of NXT, and it’s a Last Man Standing match. I have absolutely no idea which way this will go but I am so, so excited to find out.

Follow along with our live coverage tonight.

TakeOver: Brooklyn card takes shape at NXT TV tapings

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Editor’s note: This article references results from last night’s NXT television tapings and matches that have yet to air.

Image: JJ Williams

The card for TakeOver: Brooklyn IV came into focus at last night’s NXT television tapings.

The biggest development of the night was an NXT Championship change and a triple threat match for the title being made for TakeOver. Tommaso Ciampa won the title from Aleister Black and will defend it against Black and Johnny Gargano in Brooklyn.

Interference from Gargano ended up leading to Ciampa winning the title. The story was that Black had the match won, but a ref bump prevented the pin from being counted. Gargano ran in while Ciampa was trying to use the NXT title as a weapon. He attacked both Ciampa and Black, kicking Ciampa and then hitting Black with the championship belt. Ciampa threw Gargano out of the ring and hit an Angel’s Wings slam on Black to become the new champion.

Black vs. Gargano was made for later in the night, but it ended in a no contest when Ciampa attacked them. William Regal entered and announced the triple threat match for TakeOver.

Two title matches involving the Undisputed Era were also set up for Brooklyn. Adam Cole will defend his NXT North American Championship against Ricochet, while Tyler Bate & Trent Seven challenged Tag Team Champions Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong to a rematch.

Velveteen Dream vs. EC3 was announced for TakeOver as well, bringing the card up to five matches. Shayna Baszler defending her Women’s Championship against Kairi Sane was confirmed for the special at last month’s tapings.

TakeOver: Brooklyn will be held at the Barclays Center on August 18.

First match for TakeOver: Brooklyn set at NXT TV tapings

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Coming out of TakeOver: Chicago, the first match is already set for NXT’s next special event.

At TakeOver: Brooklyn on August 18, Shayna Baszler will be defending her NXT Women’s Championship against Kairi Sane in a rematch from the finals of last year’s Mae Young Classic. Sane won a triple threat number one contender’s match during Thursday’s NXT television tapings at Full Sail University to set up her challenging Baszler.

For the finish of the triple threat, Candice LeRae hit a lionsault on Nikki Cross and was going for the pin when Sane came off the top rope with her Insane Elbow. Sane pinned LeRae and then had a staredown with Baszler, who was doing commentary for the match.

Baszler cut a promo earlier in the tapings where she ran down the women’s division, saying no one can take the title from her. Sane also defeated Vanessa Borne prior to the triple threat and set her sights on Baszler, promising to beat her like she did in the Mae Young Classic finals.

NXT will finish building to TakeOver: Brooklyn when they return to Full Sail on July 18 for more tapings.

NXT TakeOver Brooklyn media call audio: HHH talks NXT and MYC

Posted on by Joseph Currier

As he does before every NXT TakeOver special, Paul “Triple H” Levesque met with the pro wrestling media on a conference call this afternoon. Here’s a rundown of some of the topics that were discussed:

– TakeOver: Brooklyn feeling a little bit like NXT’s WrestleMania and the brand starting to fire on all cylinders again.

– Triple H sending his thoughts and prayers to Ric Flair as he battles health issues.

– Working with other promoters like Gabe Sapolsky, the PROGRESS co-owners, and Dave Prazak. Triple H clarified that promoters that they work with aren’t officially employed with WWE but there’s an opportunity to be around each other and learn.

– Being blown away by the Mae Young Classic tapings and a lot of people who worked on it thinking it was better than the Cruiserweight Classic.

– Experimenting with binge-watching and on-demand programming with the Mae Young Classic release schedule.

– Success stories from the Performance Center and being thrilled with the process while never being totally satisfied with the results.

– The potential for wrestlers to move from the main roster to NXT.

– A rundown of the TakeOver card and NXT becoming a hotbed.

The full audio of the call is available below:

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