The NXT Thread: It Must Breakk You

[klunderbunker]

NXT
Date: July 18, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson

Tonight we get to see one of NXT’s best features in action. The main event of this week’s show is a triple threat match for the #1 contendership to the Women’s Title. Around here, that’s something that can headline a show without blinking an eye. On any other show, such a thing would be insane. Let’s get to it.

Click on the link below for the full review.

The Women's Night

[Jack-Hammer]

We've got Black vs. Ciampa next week and I've done my best to avoid spoilers but if you've visited a wrestling website in the past couple of days, there's no avoiding it as some articles flat out state what happened without you even having to click on them. If it winds up being a triple threat match for the NXT Championship at Brooklyn, then I'm fine with it because NXT almost never goes the three or fourway route when it comes to the NXT Championship. Hell, it doesn't really do it that often for any title. I still see the feud between Gargano and Ciamp ultimately ending up being for the NXT Championship, which is appropriate as I think it's been the best feud in all of wrestling all year.

As for the women, we've got Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane for the NXT Women's Championship after her win in a #1 contenders match this past Wednesday. I don't see Sane picking up the win, though I could be wrong as Kairi has the chops to do it, as she did it in last year's Mae Young Classic finals.

Based on Ricochet's words, we're all but certainly getting Adam Cole defending the NXT North American Championship against Ricochet, which should be a lot of fun.

Even though it's something of a rarity, I think we're going to get a third match between Mustache Mountain and the Undisputed Era for the NXT Tag Team Championship. These two teams have crushed it in their last two encounters, including what may possibly be the best match in the history of the NXT show on the WWE Network. I don't think I've seen two teams with this much chemistry with each other since the days of the Revival and American Alpha.

As for the fifth on the card, that's pretty wide open. Since EC3 and Kona Reeves interacted, I was afraid they were going to be on the Brooklyn card but they'll be on NXT next week instead, thankfully. Seeing the two side by side just make Kona Reeves look like an extremely poor imitation of what EC3 is all about, the similarities in their characters was even mentioned, at least on the surface. EC3 has a much better look, a much better physique, a whiter smile, etc., hell, he's just a much better looking guy all around and he's a lot better in the ring that Reeves, who is just this side of very average.

Based on what LOOKS to be how things are shaping up, this'll probably be the first TakeOver since Philadelphia back in January where the NXT Championship "feels" like it's the actual main event in terms of overall quality. Not that the NXT Championship matches haven't been high quality, but it's been damn near impossible for them to match up with the intensity and storytelling of Gargano vs. Ciampa.

[klunderbunker]

NXT
Date: July 25, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

Itâ??s a big match night as we have a rare NXT Title defense. Aleister Black is putting the title on the line against Tommaso Ciampa, who would make a rather terrifying champion. Weâ??re less than a month away from Takeover: Brooklyn IV and that means itâ??s time to start putting things together. Letâ??s get to it.

Click on the link below for the full review.

That One Show They Always Do

[Jack-Hammer]

More NXT goodness on top of goodness as things just keep rolling along.

Adam Cole vs. Sean Maluta was little more than a squash, which is okay as it got Cole on screen that the fans eat the guy up. He brags for a bit about this and that, out comes Ricochet to ultimately challenge him for a title match at TakeOver: Brooklyn. You can tell Ricochet isn't really in his element when it comes to promos, but he's solid and the fans like him so that's ultimately what matters. They mouth back and forth for a bit with Cole declining that he has anything to prove before leaving. O'Reilly and Strong come out to join him and they're about to make their way down to whoop up on Ricochet before the War Raiders show up, scare them half to death and they leave out through the crowd only to run into Mustache Mountain, where they get pasted briefly before fleeing. Within the first 12 minutes or so of the show, it looks like we've already got two matches set up for Brooklyn with Cole taking on Ricochet for the NXT NA Championship and either Mustache Mountain, the War Raiders or both going after O'Reilly and Strong for the NXT Tag Team Championship. Nice stuff.

There's a brief contract signing segment in William Regal's office between Shanya Baszler and Kairi Sane, who looks pretty damn scrumptious, as Sane earned the right to face Baszler in Brooklyn for the NXT Women's Championship. Baszler is such a bitch, which is a great thing for a heel to be as she comes off super confident, smarmy and is a great bully. She strikes me as the type who'll flounder under all the promo restrictions of Vince once she makes it to the main roster. She and Sane go back and forth a bit before both sign their name and Baszler splits.

Lacey Evans vs. Tenilla Price is basically a showcase for Evans, which is fine. Evans continues to improve in the ring as she establishes herself as a good, solid heel personality, I just think she needs a better finisher than a punch.

Aleister Black vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Championship is a fantastic outing with both men delivering a hard hitting piece of drama. I kind of rolled my eyes a little at the ref bump, but changed my mind on it as it wasn't you rstandard bump where the ref is barely touched and acts like he's in a coma. In this case, he was accidentally rammed into by Ciampa and knocked off the apron onto the concrete floor after Ciampa had pulled it up with the intention of delivering the hanging DDT to Black. As the ref is down, Black delivers Black Mass and has Ciampa down for about a count of 11 or 12. Ciampa tries to cheat by using the belt against Black but Johnny Gargano comes out to stop him and they play tug of war with the belt, which Gargano wins but winds up accidentally striking Black with the belt before he's then knocked out of the ring by Ciampa. Ciampa then delivers sort of a sit out Pedigree/Implant Buster finisher as the ref climbs back into the ring and makes the three count. This marks the first time since late 2016 that the NXT Championship has changed hands on an episode of the show. I loved the camera showing the reactions of various members of the crowd with some being pissed, some being shocked and some looking on the verge of tears. Ciampa is the best heel in all of wrestling right now, in my opinion, and this sets things up for a possible three way for Brooklyn. ****1/2

The first half of NXT was basically NXT setting things up, using its time wisely and generally just being solid as usual while setting up what much of TakeOver: Brooklyn will look like. The second half of the show was event was a TakeOver level match that led to a memorable and buzzworthy title change. You get the sense that it will wind up being Ciampa defending against Black and Gargano in Brooklyn with Ciampa retaining, maybe Gargano facing off against Black to determine who faces Ciampa in which Gargano wins and it sets up the Gargano vs. Ciampa rubber match to possibly end the feud with Gargano ultimately defeating the vile Ciampa, ending their epic program and becoming NXT Champion. All in all, I give tonight's show a solid A.

[Jack-Hammer]

There are some rumors going about that WWE is considering increasing the number of TakeOver specials to eight beginning next year. It feels like an edict that's come down from Vince himself, if it's true, which means it'll happen if that's what Vince wants. Vince rarely steps in and usurps Triple H's authority in NXT but when he does, that's ultimately it as he will always and truly have the final say over anything WWE related and NXT is WWE related. I'm beyond thankful that Vince mostly lets NXT alone to run so smoothly so I'm not sure how I feel about adding more TakeOver specials. What we've come to expect from the TakeOver shows the past few years have been PERHAPS the most consistently high quality and entertaining ppvs in all of wrestling and the way they have them set and spaced out now just seems perfect; WWE now considers MITB to be one of THE top shows they do along with the original Big Four and they have TakeOver specials during each of the weekends those shows take place and it just works. I'm worried that they'll have to get in a hurry, rush things and try to cram things just to get something on the shows. Right now, Vince is very much in the mind set of more is better, such as extending the times of ppvs and packing said shows with matches, despite all the complaints and evidence to the contrary. Vince told everyone this morning that HIS company already made $474 million the first 6 months of the year, so of course he ain't gonna listen to what we say.

[klunderbunker]

NXT
Date: August 1, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

Last week, evil won. Tommaso Ciampa defeated Aleister Black to become the new NXT Champion, thanks to an accidental belt shot to Black’s head at the hands of Johnny Gargano. That is Gargano’s, as well as a lot of other people’s, worst nightmare and it’s going to make for an interesting future. Let’s get to it.

The Cowardly Lion Would Wreck Thanos

[Jack-Hammer]

The likely main event for TakeOver: Brooklyn may not happen as I read a little while ago that Aleister Black is out injured and that the injury was severe enough to require surgery, at least according to Dave Meltzer. The injury is said to have happened during the main event match this past Saturday in Las Vegas during a match with Tommaso Ciampa and Black was crotched by Ciampa. The report says that Black will be okay but that the situation was described as "quite scary" when it happened.

Even though nothing has been officially announced, it seems obvious that they were building to a triple threat match between Ciampa, Black and Johnny Gargano for the main event at TakekOver: Brooklyn. Exactly what "crotched" means in this case could be that Black was crotched on the top rope and didn't land right or that Ciampa delivered a low blow that legitimately landed. TakeOver: Brooklyn is only about 2 weeks away and if Black did indeed suffer a crotch injury severe enough that he's had to have surgery to fix it, then I wouldn't expect him to be back so soon. Of course, that could all just be me assigning more severity to the injury because of the location and that it might not actually be that severe, comparatively speaking, but it's all up in the air at this point.

It seems too soon for Gargano and Ciampa to have their next 1 on 1 bout since Ciampa just won the title a week ago and it's too soon to take the title off Ciampa. If the triple threat can't happen, a plan could be for Ciampa to announce that he's not going to defend HIS NXT Championship in Brooklyn and that Johnny Gargano doesn't deserve an opportunity, which could be confirmed by William Regal with Regal pointing out that Gargano's interference cost Black the title in the first place and that he doesn't believe in rewarding such behavior with a title opportunity. Of course, this leaves a big hole for Brooklyn but if they absolutely have to go with Ciampa vs. Gargano, maybe Black could make an appearance and wind up costing Gargano the chance of winning, furthering things between them, maybe setting up the threeway match for TakeOver: WarGames and putting off the real title match between Ciampa and Gargano until the TakeOver during Royal Rumble weekend.

[smarkmouth]

It seems too soon for Gargano and Ciampa to have their next 1 on 1 bout since Ciampa just won the title a week ago and it's too soon to take the title off Ciampa. If the triple threat can't happen, a plan could be for Ciampa to announce that he's not going to defend HIS NXT Championship in Brooklyn and that Johnny Gargano doesn't deserve an opportunity, which could be confirmed by William Regal with Regal pointing out that Gargano's interference cost Black the title in the first place and that he doesn't believe in rewarding such behavior with a title opportunity. Of course, this leaves a big hole for Brooklyn but if they absolutely have to go with Ciampa vs. Gargano, maybe Black could make an appearance and wind up costing Gargano the chance of winning, furthering things between them, maybe setting up the threeway match for TakeOver: WarGames and putting off the real title match between Ciampa and Gargano until the TakeOver during Royal Rumble weekend.

A good adaptive scenario, but we can't forget that they've pretaped everything between now and Brooklyn, so if Black can't compete I think they will announce it the night of TakeOver in order to let the build play out.

It is early, but I think they're stuck with Gargano vs Ciampa for Brooklyn(Black removed by Mr. Regal at the topmof the show) , but it's definitely not the last chapter. I'd like to see it set up as a one on one match with no stipulation unlike their last two encounters. Let the angle of Johnny becoming Ciampa continue to develop, in the shape of Johnny getting himself disqualified for getting violent. Hell, maybe even Johnny wins, but a post match beatdown to Tomasso forces the ref reversing the decision.

From then, let Johnny Gargano pick up the pieces of himself en route to TakeOver during Rumble weekend.

[klunderbunker]

NXT
Date: August 8, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

It’s time for a big match this week with Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano. These two have a shared enemy in Tommaso Ciampa, who won the NXT Title thanks to Gargano accidentally knocking Black out. We’re very close to Takeover and that means we need a main event, which is likely to be announced tonight. Let’s get to it.

Click on the link below for the full review.

And For Once It Makes Sense

[Jack-Hammer]

http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/...r-brooklyn-iv/

This was posted just a few minutes ago in regards to the main event for TakeOver: Brooklyn III. Aleister Black is officially out of the main event due to the groin injury he suffered in a recent house show match against Tommaso Ciampa. As a result, the NXT Championship match will now be between Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano under Last Man Standing rules. So, as of right now, the final card for TakeOver: Brooklyn III appears to be this:

NXT Championship: Last Man Standing Match - Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano
NXT North American Championship: Adam Cole vs. Ricochet
NXT Women's Championship: Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane
NXT Tag Team Championship: The Undisputed Era vs. Mustache Mountain
Singles Match: EC3 vs. The Velveteen Dream

The NXT Championship match is up in the air at this point as to who wins. MAYBE the plan was for Ciampa to retain over Black and Gargano in a triple threat match, eventually move onto the rubber singles match with Gargano with Gargano winning the title and closing the door on his feud with Ciampa. With Black being out injured, MAYBE they've decided to just go ahead and move things up with ending the program with both men moving onto other things rather than prolonging it. It'll make Ciampa the shortest reigning champion in history but if the overall payoff is for Gargano to finally get his revenge by beating Ciampa AND by doing so for the NXT Championship, then closing the book on their program might be the best way to do. After all, there's no word on when Black will be returning and there's no shortage of viable challengers for Gargano as champion.

I think Ricochet will walk out of Brooklyn as the new NXT North American Champion. He's already really over with fans, there are reports that he's really helping boost NXT's ticket sales and Adam Cole is someone who is among those viable challengers to Gargano as NXT Champion, if that's the route they're ultimately going to take.

As for the NXT Women's Championship, Sane or Candice LeRae are probably the strongest options at this point to dethrone Baszler as champion at this point. Sane and Baszler hold victories over each other and Baszler defeated LeRae recently in a good, hard fought match so I think there's a good chance of Sane coming out on top next Saturday. Also, within the next month or so, we'll probably begin seeing an infusion of fresh female talent into NXT featuring women from the Mae Young Classic.

I expect Strong and O'Reilly to retain the NXT Tag Team Championship against Mustache Mountain, but both teams will deliver another outstanding classic outing like their previous two encounters. MM winning the titles as part of the UK Championship tournament card was done for the sake of the card and to generate a nice surprise for the English fans and the return match they had about 6 weeks ago may well have been the greatest match in the history of the NXT TV show. MM is a fun team, but the Undisputed Era has Heavy Machinery, the Street Profits, the Mighty and the War Raiders especially waiting on them.

EC3 vs the Velveteen Dream looks like the "weak" match on the card, though that's just because it's not for a title. EC3 has been on a roll lately, but I think Dream needs the win here more. Dream has delivered some amazing performances at past TakeOver events, especially being part of the NXT NA Championship ladder match at TakeOver: New Orleans and what many believe was a career defining performance against Aleister Black at TakeOver: WarGames, but he's up short in these big matches. His biggest win in NXT is probably his win over Kassius Ohno at TakeOver: Philadelphia back in January and that's not as big of a deal as it would've been 18 or so months ago when Ohno returned to NXT as he's put over a lot of other wrestlers since then as NXT's unofficial gatekeeper.