Tag: Pete Dunne

NXT Takeover: WarGames III: Predictions & Analysis

Man, it feels like forever since we’ve had one of these.

Survivor Series has come which, potentially for the last time ever, we’ve got ourselves a classic NXT Takeover! It’s no secret that Takeovers are my favourite wrestling shows in the world right now and while I’m not the biggest fan of WarGames, they’re always chaotic and fun matches, so I’m not going to complain.

The circumstances surrounding this show are a little odd since almost everyone that’s wrestling on this show is also wrestling the next night on Survivor Series, so it does make me wonder if things are going to be played a bit safer, especially when it comes to the WarGames matches.

NOTE: Just a quick bit of admin, but I’m going to have to change the days these predictions get released. Since Smackdown now airs at 1AM on Saturday in the UK, I’m going to push back the Takeover predictions to Fridays and the main roster predictions to Saturday. Hopefully, I’ll still be able to get the Takeover review up on Sunday, but it might move to Tuesday if I don’t have the time.

Still, let’s go ahead and predict the winners!

Damian Priest vs Pete Dunne vs Killian Dain
(Winner faces Adam Cole for the NXT Championship at Survivor Series)

This match is a little bit of an odd one, especially by Takeover standards.

This feud is one that’s had a very simple build by NXT standards, with Dunne & Preist trading victories on Wednesday nights and Dain forcibly inserting himself into situations at every opportunity. I think this whole show suffers from being at the whims of whatever Vince McMahon suddenly decides what he wants for Survivor Series. NXT has always had a feeling that stories were planned out at least a bit in advance, but now what happens at this show has to directly impact whatever Vince wants for Sunday.

That I said, I don’t think there’s any doubt that this will be a great match. The one on one matches that Dunne and Priest have had with each other this month have been great across the board, so adding in a big guy like Dain will only make things more exciting. Dain specifically is someone who spent a couple years on Raw & Smackdown getting no opportunities to anything noteworthy, so I’m hoping this will be when he reminds the fanbase at large that he’s a brilliant wrestler that can keep pace and match quality with NXT’s finest.

If there were no additional stipulation to this match, I would almost certainly pick Dain to win, but with the added twist that the winner of this match gets an NXT title match on Sunday (a twist I’m overjoyed about) things have to be looked at slightly differently. Ultimately, I have to look at it from the perspective of “Who will showcase the best of what NXT has to offer on a big stage?” to which the answer is 100%, Pete Dunne. Damian Priest is a fantastic wrestler, but he still needs time to establish himself as a force in NXT and the Raw & Smackdown fanbase already know Killian Dain and associate him with a jobber-level tag team that never did anything of note. On top of that Cole vs Dunne is a match I’ve desperately wanted for ages so to see it at Survivor Series should be awesome.

Matt Riddle vs Finn Balor

So this is a case of unfortunate circumstances (in this case, Johnny Gargano’s injury) taking something potentially awesome away from us, but in all honestly, I think this has just as much potential behind it.

Even during his initial run in NXT, I felt that Finn Balor never had a truly great match. He had plenty of extremely good ones, don’t get me wrong, but he never had an “above-and-beyond” kind of match that we’ve come to see from NXT in the years since. That said, I think this has all the potential in the world to be that match for Balor.

Riddle has such a unique in-ring style that it always forces his opponents to step up their game to match him, occasionally this results in a match that doesn’t quite click, but with a top-level wrestler like Balor, it should elevate the match into something special. Since the story for this match was built around Balor & Gargano, it’s a little hard to use story reasons to justify either result. Riddle suffers a little in NXT from being someone who can seemingly take loses without having it hurt his stock in any way and I don’t think it would be a good idea to have Balor lose his first big feud since returning, so I’m picking Finn Balor to come away from this one with the win.

Tommaso Ciampa & Keith Lee & Dominick Dijakovic & TBD vs The Undisputed Era
(WarGames)

This match feels really thrown together.

I know that all WarGames matches are a bit like that purely through virtue of the number of people needed in the match, but there’s usually at least some level of storyline cohesion between the participants on the teams. I’m not referring to The Undisputed Era to be clear, because Team Ciampa seems the epitome of “people who didn’t have anything else to do”.

While I’m totally fine with Ciampa gunning for The Undisputed Era at every turn, I do find it a little weird that a lone-wolf character like him is suddenly fine with working with three other guys, none of whom are named Johnny Gargano. Keith Lee backed up Ciampa once for…shits and giggles? So now they’re best friends and Dijakovic is also there for no real reason other than to fill out the numbers. Finally, there’s the mystery 4th man.

There’s plenty of theories going around as to who it could be, but I honestly don’t think it’s going to be any kind of huge shock since Riddle was originally supposed to be in that spot before Gargano got injured so it’s not like there’s some grand plan behind it. The most popular theory right now is that it will be someone from Raw or Smackdown who will turn traitor and join NXT, Kevin Owens being the prime candidate, but I think a twist like that will be on Survivor Series itself, not this show. Looking through the NXT roster, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott seems the most likely candidate, since he’s been in a couple of tag matches with some of the guys on Team Ciampa this past month, but that’s about it.

As for a winner, I don’t know, because this honestly feels like a lose-lose situation to me. At the time of release, NXT’s team for the 5 on 5 on 5 match hasn’t been announced, but I think it’s extremely likely that at the three men currently announced for Team Ciampa will be on it, so either you have UE look weak going into their champion vs champion matches, or have the elimination matches’ team look weak.

Combine that with the fact that the people in this match will have to play it slightly safer than usual so they’re not messed up for Survivor Series the next night and it really seems like this show should’ve been moved to mid-December or something because the current situation hasn’t done anyone any favours. I’m going to go with what fits NXT’s stories best for the time being and say Team Ciampa will win so Ciampa can stake a claim for Cole’s title in the coming months.

Rhea Ripley & Tegan Nox & Candice LaRae & Mia Yim vs Shayna Baszler & Bianca Belair & Io Shirai & Kay Lee Ray
(WarGames)

So you know all of the complaints I made about the men’s WarGames match, pretty much ditto for this.

The difference here is that I have more confidence that this will be a damn good match regardless of the circumstances. This is partly because I think all of the wrestlers involved in this match are brilliant, but also because whenever we get one of these “first-ever” women’s matches the wrestlers involved go all out to make sure it’s something memorable and that goes double for NXT.

Besides this, there’s a much greater sense of story to this match, the Ripley/Baszler feud is one that’s been simmering for a while now and this is a great stepping stone on the path to their eventual one-on-one match. It also works great as the ending point for the Candice/Io feud, after having two excellent matches, this feels like a good way to top it off, especially when you consider that Io’s initial turn happened in a Steel Cage. Admittedly it is a little weird that Io & Belair are teaming Baszler when you consider that they’ve pretty much exclusively been enemies in the past, but I’m slightly more forgiving of that fact here because it serves the greater story well.

I’m torn when it comes to picking a winner, much for the same reasons as I was for the men’s match, except in this instance, I think women from both sides will be in the elimination matches on Sunday. So once again, I’m going to go with what serves NXT’s stories better and say Team Ripley wins this one because otherwise, Ripley doesn’t have much of a claim for a shot at Baszler’s title going forward.

And there you have it! Those are my thoughts on NXT Takeover: Wargames III, thank you very much for taking the time to read this article, let me know what you think is going to happen either in the comments below or on Twitter @10ryawoo! Finally, make sure to come back tomorrow for my Survivor Series predictions!

NXT Takeover: Toronto 2019: Every Match Ranked

I feel like we say this every time an NXT Takeover show has finished but holy crap what a show!

As usual, this show did not fail to deliver the goods when it came to its action and once again I came away from it feeling incredibly satisfied and a bit blown away by the fantastic wrestling that was gifted to us last night. Although the show as a whole isn’t in the running for best Takeover ever unlike seemingly the rest of them from this year are, there were still some matches in here which I’d rank among the best to ever take place on a Takeover. Not to mention, even a sub-par Takeover would still be better than most wrestling shows on the planet.

Still, among this heavy competition which matches rose to the top? Let’s discuss it as I rank every match from NXT Takeover: Toronto 2019.

5 – Shayna Baszler(c) def. Mia Yim
(NXT Women’s Championship)

When a match like this happens of a Takeover it’s always a bit difficult to talk about because as much as this match was still great, it wasn’t quite up to the very high standard we’ve come to expect from these shows.

That said, similar to Bianca Belair’s match against Baszler, this was a great showcase for Mia Yim. While I’d been enjoying her work on NXT TV, it wasn’t until now that I felt like I had a good sense of who she was as a wrestler. Baszler did what Baszler does best for a big chunk of this match – being domineering and mean spirited – but for the first time in her title matches, it seemed like there was extra emphasis on Baslzer showing weakness.

After some great moments where Yim took a couple of cheap shots and gave Baszler a taste of her own medicine, Baszler did a brilliant job of playing the victim for a bit. In the end it served both characters well, it showed us that Mia Yim isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty and isn’t going to try and be a pure face if it gets in the way of her goals, while to the contrary it grew the sense of intelligence and strategic mastery of Shayna Baszler, with her taking no time at all to realise her injured arm made the Kirifuda Clutch impractical and seamlessly switched to a brutal looking leg choke.

This might not quite have been as good as we were hoping but it was still a brilliant showcase for Mia Yim and laid the groundwork to further this feud going into the autumn.

4 – The Street Profits(c) def. The Undisputed Era
(NXT Tag Team Championship)

NXT Tag Title matches seem to be the perfect show openers.

Seeing The Street Profits spouting bollocks every week on Raw this past month or so almost made me forget that they’re brilliant wrestlers as well. This matchup was a great contrast of styles between Profits and UE and it made for some great phases in the action as O’Reilly and Fish tried desperately to stop Dawkins and Ford from gaining any kind of momentum, although it was ultimately futile.

As always, this match reached it’s peak once things descended in chaos and everyone started flinging themselves about everywhere. Almost all of the action in the second half of this match perfectly incorporated all four guys in order to create some really fun sequences. I really wasn’t expecting The Street Profits to win, but ultimately I think it’s the right decision, partly because they had much more to lose if they dropped the titles and also it means we won’t be losing them from NXT anytime soon, which is always the best.

3 – Io Shirai def. Candice LeRae

First off, can we just take a second to appreciate how AMAZING Io looked last night?

Admittedly, I wasn’t into this match early on, but around the halfway mark things really picked up. I’m a little salty about the reports saying that the original plan for this match was Io vs Kairi, but that doesn’t take away from how great this match ended up being. I’ve not been over familiar with Candice as a wrestler until now but I can most certainly say I was impressed by this performance.

By the same token, even though I’ve never seen Io’s work as a heel before she joined NXT, it’s obvious from her performance here that she’s an absolute natural at it. One of my main criticisms about Io so far in NXT was her general lack of a persona, but all of those complaints have been totally washed away with this match because everything she did was dripping in personality.

In addition to that, you throw on a match with a lot of fast-paced and impressive looking action (including one of the best looking top rope Spanish Flys I’ve ever seen) and a couple of shocking kick-outs from Candice and this was a brilliant way to get people behind both characters going forward.

2 – Velveteen Dream(c) def. Pete Dunne & Roderick Strong
(North American Championship)

I swear, any other show this would’ve been number 1.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a triple threat match on a Takeover and it’s generally a type of match that I always find fun to watch even when I don’t particularly care for the participants, so when the idea of such a match where the participants are the best character in NXT, one of the best technical wrestlers in NXT and Pete fucking Dunne, I was pretty excited and sure enough, this match did not disappoint.

The action in this match was paced to perfection, I enjoyed when all three men were jockeying for position early on and quite honestly I was ready to praise this match for being brilliant by the two-minute mark, but things only got better from there. There was very little time in this match where any one man was down and out, it was an almost constant rolling line of these three men in the ring together and it made for some brilliant watching.

My favourite part of the match was easily the finish because of how out of nowhere it was. I really thought Strong was going to win when he sent Dream flying and hit the End of Heartache on Dunne, but unbelievably Dream suddenly dropped out of the sky to shitcan Strong and steal the pin, incredible stuff. That’s just one spot in a 20-minute match where the action never lets up, definitely one of my favourite matches of the year so far. However…

1 – Adam Cole(c) def. Johnny Gargano
(NXT Championship)
(3 Stages of Hell)

Let’s face it, nothing on this show could’ve topped this match.

I’ve seen some criticize this match for being “overindulgent” and at 50 minutes I can understand where those people are coming from, however, I think this was paced really well.

The first fall was necessary to ramp up the tension and intensity going into the following two. There was plenty of great action the whole way through the first fall and I was very much a fan of how the finish to that fall played out. I knew Cole was never going to be stupid enough to give up a fall like that, but teasing it only for Gargano to be the one to do it was brilliant.

The second fall seems like the kind of match I normally label as boring but something about how these two went about throwing each other around the arena worked for me. It was slower than the other two falls but given how long this match ended up being, we needed it to catch our breath before some of the mental shit that happened during the final fall.

I wasn’t sure about the weapons-based cage when I first heard about it, but I think these two did a great job at avoiding the gimmicky feel that came across when Ambrose & Jericho did this a couple of years ago, also the faces of Gargano and Cole as the cage descended was a nice little touch. As I mentioned this was in danger of crossing into the gimmicky territory, but every weapon was worked seamlessly into every spot it was in, the only time the action ever really stopped was in order to set up the finish which is quite impressive for a match as long as this.

The spectacle in this match was through the roof and I felt it helped aid this idea that Gargano and Cole’s whole rivalry is being encapsulated in one match. I’m still undecided on whether this was my favourite match of their trilogy, but it’s certainly close.

So that’s what I thought of NXT Takeover: Toronto! Thank you very much for- Oh there’s Matt Riddle!

Anyway, thank you very much for reading, let me know what you thought of the show on Twitter @10ryawoo or in the comments below. Make sure you come back here Monday where I’ll be giving my thoughts of tonight’s Summerslam!

NXT Takeover: Toronto 2019: Predictions & Analysis

Another big 4 weekends, another show much better than the big 4 show itself. It’s time for an NXT Takeover.

While this card still looks fantastic, it doesn’t quite feel like it’ll be as good a show as previous months by virtue of a couple of rematches and some untested talent. However whenever I think this about a Takeover it generally ends up being one of my favourites, so who knows what to think.

Fantastic or not, there will still be winners and losers, so let’s get about picking them, shall we?

Candice LaRae vs Io Shirai

So I don’t know much about Io’s reputation before she joined NXT, but I’m told that “attempted murder” Io is best Io and based on what I’ve seen on NXT weekly so far, I can’t say I disagree. So throwing her in the mix with Candice LaRae, who is just as much of a lovable underdog and fantastic wrestler as her husband and you’ve got the making of a match of the year candidate.

Although, as much as I’d like to see an absolute classic between these two, I also wouldn’t be against Io ripping Candice limb from limb, dancing around in the blood shouting about how she doesn’t need friends….or you know, beating her really dominantly. Which brings me to the obvious because Io Shirai is definitely coming out of this one the victor, she’s been losing to Shayna a lot recently and this new burst of character would go to waste if she lost this early, even if it was a “flukey” win on Candice’s part.

The Street Profits(c) vs The Undisputed Era
(NXT Tag Team Championships)

One day, NXT will be allowed to just have tag team champions without someone stealing them away.

Once again, I don’t think I’ll surprise anyone when I say that I think this match is going to be brilliant. considering how long they’ve been around, it’s weird that this is their first straight-up tag match on a Takeover, but I have no reason to doubt that they’ll knock it out of the park; not to mention they’re in the ring with Undisputed Era.

The real problem I’m having here is picking a winner. Street Profits have basic wrestling logic on their side since they’ve just won the titles it wouldn’t make a great deal of sense for them to lose the titles so soon, especially to a team that’s already held them. That said, the Undisputed Era has a pretty strong case too. For one thing, Street Profits seem to have already been called up, with this weird role where they sit around and chat about everything that’s happened on Raw, but does that really count as a proper debut? Then there’s the driving force of Adam Cole’s promise that The Undisputed Era will be draped in gold, and tonight has all the makings of that promise coming true.

I really want to say Street Profits will retain because I think that’d be the right move, but the case for The Undisputed Era to win is just too strong to ignore, so I’m going with them.

Velveteen Dream(c) vs Roderick Strong vs Pete Dunne
(North American Championship)

Wow, they really did a good job of making so many of these matches hard to pick huh?

First off, the fact that Dunne is finally in NXT Prime is brilliant because quite frankly he should’ve been on every single Takeover anyway because he keeps knocking it out of the park. Secondly, I’m very happy to see a Triple Threat Match on a Takeover for once, we see them so rarely on these shows and given how good main roster Triple Threats are, I’m sure an NXT one – especially with these guys – will be incredible.

Once again, I’m really struggling with picking a winner. As much as I’d be very happy with Velveteen Dream retaining, I feel like this match is where he drops that title, especially given he seemed destined to drop the title to Dominick Dijakovic before he got injured. I’m just not sure who it’ll go too. On the one hand, Pete Dunne is fantastic and should never be without a title ever, not to mention you risk making the UK division look like chumps if Dunne comes to NXT Prime and gets his ass kicked. Admittedly the case for Roddy pretty much begins and ends with Cole’s aforementioned promise of draping Undisputed Era in gold, the thing is, I think if that promise is ever going to come true, it has to be now so I’m picking Roderick Strong to pick up the title.

Shayna Baszler(c) vs Mia Yim
(NXT Women’s Championship)

Mia Yim’s one of those competitors where it always seemed like it was a matter of time until she got a big chance to show her stuff like this and here we are. Despite having a build and look that would seemingly favour a more heelish persona, Yim’s done a great job wrestling as a face and has got a large portion of the NXT fanbase behind her going into this match.

As I alluded to, this should be Mia Yim’s big coming-out party, much like Bianca Belair this match with Shayna will hopefully be when everyone sits up and takes note that she’s just as good a wrestler as all the women who came before her in the division. I imagine Shayna will do what Shayna always does in this match, which is be the most wonderful bastard in the world, which will play right in Yim’s strengths as a babyface.

As much as this will be a big spotlight for Mia Yim, I highly doubt she’ll win. It’s pretty rare in the women’s division that anyone wins the title in their first shot at it, not to mention Baszler’s been such a dominant champion it would be almost a waste to have her lose the title like this. I think Yim will ultimately be the one to unseat Baszler, however, I don’t think it’s going to be on Saturday, so I’m going with Shayna Baszler to retain.

Adam Cole(c) vs Johnny Gargano
(NXT Championship)
(3 Stages of Hell)

I know it’s not being advertised as 3 Stages of Hell, but that’s what it is. Plus “2 out of 3 falls where each fall has a different stipulation” is far too long for a header.

As much as it feels like this feud has gone on for a bit too long already, it’s hard to argue with another match considering both of their previous two were among the best in WWE history. The stipulations seem to play into each other’s hands too and I imagine in some sort of ironic twist, each man will win the fall where the other picked the stipulation (Cole wins the Street Fight, Gargano wins the standard match) and I fully expect to see Undisputed Era get involved during the Street Fight.

As for the final fall, which William Regal will reveal if (when) they are tied up after the first two, a ladder match seems like the easy pick. It’s easy for the crew to quickly set up without killing the pace of the whole match and the condensed time frame will add a great sense of urgency to the whole thing. They could surprise us and throw out NXT’s first-ever Hell in a Cell match, but the only issue with that is the crowd would be able to see the cell up in the rafters (or if they use screens to hide it, it’ll be obvious) so it won’t really be much of a surprise.

Once again, I find myself really struggling to pick a winner. If it wasn’t for one factor I’d say Cole was an easy pick, but the thing is: Tommaso Ciampa. We’ve got confirmation that August is when he’s set to return so with him just over the horizon, could we be heading back to the Gargano vs Ciampa match we were robbed of in April? I know that the ending of Takeover New York changed their relationship slightly but it could still work just as well. Then again, what about the other side of the coin? Imagine Undisputed Era standing in the ring triumphant with all the gold only for Ciampa to appear at the top of the ramp and stake his claim. How cool would that be?!

No amount of logic I apply is going to help me decide one way or the other, so I’m going with my heart and picking Adam Cole.

And that’s it! Thank you very much for- wait a minute where the hell’s Matt Riddle? Odd.

Anyway, thank you very much for taking the time to read this piece, let me know what you think is going to happen on Twitter @10ryawoo or in the comments below. Make sure you stick around over the weekend as I’ll be covering both Takeover and Summerslam!

NXT Takeover New York: Every Match Ranked

NXT is the best thing in wrestling right now and no-one can convince me otherwise.

Without a doubt, that was far and away my favourite NXT Takeover show I’ve ever seen, and arguably up there with my favourite wrestling show, I’ve ever watched. Every single match was absolutely fantastic and such a brilliant showcase of why I love NXT so much, it had something for everyone and most certainly got Wrestlemania weekend off to a rip-roaring start.

However, despite the consistently high quality of the entire show, some matches were better than others, so I’m gonna rank ’em.

5 – Shayna Baszler(c) def. Bianca Belair, Kairi Sane, Io Shirai
(NXT Women’s Championship)

The women’s division in NXT has been the best it’s ever been these past 6 months or so.

I know, that’s a big statement to make, we’ve had Asuka, Ember Moon and the Four Horsewomen in the past, but I genuinely believe that the crop of women in NXT right now is the best in the brand history, and here’s why.

Every single character in the NXT women’s division is a distinct and unique character, not just on a gimmick level but on a deeper level of attitude, ability and character motivations. This match illustrates that excellently, all four women in that ring are so completely different in terms of character and style, even Kairi and Io who are so closely linked feel completely different when you watch them competing.

Of course, this means that when you take these four unique characters together and throw them together in a match, it makes for magic. Baszler & Sane are so diametrically opposed that every time they’re even in the vicinity of each other it tells a great story, with even better wrestling. Then you throw in Bianca Belair who is so desperate to prove she belongs that she’s constantly hiding behind her fake ego, and Io Shirai who is Kairi’s friend, but won’t hesitate to go through her if she’s in her way and you’ve got yourself an action packed fifteen minutes.

Why is it at the bottom? Well, mostly because it had the least new stuff to offer. Don’t get me wrong, this match was absolutely brilliant from start to finish, and would top almost any other show, but ultimately there was nothing shocking or new to be seen here, it was all just brilliant versions of stuff we’ve already seen.

4 – War Raiders(c) def. Aleister Black & Ricochet
(NXT Tag Team Championships)

Honestly, when I finished this match, I thought it would land in the top two, that’s such a testament to how good this show really was.

When I talk about how my favourite type of wrestling is tag team wrestling, people are often a little confused about it and wonder why. This match. This match is why. The urgency and quickness of a match with two competitors on each side can’t be matched by that of one on one, since in a one on one matches you need breaks where both competitors have to sell and catch their breath, but in a tag team match, the moment that happens on one guy, the other can come in and keep things rolling.

I was worried this wouldn’t be a great way to send off Black & Ricochet from NXT, but I was very quickly corrected in that thought because once this match got going, it refused to stop. I keep forgetting just how incredibly Hanson and Rowe can move in the ring, to the point where the 300 pound Hanson could actually keep pace with the king of the flippy shit in Ricochet, and holy crap, every time Black and Rowe faced off it was magical, this match could’ve been 90% those two and it would’ve been absolutely amazing.

The match even managed to cast doubt on the result once or twice, and after the Black Mass into Shooting Star, I honestly bought that it was the finish. War Raiders eventually winning was the best choice of course, and the post-match stuff was lovely too since this is likely the last time we’ll ever see Black & Ricochet in NXT, it was an absolutely wonderful send-off.

That’s the thing with positioning this match too because I honestly don’t have a single bad thing to say about it, just the other matches on the show somehow managed to outdo it.

3 – Velveteen Dream(c) def. Matt Riddle
(North American Championship)

Velveteen Dream just…wow, what a wrestler.

I showed concern in my predictions that I wasn’t sure the styles of these two wrestlers would mesh very well in the ring, but I very quickly learnt that I was completely and totally wrong to ever think that because something between these two just clicked. The characters helped a lot with this I think, after all, it’s hard to have a man carried to the ring on a throne while dressed as the Statue of Liberty and not be blown away by the spectacle of it.

It was the kind of match where it didn’t need any form of story overcomplications or big twists, because you already had two perfect characters ready-made for you, with the very simple motivation of “I want to be champion” and then you could just put them in a ring and rely on the characters to act like the characters, which always makes for the best stories.

The match was paced to perfection too, with it starting off low-key and every single moment built on the ones that came before it. It wasn’t that fast, which is normally what I like, but it was exactly what it needed to be and there wasn’t a single moment of wasted motion.

The finish was also pitch perfect because quite frankly, a sudden roll-up is the only way Velveteen Dream should win any big match. It created a shocking moment since I think most of us thought Riddle was going to win this one and it left the door open for a rematch later down the line which will likely play off of everything that happened in this match, which is the mark of a simple story, well told.

2 – Johnny Gargano def. Adam Cole
(NXT Championship)
(2 out of 3 Falls)

I had so much trouble which should be number 1 and which should be number 2, but in the end, I think this was the right way round to do it.

In terms of storytelling and all-out excitement, this match had no equal. When it came down to that final fall I was encapsulated, to the point where I was literally on my feet for the last couple of minutes. I so desperately wanted to see Adam Cole win this one going in, but the story that was told in the match made me root for Gargano just as hard.

I wasn’t a big fan of how quick the first fall went by, it seemed a bit jarring, but I understand why it happened given the time constraints and overall it made sense. That minor gripe was completely irrelevant by the time the final fall got underway, however, because once the action got going, it slowed for nothing. Not only was this match was able to craft a story that allowed you to have the same emotional weight that the Gargano/Ciampa match could’ve had, but it did the rarest of things, it used interference and a referee bump to enhance the story, instead of ruin it. It shows how much impact these tools can have when you use them sparingly and effectively, instead of braking them out at every opportunity like on the main roster.

The last fall had me at almost every second as well, and when Adam Cole hit the final Last Shot, I honest to God believed he’d won, and it was genuinely shocking to me when Gargano kicked out in the best way possible. Following that, it didn’t outstay it’s welcome and Adam Cole was tapping to the GargaNo Escape about a minute later, and despite rooting for Cole, I was over the moon at his victory.

Ciampa coming out to hug Gargano and Candice at the end and shocking didn’t turn on him, was a brilliant cherry on the cake of emotions too, and the best possible way to end off the show.

It was effective storytelling combined with great wrestling, it certainly a match of the year contender and it was so close to being number 1.

1 – WALTER def. Pete Dunne(c)
(United Kingdom Championship)

I don’t often get patriotic, but man…this match.

I never really got the thrill behind the old-school style of wrestling, I didn’t really understand how a mat-based, methodically paced match could be as exciting as one with fast and constant action, but this match turned me around on that line of thinking completely.

While it wasn’t as high octane or thrilling as Cole vs Gargano, it was perhaps one of the best pure wrestling matches I’ve seen in a long time, and I realised that this is exactly what makes the British wrestling style so special. This match didn’t try to do anything too flashy very often, it instead took the basics, twisted them a little and executed them to total perfection.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a match build so slowly like that one and have it be so effective in encapsulating me in the action because it really had all the stuff you’d expect. Big guy beatdown leading the small guy coming back, limb targetting and constant lockups with endless back-and-forthing in the later stages. None of this stuff is anything special, but Dunne and WALTER took all of these tropes and did them in the best way possible, it led to moments where the audience legitimately gasped when Dunne started to make his comeback for the first time in the match, and they were hanging on every single move, much like I was at home.

Once again, there wasn’t a single meaningless movement in this match and it felt like every single move had impact. What’s most amazing though, is that the constant slow, mat-based style meant that when they finally did go for high spots, it felt HUGE. The crowd’s reaction when WALTER went up top for the first time was brilliant, and the powerbomb from the top rope was the single best spot of the entire night as far as I’m concerned.

Not only was this match brilliant from start to finish, but it opened my eyes to exactly what the British Style of wrestling could be at it’s best, and as far as I’m concerned it’s just as good as anything North America or even Japan can put out.

I honestly believe that Pete Dunne is the future of WWE, and the fact that this title loss felt like a huge deal (even if we all knew it was coming) is a testament to just how far he can go in his career, especially if he keeps putting on matches like this one.

So there you have it, that’s what I thought of every match that took place on NXT Takeover New York. If you enjoyed then a share would be a huge help, follow me on Twitter @10ryawoo if you want live tweets about the shows as they’re going down, and stay tuned early next week for my review of Wrestlemania itself!

NXT Takeover: New York Predictions

Wrestlemania weekend is quite the beast nowadays, with this year’s Wrestlemania looking to be the longest WWE show of all time, it’s in danger of wearing out its audience before the show’s even begun. However, the night before Mania we get to not worry about that for a few hours and watch what is arguably one of the most stacked cards in NXT history.

You don’t need me to tell you how geat Takeovers always are, but this one has a lot of intrigue to it thanks to a lot of storylines moving in directions I don’t think any of us were expecting. In part thanks to Ciampa’s injury and also thanks to sudden call ups.

So, we’ve got five matches which all look like they’re going to be amazing, so let’s get to predicting them.

War Raiders(c) vs Aleister Black & Ricochet
(NXT Tag Team Championships)

This match is arguably the easiest to pick on the whole card, purely because of what else is going on over on the main roster right now.

With Black & Ricochet having pretty much already left for main roster, this is quite clearly designed to be their farewell match. That said, this should be far from a phoned-in performance. We’ve seen all over the place for the past couple of months that these two seem to work really well as a team, granted they don’t quite gel like you’d expect a team to, but their offensive styles seem to complement each other quite well in the ring.

Meanwhile, War Raiders have always been great, and I imagine Black & Ricochet will give them a run for their money, but ultimately War Raiders will win, and Black & Ricochet will ride off into the NXT sunset together.

Velveteen Dream(c) vs Matt Riddle
(North American Championship)

The North American Championship seems like quite a weird one now I’m thinking about it because I don’t think we’re ever really going to get that long a reign with someone holding it.

While NXT veterans like Dream and Gargano have held it recently, for the most part it seems like it’s going to be used for people who are hot new stars on the scene, but aren’t ready to be thrown up into the NXT title scene just yet, which is exactly where Matt Riddle currently stands.

I like both of these guys, and I think Dream is going to have a field day when it comes to taunting, mocking and imitating Matt Riddle, but I’m not entirely sure if these two guys styles will mesh properly. They seem like two very different wrestlers to me, but I have faith that this one will at least be a fun match to watch.

As much as I’d love Velveteen Dream to hold onto this title for ages (mostly so he doesn’t have to go to main roster), it would be a bad idea for Matt Riddle to lose here, so I’ve got to go with him to pick up the title.

Pete Dunne(c) vs WALTER
(United Kingdom Championship)

I don’t often feel very patriotic, but when I look at these two…just wow.

Pete Dunne has been the lone constant in the WWE for the past couple of years, with almost 700 days as UK Champion, putting on amazing title defence after amazing title defence, it’s going to be very difficult to see with without a title over his shoulder anymore. I hope he eventually makes it to main roster and isn’t stuck in NXT UK forever, but for now, I’m going to enjoy it.

As much as I love Pete Dunne and wish he could remain UK Champion forever, Walter has to win here. NXT UK can’t really move forward in its current state, and I feel a new champion who doesn’t reign seemingly forever would be a good idea to help that along. Granted, I doubt Walter will lose the title very quickly once he has it, but having Pete Dunne at the top for so long hasn’t really done the UK scene many favours, even if he is amazing.

Shayna Baszler(c) vs Kairi Sane vs Io Shirai vs Bianca Belair
(NXT Women’s Championship)

Turns out this one is a really hard pick.

Generally, in a multi-person match for a title like this one, it’s generally a safe bet to say that the champion will retain because them losing the title in a multi-man would be a bit underwhelming.

That said, I can’t help but feel like it’s Baszler’s time to drop the title and move on from NXT before the summer. It’s inevitable that Duke & Shafir will get involved, although I imagine they’ll be easily repelled, but if I say that Baszler is going to drop the title, who to?

Kairi Sane seems like the easy choice, but we’ve already seen Sane & Baszler fight a lot and I don’t really feel like Sane needs the title right now. Bianca Belair could work, but I don’t think Belair could reasonably get away with beating Baszler in a one on one rematch, and she certainly can’t out heel Shayna Baszler to win. So what about Io Shirai? Well, there really is no tangible reason for her not to win the belt here, just for some reason I’m not feeling like it’s going to happen. I know she’s been around for a while now, and her winning the belt opens up opportunities for great matches, but it just feels like it’s too soon for me, and I can’t quite put my finger on why.

I’m going to take a risk and say Shayna Baszler is going to retain, hopefully, to lose the belt to Io Shirai in a one on one match at the next Takeover.

Johnny Gargano vs Adam Cole
(NXT Championship)
(2 out of 3 Falls)

Match of the year, right here.

I don’t think there’s any debate over whether or not this match will be good, Gargano doesn’t even know what a bad match is and Cole has shown time and time again that he can hang with the best. The real debate here is who’s going to win.

I think my head might be messing with me a bit because I desperately want Adam Cole to win, and it seems obvious that Gargano will win since Cole wasn’t even supposed to be in the match, but I like to think NXT storylines are more complex than that. Sure, logic dictates Gargano wins, but the NXT writers could quite easily change the storyline on the fly.

You also have to consider that it seemed Gargano was originally planned to be joining Ricochet & Black on main roster until Ciampa got injured, so maybe that will happen anyway past Wrestlemania? However, The Undisputed Era has done pretty much everything there is to do in NXT, and they feel like they’re about to leave as well, and while I’d love to see it, I’d argue Cole doesn’t really need to win the NXT title to be seen as a big deal on main roster.

While I would be entirely happy if Cole won, I think Johnny Gargano will finally win the big one here, probably losing the first fall thanks to the Undisputed Era before overcoming the odds to win the gold.

As always thank you very much for taking the time to read, if you enjoyed then please share it around on social media and make sure to follow me on Twitter @10ryawoo for plenty of thoughts about what’s going on throughout Mania weekend. Tomorrow will be my predictions for Wrestlemania, and then in the days after I will have my review of both Takeover and Mania, so stay tuned!