NXT WarGames LD

[ShinChan]

No, he isn’t. He’s generic as fuck. To be successful in the WWE, you have to have more than just good movez.

And he's much more than just good moves.

[Jack-Hammer]

Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno - This didn't really even count as a match as it was really about introducing Matt Riddle to fans on a big stage and it was ultimately successful. Riddle is loaded with charisma and personality, though I'm someone who could get annoyed with all the "bro" stuff quickly. I'm not hugely familiar with Riddle as a wrestler, I just know he has a ton of buzz, but as long as he doesn't say "bro" in every other breath the way some people say "dude" then I can live with it. The live crowd was super hot for him so this was ultimately a success. Hopefully, the two of them will have an actual match in the near future.

NXT Women's Championship 2 out of 3 Falls Match: Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane - I was expecting a little more out of this match, but I dug the sense of urgency and these two have really good chemistry together. I felt all the outside interference from Baszler's Horsewomen allies was a little too much given the length of the match and the fact that the match only went about 11 minutes made the 2 out of 3 falls stipulation feel more than a tad rushed. However, they packed a lot of action and drama into the time they were given and the help that Sane received from Dakota Kai and Io Sharai was a nice touch and it could lead to a fun six woman feud. Baszler scoring the win was a nice touch and I eventually see her moving onto feuding with Io for the title. Not the best match of their series, but the overall action and the hot crowd made this a lot of fun all the same. ***1/2, MAYBE ***3/4

Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano - Now this was one hell of a physical outing with two guys just beating the ever loving crap out of each other. The storytelling was there, the chemistry was there and this was Black's best match since his bout with the Velveteen Dream. Gargano, to me, does a great job at doing all the little things, whether he's a heel or a babyface, and all those little things add up to a lot. I also liked how they didn't have Gargano play the chicken shit heel here where he'd run all over the place trying to avoid Black as it told an interesting story. Gargano taking it to Black and actually countering just about everything he threw at him in the early going was a nice touch and really made Gargano feel like a genuine threat. There were some great, dramatic near falls at various points throughout the match and Black doesn't look like he's missed a step and Gargano looks like he may have put on 5 or 10 lbs. of muscle as he's in fantastic shape but not quite as lean or vascular as he has been. The striking ability of these two is really a lot of fun to watch and they truly know what they're doing; wrestlers any less skilled at utilizing strikes could wind up doing a lot of damage to each other in really short order. The ending of Gargano absorbing w Black Mass kicks was sweet, as was Black's line of absolving Gargano of his "sins" as it looks like things might be over between them, at least for now. The match went a bit past the 18 minute mark and could've gone another 10, at least, without overstaying its welcome. ****1/2

NXT Championship: Tommaso Ciampa vs. the Velveteen Dream - As Mauro Ranallo said, this was another instant classic and it ultimately wound up stealing the show. It started off nice and slow with both wrestlers playing to the crowd, playing head games with each other. Dream is so loaded with charisma that it's not even funny and it was fun seeing him channel some of the signature spots and mannerisms of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. This was another one of those matches where everything just seemed to click as the fans were hanging on every second of the match, a slew of dramatic and believable near falls, great selling of each other's offense and top notch storytelling. When Dream managed to land the Purple Rain elbow drop, I thought it was over and the second attempt, which saw Dream attempt to utilize the apron, was a great splat. This was one of those matches where I didn't know who would come out on top until the very end and I really dug that it didn't become a finish fest. Ciampa picked up the win around the 23 minute mark after hitting the draping DDT onto the metal strip connecting the two rings together, which Dream sold the hell out of by playing as though he was truly out cold. I've got no problem with Ciampa retaining and I'd have been just fine with Dream winning, which I think he'll wind up doing before long as the kid's too much of a star already at just 23 years old. *****

[B]WarGames: The War Raiders, Pete Dunne & Ricochet vs. the Undisputed Era - While I don't think it was quite as good as last year's WarGames, it was still a highly entertaining, physical bout that was gloriously chaotic and that's exactly what a match like this is supposed to be. I didn't expect the UE to come out with the victory as I just didn't see them winning this match in back to back years, but that was ultimately okay because, as I said, a match like this is more about the chaos; as a result, you get the feeling that whoever won ultimately deserved to do so. Given that Hanson & Rowe pushed Pete Dunne away from the cage door to enter ahead of him made me wonder if he might've screwed over his own team before the end, I didn't really expect that but it would've been fitting with Dunne's persona. The drama of Bobby Fish using the lock that was on the UE's shark cage to lock Dunne in, before tossing the key, was a fun bit but I never really bought into the drama because it's not as if the match itself could "officially begin" without Dunne and, frankly, Dunne looked like he could've squeezed through the bars of the door as they looked, to me at least, that they were set far enough apart. Still, the energy of the crowd helped tp make it feel like it did add a little something to the match. All eight men worked their asses off and everyone contributed something unique to the match. Hanson & Rowe were impressive as the two powerhouses of the match, Ricochet is so agile that it's almost inhuman, Fish came off like a wily scrappy veteran while Dunne, Cole, O'Reilly & Strong are all jacks of all trades. Ricochet's moonsault off the top of the cage, or 730 or whatever you call it, looked sick and while it was one of those overly choreographed spots where guys were standing around just waiting to catch it, it was so impressive looking that it took away much of the sting of that. The double pin on Adam Cole after Dunne hit the Bitter End and Ricochet landed what looked to be a 450 from the top, and the staredown that followed, was a nice touch and suggested the renewal of their rivalry. Those two had what may have been the best match in the history of the NXT TV program earlier this year, prior to the UE interfereing, and it makes me wonder if Ricochet will be the one to end Dunne's historic UK Championship run, even though he's not British, Australian or even European, or could Dunne become the first dual champion in NXT history. The match itself went about 42 minutes and it probably could've stood to have shaved off 8 or 10 minutes, but it was still great fun. ****1/4

Final Thoughts - So another TakeOver is in the history books and it's essentially more of the same: pretty much the best 2.5-3 hours of wrestling you're likely to see. It's easy to run out of good things to say because these shows always deliver and deliver in a big time way. Triple H said in an interview earlier this week as to why this would be a four match show and aside from saying that some of the matches would probably require more time than normal, he also said something to the degree that he's not a fan of having more matches on the card just for the sake of having more. It's such a sharp contrast from Vince McMahon's philosophy of more being better. He also said something to the effect that he feels when a show is over, you should leave the fans wanting more rather than leaving the fans fatigued which, again, is a complete 180 from Vince's belief and Triple H understands that. For instance, by the end of Survivor Series tonight, a lot of fans are probably going to be exhausted and thankful that the show is over considering that there's going to be a 2 hour kickoff show and a main card that will be a minimum of 4 hours. So, don't be at all surprised if TakeOver completely outperforms the main roster's effort tonight, which is something that's been par for the course for years now. When you have a card where the "weakest" match of the night is one in which a case could probably be made for still being 4 star outing, then you're most definitely getting your money's worth and then some. The NXT Championship match stole the show and, for me, was a legit 5 star effort from Ciampa and Dream. Black vs. Gargano was a physical storytelling feast and WarGames was another gloriously chaotic hard hitting affair. For me, TakeOver: New Orleans is still the show of the year but this show still delivered with the same level of high quality that we've come to expect from TakeOver.

Grade: A

[Yer Maw]

New fan of War Raiders right here. Especially Hanson, he is spectacular.