TakeOver: Brooklyn IV will come to you LIVEEEEE from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. I’ll be in attendance for my third year in a row and, as usual, cannot wait to be there to see NXT’s best tear the house down.
———————————————-
Main Card
Match #1: Adam Cole vs Ricochet- North American Championship match
On paper, especially after the clinic Ricochet put on with Velveteen Dream at TakeOver: Chicago, this doesn’t seem very exciting. Even the build has been pretty uninteresting. “I want to fight you”. “I’m not going to fight you because I’m better then you.” *Undisputed Era attacks the guy backstage*. You know, whatever.
Honestly though, Adam Cole has really, really been killing it lately and while I think the total difference in styles will be a little awkward, it could be a great opener. I was not expecting Ricochet to go over against Dream, but I don’t think he should here, unless Cole and the entirety of Undisputed are being called up, which I think would be a mistake. I’d love for Ricochet’s first title win to be for the NXT Championship, so keep Cole strong for the moment.
Winner: Adam Cole
Match #2: Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong) vs Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven and Tyler Bate)- NXT Tag-Team Championships match
This is becoming a bit like New Day vs The Usos. It’s the match you’ve seen 100 times, in every variation, but you don’t care cause they’re just so freakin good. Roderick Strong, who I absolute adore. looks so good in his role right as a part of this “boys club” thing they have going on right now and I don’t want to see him lose any of his muster. We’ve already seen Seven and Bate win the titles in a huge feel-good moment so I really don’t think we need to see it happen again. O’Reilly and Strong are so captivating in the ring and they really fill the gap of there being literally no other heel tag teams, besides the War Raiders, I guess, in NXT. Undisputed/War Raiders is a money match and program, so I give them the win here.
Winners: Undisputed Era
Match #3: EC3 vs Velveteen Dream
I’m a little nervous for this one. A lot of people seem to be excited about but I just don’t see it on the same level as Dream/Black or Dream/Ricochet. EC3 has certainly looked really good in the ring since his arrival in NXT, something I wasn’t particularly expecting, so maybe these two will surprise me with a ton of chemistry. The build-up has really been about the gimmicks….they’re both so good at being larger-then-life personas, each with special characteristics and mannerisms that set them apart from the rest, that it has worked thus far, I just hope it delivers in-ring.
You really don’t lose any momentum by losing a match in NXT, but if they have Dream lose at a major event AGAIN, you’re basically making him out to be the guy who can be the most over with the crowd and have the most talked-about match, but loses just so a new face can get over. That’s why I’ll give him the win here. EC3 can easily get back in the shuffle if the Gargano/Ciampa feud finally ends for good and a new contender has to be crowned.
Winner: Velveteen Dream
Match #4: Kairi Sane vs Shayna Bayzler- NXT Women’s Championship match
These two have obvious history….Sane defeated Bayzler in the finals of the inaugural Mae Young Classic last summer. Now, Bayzler, as champion, has rolled through every competitor that has been put in her way in NXT thus far, while Sane is just now starting to recover from a bit of a rough patch.
Bayzler defeated Sane on an episode of NXT a while back, so they are even at 1-1. If Bayzler loses here, I think it would be appropriate to call her up without a rematch. She could really be an excellent addition to the main roster women’s division….some stiff competition for Ronda if she is successful against Alexa Bliss on Sunday. I think Sane may be the chink in her armor once again, and I think it’s well deserved.
Winner: Kairi Sane
Match #5: Johnny Gargano vs Tommasso Ciampa- Last Man Standing match for the NXT Championship
What would have been a triple threat match pitting these two against each other and Aleister Black is now the rubber match in the incredible series of matches the two have put on over recent months, due to Black’s injury. When McIntyre went down in November, he was called up to the main roster for his return, but I think it’ll be a real shame if Aleister doesn’t get to finish what he started.
If the match had stayed a triple threat, I would honestly have had Ciampa retain the title. Now, in a Last Man Standing situation, a kind of match that serves as the be-all end-all, I think it is finally time to give Gargano that belt and leave the fans with an incredible moment to end the show, especially if we’re being treated to another Roman Reigns coronation tomorrow night.
Expect all the brutality from their first few matches, and then some. Whoever wins the match is going to do so by the tip of his tounge, answering the 10 count just in time after both men look to be down and out. No doubt they will continue to wow us, but if all is right in the world, at least for one night, it needs to end with Gargano’s hand raised.
Winner: Johnny Gargano
nwademusic 