That is what I have to say about tonight's show. Simply incredible to watch. I have learned to never doubt TakeOver shows, and I certainly thought this was going to be a great show. I underestimated how good this show would be.
Let's get into it...
NXT North American Championship Ladder Match
Holy Crap. Where do I start?!? I think I will start by saying this was absolutely insane. So many crazy spots from guys I never imagined. Lars Sullivan killed it. EC3 got killed multiple times. Killian Dain was a beast. Velveteen Dream came off like a star. Ricochet came off even better... and then Adam Cole stole it at the end. Great spots, great drama, great crowd, and most importantly... GREAT EFFORT. Effort will always bump a match up. This is no exception. This set an amazing bar to open the program.
Rating: ****1/2
NXT Women's Championship- Ember Moon (c) vs. Shayna Baszler
A tough spot for the ladies having to follow that crazy ladder match. They did just fine though and told a good story. I absolutely loved the storytelling of Baszler getting her arm wrecked after all of the punishment she has dished out on her victims. What made that work was having Ember Moon get that satisfaction, only to lose in the end to Shayna's relentless drive. The spot of the match for me was the counter to the Eclipse into the choke. Shayna having to resort to holding her own hair to keep the hold was absolutely awesome.
The work wasn't incredible, but the story kicked ass, so this worked for me. My only issue with the story is that it should have happened at the last TakeOver. Shayna should have never lost. That being said, I still really enjoyed it. I am all in on this Baszler character and I hope she has a dominant run and a new hero can rise out of the ashes.
Rating: ***3/4
NXT Tag Team Championship/Dusty Classic Triple Threat- Undisputed Era (c) vs. Authors of Pain vs. Roderick Strong & Pete Dunne
It was a decent match, but in typical WWE fashion the story was the most important factor. That isn't a bad thing in this case. The match was fun, and had some good action. The end of the match was the key here. Strong and Dunne had it won after Dunne hit the Bitter End, but then Roddy broke up the pin and hit the End of Heartache. Roddy then pulled O'Reilly's body on top of Dunne for the win. This set up Roddy joining the Undisputed Era and giving us heel Roderick Strong. My match rating won't be high, but I welcome the turn.
Rating: ***1/2
NXT Championship- Andrade "Cien" Almas (c) vs. Aleister Black
Whoa boy did I enjoy this match. These two worked a very good match that built up very nicely and gave us a great story and finish. Aleister and Almas went back and forth, but Vega was always present. She has been such a huge part of this act, and she was up to all of her antics on this occasion. The best part of it, was that their greatest strength turned to their downfall. Vega ended up costing Almas the match, and with an awesome spot, Almas got a Black Mass straight to the face. Due to the crazy nature of this show, and my exhaustion going into the program, the match took a moment to sink in, but when it did, it never let go. Black and Almas are two world class performers and this was excellent. New champion, great match. Awesome.
Rating: ****1/2
Johnny Gargano vs. Tomasso Ciampa: Unsanctioned Match
The turn at NXT Chicago was unbelievable and due to injury, we had to wait a very long time for this payoff. This ended up working in NXT's favor, as Gargano was able to build his own story only for his past to return and potentially end his NXT career. Johnny Gargano is the ultimate babyface and Ciampa is an amazing heel. The build to this match was easily the best of the bunch and Gargano is very over, so this was the logical main event.
Boy, oh boy, did they deliver tonight. This match told an incredible story (par for the course for this show, but this one was particularly special.) This match had so much to offer to the viewer. So much emotion and physicality, some insanely dangerous spots, and an AMAZING finish made this one special. The only thing that kept this from being perfect, in my opinion, was the length and some of the big spots that were kicked out of. There were a few moments that felt impossible to kick out, but the match kept going. It didn't kill the match for me, but I felt it could have been slightly tighter. I should note, this is very nit picky. This match ruled. The finishing sequence and the callback to them sitting in the ring together brought back so much emotion and tugged at my heart.
This match was special and provided a perfect ending to a near perfect show.
Rating: ****3/4
FINAL THOUGHTS:
This show is must-watch for any wrestling fan. This show felt special from beginning to end, and everything was good at worst. I had three matches above 4 stars. There were only five matches on this card and three of them delivered in spades with the other two being very good. If you for some reason read this before watching the show... Go watch it right now. Watch it twice, even. This show is that good.
That is all I have right now. I have to watch the rest of Supercard of Honor for Ring of Honor. Have a great day, my friends. Oh and....... Happy Wrestlemania day!!!!!
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