This review is coming half a day later than would be ideal but the show absolutely wiped me out so sleep was needed. We start the show with a live musical performance by Cane Hill as the opening video plays in the background. It's a bit generic for me. This card is stacked.
North American Title, Ladder Match - EC3 vs Adam Cole vs Velveteen Dream vs Ricochet vs Lars Sullivan vs Killian Dain
Ricochet is immediately super over, and he should be. I am hyped for this. Ricochet's first move in a WWE ring is a springboard shooting star press. The action barely slows down in the early portions. Sullivan chucks a ladder at everyone and wipes them out. That is when the craziness started. During the match, everyone gets their chance to clean house. Cole has a superkick party, hitting a particularly sweet one on a midair Ricochet. This inspires Dream to hit a cluster of Purple Rainmakers, including a massive one off the big ladder. Dream gets powerbombed onto a ladder for his troubles. Ricochet hits a moonsault to the outside off a ladder that is being pushed over. Dream hits Ricochet with a rolling DVD onto a ladder that is set up across another ladder and the second rope. Sullivan puts both Dream and EC3 through a ladder at ringside. Not to be outdone, Dain puts Ricochet and Cole through one. They all try to get the title before being knocked down like pins. In the end it is Adam Cole that sneaks in to get the title. This was a wonderful way to kick off the show, and was as entertaining a ladder match as I've seen in a while. Some may say it was a bit of a spotfest but it was more like a well structured match with a fuck ton of spots. ****3/4
NXT Women's Title - Ember Moon vs Shayna Baszler
Ember gets a live music entrance. I guess we will see her on Raw or Smackdown. Baszler goes straight for the arm, setting the tone. Shayna gets the best of the early exchanges but Ember manages to use Shayna's arm stamp against her. This dislocates Shayna's arm so she puts it back in with the help of the ringpost. Really good spot. Ember hits an eclipse to the outside but they both just manage to make the count. Shayna locks in a choke but Moon breaks it by attacking the injured arm. She goes for the Eclipse but Shayna blocks it and applies another choke. Moon again attacks the arm but Shayna adjusts so that she only has to use her good arm. Moon refuses to tap but passes out, and Baszler is the new champion. This was an excellent match that told a superb story and played off moments from their previous match, as well as having a greater knowledge of each other's game. ****1/4
NXT Tag Team Titles - Undisputed Era vs Authors of Pain vs Pete Dunne & Roderick Strong
Adam Cole is not exactly enamoured by having to come back from the dead to defend the belt. AoP take control of the early portion of the match, taking Cole out of commission by putting him through the announce table. Rough show for him. They worked a good match that never tried too hard to be the showstealing match on a show full of them. They had another hook in mind. Dunne hit the Bitter End but Strong broke up the pin and hit the End of Heartache on Dunne, allowing Undisputed Era to pick up the win. Strong and O'Reilly sold it brilliantly. This heel turn has been a long time coming and it makes all the sense in the world. Strong is great as a dickhead heel and hopefully this leads to a British Strong Style vs Undisputed Era match. My body is ready for that. ***1/2
NXT Title - Andrade 'Cien' Almas vs Aleister Black
Almas is in his entrance mask again. Black has come full circle from his first Takeover match, which was also against Almas. Zelina Vega takes absolutely no time getting involved in this match, and establishing the tone going forward. This was an excellent match that managed to hit all of the required story beats along the way. Vega constantly got involved to help Almas, and in the end it would be their undoing. Some of the near falls in this match were superb and I fully bought into the fact that, somehow, Almas might be able to retain. Great wrestling married to wonderful storytelling. I really hope that they treat Almas & Vega with the respect they deserve on the main roster, as they have a near infinite possibility. ****1/2
Unsanctioned Match - Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa
Ciampa is looking incredible. The story of this match is second to none in current wrestling, hell, current TV, and to say that the pay off was worth it would be underselling this match by a disgraceful amount. In modern wrestling it is relatively rare to establish as clear a heel/face dynamic as the one on show here. Gargano is universally loved, and Ciampa is so hated that he came to the ring with only the sound of the fans booing as music. No smarky cheers for the heel here. They wasted no time whatsoever, laying in fists from the off, and they never stopped. The majority of this match isn't about winning, it's about inflicting punishment, and tons of it. It was about redemption, and vindication, and the lengths people are willing to go to attain it. Ciampa had a look of glee as he stole the crutches of a fan, cuz he's a dick. The fans wanted to see Ciampa get what was coming to him, to the point where they chanted 'you deserve it' when he got powerbombed on the exposed floor. That was a crazy spot. This match contains so many moments, both big and small, that call back to the various moments in their WWE careers, and listng them all would be redundant. The finishing sequence, and Gargano's refusal to give upno matter what is thrown at him is amazing. That the closing moment mirrors their match at the CWC is just incredible. Make no doubt about this, this is the match of the year. *****
Overall Grade - A+++
This was the best Takeover that NXT have ever produced and, with zero hyperbole, I can honestly say that it is one of the most enjoyable wrestling shows that I have ever watched. Every single one of the matches delivers in its own way and the main event is damn near perfection.
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