NXT

[XanMan]

Did they not catch Gargano punching him on camera?

I want 3 Stages of Hell.

[Degenerate]

Well, damn, that was a solid show.

The tag team match was great. I'm becoming a huge fan of The Undisputed Era. Lorcan and Burch were also tremendous - I hadn't really seen anything special about them but they brought it tonight.

Ricochet is proving to be transitioning very well in the WWE umbrella and I hope it continues. Also, I will be very disappointed if Velveteen Dream isn't NXT Champion at or before next Wrestlemania weekend. It's amazing how someone so young and relatively inexperienced has just about everything click so early in their career. Such a great character.

From the time I saw Shayna Baszler in a tiny Stardom show a year and a half ago, I felt she was a great talent, and I'm really happy she's been given the role she has in NXT right now, and she still is improving rapidly. I have a feeling she's far from her ceiling, and I look forward to seeing that progression. Not sure what Nikki Cross has in store for her future. Hopefully she'll be tagged along with Sanity when they debut on the main roster. I worry she'll be shoved aside anywhere else on her own.

It might be an unpopular opinion, but I don't see what they hype is for Aleister Black. He has a good look, but I just can't figure out what makes him stand out in the ring. Maybe I haven't seen enough of him or something, I don't know. It's weird that the NXT Championship match was the one I enjoyed the least in this card. That just doesn't feel right.

That main event was off the charts. Those guys had some of the most painful looking bumps I've ever seen, mixed with some amazing storytelling and keeping the door open to even more craziness in the future. I can't even fathom where they'll go from here. The 3 Stages of Hell seems to be the only viable option here given their last few encounters. They did show the ref taking a bump, but I do agree with LK above. It felt weird that Ciampa was tapping multiple times only to have the guys in suits pull Gargano off, and then conveniently the ref was up and ready to make the count after the DDT on the wooden boards. It was probably the only blemish on that match to me, but nothing too bad. It was still a great match and I can't wait to see where this goes.

The WWE needs to stop putting these Takeover shows the night before their main roster shows. I have no idea how I'll be able to fully enjoy Money In The Bank tomorrow after this show.

[Heisenberg]

See, part of me feels the same about the main. But then the other part of me didn’t like it cause it really does push the limit of belief and felt parts of it were overkill and I feel that ruined it. You go through that battle and have 6 superkicks delivered to you in a row and yet you’re up making the pin a minute later. I’m sorry, but that’s too unbelievable for me

[SirSam]

Dream & Ricochet was quite something. I haven't seen much of Ricochet outside of the WWE but he seems to fit in with the modern style that has evolved. Dream is a star in the making, I can't work out if I'm more hyped for him or Pete Dunne but I do know that the future looks bright with those two kicking around. His commitment to his character and the story of the match was very cool and I like that he isn't afraid to lean into the darker, more narcissistic parts of his character. Personally I don't mind if he doesn't end up with the NXT Championship, I'd be happy to see him as the North American Champion. He has years and years ahead of him so steady as she goes for me.

Was interesting to see Dream wearing Hogan stuff, perhaps yet another sign the WWE is paving the way for the Hulkster's return to the universe.

The main event was truly uncomfortable viewing towards the end, a great tale of when revenge goes too far. Some of the spots were insane. The commentary team said the production boxes must have been 15 feet up, I don't think it was quite that high but even 9-10 feet onto concrete with only a table to break your fall is sick.

To Heisenberg's point I think that there was nothing here that pushes things further than anything else we have seen before. Hell last match they did a powerbomb to the concrete a move that should probably end someone's career as a middle of the match spot.

[XanMan]

Live in the arena, the ref spots made sense. After Gargano was dragged away from the ring, the referee got up and started walking down the ramp. He glanced and saw the officials had Johnny in hand, so continued to the ring to check on the condition of Ciampa. Killer rolled up and was able to reposition the cuffs by going through his legs because of the length of the chain. They did a great job of distracting from that area of the ring; I forgot the wood was exposed until I heard the thud. Shocking moment.

[LibSuperstar]

TakeOver was pretty solid. I dug the Hogan tribute by Dream. Although the Women's Title match was underwhelming I liked the angle of Bazler retreating from Cross. The Street Fight was great. Gargano losing it after discovering his ring was gone was ace as was Ciampa coming back for the surprise win.

[LifeLostInRewind]

I finally got around to watching a Takeover event last night, and damn it was solid. Sold "A" show. Match of the night was the street fight for sure. Better wrestling and storytelling than WWE. Going to have to make it a point to watch more NXT!

[Team Farrell]

I really loved that Takeover show. The women's title match was the shits as I expected, and Lars (as much of a fan of his as I am) is nowhere near ready for that position, but overall it was a really good show. I actually couldn't believe that the main event was a WWE production at times given how liberally they were dishing out head shots with that trashcan lid.

I find it funny that Ciampa can nail Gargano in the dome with a trashcan lid as he's coming over the top, and can give those big running knees to the temple with the trashcan lid assist, but these two would be suspended, if not fired, for a properly protected chair shot.

I loved the finish, but I didn't. I loved that it came out of nowhere with sort of a surprise win for Ciampa, I loved the brutality of that final DDT, but the traditionalist in me hates pulling apart the mat and showing people the underneath -- there's a reason that the magician doesn't show off the wires for his trick. However, a nice, safe, protected chair shot to the head that Gargano could sell like death (and we haven't seen a head shot on WWE TV since Triple H vs Taker) would have had, in my opinion, an even more brutal and sick feeling at the end. Especially if the announcers had sold it like he'd taken it all too far they'd done a 30 or 60 day suspension angle with Ciampa afterward which, if announced today, would conveniently be over exactly the date for Takeover.

The storytelling in that match, though! Whomever laid it out is a genius. Introducing the handcuffs but having Gargano avoid them early on. Exposing the wood at about the half way point. The call back to a year ago with the LED board. Even the callback to their last match with Ciampa not hesitating for a millisecond to gouge Gargano with the crutch, really showing off how different the two are.

Everything that they teased was paid off later, and the whole thing was masterfully done.

Time for some speculation! Is NXT getting their first Hell in a Cell for Gargano-Ciampa III in Brooklyn?

[LK3185]

Agree with you about the Chairshots, Coach. Protected, it would be way safer.

Also though i don't mind the magic being exposed, with the boards cause in my mind, it only enhances what these guys do putting their bodies on the line. Although I don't want it to be overdone.

[comfortablynumb]

Yeah I’m not sure it’s exposing anything by showing the mat is boards covered with a cushion and a canvas. What else would it be?

[Team Farrell]

I think that most people assume that's what's under the canvas, but I personally don't like showing it off. It's like how I know that Aleister Black doesn't rise from the stage like Dracula and it must be some sort of lift device, but I don't want to see how it's done.

Part of the reason I don't like it is that the ring exists as it does for a reason, you're not supposed to know that there's padding there (even though you assume, and "everyone knows"), rings have skirts for a reason and it's not just to make it look professional or make it easier to hide your tools. Everything about the illusion has been carefully crafted and improved upon for generations (part of why I actually really like the LED skirts) and slowly that's stripped away.

I have no problem with people knowing that all there is to fall on is a little big of padding, some wood planks and steel. I'm happy when people catch a glimpse of the ring going up or coming down and realize that it's not a trampoline or a mattress. It's just when it happens in the body of the show that I'm not a huge fan. When you see them setting up or tearing down a ring, it's something that a kid will go tell their friends about or my dad will tell his buddies who say how fake it all is. When you expose it during a match, especially one with all those bumps, it becomes "oh yeah, and Gargano took a DDT on the wood floor of the ring as a finish."

At least it was the finish and it was a death bump that Gargano sold and had to be carted out after. They made it matter that as soon as that padding is pulled away if a guy bumps on there he's done. But what happens next time? When it's a false finish or just another big bump?

Case in point: Kevin Owen's apron bomb. You bump in the centre of the ring of a reason, and that move killed people. It was this vicious thing that we hadn't seen in WWE before and Zayn was carted off on a stretcher and missed weeks (months?) of action because of it. They explained that it's the hardest part of the ring and there is absolutely no give and that doing it was a step too far for Owens. Fast forward to Takeover: Chicago II, and I didn't even react to the third apron bump of the night off of a major move four matches in. It's just another big bump in the middle of the match and I didn't even bite on the near fall.

These things chip away at the foundation. If three years from now at Takeover: Brooklyn VI, Angelo Dawkins kicks out of Tucker Knight's powerbomb on the exposed wood as a false finish, why would I believe for a second that Braun Strowman could put Samoa Joe down with a running powerslam the next night in the main event of SummerSlam on the fully padded ring?

These spots make for great moments and holy shit chants, but they chip away and it adds up as time goes by and these spots are revisited. KO can't keep Daniel Bryan out for three weeks with an apron bomb in 2018, but in 2014 Zayn didn't wrestle again for two months.

[205 Clive]

It's a shame to see the apron bomb watered down so much. That should be the go to for if you want to rid someone from your life for a while. Not just a high point of an episode.

I thought Gargano vs Ciampa was marginally better than their NOLA fight. It was a bit overkill towards the end, especially with the handcuffs, but I suppose that added to the shock twist of fate that Gargano received by his defeated enemy rising from the dead one last time.

Again, it was very violent, but I feel this match got across their hatred for each other than the NOLA match.

[Prime Time]

At least it was the finish and it was a death bump that Gargano sold and had to be carted out after. They made it matter that as soon as that padding is pulled away if a guy bumps on there he's done. But what happens next time? When it's a false finish or just another big bump?

Case in point: Kevin Owen's apron bomb. You bump in the centre of the ring of a reason, and that move killed people. It was this vicious thing that we hadn't seen in WWE before and Zayn was carted off on a stretcher and missed weeks (months?) of action because of it. They explained that it's the hardest part of the ring and there is absolutely no give and that doing it was a step too far for Owens. Fast forward to Takeover: Chicago II, and I didn't even react to the third apron bump of the night off of a major move four matches in. It's just another big bump in the middle of the match and I didn't even bite on the near fall.

These things chip away at the foundation. If three years from now at Takeover: Brooklyn VI, Angelo Dawkins kicks out of Tucker Knight's powerbomb on the exposed wood as a false finish, why would I believe for a second that Braun Strowman could put Samoa Joe down with a running powerslam the next night in the main event of SummerSlam on the fully padded ring?

These spots make for great moments and holy shit chants, but they chip away and it adds up as time goes by and these spots are revisited. KO can't keep Daniel Bryan out for three weeks with an apron bomb in 2018, but in 2014 Zayn didn't wrestle again for two months.

Haven't seen anyone use this in a while, but I'm going to break it out - QFT.

[Oliver]

I'm going to go out on a limb, but I think they might have written Gargano off for a while with that spot too. I hope he's not just going to come out on the next show, or the week after, and face Kona Reeves or some bullshit.

The way I see it going is that Ciampa wins the title from Black at the next Takeover, they rematch at the Series weekend with Ciampa winning again, and then Gargano attacks him to set up a title match for the Rumble weekend.

[LK3185]

Jesus, i do not think we need to see Ciampa/Gargano 4 times.. as much as i like the feud. Keep it simple and blow it off at Summerslam weekend.