It goes without saying, but the past seven days in the world of professional wrestling have been nothing short of eventful. The inner workings of the WWE have been shaken to their core after a tell all Jon Moxley interview on Talk is Jericho, not to mention the very successful emergence of All Elite Wrestling. With reports of heavy criticism and frustrations growing within the WWE corporate conglomerate, there has been one place in the WWE that has always remained at the top of its game. That of course, is HHH’s labor of love, NXT.
Needless to say expectations going into the somewhat impromptu, yet timely NXT Takeover XXV are incredibly high. In fact, I may go as far to say that it is now more important than ever for my favorite brand to knock this one out of the park.
Right out of the gate the tone is set with Triple H’s very fitting dialogue in the opening video package:
“It’s not about what we think about this. It’s what the NXT Universe thinks. This is YOUR show. It’s not about money, it’s not about fame. It’s not about any of that. It is about passion and their desire to be the best.”
Roderick Strong vs. Matt Riddle
It’s no secret that I’ve been tough on Riddle since his debut in the black and yellow brand. That being said, he has absolutely won me over in recent bouts with the likes of Adam Cole and Velveteen Dream. To no surprise, this match also delivered big time.
Lots of mat wrestling early until Riddle busts out the trifecta gut wrench suplexes, followed by a beautiful flying strike off the ring steps. The Messiah of the Back Breaker (as referred to by the always amazing Mauro Ranallo) is able to slow The king of Bro’s momentum with a devastating back-breaker on the apron. Strong continues to focus on Riddle’s back using the ring post and then hitting an Olympic Slam. Riddle recovers and even hits a beautiful GTS (The Bro 2 Sleep) into a German Suplex pin. Riddle really pulls out all the stops in this one, as he goes for several rip cord knee strikes, quick reversals, and even a moonsault! Both men have been very impressive thus far, but they are kicking out of everything!
Riddle locks in a lion tamer type maneuver, but Riddle locks in the Bro-mission. Strong escapes but is met with a flurry of elbow strikes. Riddle closes out this incredible match with a jumping tombstone Piledriver for the 1, 2, 3 and the win.
NXT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP LADDER MATCH: Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) vs. Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) vs. Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler) vs. Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan
Anyone else digging those black ladders? I digress.
On paper, this match featuring some of the longest tenured NXT superstars could be an absolute show steal-er.
Undisputed Era dominate early with some tornado tag team action. Lorcan counters with more chops than a butcher shop, but the Undisputed Era still take control of the ring. After a few dives to the outside by multiple competitors we still haven’t seen a ladder in the ring throughout the first five minutes.
Once we finally do see a ladder in the ring it continuously falls onto Kyle O’ Reilly every which way. Burch and Lorcan Perform an amazing double suplex with a ladder onto The Forgotten sons. And you’ll never guess who the ladder lands on yet again. Just when we think O’Reilly is finally in the clear he is thrown into a standing ladder that falls, allowing for his own partner to fall onto him. OUCH! Without missing a beat Mauro exclaims, “They Killed KYLE!!”
If things couldn’t get any worse for Kyle, the third member of The Forgotten Sons, Jackson Ryker comes down the ramp with his eyes locked on the already battered Undisputed Era member. O’Reilly is sent back first into the ladder. Ryker clears the ring but is eventually taken out by a six man attack.
Personal fave, Montez Ford flies over a horizontal ladder and over the top rope onto Ryker. This guy always impresses.
Throughout the match The Street Profits perform some tandem offense of their own with a Team Angle Leap Frog and a Doomsday device type BlockBuster attack. Ford again flies high with a springboard onto the ladder for the long awaited Tag Team Title win for the Street Profits. Well Deserved and one hundred percent the right call. Congrats to Dawkins and Ford.
NXT North American Championship Match: Tyler Breeze vs. The Velveteen Dream (C)
Let’s face it. From what we’ve been hearing lately, many main roster superstars would welcome a move to NXT. I’m absolutely thrilled to see Tyler Breeze back on WWE’s third brand and as Mauro so accurately put it, this is a dream match of sorts. (Not sure if the pun was intended).
After a magnificent entrance by Velveteen Dream the mind games start almost immediately. Lots of posing and fake outs by both competitors. Breeze picks up the early momentum. In fact, this is probably the most aggressive I’ve ever seen Breeze. Dream finally slows Breeze’s momentum by slamming his head repeatedly on the announcer’s table. To add insult to injury, Dream takes a selfie with his pummeled opponent and the North American Championship. Dream hits a Dream Valley Driver but Prince Pretty kicks out. Dream hits a Dream-D-T. But again, Tyler Breeze kicks out.
Both competitors go for a tombstone, and both reverse the move. The story of this match is ego as Dream hits an Unprettier on the former Fashion Patrol member. Breeze rallies and hits a third Super Model Kick into his own Unprettier, but Dream still kicks out! Breeze hits The Beauty Shot onto Dream, but the North American Champ wisely rolls out of the ring.
Breeze tries to drag Dream back into the ring in order to win the title, but is unable to get him there. Instead of breaking the count, he yells at the ref to stop counting. I did not like this particular approach, as it made little sense to me. The aftermath leads to Dream coming in with the title as a distraction. After some hot potato the ref ends up with the title, allowing for Velveteen to take advantage of the distraction. Dream hits a Dream Valley Driver and the Purple Rain Maker to retain.
Post match, we get a respectful selfie. These superstars would make for a fun tag team down the road, but neither of them need it.
NXT Women’s Championship Match: “The Genius of the Sky” Io Shirai vs. “The Queen of Spades” Shayna Baszler (C)
I’m very excited for this match, but I expect the bout to set up Candice LaRae vs. Baszler in the very near future. And I’m more than okay with that.
But wait! Baszler takes the ring by herself! I’m shocked. The build for this match saw two MMA Horsewomen and Candice LaRae at ringside.
Regardless the early goings of this match feature Io using her speed advantage for much of the early offense. Shiari is quickly grounded by the Queen of Spades and is slowly picked apart. Shirai’s left arm is immediately injured. Shirai fights back with a 619 and a cross face submission but the NXT Women’s Champion is just too strong. Anytime Io gets any sort of momentum, Baszler shuts her down.
A springboard dropkick finally sends The Queen of Spades to the outside and she is met with a beautiful moonsault from the top turnbuckle. Once Io gets continued momentum Shafir and Duke emerge. But they are halted by a Kendo Stick Candice! Candice single handed-ly takes out both MMA Horsewoman. Bazler hits Kirafuda Clutch several times after many reversals to the maneuver. Once the Kirafuda clutch is locked in a for few minutes, Shirai has no choice but to tap out. The Queen of Spades reigns supreme.
But wait! This is not over. An irate Io Shirai attacks Bazler with the Kendo Stick. Then she does something I’ve never seen before – A moonsault Chairshot on the NXT Women’s Champion! The Queen of Spades is left lying in the ring as the crowd chants, “You Deserve it!”
The NXT Championship Match: Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano (C)
The last time these two superstars met at Takeover: New York, they absolutely tore the house down in a 2 out of 3 falls match that many tout as a Match of the Year contender. The question was could these two recreate the magic from New York? The Answer simply, is Yes.
For starters, the entrances alone were certainly on point. Cole made his way to the ring with Rapper Josiah Williams who was spitting some pretty epic rhymes to the Undisputed Era Theme. Johnny Gargano continued to show his love for all things Marvel with some absolutely amazing Captain Marvel-inspired ring gear.
Both superstars went for the early finishing moves and pinfalls. This lead to a flurry of fast paced reversals. Both men did their homework for this one as shown by the incredible amount of counters and reversals early on. Gargano caught some momentum with an apron strike onto Cole’s arm. The technician continued to work the Undisputed Era leader’s arm and back. Gargano hits a slingshot spear and a tornado flatliner. All the while he is favoring his knee.
Cole turns things around with a catching back stabber on a diving Johnny Wrestling. The two begin to mirror each other’s moves with more kicks than a mother approved cereal cabinet. We even get a pretty sweet double super kick on the outside. As the two return to the ring to break the count, Gargano nearly steals one with a quick tornado DDT. Gargano hits a double stomp/curb stomp of sorts but hesitates on a dive to the outside, allowing Cole to hit two Ushigoroshis and Gargano desperately attacks the arm of Cole and locks his opponent into the Gargano Escape.
Cole wisely counters into a figure four! Gargano reverses the pressure, and Cole gets to the bottom rope for the break.
The match quickly becomes a brawl. Gargano attempts a suicide dive that is met with a vicious super kick. Cole hits a jumping Panama Sunrise on Gargano on the outside and nearly wins the match. Cole tells Gargano he’s had his moment. Now it’s his turn. Cole misses a running kick but locks in the Gargano escape! Gargano in turn steals the Last Shot finisher, but Cole kicks out! After a reverse-rana, Cole somehow hits his own Last Shot, but Gargano escapes the pinfall! The chants of, “Fight Forever” and “NXT” are now deafening!
A frustrated Adam Cole grabs a steal chair and argues with the ref. Gargano goes for another suicide dive but takes out the ref. Cole goes for the chairshot, but Gargano hits the Chair to Face Super Kick! The ref is still out so Johnny brings him back to the ring. Cole plays mind games and acts as if he is calling out the Undisputed Era. Cole takes advantage and hits a DDT for the near fall. Adam Cole goes for another last shot, but Gargano can’t even hold himself up. As Cole approaches Gargano locks in the Gargano Escape. Gargano was playing possum! Cole targets the injured knee for the escape. After a Panama Sunrise into a literal Last Shot Adam Cole is your New NXT Champion!
Final Thoughts: Cole more than deserves the win, but I must say I’m certainly disappointed by the incredibly short title reign of the heart and soul of NXT himself, Mr. Johnny Gargano. The guy knows how to tell a story in the ring and is always involved in my match of the year picks. Another missed opportunity would be the first ever Husband and Wife Champs in WWE History had Candice eventually won the NXT Women’s Championship.
Although disappointed, Cole has more than earned this. Let’s face it. The reign of the Undisputed Era dripping with gold, starts now. BAY! BAY!
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
