# NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread



## Jedah

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

That triple threat going by the wayside.


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## Crasp

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

Honestly, it's about time they added a 6th match to these Takeovers :/

Real shame Black got hurt. I really hope this Ciampa/Gargano feud is over for now after this match. I may have been ok if this had remained a tripple threat, just to break things up a bit before their final singles match at the following Takeover, but now I just kind of want it over with.


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## Oneiros

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

If Aleister didn't get injured, I'd say this was the best card NXT ever presented.


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## Jedah

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*



Crasp said:


> Honestly, it's about time they added a 6th match to these Takeovers :/
> 
> Real shame Black got hurt. I really hope this Ciampa/Gargano feud is over for now after this match. I may have been ok if this had remained a tripple threat, just to break things up a bit before their final singles match at the following Takeover, but now I just kind of want it over with.


It won't be. This one's gonna end in a no contest. Johnny winning the title in the state he's in would ruin the payoff.


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## TD Stinger

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

It's sucks that Aleister got hurt here, but I'm still hyped. It's NXT Takeover. Are we not past the point where we doubt the event will be a success going in?

Gargano vs. Ciampa will end in a double count out. Or Ciampa finds some way to sneak away with the title. Point is, Ciampa will still be champion after this

I expect to Cole to steal a victory from Ricochet. Kairi to get her big crowning moment as champion. TUE to retain in a great tag match. And I hope that Dream picks up the win here.


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## Reil

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

Predictions from me:

- *EC3 vs Dream*: At first I was thinking EC3 would win, but now I think that Dream will win. He needs it a lot more right now. Unless he's getting called up after this, but I sorta doubt that.

- *Mustache Mountain vs The Undisputed Era*: Era will retain the titles, because I feel like they are going to drop them to War Raiders either at War Games (heh) or Takeover: Phoenix.

- *Kairi Sane vs Shayna Baszler*: Kairi wins. Shayna's ran through the entire babyface roster, and generally when a heel champ is going to retain, they start building up another babyface in the background (before Takeover) to be slotted in soon after the Takeover in question. Normally I would say Candice would fit that role, but Shayna wrecked Candice (and any momentum she may have had) a few weeks ago. It's also worth noting that NXT is focusing on building up heels as well. Bianca and Lacey are being built up, scoring wins over numerous babyfaces. Kairi has gotten a lot of build over the past 4-5 months or so. It's been a very slow build, but it should pay off with her winning the title at Brooklyn.

- *Ricochet vs Adam Cole*: I think Cole will retain. I don't see him dropping the North American title until TUE drops the tag titles.

- *Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa*: This match SHOULD end in a draw. It's too early to pull the trigger on crowning Gargano as champion, and if Ciampa wins, its pretty much the end of their feud.


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## MC

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

It's very unfortunate what happened to Aleister Black and I hope he has a full recover and he is able to come back without complications. As for the Gargano vs Ciampa match, I have no interest in the match. The stipulation, which is one of my least favourite stips ever, certainly doesn't help. I don't blame anyone for making this decision however. It is what it is I'm afraid. I hopefully blow me away but with my existing thoughts on the match and stipulation, it's going to be a tough job to do. *Prediction: Ciampa Wins. *

As for the Cole/Ricochet match, it sounds absolutely awful. Not really a fan of either men, Ricochet is okay at times but he hasn't done much for me since joining WWE. And Adam Cole, oy vey......With that being said, Cole and Ricochet hasn't being in too many televised or taped singles matches, can't think of many tag matches either so who knows, they may have tremendous chemistry together. We'll have to wait and see. *Prediction: Cole Wins. *

EC3 vs Dream could be fine. It sounds like a match where the build will be better than the match and I'm not really into EC3 all too much. *Prediction: EC3 Wins.*

The Tag Match looks tremendous though. Their match few weeks back was amazing and they have already shown to have god chemistry and tag team rivals. MM are likely going to be a main stay in the UK division and Era needs a dominant reign going into the next War Games so it's an easy prediction. *Prediction: Era Wins. * This should be fun. Same enough with the Women's match. Baszler is a awesome as is Kairi and they work very well with each other, having some very, very good matches together. It's time for Baszler to drop the here and Kairi can't lose again, so Kairi is the easy choice again. *Prediction: Kairi Sane Wins. *


Another TakeOver that looks week but we say that about every TakeOver. The last Takeover was okay but still better than it looked so perhaps this is the same. Hopefully.


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## 751161

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

Awesome card from top to bottom. Will guarantee to shit over anything SummerSlam does. 

I know a lot of people are bummed about the Triple Threat not happening, but Ciampa & Gargano will still bring it in a big way and could quite easily pull the best match of the night out. It's not like they are bad performers or have no chemistry, it's just not the right time for it to be happening under the storyline.

The whole card has a LOT of promise, I'm even interested in the Women's match this time around. I also think this is Cole's big chance to show-up in a non-gimmick Singles Match and blow me away in NXT.


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## Jedah

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

*Predictions:*

- Dream
- Undisputed
- I'm gonna hold my nose and say Cole, but this one is the hardest to predict. If Cole wins, it's probably with some shenanigans to set up the War Games match, which will be Ricochet and War Raiders vs. British Strong Style vs. Undisputed Era. Ricochet needs to be protected at this juncture. Cole can afford the loss more than him.
- Sane
- No contest. Ciampa retains.


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## The Phantom

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

Kairi wins or...


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## 751161

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

I think the Tag Match is a dark horse, by the way. Could easily see that being MOTN. Undisputed Era pretty much always show up in these matches, and Moustache Mountain are great as well. I've been very impressed with KOR in particular, his selling and what not is superb.


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## Jman55

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

the issue with the main event has hurt this quite a bit but I'm still heavily excited.

NXT are smart with booking so I am going to trust them to find a way to make the last man standing match work (personally I'd either have a draw or have Johnny's more deranged manner cause him to outright lose before he later redeems himself) and we know the match itself should still be amazing even despite the horrible timing.

Shayna vs Kairi could be great I actually like Shayna more than some here so somewhat looking forward to that match but Kairi definitely needs to win imo.

We've already seen how fantastic moustache mountain and the undisputed era work with each other so should be another amazing match there and assuming the era keep their titles.

Cole vs Ricochet should be a great match as well and is also actually rather unpredictable but I think Cole keeps the title. It just seems too soon to take it off him when he's had barely any defences with it.

EC3 vs Dream this is probably not going to be the best match as it seems entirely based on a clash of characters more than anything but should certainly be an interesting one to watch. Tough to call but I'm pulling for a Dream win although both these guys really need a major win.

Overall though some steam has been taken out the sails with Black's injury this should still be a great show and hopefully NXT have a good backup plan in motion.


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## Crasp

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

I definitely don't doubt it'll be good. The NXT title, Tag title & NA title have no excuse not to be fantastic, really, looking at who's in there.

I can't see EC3/Dream being very good. EC3 isn't a great wrestler, and this'll be the first time Dream's had a takeover match against someone who _isn't_ a great wrestler. Plus unlike other Dream matches, there's no hook here. There's not _real_ story going in. 

Shayna/Kairi should be decent enough. Their MYC match was ok last year anyway. Shayna's matches are pretty reliant on simple but solid storytelling rather than good wrestling. I assume that'll continue here. Still, it's been too long since NXT's women's division was anywhere near as captivating as any of the men's titles. I really want to see that turn back around sooner than later, and I don't see Shayna or Kairi as being capable of taking it to that level, although for opposite reasonons.


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## 751161

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

What are the chances of Kairi actually winning, by the way? Slim?

I just can't get into Shayna as Champion. I'm sure there is some that like her style of wrestling, but it's really not for me.


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## Reil

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

I feel like Kairi could turn the division around. The problem is that the majority of her NXT matches haven't let her showcase her talents. Plus a big money feud they could run that would rival (or exceced) Sasha/Bayley would be Kairi/Io. Which should be the end goal here.



The Fourth Wall said:


> What are the chances of Kairi actually winning, by the way? Slim?
> 
> I just can't get into Shayna as Champion. I'm sure there is some that like her style of wrestling, but it's really not for me.


I would say pretty high. Shayna has been displaying a ton of red flags that NXT generally raises when someone is about to lose. Incredibly arrogant, overconfident, underestimating Kairi. That's just from a kayfabe perspective. Not to mention Kairi has been gaining momentum slowly but surely. Unlike Shayna's previous two challengers, Kairi wasn't just thrust into this role. They seem to have been building up to this since the last MYC.

From a business perspective, Shayna's pretty much done everything she can do in NXT. The main roster *desperately* needs strong female heels. Either she goes to RAW and feuds (or tags for a bit before feuding) with Ronda, or goes to Smackdown to fill the role of top heel there. Because it doesn't seem like they are going to be turning Becky, Charlotte, or Asuka heel any time soon, and Carmella is a complete and utter failure as a heel.


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## Jedah

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*



The Fourth Wall said:


> What are the chances of Kairi actually winning, by the way? Slim?
> 
> I just can't get into Shayna as Champion. I'm sure there is some that like her style of wrestling, but it's really not for me.


If any title is changing, it's going to be the women's title. Shayna's done a lot better than I expected as champion but her reign has run its course. If she wins here, she really has no competition left unless they want to immediately hot shot Io to the title, but that would be a mistake.

Also at a big TakeOver like this, there's usually a triumphant babyface moment. With Ciampa 100% retaining, this would be the other big one they can do.


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## TD Stinger

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

Oh, and expect to see a certain "Bro" in the crowd if you know what I mean.


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## MC

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*



TD Stinger said:


> Oh, and expect to see a certain "Bro" in the crowd if you know what I mean.


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## Mango13

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

Sucks that Aleister got injured, this is still a pretty awesome card though. Only thing im not looking forward to is the Women's match, Baszler needs to lose the title already she is one boring bitch.


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## Jbardo

Such a shame Black got injured as that match had MOTYC all over it and I feel it’s a little too soon for Ciampa v Gargano again, but it is what it is.

Looks like another great show on paper as Cole v Ricohet should be really good, the women’s match and EC3 v Dream should be decent and I’m expecting another classic Undisputed tag match because that is what they do.


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## MarkyWhipwreck

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

F*ck him up Adam, F*ck him up :clap:clap


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## Mr. WrestleMania

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

I have to agree with that what TD Stinger said. We go into every Takeover with high expectations and they deliver every single time. It sucks that Black got hurt, but I still expect a pretty damn good show regardless. That's just what NXT does every single time no matter how badly a butt-hurt person wishes that wasn't the case.


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## Psyche

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

Ciampa vs. Gargano. Ciampa via double count out. 

Kairi vs. Shayna. Even though it seems like a sure thing I'm going back and forth with this one. Kairi winning makes the most sense, but I wouldn't be surprised if Shayna retains here to be honest. 

Undisputed Era vs. Mustache Mountain. Predictable but the match will be top notch. Undisputed Era wins.

EC3 vs. Dream. I expect them to give it to EC3 but I'm hoping it goes the other way. Dream needs it and I'm not really a fan of him being the gatekeeper to put over the new talent.

Adam Cole vs. Ricochet.










Cole wins, probably with help from UE.

It'll be good like always, no doubt. Takeover is about as close to a sure thing as it gets in terms of quality.


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## SS07

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

Ciampa/Gargano: Yes, I know some people are upset about the whole situation, but I still think that it's the best feud in NXT history, and both matches have delivered exceptionally well. Last Man Standing matches are typically tricky to pull off, but if any two wrestlers can manage to use the stipulation to its fullest potential, it's these two. I expect an absolute war, but this will not be the end of this feud. *Prediction: DRAW - This way they can keep the series even at 1-1-1 each, and they can put the feud on ice until next year.*

Sane/Baszler: I'm not a big fan of Baszler, but if anyone can get a really good match out of her it's Sane, who has really built herself up over these past few months. I think Baszler has done all that she can do with the belt and is honestly ready to move up to the main roster to inevitably work with Ronda. Moreover, there has to be a babyface moment on this card, and with all other title fights going with a non-face finish, this one has to be so by default. *Prediction: Sane*

Cole/Ricochet: I personally have no idea as to how someone can dislike this match. Both are great at what they do and it's a very fresh match-up in general. Cole and Ricochet are both very hot with fans right now, so I expect the energy for this match to be great. I don't think they are going to have Cole drop the title without defending it successfully at least once at Takeover, nor do I think this is the end of the feud with War Games as the next Takeover show. *Prediction: Cole, but it's not a clean finish.*

Undisputed Era/MM: These teams have amazing chemistry one another, and that's why I'm absolutely okay with them having another match, even though I am a fan of fresher match-ups when possible. There isn't much else to say except that this is going to be a really good match and I don't see anyway how the title is going to continue to play "hot potato." *Prediction: Undisputed Era*

Dream/EC3: These two can obviously have a good match, but I think it's their respective energies and charisma that might drive this match home. You just know that the Brooklyn crowd is going to be going insane over Dream, and EC3 is going to do everything he can to steal that thunder. The buildup for the match hasn't been too great in my opinion, but I'm still looking forward to seeing them both in front of a large and live crowd in Brooklyn. This is the hardest match on the card to predict from my perspective as both could really use a victory. With that being said, however, I think this comes down to who management views to have the higher upside and will give them a much needed victory on Takeover. *Prediction: Dream*

Overall, this is one of the best cards Takeover has constructed, even with the main event not developing as initially planned. I know some are saying they might feel the Gargano/Ciampa feud is too much for them as of now, but I would argue that wait until their match here is finished to conclude as such. I have a funny feeling we're going to be wondering if both of them are dead once the show goes off the air.


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## Psychosocial

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

A positive spin on the changed main event:

Omega-Okada recently culminated their long standing feud after 4 matches. The first 3 matches resulted in 1 win each and 1 draw. Ciampa and Gargano have both traded one win each so far and now with this Last Man Standing match stipulation, there's a possibility that we see both guys counted out and it ends in a draw, which means we could see a fourth match to end the feud there as well. That way the pay-off is delayed so that Gargano has time to become the Johnny Wrestling we all know and love and Ciampa can have a longer reign in the process. The only thing we lose is Aleister's contribution to their feud, but we can't have everything.

That's why I think the Last Man Standing stipulation is the perfect idea for this match, as long as they both get counted out and the show ends with them both stretchered away. Then they can either take a break from each other until Rumble or Mania weekend or wrap the feud up at War Games once and for all.

This is going to be an excellent TakeOver, I can feel it in my gut. Can't wait for next Saturday to get here.


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## RiverFenix

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

Only one match I care about seeing on this card - Cole vs Ricochet. 

I'm tired as hell of Ciampa vs Gargano and the stip does nothing for me. They're not going to offer anything new that we haven't seen from them in their other matches, except now we have the dopey 10 count gimmick. 

Shayna vs Kairi won't be a good match. Shayna's matches are just so different that she throws her opponents off and the timing and flow of matches really suffer. Her matches might seem more "real" but in the pro-wrestling world they're just slow and clunky. 

Undisputed vs Moustache Mountain - I just hope the original plan was Oney and Burch in this match over MM, because Trent Seven isn't good. Match will be tits when Roddy or KOR are working with Bate, but even Tyler has lost a lot of steam with crummy booking and long absences. 

ECIII vs Dream is terrible match making. ECIII should have went directly to the main roster where his gimmick could have carried enough in 4-5 minute basic television matches, because he cannot come near matching the expectations of a Takeover match and is going to bring Dream down to his level. Dream is going to be good, but he's young still and ECIII is too heavy a lift to carry for almost everybody. 

I think Ricochet wins the NA title to free up Adam Cole for the NXT title scene. NXT has proven just as inept at the main roster in booking secondary singles titles.


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## Jedah

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

Cole isn't going near the NXT title yet. Ciampa has to drop it first and that won't come for a while. I do eventually see Cole succeeding Gargano as champion but he has a while yet to be built for that.

Though it's close, my thought is that Cole will beat Ricochet this year but Ricochet will get his win back next year and beat Cole for the NXT title.


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## Reil

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

It's amazing how many people think Mustache Mountain is winning the titles at Brooklyn. I don't see Cole or TUE dropping the titles unless they drop them together. And TUE just won the tag titles back a few weeks ago. And Mustache Mountain will likely work on NXT UK.

If TUE won the titles from Mustache Mountain just to drop them again at Brooklyn, that would be the dumbest thing. And I don't see Cole dropping the NA title until TUE drop their titles.


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## Psychosocial

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

I don't see Cole ever winning the NXT title, or at least it'll be a very short reign if he does, like Rumble weekend to Mania weekend. I extremely doubt that the Undisputed Era or at least Cole himself won't be one of the call-ups following Mania 35, the appearance in the Rumble match earlier this year is a clear sign on how big WWE are on the guy. By April 2019, he will have been in NXT for nearly two years, I just can't see him staying there much longer when he's clearly ready to move up to the main roster.

And that's alright, not everybody needs to become champion anyways. Case in point, Ember Moon.


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## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

This will be a very good show once again. It's too early for Ciampa to lose so Gargano comes up short somehow or we get a no contest.


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## Jedah

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

It's definitely going to be a no contest. Neither of them can afford to lose to the other right now. Both of them are going to get carried out of the Barclays Center on stretchers. You heard it here first.


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## SS07

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*

A no contest is this situation is actually perfectly fine and adds a layer to their feud in some sense. Both going out on stretchers adds a very powerful element and image to the feud, not to mention it would pale the feud on ice for awhile.


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## AlexaBliss4Life

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*



Psychosocial said:


> I don't see Cole ever winning the NXT title, or at least it'll be a very short reign if he does, like Rumble weekend to Mania weekend. I extremely doubt that the Undisputed Era or at least Cole himself won't be one of the call-ups following Mania 35, the appearance in the Rumble match earlier this year is a clear sign on how big WWE are on the guy. By April 2019, he will have been in NXT for nearly two years, I just can't see him staying there much longer when he's clearly ready to move up to the main roster.
> 
> And that's alright, not everybody needs to become champion anyways. Case in point, Ember Moon.


Well they needed someone to become champion.. so who would you have went with there?


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## Psychosocial

*Re: Official NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV Discussion Thread*



AlexaBliss4Life said:


> Well they needed someone to become champion.. so who would you have went with there?


Shayna.

I would have had Shayna win the battle royal that Nikki won and have Nikki qualify instead of Peyton to be in the fatal 4 way at War Games. I'd have booked Kairi to look the best in the match and look like she was about to win it, only for Shayna to put her submission finisher on her from behind and hold on until Kairi passes out and win the belt, getting her revenge for the MYC final (rather than doing it in a match on TV with no stakes like they did).

I'd have then had Shayna feud with Ember for it but ultimately win in Philly and New Orleans, with Kairi trying to play a part in her lose the belt only to fail. Basically I'd have invested long term in the Baszler-Sane feud but keep them apart from each other in the ring for the most part until this summer, after the Chicago card. Make it personal in a similar way to Gargano-Ciampa, but without overexposing and over-saturating them. It could have made this upcoming match feel a lot more big than it does right now as they had a lot to work with there what with their past and all.

This would have been a lot better and more meaningful than giving Ember the belt just because of her work previously with Asuka. She lost in every chance she had to lose to Asuka so I'd have been content with her being that warrior that fights hard but just can't get the job done. There was really nothing to gain from having her win that title and better stories could have been done in the process. I'd have found Ember chasing Shayna for the title more interesting than the other way around which is what we got instead.


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## Reil

I still think at the end of the day, Kairi should dethrone Shayna. Because you know, Shayna has ran over the rest of the female babyface roster. Have Kairi win at Brooklyn, then have Shayna lose her rematch at Evolution. Afterwards, you can have her defend the title against the winner of the MYC at War Games.

NXT booked themselves into a corner here. If Shayna wins, the NXT Women's Division is going to be in a very bad spot from a babyface perspective. Especially since its not likely we see any new babyface talent introduced until around Evolution.


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## MarkyWhipwreck

Adam Cole is definitely taking the NXT Title off of Johnny Gargano. He won't lose the NA Title until at least WarGames but right after that, it's main event scene for Cole.


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## Psychosocial

MarkyWhipwreck said:


> Adam Cole is definitely taking the NXT Title off of Johnny Gargano. He won't lose the NA Title until at least WarGames but right after that, it's main event scene for Cole.


It'll be a transitional reign like Drew's was, at best. He could win it Rumble weekend but he'll drop it at the following TakeOver because he's definitely going up to the main roster after Mania, 100%.


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## MC

MarkyWhipwreck said:


> Adam Cole is definitely taking the NXT Title off of Johnny Gargano. He won't lose the NA Title until at least WarGames but right after that, it's main event scene for Cole.


You think? That would mean Gargano wins the title here and I just can't see that happening. Can you?


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## MarkyWhipwreck

Psychosocial said:


> It'll be a transitional reign like Drew's was, at best. He could win it Rumble weekend but he'll drop it at the following TakeOver because he's definitely going up to the main roster after Mania, 100%.


You're assuming Cole gets called up then, I don't think he's called up until at least this time next year and that's being generous. Cole is being groomed to be that guy in NXT, so he's gonna be down there awhile. His Rumble appearance and whatnot doesn't mean a thing as far as his callup goes.



MC 16 said:


> You think? That would mean Gargano wins the title here and I just can't see that happening. Can you?


I think it very well may happen buddy, most people assume it'll end in an no-contest. I personally think that'll be a piss poor ending for a Takeover and that's the type of finish that HAS to continue the feud instantly. Like, you can't have a double-count and then take a break from the feud until lets say RR Takeover next year. 

And at this point, the feud is hitting overkill levels. It would be smart by me to have Johnny win it here, not to mention Brooklyn is basically the equivalent of NXT's WrestleMania. 

Have Johnny win it here, defend it at WarGames against perhaps an EC3 or returning Aleister Black and then drop it to Cole at Royal Rumble Takeover.


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## Reil

I don't think Johnny is winning it, to be honest. He's at a bad place right now character wise, and ripping the title away from Ciampa RIGHT NOW would completely undermine him as a heel.


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## Jedah

Johnny won't be winning it until next year, probably the night before the Rumble.

This is ending in a no contest. Neither of them can afford a loss to the other right now. Ciampa's retaining and Black was probably going to take the pin on his way out of NXT.


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## TD Stinger

MarkyWhipwreck said:


> You're assuming Cole gets called up then, I don't think he's called up until at least this time next year and that's being generous. Cole is being groomed to be that guy in NXT, so he's gonna be down there awhile. His Rumble appearance and whatnot doesn't mean a thing as far as his callup goes.


Ah, and just to think not long ago I had to talk you off the ledge thinking Cole would debut after Summerslam after dropping the NA Title to Ricochet.  But yeah, I don't see him being called up until after Takeover Brooklyn V, at the earliest.



Anyways, as far as Gargano goes. Ciampa cannot lose the title now. He's got too much momentum and too much heat to end it now. It sucks Aleister got hurt and accelerated to a 3rd match already (though there were other avenues they could have taken). But to me, you can't hot shot Johnny getting the title. Now in his current state. He cannot be champion until he snaps out of this funk and becomes Johnny Wrestling again.

And it doesn't have to be a double countout. I pitched that originally, but thinking more about it, that's a pretty shitty way to end the PPV. The only way it works, IMO, is if they do some huge stunt to end it. They have to fall off of something big or something like that where the crowd is so stunned a double countout is expected.

But something else you can do is have Ciampa beat Johnny into submission. And the ref counts to 10 while Johnny is out and Ciampa is gloating. After that, Ciampa is victorious and Johnny is broken. And not like how he is now. Like, completely soul crushed. And it takes him time to snap out of that. And while you build him back to being Johnny Wrestling again, Ciampa can defend the title.


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## MarkyWhipwreck

TD Stinger said:


> Ah, and just to think not long ago I had to talk you off the ledge thinking Cole would debut after Summerslam after dropping the NA Title to Ricochet.  But yeah, I don't see him being called up until after Takeover Brooklyn V, at the earliest.
> 
> 
> 
> Anyways, as far as Gargano goes. Ciampa cannot lose the title now. He's got too much momentum and too much heat to end it now. It sucks Aleister got hurt and accelerated to a 3rd match already (though there were other avenues they could have taken). But to me, you can't hot shot Johnny getting the title. Now in his current state. He cannot be champion until he snaps out of this funk and becomes Johnny Wrestling again.
> 
> And it doesn't have to be a double countout. I pitched that originally, but thinking more about it, that's a pretty shitty way to end the PPV. The only way it works, IMO, is if they do some huge stunt to end it. They have to fall off of something big or something like that where the crowd is so stunned a double countout is expected.
> 
> But something else you can do is have Ciampa beat Johnny into submission. And the ref counts to 10 while Johnny is out and Ciampa is gloating. After that, Ciampa is victorious and Johnny is broken. And not like how he is now. Like, completely soul crushed. And it takes him time to snap out of that. And while you build him back to being Johnny Wrestling again, Ciampa can defend the title.


Yeah, I was having a nervous breakdown about Cole :lol

And as far as you're alternative route, it's not a bad idea honestly. But it also has major letdown potential and what I mean by that is fans could definitely reach the point of not caring with Johnny. We've already seen something like that very similar with him and Andrade. By the time of a rematch, they might not even be invested. 

Before I thought Cole/Ricochet was the biggest question mark as far as an outcome goes but now it's definitely this match. On one hand, like you said Ciampa has his momentum right now. On the other hand, Johnny losing basically destroys his intake in this feud and then a double-count would be absolute sh*t. So who knows honestly. I personally pitched just have Johnny win while he's "evil johnny" and have him tell the story of him having to channel that side of him to win, it's a story that makes complete sense. But we'll have to wait and see *insert the spongebob impasse gif here* :lol


----------



## TD Stinger

MarkyWhipwreck said:


> Yeah, I was having a nervous breakdown about Cole :lol
> 
> And as far as you're alternative route, it's not a bad idea honestly. But it also has major letdown potential and what I mean by that is fans could definitely reach the point of not caring with Johnny. We've already seen something like that very similar with him and Andrade. By the time of a rematch, they might not even be invested.
> 
> Before I thought Cole/Ricochet was the biggest question mark as far as an outcome goes but now it's definitely this match. On one hand, like you said Ciampa has his momentum right now. On the other hand, Johnny losing basically destroys his intake in this feud and then a double-count would be absolute sh*t. So who knows honestly. I personally pitched just have Johnny win while he's "evil johnny" and have him tell the story of him having to channel that side of him to win, it's a story that makes complete sense. But we'll have to wait and see *insert the spongebob impasse gif here* :lol


I'm just of the opinion that Johnny has to hit rock bottom before he can rise up again. And I trust the people who love NXT and "Johnny Wrestling" to stick with him and support him when he gets his head right. And more importantly, I trust NXT to get him in the right position to do so.

I think the main complaint that people have had is the continuation of Gargano vs. Ciampa, at least doing a 3rd match so soon. My plan would get Johnny away while he soul searches and allows Ciampa to rule NXT until whoever (probably Candice) gets the old Johnny back.


----------



## Jedah

Emo Johnny can't really win because it isn't a satisfying payoff to all of this. This angle has been going on for basically two years now since the Cruiserweight Classic. Johnny needs to win the title pure. It wasn't his time now. That's why they had Black there. Black's injury doesn't change this.


----------



## The Masked Avenger

Gargano v Ciampa - Ciampa retains no question. I agree with everyone's assessment that Johnny can't take the title like this and Ciampa has momentum on his side. I feel like it will be a no contest, I wouldn't even put it past them to have Black interfere. I wish Black was in the match but the whole "who shot JR?" angle they are doing to deal with his injury is top notch. I was 100% sold on the fact that Black was going to lose this match and leave to the MR but now I'm sure he will stay down until at least after LA.

Sane v Bazsler - Kairi is winning here. Shayna has gotten too cocky, is underestimating Kairi, has run through the babyface half of the roster and has no more to accomplish in NXT. Lacey and Bianca have been built up for Kairi to face and it doesn't make sense for Shayna to hold the belt till Oct. Shayna will leave to the MR after this.

Moustache Mountain v Undisputed Era - TUE will win. They are not going to have TUE lose right after winning the titles back. They will probably drop the titles in Phoenix to War Raiders because both teams will be in the War Games match in LA and it won't be for the titles. I'm always not really into the Takeover tag matches but they are always incredibly exciting.

Ricochet v. Cole - Cole retains. A few weeks ago I was 100% sure Ricochet was taking the belt here but after hearing that they haven't let Ricochet wrestle since he got hurt at a house show in Paris outside of the Takeover match and the UK match, not anymore. That's why he has only cut promos and got laid out when he was "suppose to" wrestle Ohno. Should still be a good match. Ricochet at less than 100% is still better than most wrestlers at full strength. 

Dream v. EC3 - Dream should win this. Dream needs to win this. He has been in a match at each of the last 4 Takeovers and has only won 1. Granted one lose was a 6 way ladder match but the point still stands. The build to this match has been strange but both men's character work in this match will make up for their in ring work.


----------



## Switchblade Club

I'm really excited for this show, gonna be 10x better then SS


----------



## Mordecay

The bald fucker is awesome :mark:


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1029399133541609472


----------



## RKing85

excitement rankings for this card:

1. Undisputed Era/Moustache Mountain
2. Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa (docked cause I fucking hate Last Man Standing matches)
3. Adam Cole/Ricochet
4. Shayna Baszler/Kairi Sane
5. EC3/Velveteen Dream


----------



## TyAbbotSucks

Won't get to hear that Aleister theme :kurtcry


----------



## SethRollinsGOAT

*NXT Takeover Brooklyn Card*

What's the Brooklyn Card looking like? I want to know if it's worth watching.


----------



## Reil

*Re: NXT Takeover Brooklyn Card*

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

- NXT Tag Titles: Mustache Mountain vs The Undisputed Era (c)

- NXT North American Title: Ricochet vs Adam Cole (c)

- NXT Women's Title: Kairi Sane vs Shayna Baszler (c)

- EC3 vs Velveteen Dream

There's the card.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

*Re: NXT Takeover Brooklyn Card*

It's always worth watching. :becky2


----------



## SethRollinsGOAT

Looks quite decent, not particularly excited for the tag match or women's match.

Can someone explain what's so good about the Undisputed Era? They seem to dominate NXT programming nowadays and I don't find them interesting at all really..


----------



## RKing85

*Re: NXT Takeover Brooklyn Card*

not excited for the tag title match????

how is that even possible??????


----------



## Reil

NXT uploaded another interview with Shayna. Where she called Charlotte a nobody, and pretty much wrote off Kairi as a threat. So uhh yeah, I think they are positioning Shayna to be called up soon.


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1029488015499055105


----------



## TD Stinger

I still wished they would have added a 2/3 Falls stipulation to MM vs. TUE. Even without the stipulation, they're gonna have an amazing opener. But I really want that stip.


----------



## RiverFenix

TD Stinger said:


> I still wished they would have added a 2/3 Falls stipulation to MM vs. TUE. Even without the stipulation, they're gonna have an amazing opener. But I really want that stip.


Only if Undisputed won 2-0. 

2 out of 3 is just to give the losing team some rub to continue the feud. I mean MM wins the first fall and loses the next two, they'd be able to claim that in a straight match they'd be champs. 

I'm biased as hell though. I can't stand Trent Seven.


----------



## AlexaBliss4Life

DetroitRiverPhx said:


> Only if Undisputed won 2-0.
> 
> 2 out of 3 is just to give the losing team some rub to continue the feud. I mean MM wins the first fall and loses the next two, they'd be able to claim that in a straight match they'd be champs.
> 
> I'm biased as hell though. I can't stand Trent Seven.


Why?


----------



## Alright_Mate

Undisputed Era vs Moustache Mountain will be MOTN, potentially even MOTY.

The rest of the card is overhyped.

Gargano vs Ciampa - Black unfortunately getting injured has fucked everything up. They were on a nice path to get to Gargano vs Ciampa 3, now we have to get it early in a crappy stipulation, what can they do here that we haven't seen before, I'm short of ideas.

Baszler vs Sane - If they had sense they'd keep the title on Shayna but I can't see that happening.

Cole vs Ricochet - Time for Adam Cole to shine on a big stage, if he loses this though his title run has been a complete and utter waste.

EC3 vs Dream - Shit feud, will probably be a shit match.


----------



## Erik.

In for Dream


----------



## RiverFenix

AlexaBliss4Life said:


> Why?


Basically his total unwillingness to work on his body. He has the exact same dad bod he had back during the first UK Tournament. I just can't respect that he got as far as earning a UK deal with NXT television work and couldn't be bothered to hit a friggin gym and lay off the pints and crisps.


----------



## Reil

So yeah. After last night's Smackdown, I can safely say that Shayna desperately needs to be called up to Smackdown. Carmella is a complete and utter failure as a heel. No one takes her seriously. At all. At least Shayna would be a massive improvement for the heel side of things. That's one of the reasons why I hope she loses the title at Takeover.


----------



## Jbardo

I honestly think the tag match will be MOTN and one of the best of the year.


----------



## The Masked Avenger

DetroitRiverPhx said:


> Basically his total unwillingness to work on his body. He has the exact same dad bod he had back during the first UK Tournament. I just can't respect that he got as far as earning a UK deal with NXT television work and couldn't be bothered to hit a friggin gym and lay off the pints and crisps.


Do you feel the same about Ohno?


----------



## HorsemenTerritory1

How badass would it be if, during the show but before the tag title match, Trent Seven is attacked backstage by the TUE and laid out. 

Then, come match time, Bate comes out alone but says he found a partner. And then Pete Dunne’s music hits....

I love Seven, but this would be badass, esp if Bate and Dunne win and Dunne finally gets his ultimate revenge on Strong for New Orleans.


----------



## AlexaBliss4Life

DetroitRiverPhx said:


> Basically his total unwillingness to work on his body. He has the exact same dad bod he had back during the first UK Tournament. I just can't respect that he got as far as earning a UK deal with NXT television work and couldn't be bothered to hit a friggin gym and lay off the pints and crisps.


He looks fine to me.



Reil said:


> So yeah. After last night's Smackdown, I can safely say that Shayna desperately needs to be called up to Smackdown. Carmella is a complete and utter failure as a heel. No one takes her seriously. At all. At least Shayna would be a massive improvement for the heel side of things. That's one of the reasons why I hope she loses the title at Takeover.


How do you define failure? Because Carmella is doing an excellent job.


----------



## Reil

I define failure as the crowd not being invested in you. And very few people give a damn about Carmella, hence the awful reactions she gets pretty much every week.


----------



## RiverFenix

TheMaskedAvenger said:


> Do you feel the same about Ohno?


Yep. I've said so many times around here. It's not about having a six pack, you can be fat if you put the work in the gym lifting heavy. Both look like they never spend a day in the gym putting the work in.


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

as always NXT Takover song is the better one of the weekend.


----------



## AlexaBliss4Life

Reil said:


> I define failure as the crowd not being invested in you. And very few people give a damn about Carmella, hence the awful reactions she gets pretty much every week.


If you say so buddy. The company obviously believes in her, so we just gotta deal.


----------



## Jedah

It really astounds me that a lot of people are predicting no title changes. We usually see at least one in Brooklyn.

Conversely, a lot of people are predicting Gargano wins, but that seems off-base. It's really surprising that people are forgetting that he isn't "Johnny Wrestling" at this time, but increasingly a madman who just cost Aleister Black the title. There's no crowning moment if he wins now. It would feel like a letdown and that Ciampa won the title to be a doofus transitional champion instead of as the supreme heel in the entire company.

While a lot of people are also predicting Shayna wins, one thing that's interesting is that some people think Kairi's match last night resembled her match against Pentagon in Lucha Underground, where she did the diving elbows and then Pentagon spotted it and killed her. They think Shayna will counter it into her submission or something.


----------



## Reil

I do think if Kairi loses, she's getting called up, which would be an incredibly bad idea (she has literally nothing left she can do on NXT if she loses). Someone else pointed it out on reddit, but the main roster is completely overloaded with female babyfaces right now. Where they absolutely need female heels right now. And that there is way more depth in terms of feuds with regards to feuds that Kairi can have as champion compared to Shayna.

And Jedah, people are predicting Shayna retains simply because "she's too much of a badass to lose, its too early for her, she's the complete package of a heel, etc"

If someone is the complete package, then they are ready to be called up.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

I'm hoping for Ciampa, Sane, Dream, and Undisputed Era tag wins. I would like to see Cole win, but I would not be shocked if Ricochet won.


----------



## Dibil13

Gonna be a good show. Really looking forward to TUE/MM in particular. Also cautiously optimistic that Shayna and Kairi will have one of the better women’s matches of 2018. I’d be surprised if Kairi loses but not automatically against it. Sorry, Kairi:lolPart of me just fears the idea of Shayna on SD since it would be the final nail in Asuka's coffin.

Gargano/Ciampa should and probably will be a draw. Way too early for a title change.


----------



## Reil

Dibil13 said:


> Gonna be a good show. Really looking forward to TUE/MM in particular. Also cautiously optimistic that Shayna and Kairi will have one of the better women’s matches of 2018. I’d be surprised if Kairi loses but not automatically against it. Sorry, Kairi:lolPart of me just fears the idea of Shayna on SD since it would be the final nail in Asuka's coffin.
> 
> Gargano/Ciampa should and probably will be a draw. Way too early for a title change.


Eh, I'm of the opinion that its just as likely that Shayna ends up on RAW as well, to do something with Ronda. I mean after Ronda beats Alexa...there pretty much is no one left for her to feud with.

They could put Nikki Cross on Smackdown to take the place of Carmella but man, I just dunno. Especially with how the rest of Sanity has been handled. I feel like if they turn Charlotte, or Becky, or Asuka heel, it would solve the problem, and put the burden on RAW to have a strong female heel in the division.

Kairi losing at Brooklyn would be a pretty major mistake, in my opinion. It would kill her NXT career dead in the water. The only viable path she has after that is being called up, and unless she makes a *MAJOR* impact on her main roster debut, she'll be lost in a sea of babyfaces within a month of her debut. And when I mean major, I mean "winning the title on the first night" kind of major. Something WWE will absolutely not do.


----------



## TD Stinger

I've said it before and I'll say it now. If they do a draw with Ciampa and Gargano, they need to do some big stunt to avoid the show going off on a bad note. Like, they need to fall of something big.


----------



## Jedah

Dibil13 said:


> Also cautiously optimistic that Shayna and Kairi will have one of the better women’s matches of 2018.


Well, that's not a high bar to clear this year, though things should get better with the Mae Young Classic.



Reil said:


> I feel like if they turn Charlotte, or Becky, or Asuka heel, it would solve the problem, and put the burden on RAW to have a strong female heel in the division.


It would make sense, so they won't do it. :wink2:

On a more relevant note, one other thing a lot of people are talking about is they don't think Shayna will lose until Evolution, but that seems a strange thing to me, because who would even challenge her there? If Shayna goes over Kairi, there's _nobody left._ It would be everything people claimed Asuka's reign became except a lot worse. Shayna, good as she is, doesn't have the talent to pull that kind of a run off. The landscape looks much, much better with Kairi as champion.

Maybe she can cheat to beat Kairi but that would just delay the inevitable for no reason, and NXT doesn't like to do that. This isn't the main roster.



TD Stinger said:


> I've said it before and I'll say it now. If they do a draw with Ciampa and Gargano, they need to do some big stunt to avoid the show going off on a bad note. Like, they need to fall of something big.


I'm expecting nothing less. They're both going out on stretchers. Black's injury fucked a lot of things up.


----------



## Reil

Jedah said:


> On a more relevant note, one other thing a lot of people are talking about is they don't think Shayna will lose until Evolution, but that seems a strange thing to me, because who would even challenge her there? If Shayna goes over Kairi, there's _nobody left._ It would be everything people claimed Asuka's reign became except a lot worse. Shayna, good as she is, doesn't have the talent to pull that kind of a run off. The landscape looks much, much better with Kairi as champion.


I can actually enlighten you to who people think should be facing her at Evolution. I watched quite a few prediction videos, and people think Candice should be the one to take the title from Shayna. Their reasoning is "Well its a more engaging feud, and Kairi is in the wrong place at the wrong time." There are some others that people have suggested like Dakota Kai, but she's at the absolute bottom of the totem pole. She hasn't won an actual meaningful match against another signed NXT talent in almost 3-4 months, if I recall.

Which would be fine and all, if she (Candice) didn't get beat into the ground by Shayna a few weeks earlier, and if NXT was actively making efforts to protect her (she's been eating losses left and right on house shows against Shayna, Bianca, and Lacey). It would also help if she had more character traits than "I get mad at people who insult MY HUSBAND". I think her win/loss record from the latest house show tour was 2 wins, 4 losses or something. And her two wins was when she tagged with Kairi.

Her entire character right now is getting mad at people for running down Johnny. Which would be an okay gimmick to have, but its absolute death on the main roster. ESPECIALLY if Johnny and Candice end up on opposite brands, or are called up separately.


----------



## Jedah

Well, yeah, I don't think Candice has a single high profile win on NXT TV yet. She lost to Shayna and lost to Bianca also. Maybe she beat Vanessa, was it? But she's at the bottom of the pile of the heels.

The only one that's been built up any since Shayna became champion has been Kairi. It would make zero sense. Plus, Kairi's killer instinct didn't just appear last night. It's been built up slowly starting with the Lacey Evans feud.

As I've said before, the only possible long-term alternative (thinking past Evolution) if Shayna beats Kairi is to hot shot Io directly into title contention, but that would be really stupid compared to what they could do with her.

On the other hand, they haven't exactly been subtle with Bianca. She's claiming she's undefeated now, and they did a vignette with her saying that she was ready to return last night. I heard Bianca lost at some recent house shows but heels usually lose there.


----------



## Reil

Yeah, Bianca won at tonight's house show against Deonna, who is a FACE. So they are building up Bianca into something. I dunno how well a Shayna/Bianca feud would go, especially since both of them are arrogant heels. I feel like they are laying the groundwork for a Kairi win, and her first feud will likely be against Bianca, either at Evolution or War Games.

I mean you'll have people who will get angry and shitty about it if Kairi wins, but its pretty much the best option right now unless you want NXT to be a wasteland in terms of babyfaces. Io likely won't debut until after Evolution at the earliest, regardless of where she is in the MYC. Same goes for a lot of the other MYC girls.


----------



## Psychosocial

When are the MYC matches going to air on the Network, by the way?

And does anyone have any news on why Ricochet hasn't wrestled since late June? If he hasn't been dealing with an injury, then where has he been? His whole absence really didn't do much to help the NA title match feel like the bigger deal that it should be.


----------



## gl83

Jedah said:


> Well, yeah, I don't think Candice has a single high profile win on NXT TV yet. She lost to Shayna and lost to Bianca also. Maybe she beat Vanessa, was it? But she's at the bottom of the pile of the heels.
> 
> The only one that's been built up any since Shayna became champion has been Kairi. It would make zero sense. Plus, Kairi's killer instinct didn't just appear last night. It's been built up slowly starting with the Lacey Evans feud.
> 
> As I've said before, the only possible long-term alternative (thinking past Evolution) if Shayna beats Kairi is to hot shot Io directly into title contention, but that would be really stupid compared to what they could do with her.
> 
> On the other hand, they haven't exactly been subtle with Bianca. She's claiming she's undefeated now, and they did a vignette with her saying that she was ready to return last night. I heard Bianca lost at some recent house shows but heels usually lose there.



Looking at this, NXT really has done a crappy job building up any Faces other than Kairi. It's kinda like a revolving door. They keep Nikki down in NXT because the women haven't been built up enough, yet they haven't really built up Candice or Dakota, thus Nikki has to remain down in nXT because of the lack of strong babyfaces and so on and so forth.


And it's not like we can expect many new Faces from the MYC to debut, unless we get a mass exodus of talent to the main roster like last year(w/ Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville & Asuka)


----------



## Reil

The bracket-logy airs on August 29th, and then the MYC starts airing the week after, one episode a week.


----------



## Dibil13

Psychosocial said:


> When are the MYC matches going to air on the Network, by the way?
> 
> And does anyone have any news on why Ricochet hasn't wrestled since late June? If he hasn't been dealing with an injury, then where has he been? His whole absence really didn't do much to help the NA title match feel like the bigger deal that it should be.



They start on September 5th. Ricochet apparently does have a minor injury and they’ve been letting him rest in hopes that it’ll heal by Takeover.


----------



## Jedah

gl83 said:


> Looking at this, NXT really has done a crappy job building up any Faces other than Kairi. It's kinda like a revolving door. They keep Nikki down in NXT because the women haven't been built up enough, yet they haven't really built up Candice or Dakota, thus Nikki has to remain down in nXT because of the lack of strong babyfaces and so on and so forth.
> 
> 
> And it's not like we can expect many new Faces from the MYC to debut, unless we get a mass exodus of talent to the main roster like last year(w/ Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville & Asuka)


Yeah, they really have booked themselves into a corner with Shayna. They've made her look so strong that everyone else has had to look extremely weak. And whatever Shayna didn't complete, Bianca finished.

It's Kairi or nothing at this point. The only way this would be worth it in the end is if she gets to slay the monster in Brooklyn.

It isn't like Asuka's reign where her ambiguous alignment left more competition open. Shayna is unambiguously a bully heel. If she beats Kairi the division is a complete wasteland for the rest of the year, since Io and the others from the MYC won't debut until after Evolution at the earliest, which is only three weeks from War Games.

Kairi really needs to win this, both for herself and the division. Shayna has done well to keep the importance of the title but her reign has run its course now. Going any further than this would be more than merely jumping the shark.


----------



## gl83

Jedah said:


> Yeah, they really have booked themselves into a corner with Shayna. They've made her look so strong that everyone else has had to look extremely weak. And whatever Shayna didn't complete, Bianca finished.
> 
> It's Kairi or nothing at this point. The only way this would be worth it in the end is if she gets to slay the monster in Brooklyn.
> 
> It isn't like Asuka's reign where her ambiguous alignment left more competition open. Shayna is unambiguously a bully heel. If she beats Kairi the division is a complete wasteland for the rest of the year, since Io and the others from the MYC won't debut until after Evolution at the earliest, which is only three weeks from War Games.
> 
> Kairi really needs to win this, both for herself and the division. Shayna has done well to keep the importance of the title but her reign has run its course now. Going any further than this would be more than merely jumping the shark.



They also have to start building(rebuilding?) the other Faces as well, especially if Nikki Cross' tenure in NXT is on borrowed time. One of the reasons, I'm not a big fan of feuding Bianca w/ Kairi right away is you're basically giving Kairi another accolade(ending Bianca's NXT undefeated streak) right away on top of dethroning Shayna Baszler. Meanwhile the other Faces are stuck with the scraps(Vanessa Borne/Aliyah/Local Indy talents, etc.)


----------



## Pizzamorg

Not really been all that enamoured with the build to this TakeOver but the actual card itself is strong. If there is going to be a dud on this card, I assume it will be EC3 v Dream but it is also the most inconsequential match on the card so no real loss there. 

The second match with my least investment is the women's watch, I like Baszler a lot but win or lose here this whole thing feels like a dead end. About the best thing about this match is a chance to see Baszler's growth as a performer when you compare this to the MYC final from last year.

I wanna see Ricochet take the title off of Cole but I also want to see Cole drop all the shenans and bitch heel cowardice for this match too and just go all out. The NA Title is in desperate need of an injection of relevancy and if Cole and Ricochet go to war for the title then it gets what it needs. 

I am marking out over Moustache Mountain being on a TakeOver show, I am assuming they'll lose here as it seems like BSS are going to be the centre piece of NXT UK. None the less this might end up stealing the show. 

In terms of the main event, I've never been as sold on the whole Gargano/Ciampa feud as most. I've often found the execution so lacking, going for odd directions when the most direct and simple route would have been far more effective for me. It hasn't helped that arguably my favourite guy in NXT, Aleister Black, has been a casualty of war to NXT dragging this feud out far longer than it has ever needed to go. That being said, after the first Ciampa/Gargano match was a massive disappointment, the sequel fixed so many of the mistakes from the first match for me and was a stronger match all round, so if they continue with that track record maybe this final match will be a masterpiece. I just hope Black has some involvement in it some way.


----------



## RiverFenix

This is how heels should sell t-shirts - 


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1030211759813152770
ps - *couldn't


----------



## validreasoning

It takes time to build up a white meat babyface though and get the fans behind them fully..if you try to push one too quick into the top spot you get what we got with Bo Dallas in 2013 or Reigns now.

If you look back the Zayn run was 18+ months before he became top babyface in NXT. Bayley was longer than that, Gargano and Bryan were two years.

After losing Moon and Asuka they had to build the babyfaces basically from scratch again post Takeover New Orleans. Kai has done very well for the time she has been given. I think Sane and LaRae need to show a bit more personality that what we have seen so far. In comparison Belair and especially Evans are really excelling in a character standpoint given how ultra green they both still are.


----------



## Reil

Problem is, it should be obvious by now to most people but WWE seems to have absolutely no plans to push Dakota Kai as a threat to the title any time soon, if ever. Her entire gimmick right now is being jobbed out to any heel who is even remotely credible. It doesn't help that she's not exactly very over with most audiences these days either, compared to Sane and LaRae. 

Sane has connected really well with audiences, and letting Shayna hold onto the title any longer is going to kill the babyface division. Because NXT has doubled down on building up heels almost exclusively. If they were going to build up another person to face Shayna after Brooklyn for the title, they would have started by now. Bianca vs Shayna is a REALLY bad idea for a feud, since both are super arrogant heels.

And the audience seems pretty behind Kairi as it is. It's time to pull the trigger. Her losing will almost certainly end her NXT career, and she'll be thrown onto the main roster and very likely lost in a sea of babyfaces (there are a ton of credible female babyfaces right now on the main roster). Where if Shayna loses, she'll be fine on the main roster due to there being a severe lack of credible heels for women.

Keep in mind that Shayna was not well developed either when she won the title, and she came into her own after winning it. There is no reason to believe Kairi couldn't do the same, if she hasn't already.


----------



## arch.unleash

The Tag Match will definitely steal the show. I know Gargano/Ciampa will be 3 hours long of epicness, they will do a superplex from the top of the building on a flaming barbed wired table with thumbtacks and still beat the 10 count, but the tag match is still my most anticipated match.


----------



## gl83

Reil said:


> Problem is, it should be obvious by now to most people but WWE seems to have absolutely no plans to push Dakota Kai as a threat to the title any time soon, if ever. Her entire gimmick right now is being jobbed out to any heel who is even remotely credible. It doesn't help that she's not exactly very over with most audiences these days either, compared to Sane and LaRae.
> 
> Sane has connected really well with audiences, and letting Shayna hold onto the title any longer is going to kill the babyface division. Because NXT has doubled down on building up heels almost exclusively. If they were going to build up another person to face Shayna after Brooklyn for the title, they would have started by now. Bianca vs Shayna is a REALLY bad idea for a feud, since both are super arrogant heels.
> 
> And the audience seems pretty behind Kairi as it is. It's time to pull the trigger. Her losing will almost certainly end her NXT career, and she'll be thrown onto the main roster and very likely lost in a sea of babyfaces (there are a ton of credible female babyfaces right now on the main roster). Where if Shayna loses, she'll be fine on the main roster due to there being a severe lack of credible heels for women.
> 
> Keep in mind that Shayna was not well developed either when she won the title, and she came into her own after winning it. There is no reason to believe Kairi couldn't do the same, if she hasn't already.



And the examples that the person above you posted of Gargano/Zayn/Bayley/Bryan, all of whom were likewise jobbed out to any remotely credible Heel as well. All of whom took time to build up their overness with the fanbase. The problem right now is they really don't have a strong #2 Face. Heaven forbid if Kairi Sane suffers a long-term injury, then they'll really be up a creek.


----------



## Reil

Just a heads up, but it seems like they were rehearsing the NXT Women's Title match at tonight's house show. I dunno if the result will be any different, but Shayna completely crushed Kairi in about 4 minutes. It's worth noting that Shayna apparently fucked up several spots though.


----------



## Black Metal

Reil said:


> Just a heads up, but it seems like they were rehearsing the NXT Women's Title match at tonight's house show. I dunno if the result will be any different, but Shayna completely crushed Kairi in about 4 minutes.


Lame.

However I could see them carrying it forward to WarGames.


----------



## gl83

Reil said:


> Just a heads up, but it seems like they were rehearsing the NXT Women's Title match at tonight's house show. I dunno if the result will be any different, but Shayna completely crushed Kairi in about 4 minutes.



If Shayna crushes Kairi in only 4 minutes tomorrow, do we have permission to post the "Triple H shoveling dirt" gif?


----------



## Reil

gl83 said:


> If Shayna crushes Kairi in only 4 minutes tomorrow, do we have permission to post the "Triple H shoveling dirt" gif?


Probably. But yeah, Shayna fucked up several spots tonight.

I really do not think Shayna should win tomorrow, however.


----------



## Jedah

Reil said:


> Just a heads up, but it seems like they were rehearsing the NXT Women's Title match at tonight's house show. I dunno if the result will be any different, but Shayna completely crushed Kairi in about 4 minutes. It's worth noting that Shayna apparently fucked up several spots though.


While it seems weird that they'd give the result away in a house show, unless that was just a portion of the match, the division is completely screwed. If Shayna wins tomorrow, we're getting into Asuka territory, but the problem is Shayna has, at best, a tenth of Asuka's talent. She cannot carry a reign like that.

This has really, really been an awful year for women's wrestling in WWE. Even the MYC wasn't booked particularly well.



Black Metal said:


> Lame.
> 
> However I could see them carrying it forward to WarGames.


There's nothing to carry unless Shayna cheats.


----------



## Reil

Yeah, that's the entire problem. People are so infatuated with Shayna because "WELL SHES A BADASS SHE SHOULDNT LOSE YET", they don't realize that her "badass aura" will wear off fairly quickly if she continues to steamroll people like this for a few more months. The division is pretty much toast if she wins tomorrow, and it seems like that's the direction they may be heading.

For reference, she hasn't lost a singles match since winning the NXT Women's title. And she has almost never looked truly in danger in any of them.


----------



## Jedah

Worse, this guy says it was around 20 minutes.

https://twitter.com/InBr1ghtestDay/status/1030630398613704704

Now I'm honestly wavering if I want to watch this live. The matches are going to be great I'm sure, but horrendous booking really sucks my enthusiasm.


----------



## Reil

I'm not going to bother, to be honest. I don't really want to watch the death of the NXT Women's Division happen at Takeover. Because it seems that will happen.


----------



## Jedah

It honestly really boggles the mind what they could possibly do for Evolution and War Games if Kairi gets beaten clean tomorrow. I just can't think of anything. All the other babyfaces are leveled. Bianca is a heel. Toni is part of the UK division. Io won't debut for a few months yet. There's like...nothing.


----------



## Jedah

https://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=119712



> *The War Raiders defeated Danny Birch & Oney Lorcan.
> 
> *Zack Gibson came out and ran down America and American sports. He challenged the best technical athlete to face him. Dominik Dijackovic answered the challenge but got beaten.
> 
> *Dakota Kai and Deonna Purrazzo (who got a great hometown reception) defeated Bianca Belair and Lacey Evans when Purrazzo made Evans tap.
> 
> *Johnny Gargano defeated Lars Sullivan by disqualification after Sullivan wouldn't stop stomping Gargano in the corner. Sullivan left Gargano laying after the bell. Tomasso Ciampa came out and started counting to 10 and taunted Gargano. Gargano got up and superkicked Ciampa at 9. Gargano then promised to defeat Ciampa for the NXT Title tomorrow night.
> 
> *Adam Cole defended the NXT North American Title against EC3. He won with a superkick followed by knee to the back of EC3's head.
> 
> *Shayna Baszler choked out Kairi Sane to retain the NXT Women's Championship.
> 
> *The main event saw Pete Dunne successfully defend the WWE UK Championship against the Velveteen Dream after a ref bump allowed interference from Zack Gibson. Moustache Mountain ran Gibson off and then Dunne hit Dream with the Bitter End for the pin.


Don't know why the women's match was the only card at TakeOver where they did that with. It's really weird, and really stupid.


----------



## Reil

Yeah, the division is going to be in a VERY bad spot after tomorrow night if Shayna retains. There is literally no credible babyface left after that. People here liked to complain about Asuka's reign, but at least her run didn't completely level every single babyface (or heel) in the span of roughly 3 months. Shayna is on the verge of doing that tomorrow night.

Not to mention it will completely kill Kairi's career in NXT, and we all know she will never get a main roster title.


----------



## Drshuk

Reil said:


> I'm not going to bother, to be honest. I don't really want to watch the death of the NXT Women's Division happen at Takeover. Because it seems that will happen.



Hyperbolic much? 

Lol at saying Shayna winning is the death of the women's division. I'm sorry that's just ridiculous.

Comparing her to Asuka's reign is also crazy. Asuka's reign was over a year long . Shayna's reign is currently 133 days. 

Shayna's had a grand total of 3 defenses so far, the same amount as Ember before she lost the title, and that's counting the Toni Storm title defense which more of a glorified house show defense than anything.

This is only Shayna's second takeover defense. She hasn't had takeover matches with either Candice or Dakota.


----------



## Jedah

The problem is she's already destroyed everyone, including Dakota and Candice, neither of whom have done anything else notable. Asuka usually beat local jobbers in between her high profile defenses and didn't level the NXT regulars in such a short span of time.

If Shayna wins tomorrow the only one credible left as of now is Bianca, but she's a heel. And Io and the others won't come in for a few months yet.

Shayna winning tomorrow basically means the division is a wasteland. It's not hyperbolic. If she weren't already booked to have flattened everyone in such a short span of time, it wouldn't be that way.


----------



## Reil

It's not really hyperbolic when Shayna has completely destroyed Candice and Dakota as well. Non title matches, but still.

And I'm not comparing reign length. I'm comparing path of domination. Even Asuka didn't tear through the entire heel or babyface roster in 3 months. Shayna has. There is literally no one left after Kairi loses. NXT has done a very bad job of building up someone to challenge her after this.


----------



## gl83

Jedah said:


> https://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=119712
> 
> 
> 
> Don't know why the women's match was the only card at TakeOver where they did that with. It's really weird, and really stupid.


They did the same yesterday with Undisputed Era & Mustache Mountain.

And they did the same thing a couple months ago prior to Takeover: Chicago with Undisputed Era & Lorcan/Burch as well as Baszler/Cross.


----------



## Jedah

gl83 said:


> They did the same yesterday with Undisputed Era & Mustache Mountain.
> 
> And they did the same thing a couple months ago prior to Takeover: Chicago with Undisputed Era & Lorcan/Burch as well as Baszler/Cross.


And did the result foreshadow the outcome? I'm assuming it did.


----------



## Reil

Yes it did. To be fair, they would have to win, since the titles were on the line in the respective matches, but still. It's the one thing the main roster does right with these types of matches. Instead of having the champion outright win clean before the event, they have them win in a dubious fashion.


----------



## Drshuk

Reil said:


> It's not really hyperbolic when Shayna has completely destroyed Candice and Dakota as well. Non title matches, but still.
> 
> And I'm not comparing reign length. I'm comparing path of domination. Even Asuka didn't tear through the entire heel or babyface roster in 3 months. Shayna has. There is literally no one left after Kairi loses. NXT has done a very bad job of building up someone to challenge her after this.




Except for Candice's match with Shayna was hardly one-sided., she got plenty of offense, a couple near falls, and escaped Shayna's finisher once. Shhe lost because she whiffed on her finisher allowing Shayna to take advantage and finish her off. 

It would take no work at all to be able to build Candice up for a title shot.


----------



## Jedah

Yes it would, because Candice has done fuck all since she got there. Aside from that, they could have at least protected her more in defeat if they wanted to build her up more.

Candice got an offensive sequence in and then Shayna flattened her. It was all about building up Shayna in the end.


----------



## Reil

More details on the match: Shayna KICKED OUT OF THE ELBOW DROP and then countered the Anchor Lock into her submission. So I wouldn't be shocked if that is how the match ends tomorrow.


----------



## Jedah

I do think Shayna got a lot better after she stopped feuding with Ember, but tomorrow becomes the point where her reign hits rapidly diminishing returns if she wins. It really would be everything Asuka's critics (with some justification) said about her reign, except without the charisma, the fantastic matches, and the ambiguous alignment that left a lot of challengers open.


----------



## The Phantom

Reil said:


> More details on the match: Shayna KICKED OUT OF THE ELBOW DROP and then countered the Anchor Lock into her submission. So I wouldn't be shocked if that is how the match ends tomorrow.


----------



## TD Stinger

I say again. A champion beat a challenger in a house show match the night before the big show in a rehearsal for the Takeover match. To assume this determines the outcome of the match tomorrow one way or the other is a fruitless endeavor.

And even if Shayna does win tomorrow and they had to build someone else, this is NXT. One or 2 big wins and someone like Candice or Dakota can easily be the next challenger with the right story. And again, this is NXT, I trust them to tell the right story. Can we stop acting like these girls are buried forever. Because honestly, that's how you guys make it sound at times.


----------



## Drshuk

Jedah said:


> Yes it would, because Candice has done fuck all since she got there. Aside from that, they could have at least protected her more in defeat if they wanted to build her up more.
> 
> Candice got an offensive sequence in and then Shayna flattened her. It was all about building up Shayna in the end.




Candice was in control for the first part of the match went for an arm drag off the ropes, Shayna pushed her off and took control and worked the arm. It was a pretty standard babyface vs bully heel match format and was far from a squash. 

You two are literally the only people who think that was a squash.
Pretty much every review site gave the match great reviews. 

https://411mania.com/wrestling/csonkas-nxt-tv-review-8-01-18/

https://uproxx.com/prowrestling/wwe-nxt-best-and-worst-august-1-2018/3/

https://www.pwponderings.com/2018/08/02/nxt-review-8-1-18-ciampion/

https://www.pwtorch.com/site/2018/0...vs-reeves-heavy-machinery-vs-the-mighty-more/


It's really not that hard to book someone who just had a performance like that as a serious threat to the title. 

What's happening here is that your favorite is probably going to lose so you're acting like the sky is falling.


----------



## Dibil13

I really don’t think Kairi is losing. Even if she does, who says they can’t do Bianca vs Shayna? They’re both heels but Shayna is portrayed as much more villainous, so it can work. Bianca would simply occupy more of a tweener or antihero role against her. 

But anyway, I think there’s way too much stock being put into a live event result here. Kairi should still be considered the clear favourite.


----------



## 751161

THE A-PPV TONIGHT :banderas :banderas

Really looking forward to this show. Pretty much looking forward to every match, it should be a good time. I'm not overly worried about results either, unlike SummerSlam. I guess the only one I REALLY want to see be dropped is the Women's Title by Shayna, and I think there's a good chance of that happening. Kairi deserves it.


----------



## The Masked Avenger

Wow, a lot of unfounded doom and gloom the last couple of pages. NXT knows what they are doing and haven't steered us wrong yet. If you know that she has steamrolled the competition and there isn't anyone credible left, they know it too. Chill and enjoy the show.


----------



## 751161

TheMaskedAvenger said:


> Wow, a lot of unfounded doom and gloom the last couple of pages. NXT knows what they are doing and haven't steered us wrong yet. If you know that she has steamrolled the competition and there isn't anyone credible left, they know it too. Chill and enjoy the show.


Welcome to Wrestling Forum. :trolldog


----------



## MC

Dibil13 said:


> I really don’t think Kairi is losing. Even if she does, who says they can’t do Bianca vs Shayna? They’re both heels but Shayna is portrayed as much more villainous, so it can work. Bianca would simply occupy more of a tweener or antihero role against her.
> 
> But anyway, I think there’s way too much stock being put into a live event result here. Kairi should still be considered the clear favourite.


No, they won't do that. It's way too early for Bianca to jave any sort of character change.


----------



## Tonywitho3012

People are definitely getting worried for no reason with regards to Kairi. I mean, Kairi HAD to lose that match because it’s a house show, right? It’s likely that they were rehearsing spots for the takeover match, but the finish can easily be altered. Someone’s just pointed out on Twitter that before the takeover fatal four way match ( Kairi’s only title shot thus far) they had Peyton Royce win in various house show matches before hand. The result means NOTHING, and it means even less in this case, since Shayna was the champion and HAD to retain before takeover.


----------



## Jedah

Drshuk said:


> Candice was in control for the first part of the match went for an arm drag off the ropes, Shayna pushed her off and took control and worked the arm. It was a pretty standard babyface vs bully heel match format and was far from a squash.


Yeah, and Dakota got some offense in also. That doesn't mean anything. If they wanted to do Shayna vs. Candice down the line, they could have either protected her more, or simply not done the match at all.

The match was all about building Shayna in the end, and the commentators said so. Candice has zero momentum right now and has done nothing since she got there. Her only claim to fame right now is that she's Johnny's wife, and that would just be copy/paste booking that we all hate the main roster for.

There are far better options when Io Shirai is about to come in.



Tonywitho3012 said:


> People are definitely getting worried for no reason with regards to Kairi. I mean, Kairi HAD to lose that match because it’s a house show, right? It’s likely that they were rehearsing spots for the takeover match, but the finish can easily be altered. Someone’s just pointed out on Twitter that before the takeover fatal four way match ( Kairi’s only title shot thus far) they had Peyton Royce win in various house show matches before hand. The result means NOTHING, and it means even less in this case, since Shayna was the champion and HAD to retain before takeover.


I guess the point is, she could have retained another way, like through countout or DQ. Kairi tapping cleanly after the elbow drop failed sends a really bad message.



TheMaskedAvenger said:


> Wow, a lot of unfounded doom and gloom the last couple of pages. NXT knows what they are doing and haven't steered us wrong yet. If you know that she has steamrolled the competition and there isn't anyone credible left, they know it too. Chill and enjoy the show.


Usually you'd be right, but the thing is, Triple H has a fetish for MMA fighters that throws a monkey wrench into the usual stuff.


----------



## ellthom

Looking forward to tonight, hoping for some good matches. But I guess unlike the main roster good matches are a given on NxT PPVs

Also I really got to stop calling these things PPV's. Look at me still stuck on the 90's ... What are they now anyway? Network Shows? N2V, Network to View? lol. I am sure it has a name but my brain is too dead for thinking right now


----------



## Alright_Mate

Well, those wanting Kairi to win best be prepared for the worst NXT Women's title run in history (Y)


----------



## 751161

ellthom said:


> Looking forward to tonight, hoping for some good matches. But I guess unlike the main roster good matches are a given on NxT PPVs
> 
> Also I really got to stop calling these things PPV's. Look at me still stuck on the 90's ... What are they now anyway? Network Shows? N2V, Network to View? lol. I am sure it has a name but my brain is too dead for thinking right now


Well technically you still have to pay to view them through the Network... unless *uhum* so it still sort of works saying PPV. 



Alright_Mate said:


> Well, those wanting Kairi to win best be prepared for the worst NXT Women's title run in history (Y)


Can't be any worse than Shayna or Ember's reigns, which were totally forgettable to me. I've tried to get in to Shayna, and whilst she's actually not a bad wrestler, her style just bores the life out of me.

Kairi is a really good talent, I don't see how her reign will be bad. I also wanted Dakota Kai, but Kairi is great. She'll make for a good babyface Champ.


----------



## Jersey

Looking forward to tonight, hoping for some good matches. Shayna will probably retain and then Ronda will get in the ring and hug her friend which will bring out the other two ufc girls.

Velveteen should get the W tonight. Even though he's still young but still he gets it and fans perceive him well.

I'm a riccochet fan but I don't that Adam Cole (Bay Bay) will drop the title just yet to him.


----------



## Mango13

Can't wait for this show NXT always delivers and this will destroy anything SummerSlam will do


----------



## 751161

Jersey said:


> Looking forward to tonight, hoping for some good matches. Shayna will probably retain and then Ronda will get in the ring and hug her friend which will bring out the other two ufc girls.


----------



## Jedah

Yeah, it would be really hard to beat the Shayna/Ember feud as far as poor quality goes. While Shayna has improved since then, they've pushed her so strong, so fast, that they've run all the fuel out on her reign very quickly. If it goes on past this, it's going to be everything people said Asuka's reign was, but with far, far less talent.

Kairi has a number of good feuds that await her as champion - Bianca, potentially Rhea, and ultimately, Io, which should be the endgame.



> Looking forward to tonight, hoping for some good matches. Shayna will probably retain and then Ronda will get in the ring and hug her friend which will bring out the other two ufc girls.


:eyeroll :eyeroll2

Although, for what it's worth, someone said that Kairi only hit the elbow drop from the second rope last night.


----------



## Jersey

The Fourth Wall said:


>


Vince's mouth watering UFC obsession isn't going to change so....


----------



## Jedah

Vince doesn't book NXT though, thank God. Unfortunately, Triple H has the same obsession so that is a very possible scenario.


----------



## Ham and Egger

Going to the show tonight and it's my first Takeover show! They've always been some of the best shows of the year so I cant wait to experience something special tonight.


----------



## 751161

Jersey said:


> Vince's mouth watering UFC obsession isn't going to change so....


Meh, this is is Triple H not Vince. HHH seems to actually have an idea of how to book a show judging by pretty much every Takeover, so I think we're probably good. 

I think it's obvious Shayna's reign has run it's course, especially with the way she's gone through the Women's division. It needs the refresher.


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

They won't even dare to book the first MYC winner as a bust right before the second installment of the same event.


----------



## Reil

ReekOfAwesomenesss said:


> They won't even dare to book the first MYC winner as a bust right before the second installment of the same event.


I dunno. I remember hearing rumors (but just that) at the time of the MYC 1 ending that *Vince* had the decision changed so Kairi would go over instead of Shayna. Because Triple H wanted Shayna to win apparently, but Vince didn't want someone without a contract to win. Shayna didn't sign a deal until a few weeks after the MYC was wrapped up.

Like it's just a rumor, but its something that is very believable as well. WWE got burned once by putting over ZSJ and Kota Ibushi in the CWC just for them to not sign.

While Vince is high on former MMA people, its nowhere near the level of obsession that Triple H seems to have with them.


----------



## Jersey

The Fourth Wall said:


> Meh, this is is Triple H not Vince. HHH seems to actually have an idea of how to book a show judging by pretty much every Takeover, so I think we're probably good.
> 
> I think it's obvious Shayna's reign has run it's course, especially with the way she's gone through the Women's division. It needs the refresher.


What a botch on my behalf for saving that, I was caught up in the hype But I still think Shany is retaining though.


----------



## MC

The Fourth Wall said:


> Meh, this is is Triple H not Vince. HHH seems to actually have an idea of how to book a show judging by pretty much every Takeover, so I think we're probably good.
> 
> I think it's obvious Shayna's reign has run it's course, especially with the way she's gone through the Women's division. It needs the refresher.


Why do you assume Triple H doesn't also have an "mma fetish"? Vince has never shown much interest in MMA before. Triple H is in charge of recruitment and likely has a big part in bringing in the MMA four horsemen than Vince - which is not to say he didn't agree with.

As for who is winning, Kairi is obviously winning. There isn't even a doubt in my mind.


----------



## 751161

Jersey said:


> What a botch on my behalf for saving that, I was caught up in the hype But I still think Shany is retaining though.


It's all good. :lol

I'm not 100% certain on Kairi winning, don't get me wrong. The storyline & her momentum seems to be headed that way, but there's a side of me that could see Shayna retaining. I just have no idea what they do if she does, the Division needs something fresh. It used to be far better in the past for me.

What is really giving me hope is the fact it doesn't seem like a lot of these titles will change hands. I don't see UE dropping the Tag, it's too soon for Cole to lose IMO, and Ciampa just started to have his reign. It'd be weird if we have a show with no title changes, so that's why I edge towards the Women.


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

Reil said:


> I dunno. I remember hearing rumors (but just that) at the time of the MYC 1 ending that *Vince* had the decision changed so Kairi would go over instead of Shayna. Because Triple H wanted Shayna to win apparently, but Vince didn't want someone without a contract to win. Shayna didn't sign a deal until a few weeks after the MYC was wrapped up.
> 
> Like it's just a rumor, but its something that is very believable as well. WWE got burned once by putting over ZSJ and Kota Ibushi in the CWC just for them to not sign.
> 
> While Vince is high on former MMA people, its nowhere near the level of obsession that Triple H seems to have with them.


Yeah, Triple H is also big on combat sports as he openly admitted that his team is always scouting those worlds. But I still believe he knows that the story needs a happy ending with both women having nice prospects after the feud respectively.


----------



## Jedah

MC 16 said:


> Why do you assume Triple H doesn't also have an "mma fetish"? Vince has never shown much interest in MMA before. Triple H is in charge of recruitment and likely has a big part in bringing in the MMA four horsemen than Vince - which is not to say he didn't agree with.
> 
> As for who is winning, Kairi is obviously winning. There isn't even a doubt in my mind.


I was much more confident before I heard that house show yesterday. While I'm now hearing that Kairi only hit the elbow drop from the second rope, Shayna apparently reversed the Anchor into her own submission, and why do a sequence like that if not practicing the finish? It goes back to how Kairi lost to Pentagon in Lucha Underground, which might be the inspiration here.

That and Triple H's MMA fetish gives me a lot of pause.


----------



## 751161

MC 16 said:


> Why do you assume Triple H doesn't also have an "mma fetish"? Vince has never shown much interest in MMA before. Triple H is in charge of recruitment and likely has a big part in bringing in the MMA four horsemen than Vince - which is not to say he didn't agree with.
> 
> As for who is winning, Kairi is obviously winning. There isn't even a doubt in my mind.


I'm not assuming anything. I just trust Triple H's abilities to book a show better, based on past track record & how good the Takeovers have been. With the way Kairi has been booked, and this whole feud & storyline has played out, the title change makes sense.


----------



## Jersey

The Fourth Wall said:


> It's all good. :lol
> 
> I'm not 100% certain on Kairi winning, don't get me wrong. The storyline & her momentum seems to be headed that way, but there's a side of me that could see Shayna retaining. I just have no idea what they do if she does, the Division needs something fresh. It used to be far better in the past for me.
> 
> What is really giving me hope is the fact it doesn't seem like a lot of these titles will change hands. I don't see UE dropping the Tag, it's too soon for Cole to lose IMO, and Ciampa just started to have his reign. It'd be weird if we have a show with no title changes, so that's why I edge towards the Women.


 Riccochet might win via dq but no title change. I can see that happen as well. I think shayna might drop it at evolution although I could be wrong on that as well.


----------



## Reil

Yeah, I don't trust Triple H in this regard. 

The ONLY way I would be fine with Kairi losing is if Shayna had to cheat or something, giving Kairi an excuse for a rematch at Evolution. But that's something she has never done so far, and I don't see her doing any time soon. If Shayna were to cheat to win, it would open up the feud a bit more by letting Kairi develop her character more. But if Kairi loses clean, it doesn't matter what they do to her, because she lost. Clean. 

I guess an example of opening up her character more would be refining that killer instinct to the point of where Shayna has no choice but to defend the title against her at Evolution. Have Marina and Jessamin debut just to be brutally taken out in their debuts by Kairi (either post match or during the match). I mean Shayna has brutally taken out Kairi's friends, so turnabout is fair play. They may be the MMA 4HW, but Marina and Jessamin are still complete rookies when it comes to wrestling.


----------



## gl83

Jedah said:


> I was much more confident before I heard that house show yesterday. While I'm now hearing that Kairi only hit the elbow drop from the second rope, Shayna apparently reversed the Anchor into her own submission, and why do a sequence like that if not practicing the finish? It goes back to how Kairi lost to Pentagon in Lucha Underground, which might be the inspiration here.
> 
> That and Triple H's MMA fetish gives me a lot of pause.


If it was a typical house show title retention, they would've just had Shayna get out of the way of the Insane Elbow and lock in the Kirifuda Clutch off of the miss. I recall them doing a spot at a house show where Shayna countered Dakota Kai's Kai-ropractor into the Kirifuda clutch and then they did the same spot weeks later on NXT TV. 


With how she countered the finishers of Ember Moon, Dakota Kai and I guess Kairi Sane into her own finisher, they really seem to be making Shayna look strong with how she snatches victory from the jaws of defeat.


----------



## Reil

Yeah, and that's an issue. If Shayna continues to look this dominant, then we are going to be in the Asuka situation again, except significantly worse off. Not to mention the main roster DESPERATELY needs a strong female heel right now. Which they aren't going to get if Kairi loses.


----------



## Tonywitho3012

gl83 said:


> If it was a typical house show title retention, they would've just had Shayna get out of the way of the Insane Elbow and lock in the Kirifuda Clutch off of the miss. I recall them doing a spot at a house show where Shayna countered Dakota Kai's Kai-ropractor into the Kirifuda clutch and then they did the same spot weeks later on NXT TV.
> 
> 
> With how she countered the finishers of Ember Moon, Dakota Kai and I guess Kairi Sane into her own finisher, they really seem to be making Shayna look strong with how she snatches victory from the jaws of defeat.


Still doesn’t mean that will be the finish, though. They might do that same sequence, but with Kairi getting out of the Kirifuda. I hear what people are saying with regards to them not protecting Kairi with a DQ finish, but in the end they’ve no need to protect her, it’s a house show. Very few people will see it. Anyway, I guess we’ll know tonight. I still think there’s plenty of reason to hope.


----------



## JD=JohnDorian

Takeover Brooklyn is probably NXT's biggest show of the year and Takeovers rarely disappoint, so really looking forward to this. Card looks really good as well.


----------



## Oneiros

The Fourth Wall said:


> What is really giving me hope is the fact it doesn't seem like a lot of these titles will change hands.


For some reason, I think Gargano will win the title. I don't have any basis for this, but I believe Shayna will retain too.

I hope to be wrong on both accounts, let's see. I just want Kairi to win.


----------



## Jedah

Well, remember that this was originally intended to be a triple threat match. I don't think Gargano would have won the title in that scenario, and I don't think a last minute change because of Black's injury is going to change that outcome. It's way too soon for Ciampa to drop the title and a last man standing match is a convenient way to give the feud legs.

On the other hand, it's time for Shayna to drop the title now, but after last night I don't think it's going to happen. That would be a disaster. We can only hope that that sequence wasn't the real finish to tonight's match. It would be weird for the two big heels in Ciampa and Shayna to reign at the same time. NXT usually likes to alternate.


----------



## MC

Jedah said:


> Well, remember that this was originally intended to be a triple threat match. I don't think Gargano would have won the title in that scenario, and I don't think a last minute change because of Black's injury is going to change that outcome. It's way too soon for Ciampa to drop the title and a last man standing match is a convenient way to give the feud legs.


You're right. But it's also very likely that they would've had Gargano beat Ciampa in the third match so they could decide to have him win here and finish the feud early. Otherwise they will have a fourth match which can happen too.


----------



## Jedah

That's why I think this match is going to be a draw after a big time holy shit moment. That way the record stays even at 1-1-1. The last man standing stipulation is very convenient for that kind of finish.

And you get to the fourth match at the Rumble or Mania TakeOver. They need to take a break from each other for a bit after this.


----------



## Mango13

The preshow starts at 6PM EST right?


----------



## RiverFenix

The break between Ciampa and Gargano should be Regal arranging a call-up to 205Live for Gargano. He can say after the carnage and the big closing spot that for their own safety that they both cannot be in NXT and since Ciampa is the champion, Gargano has to go. Gargano can wrestle on 205Live for the next 3-4 months before somehow getting back into NXT to have the rubber match one last shot at Ciampa. 

Have Gargano even "regain his smile" in the CW division, even win the title. But that he has one thing he needs to do. 

Gargano needs his big blow off win over Ciampa, but his character isn't ready now. He can't win it as Dark Johnny. 

So after the big spot finish tonight you could even have Gargano asking Regal for help, or have Candice pleading for him to move on, that the title isn't worth it. Gargano could agree to go to 205Live for Candice.

Ciampa could feud with any combination of Black, Riccochet, Lee, Dunne, Dream in the interim while Gargano can go play Johnny Wrestling babyface against Itami, Rush, Murphy, Ali, Alexander etc.


----------



## Jedah

Yeah, if Shayna wins after this promo, it's pretty close to a burial. The heel will be proven right on the biggest stage in NXT, and the tournament win will basically have been rendered worthless right as the next one is about to begin.

Hopefully they do the right thing and Kairi wins. Afterward I'd mark out if the faces Shayna bullied celebrate with Kairi, and then Io came in to the shock of the crowd and then attacked her like Adam Cole did to McIntyre last year. That would be awesome, though unlikely since she didn't seem to play an outright heel in the tournament this year.


----------



## validreasoning

Not the right time for Sane to win imo. Barely any backstory here with Sane winning multiple person match and then doing that cool spot while pointing at baszler this week..that's it. On the flip side Kai has been bullied by baszler for months so she should be the one that beats the bully eventually given the story they are telling.

We have only had one heel womens champion last 5+ years in nxt aside from baszler so I don't think its the right time to put it on another babyface. Sane putting up a great fight and losing by skin of her teeth isn't going to hurt her, probably make her more likeable to that segment of the fanbase that feared she would be another unstoppable asuka type in NXT.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

This will def. be the best show of the weekend.


----------



## Black Metal

Mango13 said:


> The preshow starts at 6PM EST right?


Yes.

*NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4 Pre-Show - 6:00-7:00 PM EST

NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4 - 7:00-9:30 PM EST*

According WWE Network schedule times.


----------



## Jedah

Kairi and Shayna's story goes back a year, as that promo showed.

And Dakota has been jobbing left and right and they pretty much dropped the bullying angle before Chicago when she basically said she overcame her fears. She has no credibility right now and it will take a long time to build her back up, time NXT doesn't have.

Shayna's reign could go longer if they hadn't have pushed her as strongly as they have since she debuted. Because they decided to have her run through all the regulars and not do jobber matches, they've run out the fuel of her reign quickly. If Kairi loses there's basically no babyfaces left and Shayna won't have any serious challenger until Io gets there, and that's still 2.5 months away at the earliest. The division can't afford to have her win clean tonight.


----------



## Reil

It's worth noting that Dakota Kai is apparently involved in the NXT UK Women's Title scene anyways. And if they were going to build her up to beat Shayna any time soon (if ever), she wouldn't be eating losses left and right on regular NXT to contracted talent. She has lost to Bianca, Lacey, and Vanessa over the past few months.

The feud with Kairi has been brewing for over a year. And it's really not that hard to understand. Shayna put Kairi on the shelf for several months after War Games last year. She then took away another shot at the title from Kairi by beating her (and then going on to beat Ember for the title). Shayna has then gone after all of Kairi's friends and brutalized them.

So yeah, its a simple but effective story.



Spoiler: NXT UK stuff



Dakota stakes her claim to the NXT UK Women's Title on the episodes that have been taped, which are airing sometime soon, according to Triple H's conference call.


----------



## Mango13

Black Metal said:


> Yes.
> 
> *NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4 Pre-Show - 6:00-7:00 PM EST
> 
> NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4 - 7:00-9:30 PM EST*
> 
> According WWE Network schedule times.



Thanks, still trying to get used to the new hour earlier start times.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1030890106545004544
:bjpenn


----------



## 751161

J'onn J'onzz said:


> For some reason, I think Gargano will win the title. I don't have any basis for this, but I believe Shayna will retain too.
> 
> I hope to be wrong on both accounts, let's see. I just want Kairi to win.


I'd be really shocked if Gargano wins. Ciampa has barely had a reign, and his character doesn't seem in the right mindset to win. I think it'll be a draw with some crazy ass spot to end.

As much as I love Gargano as well, I think it'd be a shame for Ciampa to get such a short reign.



Showstopper said:


> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1030890106545004544
> :bjpenn


I'm super stoked for tonight, man. There's not one match that I look at & haven't got some interest in. If every match delivers for the most part, it'll be one of the best Takeovers to date. Even the Women's division feels like it's picked up a little, I just hope they make the right result there.


----------



## Black Metal

Velveteen Dream and EC3 are the weakest match on the card and that's based solely on my lack of interest in EC3.

Hope Velveteen gets a win. Can't wait to see what his tights have on them tonight.


----------



## 751161

Black Metal said:


> Velveteen Dream and EC3 are the weakest match on the card and that's based solely on my lack of interest in EC3.
> 
> Hope Velveteen gets a win. Can't wait to see what his tights have on them tonight.


Agreed. That match is really hit or miss for me. I just can't decide if It'll be good or not. It's a weird one for me.

Dream is really good, but EC3 has been average at best in NXT so far. His ring work is really lacking. I _think_ it could be good & Dream could carry him to a good match, it just depends. EC3 needs to show up here in a big way. I think the segments have been fairly entertaining, especially this past week.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

The Fourth Wall said:


> I'd be really shocked if Gargano wins. Ciampa has barely had a reign, and his character doesn't seem in the right mindset to win. I think it'll be a draw with some crazy ass spot to end.
> 
> As much as I love Gargano as well, I think it'd be a shame for Ciampa to get such a short reign.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm super stoked for tonight, man. There's not one match that I look at & haven't got some interest in. If every match delivers for the most part, it'll be one of the best Takeovers to date. Even the Women's division feels like it's picked up a little, I just hope they make the right result there.


I'm pumped, too! Should be a fun card regardless if it's 'one of the best ever' like Meltzer said. Love Takeover nights. :mark:


----------



## Death Rider

Dream vs Ec3 will probs be a bit meh but I can live with that since Ec3 is more of a promo guy and the rest of the card looking amazing.


----------



## 751161

Showstopper said:


> I'm pumped, too! Should be a fun card regardless if it's 'one of the best ever' like Meltzer said. Love Takeover nights. :mark:


I'm sure SummerSlam will give it some great competition tomorrow. 

:ha

I have to imagine Triple H gets a kick out of just blowing Vince out of the water every time there is a Takeover on the same weekend. I literally can't remember a main roster show ever topping one, and it's competed with the big boys like WrestleMania & SummerSlam. Pretty crazy.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

The Fourth Wall said:


> I'm sure SummerSlam will give it some great competition tomorrow.
> 
> :ha
> 
> I have to imagine Triple H gets a kick out of just blowing Vince out of the water every time there is a Takeover on the same weekend. I literally can't remember a main roster show ever topping one, and it's competed with the big boys like WrestleMania & SummerSlam. Pretty crazy.


When there's a Takeover on the same weekend as a main roster PPV:










:trips2


----------



## 751161

Showstopper said:


> When there's a Takeover on the same weekend as a main roster PPV:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> :trips2












:trips2


----------



## Switchblade Club

Pumped for tonight


----------



## Mango13

Pre show for the best show of the weekend bout to start.


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

So pumped for this show, that I was early for the pre-show :mark:


----------



## Mox Girl

Charly <3 I love seeing her get a chance to do the preshow!


----------



## 751161

I'm annoyed I can't stay up for this show. :sadbecky

Got some things to sort out tomorrow morning *sigh*

Going to watch it in one sitting as soon as I get home though, can't fucking wait. :mark:


----------



## Mango13

Charly looking good tonight


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

The BAYBAY chants have already started :banderas


----------



## 751161

Wait, does this main show start at Midnight? Maybe I'll be able to squeeze an hour in considering I won't be in bed by 1am.


----------



## Mango13

The Fourth Wall said:


> I'm annoyed I can't stay up for this show. :sadbecky
> 
> Got some things to sort out tomorrow morning *sigh*
> 
> Going to watch it in one sitting as soon as I get home though, can't fucking wait. :mark:




Noooooo  best show of the weekend and you can't stay up to watch it feelsbadman


----------



## Mango13

The Fourth Wall said:


> Wait, does this main show start at Midnight? Maybe I'll be able to squeeze an hour in considering I won't be in bed by 1am.


Main show starts in like 53 minutes.


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

who is the guy in white?


----------



## Mox Girl

The Fourth Wall said:


> Wait, does this main show start at Midnight? Maybe I'll be able to squeeze an hour in considering I won't be in bed by 1am.


I wish you lived in a better timezone, cos it would be fun live discussing shows with you 

Plus, it's funny cos I just woke UP to watch this :lol


----------



## 751161

MarkyWhipwreck said:


> The BAYBAY chants have already started :banderas


Over as fuck!










Cole is almost too popular to be a Heel, really. He's charismatic as hell. I guess the same could be said for most these days though.


----------



## Black Metal

ReekOfAwesomenesss said:


> who is the guy in white?


Some football player I think.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Looking forward to tonight.

:mark:


----------



## Psyche

ReekOfAwesomenesss said:


> who is the guy in white?


Pat McAfee, former NFL place kicker for the Colts.


----------



## Mango13

Any word on what match is opening the show?


----------



## 751161

Ambrose Girl said:


> I wish you lived in a better timezone, cos it would be fun live discussing shows with you
> 
> Plus, it's funny cos I just woke UP to watch this :lol


I wish so, too. This is why watching the main roster shows can feel like such a chore for me. I don't have the benefit of discussing it live on here, and it can feel like a part-time job having to catch-up when everybody else has already watched & discussed the show. :mj2 I have to do like full recaps, instead of posting as I go. It sucks. Makes things harder, especially when I hear Summerslam might be 6 hours. Sheesh.


----------



## ellthom

Three possible MotY matches tonight...


----------



## Black Metal

Oh, I love Takeover Saturdays.


----------



## 5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

*I'm at work for another hour. Tell me if Bianca makes an appearance on the pre show.*


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Some guy I follow on Twitter who's at Takeover tonight:


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1030939978807824384
:bjpenn


----------



## Psyche

Hype is real by the way, been looking forward to this all week. I can see a lot of heel victories going down tonight. I do think Kairi gets her moment though.


----------



## Mango13

The preshow for SummerSlam starts at 5PM EST? thats like 7 hours of main roster shit....ugh...


----------



## 751161

This crowd is going to be BOOMING. It just makes everything so much more exciting. :mark: Brooklyn is always good.

I love Takeover crowds. They are always really high energy & sound like they actually enjoy the product. It really makes the matches feel like a big deal.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Mango13 said:


> The preshow for SummerSlam starts at 5PM EST? thats like 7 hours of main roster shit....ugh...


Right? Just don't watch the pre-show, though. It's not like anything meaningful takes place on it.


----------



## Mango13

The Fourth Wall said:


> This crowd is going to be BOOMING. It just makes everything so much more exciting. :mark: Brooklyn is always good.
> 
> I love Takeover crowds. They are always really high energy & sound like they actually enjoy the product. It really makes the matches feel like a big deal.


NXT crowds are what crowds should sound like, not the dead zombies we get with Main Roster shows lol.

But for real though NXT crowds give me Attitude Era crowd vibes.


----------



## Black Metal

New Undisputed Era T-shirt in this interview.


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

That UE tees are lit.


----------



## 751161

I love how the Takeover threads are just filled with optimistic vibes & enthusiasm. 

The A-Show. :tripsblessed


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

So has the pre show started yet? Been listening to music and lost track of time.


----------



## Mox Girl

Mango13 said:


> The preshow for SummerSlam starts at 5PM EST? thats like 7 hours of main roster shit....ugh...


The preshow starts at 9 in the morning for me :lol That's the earliest a PPV has ever begun over here in NZ, cos usually they're on in the afternoon.

This is why I vastly prefer being there in person lol.


----------



## Mango13

Got some beer and a large Pepperoni and Jalapeno pizza on the way :mark:


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

SHIV:THE OTHER WHITE MEAT said:


> So has the pre show started yet? Been listening to music and lost track of time.


Yes, it started 22 mins ago. Takeover itself starts in 38 mins.


----------



## 751161

Nothing really happens on the Takeover pre-show, or any matches, so you're not missing much by not watching it. I'm just using it to get more hyped. :mark:


----------



## Black Metal

Mango13 said:


> Got some beer and a large Pepperoni and Jalapeno pizza on the way :mark:


Already ate chinese earlier but bought some sea salt and cracked black pepper kettle cooked chips for the show. How...stereotypical of me to do.


----------



## Mox Girl

I use the preshow to catch up cos I don't watch NXT every week anymore - I only watch when Dakota Kai is on and she's barely been on lately, so I'm majorly behind :lol So this is helpful to catch me up on the storylines.

It's also 10:30am here right now, so I'm not eating anything fun except possibly breakfast haha.


----------



## 751161

Ambrose Girl said:


> The preshow starts at 9 in the morning for me :lol That's the earliest a PPV has ever begun over here in NZ, cos usually they're on in the afternoon.
> 
> This is why I vastly prefer being there in person lol.


That would be so perfect for me. I'm jealous










Can I move to New Zealand please?


----------



## Psyche

DREAM OVER 










EC3 can afford a loss right now and a good enough promo to talk his way out of it so I'm really hoping they have Dream win tonight.


----------



## ellthom

Mango13 said:


> The preshow for SummerSlam starts at 5PM EST? thats like 7 hours of main roster shit....ugh...


Yea I think i'll give that a pass tomorrow, I'll catch it when I get back from work.


----------



## 751161

Whilst you guys are snacking on lovely foods, I brushed my teeth & will be going to bed soon.










Maybe the first hour will be so good I'll be glued to my screen, and then forget I was meant to go to bed.


----------



## ellthom

The Fourth Wall said:


> Whilst you guys are snacking on lovely foods, I brushed my teeth & will be going to bed soon.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Maybe the first hour will be so good I'll be glued to my screen, and then forget I was meant to go to bed.


same it's 11:30: PM here all I got is water. I got work in the morning


----------



## Oneiros

Who I'm rooting for:
- Dream
- Ricochet
- Undisputed Era
- Kairi
- Ciampa

Guess I'll see how happy I get tomorrow morning.


----------



## Mox Girl

The Fourth Wall said:


> That would be so perfect for me. I'm jealous
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Can I move to New Zealand please?


LOL well we need new neighbours in one house in our complex, so come on over and join me here 

It's annoying if you work or need to go out though :lol


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

It's that Pat McAfee guy or whatever the hell his name is. :mark


----------



## Mango13

The Fourth Wall said:


> Maybe the first hour will be so good I'll be glued to my screen, and then forget I was meant to go to bed.




Prepare to be glued to your screen


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

Ricochet is awful on interviews.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Awwww yeahhhh:


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1030944925574160386


----------



## Mox Girl

BTW lol at Charly saying that Pat guy is butthurt :lol


----------



## Mango13

God I really hope they get the title off Shayna Baszler, I didn't think it was possible to have a worse champion then Ember Moon but yet here we are.


----------



## Mordecay

The excitement is real. 

It makes me miss those days when Peyton was on several of the Takeover preshow matches and people cheered for her :mj2


----------



## Black Metal

The Fourth Wall said:


> Whilst you guys are snacking on lovely foods, I brushed my teeth & will be going to bed soon.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Maybe the first hour will be so good I'll be glued to my screen, and then forget I was meant to go to bed.


Don't do it.

Join us.


----------



## TD Stinger

Shit, this is starting at 7? I thougth the whole time it was starting at 8. Damn, glad I caught that, lol.

Final predictions:

*Dream beats EC3
*Cole retains through nefarious means.
*Kairi beats Shayna (and honestly now I hope she wins just to prove that a champion winning a house show match means nothing)
*TUE retain the tag belts in a classic.
*Ciampa finds some way to sneak away with the title.


----------



## Mango13

TD Stinger said:


> Shit, this is starting at 7? I thougth the whole time it was starting at 8. Damn, glad I caught that, lol.


Yeah all Takeovers start an hour earlier now just like the main roster shows.


----------



## Mox Girl

Why are the commentators hyping the women's title match?! Let Charly and co do it :lol


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Mango13 said:


> God I really hope they get the title off Shayna Baszler, I didn't think it was possible to have a worse champion then Ember Moon but yet here we are.


Yeah. She hasn't impressed me at all yet, either. She's also not very scary looking for someone who's a bully character. Kind of miscast.


----------



## Mordecay

I hope they open with the womens match. Something tells me that they will start with the tag or EC3 vs VD, but they should start with the womens. They usually have to follow a hot match and Shayna's style is so boring that always kills the crowd, so at least if it starts the show they have a better chance of the crowd giving them a chance.


----------



## Mox Girl

Also Kairi is so super cute. I love her


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

*NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4 - Predictions.*

Kyle & Roddy retain over Mustache Mountain
Dream over EC3
Cole retains over Ricochet
Kairi defeats Shayna 
Gargano defeats Ciampa


----------



## MC

Oh yeah, Shayna vs Kairi should be excellent. Can't wait :mark


----------



## Mango13

The music they used for this video package fits so well


----------



## 751161

Showstopper said:


> Yeah. She hasn't impressed me at all yet, either. She's also not very scary looking for someone who's a bully character. Kind of miscast.


She just bores me, honestly. I've given her a chance, but, I'm just not feeling it. Granted, she's far better than I expected her to be, but there's a lot of room for improvement there I think. As soon as she gets on the mic or in a segment, I just don't really buy her I guess. Doesn't help her voice doesn't match her look at all. :lol

I think Kairi deserves this win after so much hard work, and the crowd deserves a feel-good moment too.


----------



## Mox Girl

Kairi's English is improving!

Shayna is boring. I hope she loses tonight.


----------



## TD Stinger

The song and music they had for that Kairi-Shaya package was great and very fitting.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

The Fourth Wall said:


> She just bores me, honestly. I've given her a chance, but, I'm just not feeling it. Granted, she's far better than I expected her to be, but there's a lot of room for improvement there I think. As soon as she gets on the mic or in a segment, I just don't really buy her I guess. Doesn't help her voice doesn't match her look at all. :lol
> 
> I think Kairi deserves this win after so much hard work, and the crowd deserves a feel-good moment too.


Agree with everything you said here. And to make matters worse, apparently she's been wrestling for a couple of years now.

:trips8

I also think/hope Sane wins tonight.


----------



## ellthom

Mango13 said:


> God I really hope they get the title off Shayna Baszler, I didn't think it was possible to have a worse champion then Ember Moon but yet here we are.


Just wait until Rondas other two friends come along, that women's NxT title isn't safe


----------



## Mango13

ellthom said:


> Just wait until Rondas other two friends come along, that women's NxT title isn't safe


ugh, they already showed Baszler walking into the arena with them....zzzzz


----------



## 751161

I DO expect this to be Shayna's best match though. I'm looking forward to it a lot. I think Kairi will play the babyface role really well. I can't lie that the result would put a dampener on things if she retains, but I just hope the match is good. I think the Women's Division has been lacking for a while now in NXT, it could use a boost. Both Ember & Shayna didn't excite me too much.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Ciampa's new shirt.

:bjpenn

Might have to get that and show some support for Tommy Sports Entertainment. :lol

:ciampa


----------



## Jedah

Kairi really has to win. By pushing Shayna so hard, so fast (much more than even Asuka ever was), they've just run out the fuel on her reign. There's really nothing left she can do as champ.

Kairi has fresh feuds awaiting her with Bianca and ultimately Io, which ordinarily they'd be absolutely braindead not to do. Io and Kairi can be the next Bayley and Sasha if allowed.

BUT

This is the one and only area where I don't trust Triple H to do the right thing. His fetish for MMA fighters is strong.


----------



## Mordecay

Spoiler: For Evolution match



Apparently they showed a graphic advertising Trish vs Alexa for Evolution, with Alexa without her title


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1030940907489509377


----------



## Jedah

Hopefully that means Shayna will feud with Ronda for Evolution. It's what they should do and what the main roster needs.

Another reason Shayna should lose tonight and go up - Raw and SD need her FAR more than NXT right now.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Ricochet is out of his depth with Adam Cole BAY BAY.


----------



## 751161

Showstopper said:


> Ciampa's new shirt.
> 
> :bjpenn
> 
> Might have to get that and show some support for Tommy Sports Entertainment. :lol
> 
> :ciampa


NXT has so much good merch. Crazy to see the quality difference between the Main Roster & NXT. Is it different people behind the merch or something? It's like night & day.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

The Fourth Wall said:


> NXT has so much good merch. Crazy to see the quality difference between the Main Roster & NXT. Is it different people behind the merch or something? It's like night & day.


I'm not sure, it might be. :lol Although, that new custom tee store WWE opened up is much better than their regular WWE shop.


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

So Regal just ruled out TUE for Aleister's attacker, must lead to something.


----------



## Mango13

10 minutes :mark: :mark:


----------



## Jedah

The four horsewomen being there makes me nervous. Hopefully they do something innovative like have Io there to counter them, then you can see Io establishing friendship with Kairi to eventually turn on her.


----------



## 751161

Despite the Ciampa/Gargano LMS not being planned for tonight initially, I think those two guys will tear the house down. Mark my words.

Johnny is going to hit some crazy spot tonight. Those two guys will go to any lengths to try to take each other out. It's going to be :mark:


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

DAMN. I am getting PUMPED for this show. Let's do this!


----------



## Reil

Jedah said:


> The four horsewomen being there makes me nervous. Hopefully they do something innovative like have Io there to counter them, then you can see Io establishing friendship with Kairi to eventually turn on her.


Io isn't there. She's in Florida still. She was in classes yesterday with Lance Storm.

As for the four horsewomen being there, who the fuck knows. If the match ends in a fuck finish, then Kairi gets another match at Evolution probably.


----------



## 751161

That UE/MM Tag Match. :kobe4

Super stoked for that. I really love Undisputed Era. Nothing against Fish either, but I love Roddy in the stable & in the Tag Team. Him & KOR are some of the best ring workers NXT has right now. KOR's selling is out of this world.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

What's going down tonight? Hopefully Charli's top. :sodone


----------



## AngryConsumer

Cannot wait! 

This will likely be the best Takeover of the year tonight. :mark: :mark:


----------



## Jedah

Well, that was yesterday.

It would be really weird to not see Io in the crowd at least. Kacy Katanzaro is supposedly there. Why would they not introduce their hottest new signing to the women's divison?

I'm just hoping this Evolution thing between Alexa and Trish checks out because that increases Kairi's chances.


----------



## Mordecay

Apparently Deonna vs Bianca in the preshow @BOSS of Bel-Air ;


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Trips proud of his baby:


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1030950827840688130
:trips2


----------



## Mango13

5 minutes :mark:


----------



## Crasp

I have accidentally had 5 ciders, 3 proseccos, 2 coronas, 3 pimms & an Irish *coffee.


----------



## 751161

Showstopper said:


> DAMN. I am getting PUMPED for this show. Let's do this!


This feels more like a Big 4 event to me than SummerSlam does. I honestly get butterflies before Takeovers, only WrestleMania's seem to be able to produce that from me on the main roster, and that's just name value honestly.


----------



## HiddenViolence

This card makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Legit psyched for the first time in a while for a wrestling show.


----------



## 751161

"My goal is to be the NXT Champion.."

*Cut to Ciampa with the NXT Title*

Man, give these video package guys a raise. :banderas


----------



## Mordecay

Talking about the Horsewomen, apparently there are plans of finally doing Horsewomen vs Horsewomen now that everyone is signed, at least there have been serious talk of doing that match at Survivor Series this year, according to the latest Observer


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

Tag match is looking like it's gonna be the opener.


----------



## Mango13

Mordecay said:


> Talking about the Horsewomen, apparently there are plans of finally doing Horsewomen vs Horsewomen now that everyone is signed, at least there have been serious talk of doing that match at Survivor Series this year, according to the latest Observer


no one wants to see that shit lol


----------



## Switchblade Club

Here we go :mark


----------



## 751161

MarkyWhipwreck said:


> Tag match is looking like it's gonna be the opener.


:mark:

Opening up with the HOT match. :mark:

That could very well steal the show as well, not a bad first hour to stay up for. :bjpenn


----------



## Reil

Jedah said:


> Well, that was yesterday.
> 
> It would be really weird to not see Io in the crowd at least. Kacy Katanzaro is supposedly there. Why would they not introduce their hottest new signing to the women's divison?
> 
> I'm just hoping this Evolution thing between Alexa and Trish checks out because that increases Kairi's chances.


It was confirmed according to people in attendance. It was part of the pre-order ticket sales video package.


----------



## Mango13

It's starting :mark: :mark: :mark: :mark:


----------



## JD=JohnDorian

Takeover Brooklyn is one of my favourite shows of the year, here we go!


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

If Ciampa wins, he is the WWE Superstar of the Year, in my eyes.


----------



## RiverFenix

Is there any name signing that could be put in the audience for that usual bit? Was Riddle signed and is he big enough/known enough? I guess if Keith Lee could get that treatment than Riddle could.


----------



## ellthom

Here We go


----------



## The_It_Factor

No clue who any of these people are (aside from Velveteen and EC3), but I’m excited to see how this turns out. I haven’t seen NXT in over a year. The highlights seem pretty cool


----------



## 751161

How the hell am I going to force myself to go to bed after an hour. I'm far too hyped for this. :mark:

Someone remind me at the end of the hour please, I really do need to be up in the morning guys. :chlol


----------



## Crasp

N


----------



## Switchblade Club

The Fourth Wall said:


> How the hell am I going to force myself to go to bed after an hour. I'm far too hyped for this. :mark:
> 
> Someone remind me at at the end of the hour please, I really do need to be up in the morning guys. :chlol


Come on...this show is worth staying up for.


----------



## AngryConsumer

Mordecay said:


> Apparently Deonna vs Bianca in the preshow @BOSS of Bel-Air ;


Dunne and Zack Gibson for NXT UK title as well...


----------



## Mango13

The Fourth Wall said:


> How the hell am I going to force myself to go to bed after an hour. I'm far too hyped for this. :mark:
> 
> Someone remind me at at the end of the hour please, I really do need to be up in the morning guys. :chlol


Stay up all night, just drink some coffee and tea in the morning to keep yourself going 

:becky2


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Damn, that crowd is loud as fuck.

:lmao


----------



## TD Stinger

DetroitRiverPhx said:


> Is there any name signing that could be put in the audience for that usual bit? Was Riddle signed and is he big enough/known enough? I guess if Keith Lee could get that treatment than Riddle could.


I would say Riddle is a bigger star than a guy like Keith Lee coming in but under Nakamura/Cole levels of stardom coming in.

I think he's got a big enough following to get the "in the crowd" treatment.


----------



## Switchblade Club

Undisputed...that fucking pop :mark


----------



## Crasp

X


----------



## 751161

Switchblade Club said:


> Come on...this show is worth staying up for.


I literally can't, dude. Trust me, I would if I could. But it's important I wake up tomorrow. :lol

I'm super pissed off. As this could be the best Takeover to date.


----------



## Even Flow

Undisputed Era :mark:


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

MY MF'N BOYS !!!!!! PLAY THAT GUITAR KYLE !


----------



## 5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mordecay said:


> Apparently Deonna vs Bianca in the preshow @BOSS of Bel-Air ;


*I'll rewind as soon as I get home, thanks!*


----------



## Black Metal

SHOCK THE SYSTEM.

Good start of the night.


----------



## Mox Girl

Man, I wish I could have gone to Summerslam weekend this year. I had a blast at the 2016 event, so I always kick myself when I don't go again :lol


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

What a POP for UE. These guys are LOVED.

:mark: :mark: :mark:


----------



## AngryConsumer

_Shock The System_ :mark:


----------



## Whoanma

SummerSlam? :suckit :suckit :suckit


----------



## Mango13

I hope my neighbors like the sound of UE's Theme cuz my surround sound is cranked up lol


----------



## Crasp

T


----------



## 751161

Best part of UE's entrance :mark: :mark:


----------



## Mordecay

Joining the UE is the best thing that could have happened to Roddy, he was entering Ohno territory


----------



## TD Stinger

And to think people used to hate this theme song. I suppose some still do, but it feels like it's become one the more recognizable songs in WWE.


----------



## The_It_Factor

Moustache...... mountain


----------



## dannybosa

FUCK YEA UE


----------



## Tornado31619

Can't see them dropping


----------



## TD Stinger

Still wish this was 2/3 Falls.


----------



## AngryConsumer

Five star match out of the gate tonight!


----------



## 751161

Showstopper said:


> What a POP for UE. These guys are LOVED.
> 
> :mark: :mark: :mark:


I honestly can't consider these guys Heel. Their popularity is insane. Cole is over as fuck, and these two guys are over as fuck.

This has really benefited Roddy a ton. It's given him some character and charisma, which is what he desperately needed, to go with his excellent ring ability.


----------



## Mox Girl

I was about to say I think Tyler Bate got better looking recently, but then I realised he's 21 and I feel old and a bit pervy :lmao


----------



## Mango13

I see this ref still hasn't laid off the spray tan lmfao


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

sold out arena. :trips8


----------



## 751161

I can already tell this is going to be high energy, fast-paced & fucking awesome. :mark:


----------



## RiverFenix

Mango13 said:


> no one wants to see that shit lol


I do. But Jess and Marina are unknown and green - so I think it would be better waiting a year. 

I mean we're talking Charlotte/Becky/Sasha/Bayley here - all top women in the division and then you have Ronda and even Shayna can be argued as established enough now - but Jessamyn and Shafer have not even debuted yet and we're a couple months from Survivor Series. 

Only way to establish them quickly would be running as a pack with Ronda, which means make Ronda heel.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

The Fourth Wall said:


> I honestly can't consider these guys Heel. Their popularity is insane. Cole is over as fuck, and these two guys are over as fuck.
> 
> This has really benefited Roddy a ton. It's given him some character and charisma, which is what he desperately needed, to go with his excellent ring ability.


Yes. Roddy needed something and this has proven to be the right move for him. More quality NXT booking.

:trips2


----------



## Crasp

Somethng about Maoro just makes me hyped.


----------



## Mox Girl

Mango13 said:


> I see this ref still hasn't laid off the spray tan lmfao


I laugh whenever I see Drake cos he's friends with Dean and used to tag team with him :lol


----------



## 751161

Holy shit, this crowd is loud as fuck. :banderas

The Main Roster wishes it could get crowds this high energy.


----------



## Mango13

The Fourth Wall said:


> Holy shit, this crowd is loud as fuck. :banderas
> 
> The Main Roster wishes it could get crowds this high energy.



Should hear it coming through on my surround sound, sounds like im in the fucking arena lmao


----------



## Crasp

Ambrose Girl said:


> *I was about to say I think Tyler Bate got better looking recently,* but then I realised he's 21 and I feel old and a bit pervy :lmao


I'm 32 and a mostly straight dude, and I agree, so....


----------



## the_hound

i'm bored...............says nobody ever, match of the year is coming guys and gals


----------



## Switchblade Club

Holy fuck :mark


----------



## 751161

God, I love NXT. :banderas


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

KOR is awesome. :mark


----------



## Mango13

This match is already amazing :mark:


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

OH SHIT. That strength from BATE.

:mark:


----------



## AngryConsumer

Man, Bate is strong AF! :mark:


----------



## Tornado31619

WHAT THE HELL TYLER


----------



## Mox Girl

Tyler is awesome :mark:


----------



## 751161

I honestly can't remember the last time I was this hyped for a PPV. This match is seriously so enjoyable.


----------



## Mordecay

Bate is so good


----------



## ellthom

I love seeing Undisputed then I get depressed on how WWE will fuck them all over on the main roster


----------



## Crasp

the_hound said:


> i'm bored...............says nobody ever, match of the year is coming guys and gals


I missed the pre-show, was Pat Mcafee on tonight?


----------



## Mango13

Crasp said:


> I missed the pre-show, was Pat Mcafee on tonight?


Yes he was


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Kyle O'Reilly is so good.

:banderas

The amount of talent in the ring right now.

:mark:


----------



## Black Metal

Crasp said:


> I missed the pre-show, was Pat Mcafee on tonight?


Yeah he was.


----------



## Mordecay

BOSS of Bel-Air said:


> *I'll rewind as soon as I get home, thanks!*


That will air next Wednesday


----------



## rickyc

If this is the start of the show, we are in for an excellent night.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Tyler is one strong mofo.


----------



## 751161

Mordecay said:


> Bate is so good


And he's 21 YEARS OLD.

What the fuck.

He's not even hit his prime, and he's this good. God damn. :banderas


----------



## Mox Girl

Heh heh, Nigel just said "Undisputed Area" :lol


----------



## Crasp

Bate is such an appropriate name


----------



## 751161

You notice how the commentators actually have fun in NXT too calling the matches, instead of phoning it in? Nice to hear.

Mauro. :banderas


----------



## the_hound

as jim ross once said @can you top [email protected] summerslam, i don't think so


----------



## Mox Girl

The camerman just missed the tag from Tyler to Trent fpalm :lol


----------



## Switchblade Club

Unreal match so far


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

I need both Kyle and Roddy to wrestle Bryan. :mark


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Seven killing it.

:bjpenn


----------



## Mordecay

Was that an emerald flowsion what Seven did?


----------



## 751161

Crowd is loving this match. Not even over yet, and already they are applauding. 

This is what Wrestling is about lads. Awesome match, great talents.

NXT. :tripsblessed


----------



## Crasp

So sad I missed Pat


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

NXT's tag matches are on another level. :banderas


----------



## 751161

Showstopper said:


> Seven killing it.
> 
> :bjpenn


Impressed with him tonight. I'm honestly not that big on Trent Seven, but all guys are doing so fucking well in this match. What a hot opener. :mark: This will be hard to top, but I don't doubt NXT's ability to do it.


----------



## Black Metal

Roderick Strong is one of the most energetic fuckers I've seen in ages.


----------



## Mango13

This match :mark:


----------



## AngryConsumer

F*ck! What a match!


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Holy shit.

:lmao


----------



## Mox Girl

The Fourth Wall said:


> Crowd is loving this match. Not even over yet, and already they are applauding.
> 
> This is what Wrestling is about lads. Awesome match, great talents.
> 
> NXT. :tripsblessed


There is at least one lady here too  :lol



Damn I love Tyler. One of my favourite young talents.


----------



## MC

Seven using the Emerald Flowsion Kai :done 


This has been excellent as expected so far.


----------



## Mainboy

Same people at the front row again. 

Don't really wanna see the same people at the front row all the time every show.


----------



## Even Flow

NXT! NXT! NXT!


----------



## Mordecay

Yeez, Bate with 1 arm carrying KOR like if he was shit


----------



## Crasp

I could watch Kyle wrestle Tyler for 4 hours I reckon.


----------



## 751161

This fucking Tag Division. Oh man. :mark: Shits on RAW & SD.

Hey Vince, this is why Tag Wrestling is AWESOME you old mofo.


----------



## Mango13

SHIV:THE OTHER WHITE MEAT said:


> NXT's tag matches are on another level. :banderas


They've always been amazing, and yet the retards on the Main Roster can't figure out how to make money with the tag division :eyeroll


----------



## rickyc

This match is just something else. WHY ARE YOU SO GOOD NXT!?


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

C'mon UE. Send these blokes back to the barbershop.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

WHAT A MATCH.

:trips8

Where are the negative NXT nelly's now?

:mj4


----------



## Crasp

I wish I wasn;'t as ducnk as I am.


----------



## Mox Girl

Can we get Dean & Seth as a tag team facing some NXT tag teams? CAN YOU IMAGINE THE MATCHES :mark:


----------



## 751161

Ambrose Girl said:


> There is at least one lady here too  :lol
> 
> 
> 
> Damn I love Tyler. One of my favourite young talents.


*And lasses


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Tyler Bate stronger than :braun


----------



## Even Flow

JUST TAP OUT!


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Strong.

:ha


----------



## Black Metal

Mainboy said:


> Same people at the front row again.
> 
> Don't really wanna see the same people at the front row all the time every show.


Agreed. I see that fucking long haired dork in the white suit where he always is.



The Fourth Wall said:


> This fucking Tag Division. Oh man. :mark: Shits on RAW & SD.
> 
> Hey Vince, this is why Tag Wrestling is AWESOME you old mofo.


Yeah, this shits on anything the Bludgeon Brothers could do and have done in their reign.


----------



## Alright_Mate

Tyler Bate and Roddy Strong are incredible wrestlers.


----------



## Mox Girl

Tyler & Trent doing such a great job here, they got the UE booed a bit!


----------



## The_It_Factor

Is it illegal to break up a submission in NXT???? Wtf is going on?


----------



## 751161

This is one of the best WWE matches I've seen all year. One of the best Tag Matches in years. Absolutely incredible. Every guy playing his part extremely well. High energy, non-stop action, great spots, hot crowd. What a fucking match. :mark:


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Tyler Bate is great. He's so ridiculously good. :mark


----------



## Mainboy

Black Metal said:


> Agreed. I see that fucking long haired dork in the white suit where he always is.
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, this shits on anything the Bludgeon Brothers could do and have done in their reign.


I really wanna know how they get the same seats for every show.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Crowd is absolutely amazing to match an amazing match.

:banderas


----------



## Even Flow

FUUUUUUUUUUCK :sodone


----------



## Black Metal

The_It_Factor said:


> Is it illegal to break up a submission in NXT???? Wtf is going on?


Mustache Mountain is a face team, why would they do something with no sportsmanship?


----------



## AngryConsumer

At this rate, let em' go all damn night! :mark:


----------



## Mordecay

Fuck me that kickout :mark:


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Storyline continuity? This ain't WWE.


----------



## Crasp

This is the best Trent performace ever in NXT.


----------



## Mango13

Mainboy said:


> I really wanna know how they get the same seats for every show.


I'm convinced they are plants by the WWE


----------



## Switchblade Club

That was fucking incredible.

Both teams were amazing, crowd loved it.


----------



## 751161

Showstopper said:


> WHAT A MATCH.
> 
> :trips8
> 
> Where are the negative NXT nelly's now?
> 
> :mj4


Humbled. :Cocky


----------



## rickyc

me right now:


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

THE UNDISPUTED BOYS DO IT AGAIN :mark:


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

What a match.

Fuck ME.

:trips8


----------



## Even Flow

Total Elimination :mark:


----------



## Mox Girl

Mainboy said:


> I really wanna know how they get the same seats for every show.


People have asked the guy in the green shirt (who I sat directly behind at Wrestlemania last year), and he literally just said "oh I don't tell people" and changed the subject


----------



## dannybosa

The storytelling where is this on Main Roster


----------



## Mango13

What a fucking match :mark:


----------



## The_It_Factor

Total Elimination.... nice


----------



## Mainboy

Shame the main roster will ruin these guys when they're called up.


----------



## safc-scotty

Fucking NXT man :mark: :mark: :mark:


----------



## Psyche

What.a.fucking.match. :clap


----------



## 751161

What a FUCKING match. Wow.

I knew it'd be good, but not THAT good. I'm honestly blown away. Everyone in that match did so well tonight. Well fucking done. :clap


----------



## Black Metal

The outcome that was always gonna happen.


----------



## Pizzamorg

A great match but a shame about the finish. Seemed to come out of nowhere and wasn't really earned given some of the kick outs and survival moments just before this. These two teams know how to tell such an emotionally engaging story, the main roster should be embarrassed.


----------



## Mox Girl

Mango13 said:


> I'm convinced they are plants by the WWE


Nah, they're not. Guy in the white suit and long hair has had some really shitty seats before, if he was a plant, WWE would have give him front row every single time. He had worse seats than I did at Summerslam '16 and Mania 33 :lol


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

ALL WE NEED NOW IS FOR COLE TO TAKE IT HOME !


----------



## ellthom

Think I need a 30 minute breather after watching that match lol


----------



## the_hound

match of the fucking year


----------



## RapShepard

Ending felt over booked as hell


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Already better than Summerslam. :clap

I loved that match. GREAT opener. :bow


----------



## 751161

What a FUCKING match. Wow.

I knew it'd be good, but not THAT good. I'm honestly blown away. Everyone in that match did so well tonight. Well fucking done. :clap

How am I meant to enjoy what the Summerslam Tag Scene has to offer after that? B-Team and Bludgeon Brothers? :mj4


----------



## AngryConsumer

My God, the height! :mark:


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

OH SHIT. A new storyline on the horizon.

:mark: :mark: :mark:


----------



## Mordecay

Absolutely incredible, one match in and Summerslam is already fucked


----------



## TD Stinger

OK, really good match. Really good story continuation. Only nitpick, about 3 finisher kickouts too many.

And shit, the War Raiders are here.


----------



## Crasp

WTB Kyle vs. Tyler ironman match pls.


----------



## Even Flow

War Machine/Raiders aren't beating Undisputed Era for the Titles at the next Takeover.


----------



## Mox Girl

NXT does this a lot, have a match end and then the next people to feud with them show up afterwards and attack the winners :lol I think they do it even more than the main roster does haha.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

WAR Raiders!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :sodone


----------



## 751161

War Raiders vs. UE. Another match that will no doubt tear the house down. Doesn't get any better than this. :mark:


----------



## TripleG

Very good tag match there! 

Now we got War Raiders in the mix! Cool.


----------



## The_It_Factor

Dang, these fat guys are awesome. I like those moves.


----------



## Jbardo

Yeah that match was fucking awesome.


----------



## Reil

Seems like Kairi vs Shayna is probably next. She was brought out to ringside with her husband, along with the other UFC 4HW.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Get the trash Brock/Reigns storyline recap the fuck out of this actual good show.


----------



## TD Stinger

Even Flow said:


> War Machine/Raiders aren't beating Undisputed Era for the Titles at the next Takeover.


They won't. Because both teams will probably be in the War Games match.


----------



## ellthom

WWE reminding us of matches we dont wanna see with that Summerslam preview


----------



## 5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

*I came in to ask about the fat guy in the tag team and War Raiders has been said 20 times, so I'll look them up. Great opener.*


----------



## Ham and Egger

The crowd gave a "fuck you both " chants for Reigns and Lesnar. Fully expect the crowd to change on both guys tomorrow!


----------



## Switchblade Club

Everything about that tag team match was perfect :mark


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

This was better than their previous classic. :trips8

PS I need to stop looking at the comments. I'm at least a minute behind everyone. :lol


----------



## 751161

If every match delivers like that Tag just did, this could be the best Takeover we've ever seen. That was so fucking good. I can't remember a Tag that good since the DIY one from Takeover: Orlando.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Ham and Egger said:


> The crowd gave a "fuck you both " chants for Reigns and Lesnar. Fully expect the crowd to change on both guys tomorrow!


Love it.

:ha


----------



## the_hound

the mystery person is.......................matt fucking riddle


----------



## Even Flow

Dream/EC3 :mark:


----------



## TyAbbotSucks

#DreamSZN :mark:


----------



## Tornado31619

Why is this match a thing


----------



## RapShepard

They need a better tag finish


----------



## Mango13

Dream VS EC3 next? :mark:


----------



## Black Metal

Dream and EC3 next.


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

Smart to put EC3/Dream as a cool down match.


----------



## Alright_Mate

Unsurprisingly a great start, Undisputed vs Moustache Mountain was the match I was looking forward to the most and they delivered, only gripe was the match had too many kick outs.


----------



## Whoanma

SHIV:THE OTHER WHITE MEAT said:


> This was better than their previous classic. :trips8
> 
> PS I need to stop looking at the comments. I'm at least a minute behind everyone. :lol


I only look, can’t write nor share anything. :grin2:


----------



## 5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

*The real question y'all, is "Will Velveteen be 3/3 in show stealers on NXT PPV?" He should NOT lose this one though.*


----------



## dannybosa

how come they don't do the motion match card on main roster ? that's hella cool


----------



## 751161

Hoping this match surprises me. I love Dream, but EC3 needs to step up big time here.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Candice Wrestling attacked Black to help her husband get a solo match with Ciampa.


----------



## rickyc

how are all of these young guys so good already? It just boggles my mind.


----------



## TD Stinger

This promo is perfect for these 2.


----------



## The_It_Factor

Lol, this promo is so terrible/awesome... that f5 into the pool


----------



## 751161

DREAM :mark: :mark:


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Dream and Tyler Bate. The future is now! :mark


----------



## Pizzamorg

Zero interest in this match if I can be honest but I guess after that curtain jerker we need something to reset our palette.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

I think that tag match we just saw is gonna be the MOTN. Hard to beat that one. Them and Gargano/Ciampa were showstealers at the last Takeover, too.


----------



## Black Metal

BOSS of Bel-Air said:


> *The real question y'all, is "Will Velveteen be 3/3 in show stealers on NXT PPV?" He should NOT lose this one though.*


I'll be annoyed if he loses yet again at a TakeOver. He hasn't won a match of importance in ages.


----------



## The_It_Factor

Cam Newton is a Velveteen Dream rip-off:lol


----------



## TD Stinger

Not as good as his Hulk Hogan/Prince Puma entrance, but not bad.


----------



## Psyche

I've been anticipating Velveteen Dream's entrance more than most of the matches on the Summerslam card.


----------



## Jbardo

As long as this is a solid 3 star match then it’s done it’s job.


----------



## 751161

Ambrose Girl said:


> Can we get Dean & Seth as a tag team facing some NXT tag teams? CAN YOU IMAGINE THE MATCHES :mark:


Ambrollins vs. KOR/Roddy

:banderas :banderas


----------



## the_hound

dannybosa said:


> how come they don't do the motion match card on main roster ? that's hella cool


because kevin dunn is no where near nxt


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Dream netter win this. :cuss:


----------



## Mordecay

EC3 entrance is cheesy af, and I love it, it's my guilty pleasure lol


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

"Call me up, Vince" on his tights.


----------



## dannybosa

D-R-E-A-M DREAM


----------



## rickyc

OMG, his tights. No, don't call him up Vince. You'll ruin him just like so many other people. Stay in NXT Dream.


----------



## TD Stinger

OH MY GOD.

His fucking tights read "CALL ME UP VINCE"

Fucking hilarious. Also, FUCK NO!


----------



## 751161

Showstopper said:


> I think that tag match we just saw is gonna be the MOTN. Hard to beat that one. Them and Gargano/Ciampa were showstealers at the last Takeover, too.


Yeah, they set the bar really high. It had everything you'd want from a Tag Match, really. Great storytelling, fast-paced, and a lot of memorable spots. I guess you could nitpick the kick outs, but I was honestly too hyped about how good it was to care.


----------



## Tornado31619

I hate face EC3 already


----------



## Black Metal

EC3's spray tan is quite orange than normal tonight.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

EC3's theme is good.


----------



## 5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Black Metal said:


> I'll be annoyed if he loses yet again at a TakeOver. He hasn't won a match of importance in ages.


*I don't want him to just be the Black Tyler Breeze. Breeze killed every performance on Takeovers in 2014 just to lose to whichever hot new indy talent came in. Velveteen can be a solid upper carder if built properly with credibility. *


----------



## AngryConsumer

TD Stinger said:


> OH MY GOD.
> 
> His fucking tights read "CALL ME UP VINCE"
> 
> Fucking hilarious. Also, FUCK NO!


That's fucking great!


----------



## dannybosa

Imagine this crowd singing his TNA theme


CMON TRIPS GET IT 
:vincecry


----------



## Mox Girl

EC3 is soooo tan :lol


----------



## 751161

TD Stinger said:


> OH MY GOD.
> 
> His fucking tights read "CALL ME UP VINCE"
> 
> Fucking hilarious. Also, FUCK NO!


Somebody needs to show the Dream an episode of RAW or SD. :chlol


----------



## Alright_Mate

Nobody gives a shit about EC3 :lol


----------



## RapShepard

Black Metal said:


> I'll be annoyed if he loses yet again at a TakeOver. He hasn't won a match of importance in ages.


He's the new Tyler Breeze can't see him winning too many important matches


----------



## TripleG

Dream and EC3 have two of the best theme songs in the business today...no question.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Dream needs to run the other way if the main roster comes a calling.


----------



## ellthom

I think if EC3 lost this he could come back from it. Dream needs a PPV win more


----------



## Switchblade Club

Alright, time to order a pizza.

Not really looking forward to this match


----------



## tylerbater

Why is EC3 the face here? Not saying Dream should be face, he's good as he is... I just think it's an odd match.


----------



## RiverFenix

The Fourth Wall said:


> Ambrollins vs. KOR/Roddy
> 
> :banderas :banderas



Ambrose and Rollins would tower over them. They are deceptively tall.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Crowd gives no fucks about this match.


----------



## 751161

"Vince" is trending on Twitter. :lmao


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

This is bad :lol


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

EC3 is more orange than Warrior ever was.


----------



## Mordecay

DA FUQ Dream did there? :lol


----------



## The_It_Factor

I always figured EC3 was on the juice when he was with TNA. He looks even more shredded these days. Impressive if he’s getting tested by WWE.


----------



## Alright_Mate

This match is already garbage.


----------



## Tornado31619

HAHAHAHA


----------



## 751161

Showstopper said:


> Crowd gives no fucks about this match.


EC3 is pretty dead, tbh. Cool theme, and the guy definitely has charisma, but he's just not that interesting & his ring work feels really lacking sadly. Crowd is quiet when he's in control.


----------



## ellthom

oohh EC3 be careful there


----------



## Mordecay

Not feeling this match so far


----------



## Black Metal

Showstopper said:


> Crowd gives no fucks about this match.


Hard to follow the last one...

Doesn't help EC3 is a boring watch (in my opinion).


----------



## Whoanma

EC3 is face? :hmmm


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Showstopper said:


> Crowd gives no fucks about this match.


It's always very hard to follow a great match. The place is pretty quiet right now.


----------



## Mordecay

What is happening there?


----------



## Mox Girl

What are the crowd paying attention to?


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

The Fourth Wall said:


> EC3 is pretty dead, tbh. Cool theme, and the guy definitely has charisma, but he's just not that interesting & his ring work feels really lacking sadly. Crowd is quiet when he's in control.


Yep. Dream needs to work on his inring work, too.

Crowd is paying attention to something in the crowd. :lol


----------



## Tornado31619

Why did the crowd just pop?


----------



## RKing85

bloody hell. forgot this show started an hour earlier this time around.


----------



## MC

The match going as expected :deandre


----------



## 5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

*HOLY SHIT THAT DDT ON THE STEEL :dead2*



Showstopper said:


> Crowd gives no fucks about this match.


*I guess you don't hear the loud Velveteen chants.*


----------



## Crasp

That spray tan... I keep thinking EC3 is Daren Young.


----------



## Switchblade Club

Shit match so far


----------



## RiverFenix

ECIII isn't nearly established in NXT, let alone over. He should have went directly to the main roster anyways - his ring work ain't up to snuff to get over in NXT. Or put him in a tag team with Tino Sabbitelli or something.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

BOSS of Bel-Air said:


> *HOLY SHIT THAT DDT ON THE STEEL :dead2*
> 
> 
> 
> *I guess you don't hear the loud Velveteen chants.*


I've heard more silence than anything else. Like right now.

:shrug


----------



## 751161

This match is definitely one of the weakest Takeover matches I've seen thus far, unless it picks up a little. It always seemed like the weakest one on paper to me though, so I'm not too surprised or let down. EC3 just really isn't that great, all there is to it.


----------



## Mordecay

I lol'd


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1030962577902321667


----------



## RiverFenix

Seems like there was a fight in the crowd or something. Or they're trying to sneak in a wrestler like Riddle or something.


----------



## Bryan Jericho

Lets wrap this match up soon please. EC3 isnt very good so he isnt good enough to carry the very green Dream.


----------



## ellthom

I really dont think this match is THAT bad. :shrug


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

This match wasn't a good idea, neither are good in the ring.


----------



## Tornado31619

Mordecay said:


> I lol'd
> 
> 
> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1030962577902321667


Swap Paul for Japan. I'll fly her there myself.


----------



## rickyc

This match is alright? Maybe? Even the eh matches on a Takeover are still decent.


----------



## Whoanma

The tag team match is a tough act to follow.


----------



## Tornado31619

MarkyWhipwreck said:


> This match wasn't a good idea, both are natural heels.


Fixed.


----------



## 751161

Yeah, this match is pretty boring sadly. Just can't get into it.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

The opener is still MOTN.


----------



## Mox Girl

This match isn't bad, it's just not as interesting as NXT Takeover matches usually are. And it suffers coming after that tag match.


----------



## Catsaregreat

I feel like EC3 would have a better look with less muscle


----------



## rickyc

I sense a bad reaction if Velveteen loses, which he shouldn't. The guy deserves a victory at a Takeover!


----------



## The_It_Factor

With the technology of the network, you should be able to mute individual commentators.


----------



## dannybosa

could've sworn EC3 looked bigger in TNA, must be the cameras


----------



## AngryConsumer

They need to go ahead and wrap this one up.


----------



## RKing85

EC3's top rope crossbody. yikes.


----------



## 751161

ellthom said:


> I really dont think this match is THAT bad. :shrug


It's not awful, but it's certainly really average. Not really memorable, and probably not a match I'll remember tomorrow. Following after that crazy opener obviously makes it more apparent as well.

Feels like a TV match IMO.


----------



## ellthom

If this match had opened we wouldn't be hating on it as much as we are, its a fine match, a bit slow but it isn't awful. Problem was with a opening like we had it was going to be hard to follow but looking at this match how it is, its good enough.


----------



## RapShepard

I think Dream has that Ziggler problem of selling too well. It's great because he makes his opponent look amazing, but those guys get a ceiling quick.


----------



## Alright_Mate

This shit needs to end


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

C'mon Dream.


----------



## 751161

I wish they'd put another match in the first hour for me to watch live, but at least I got that crazy Tag Match. :banderas


----------



## RKing85

no reaction to these near falls.

Dream can be carried when he is in there with somebody great. But anything less than that, his matches can be a real slog.


----------



## Switchblade Club

Well at least Dream won


----------



## dannybosa

EC3 bleeding


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

NOW, there's a GREAT Dream move!!!


:mark:


----------



## Even Flow

Dream won.

Wow.


----------



## Pizzamorg

God that was boring. It felt like it went for a thousand centuries. I get the purpose of these kinds of matches but it was a flat match anyway but that was just exasperated after that tag match. There was also too much shot calling for me.


----------



## 751161

Okay, that was pretty cool move from Dream. :mark: He had the best moments in the match for me.

Average match, great finish.


----------



## Mordecay

Correct result, average match, the finish felt rushed


----------



## Soul_Body

The_It_Factor said:


> With the technology of the network, you should be able to mute individual commentators.


Watson?


----------



## rickyc

Okay match with the correct result, so, still not as bad as a main roster match which can barely get results right these days.


----------



## RapShepard

Shocked he won, he busted him the fuck up lol


----------



## Black Metal

Glad Dream won this one.


----------



## Trophies

Why do I feel Dream would get No Way Jose’d on the main roster?


----------



## 5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

*DOUBLE DVD AND ELBOW DROP ON THE APRON! VELVETEEN DREAM WITH A MUCH NEEDED WIN!!! :sodone*


----------



## Bryan Jericho

Thank God thats over. Snoozefest of a match


----------



## TripleG

Happy that Dream won. He needed a win after all the big losses he's had. 

The match itself felt like it dragged in places early, but they managed to liven it up a bit towards the end. I liked the finish alot.


----------



## Psyche

DREAM! :yes


----------



## MrJT

Pretty good match

I expected it to shit the bed so..


----------



## Even Flow

Glad this match is over. 

Couldn't get into it at all.


----------



## Soul_Body

Dream needed that win.


----------



## Tornado31619

Brilliant. Now EC3 has lost all of his heat. Should never have put these two together.


----------



## TyAbbotSucks

#DreamSZN :squirtle


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Dream was f-ing awesome in closing that match. :mark


----------



## Pizzamorg

How did EC3 fuck his eye up so bad?


----------



## RapShepard

Trophies said:


> Why do I feel Dream would get No Way Jose’d on the main roster?


Because he was a gimmick not made for the main roster


----------



## 751161

Trophies said:


> Why do I feel Dream would get No Way Jose’d on the main roster?


----------



## TD Stinger

Why someone though it would be a good idea to have these 2 go 15 minutes after that opening match is a mystery to me.

They did what they could. Dream is super over and does all the little things right. And the crowd loved him. I thought his performance was very good. But while I've been clamoring for EC3 to turn full on face, Dream was horrible 1st opponent to do so because he's so over.


----------



## Mordecay

Shayna may finally have a chance of not having the worst match of the show


----------



## Psyche

Match was a lot better than I expected it to be. So glad they had Dream win this.


----------



## Tornado31619

Trophies said:


> Why do I feel Dream would get No Way Jose’d on the main roster?


You aren't alone.


----------



## The_It_Factor

Soul_Body said:


> Watson?


Nah, Ranallo. I can NOT stand listening to him yell at the top of his lungs the entire show.


----------



## 751161

Tornado31619 said:


> Brilliant. Now EC3 has lost all of his heat. Should never have put these two together.


I feel like he's been cooling off regardless, tbh. He's just really not that good. He got a pretty weak reaction tonight. Crowd seemed really dead to me whenever he was in control.


----------



## Pizzamorg

Wait they actually signed Matt Riddle?! HOLY FUCK.


----------



## Even Flow

Riddle!!!


----------



## AngryConsumer

MATT FUCKING RIDDLE! :mark:


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

My only question that was left unanswered was Why does Dream want to call :russo?


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

RIDDLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## dannybosa

AAHHH THERE HE IS


----------



## rickyc

There it is! Will be interesting to see where Riddle starts out.


----------



## Mox Girl

Another guy in the crowd WWE has signed I don't know :lol I'm out of touch with indy guys LOL.


----------



## Even Flow

Shayna should be next, not Cole/Ricochet IMO.


----------



## The_It_Factor

Adam Cole looks exactly like a skinny Drew McIntyre, wow


----------



## MC

Finally, Matt Riddle :mark :mark :mark :mark


----------



## RainmakerV2

EC3 and Dream was actually better than I thought. Good finish too.


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

:mark:


LETS GO COLE !! F*CK HIM UP !!!!! I won't be posting during this match, gotta have all my focus :lol


----------



## Mango13

Ricochet vs Cole next? :mark: this match should be fucking awesome.


----------



## ellthom

Feel happy that Riddle is on nXt, but then I think of the main roster and like everyone else on NxT I dread it.


----------



## Switchblade Club

Adam Cole BAYBAY


----------



## 751161

Live scenes from @MarkyWhipwreck ; right now










I'm going to watch this match, and then bed time for me. Let's hope these two guys tear the house down.


----------



## TapYouOut

Tornado31619 said:


> Brilliant. Now EC3 has lost all of his heat. Should never have put these two together.


1% must be his win percentage..


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Well, fuck me. Riddle! :trips8


----------



## Mordecay

Well, Cole is now the 3rd most charismatic person on NXT :grin2:

Just kidding @MarkyWhipwreck ;


----------



## TD Stinger

@NastyYaffa and @TJQ

The Bro has arrived in NXT.


----------



## Mox Girl

I like both guys in this match, so I don't know who I want to win :lol


----------



## 5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

*Ricochet vs Cole should be the show stealer tonight. I was not impressed with EC3.*


----------



## dannybosa

No one should be taking this takeover for granted when we have lackluster Summerslam tomorrow


----------



## rickyc

Alright, let's see if this match can top that tag match. It's possible with the talent in the ring.


----------



## Prayer Police

Riddle should start wearing shoes/boots.


----------



## The_It_Factor

That front flip over the top rope is one of the craziest things I’ve seen. Wow


----------



## RKing85

5 months before a meaningful North American Title Championship match.


----------



## 751161

Ambrose Girl said:


> Another guy in the crowd WWE has signed I don't know :lol I'm out of touch with indy guys LOL.


Same, I said "Who?".

I'm so out of touch. :lol To be fair, I only really keep up with WWE though, I find out about most other guys from this site.


----------



## SAMCRO

Anyone else else tired of the new indy signing just showing up in the crowd at Takeovers? I miss the days of impactful shocking debuts in the ring.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

This should be better than Dream/EC3. We already had the MOTN, though.


----------



## ellthom

Next MotN contender


----------



## Whoanma




----------



## AngryConsumer

This match should be bonkers :mark:


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Now this match will def. be able to follow the last one. :fact


----------



## Jbardo

Match was fine, not understanding the criticisms, it was never going to be a show stealer, it was a solid match.


----------



## Tornado31619

Ricochet has a cool entrance.


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

What does ''hiding behind the NA title'' even means?


----------



## Mango13

Ricochets theme is so fire


----------



## Catsaregreat

does this guy have HHH's voice in his theme song? wtf


----------



## Mox Girl

Ricochet has cool entrance music.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

I thought Ricochet's pop would be better.


----------



## Black Metal

Best entrance in the night up next. Can't wait to hear the chant mantra, Bay-Bay.


----------



## Even Flow

Prayer Police said:


> Riddle should start wearing shoes/boots.


They made Rusev wear boots, after he got injured in FCW/NXT iirc.


----------



## RapShepard

The_It_Factor said:


> Adam Cole looks exactly like a skinny Drew McIntyre, wow


He's dope though, just has a huge fucking head


----------



## Bryan Jericho

Should be a really good match here.


----------



## Catsaregreat

yikes dude needs to lose the wings asap


----------



## 751161

BAY BAY. :mark:


----------



## Even Flow

ADAM COLE BAYBAY!!!!


----------



## RollinsHardyStyles

Weird card placement tonight. EC3/Dream was solid but it couldn't follow the tag match, which was great.

Cole/Ricochet :mark


----------



## TD Stinger

As much as I love the song, Cole should really have his own seperate music.

Oh and @MarkyWhipwreck , we'll check on you in about 20 minutes to see if you're still conscious if Cole loses.


----------



## Switchblade Club

Adam Cole :mark


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

WOW. That was loud as fuck.


----------



## The_It_Factor

RapShepard said:


> He's dope though, just has a huge fucking head


I’ve heard his name on here before but don’t think I’ve actually seen him until now. I’m excited for the match, though, after that video package.


----------



## RKing85

whoever wins this I am okay with. I'll say Ricochet.


----------



## 751161

Cole is one handsome guy. I see more Shawn Michaels in him everyday. Facially it's uncanny for me.


----------



## rickyc

Who else is gonna be disappointed when Ricochet is called up and becomes Neville 2.0? Just me? Okay.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

So over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!BAY BAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Black Metal

TD Stinger said:


> As much as I love the song, Cole should really have his own seperate music.
> 
> Oh and @MarkyWhipwreck , we'll check on you in about 20 minutes to see if you're still conscious if Cole loses.


Or me.

However, he's not losing so...


----------



## RapShepard

The_It_Factor said:


> I’ve heard his name on here before but don’t think I’ve actually seen him until now. I’m excited for the match, though, after that video package.


Yeah he's pretty much a total package. Can wrestle, is charismatic, good talker for this generation. If the main roster had a legit midcard, he'd be the perfect person to be the cornerstone of it


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

I'm digging Ricochet's gear tonight.


----------



## Mox Girl

There are so many people in NXT I want to see Dean & Seth face DAMN :lol


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

The Fourth Wall said:


> Cole is one handsome guy. I see more Shawn Michaels in him everyday. Facially it's uncanny for me.


I never noticed until someone mentioned it to me. Now I cannot unsee it. He even looks like one of HBK's smileys.


----------



## 751161

Ambrose Girl said:


> There are so many people in NXT I want to see Dean & Seth face DAMN :lol


Same. :lol They have so many dream matches for me. I just wish they could happen in NXT instead of the main roster PPV's.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Ricochet can't hang with this uber overness.


----------



## Tornado31619

The_It_Factor said:


> I’ve heard his name on here before but don’t think I’ve actually seen him until now. I’m excited for the match, though, after that video package.


He knows how to get over, just not how to wrestle.


----------



## Mordecay

I think Ricochet tweaked his knee a little bit there


----------



## Tornado31619

rickyc said:


> Who else is gonna be disappointed when Ricochet is called up and becomes Neville 2.0? Just me? Okay.


Neville is lightyears ahead of Ricochet.


----------



## SAMCRO

Lol nearly all of NXT's heels are more over than their babyfaces. I think Ciampa's the only heel who gets boos.


----------



## Natecore

Adam Cole killing another crowd.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

HBK mention.

:hbk1


----------



## Tornado31619

The Fourth Wall said:


> I feel like he's been cooling off regardless, tbh. He's just really not that good. He got a pretty weak reaction tonight. Crowd seemed really dead to me whenever he was in control.


Wrestling crowds, in particular, the WWE, are very fickle. Remember his debut pop?

And also, he was incorrectly made to be portrayed as a face.


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

such a boring match.


----------



## arch.unleash

Fuck, I missed the tag match and the commentators spoiled it, FUCK. 

Anyway, ADAM FUCKING COLE BAY BAY.


----------



## Alright_Mate

Is Adam Cole trying to beat the record of the number of rest holds in a match?


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

arch.unleash said:


> Fuck, I missed the tag match and the commentators spoiled it, FUCK.
> 
> Anyway, ADAM FUCKING COLE BAY BAY.


Watch it ASAP. MOTN thus far and probably isn't getting beat.


----------



## TyAbbotSucks

That coulda been bad


----------



## dannybosa

i hope ricochet doesnt become a victim of the knee problems like Mysterio


----------



## 751161

arch.unleash said:


> Fuck, I missed the tag match and the commentators spoiled it, FUCK.
> 
> Anyway, ADAM FUCKING COLE BAY BAY.


Make sure you get that shit watched. It was fucking excellent. :banderas One of the best Tag Matches this year.


----------



## SAMCRO

Not sure why Ricochet stopped wearing kickpads, his attire looks weird with oldschool laced wrestling boots.


----------



## rickyc

Tornado31619 said:


> Neville is lightyears ahead of Ricochet.


I mean, once he became a heel, he was great. When he first got called up though, nah. Ricochet is better IMHO.


----------



## Natecore

And Ricochet has gotten worse. 

NXT has to rethink this guy.

Let him wrestle a Ricochet match not a WWE match.


----------



## RKing85

my 74 year old dad walked through the room during the pre match video of Ricochet and actually sat down to watch this match.


----------



## arch.unleash

Showstopper said:


> Watch it ASAP. MOTN thus far and probably isn't getting beat.


That's why I'm pissed of, it was by far my most anticipated match of the whole weekend. Ciampa and Garagano 2 hour "epic" match won't beat it.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Cole.

:trips8


----------



## Tornado31619

Both these guys suck. I'm sorry.


----------



## Mordecay

This match is good, but it's lacking something


----------



## 751161

Nice counter from Cole. :mark:


----------



## Mox Girl

LOL my Mum just got up and asked me what the match was, and I said Adam Cole was in it and from the other room she just went BAYBAY :lmao


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

not a special match :hmmm


----------



## ellthom

Holy Shit


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

That kick.

:trips8


----------



## MrJT

Holy shit, perfect timing!


----------



## RapShepard

Tornado31619 said:


> Both these guys suck. I'm sorry.


Too much high flying?


----------



## AngryConsumer

WHAT A SUPERKICK! :mark:


----------



## RKing85

HOLY SHIT!!!! That was awesome!


----------



## 751161

This is picking up. :mark:

That was awesome.


----------



## Bryan Jericho

Damn Cole! Awesome


----------



## Mango13

That superkick :mark:


----------



## Trophies

DAT KICK


----------



## dannybosa

WOAH


----------



## Mordecay

That was cool


----------



## arch.unleash

Whenever I hear Nigel's voice I feel like I'm watching a football (soccer) game :lol


----------



## SAMCRO

HOLY SHIT that superkick and Kneecap Brainbuster looked freaking awesome.


----------



## TripleG

That superkick to block the moonsault...SHIT! 

That was nuts. If Cole wins, that probably should have been the finish.


----------



## Tornado31619

Okay, that was good. But Ricochet should have stayed down, the whole idea of these spots is that they can end matches.


----------



## RapShepard

Kickouts like this are dope, but man it makes whatever finish look stupid.


----------



## MrJT

Incredible


----------



## 751161

One of Cole's best matches in NXT thus far. Really enjoying this. Started off slow, but has progressively gotten more fast-paced and exciting. That Superkick was beautiful from Cole. :banderas


----------



## Switchblade Club

Another unreal match :mark


----------



## ellthom

lol that was awesome


----------



## The_It_Factor

Ok, that was really cool.


----------



## rickyc

I can't believe anyone is saying this match sucks. HOLY SHIT! THAT STRIKING SPOT!


----------



## Mango13

:mark: :mark:


----------



## arch.unleash

Holy fucking fuck that was brutal! That's why Adam Cole is awesome Bay Bay.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

There's something to mark about.


----------



## 5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

:wow *That was some entertaining indy fuckery.*


----------



## 751161

Cole _needed_ this match. He's really showing up tonight. This is quite awesome. :mark:


----------



## TyAbbotSucks

Only prob I have w/ NXT is you pretty much have to have a super finisher when you kick outta so many of these moves


----------



## Switchblade Club

HOLY FUCK


----------



## Tornado31619

RapShepard said:


> Too much high flying?


The action, in general, is just too fast-paced. What happened to ring psychology?


----------



## The_It_Factor

How much do NXT tickets run for night before mania?


----------



## Trophies

This is wild!


----------



## 751161

RICOCHET :mark: :mark:

Holy fuck. :tripsblessed


----------



## Whoanma

Ricochet!!! :mark :mark :mark


----------



## TripleG

Jesus Christ. Ricochet is ridiculous!


----------



## MrJT

This is the 2nd time i've ever seen Ricochet

Am I off in saying he looks like he could be the best in ring performer of all time? lol


----------



## Switchblade Club

Great match.


----------



## Even Flow

FUCK

fpalm


----------



## Piledriven

Match started out slow but holy shit those last few minutes were crazy!


----------



## Mox Girl

NICE :mark: Ricochet is great!


----------



## RKing85

the last 5 minutes of that was beautiful.


----------



## Blissfit85

Get in!


----------



## Mango13

RICOCHET WINS :mark: :mark: :mark:


----------



## Black Metal

*R E A L L Y?!*


----------



## ellthom

What a match, the last 5 minutes were great.


----------



## Trophies

Entertaining as fuck.


----------



## 5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

*Yep, that's my MOTN.*


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Good match. But was missing something until the very end.

Tag match was much better.


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

MOTN, wrong winner though fpalm


----------



## 751161

Code:




Damn, Richochet wins. Didn't expect that at all. Cole hasn't been Champion long.

Maybe Gargano wins tonight then? Hmm.

Great match between both men, really enjoyed that. Some really sick spots throughout.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

:trips8


----------



## Tornado31619

Ricochet is a phenomenal athlete, but spots like that hurricanrana should not be a regular part of his matches.


----------



## Mordecay

Match picked up after the superkick. Ended up being really good

Someone go check on @MarkyWhipwreck ;


----------



## dannybosa

:YES:YES:YES


----------



## SAMCRO

Wow MOTN so far without a doubt, and Cole's best match in NXT so far. 

Cole losing the belt though makes me think, he's gonna either be getting called up or start moving towards the NXT Title.


----------



## Alright_Mate

That went from average to good pretty quickly but it wasn't great.

What a pointless title reign for Cole though.


----------



## RapShepard

While the match was enjoyable, I don't get how folk get on Cena and Reigns types getting a sudden boost of energy, but don't point out what Riccochet just did lol.


----------



## Mango13

That superkick would be a great neg rep gif lol


----------



## rickyc

Fucking great match. So far, Takeover has 2 amazing matches and one okay match. Pretty good track record so far.


----------



## Reil

I have a really bad feeling regarding Kairi tonight. They generally don't like to stack two babyface moments back to back during Takeovers it seems.


----------



## Ham and Egger

KING RICOCHET!!!!! That was an awesome match!


----------



## TripleG

Pretty good match with a big title change! 

Ricochet is just unreal and it was nice to see Cole have a match like this too.


----------



## Even Flow

Great match.

Hopefully Ricochet's reign isn't a long one, and Cole can get the title back pretty soon.


----------



## Black Metal

MarkyWhipwreck said:


> MOTN, wrong winner though fpalm


I hate it.


----------



## arch.unleash

Fuck, it was a damn great match, but definitely the wrong guy won. Too early for Richochet isn't it? 

I'm an Adam Cole mark and I'm fucking mad.


----------



## ellthom

That match was fun, had some holy shit moments had some fun moments, and had a good story.


----------



## Mox Girl

Yeah, that took a bit of time to get going but once it did, it was awesome.


----------



## Pizzamorg

Thank God they got the title off of Cole. I'll be amazed if a match tops that this weekend. That was fucking incredible, the NA title means something for the first time. How can this come from the same company as the main roster trash? And now we have Matt Riddle in the mix. NXT you are so beautiful...


----------



## Natecore

Awesome final few minutes once Ricochet was allowed to be Ricochet.

That first 10 minutes was a painful droll. You know, the Adam Cole bores the crowd bit.


----------



## 751161

Showstopper said:


> Good match. But was missing something until the very end.
> 
> Tag match was much better.


Agreed. I was worried at the start, it seemed a bit _too slow_, but once both guys got in to last gear, it was really good. The latter parts of the match were great stuff.

Tag Match was the better overall contest for me.


----------



## ShadowSucks92

Felt the tag match was much better but this was still a great match and so glad Ricochet won


----------



## The_It_Factor

“In his feelings”... this freakin guy


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Yeah, Cole will move up to the NXT Title scene now.


----------



## Psyche

Really, really good match. I'm somewhat surprised they switched the title there.


----------



## Bryan Jericho

Great match! Ricochet is amazing. MOTN so far for me


----------



## Tornado31619

MrJT said:


> Am I off in saying he looks like he could be the best in ring performer of all time? lol


Yeah.


----------



## Whoanma

Ricochet BAY BAY. roud


----------



## RapShepard

Tornado31619 said:


> The action, in general, is just too fast-paced. What happened to ring psychology?


I could feel that. While main roster finisher spam is bad. I think a problem with NXT and other places is some of the signature moves and spots in the match look way more devastating than the finish. Adam Cole's superkick to counter the moonsault looks more devastating than a Seton, even with all the rotations.


----------



## 751161

That was Cole's best NXT match for me, by the way. He really showed up tonight. :clap I knew he had it in him to show up, and he did. Ricochet also was great.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Another excellent match but I would have preferred that Ospreay didn't win.


----------



## Even Flow

SAMCRO said:


> Wow MOTN so far without a doubt, and Cole's best match in NXT so far.
> 
> Cole losing the belt though makes me think, he's gonna either be getting called up or start moving towards the NXT Title.


It'd be a mistake to call Cole up without TUE.


----------



## Pizzamorg

From one of the worst matches in TakeOver history into one of the very best.


----------



## TD Stinger

Well....Marky...we're here for ya.

Surprising outcome to me. But I'm cool with it. Great match IMO. Great counters and sequences. That Superkick counter by Cole was a thing of beauty. And Ricochet busted out the big guns for the finish. MOTN to me so far.


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1030972171752022022


----------



## 751161

Showstopper said:


> Yeah, Cole will move up to the NXT Title scene now.


I'm starting to think Gargano has a chance of winning now, or at least soon. I don't think Ciampa holds it for much longer, if not tonight. It'll be Gargano vs. Cole for sure.


----------



## Switchblade Club

Take in that we are actually debating between what match is MOTN...wish we could do that for the main roster.


----------



## ellthom

Showstopper said:


> Yeah, Cole will move up to the NXT Title scene now.


See I always thought the NA championship would be a mid card title for NXT, for people like Ricochet. Adam Cole never really felt like he needed it. The man should have been int he main event scene on Nxt


----------



## Mango13

Women's match up next. Please for the love of god let Baszler lose.


----------



## arch.unleash

I feel NXT is in its peak right now isn't it? Even better than 2014/2015 .. If it had a better women's division it would've been a no brainer.


----------



## Broski_woowoowoo

Ricochet and Adam Cole are too good. I hope Vince doesn't ruin them once they get on the main roster, they're both main roster championship material right now.


----------



## TD Stinger

Cue the talks of "Ricochet won the NA Title, that means Kairi isn't winning the Women's Championship."


----------



## MrJT

LOL what the fuck is that tan on Shayna....Brutal


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

The Fourth Wall said:


> I'm starting to think Gargano has a chance of winning now, or at least soon. I don't think Ciampa holds it for much longer, if not tonight. It'll be Gargano vs. Cole for sure.


Funny you should say that. I'm starting to think the same thing, too. Gargano/Cole would be out of this world.


----------



## dannybosa

Flashback to my favorite NXT takeover alumni cameo


----------



## 751161

Alright, sadly time for me to go to bed guys, I wish I could stay up for the rest. Two great matches so far. Looking to be a great event.

I hope you all enjoy the show, and I'll be posting my thoughts on the rest of the matches tomorrow. (Y) Have a good night.


----------



## Tornado31619

RapShepard said:


> I could feel that. While main roster finisher spam is bad. I think a problem with NXT and other places is some of the signature moves and spots in the match look way more devastating than the finish. Adam Cole's superkick to counter the moonsault looks more devastating than a Seton, even with all the rotations.


Too many people use it. I preferred it when only Ziggler used it, and as a last resort, too.


----------



## SavoySuit

Sane's gimmick has main roster jobber written all over it.


----------



## RapShepard

Does Shayna lose and go up and help Bliss?


----------



## The_It_Factor

I don’t think anything was wrong with that match. It had a build to it. People just want to see guys come out and start spamming moves from the time the bell rings and just hit as many high spots as humanly possible.


----------



## Whoanma

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1030972943466221568


----------



## Tornado31619

SavoySuit said:


> Sane's gimmick has main roster jobber written all over it.


No loss.


----------



## Switchblade Club

Why the fuck is there a pirate on my screen ???


----------



## RollinsHardyStyles

This ended up being a pretty good match, not the best for NXT standards but still very good.

I believe Cole will be involved in some 4v4 War Games match next TakeOver and then take the NXT title off of Gargano on Royal Rumble weekend. Gargano gets it tonight or at War Games I believe.


----------



## AngryConsumer

I may be in the minority, but I'm ready for this Baszler run to come to an end tonight.


----------



## RapShepard

Tornado31619 said:


> Too many people use it. I preferred it when only Ziggler used it, and as a last resort, too.


The superkick is super popular lol.


----------



## Mox Girl

Hmm, time for some brunch lol as the women's match starts.

COME ON KAIRI!!


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

After a perfect performance like that and him dropping the NA Title, Johnny needs to win tonight and Cole needs to go after him.


----------



## Bryan Jericho

Well here's a match to challenge Dream/EC3 for worst of the night


----------



## MrJT

Who thought this gimmick would be good for her?

Trips signed off on it?


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Let's go Kairi!


----------



## SAMCRO

I could see Ciampa losing and getting called up to Raw or SDL, then Cole moves into feud with Gargano for the NXT title. Although it would feel kinda shitty to cut Ciampa's title run so short.


----------



## The_It_Factor

She’s...... a pirate?


----------



## Tornado31619

Asuka really ruined this division. Shayna is going to be on the main roster soon, and I do not look forward to this elbow merchant leading NXT in her abscence.


----------



## Trophies

Is her gimmick a cosplay character? :lol


----------



## Mordecay

I see Kairi and I KNOW she will be ruined on the main roster, 100% sure. Asuka had a chance, Io has a chance, she will be fucked there. I hope she never gets called up


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

Kairi is a pirate as Taker is a deadman. So yeah, she is a real pirate.


----------



## Pizzamorg

MrJT said:


> LOL what the fuck is that tan on Shayna....Brutal


Looking like she needs a good wash. 

I don't get why they do this to the women in WWE, fire the makeup shotgun into their face and bury them in Cheeto dust.


----------



## arch.unleash

The women division was once the best part of NXT, now it feels like a long piss break. Shayna sounded like a teenage boy talking, the WWE right now definitely has the absolute worst talkers ever.


----------



## llj

Not sure what's with all this Kairi slagging in here. Yeah her gimmick is corny. But she can lay out a good match. Helluva lot better than Shayna can.


----------



## Jbardo

Great match but the tag had the edge.


----------



## Reil

Mordecay said:


> I see Kairi and I KNOW she will be ruined on the main roster, 100% sure. Asuka had a chance, Io has a chance, she will be fucked there. I hope she never gets called up


Better hope she wins then, because either Shayna or Kairi is getting called up after tonight, in my opinion.


----------



## Mox Girl

Dakota Kai mention :mark:


----------



## Mordecay

This whole introduction makes me think Title change


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

The GOAT approves of Cole/Ricochet


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1030973364582506497


----------



## GimmeABreakJess

Kairi is so adorable *swoon*


----------



## Tornado31619

Mordecay said:


> I see Kairi and I KNOW she will be ruined on the main roster, 100% sure. Asuka had a chance, Io has a chance, she will be fucked there. I hope she never gets called up


Hopefully all three of them head back to Japan.


----------



## rickyc

Kairi just doesn't make sense to me in today's realistic WWE. A pirate gimmick? really? Rooting against her tonight.


----------



## SAMCRO

Why do NXT women matches need to have a woman ref? Not trying to be sexist or anything but women refs in WWE anyways seems weird lol.


----------



## Even Flow

RapShepard said:


> Does Shayna lose and go up and help Bliss?


No.


----------



## Mango13

Of course 3 seconds after the bell rings gotta get a shot of the 4 horsewomen in there...:eyeroll


----------



## AngryConsumer

Jessamyn Duke will look like a fish out of water in WWE/NXT.


----------



## 5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

*I need Kairi to win and feud with Bianca next.*


----------



## RKing85

this ring announcer is the drizzling shits. No personality what so ever. I'm sure that's what the WWE wants, but it is fucking terrible. She is so damn monotone.


----------



## Mox Girl

I was there in person when Shayna won this title. The crowd didn't care that much. I really can't find it in myself to care about her either.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

RKing85 said:


> this ring announcer is the drizzling shits. No personality what so ever. I'm sure that's what the WWE wants, but it is fucking terrible. She is so damn monotone.


Yep. Howard Finkel and Tony Chimel; she most certainly is not.


----------



## SavoySuit

SAMCRO said:


> Why do NXT women matches need to have a woman ref? Not trying to be sexist or anything but women refs in WWE anyways seems weird lol.



Because WWE Evolution©


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

4HW rumor confirmed.


----------



## arch.unleash

SAMCRO said:


> Why do NXT women matches need to have a woman ref? Not trying to be sexist or anything but women refs in WWE anyways seems weird lol.


It's part of ...... MAKING FUCKING HISTORY :steph


----------



## Tornado31619

RapShepard said:


> Does Shayna lose and go up and help Bliss?


Yes and no. Shayna loses but loses the rematch at Evolution and then joins Ronda alongside the rest of the 4HW to start their feud with WWE's HW.


----------



## llj

LOL at people thinking Shayna will be involved at SummerSlam. NXT callups never get THAT kind of introduction, and Shayna isn't THAT well known enough for people to care if she interferes with Ronda's match.

Also, Shayna will likely not be pushed nearly as strong as she was at NXT. Even taking her age out of consideration, main roster doesn't care about the fact that she's intimidating or looks like a heel. It's all about marketability, which she has less of than most women on the MR.


----------



## Mango13

This match sucks, im already bored as shit.


----------



## Mox Girl

This is the deadest the thread has been since the start of this show.


----------



## Tornado31619

I think this is the first TO: Brooklyn in which people haven't been looking forward to the women's bout. Even though they're all overrated, most regarded them as their respective matches of the night.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Mango13 said:


> This match sucks, im already bored as shit.


Par for the course for Shayna.


----------



## Black Metal

Ambrose Girl said:


> This is the deadest the thread has been since the start of this show.


Adam Cole loss bummed me out haha.


----------



## MC

Oh fuck yeah! Loving this match already. :sodone


----------



## Mox Girl

All of Shayna's matches are the same to me.


----------



## Alright_Mate

Shayna has improved dramatically in six months, her ruthlessness and heel work is great.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

With the way this match is being built, I'd be pretty surprised if Kairi didn't win this. We shall see.


----------



## SAMCRO

So is Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir ever gonna actually get signed as actual wrestlers or just continue to be Baszler's cheerleaders?


----------



## Tornado31619

llj said:


> NXT callups never get THAT kind of introduction


The Shield say hi. But I get your point.


----------



## ellthom

Sane summoning her inner Kraken


----------



## Even Flow

BOSS of Bel-Air said:


> *I need Kairi to win and feud with Bianca next.*


God I hope not.


----------



## llj

Ambrose Girl said:


> All of Shayna's matches are the same to me.


She's not great. So maybe she does have a chance on the main roster.


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

To those that doubt Cole's ring work after that excellent match


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Shayna > Ronda


----------



## Bryan Jericho

This is awful. And Sane has no clue how to sell.


----------



## Mordecay

I think what is helping this match is that Kairi is a likeable underdog babyface, unlike Ember or Nikki


----------



## Tornado31619

How is this a match? Shayna realistically should be squashing Kairi within a minute.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

MarkyWhipwreck said:


> To those that doubt Cole's ring work after that excellent match


That gif.

:lmao


----------



## Even Flow

SAMCRO said:


> So is Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir ever gonna actually get signed as actual wrestlers or just continue to be Baszler's cheerleaders?


They are signed as wrestlers.

They've both made their debuts on live events in recent weeks.


----------



## RapShepard

This is definitely the low point


----------



## Black Metal

SHIV:THE OTHER WHITE MEAT said:


> Shayna > Ronda


I've said that numerous times elsewhere. Shayna feels authentic in her role. Ronda not so much. I also find Baszler more entertaining.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

I need to see Kairi's *bush*ido, :curry2


----------



## llj

Shayna is a great character champion but not a good workrate champion. None of her matches have passed muster.


----------



## Mango13

Even Flow said:


> They are signed as wrestlers.
> 
> They've both made their debuts on live events in recent weeks.


If they are both as terrible as Baszler we are in for a rough ride.


----------



## Trophies

This match is a real mood killer...


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Shayna is supposed to be a bully, but she doesn't come off that way to me at all. She doesn't look the part, nor sound the part. I just don't see it yet.


----------



## Tornado31619

Mordecay said:


> I think what is helping this match is that Kairi is a likeable underdog babyface, unlike Ember or Nikki


Both are miles more over than Kairi.



MarkyWhipwreck said:


> To those that doubt Cole's ring work after that excellent match


Why? Because he flies a lot?


----------



## arch.unleash

The women matches were once like this










But at least they're doing great on the main roster, so great that they don't have a match tomorrow :vince


----------



## I am the Storm

Sane is an awful seller.


----------



## RKing85

damn it Shayna. I would have bought that elbow drop near finish if you weren't staring at the ref during the count.


----------



## SAMCRO

Even Flow said:


> They are signed as wrestlers.
> 
> They've both made their debuts on live events in recent weeks.


Oh really? Bout time i guess, curious to see how they do.


----------



## Abisial

Kairi Sane is extremely cringe.


----------



## llj

Tornado31619 said:


> Both are miles more over than Kairi.


Ember was one of the least over babyface champs.

But it is true Kairi has cooled off too much since her debut


----------



## ellthom

I am actually really liking this match...

Only issue is Sane keeps forgetting to sell her leg at times.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

:mark

Thought Kairi was finished


----------



## Even Flow

This match needs to end already.


----------



## Whoanma

Ahoy!!!


----------



## AngryConsumer

THANK GOD! :mark:


----------



## Switchblade Club

Lol


----------



## Even Flow

Kairi won.

Shit.


----------



## ellthom

Sane wins :mark


----------



## Bryan Jericho

What an absolute crap match. Contender for worst womens TakeOver match ever.


----------



## Mango13

The worst reign in NXT history is over thank fucking god.


----------



## Pizzamorg

Stupid finish which undermines both wrestlers but the match was decent, I just really don't care about the Women's "Division" on NXT.


----------



## Tornado31619

LMAO Kairi connected with that

Not that it matters now though


----------



## Mox Girl

Um, well, that was an out of the blue ending :lmao

Congrats Kairi though!!!! :mark:

I'm glad Shayna's reign is over regardless.


----------



## JD=JohnDorian

Yes Kairi! Cool finish.


----------



## I am the Storm

The match I enjoyed the most so far, except for Sane winning. Hopefully that means bigger and better things for Baszler on the main roster.


----------



## TripleG

Good match, and a new champ. Thumbs up from me.


----------



## SAMCRO

Really? You have the title switch hands with a rollup? Why not just end the match with her inSane Elbow Drop? Oh yeah gotta have the finisher kickout spot in every Takeover match.


----------



## Alright_Mate

Welcome to the era of the worst NXT Women's Champion.


----------



## Psyche

YES! So happy for Kairi.


----------



## llj

People say Asuka hurt the division but honestly the last great women's NXT match was basically this time last year.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Weird finish, but Shayna lost so :mark: :mark: :mark:


----------



## rickyc

WOW! That came out of fucking nowhere. Good on you Kairi. Time to step up your matches.


----------



## RKing85

I did like that finishing sequence. Although Shayna looks like the biggest geek for not just letting go of the hold to escape the pin. Other than that, that was fine.

Glad the title is off Shayna.


----------



## Tornado31619

Pizzamorg said:


> Stupid finish which undermines both wrestlers but the match was decent, I just really don't care about the Women's "Division" on NXT.


Thank Asuka. And the decision to build the division around four women prior.


----------



## 5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

*YES!!!! WE'RE SAVED FROM THE MOST BORING REIGN IN NXT WOMEN'S HISTORY!!! :drose *


----------



## Jbardo

Match was decent. 2 decent matches and 2 great ones so far, yep it’s another great takeover.


----------



## Mordecay

Well, that was Shayna's best Takeover match, crowd helped . Not a great match, but better than EC3/VD


----------



## Mox Girl

Kairi is so fucking cute though hehe.


----------



## RainmakerV2

Bryan Jericho said:


> What an absolute crap match. Contender for worst womens TakeOver match ever.


What lol? It was a very good match. You guys are weird.


----------



## Mango13

llj said:


> People say Asuka hurt the division but honestly the last great women's NXT match was basically this time last year.


Asuka 100% hurt the division, however having 2 shit champions after Asuka left sure as hell didn't help it either.


----------



## Abisial

Yikes, NXT Women's division is dead to me until Bianca gets the belt.


----------



## arch.unleash

I've heard a lot about this Kairi girl, and my first impression is that she's fucking meh at best.

They should just send Asuka, Sasha, Bayley and Becky back to NXT since they're doing jack shit on the main roster and won't be doing anything any time soon.


----------



## The_It_Factor

I’ve always said that I miss those types of endings. Matches don’t always have to end with a finisher (or 5) and it’s refreshing to see that type of finish... I just wish it was for a match that I cared about lol


----------



## Tornado31619

At least we're at the ME now


----------



## The Phantom

YO HO HO!!!!! :mark










roud


----------



## Natecore

Fuck! WOW!

Best WWE women’s match I’ve seen in forever!

Spectacular!

Kari Sane is one of the best wrestlers in the world!


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Great ending and a winner I can get behind. :mark :curry2


----------



## ShadowSucks92

I thought that was a great match and probably the best NXT Women's match in a long time. Not a fan of the finish though.


----------



## Pizzamorg

Tornado31619 said:


> Thank Asuka. And the decision to build the division around four women prior.


Yeah, them writing themselves into a corner with Asuka's winning streak killed the Women's Division on NXT. It didn't help that every Asuka match was so overrated in NXT, yeah sure she kicks people really hard but so what. Now look at her on the main roster... lol


----------



## Broski_woowoowoo

She can't feel her arm. She can't do that bump again.


----------



## Ham and Egger

The Pirate Princess is our new NXT women's champion! Shayna had a great run as champ. I'm assuming she needed to drop the strap for the upcoming 4 horse women feud.


----------



## Mango13

RainmakerV2 said:


> What lol? It was a very good match. You guys are weird.


That shit was trash bro, the only good thing about it was Baszler losing


----------



## ellthom

So I am the only one who actually thought the match was pretty good? I thought it was better than the EC3/Dream match personally :shrug


----------



## Mox Girl

Did I just see Dakota Kai on that NXT UK ad??? If she's gonna be on it, then that's a definite watch! :mark:


----------



## TD Stinger

That fucking finish! Brilliant!

I thought Kairi was done after Shayna countered that last Elbow. Great last second swerve. Great match.

And are people really complaining about a roll up (a wrestling move btw) finishing a match to get a great surprise pop? I supposed you're the same guys who would complain back in 1996 when Bret Hart beat Austin doing the same thing.


----------



## Tornado31619

This has been a very average show.


----------



## Even Flow

The Women's division needs new blood.

New blood who are actually good, not just decent.


----------



## Whoanma




----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

NXT UK is gonna be :mark:


----------



## SAMCRO

Keith Lee should have had a match somewhere on this card, not a high a profile match of course but a quick squash match would have been fine.


----------



## ellthom

TD Stinger said:


> That fucking finish! Brilliant!
> 
> I thought Kairi was done after Shayna countered that last Elbow. Great last second swerve. Great match.
> 
> And are people really complaining about a roll up (a wrestling move btw) finishing a match to get a great surprise pop? I supposed you're the same guys who would complain back in 1996 when Bret Hart beat Austin doing the same thing.


Or when Bulldog pinned Bret at Summerslam 1992


----------



## Bryan Jericho

From one crappy reign to another for the women, oh great


----------



## Mango13

Showstopper said:


> NXT UK is gonna be :mark:


I can't fucking wait, I'm so hyped for it.


----------



## TapYouOut

Tornado31619 said:


> rickyc said:
> 
> 
> 
> Who else is gonna be disappointed when Ricochet is called up and becomes Neville 2.0? Just me? Okay.
> 
> 
> 
> Neville is lightyears ahead of Ricochet.
Click to expand...

Seconded. Ricochet has zero charisma. His cool moves are all he has.


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

Kairi wins: ''the worst champion arrives''
Shayna retains: ''the worst reign continues''

WF in a nutshell.


----------



## Tornado31619

SAMCRO said:


> Keith Lee should have had a match somewhere on this card, not a high a profile match of course but a quick squash match would have been fine.


No. As it is, EC3 vs. Dream was merely a means of ensuring both of them had spots on the card.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Black Metal said:


> I've said that numerous times elsewhere. Shayna feels authentic in her role. Ronda not so much. I also find Baszler more entertaining.


I think Shayna should depose her as the leader.


----------



## ShadowSucks92

Time for Gargano vs Ciampa III.


----------



## RainmakerV2

ellthom said:


> So I am the only one who actually thought the match was pretty good? I thought it was better than the EC3/Dream match personally :shrug


The match was good with a hot crowd and a good finish. These weirdos just hate everything.


----------



## Jbardo

Tornado31619 said:


> This has been a very average show.


Then it’s probably best you stop watching wrestling.


----------



## GimmeABreakJess

I thought this match was really well done. The size difference was played out well - EX: The parts when they each to get to ropes to break one another's submission hold. The larger athlete got there with relative ease while the smaller struggled far more. The hurt leg of Kairi came into play a great deal. I'm happy for Kairi, but kinda felt like Shayna should have held on to the title a bit longer. But that's a very minor complaint.


----------



## Even Flow

CIAMPA IS A GOD.


----------



## arch.unleash

Like I predicted the mainevent will be an hour long, just fucking great. Am I the only one rooting for Ciampa?


----------



## RollinsHardyStyles

I thought the Women's match was pretty decent.

Gargano/Ciampa :mark


----------



## SAMCRO

TD Stinger said:


> That fucking finish! Brilliant!
> 
> I thought Kairi was done after Shayna countered that last Elbow. Great last second swerve. Great match.
> 
> And are people really complaining about a roll up (a wrestling move btw) finishing a match to get a great surprise pop? I supposed you're the same guys who would complain back in 1996 when Bret Hart beat Austin doing the same thing.


Had Kairi not hit her finisher just moments before i wouldn't be against it really, but they just had to have a finisher kickout spot, i just think it should have ended there, theres been enough finisher kickouts tonight.


----------



## Tornado31619

The start of the DIY promo, with Ciampa smiling after Johnny discusses his goal, is phenomenal.


----------



## Mango13

This match should be fucking awesome.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Third awesome match of the night incoming, :fuckyeah


----------



## Natecore

ShadowSucks92 said:


> I thought that was a great match and probably the best NXT Women's match in a long time. Not a fan of the finish though.


It’s an even more attrocious finish once you remember Shana has lost that way before. She learned nothing. A stupid champion.

Bad finish to an amazing match.


----------



## Whoanma

Se viene...


----------



## Mox Girl

I know this match will be awesome, but I hope this feud is over soon, it's going to start dragging soon.


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

Damn, still can't believe Cole lost. That sh*t f*cking hurt.


----------



## llj

Mango13 said:


> Asuka 100% hurt the division, however having 2 shit champions after Asuka left sure as hell didn't help it either.


Cross should have been champ after Asuka.

There really are no elite women talents though. There have only been a handful of elite talents that have come through NXT these past 5 years, and that's the 4HW and Asuka. There's a reason why the NXT women's divisions were built around them, whether people like it or not, because they were just flat out better than the women around them. Who were you gonna make champ? Eva Marie? Nia Jax?

Who of the current crop of women are really better than Kairi or Shayna? Lacey Evans? Candice LeRae? Come on. These really are the best women available now until the MYC signees become regulars.


----------



## Ham and Egger

I didnt think a lot of the posters would dislike the match. The crowd was super into it and I thought they told a great story. I dont think the match lacked anything....


----------



## Trophies

Somebody is leaving on a stretcher.


----------



## RiverFenix

Gargano/Ciampa getting over an hour?


----------



## Black Metal

I'm guessing this match is anywhere from 35-45 minutes long.


----------



## TD Stinger

SAMCRO said:


> Had Kairi not hit her finisher just moments before i wouldn't be against it really, but they just had to have a finisher kickout spot, i just think it should have ended there, theres been enough finisher kickouts tonight.


Did the Roll Up come out of nowhere? Did it get a great pop (bigger than the Elbow honestly)? Both yes.

Sometimes it's better to go with a surprise than the standard win a match by a finisher method. And this was one of those times.


----------



## Trophies

Is this ring announcer reading from a prompt?


----------



## Whoanma




----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Johnny's gear.

:mark:


----------



## Switchblade Club

DetroitRiverPhx said:


> Gargano/Ciampa getting over an hour?


Takeover ends at 9 30.


----------



## Bryan Jericho

Johnny Wrestling!!


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Ciampa to ascend to living god status. The apotheosis of Ciampa! :mark


----------



## SAMCRO

If this is gonna be their final match, which it should, Gargano has to lose, Ciampa gets a rematch for the title if he loses. Imo Ciampa needs to retain and Gargano either needs to be called up or put into another feud.


----------



## RKing85

this main event will be awesome, but I fucking hate Last Man Standing matches.


----------



## Mox Girl

It's so odd hearing a male wrestler have a female singing on their entrance theme, you don't see that much :lol


----------



## Tornado31619

llj said:


> Cross should have been champ after Asuka.
> 
> There really are no elite women talents though. There have only been a handful of elite talents that have come through NXT these past 5 years, and that's the 4HW and Asuka. There's a reason why the NXT women's divisions were built around them, whether people like it or not, because they were just flat out better than the women around them. Who were you gonna make champ? Eva Marie?


Don't call up Becky, Sasha and Charlotte all at once. This way Asuka can't kill the division. Problem solved.


----------



## Miguel De Juan

Pizzamorg said:


> Yeah, them writing themselves into a corner with Asuka's winning streak killed the Women's Division on NXT. It didn't help that every Asuka match was so overrated in NXT, yeah sure she kicks people really hard but so what. Now look at her on the main roster... lol


How is her booking on the main roster her fault? Carmella and Bliss are wrestling cancer. 

The nxt women's match was better than most of the crap on the mainroster they try to pass of as a revolution.


----------



## Pizzamorg

Is that a Venom version of the Gargano smiley? Bitch turning heel so hard, Ciampa gon' get murdered.


----------



## dannybosa

Gargano and Ciampa try to kill each other part 3


----------



## TD Stinger

Ham and Egger said:


> I didnt think a lot of the posters would dislike the match. The crowd was super into it and I thought they told a great story. I dont think the match lacked anything....


The match had Shayna in it. Kind of comes with the territory with her, even when he does deliver.


----------



## Even Flow

CIAMPA :sodone


----------



## the_hound

right lets see

whoever decimated black sure as hell is going to cost johnny wrestling *waves to candice


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

That heat for CIAMPA.

:mark:


----------



## ellthom

This man is out booing Roman Reigns :lmao


----------



## dannybosa

BOOOOOOOOO


----------



## Miguel De Juan

Tons of great matches have ended with roll ups. Bret beat fucking Diesel and Austin with one. People are here with trash wrestling opinions.


----------



## Tornado31619

SAMCRO said:


> If this is gonna be their final match, which it should, Gargano has to lose, Ciampa gets a rematch for the title if he loses. Imo Ciampa needs to retain and Gargano either needs to be called up or put into another feud.


Gargano should have lost at NOLA, so that this feud could have been saved for WrestleMania. WWE have unintentionally found a winning formula with the Miz-Bryan feud.


----------



## Whoanma

F U Ciampa. :ha :ha :ha


----------



## rickyc

The fact that Ciampa doesn't have any music and just walks out to the boos is fucking brilliant.


----------



## arch.unleash

Let's go Ciampa! The god of HEAT.


----------



## Mox Girl

If Dean Ambrose as a heel can get even HALF as much heat as Ciampa does, then I'll be happy with how he does LOL :lol


----------



## RKing85

It seems too soon to take the belt of Ciampa. I'll say he retains it here.


----------



## SAMCRO

TD Stinger said:


> Did the Roll Up come out of nowhere? Did it get a great pop (bigger than the Elbow honestly)? Both yes.
> 
> Sometimes it's better to go with a surprise than the standard win a match by a finisher method. And this was one of those times.


Then don't have her hit her finisher at all is what i'm saying, i'm tired of finisher kickouts to try and make a match feel epic. 

I don't mind a rollup finishing it, just don't have her finisher be kicked out of before had is all i'm saying.


----------



## Even Flow

I was waiting for the 'Fuck You Ciampa' chants :lol


----------



## Natecore

Why do we hate Ciampa? 

Seems to me Gargano is perfectly healthy and fine.


----------



## TripleG

HERE WE GO!


----------



## Pizzamorg

SAMCRO said:


> If this is gonna be their final match, which it should, Gargano has to lose, Ciampa gets a rematch for the title if he loses. Imo Ciampa needs to retain and Gargano either needs to be called up or put into another feud.


Didn't think of that, that is a great point. Gargano and Ciampa are going to have eighty five matches in a row.


----------



## Whoanma

Ciampa is THE heel.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Stop booing...Gargano. :trolldog


----------



## Psyche

Love that vest Gargano's got on.


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

Just by the way this match started, I don't think Johnny is winning.


----------



## Jbardo

Miguel De Juan said:


> Tons of great matches have ended with roll ups. Bret beat fucking Diesel and Austin with one. People are here with trash wrestling opinions.


Exactly, nothing wrong with a roll up finish at all, people just complain about anything these days.


----------



## RKing85

any chance these two could pull of a double turn???


----------



## SAMCRO

Ambrose Girl said:


> It's so odd hearing a male wrestler have a female singing on their entrance theme, you don't see that much :lol


Yeah i think Christian's Just Close Your Eyes by Waterproof Blonde was the last time i remember a guy having a women sing their theme.


----------



## Bryan Jericho

Double knockout to end this one maybe?


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Crowd is fucking HOT.

This action!

:mark:


----------



## Whoanma

MarkyWhipwreck said:


> Just by the way this match started, I don't think Johnny is winning.


:sadbecky


----------



## arch.unleash

If this was on the main roster it would have started with a fucking lookup.


----------



## llj

Tornado31619 said:


> Don't call up Becky, Sasha and Charlotte all at once. This way Asuka can't kill the division. Problem solved.


The current NXT women's division has very few holdovers from Asuka's era now. The problems of today are exclusively today's issues.

Shayna and Kairi really are the best options right now. Sorry, but it's the truth. The women's talent at NXT today just isn't there right now.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Great to see the crowd so heaviiy invested in the final match.


----------



## Switchblade Club

ECW chants are so fucking dumb lol


----------



## Tornado31619

RKing85 said:


> any chance these two could pull of a double turn???


Neither are suited.


----------



## Trophies

That's some nice concrete...


----------



## Roxinius

RKing85 said:


> any chance these two could pull of a double turn???


Why the fuck would you turn either of them that's highly stupid you have the best heel in the company and an amazing babyface in gargano no reason to ruin it with a pointless double tyrn


----------



## sailord

i want this last man standing match to end in the back i hate when lms matches end in the ring


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Ciampa going for the eyes.

:mark:


----------



## Mango13

Ambrose Girl said:


> It's so odd hearing a male wrestler have a female singing on their entrance theme, you don't see that much :lol


I'm pretty sure it's a dude with a really high voice. it gives me A Skylit Drive vibes


----------



## Bryan Jericho

DAMN!


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

SPOT OF THE NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Even Flow

MAMA MIA!!!!!


----------



## Mox Girl

Mango13 said:


> I'm pretty sure it's a dude with a really high voice. it gives me A Skylit Drive vibes


Is it? I don't know anything about the song, I just thought it was a woman :lol


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Gargano trying to kill Ciampa.


----------



## SAMCRO

Miguel De Juan said:


> Tons of great matches have ended with roll ups. Bret beat fucking Diesel and Austin with one. People are here with trash wrestling opinions.


If you're referring to me its not the rollup i have an issue with it, its them having yet another finisher kickout spot beforehand when it wasn't needed. Just end it with the rollup, theres no point in having a finisher be kicked out of yet again tonight.


----------



## RKing85

nice air raid crash through the table.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

That HEAT. Crowd is CRAZY invested even still in this feud.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Awesome spot by Ciampa. :mark


----------



## Tornado31619

llj said:


> The current NXT women's division has very few holdovers from Asuka's era now. The problems of today are exclusively today's issues.
> 
> Shayna and Kairi really are the best options right now. Sorry, but it's the truth. The women's talent at NXT today just isn't there right now.


The HW stay, Asuka can't go on her kill streak. People like Nia, Nikki and the IIconics actually have a chance. Nikki and the IIconics can take over from Asuka.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Awesome usage of the chair by Johnny on Ciampa's knee.

This story-telling.

:mark:


----------



## Alright_Mate

Great storytelling again.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Ciampa is so good at being bad. roud


----------



## Natecore

I’ve seen this match before. I get it they hate each other.

fpalm


----------



## Ham and Egger

TD Stinger said:


> The match had Shayna in it. Kind of comes with the territory with her, even when he does deliver.


Then I must be in the minority because I'm one of her biggest fans. She plays the bully heel role better than anyone on the roster.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

That taunting by Ciampa.

:ha


----------



## Mango13

ROFL


----------



## Even Flow

Lonedart :sodone


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Ciampa lawn-darted.

:ha


----------



## Even Flow

Table :mark:


----------



## rickyc

When you have three matches in a trilogy, all with no DQ stips, you gotta do something ridiculous for the third one, right? What will they do?


----------



## Tornado31619

How can Ciampa get up from that?


----------



## SAMCRO

rickyc said:


> When you have three matches in a trilogy, all with no DQ stips, you gotta do something ridiculous for the third one, right? What will they do?


Double flaming table spot? lol.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Lawn dart. :mark


----------



## ellthom

why stack the tables like that? That looks like someone will be impaled


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Benoit GERMANS.

:bjpenn


----------



## The_It_Factor

This is about to be a really stupid and dangerous table spot that isn’t even really all that logical in terms of hurting your opponent


----------



## Even Flow

SAMCRO said:


> Double flaming table spot? lol.


If only.


----------



## SAMCRO

Jesus Christ! 3 Project Ciampa's in a row, damn that looked nasty.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Those chair shots. :banderas


----------



## arch.unleash

Meltzer will give this 5 stars without even watching it. Most of this forum will.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Ciampa sitting in the chair.

:lmao

What a prick.


----------



## Tornado31619

*sigh* Another Superkick.


----------



## Mordecay

I love the Project Ciampa

Also, say what you want about the match, this is the cutest thing I've seen all day that doesn't involve Peyton roud


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Ciampa is getting so much of the match that I fear he is going to lose.


----------



## Black Metal

Probably the weakest match of these two to date.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

The counters in this match.

:trips8


----------



## Switchblade Club

No selling :lmao


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Ciampa's countdown was great.


----------



## RKing85

crowd has felt weak to me tonight.


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

It says a lot about this show that this'll will probably end up being the third best match of the night.


----------



## ellthom

okay now this is getting silly, fun but silly :lol


----------



## rickyc

This match has been good so far, but so far it hasn't said Last Man Standing to me yet.


----------



## Tornado31619

Up at one?! Wow. Pathetic.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

What an exchange.

:drose


----------



## SAMCRO

I don't get why Project Ciampa isn't Ciampa's finisher but a double armed sitout facebuster is, Project Ciampa looks so much nastier and more painful. Same way i don't get why Cole's kneecap brainbuster isn't his finisher but a shining wizard is.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

These guys are killing themselves.

:trips8


----------



## Smcneely83

Tornado31619 said:


> Up at one?! Wow. Pathetic.


You dumb


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

Its funny that their best match was their first one from the CWC. A normal match.


----------



## Whoanma

How many times has Mauro said that the fairy tale is ending?


----------



## Mox Girl

Ciampa is so evil, it's ridiculously great :lol


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Ciampa destroyed Gargano. :sodone


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

This has been fantastic.


----------



## Trophies

Where's the kitchen sink?


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Ciampa is on ring crew. :mark


----------



## SAMCRO

Jesus christ these guys are gonna kill each other lol.


----------



## Switchblade Club

Botch


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

GARGANO GETTING REVENGE FOR THAT DDT ON THE WOOD!!!


:mark: :mark: :mark: This story-telling!


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

way to go Mauro ignoring the symbolism of that crotch moment.


----------



## Natecore

Best parts of this match have been when they’ve just wrestled.

I hate plunder matches.


----------



## RKing85

will never be able to get into a ref counting to 10 as a way to end a pro wrestling match.


----------



## Trophies

LMAO RIP DUDE


----------



## ellthom

By the end of this match the whole arena will be burned down lol


----------



## arch.unleash

THAT UNFORGIVING WOOD! That sounded so wrong :lol


----------



## Even Flow

Saw that spot coming.


----------



## Tornado31619

ReekOfAwesomenesss said:


> Its funny that their best match was their first one from the CWC. A normal match.


A classic example of less being more. Not all No DQ bouts are good, just look at Black vs. Cole from Philly.


----------



## Mango13

LMAO that crew guy got rekt


----------



## AngryConsumer

UTTER CHAOS :mark:


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

This is EPIC.


----------



## SAMCRO

Oh come on lol is Gargano superman?


----------



## Alright_Mate

OH SHIT WHAT A SPOT :mark


----------



## Mox Girl

Johnny is a machine!!!


----------



## Even Flow

I thought that was the finish then.


----------



## The_It_Factor

Ciampa losing this one


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Gargano channeling HBK. :mark


----------



## ellthom

I must admit I am getting a few laughs at this match


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

THESE GUYS ARE DOING IT AGAIN!!!

:mark: :mark: :mark:


----------



## Pizzamorg

Gargano.


----------



## arch.unleash

Fuck, Ciampa just threw the guy on Gargano :lmao :lmao

This is teh greatest thing I've ever seen.

:lmao :lmao :lmao


----------



## Even Flow

Handcuffs again.


----------



## RapShepard

The super burst of energy at 9 is getting old


----------



## Natecore

Just when I posted I hate plunder matches they win me over!


----------



## Prayer Police

hahahahahahhahahhahaha


----------



## arch.unleash

For the love of god let Ciampa win, he's something else.


----------



## Mox Girl

I keep getting genuinely scared for these guys, that one of them's gonna get seriously injured...


----------



## The_It_Factor

Lol, ref not even trying to hide that hand signal thing


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

What a fucking spot and build-up.

:mark:


----------



## Mango13

This match though :mark:


----------



## arch.unleash

All that build for a superkick? Well that sucked.


----------



## Jersey

Kevin Castle on camera


----------



## Even Flow

I think we're going to see a highspot.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

That had to hurt.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Kicking the crutch and it went into the crowd.

:mark:


----------



## Tornado31619

Okay, that was good storytelling.


----------



## dannybosa

did the crutch hit someone why did the crowd say oh


----------



## Alright_Mate

Perfect storytelling again, this is what you call entertainment.


----------



## dannybosa

look the veins on his head


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Ciampa saying he's sorry.

:lol


----------



## Tornado31619

Ciampa should've low blowed him.


----------



## arch.unleash

This is brutal man, I'm feeling sorry for my boy Ciampa.


----------



## SavoySuit

lol


----------



## Mox Girl

I hope it doesn't end in a double count out...

EDIT: LOL fuck :lol Never mind lol.


----------



## RKing85

lame finish


----------



## Mango13

lol it's gonna end in a double count out


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

The first match was MOTN but this one was the greater spectacle because of the gimmickry.


----------



## AngryConsumer

HOLY FUCK! :lol


----------



## dannybosa

double countout ?!


----------



## Even Flow

CIAMPA WINS :sodone


----------



## SAMCRO

Wow that was a shit finish.

Glad Ciampa retained though, better be the end of this feud ffs.


----------



## Tornado31619

YES!


----------



## Trophies

Ohhh...that finish...I don't know about that. :lol


----------



## Whoanma

Nope, Ciampa won.


----------



## The_It_Factor

Lolol, that was really dumb but really cool at the same time.


----------



## Mordecay

What a weird ending. I understand it, but still


----------



## Alright_Mate

CIAMPA YOU SNEAKY FUCK!


----------



## RapShepard

What a way to make the Babyface look like a dumbass


----------



## TripleG

LOL, Johnny really threw the banana peel in front of himself on that one.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

What a fucking match.

:trips8


----------



## I am the Storm

I sure hope that was the last of this feud. Time to move on already.


----------



## Mox Girl

The handcuffs ended up helping Ciampa retain in the end LOL.


----------



## Natecore

What a stupid fucking babyface fpalm

A total idiot goof fpalm


----------



## rickyc

Wow, that storytelling. Fuck man, I loved that. Gargano's own anger beat himself.


----------



## Buhalovski

Let's be honest guys, if we had this finish on Summerslam we would riot


----------



## Pizzamorg

Another great match undermined by an awful finish. That seems to be the theme of the night. The Tag Match had a rushed finish. The women's match had an atrocious finish. This was a solid 3* show but the bad booking really undermined so much of this show. About the only match free of that was Cole and Ricochet. Oh and this show had one of the worst matches in TakeOver history in EC3/Dream.


----------



## arch.unleash

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!!!! That finish was main roster dumb but doesn't matter, my boy Ciampa fucking WON. :mark :mark :mark :mark :mark


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Right winner. Ciampa had to retain. Great match.


----------



## Bryan Jericho

I would have preferred a double countout but what a damn good match!


----------



## TyAbbotSucks

lol seriously?


----------



## Even Flow

Gargano dislocating his knee :lol


----------



## Martins

I am the Storm said:


> I sure hope that was the last of this feud. *Time to move on already.*


It sure is, but at the same time having the feud end in such a dumb fucking manner... Oof :lol

Edit: ON REPLAY EVEN THE KNEE STRIKE LOOKED LIKE SHIT :lmao is this for real, oh my god


----------



## Psyche

That made Gargano look really bad. I would've preferred a double count out.


----------



## SAMCRO

Can they please give Ciampa some fucking theme music already? Whenever he wins its awkward as hell no music music playing or anything.


----------



## Prayer Police

Gargano screwed Gargano


----------



## ShadowSucks92

That really should've ended as a draw


----------



## Sensei Utero

Such a crappy finish but a really enjoyable match. I really liked it. It's feuds like that which deserve a long hardcore match. Pretty entertaining.


----------



## SavoySuit

super botch on the ending. Totally missed with the knee...


----------



## arch.unleash

The same story they told last time, Gargano's anger costed him blah blah blah. They've booked themselves into a corner with this feud, but still, Ciampa needed the win. This guy is a national treasure.


----------



## ellthom

Tsvetoslava said:


> Let's be honest guys, if we had this finish on Summerslam we would riot


WWE couldn't tell a story like this on the main roster....


----------



## Whoanma

Totally confirmed: all WWE faces are imbeciles. :kurtcry3


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

God damn. I LOVED this match. Glad Ciampa retained, was the right call. These two literally can't have a bad match.


----------



## SAMCRO

Should have just ended it with the running knee chair shot spot through the barricade, this ending was dumb as fuck and made Gargano look like an idiot.


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

didn't feel this match.


----------



## Jbardo

That was actually a cool finish, Gargano was so desperate to finish off Ciampa that it cost him, plus the contact on his knee looked great, but of course people will complain because it didn’t end with both guys going through a flaming table or something.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Ciampa proves once again that evil will always win because:


----------



## Natecore

Gargano is the geek of the year.

Nobody can even come close after his idiocy to lose that match. What a fucking dork.


----------



## Tornado31619

Jbardo said:


> That was actually a cool finish, Gargano was so desperate to finish off Ciampa that it cost him, plus the contact on his knee looked great, but of course people will complain because it didn’t end with both guys going through a flaming table or something.


Exactly. And the alternative was an inconclusive end. Hopefully, this feud is over.


----------



## Even Flow

So if Gargano has 'dislocated' his knee, he'll be off TV for a few months at least.

Be interesting to see who his next feud will be with. Black?


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Ciampa is the WWE Wrestler of the Year.


----------



## Mordecay

1. Tag match
2. Ricochet/Cole
3. Gargano/Ciampa
4. Sane/Baszler
5. VD/EC3


----------



## ellthom

Overall 

1. Moustache Mountain v The Undisputed Era 
2. Adam Cole v Ricochet 
3. Johnny Gargano v Tomasso Ciampa
4. Shayna Baszler v Kairi Sane
5. EC3 v Velveteen Dream


----------



## Jedah

OK, I'll never not trust NXT again.

Pretty much everything was perfect - Undisputed retaining, Dream getting the big win he needed, Ricochet winning the NA title and thus giving Cole his first real setback since joining NXT, forcing him to evolve, Sane winning the title and opening up the women's division, and Ciampa slithering by like a snake. I personally would have done both of them leaving out on stretchers but meh.

One flaw is that of the three matches, this was the worst Gargano/Ciampa meeting of the three. Still great, but it's obvious it's hit the point of diminishing returns now. Thankfully it looks like this new injury angle will allow them both to do something else until next year. Then you can do the final meeting inside Hell in a Cell.

What else can I say? Good luck SummerSlam. :lmao :lmao


----------



## TD Stinger

To everyone saying it should have ended in a draw, that would mean Gargano would basically get an automatic rematch and they would do their 4th match right away, which people would have also complained about.

Ciampa won, Gargano shouldn't get another title shot. And they can move on for the time being.

As for the finish, I get people saying it made Johnny look dumb. But it also fits in theme of Johnny being so consumed by hatred, he allowed himself to make such a mistake. And you can say I'm just making excuses, but NXT have actually put the work into the story to make that work.


----------



## ShadowSucks92

Actually, having Ciampa win was probably the right call. This wasa booked at the last minute and I have no doubt something similar would've happened in the triple threat match (black mass to Gargano and Ciampa pins him) so this way it gets Gargano away from Ciampa for a bit while Gargano clears his mind, becomes Johnny Wrestling again and finishes Ciampa off for good at NXT TakeOver WM.


----------



## arch.unleash

I'm happy that Ciampa won, but what will they do with Gargano? His "moment" is getting a little late, and by the time it finally happens it won't have the same impact. I feel many will turn on him for being so fucking dumb.


----------



## Ace

Loved the Young Bucks tribute act by Ciampa and Gargano tonight.


----------



## raymondisgood

Cool finish but really, that makes Gargano look dumb asf. But I am glad this feud is finally coming to an end. There, I said it. Now yall NXT followers can go ahead and roast me.


----------



## Crasp

Another great Takeover, yet the worst one in a long time, too.


----------



## Pizzamorg

Double standards are STRONG on this forum. If that was the finish to Reigns and Lesnar y'all be coming onto the forum crying about how WWE doesn't respect your needs or some shit. Gargano looked like a mug in defeat, it was a weak ending to the feud if this even is the end and the idea that Gargano defeated himself was not earned in the match itself. Time will tell however if him losing in such moronic fashion will feed into his character moving forwards, maybe if he turns heel or something and becomes obsessed by defeating himself.


----------



## SAMCRO

Jbardo said:


> That was actually a cool finish, Gargano was so desperate to finish off Ciampa that it cost him, plus the contact on his knee looked great, but of course people will complain because it didn’t end with both guys going through a flaming table or something.


It was nothing new really, Johnny's anger and obsession costed him the win in their last match, Johnny's anger costed Black his title. Apparently Johnny doesn't learn from his past mistakes, dudes an idiot. 

And no i could give a shit if it ended with some over the top table spot, but what they ended it with made the babyface look like a complete idiot, does he never learn from his mistakes?


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Three awesome matches and both Kairi's and Dream's were better than some here portrayed them to be. Damn good Takeover. :trips8


----------



## Jbardo

Mordecay said:


> 1. Tag match
> 2. Ricochet/Cole
> 3. Gargano/Ciampa
> 4. Sane/Baszler
> 5. VD/EC3





ellthom said:


> Overall
> 
> 1. Moustache Mountain v The Undisputed Era
> 2. Adam Cole v Ricochet
> 3. Johnny Gargano v Tomasso Ciampa
> 4. Shayna Baszler v Kairi Sane
> 5. EC3 v Velveteen Dream


Agreed.


----------



## TripleG

I get the story they were telling there. Gargano got overzealous and wrapped in revenge to take the win when he had it and it cost him. 

Its kind of the same thing Thor and Thanos had going at the end of Infinity War. 

But the way they did it just looked goofy, for lack of a better word. 

I mean Johnny went flying out there like he was taking a pratfall in a Three Stooges routine. It just looked ridiculous to me. 

Ciampa sneaking to his feet at the last second was neat though, lol.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

arch.unleash said:


> I'm happy that Ciampa won, but what will they do with Gargano? His "moment" is getting a little late, and by the time it finally happens it won't have the same impact. I feel many will turn on him for being so fucking dumb.


They can call him up but I fear for his career if they do.


----------



## ShadowSucks92

SHIV:THE OTHER WHITE MEAT said:


> Ciampa is the WWE Sports Entertainer of the Year.


Fixed


----------



## Pizzamorg

Mine: 

1. Cole/Ricochet. 
2. Moustache Mountain/Undisputed. 
3. Gargano/Ciampa. 
4. Baszler/Kairi. 
5. EC3/Dream.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Jedah said:


> OK, I'll never not trust NXT again.
> 
> Pretty much everything was perfect - Undisputed retaining, Dream getting the big win he needed, Ricochet winning the NA title and thus giving Cole his first real setback since joining NXT, forcing him to evolve, Sane winning the title and opening up the women's division, and Ciampa slithering by like a snake. I personally would have done both of them leaving out on stretchers but meh.
> 
> One flaw is that of the three matches, this was the worst Gargano/Ciampa meeting of the three. Still great, but it's obvious it's hit the point of diminishing returns now. Thankfully it looks like this new injury angle will allow them both to do something else until next year. Then you can do the final meeting inside Hell in a Cell.
> 
> What else can I say? Good luck SummerSlam. :lmao :lmao


Well said.

Just can't decide what MOTN is between the tag match or Gargano/Ciampa. Gargano/Ciampa had no business even making it a competition between the already having multiple TO matches and with plans getting off course with the recent Black injury.

Still a fucking fantastic match, though. Loved it.


----------



## V-Trigger

What the fuck was that ending. Jesus christ.


----------



## arch.unleash

SHIV:THE OTHER WHITE MEAT said:


> They can call him up but I fear for his career if they do.


The moment he gets called up is the official end of his career and that's a fact. 95% of the NXT guys did nothing on the main roster, and Gargano will be no different. I mean look at him, I like him but he looks like the genericest CAW from the WWE games, he has no chance especially that the main roster right now is at the lowest point in the company's history. If I were him I'd beg Triple H to keep me on NXT forever.


----------



## RapShepard

TD Stinger said:


> To everyone saying it should have ended in a draw, that would mean Gargano would basically get an automatic rematch and they would do their 4th match right away, which people would have also complained about.
> 
> Ciampa won, Gargano shouldn't get another title shot. And they can move on for the time being.
> 
> As for the finish, I get people saying it made Johnny look dumb. But it also fits in theme of Johnny being so consumed by hatred, he allowed himself to make such a mistake. And you can say I'm just making excuses, but NXT have actually put the work into the story to make that work.


Nah that shit was goofy and clunky. They could've played the whole hatred consumed him without doing a he ran so far he ran off the stage and into a random piece of equipment on a table


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

Cole/Rico is my motn as well. Tag match was full of great stuff but Seven's *''top 10 best puroresu finishers''* moveset took me out of the match.


----------



## TD Stinger

So.....yeah I'm gonna be that asshole. My match ranking order would be:

1. Ricochet vs. Cole
2. Gargano vs. Ciampa
3. Sane vs. Bazler
4. MM vs. TUE
5. Dream vs. EC3

Opening tag was really good. Not denying that. But to me, it was the weakest of their 3 matches and had like 3 too many finisher kickouts. Some times that bothers me and some times that doesn't. But in a tag team match where you have a partner to break up the pin for you and you don't take advantage of that, just don't care for it.

I didn't mind Shayna kicking out of the Elbow. I didn't mind Gargano and Ciampa constanly getting out at 10. But the tag match did for that reason.

Plus Cole vs. Ricochet and Sane vs. Bazler had better closings. And also Gargano vs. Ciamap was a more entertaining thrill ride throughout.


----------



## ellthom

Pizzamorg said:


> Double standards are STRONG on this forum. If that was the finish to Reigns and Lesnar y'all be coming onto the forum crying about how WWE doesn't respect your needs or some shit. Gargano looked like a mug in defeat, it was a weak ending to the feud if this even is the end and the idea that Gargano defeated himself was not earned in the match itself. Time will tell however if him losing in such moronic fashion will feed into his character moving forwards, maybe if he turns heel or something and becomes obsessed by defeating himself.


Of course we'd be crying about it, because WWE's main roster cannot tell a story like NxT. So we accept Nxt because it entertained us. Brock and Roman isn't entertaining anyone.


----------



## Pizzamorg

ellthom said:


> Of course we'd be crying about it, because WWE's main roster cannot tell a story like NxT. So we accept Nxt because it entertained us. Brock and Roman isn't entertaining anyone.


Were you trying to prove my point on purpose or..?


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Both Gargano and Ciampa need to remain in NXT and *FEUD FOREVER*.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

MOTN order:

1. UE/MM
2. Ciampa/Gargano (really close, though)



3. Cole/Ricochet
4. Sane/Shayna
5. Dream/EC3


----------



## ShadowSucks92

My favourite matches are:
1) Gargano vs Ciampa - ****1/2
2) Undisputed Era vs Moustache Mountain - ****1/4
3) Kairi Sane vs Shayna Baszler/ Ricochet vs Adam Cole - ****
4) EC3 vs Velveteen Dream - ***


----------



## RapShepard

ellthom said:


> Of course we'd be crying about it, because WWE's main roster cannot tell a story like NxT. So we accept Nxt because it entertained us. Brock and Roman isn't entertaining anyone.


So basically a shitty ending is okay because it's NXT?


----------



## GimmeABreakJess

I had to tune in late so I'm about to go back and watch the first hour (it sounds like the tag match really good) Tuned in an hour into into the show and this was the most fun I had watching wrestling in quite some time.


----------



## ellthom

Pizzamorg said:


> Were you trying to prove my point on purpose or..?


I am saying Johnny Gargano v Tomasso Ciampa had a long and interesting story behind it, you know why certain actions were taken, there is a narrative, something WWE's main roster lacks.



RapShepard said:


> So basically a shitty ending is okay because it's NXT?


I liked the ending I didnt think it was shitty. Wasnt great, but you understnad why it happened.


----------



## Whoanma

Will the crowd chant "we want StROMAN" tomorrow night? :rockwut


----------



## Pizzamorg

ellthom said:


> I am saying Johnny Gargano v Tomasso Ciampa had a long and interesting story behind it, you know why certain actions were taken, there is a narrative, something WWE's main roster lacks.


"The finish was shitty but NXT is cool to like, so I will make straw man arguments so I don't have to accept something I like can have flaws and make mistakes." 

Fuck, did I stumble into the New Japan forum again by accident?


----------



## GimmeABreakJess

RapShepard said:


> So basically a shitty ending is okay because it's NXT?


Not a shitty ending in my opinion. We'll hafta agree to disagree I loved the ending.


----------



## ellthom

Pizzamorg said:


> "The finish was shitty but NXT is cool to like, so I will make straw man arguments so I don't have to accept something I like can have flaws and make mistakes."
> 
> Fuck, did I stumble into the New Japan forum again by accident?


Or you know I could actually think NxT is better. Not because 'it's cool to like Nxt'


----------



## Ace

RapShepard said:


> The super burst of energy at 9 is getting old


 The no selling is something I'd expect from The Bucks. This was just a bad match and got nothing from me, it felt like two guys exchanging moves with little emotion or selling.


----------



## GimmeABreakJess

Pizzamorg said:


> "The finish was shitty but NXT is cool to like, so I will make straw man arguments so I don't have to accept something I like can have flaws and make mistakes."


Wow that's actually quite alot of taking liberties on your version of what the OP actually said.


----------



## Pizzamorg

ellthom said:


> Or you know I could actually think NxT is better. Not because 'it's cool to like Nxt'


NXT is great but that doesn't mean the finish wasn't utter dogshit.


----------



## RapShepard

ellthom said:


> I am saying Johnny Gargano v Tomasso Ciampa had a long and interesting story behind it, you know why certain actions were taken, there is a narrative, something WWE's main roster lacks.
> 
> 
> 
> I liked the ending I didnt think it was shitty. Wasnt great, but you understnad why it happened.


I'm with pizza I think this story on the main roster folk are pointing out how silly this made Gargano look. Like he ran off the stage into a piece of equipment. If Ciampa had just made him miss and he then ran into the equipment sure, but that shit was silly.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Fuck, now I'm having 2nd thoughts on my MOTN. Can't decide between the tag match and Gargano/Ciampa.

:hmmm


----------



## RollinsHardyStyles

My ratings (copied from MOTYC thread):



RollinsHardyStyles said:


> *NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4*
> 
> *YES to The Undisputed ERA (c) vs Moustache Mountain - NXT Tag Team Championship - ****1/2*
> *YES to Adam Cole (c) vs Ricochet - NXT North American Championship - ***** (I may give this a rewatch since I have it lower than most reviews in the show thread are suggesting)
> *NO to Shayna Baszler (c) vs Kairi Sane - NXT Women's Championship - ***1/2*
> *YES to Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs Johnny Gargano - NXT Championship - ****1/2*


I think it is ludicrous to compare Gargano/Ciampa with main roster storylines, especially Lesnar/Reigns. This match had a story that warranted that ending. Obviously, it could have been executed better, but given that this match was changed pretty late because of an injury, it was fine. However, I agree it was their weakest match but I still really enjoyed it.

This was a very good show really, just not the best Takeover, maybe the worst of the year, but it is still great. We should stop complaining and be happy about getting to see such a show.


----------



## Ace

Summerslam could top a Takeover, wouldn't have guessed it until tonight. Still need to watch a couple of other matches but nothing seems to be a tear away MOTYC like they usually have.


----------



## RiverFenix

Black's injury painted wwe into a corner here with the ME booking. I think they should have scrapped the main event and gave Ciampa a fresh surprise challenger rather than ANOTHER Gargano one-on-one match. They've waited too long to pull the trigger on the Gargano win as well - he's losing heat/interest. 

Go away Johnny. I'm tired of you.


----------



## MC

WWE NXT Tag Team Title Match - The Undisputed ERA (Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong) (c) vs. Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate)
This was pretty good. Everyone knows Bate is great but this is really highlighting Seven as the good wrestler he is. I just love his hot tags. Always so electric and fulled with fire. Bate was a tremendous babyface too, doing a great job and selling everything TUE were doing to him. Speaking of which, TUE was once again great in this match. Their styles really work in this role. I love it. Awesome feud and series of matches and this isn’t different. Hated Bate kicking out of the burning hammer though. So unnecairy and was nothing but a cheap kick out. ***¾ 

EC3 vs. The Velveteen Dream
This wasn't very good. The crowd was into some parts but they seem distracted for a large part of the match. EC3 isn’t very interesting in the ring and Dream was bumping weirdly. Honestly, it was very goofy and it did lead to some laughs from me. **¼ 

WWE NXT North American Title Match - Adam Cole (c) vs. Ricochet
This was fine. In all, this was a good match but I wasn’t into it very much. There was one thing I do dislike about this match and it’s a spot where Cole spent around 5 minutes attacking Ricochet's back and the first thing he does is a corkscrew plancha? Ridiculous. Classic Ricochet. The rest of the match I didn’t HATE, just that it did nothing for me. Thought Ricochet cosplaying Dragon Lee with the running hurricanrana over the ropes was awesome though. **¾ 

WWE NXT Women's Title Match - Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Kairi Sane
This was awesome. Both are pretty great in the ring and it showed here. Shayna was awesome as the vicious, nasty bully heel. I just adore her stomps. She finds a way to make them cringe inducing. Can’t help but look away. Sane was a tremendous babyface, her selling was good, except for the end. She has an uncanny presence to her, she can create sympathy out of nothing. There was a few transitions that were a bit jarring but nothing that took too much away. ****

WWE NXT Title Last Man Standing Match - Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Johnny Gargano
Nope. This is exactly why I don't like Last Man Standing Match. I hate to go all Cornette about this but they did way too much and it lost all it's impact by half way through. Didn't help that they had a long headlock spot in the middle of the match which is considered a BLOOD FEUD btw. Then on, it seemed like I was just enduring the rest of the match. This was a mess, in my opinion. I did have a good time laughing at the match though, so I'll give it some credit. Not a fan sadly. I have no doubt this would’ve been better if they had more time to plan and set out a LMS match opposed to the weeks notice they were given. Rating? I don’t even know.


----------



## ShadowSucks92

Man I'm dreading SummerSlam tomorrow. Not because I think it'll be bad after watching TakeOver, but because it's 3am now and I doubt the show will even be half over when it's on this time tomorrow.


----------



## RapShepard

GimmeABreakJess said:


> Not a shitty ending in my opinion. We'll hafta agree to disagree I loved the ending.


I'm cool with Ciampa winning. I'm cool with the idea of Gargano's anger consumed him. But him hitting the knee then continuing to run off the stage into a random piece of equipment on a table is silly


Ace said:


> The no selling is something I'd expect from The Bucks. This was just a bad match and got nothing from me, it felt like two guys exchanging moves with little emotion or selling.


I think that's a problem in general with most places. The main roster does finisher spam. But then everywhere else has a problem with the signatures and high spots looking more devastating than the finish. Like the tag match, a burning hammer knee drop doesn't get the finish. But a fucking wheel kick and leg sweep do lol


----------



## ellthom

Pizzamorg said:


> NXT is great but that doesn't mean the finish wasn't utter dogshit.


Well I thought it was good, was it great? No, a little underwhelming but you know why Gargano did it, the man was desperate and reckless, a theme thats been playing out throughout the later half of their feud. Thats why Gargano lost, he let his recklessness win.

Maybe you didn't see that, but thats what I saw and thats why I don't think it was bad. I still conclude that it wasnt their best match, their match at Chicago was better.


----------



## Ace

MC 16 said:


> WWE NXT Tag Team Title Match - The Undisputed ERA (Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong) (c) vs. Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate)
> This was pretty good. Everyone knows Bate is great but this is really highlighting Seven as the good wrestler he is. I just love his hot tags. Always so electric and fulled with fire. Bate was a tremendous babyface too, doing a great job and selling everything TUE were doing to him. Speaking of which, TUE was once again great in this match. Their styles really work in this role. I love it. Awesome feud and series of matches and this isn’t different. Hated Bate kicking out of the burning hammer though. So unnecairy and was nothing but a cheap kick out. ***¾
> 
> EC3 vs. The Velveteen Dream
> This wasn't very good. The crowd was into some parts but they seem distracted for a large part of the match. EC3 isn’t very interesting in the ring and Dream was bumping weirdly. Honestly, it was very goofy and it did lead to some laughs from me. **¼
> 
> WWE NXT North American Title Match - Adam Cole (c) vs. Ricochet
> This was fine. In all, this was a good match but I wasn’t into it very much. There was one thing I do dislike about this match and it’s a spot where Cole spent around 5 minutes attacking Ricochet's back and the first thing he does is a corkscrew plancha? Ridiculous. Classic Ricochet. The rest of the match I didn’t HATE, just that it did nothing for me. Thought Ricochet cosplaying Dragon Lee with the running hurricanrana over the ropes was awesome though. **¾
> 
> WWE NXT Women's Title Match - Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Kairi Sane
> This was awesome. Both are pretty great in the ring and it showed here. Shayna was awesome as the vicious, nasty bully heel. I just adore her stomps. She finds a way to make them cringe inducing. Can’t help but look away. Sane was a tremendous babyface, her selling was good, except for the end. She has an uncanny presence to her, she can create sympathy out of nothing. There was a few transitions that were a bit jarring but nothing that took too much away. ****
> 
> WWE NXT Title Last Man Standing Match - Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Johnny Gargano
> Nope. This is exactly why I don't like Last Man Standing Match. I hate to go all Cornette about this but they did way too much and it lost all it's impact by half way through. Didn't help that they had a long headlock spot in the middle of the match which is considered a BLOOD FEUD btw. Then on, it seemed like I was just enduring the rest of the match. This was a mess, in my opinion. I did have a good time laughing at the match though, so I'll give it some credit. Not a fan sadly. I have no doubt this would’ve been better if they had more time to plan and set out a LMS match opposed to the weeks notice they were given. Rating? I don’t even know.


 If Roman and Brock produced the same match, fans wouldn't have shit on it.


----------



## Pizzamorg

RapShepard said:


> I'm with pizza I think this story on the main roster folk are pointing out how silly this made Gargano look. Like he ran off the stage into a piece of equipment. If Ciampa had just made him miss and he then ran into the equipment sure, but that shit was silly.


He literally had Ciampa beat, too. If the story of the whole match was Gargano going into complete red mist overkill mode throughout, if he wasn't even going for the win but instead was just out to hurt Ciampa instead, then this would have made more sense, even if the execution was very wobbly. However for the most part Gargano and Ciampa just had a very good wrestling match, so why did Gargano need to do that ludicrous knee spot at all? You can make arguments about Gargano beating himself but that is a fan theory, not what was told in the ring. 

That is the problem with this stuff, I wish WWE would just not do hardcore matches if they wanna be PG. It just shackles the stip and heightens the inherent goofiness of it. People make jokes about Johnny putting Ciampa through a burning table, which is silly, but if you can't have bite, vinegar and colour in your hardcore matches I'd much rather you just have stiff looking wrestling matches with regular rules instead.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

RIP SS tomorrow. This was one of my favorite TO's ever. Not a bad one yet.


----------



## Natecore

The dumb mother fucker decided to run full steam off a cliff.

Full. Steam. Off. A. Cliff. 

Gargano is a fuckwad. 

THE DUMBEST BABYFACE IN THE HISTORY OF MANY WWE DUMB FUCKING IDIOT BABYFACES!


----------



## Switchblade Club

Enjoyed the show tonight, 3 great matches!


----------



## Death Rider

The finish I am still in two minds on. I get the story they were going for but it was poorly done and Gargano does look fucking stupid. At the same time they had to come up with in a week and again I get the story they were going for as Gargano's obsession had caused him to gift Cimapa the title so it made sense. There were better ways to do it I feel. Match was still really good but 3rd best of the night for me partly due to the ending which I am still in two minds on.


----------



## Alright_Mate

A good show but not a great show, I can see quite a few overrating this event just because it's NXT...

Undisputed vs Moustache Mountain - This was the match I was looking forward to the most, I just knew they would produce a great match and they did just that. Another hot opener to a WWE show, just all round great action, Tyler Bate produced an incredible performance again, I could happily watch Roderick Strong wrestle all day; however believe it or not I thought Trent Seven was the MVP of the match, he hasn't got a great physique but he wrestled at tremendous pace, his intensity especially was brilliant. MOTN - ****3/4.

Dream vs EC3 - This was one of the most boring matches in the history of Takeover events, Dream did some cool stuff now and then but this match proved that he's not ready for a call up yet - **

Cole vs Ricochet - I feel some are overrating this match quite a bit, opening 10 minutes or so was very dull, Adam Cole sucked the life out of the pacing with rest holds. The match went from average to good pretty quickly though after that beautiful superkick. After that happened the match came to life, great pacing, some of the exchanges were fantastic, Ricochet has to be the smoothest wrestler going right now. Solid effort in the end, good but not great - ****

Baszler vs Sane - I'm quite the opposite of many on this forum :lol I like Shayna but I couldn't give a shit about Kairi. The match had drama but I feel it had the wrong winner, Kairi isn't Champion material - ***1/4

Ciampa vs Gargano - Last man standing matches are my least favourite because they have so many dull slow moments, this match made up for that though with another masterclass in storytelling, the storytelling was yet again perfection. I thought they delivered on the big spots but the match wasn't perfect, it did have some dull moments, a five minute patch of no selling was ridiculous, the ending was sneaky of Ciampa's part but one I'm struggling to get my head around. It was good but they've produced better, their second match was the best in my opinion - ****1/4

Overall rating - 7/10


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Gargano's rage blinded him and caused him to make an unforced error. I love all the continuity that runs through all three matches. Callbacks are always cool. :mark


----------



## ShadowSucks92

ellthom said:


> Well I thought it was good, was it great? No, a little underwhelming but you know why Gargano did it, the man was desperate and reckless, a theme thats been playing out throughout the later half of their feud. Thats why Gargano lost, he let his recklessness win.
> 
> Maybe you didn't see that, but thats what I saw and thats why I don't think it was bad. I still conclude that it wasnt their best match, their match at Chicago was better.


I get why some may not be a fan as this was basically the same story told but where could they have really went this time? I think the plan was for Ciampa to pin Gargano in the triple threat so it got Gargano away from Ciampa for a bit while Ciampa and Black finished their feud off.


----------



## TD Stinger

RapShepard said:


> Nah that shit was goofy and clunky. They could've played the whole hatred consumed him without doing a he ran so far he ran off the stage and into a random piece of equipment on a table


Was it a bit goofy? Did it make Gargano look a bit dumb? Oh yeah, won't deny that.

But NXT has done such a great job of making Johnny look overzealous and angry, I'm far more forgiving of this than I would be in another scenario.


----------



## RapShepard

Pizzamorg said:


> He literally had Ciampa beat, too. If the story of the whole match was Gargano going into complete red mist overkill mode throughout, if he wasn't even going for the win but instead was just out to hurt Ciampa instead, then this would have made more sense, even if the execution was very wobbly. However for the most part Gargano and Ciampa just had a very good wrestling match, so why did Gargano need to do that ludicrous knee spot at all? You can make arguments about Gargano beating himself but that is a fan theory, not what was told in the ring.
> 
> That is the problem with this stuff, I wish WWE would just not do hardcore matches if they wanna be PG. It just shackles the stip and heightens the inherent goofiness of it. People make jokes about Johnny putting Ciampa through a burning table, which is silly, but if you can't have bite, vinegar and colour in your hardcore matches I'd much rather you just have stiff looking wrestling matches with regular rules instead.


While I do agree blood is helpful for stories and feuds like this. That wasn't the issue as much as the random energy bursts to beat 10 and the silly finish.


Roy Mustang said:


> The finish I am still in two minds on. I get the story they were going for but it was poorly done and Gargano does look fucking stupid. At the same time they had to come up with in a week and again I get the story they were going for as Gargano's obsession had caused him to gift Cimapa the title so it made sense. There were better ways to do it I feel. Match was still really good but 3rd best of the night for me partly due to the ending which I am still in two minds on.


Ciampa winning after Gargano got distracted after he murdered the ringside nobody would've made more sense than running off the stage


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Another great thing; this show was only 2 hours and 40 mins. Absolutely perfect length for a PPV. Flew by.

Tomorrow's disaster will push 7 hours.

Yeah. Fuck SS.


----------



## Death Rider

I think they also did not want to go the draw route as it would have given Gargano a rematch straight away. I think a better way is have Cimapa handcuffed like that on a table or some shit. Have Gargano dives off a ladder. Cimapa slides off causing Gargano to crash and burn costing himself the match. Still his fault but he does not look as dumb. Feel like this poor finish is in part to Black being out of the match and this being the back up.



RapShepard said:


> Ciampa winning after Gargano got distracted after he murdered the ringside nobody would've made more sense than running off the stage


I agree there as well. Like I said ending is pretty silly but I get why they went with it. Still think it was bad but at least it had logic behind it and I understood the story they were trying to tell


----------



## ellthom

Showstopper said:


> Another great thing; this show was only 2 hours and 40 mins. Absolutely perfect length for a PPV. Flew by.
> 
> Tomorrow's disaster will push 7 hours.
> 
> Yeah. Fuck SS.


I'll be catching that Monday morning I aint staying up until 5AM


----------



## Pizzamorg

While talking about storytelling I appreciate why some people would have found the start of Ricochet/Cole slow but I thought it was logical of Cole to ground Ricochet as that cuts off his offence. Once Ricochet got momentum and started flying it was game over for Cole. He is like Doomfist from Overwatch. I thought this was a much more complete storytelling package.


----------



## V-Trigger

Congrats to HHH for ruining a great feud with shitty endings left and right.


----------



## SAMCRO

arch.unleash said:


> The moment he gets called up is the official end of his career and that's a fact. 95% of the NXT guys did nothing on the main roster, and Gargano will be no different. I mean look at him, I like him but he looks like the genericest CAW from the WWE games, he has no chance especially that the main roster right now is at the lowest point in the company's history. If I were him I'd beg Triple H to keep me on NXT forever.


When he gets called up he's 100% going to 205 Live, thats the only place where he'll be able to get any kind of push and hope to win a title.


----------



## RiverFenix

A draw was the right way to go after a reckless move by Gargano that took both out. You could have kept them apart from instant rematch by either Gargano being sent up to 205Live (for safety of both Ciampa and Gargano) or be behind Black attack and thus banned from any title matches for x-amount of days.


----------



## GimmeABreakJess

It gets a 9 out of 10 from me. It seems several matches people loved or hated. Alot of people hated the ending. I loved it. But that's just my opinion. Looking forward to SummerSlam tomorrow...


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

Pizzamorg said:


> While talking about storytelling I appreciate why some people would have found the start of Ricochet/Cole slow but I thought it was logical of Cole to ground Ricochet as that cuts off his offence. Once Ricochet got momentum and started flying it was game over for Cole. He is like Doomfist from Overwatch. I thought this was a much more complete storytelling package.


You get it, not only that though. Once Ricochet started flying it told the story of him being a "special" talent like Cole said he wasn't. And the whole match (outside of the finish) saw Cole with a lot of spectacular counters to Ricochet showing him what a "special" talent was and how Ric wasn't. Just an excellent overall match.


----------



## Mox Girl

I enjoyed the main event, but I also thought the finish was a bit stupid. I get the story they were trying to tell with anger so consuming Gargano that he just went for it without thinking, but at the same time, he looked so damn stupid. Plus Ciampa won cos the handcuffs made sure he couldn't fall over and had to stand up, which is... a tad lame. But maybe this means they're running out of ideas for this feud and it's time to end it now. I thought their last two matches were better, but it was still really good.

Tag match was my MOTN, followed by Cole & Ricochet, then the main event, then the women's match then Dream/EC3.


----------



## RapShepard

TD Stinger said:


> Was it a bit goofy? Did it make Gargano look a bit dumb? Oh yeah, won't deny that.
> 
> But NXT has done such a great job of making Johnny look overzealous and angry, I'm far more forgiving of this than I would be in another scenario.


They still do great shows, but that was an F ending to a solid match. It didn't make him look overzealous it just made him look goofy. Like I could've felt it if Ciampa made him miss thus he hit the random equipment. It would be as nonsensical as having Bryan hit somebody with his knee in the Rumble, but also flying over the top rope lol


----------



## TD Stinger

To me had this show had 4 great matches where any one of them could have won MOTN and one dud.

Won't compare it to other Takeovers because that's like asking a parent to pick their favorite kid. It was just another great chapter in Takeover history.


----------



## IndyTaker

Awesome event. Not 1 dull match


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

I was a bit torn on where I placed each match tonght, but I went with the tag match #1, Ciampa #2 Ricochet #3, with the women aboe Dream's match. Thank you, EC3. :cuss:

I could easily swap the Gargano and Cole matches.


----------



## The Boy Wonder

To be fair they did the best they could with this booking when you consider Black's injury. They want to build towards Johnny's big title win. At the same time they needed to keep the feud going.


----------



## Pizzamorg

MarkyWhipwreck said:


> You get it, not only that though. Once Ricochet started flying it told the story of him being a "special" talent like Cole said he wasn't. And the whole match (outside of the finish) saw Cole with a lot of spectacular counters to Ricochet showing him what a "special" talent was and how Ric wasn't. Just an excellent overall match.


Full on Dragonball Z with both guys increasing their power levels as the match went on with dazzling counter after dazzling counter. Cole being unshackled from the shenans of Undisputed and having to go all out against Ricochet who was trying to put Cole's comments to shame is the Cole I want all the time. 

I kinda feel like this shift in Cole's character for this match was a proving ground for an NXT Title match and this surely proved he is more than ready.


----------



## Natecore

1 great match the opening tag
1 amazing performance from Sane
1 once in a lifetime high flyer carrying a boring stiff 
1 total bore fest
1 dumbest fucking babyface in the history of prowrestling
3 shit finishes: burning hammer buried, Shana a dumb moron, Gargano a real stupid piece of shit

Takeover: Brooklyn Whatever the Fuck Number

PS
I’m having a lot of fun putting Johnny Fucking Moron on blast! :mark:


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Showstopper said:


> Another great thing; this show was only 2 hours and 40 mins. Absolutely perfect length for a PPV. Flew by.
> 
> Tomorrow's disaster will push 7 hours.
> 
> Yeah. Fuck SS.


I had the same thought. The show's length felt just right. Didn't have a chance to wear out it's welcome.

Summerslam to be that long? fpalm


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

Pizzamorg said:


> Full on Dragonball Z with both guys increasing their power levels as the match went on with dazzling counter after dazzling counter. Cole being unshackled from the shenans of Undisputed and having to go all out against Ricochet who was trying to put Cole's comments to shame is the Cole I want all the time.
> 
> I kinda feel like this shift in Cole's character for this match was a proving ground for an NXT Title match and this surely proved he is more than ready.


Absolutely, very well said. Cole has been held back at times by chickensh*t booking. Both guys can brag in a a way, Ric is the new NA Champ and Adam Cole had a coming out party in this match which will hopefully thrust him into the main event.


----------



## Even Flow

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1030999919140712448


----------



## Dibil13

Not surprised to see mixed feelings on the finish to the ME. I thought it definitely could have been better but I can let it slide. NXT has earned enough goodwill from me over the years. 

I don’t get the hate towards Kairi vs Shayna, though. I enjoyed the match. Little sloppy at times and Kairi's selling declined near the end, but good stuff overall. Both women did their part.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

I think something that people aren't mentioning with the main event's finish is; saying to have the match end in a draw, which is what ALOT of us on here said is how the match should end, with neither guy able to answer the 10 count, might sound good on paper.

But when you delve deeper into it; Brooklyn Takeover is NXT's WM. Triple H himself has confirmed this. We're telling them to basically end NXT's version of their WM main event...in a draw. In 2018. In NYC. Yeah, not gonna fly. These are the same fans that left the show right after Joe/Reigns took place. Counted down from 10 practically every minute in a 30 minute iron man match. And then, you're gonna take the most popular brand this company has (NXT) at their biggest PPV of the year, in NYC, and end the main event...in a draw?

Imagine if the WM main event ended in a draw with neither guy walking out winner. You kind of can't do it. It's fun to talk about and debate here. But for the company to actually do it, is two different things. If they did do it, alot of people would probably be saying how can't they give us a definitive winner and definitive loser for their main event on the biggest show of the year. Fans who attended the show would probably take to the internet and do dumb shit like demand refunds because they'd compare it to a WM main-event. 

It's just alittle too risky, especially this day and age with how the fans are, especially the fans that attend these shows. Even if it did make Johnny look stupid in that moment, at least we got a definitive winner and a definitive loser. No arguments can be made about that. And now they're probably going to shelf this story for months on end, which is something alot of people on here want. So, it's kind of win-win when you really think about it. 

And that doesn't even take into consideration that this was NOT the original plan when Aleister Black was supposed to be in this match..


----------



## Natecore

Who cares what Paul says if the perception by 99.99999%!of everybody else isn’t there.

Brooklyn takeover is not NXT’s Mania.

Maybe in the future if that’s what he wants but right now it isn’t.


----------



## RainmakerV2

Sorry. But that finish was awful. It was one thing when it was in the heat of the moment last time, but he had him cuffed there, literally all he had to do was grab a chair and batter him or repeatedly superkick him unconscious and he would be the champ. His anger already got the best of him in their last match, basically gave Ciampa the title against Black, yet he still runs off the stage like a big doofus when all he had to do was stand there and beat him to death. Fuck outta here. Shit was lame.


----------



## Jman55

alright time to get my thoughts out on this one

Undisputed Era vs Moustache Mountain - very fun opener moustache mountain is a great team in particular Tyler Bate (though Trent got to show himself off here a bit as well) and we've seen before what this team from the undisputed era can do already. Overall just a great match and a perfect way to start the show in my opinion. Also finally the War Raiders made a genuine impact ****

EC3 vs Velveteen Dream - Yeah this is why people need to calm down with praising Velveteen Dream. The guy is damn good especially for his age but he's no wizard in the ring yet and it did show he's still young and learning here with some very odd selling from him and in general this match as I kind of expected wasn't good and wasn't even really the character clash I hoped for. Very very happy though Dream got a genuine big win on a takeover **

Adam Cole vs Ricochet - Very great match Cole early on controlling things before Ricochet got going and as previously mentioned just the story of Ricochet proving himself to be that "special" talent that Adam Cole claimed he wasn't was a pretty well told one and some pretty crazy spots like that superkick from ricochet's moonsault attempt. ***3/4

Shayna Baszler vs Kairi Sane - Good match Shayna's style though I think she's a good performer overall isn't always for me but if either she has the right opponent or the right story behind a match I'm usually pretty entertained. In this case it was the opponent in Kairi Sane and they just told a ok story of Kairi at first proving she had the killer instinct but then later on it changed to her heart to fight from behind despite the shot to the leg which was a bit odd honestly. However the actual wrestling between the 2 props it up a bit and very much entertained me ***

Tomasso Ciampa vs Johnny Gargano - I mean what am I meant to say here? the last 2 matches from these guys I loved but honestly this one didn't click with me at all. There was some ridiculous spots and I dunno it just didn't feel right and felt almost clunky. It makes sense why they were completely screwed and had to make an entirely new match due to the Black injury and WWE picked a very tricky stipulation to make work so they didn't have enough time to prepare for this. And that ending although the idea is literally exactly what I wanted (johnny losing again due to his sheer anger at Ciampa costing him) the execution was really poor as all Ciampa had to do was dodge and push Gargano and that ending is at least passable but having him connect yet still go flying....I hated it. This wasn't at all what I wanted to see and was really a disappointment for me personally. It wasn't a genuinely horrible match mind but it wasn't really all that good and the ending had the right idea for the story but executed it poorly. **1/2

Overall this takeover was still good but it's really a disappointment for me simply cause it doesn't match the sheer quality we'd gotten in previous ones this year especially for Brooklyn what's supposed to be their mania basically. I'd say the overall show gets a ***1/4 maybe ***1/2 it was good and by no means a bad show but it easily could have been much better in my view.


----------



## Pizzamorg

So what we thinking then, heel turn for Gargano now before a redemption story culminating at Brooklyn next year when Gargano wins the title?


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

Pizzamorg said:


> So what we thinking then, heel turn for Gargano now before a redemption story culminating at Brooklyn next year when Gargano wins the title?


Whatever gets Adam Cole the NXT Title :lol


----------



## Jedah

RainmakerV2 said:


> Sorry. But that finish was awful. It was one thing when it was in the heat of the moment last time, but he had him cuffed there, literally all he had to do was grab a chair and batter him or repeatedly superkick him unconscious and he would be the champ. His anger already got the best of him in their last match, basically gave Ciampa the title against Black, yet he still runs off the stage like a big doofus when all he had to do was stand there and beat him to death. Fuck outta here. Shit was lame.


That's the point though. Johnny is losing his mind. He has no logic in him.

I think the finish could have been better too but coming up with all these what ifs is ignoring that for him it's all instinct and emotion now.


----------



## RainmakerV2

Jedah said:


> That's the point though. Johnny is losing his mind. He has no logic in him.
> 
> I think the finish could have been better too but coming up with all these what ifs is ignoring that for him it's all instinct and emotion now.


Lol what. Be a crazed lunatic, grab a chair and beat his brains in, end his career and become champion. Theres a line between babyface fire and revenge and pure dumbassery and this fuckin guy crossed it.


----------



## Jman55

RainmakerV2 said:


> Lol what. Be a crazed lunatic, grab a chair and beat his brains in, end his career and become champion. Theres a line between babyface fire and revenge and pure dumbassery and this fuckin guy crossed it.


I don't mind Gargano going for the knee at all honestly as it's basically Ciampa's move so that part had at least some relevance.

The part of this ending that was shit was the fact that he hit the knee yet still went sailing off that's where this ending really pissed me off. If they did the exact same spot but had Gargano miss and get pushed off by Ciampa with the same result you have an infinitely better ending. I still wouldn't have been as into the match but it would have gone up to *** rather than the **1/2 I gave it as the ending especially hurt it imo.


----------



## Jedah

RainmakerV2 said:


> Lol what. Be a crazed lunatic, grab a chair and beat his brains in, end his career and become champion. Theres a line between babyface fire and revenge and pure dumbassery and this fuckin guy crossed it.


There wasn't a chair in the immediate area. Johnny isn't babyface fire at this point. He's a deranged, broken man who wants to kill Ciampa right this second. The knee was what was available to him. Plus it was Ciampa's own move.

I think the finish could have used improvement too but this is pedantry.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Look at what Dream did to EC3's face. Yikes. A wee bit sloppy:


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1031008357820366849


----------



## RainmakerV2

Jedah said:


> There wasn't a chair in the immediate area. Johnny isn't babyface fire at this point. He's a deranged, broken man who wants to kill Ciampa right this second. The knee was what was available to him. Plus it was Ciampa's own move.
> 
> I think the finish could have used improvement too but this is pedantry.


So was continuing to superkick him in the skull til he died. But no, let me run off the stage and dislocate my fucking knee. Explain it away all you want dude. Shit was dumb.


----------



## Jman55

Showstopper said:


> Look at what Dream did to EC3's face. Yikes. A wee bit sloppy:
> 
> 
> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1031008357820366849


yeah something definitely went wrong as I think I saw EC3 bleeding in that area near the end of the match.

This match proved to me that although he's definitely good people need to calm the hype slightly for Velveteen Dream as he still has a lot to learn (which is perfectly fine given his age.)


----------



## Jedah

It's obvious that Dream still needs another year at least in NXT.

The guy has everything to be the next major star in the industry but they'll fuck him up even worse if they call him up too soon. Should honestly stay until 2020.


----------



## TripleG

Overall, I'd say this was the, uh, weakest (for lack of a better word) TakeOver special in a while. Don't get me wrong. It was still an overall high quality show, just not the typical home run smash that I'm used to from NXT. 

- Opening tag match was great. I liked the callback to the towel throwing and alot of the tag team action. Some of the finisher kick outs were a bit much, but I found it to be a very good opener. And now we're getting War Raiders in the mix, so that's cool. 

- EC3 Vs. Velveteen Dream felt off for most of it. I'm not sure what happened, but they juts didn't seem to click as well as I'd hoped. It got better towards the end and I loved the finish, but they got lost somewhere in the middle. I can't put my finger on it, but something about the flow of the match just didn't feel right. I am glad Dream won though. 

- Cole Vs. Ricochet was a good match, but like the previous match, it also felt like something was a bit off in the early going like they weren't clicking quite right. Fortunately it picked up in the big way towards the end and some of the stuff Ricochet pulled off towards the end was just insane. And that superkick spot for the moonsault by Cole was just crazy. I was surprised we got a title change, but Ricochet isn't a bad option to hold the NA title at all. 

- Baezler Vs. Sane was good, not great, which was pretty much how I felt about their Mae Young Classic match last year. It never quite kicked into high gear, but I liked Shayna's rough bullying and dominating control. Sane winning was nice to see, although I do feel like they could have gotten some more out of Shayna as champ. Oh well. 

- The main event...oh boy. Okay, it was a really good match as you'd expect out of Ciampa and Gargano. Ciampa has got his heel persona down perfectly and Gargano being increasingly brutal and enraged is cool to see. However, it is the weakest of the three matches they've done so far. I already posted that I wasn't a huge fan of the finish because it just looked silly, but there were a few other things that took the match down a hair. For example, they spent ALOT of time setting up those two tables just for a fairly forgettable spot. 

However, I really enjoyed most of the match. I loved Johnny barely getting up before the ten to superkick a counting Ciampa out of his chair. I loved Ciampa piling up all the chairs and garbage (and even an unconscious body! lol) on top of Gargano. And I liked most of the callbacks to the previous matches like removing the padding, using the handcuffs, tearing up the ring mat, having Johnny reenact the DIY split by throwing Ciampa into the wall and so on and so on. It was a really good match that got taken down some steps by a silly finish and a few other missteps. 

So that's TakeOver. Another quality show is in the books, even if this one had more flaws than is typical of TakeOver.


----------



## JustAName

llj said:


> Ember was one of the least over babyface champs.
> 
> But it is true Kairi has cooled off too much since her debut


She's also not been put in any spot to succeed or have the chance to. Throwaway mini feuds and fillers


----------



## PrettyLush

Tag team title match was amazing as usual
VD vs. EC3 was okay, I guess. EC3 is too slow in the ring so some of the sequences and spots felt lacklustre
NA title match was great. Cole is a 3.5 stars general but the presence of Richocet helps a tons.
Women's title match felt rushed. Not a fan of the finish and Shayna should've retained IMO.
Main-event was amazing although the finish could have been better. I think Last Standing match is a bad booking decision and it's better to have a traditional match that'll ends in a draw.

All in all, It's still a great PPV as expected from NXT.


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

Just rewatched the whole show because it was that good. Upon further review, I am placing Cole/Ricochet slightly ahead of Gargano/Ciampa. I am so impressed with Moustache Mountain, Tyler Bate in particular,


----------



## PrettyLush

Damn Shiv you're a machine. That's like, 4 hours of wrestling (good wrestling, that is).


----------



## Oneiros

J'onn J'onzz said:


> Who I'm rooting for:
> - Dream
> - Ricochet
> - Undisputed Era
> - Kairi
> - Ciampa
> 
> Guess I'll see how happy I get tomorrow morning.


:nak


----------



## candice-wrestling

Loved the whole show top to bottom. 

- The opening match was fantastic, so so good. I'm a little surprised UE retained because for some reason I had it in my head they were going to the main roster. Anyways I'm excited to see War Raiders vs. UE from here on out. 

- EC3/Dream was good, not that big on EC3 so I was very happy that Dream won and holy moly that elbow on the ring apron. Also lol at his pants "call me up Vince" I don't think you want that buddy. 

- Cole/Ricochet was awesome! Probably my favorite of the night. Happy for Ricochet and I just had a feeling he would win but it does leave me curious as to where Cole goes from here especially since Strong & O'Reilly retained their titles. 

- Kairi/Shayna was good as well, very happy for Kairi! Keen to see where she goes with this reign. That work on foot though was gross, was literally holding my ankle as it was happening. 

- Gargano/Ciampa was GREAT! So brutal and I loved the ending, thought the whole "Johnny was so intent on taking out Ciampa he took out himself" shtick was a great ending. I hope Johnny isn't actually hurt though.


----------



## JustAName

Tsvetoslava said:


> Let's be honest guys, if we had this finish on Summerslam we would riot


That's because you don't understand storytelling and this story HAD to have Ciampa win or double count out, it was a PERFECT finish where Gargano looked like he should have won, but Ciampa escaped with the belt because Gargano was so hell bent on destroying Ciampa he didn't care about his own well being which was his downfall. PERFECT storytelling, complain, bitch, whine and moan, it shows you're biased or ignorant to what a story is.

Everyone thinking every single match needs a clean finish whether it fits the story told or not is missing something



Proxy said:


> That made Gargano look really bad. I would've preferred a double count out.


Please explain how, with logic, not emotions, good luck, it makes him look exactly how the story is suppose to go


----------



## Anglefan4lifeV1

SHIV:THE OTHER WHITE MEAT said:


> Just rewatched the whole show because it was that good. Upon further review, I am placing Cole/Ricochet slightly ahead of Gargano/Ciampa. I am so impressed with Moustache Mountain, Tyler Bate in particular,



Tyler Bate is possibly my favorite talent not on the main roster. He was great in the UK tournament. Everyone saw what he was capable of with Dunne and this tag team really picked up his momentum again.

Shame he had some heat on him which made him disappear, so happy to see him shine again. (That double airplane spin followed by dead lift german with a man on his back?)


----------



## SHIVV-EAUX-EMME-GEEE

I want to commend whoever formats the matches for making a very compelling and emotionally investing Last Man Standing match. This blew AJ/Nak out of the water.


----------



## JustAName

Ambrose Girl said:


> I enjoyed the main event, but I also thought the finish was a bit stupid. I get the story they were trying to tell with anger so consuming Gargano that he just went for it without thinking, but at the same time, he looked so damn stupid. Plus Ciampa won cos the handcuffs made sure he couldn't fall over and had to stand up, which is... a tad lame. But maybe this means they're running out of ideas for this feud and it's time to end it now. I thought their last two matches were better, but it was still really good.
> 
> Tag match was my MOTN, followed by Cole & Ricochet, then the main event, then the women's match then Dream/EC3.



They are not running out of ideas for Gargano and Ciampa, this was a last minute change of the entire match as it was planned to be a triple threat match, they had also locked themselves into a corner where the outcome of the match had to be Ciampa winning without ruining Gargano's credibility to be able to beat him down the line.

With as little time as they had to make this match and how tied their hands were with the story they are telling there isn't much more they could do and if you don't grasp the story and what not, yeah it's gonna suck cause you're not into the core of what the match is about, but if you follow the consistency of the story everything they did and how it ended made perfect sense. 

This does exactly what majority wanted before the match given the match was happening:

Keeps the belt on Ciampa, which is an absolute necessity to not kill the comeback story they have down the line

Make Gargano's downfall be his emotions, which is the entire point of the ending, it's suppose to be "stupid" because his emotions are driving him, not logic, irrationality which is the very definition of emotions.

Make it look like Gargano could have won the match in defeat which they did by selling his knee blowing out so he literally couldn't stand and only lose because Ciampa managed to show smarts by rolling off the stage supported by the handcuffs.

What exactly are people not getting, complaining about when it comes to the rationality and logic of the story? It has 0 holes and it was executed about as good as is possible could be with the match they had?

You can call emotions stupid, fine, but in that case the finish needed to be "stupid" and it was everything it needed to be and it wasn't sloppy or phoned in one bit, so again if you don't like the story they are telling, fine, but don't try to find holes that are not there because you don't like it. (Most of this post is generally speaking and not aimed at you at all in most instances, just choose to quote your post, only part directed at you is the running out of idea's part which I find silly to think given the circumstance of the match)


----------



## 751161

Another great Takeover. Triple H proving once again he's running the A-Show right now. :trips2 Was a very entertaining show from top-to-bottom.

- *Undipsuted Era vs. Moustache Mountain* was excellent. Easily one of my favourite Tag Matches this year, and hell, maybe since Takeover: Orlando. I found it _that_ good. I just loved how high energy & action packed it was right from the get go. Every guy played his part well, Tyler Bate was incredible. It's so hard to believe he's 21 years old, it really is. I was even impressed with Trent Seven, who I usually am not huge on. Just an excellent match, and all you'd expect from a Tag really. It had everything you'd want. Great action, memorable spots, crowd involvement, good storytelling. If I was to nitpick (but it personally didn't bother me) there were probably too many kickouts, but it honestly didn't hurt it or take me out of the match.

- *EC3/Dream*, I don't have too many thoughts on. I'd actually have to re-watch it, which shows you how forgettable it was. It wasn't awful from what I recall, but it was basically a TV match. The closing moments with Dream were the best parts, he hit some beautiful moves to finish, and that was about it.

- *Cole/Ricochet* was really good. It started out quite slow & worried me a little, but as soon as both guys got rolling, it picked up big-time. Cole really looked great here. I loved his Superkick, that was fucking beautiful. Ricochet was a shock winner to me, I really didn't think he'd win a Title so soon in NXT. I'm not angry about it, though. Maybe this just means bigger things for Cole.

- I loved* Kairi vs. Shayna*. Was surprised by how much I did actually. It had some great storytelling. Despite me not being too big on Shayna, I can't deny that she plays the Heel role super well in matches. She actually does detestable acts, and gets the appropriate response from the crowd. Some of those submissions looked legitimately brutal, she really excels there. It's just her style can sometimes get pretty boring if she's controlling the whole match. However, I thought this was her best match to date. I felt like Kairi got in her head more than others have been able to, and she brought the fight & rage back towards her. Kairi didn't felt out of her depth with Shayna, it just felt more competitive for once. Just a classic Babyface vs. Heel showdown. Really well done. :clap Honestly I'd go as far to say it's one of the best women's matches this year. The result also helped making everything feel way better, was great to see Kairi win & she deserved it. I've seen some on Twitter that are nit picking she won with a roll-up, but at least she won the Title & looked strong throughout the match. It wasn't like she got ragdolled the whole match, she brought a good fight.

- *Gargano vs. Ciampa* was once again great. I'll never get over Ciampa's entrance, I just love how he comes out to no theme, fancy lights or any of that shit. Just the pure crowd response. Some might call it a forced reaction now, but it really makes his character feel like some kind of final boss. Their feud has delivered constantly, despite what some might think about it going on too long. I wouldn't say it topped their past encounters, but it was still really good. The storytelling was on point once again, both Ciampa & Gargano just _get it_, they know how to tell a story in the middle of the ring. The finish was great. :lmao I thought Ciampa returning was the right choice (despite being a Gargano fan). I don't think Johnny is in in the right frame of mind right now to win a title, we need to see his character reform first & get over his demons. I will say I was surprised to see Ciampa just retain though, I was expecting a draw. I love Johnny's character development, it's really quite awesome.


----------



## fabi1982

What a great Takeover. Really shows that NXT does produce the best PPVs in WWE by far.

First of what a great crowd, throughout the whole PPV they were loud and had fun. That happens when you give the fans what they want, a great show.

Tag team match: for me match of the night, UE is just soo fucking great and MM also put all in which brought us this great match. Good UE retained, especially with Cole losing the title.

Dream/EC3: the tights from Dream, this made the match for me. In other words a good match at best.

Cole/Ricco: great match and surpise title change. Cole gave it his all but it wasnt enough, looking forward whats now on the road for Cole.

Bazler/Sane: best womens match in WWE this year, I was on the edge of my seat especially with the title change in the match before I was sure Bazler would retain, but I was very happy that Sane did it.

Ciampa/Gargano: I think they made the best out of the situation. A really good LMS match and good it wasnt ending in a draw, as this would have brought up a lot of issues in the future. This way we see Gargano struggling and hopefully a short heel turn to then start his redemption road next year.

Overall a great PPV a great Takeover. Really hope SS can do 50% of this PPV, which would make me happy as fuck.


----------



## TheEater of Worlds

Ricohet Ricochet Ricochet!!! Ricochet is amazing. He deserves that.


----------



## Jman55

JustAName said:


> That's because you don't understand storytelling and this story HAD to have Ciampa win or double count out, it was a PERFECT finish where Gargano looked like he should have won, but Ciampa escaped with the belt because Gargano was so hell bent on destroying Ciampa he didn't care about his own well being which was his downfall. PERFECT storytelling, complain, bitch, whine and moan, it shows you're biased or ignorant to what a story is.
> 
> Everyone thinking every single match needs a clean finish whether it fits the story told or not is missing something


I think the idea of the ending was perfect but the execution of the ending was shit. Johnny did look too much like an idiot cause there was no reason even in his anger for him to go sailing off after connecting with the knee. 

I've said a few times if he tries the knee in the same moment of anger misses and Ciampa throws him off with him landing on his knee like what happened then you have a much better executed version of that ending. It was definitely the perfect idea it just had poor execution.


----------



## Jersey

NXT delivered once again from top to bottom. Riccochet vs Adam Cole (Bay Bay) stole the show for sure. Cole will probably get a rematch before moving on to the nxt title scene.

- Velveteen deserved to get the win, I do see another match with these two.

- Shayna losing shocked me especially since her friend ronda was present. Maybe She'll get the title back or perhaps Kairi will feud with Bianca.


----------



## RollinsHardyStyles

They teased UE/Ricochet continues and a Ricochet/Dunne match in the fallout video on YouTube. I wonder if this leads to the 3v3v3 WarGames match like last year with Undisputed ERA vs British Strong Style vs Ricochet and War Raiders. Not sure when Fish is expected to be back but I was expecting a 4v4 with Undisputed ERA vs Ricochet and British Strong Style but not sure where that leaves War Raiders.


----------



## JustAName

Jman55 said:


> I think the idea of the ending was perfect but the execution of the ending was shit. Johnny did look too much like an idiot cause there was no reason even in his anger for him to go sailing off after connecting with the knee.
> 
> I've said a few times if he tries the knee in the same moment of anger misses and Ciampa throws him off with him landing on his knee like what happened then you have a much better executed version of that ending. It was definitely the perfect idea it just had poor execution.


I view it more as he wanted to take Ciampa's head off so he overshoot the momentum because his focus was only on crushing his head not thinking about what speed or anything would make sense, so that's why I don't think the ending was bad or made him look bad. If you completely loose it nothing really matters and if you have 1 goal in mind in that mindset nothing else matters so I can buy into the finish perfectly fine. I also think this protects him more because this is him beating himself and not Ciampa beating him which it would be if he threw him off, see my point?


----------



## Tornado31619

Kairi vs. Shayna was MOTN for me TBH. I hate Kairi, but she and Shayna both knew what they were doing. This was the underdog standing up to the bully, David vs. Goliath. They didn’t have to kill themselves in order to get over, unlike the other matches. MM’s tag finisher, the Moonsault into a Superkick and the three Project Ciampas should have ended their respective matches.


----------



## Jman55

JustAName said:


> I view it more as he wanted to take Ciampa's head off so he overshoot the momentum because his focus was only on crushing his head not thinking about what speed or anything would make sense, so that's why I don't think the ending was bad or made him look bad. If you completely loose it nothing really matters and if you have 1 goal in mind in that mindset nothing else matters so I can buy into the finish perfectly fine. I also think this protects him more because this is him beating himself and not Ciampa beating him which it would be if he threw him off, see my point?


I dunno I think Ciampa throwing him off would have still got the same message across since he was helpless and Johnny could have basically just left him be or done the gargano escape if he was thinking properly but instead in his pychotic state goes for Ciampa's own move for poetic justice and that screws him over with Ciampa's reversal.

I can understand your reasons though it just didn't work for me personally (to be honest bar a few pretty cool spots like Ciampa's unique ways to break the count and Gargano jumping up to do the superkick the whole match just didn't have the same impact for me as the first 2 did so might be a slight bias for that reason)


----------



## Psychosocial

Why did this TakeOver start at 7 ET/6 CT and when was that announced? I just assumed it'd start at 7 where I'm at because that's when my first 5 TakeOvers started and I thought I was watching the opening match when Cole/Ricochet came on. Had to go back and watch the two matches I missed before that once the main event was over. Also, I think those that like to call Brooklyn NXT's Mania should reconsider that given the show being just 2.5 hours long. NOLA was just over 3 hours back in April.

Anyways, contrary to what a lot of you have said on here, I thought this was the second best TakeOver of 2018 after NOLA. The main event was the worst of the year and honestly struggled to get me emotionally invested at times given that I've seen most of the spots before, but they still found ways to incorporate their history, use some of their old spots really well, and even added something unique to this bout with a few new inventive offenses, Ciampa in particular. Absolutely loved the barricade spot and the one with Gargano getting up at 9 and superkicking Ciampa out of his chair. Didn't really think there'd be a winner and that a draw was a near certainty, but the finish made sense the more that I think about it. Gargano had a moment where he nearly reverted back to Johnny Wrestling when Ciampa kept apologizing to him while he was cuffed, but he quickly got back into his sadistic mode and tried one last time to kill him, with his own move, and ended up beating himself again in the process. Ciampa slithers his way to another big victory and Johnny was left hurt and devastated as to what he had just done again to end the show. Awesome stuff even if it wasn't their best work of the year, but that's not really their fault with Black's injury ruining the initial plans. Their feud is starting to get oversaturated though so taking a break for a little while would probably be a good idea, maybe let them feud with others for the time being and have their finale in New York for Mania weekend next April. Gives Johnny plenty of time to return to the Gargano we all knew and loved and allows Ciampa to have a longer, meaningful reign as champion which he honestly has earned with his great work since his return.

Baszler/Sane was a very good match too, ticked all the right boxes for me all the way down to the surprise finish and Kairi's emotional celebration afterwards. Something definitely felt missing here, but it was the best match I've seen from either woman or from this title since Brooklyn 3. Still feel Kairi has even more to offer though that they're just not letting her show for some reason. Maybe the potential Io feud will bring the very best out of her. I think the finish does two things, it exposes Shayna's arrogance as she thought that this would be another cakewalk for her and didn't plan for someone to break out of her submission hold and beat her like that and it also was a faulty enough finish that she has claim to get a rematch, probably at Evolution, even if she does go up to the main roster now. Kairi can face her again then and Bianca at War Games, which is all fine with me.

Cole/Ricochet was everything I hoped for and then some. I never understood why people here were saying that match would be a disappointment, I guess that's due to them not liking one or both of them more than them not actually being able to put up a quality match. Started a bit slow but picked up in the best way possible. Some insane spots and if you weren't hooked to your TV set for the last 4-5 minutes, you really should find a new hobby altogether. Didn't really feel that Ricochet was ready from a character standpoint to take the title, but it'll be interesting to see where they go from here with both guys with both likely to be involved in the War Games match and the NA title likely to not be defended on that one. Ricochet raising the belt at the end before he went back where he'd do his usual signature pose was a really cool image too. Thoroughly enjoyed this.

EC3/Dream was essentially a TV match like someone said but with a TakeOver finish. Velveteen with a homage to Hogan-Shawn 2005 with his overselling while on the ropes in the corner. I thought he did fine so I don't really get why he's getting some stick here for that match, it's hard to carry someone like EC3 who clearly isn't that good in-ring and isn't interesting enough away from the mic to garner stronger crowd reactions. It was fine for what it was and really glad Dream got the win otherwise he'd have been branded a loser as he never had a big TakeOver win before last night.

The UE/MM tag match was sublime, probably the worst of the 3 they've had so far but that's just a testament to how high they set the bar in their previous bouts but it was still the best TakeOver tag title match since the AOP/DIY/Revival triple threat in Orlando last year. Every guy looked great here, especially Bate who is just a monster of a talent. Scary to think how good he'll be when he reaches his physical and wrestling prime later on, he could be the pro wrestling star of the 2020s if he continues like this. Superb stuff. Nice to see War Raiders getting involved afterwards too, that's going to be quite the war (no pun intended) over the coming months.

Overall, the show was fantastic and each match offered something unique to the experience. It's a tough call, but I'd have ranked them like this personally:

1) Cole/Ricochet
2) Ciampa/Gargano
3) Baszler/Sane
4) UE/MM
5) EC3/Dream

And to those complaining that this TakeOver wasn't as good as usual (I thought it definitely was though), would you complain if your favorite team won a SuperBowl with a 13-3 record rather than a 16-0 record? Don't think you would. Whether this show had four matches that could be rated over 4 stars or just two, does it really matter? It was a quality show and I highly doubt you weren't thoroughly entertained by it at least at some point.

NXT fans are very spoiled if a TakeOver like this one is considered the poorest in a while but still a high quality event. But rest assured, you'll feel a lot more grateful for these specials after watching an event like SummerSlam tonight. It's a cliche at this point but the difference between NXT and the main roster is like night and day, this weekend will be further proof of that by the end of tonight.


----------



## Heel To Face

Just wait for the 7 hour raw they call summerslam now we are about to shit through and than complain about this takeover. 

I will always say it NXT does it right short and sweet. They build matches that you actually care about. I have no trouble saying it now before summerlsam even happens. NXT last night is better than summerslam as a whole show.


----------



## Victor Chaos

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1031009254092824576


----------



## Whoanma

Making It Rain said:


> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1031009254092824576


:shockedpunk :heston


----------



## wkc_23

Making It Rain said:


> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1031009254092824576


SummerSlam, as Vinnie Mac would say, has no chance in hell.


----------



## RollinsHardyStyles

Guys, Sasha is not even on the SummerSlam card. So I read this as kind of a taunt, that she could follow that if she was allowed to. But, dont know...


----------



## Piers

Just started watching, I really dislike how they have challengers enter after the champions.

Edit : amazing tag team match, MOTY contender right here. But they need to slow down on the kicked-out finishers


----------



## 751161

Making It Rain said:


> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1031009254092824576


----------



## RiverFenix

The ending of the Gargano/Ciampa match needed a bigger injury spot for Gargano I think. Also I would have had Ciampa's momentum from the move carry him over to hanging knocked out standing rather than moving at the last second - which I think he botched by waiting so late and then quickly and emphatically moving. I think if he was hanging there "standing" the whole count fans would have better realized what was happening rather than assuming a double count out. I actually really like the idea behind the finish of Ciampa hanging in a standing position for the finish - execution was a bit lacking unfortunately. 

MM vs Undisputed was really good. Trent Seven spamming Japanese wrestling finishers was pandering as all hell. But again I'm biased against him, and I'm sure fans of his loved it. TUE is so bloody good - their timing is ridiculously good on interference spots. 

Dream vs ECIII was pointless. Only thing I liked was Dream's homage gear to Notorious B.I.G. I guess this match allowed Dream to get a "big" win on a Take Over. ECIII should be on the main roster midcard somewhere, he won't connect or get over in NXT because his ring work is so lacking. 

Kairi Sane vs Shayna Baszler was much better than many here were giving it credit for live. Shayna's offense was so grimy and her spots torquing the knee and ankle of Sane was vicious looking. There is nobody like her on the main roster either - I assume she's heading up there ASAP to be alongside Ronda, which will be good for both. Rousey needs to heel, win the title and have Shayna as her second outside the ring with her at all times. Then they could include Duke and Shafir in beatdowns to set up Horsewomen vs Horsewomen at Survivor Series. Fall out from that match could see Charlotte vs Ronda, Becky vs Shayna and then kick off Sasha vs Bayley, with Marina and Jessamyn going back to NXT. 

Ricochet vs Cole was probably my MOTN by process of elimination - but isn't in MOTY consideration. That moonsault into superkick spot was insane and so on-point. Ricochet I feel has the big flashy moves but something is missing during his matches - he for whatever reason doesn't have in-ring charisma that naturally draws fans into him. He doesn't transition well between spots and they come off as obviously planned. Particularly on the over the top hurricanrana to the floor spot he was waiting for Cole to get up and just stood there waiting - maybe it was Cole's fault in taking too long to role into position. Maybe the referee should have been holding up Ricochet from attacking Cole on the outside - like what they do in stopping tope spots on occasion.


----------



## The Masked Avenger

Jman55 said:


> I dunno I think Ciampa throwing him off would have still got the same message across since he was helpless and Johnny could have basically just left him be or done the gargano escape if he was thinking properly but instead in his pychotic state goes for Ciampa's own move for poetic justice and that screws him over with Ciampa's reversal.
> 
> I can understand your reasons though it just didn't work for me personally (to be honest bar a few pretty cool spots like Ciampa's unique ways to break the count and Gargano jumping up to do the superkick the whole match just didn't have the same impact for me as the first 2 did so might be a slight bias for that reason)


No, he 100% right about the way it's suppose to be portrayed. Johnny isn't thinking about how he's going to land after hitting Ciampa, he has tunnel vision. The only thing that matters to him in the moment is making sure knee-connects-with-face and he'll figure the rest out later. His hatred causes him to lose the match. 


Johnny lost the match more than Ciampa won it but that's not how Ciampa is going to spin it. Ciampa would have won had he thrown Johnny off the stage and he dislocated his knee but that's not compelling considering he was tapping to Johnny's submission move (name escapes me) not that long before. 


Johnny makes a mistake and he pays for it. He did it in Chicago to lose, he did it at Full Sail and it caused his enemy to win the title, he did it in Brooklyn and he got "injured". Now he can step back and focus. 


Ciampa rolling off the stage at the last second to win was perfect. It was a cheap way to stand up with no effort and by him being handcuffed it helped him stand so again Johnny's actions worked against him. I like how they teased that action earlier in the match when Johnny DDTed Ciampa on the exposed boards but Ciampa rolled out before the end of the count and the announcers made note of it.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Sasha getting shit on on Twitter for saying "Easy."

What a clown.

I love it.

Tyler Bate might be the best person in all of NXT. He's that talented.


----------



## Piers

Hmmm I don't see what was wrong with the women's finish, on the other hand the main event's was kind of dumb and made Johnny look stupid IMO



Showstopper said:


> Tyler Bate might be the best person in all of NXT. He's that talented.


I want him as NXT Champion at least once, he deserves it.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

They Call Him Y2J said:


> I want him as NXT Champion at least once, he deserves it.


Same.


----------



## RiverFenix

Only thing wrong with women's finish is that Moon beat Shayna in that very way already mere months ago. So Shayna didn't learn from that and is still getting beat that way. 

I would have just did an exposed turn buckle spot or something, Shayna exposes it and it backfires when she runs into it and then gets rolled up or something. I mean Baszler kicked out of two Insane Elbows, so they wanted to protect her in the loss in a major way so it was always going to be a flash pin - it's just too bad Moon already beat her in this way. She should have shown she learned by giving up the sub this time around.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Watching the tag match now, I honest to God don't know how anyone can think any of the other matches topped this. It was the clear MOTN.


----------



## Switchblade Club

Showstopper said:


> Watching the tag match now, I honest to God don't know how anyone can think any of the other matches topped this. It was the clear MOTN.


I'm rewatching the tag match, Cole match and the main event right now.

Nothing will even come close to these tonight :lmao


----------



## Tornado31619

Showstopper said:


> Watching the tag match now, I honest to God don't know how anyone can think any of the other matches topped this. It was the clear MOTN.


It was too unrealistic.


----------



## BehindYou

Psychosocial said:


> EC3/Dream was essentially a TV match like someone said but with a TakeOver finish. Velveteen with a homage to Hogan-Shawn 2005 with his overselling while on the ropes in the corner. I thought he did fine so I don't really get why he's getting some stick here for that match, it's hard to carry someone like EC3 who clearly isn't that good in-ring and isn't interesting enough away from the mic to garner stronger crowd reactions. It was fine for what it was and really glad Dream got the win otherwise he'd have been branded a loser as he never had a big TakeOver win before last night.


 I thought Dream got a lot out of EC3, I haven't tracked down everything he's done but I don't rmember seeing him have a better singles match then last night. Dude's just below bar in the ring.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Tornado31619 said:


> It was too unrealistic.


I'm sold.


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

Showstopper said:


> Watching the tag match now, I honest to God don't know how anyone can think any of the other matches topped this. It was the clear MOTN.


Personally I never buy this throwing the towel in tag matches. When it is one on one and your manager or stable does it, I understand it and it actually provides a layer to the match. However, in a tag match where we have seen hundreds of examples throughout the years that partners breaking up the pins, submissions whatever, it felt uneffective and stupid.

Another part of that took me out was how Seven busted out the legendary japanese finishers back to back to back but it didn't work and got pinned by a lesser move himself. It was a good exhibition of moves but it was just that. Good actually great, fast and crisp exhibition of moves where I never find nothing to invest myself in.


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

Cole/Ricochet last night topped Gargano/Ciampa from NOLA as my WWE & NXT match of the year, that match was absolute perfection from top to bottom. Talk about tearing the house down, that's exactly what these two did and then some.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

ReekOfAwesomenesss said:


> Personally I never buy this throwing the towel in tag matches. When it is one on one and your manager or stable does it, I understand it and it actually provides a layer to the match. However, in a tag match where we have seen hundreds of examples throughout the years that partners breaking up the pins, submissions whatever, it felt uneffective.
> 
> Another part of that took me out was how Seven busted out the legendary japanese finishers back to back to back but it didn't work and got pinned in a way less move himself. It was a good exhibition of moves but it was just that. Good actually great, fast and crisp exhibition of moves where I never find anything to invest myself in.


The towel wasn't thrown in, though. That was their previous match.

Meh. You can say that it feels like an exhibition for most matches, tbh. Pretty much all Ricochet matches are like that. This match had more of a flow to it where it didn't feel like high-flying move after high-flying move to me.

This was the MOTN.


----------



## MC

Very simple. The tag match was good, some other matches were better. :shrug


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Clearly, not everyone feels that way. :shrug


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

Showstopper said:


> The towel wasn't thrown in, though. That was their previous match.


Yeah but even the little moment of Seven with the towel was enough. In another company and set of rules it would work but in WWE it seems wonky.


It was a nice card but nothing not a single match I would go back watch years later.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

ReekOfAwesomenesss said:


> Yeah but even the little moment of Seven with the towel was enough. In another company and set of rules it would work but in WWE it seems wonky.


Meh. You said he threw it into the ring, when he did not. Kind of hurts your argument to say the least.

It was a good callback spot to their previous match, and the towel didn't get thrown in (thankfully). They utilized it quite well.


----------



## Jman55

Showstopper said:


> Watching the tag match now, I honest to God don't know how anyone can think any of the other matches topped this. It was the clear MOTN.


even though it was my match of the night as well mind if I debate this for the hell of it? :lol

First off it does have stiff competition in Cole vs Ricochet which in its own right was a great match to watch and was my personal second favourite (literally a 1/4* less than the tag match to me) so it isn't quite head and shoulders above every single match.

Also there were maybe 1 or 2 too many finisher kickouts. As one person mentioned in a tag match you have an out for this with a tag partner who can interfere and break up pinfalls yet they never used this out and outright had them kickout (this part was done better in the match against Lorcan and Burch where they didn't outright kickout too often but their tag partner was always there just in time) which did go very slightly too far at times (honestly without that flaw I'm looking at a possible ****1/2 rating rather than just ****)

So yeah there are reasons for why it might not be seen for MOTN though it is a great match that part definitely can't be denied imo.


----------



## ChrisMC

Can I just say I was there live and this was easily the best show I have ever seen in person. It was my first ever NXT show and I was expecting to be impressed but I was blown away. The tag match especially was phenomenal and within the arena it was sooo hyped throughout the entire show. So much fun all around and every single match delivered. I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending of Gargano vs. Ciampa but it didn’t take away from the show overall. And just so y’all know they taped NXT beforehand and there are going to be two great matches there as well. Bianca Belair (I was pumped to see her live because she is my NXT fav) vs. Deonna Purrazzo and Pete Dunn vs. Zack Gibson for the UK Title.


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

Showstopper said:


> Meh. You said he threw it into the ring, when he did not. Kind of hurts your argument to say the least.
> 
> It was a good callback spot to their previous match, and the towel didn't get thrown in (thankfully). They utilized it quite well.


I didn't say he *threw* the towel into the ring. I said the concept of throwing a towel in a tag match is no buy from me. It just takes me out of a match. Maybe I wasn't really open but clearly didn't say ''he threw'' lol.


----------



## ObsoleteMule

While I believe it was a step below the previous Takeover, this was still another excellent show. Theres almost nothing the main roster can do today to top this show. 

I love how all their shows leave me with a really satisfied feeling without the usual burnout i get from the main roster


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

Jman55 said:


> even though it was my match of the night as well mind if I debate this for the hell of it? :lol
> 
> First off it does have stiff competition in Cole vs Ricochet which in its own right was a great match to watch and was my personal second favourite (literally a 1/4* less than the tag match to me) so it isn't quite head and shoulders above every single match.
> 
> Also there were maybe 1 or 2 too many finisher kickouts. As one person mentioned in a tag match you have an out for this with a tag partner who can interfere and break up pinfalls yet they never used this out and outright had them kickout (this part was done better in the match against Lorcan and Burch where they didn't outright kickout too often but their tag partner was always there just in time) which did go very slightly too far at times (honestly without that flaw I'm looking at a possible ****1/2 rating rather than just ****)
> 
> So yeah there are reasons for why it might not be seen for MOTN though it is a great match that part definitely can't be denied imo.


Ricochet/Cole was a disappointment for me tbh. First half of the match they kind of lost the crowd and then crammed everything into the second half. I guess part of me can't blame them because with today's fans, they only seem to remember the second half of matches due to short attention spans. It just seemed to be missing that second gear for me with very little psychology.


----------



## MC

Showstopper said:


> Clearly, not everyone feels that way. :shrug


Obviously they don't. Just like not everyone thinks the tag match was match of the night. Everyone has there own perception of things


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

ReekOfAwesomenesss said:


> I didn't say he *threw* the towel into the ring. I said the concept of throwing a towel in a tag match is no buy from me. It just takes me out of a match. Maybe I wasn't really open but clearly didn't say ''he threw'' lol.


Oh okay. Either way, I don't see how a small few second thing can take someone out of a 20 minute match with non-stop action, but alright.



MC 16 said:


> Obviously they don't. Just like not everyone thinks the tag match was match of the night. Everyone has there own perception of things


Of course. Which is why I rarely see anyone in these threads agree with your takes.


----------



## Jman55

Showstopper said:


> Ricochet/Cole was a disappointment for me tbh. First half of the match they kind of lost the crowd and then crammed everything into the second half. I guess part of me can't blame them because with today's fans, they only seem to remember the second half of matches due to short attention spans. It just seemed to be missing that second gear for me with very little psychology.


that's fair I do think it had the psychology but the slow start isn't going to be for everyone I just thought it was used well for the context of the story (Adam Cole seemingly proving his point that he's a special talent and Ricochet isn't) before the second half kicked it into high gear with the second half of the story where Ricochet shows that he truly is better than Cole like he claims to be.

Will it work for everyone I doubt it but it personally worked for me.


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

I think this is still the best WWE match of the year. From bell to bell the perfect pro wrestling match. Normal one on one, no reliance on weapons, overbooking or high spots. Perfection.


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

Showstopper said:


> Ricochet/Cole was a disappointment for me tbh. First half of the match they kind of lost the crowd and then crammed everything into the second half. I guess part of me can't blame them because with today's fans, they only seem to remember the second half of matches due to short attention spans. It just seemed to be missing that second gear for me with very little psychology.


Lost the crowd ? :lol where? They had the crowd invested in every single moment. Maybe you're not a fan of matches building towards the action? Because that's exactly what they did, they didn't blow their load and go all out in the beginning they told a story and gradually built towards the big payoff of it in Ricochet being "better" than Cole. The match literally had everything.

The tag match was great no doubt but had moments of foolishness with the towel throwing tease and quite a bit of finishes hit. I don't even think they topped TUE v. Lorcan/Burch from Chicago.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

MarkyWhipwreck said:


> Lost the crowd ? :lol where? They had the crowd invested in every single moment. Maybe you're not a fan of matches building towards the action? Because that's exactly what they did, they didn't blow their load and go all out in the beginning they told a story and gradually built towards the big payoff of it in Ricochet being "better" than Cole. The match literally had everything.
> 
> The tag match was great no doubt but had moments of foolishness with the towel throwing tease and quite a bit of finishes hit. I don't even think they topped TUE v. Lorcan/Burch from Chicago.


There were long stretches of the first half of the match where the crowd wasn't into it. Building to the action is one thing; saving everything for the last 5 minutes is another.

The towel thing being brought up is hilarious to me. It was used for a total of about 5 seconds and didn't figure into the match or the outcome. Their previous match? Yes. Big factor as it was thrown in and teased for along time by Bate.


----------



## ChrisMC

MarkyWhipwreck said:


> *Lost the crowd ? :lol where?* They had the crowd invested in every single moment. Maybe you're not a fan of matches building towards the action? Because that's exactly what they did, they didn't blow their load and go all out in the beginning they told a story and gradually built towards the big payoff of it in Ricochet being "better" than Cole. The match literally had everything.
> 
> The tag match was great no doubt but had moments of foolishness with the towel throwing tease and quite a bit of finishes hit. I don't even think they topped TUE v. Lorcan/Burch from Chicago.


Yes, take it from someone who was there live, the crowd was never lost. They were totally hyped from start to finish. Lol.


----------



## RiverFenix

ReekOfAwesomenesss said:


> I think this is still the best WWE match of the year. From bell to bell the perfect pro wrestling match. Normal one on one, no reliance on weaponsi overbooking or high spots. Perfection.


Yep. It's also where, hindsight 20/20, they should have put the strap on Gargano. Crowd was thirsty as hell for it and he was at the peak of his overness.


----------



## Mr. WrestleMania

ReekOfAwesomenesss said:


> I think this is still the best WWE match of the year. From bell to bell the perfect pro wrestling match. Normal one on one, no reliance on weapons, overbooking or high spots. Perfection.


Definitely up there with Gargano/Ciampa I for me. It was pretty perfect.


----------



## TD Stinger

I would say the only match that lost the crowd was EC3 vs. Dream when EC3 was on offense.

Other than that all the matches had good crowd investment. There were dead moments in every match where the crowd was waiting for the next big thing, even in the opening tag match.

Honestly the match that felt like it had the most consistent crowd reaction was the women's match because it was shorter and more well structured.


----------



## MarkyWhipwreck

Showstopper said:


> There were long stretches of the first half of the match where the crowd wasn't into it. Building to the action is one thing; saving everything for the last 5 minutes is another.
> 
> The towel thing being brought up is hilarious to me. It was used for a total of about 5 seconds and didn't figure into the match or the outcome. Their previous match? Yes. Big factor as it was thrown in and teased for along time by Bate.


But that's the thing, they didn't save everything for the last 5 minutes. They saved the two biggest spots for the finish absolutely, that makes sense but there was plenty of action well before Cole hit the superkick. The spots got better and better as the match went on which is how a match should be built.

Everyone has an opinion tho, I personally think Cole/Ric was undoubtedly the motn. And that's not to slate the tag match as that was great as well.


----------



## ReekOfAwesomenesss

Okay normally I'm not in the group of ''main roster follow that'', not because I don't agree but it just I'm not. However I love this thread cause we as bunch of people arguing on what was the best match about a single card. Decent card for Takeover standards I might add. I'm sure we wouldn't come up with more options if the topic was ''what is the best match of the main roster in entire 2018?''. lol.


----------



## thorwold

The main event was really good once it got going, but you can tell that was basically the match they had laid out to do in Chicago before having to ditch the Last Man Standing angle, because it had the EXACT SAME ENDING! His obsession with destroying Ciampa cost Johnny the match. What progressed here? Absolutely nothing. Disappointed.

I felt that way about the opener as well, though to a far lesser degree. Amazing match 99% of the way, but after all of the kickouts from UE, for Trent to go down so simply and straightforwardly was a disappointing way for this feud to end for me. I hate matches like that (Gargano-Ciampa in the Cruiserweight Classic, and Elgin-Okada in last years G1 are others that come immediately to mind) the loser ends up really looking like a loser. Still, the good stuff in this was the best stuff on the whole show if you ask me. I don't know what Tyler Bate did to get in the bad books, but he's so good he's going to work himself right back into the good ones in no time. It is mad how good he is at this age.

So I think Richochet-Cole might take match of the night for me just over the tag match, because though I thought its high points were less high, the thing overall worked far better.

The womens match was good too, probably the best of the Shayna era. Kairi is such a superstar, and I'm glad she's finally got the chance to show that here. They did a far better job getting the crowd going in that tough spot on the card because they're both so freakin' good at playing their respective roles.

The Dream-EC3 match was... Well, it wasn't in the same league as the others. EC3 should get up to the main roster, he seems like he'd be more suited there. Dream may want to go, but at his age I'd say he should stay and continue to grow before he goes up there and gets stunted.

Can't wait to see the Dunne match!


----------



## CMPunkRock316

I loved the ME. The finish may not be perfect but fit with the storytelling of Gargano and his obsession with Ciampa being his downfall and/or Ciampa's gain (i.e. Black match his actions gave his hated rival the title). I really like Gargano but I FUCKING LOVE Ciampa. Black has been my favorite in NXT since his debut but Ciampa is awesome and is my current favorite.


----------



## King Kong Brody

Tag match was good
EC3 vs Dream was average. Dream looked less superstar like agaisnta guy who's about par with him than when against the better workers in the company. that spot where he did the Shawm Micheals stomach first of the top rope, get crotched thing looked really, really fake.
Cole vs Ricochet was good. Starting to get a bit tired of "big move, kickout, big move, kickout" by this point though. 
Womens match was surprisingly good.
Main event was goof considering we'd seen these guys do a lot of this twice already.

The problem I had with this, and the last few, takeovers, was lack of variety in matches. There's no heat match. There's no comedy match. There's no bloodbath. You basically get 4 or 5 "lots of moves, lots of kickouts" indy type matches in a row. I can't watch ROH shows in one sitting for the same reason, too much of the same in a row.


----------



## SS07

King Kong Brody said:


> Tag match was good
> EC3 vs Dream was average. Dream looked less superstar like agaisnta guy who's about par with him than when against the better workers in the company. that spot where he did the Shawm Micheals stomach first of the top rope, get crotched thing looked really, really fake.
> Cole vs Ricochet was good. Starting to get a bit tired of "big move, kickout, big move, kickout" by this point though.
> Womens match was surprisingly good.
> Main event was goof considering we'd seen these guys do a lot of this twice already.
> 
> The problem I had with this, and the last few, takeovers, was lack of variety in matches. There's no heat match. There's no comedy match. There's no bloodbath. You basically get 4 or 5 "lots of moves, lots of kickouts" indy type matches in a row. I can't watch ROH shows in one sitting for the same reason, too much of the same in a row.


I don't want to be THAT guy, but NXT simply might not be for you then. NXT is becoming the WWE brand/branch of gaining the Indy/ROH/NJPW audience.


----------



## The Raw Smackdown

Gonna be honest. This takeover was not as good as others but by no means was this a bad show. I think either the tag may and Cole\Ricochet was motn.


----------



## SS07

The Raw Smackdown said:


> Gonna be honest. This takeover was not as good as others but by no means was this a bad show. I think either the tag may and Cole\Ricochet was motn.


Really? I thought it was overall easily better than Chicago 2 and was on par with Philly.

Also the best of all the Brooklyn shows they've done.


----------



## Alco

This was a great show again, imo. One thing NXT does very well, is not letting a show drag. It flowed very well, the matches got time and nothing felt out of place. Was very excited throughout.

Match of the night was Cole/Ricochet for me. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite as beautiful as that superkick to a moonsaulting Ricochet. Just fantastic.

The main event delivered as well, although I'm having a hard time not thinking Gargano is a huge idiot after this. He falls into the same trap TWICE. C'mon man, gotta be better than that. Still, it will be a great moment when he finally defeats him to win the title. Ciampa's just on another level as far as heel work goes. BEST SPORTS ENTERTAINER IN THE WORLD

I'm thinking the Dream will be Ciampa's next challenger. And it'd be well deserved.


----------



## ATF

Brooklyn IV. I'd say this was not only the weakest of the four Brooklyn shows so far, but one of the weaker Takeovers for me in a while......... and that's saying something, considering I still really fucking liked this show. Two great matches, a good Main Event and a decent women's match were the anchors for another NXT Takeover winner of an event.

Undisputed Era vs Moustache Mountain is yet another kick-ass Title match, and for TUE it's at least on par with the supreme AOP match @ Philadelphia and possibly the Lorcan/Burch match @ Chicago II as well. Had some issues (finisher kick-outs in the opener of a PPV is about as blah as you get, despite the blow softener of this being the trilogy capper for the two teams; starting minutes were a little off for me and the beginning portion was fine but also stuck in a bland second-third gear limbo, due to the unexciting nature of Bate and Seven's face in peril selling), but similar to that Lorcan/Burch match, once it got kicking, it got Bruce Lee'ing. Bate is otherwordly. The kid is an absolute genius. TUE's team work was sound and solid as well. I did not see either of their previous two matches, for the record, but thankfully the commentators let me know on what the story was, and the Seven towel stunt worked with me all the same. Really good match, overall. War Machine/Raiders beatdown was gold.

Dream vs EC3 isn't a match that I was very interested on tbh, since EC3 really has no business being a babyface and Dream is over as fuck but he's too good as a heel as well (though I'd buy him as a babyface before I'd buy EC3, so the argument is there that the alignments were flipped for my tastes). And yup, my fears were confirmed. Average at best fluff, and the least fun I've had with a Takeover match ft Dream (I even remember enjoying the Ohno match that everyone forgot about more). The few very fun parts usually came from Dream's antics, selling or bumping. A couple of stiff shots every now and then to bump up interest. Otherwise, it was a bit of a snooze. Despite the injured neck giving him something to do, EC3 as face was awkward as fuck and pretty unbelievable. Crowd wasn't having any of face EC3 either, which didn't help the chorefest (yeah, they were resting after the great opener, but Dream vs Ricochet in the previous PPV was a hot match, so no excuses). The two had very little chemistry, control segments for either were more dull than watching paint dry and it probably wasn't too long but felt like it dragged on endlessly. I was bored and didn't really care about this one. Nice ending, though.

Cole vs Ricochet took no more than 5 minutes for me to like it 10x more than the stinker it followed. Didn't expect it to become utterly fantastic as it did, though. Wow. Great stuff. Anchored by one simple sentence that made all the difference in the story being told: "you're not special". It built up, built up and built up to a crescendo pay-off that was totally worth it, and it was the match's heart and soul. Cole was fire, with his confidence, taunting and timing here. He was the perfect cocky heel to play off of Ricochet's plucky high-flying babyface. In return, Ricochet proved that he is a monstruous workhorse of a man and that he absolutely is special, leaving no doubts about that. I thought that they were going to head off with Cole retaining after Ricochet not going for a pin and climbing up the top rope instead (which would have hammered in how much Cole did get inside Ricochet's head and would've been a very good ending to solidify Cole as a smart, sly genius heel), but Ricochet kept his calm, pulled that insane Hurricanrana spot and won it all in a fantastic ending to a great match. Only serious flaw was the cringetastic kick/knee trade-off, which made me roll my eyes. Otherwise, hell of a contest and MOTN for me.

Shayna vs Kairi right off the bat started on a strong note cause female ref. Ok, maybe that's not a novelty (I didn't watch anything from the Mae Young Classic), but whatever. As for the match, I enjoyed it, but not without some issues. Kairi's selling was questionable. I bought that she was hurt and I liked some of the ways she worked around the hurt leg, but I didn't buy that she was so injured that the bad leg really stopped her in her tracks, like someone who would actually sell the leg greatly would do. Adrenaline rushes I can forgive; Alabama Slamming someone who is bigger and stronger than you with ease despite a bad leg is the kind of bullshit that just ruins my suspension of disbelief. And the ending is the most rematchbaity nonsense imaginable and quite the anti-climax for Shayna's title reign. Despite all of this, Shayna was awesome, once again, being the perfect amalgamation of a bully and a bitch, and Kairi is just so damn likeable and rootable, and I loved how both of them really got inside the other's head and brought something new out of one another (Kairi showing off some fire and killer instinct; Shayna being more emotion-driven and less cold-blooded). The match would've been a lot better if Kairi's selling had been more solid (while not outright bad or awful imo; certainly not Nakamura-piss poor), but I still thought it was solid.

Ciampa vs Gargano III had two tough acts to follow. And the first half of the match immediately set the sentence that it would not live up to them.... luckily, the second half still made sure that at least it threw an attempt at it. The match started off hot, then got pretty slow and lame, then got really hot again and then ended in an.... odd way. The first half of the match I wasn't on board with, as not only was it slow and generic (while having its moments, sure), but it gave me shades of some of that modern wrestling nonsense that I hate so much (like spending too much time setting up tables when your opponent is fucking up already, and trading Superkicks and knees as if they are nothing whatsoever in an absolute no-sell festival). I'm also not really a huge fan of the Last Man Standing format, even though it has potential for some very creative things, mostly because 'creative' is what people never get with LMS, nevermind the questionable selling which was noticeable in that opening portion of the match as a whole. Ciampa unpadding the ring was when the match got good. From that point on, the spots were very naturally setup, as was the selling and how they beat the count of 10, and the match had both the physicality and the storytelling to live up to both its namesake and the previous two matches, and ultimately be a pretty good match all in all. Though I'd be fooling myself if I didn't say that this was my least favorite of the three by a considerable margin. The ending.... ehhhhh. First of all, of all places Gargano could have handcuffed Ciampa, why did it have to be in a place that Ciampa could, you know, stand up? Why not flip him upside down or hang him up from where he couldn't get his feet down in any possible way? Second, why the hell did Gargano fuck himself up the way he did? You could say there's poetic justice in Gargano trying to put away Ciampa with the DIY finisher only to then ending up dislocating his knee and not being able to get himself back up, but weren't there better ways to accomplish the same result without making Gargano look like a total moron? He destroyed himself more than he destroyed Ciampa, without a doubt. And finally, are we really gonna continue this feud? This is the third PPV Main Event in a row for the two of them. I think you cannot possibly do anything else with either of them, unless you bring down Hell In A Cell or something like that. And it makes zero sense for Gargano to get another title shot this year. He's lost every. Single. One of them clean as a whistle, and I believe he's had at least three title matches in 2018 alone by now. Either way, it was a good match and a good closer overall, despite the rough start and blah ending, but I'll still take the New Orleans and Chicago II matches any day.


----------



## Piers

Remember when Banks said it would be easy for Summerslam to do better than Takeover ?

:heston


----------

