Before I had even tuned in to this episode which we’ll call NXT Takeover on USA, I was flooded by the fans’ elations on social media that the voice of NXT, the bipolar rock-and-roller, Mauro Ranallo would be calling it from the mic.
Io Shirai vs Chelsea Green vs Dakota Kai vs Teagan Nox vs Mia Yim vs Candice LeRae
We open NXT Takeover on USA to an empty Full Sail Arena and a six-woman ladder match to determine the #1 contender for Charlotte Flair’s newly won NXT Women’s Championship. Both Dakota Kai and Chelsea Green bring x-factors with them: Kai is accompanied by the towering Raquel Gonzalez and Chelsea is, of course, represented by Robert Stone.
Early goings see Dakota attempt to clean house and immediately call for the ladder. Mia Yim blocks that move by dropkicking Raquel carrying the ladder. The Kiwi then gets backed up by Yim and LeRae… right into Teagan Nox. Dakota stares down three sets of toes that she’s stepped on lately and all start putting their foot down on her in the corner.
Io Shirai and Candice battle it out, each nearly able to drive the other onto a prone ladder in the ring, but the opportunistic Chelsea Green takes out Io with a bulldog onto the ladder. She’s promptly pulled out by Mia Yim and this gives Teagan Nox and Dakota Kai another chance to “Fight for ev-er.” In a curious spot, Teagan completely no-sells Kai’s running corner kick before hitting her chokeslam. Teagan and Chelsea Green fight over a ladder until Green is driven back into the barricade. Dakota recovers to keep Nox from climbing to the top before the rest of the field fills the ring with another ladder to scramble for the prize.
When we come back from commercial (and really why are we coming back to find the match having elapsed during that time in a taped match?,) Raquel Gonzalez has cleared the ring and retrieves Dakota Kai from the ringside area. The Amazonian Gonzalez actually lifts a woozy Dakota onto her shoulders and begins ascending the ladder. She nearly literally carries Dakota to victory before being stopped by Mia Yim. Candice LeRae pulls down Dakota while Teagan Nox assists Mia in powerbombing Gonzalez off the second rope and through a table set up on the outside! Dakota Kai kicks Teagan Nox off her perch and jackknifes a ladder set up on the outside!
Dakota is nearly distracted enough by losing her enforcer that she only barely stops Candice LeRae from getting to the briefcase. Candice takes out Dakota before getting caught up with Io Shirai. With the ring empty, Robert Stone tries to motivate a one-legged Chelsea Green and even climbs the ladder himself to help pull her up. They’re dumped sideways onto the ring ropes by Io and Candice.
It’s a short-lived alliance though, as both women brawl their way up the ladder until Io manages to shove Candice down onto a ladder stretched out in one corner of the ring. From there, it’s elementary and The Genius of the Skies holds the briefcase high atop Full Sail.
Winner: Io Shirai
We’re played a video package of Finn Balor’s recent run-ins with Imperium on both NXT and NXT UK including the second half of his match against Alexander Wolfe. The Prince has words for NXT UK Champion, Walter, and promises to break Imperium’s dominance.
A choppy and fast-paced montage of taped fists, gothic icons, and an angry face plays and finishes on a clock striking twelve. Those who have been waiting know this means that time is up and Killer Kross is on his way. Personally, I’m excited for this. Kross is an impact player (no pun intended) and he and Scarlet Bordeaux will be huge additions to NXT and beyond.
A look back at recent weeks has seen a non-descript SUV pull up at NXT events and two men in luchador masks exit to kidnap NXT wrestlers in their ring gear. Curious to see how this proceeds.
Indus Sher vs Ever Rise
Two weeks ago, Malcolm Bivens introduced Matt Riddle and the NXT to his new acquisition, Indus Sher. Rinku and Saurav are two massive specimens with the smaller Rinku at 6’4” and 275lbs and Sarav a towering 6’8”. They looked a bit green and, at one point, almost scary setting up a two-man biel toss. Their opponents, Chase Parker and Matt Martel, are a Quebecois duo (Editor’s Note: They were formerly 3.0 in Chikara)who actually manage to hold their own for a while in this protracted slaughter by isolating Rinku for a moment. Indus Sher manages to pick up the win with a variation of the ol’ Veg-O-Matic/Sidewinder double team.
Fun fact: Rinku is former professional cricket and baseball player and the inspiration for the movie, Million Dollar Arm.
Poolside, NXT Champion, Adam Cole congratulates Velveteen Dream for “getting lucky” against Bobby Fish but insists that he has no business challenging for Cole’s title. Cole does, however, let Dream know that, if he ever did allow him into the ring, he would “shatter the spotlight.”
Charly Caruso speaks with Charlotte Flair following her win a Wrestlemania. The Queen tells her that her father taught her that it’s the man who make the suit and not the other way around. She says that Rhea Ripley was “alright” but that the title was now hers to make. Rhea Ripley is seen sweat-soaked and teary-eyed with her only response being, “She’s a lot better than I thought.” It doesn’t make Rhea look too strong and I don’t know if I’m okay with that.
Johnny Gargano vs Tomasso Ciampa
Originally, the earlier ladder match and this one were supposed to be part of the NXT Takeover in Tampa which never happened. Instead, the newly-formed WWE cinematic universe gets to add a new installment.
Johnny pulls up to hand the car off to Candice LeRae, telling her that he needs to do this. She ignores him except to stop him and hand him a paper package he seemingly left in the car. When Gargano and Ciampa get into the empty gym, Triple H is sitting in a chair and reiterates that the referee is only there to document the winner and, when this fight is over, their feud is over for good. He walks out after folding up the chair and leaving it in the middle of the ring. It’s on.
Ciampa kicks the chair out of the ring and declares that this is just the two of them and he wins. Johnny defies him saying “Not tonight. Not anymore.” The two battle in and out of the ring with the very personal trash talk taking center stage. Ciampa taunts “Johnny Wrestling” over their status as former “brothers” and Johnny goes after Ciampa’s injuries. It’s Johnny who gets the most vicious early on, calling out Ciampa’s various surgeries before attacking those spots with the steel chair.
Ciampa battles back with a trash can lid and a steel chair necklace into the ring post. Now, it’s Johnny crawling on the floor. He’s beaten with spare cables until Ciampa pulls out his camo crutch to go down memory lane. He’s stalking Johnny like a movie villain until a blast from a fire extinguisher give Johnny some breathing room. It’s momentary, though, as Ciampa powerbombs him through a table.
Ciampa insists that “it ends in the ring” but decides that it has to be his way. He uses shears to cut away the canvas bindings and exposes the lumber underneath. The referee says that it’s going too far but he doesn’t care. Johnny bails out to the parking lot and Ciampa gives chase, yelling “I thought you were the better man!” He’s blindsided by Johnny with a production crate. Tommasso climbs up on top of one of the trailers and they’re going toe-to-toe.
How they get down, we may never know thanks to commercial breaks, but it suits Tommasso fine as he reiterates that “It ends in here,” as he re-enters the arena. Johnny is waiting for him with a case of bottled water, dropping from an elevated position. He drags Ciampa to the ring and stomps a mudhole in him before perching him on the top turnbuckle. They struggle atop the ring until Ciampa hits an Air Raid Crash to the outside!
The referee checks on both men’s well-being and ask if either one wants out. Neither one will budge though and Ciampa rolls Johnny into the ring for a frustrating two count. He leaves to go get his crutch again but takes the trash lid to his knee. Johnny gets grimy, pretzeling him with the crutch but he won’t tap.
Johnny has to use Ciampa’s crutch to stand and superkick him. When he starts to taunt Ciampa as “a failure,” all he can do is laugh before snapping in a rage. He pulls the crutch away and beats Johnny with it until it breaks. The bleeps are constant but it’s clear what’s being said. Ciampa misses a running knee, blasting the referee off the apron.
Johnny gets hit with a draping DDT but nobody is there to count. Johnny puts his hand on Ciampa’s but The Blackheart pulls away. They swing for the fences with pieces of the crutch until they’re both down.
Candice LeRae comes in and breaks into tears, begging them to stop. She hates who Johnny has become and mocks Ciampa, telling him to “finish it.” When he hesitates, she says that she will and turns to kick Johnny square in the groin! She walks out and it’s all Ciampa can do but to lay his hand on Johnny’s head only for it to be him who’s pushed away. He persists, telling Johnny that he didn’t want it to be like this and that he’s sorry.
As he starts to rise to his feet, Candice nails Ciampa in the groin. Johnny reveals that he was wearing a protective cup as Candice smiles. Butterfly Driver on the exposed ring and the referee counts to three. Candice helps Johnny out of the building and to their car as he repeatedly mumbles, “We win. We win.”
Winner: Johnny Gargano
Wow. This would have absolutely stolen the weekend. This was like Walter Hill directing Magnum and Tully in the steel cage “I quit” match. The ending may have turned some off, cementing this not-so-squeaky-clean version of Gargano but damn if it wasn’t proof that “five star sniffing vanilla midgets” can tell a story light years ahead of what we’ve been seeing most Mondays and Fridays.
 to Gargano and Ciampa made NXT Takeover on USA an instant classic.){kind=link}
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