Hello again, it’s me TWB with my 2nd edition of NXT monthly, this time around I’ll be discussing the big takeaways from last Saturday night’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4.
Is NXT still Undisputed?
Last Saturday, Adam Cole lost his North American Championship to Ricochet in a match of the year contender, but his teammates Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly successfully defended their tag belts against Moustache Mountain, in an equally solid match-up.
Now despite him being without a title around his waist, I still expect Cole to be a main focal point of NXT for the next few months. Whether he’d chase Ricochet to get his belt back, or even go after the NXT Championship, there’s no doubt that Adam Cole is still a big deal in NXT. His fellow Undisputed Era’s members, Strong and O’Reilly next challengers are already seemingly set after War Raiders attacked the tag champions post-match at Takeover.
What will be Undisputed Era’s role at the next Takeover in November, personally I hope we see a WarGames match between the trio of Cole, Strong and O’Reilly against the team of War Raiders and Ricochet vs British Strong Style, where potentially the North American, Tag Team and UK Championships could all be on the line.
The Bro at Brooklyn
As shown in the crowd during Takeover, Matt Riddle made his official NXT debut, the former UFC fighter and Evolve Champion, is coming into NXT with a lot of hype.
For those that don’t know too much about Riddle, here’s a bit of his backstory. He was undefeated in UFC, before being kicked out following being tested positive for marijuana, his mixed martial arts career ended. He took up wrestling, and after four impressive years on the independent scene, and holding titles with Evolve and Progress, Riddle has joined NXT.
Sometimes in NXT, it can be tough to make an instant impact, however, I could see Riddle be straight away pushed into a feud upon his ring debut, with perhaps The Velveteen Dream. Anyway, we’ll see what happens over the next few weeks, but whatever happens prepare to be impressed by Matt Riddle.
Call Me Up Vince
The Velveteen Dream is constantly developing and improving, and even though his match vs EC3 was the weakest match on an excellent card, the 23-year-old is always a talking point after NXT Takeovers.
On his wrestling tights, he had ‘Call Me Up Vince’ written on them, this is showing brilliant character work from Dream and the no fear attitude to always entertain and take risks. Who knows if the higher-ups in WWE knew about it beforehand or not, The Velveteen Dream is a star and his antics at NXT Takeover are a highlight for me.
Even though wrestling wise sometimes his matches aren’t the standard of Ciampa vs Gargano, his ability to entertain and story tell will never fail. Will the Dream get his wish and get the call up from Vince, we’ll have to wait and see, but for now, let’s appreciate how talented this 23-year-old is and see what new lengths he will go.
Sane Shocks Shayna
Arguably the biggest upset over Summerslam weekend, was Kairi Sane defeating Shayna Baszler and becoming the new NXT Women’s Champion, almost everyone including myself expected the now former champion Baszler to retain with ease. However, we were proven wrong, when Sane countered Baszler’s finisher into a pin and the win. So, what’s next for the Women’s title?
Baszler, of course, has her rematch clause, which I assume she’ll get at the Evolution PPV in October, so until then expect these two to continue feuding over the title.
Ciampa is Last Man Standing
In the main event of NXT Takeover, Tommaso Ciampa just managed to defeat his former tag team partner Johnny Gargano, in one of the most brutal Last Man Standing Matches ever. They did dozens of hectic and hellacious spots, and ultimately it was Johnny Gargano’s own move which cost him the match.
It seems Gargano may have dislocated his knee, so depending on the severity of his injury, there’s no knowledge of what will be next for these two that just can’t be split or broken apart from constantly fighting one another. Personally, even though we’ve seen them wrestle against each other for the past 3 Takeover’s I’m not bored, I could see these two wrestle each other forever, as every match they have is just better than the last. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa from me yours sincerely The Wrestling Brain, please Fight Forever.
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