All images credit: WWE.com
So that was a hell of a thing, huh? I wrote in my preview that Takeovers "usually features the best wrestling of the weekend," and wow. The Rumble has a really high bar to reach if they want to get anywhere close to what NXT served up last night.
Undisputed Era Vs. Authors of Pain for the NXT Tag Team Title
That probably hurt
The show was not stolen, but all four men gave a good effort and had a strong showing. As predicted, UA won, with Akam's injury replacing the shenanigans I expected.
Kassius Ohno Vs. Velveteen Dream
This one was all about the Velveteen Dream
This one was exactly what I thought it would be, and exactly what it should have been. Ohno is great in his role as a credible guy who puts younger performers over and makes them look stellar in the process, and that's what he did here.
Ember Moon vs. Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women's title
Monster heel
Workrate wise, this match was solid, but not great. Certainly not up there with Moon's best matches. But the story told was incredible and told very well indeed, with Baszler playing the world's biggest asshole, and Moon persevering heroically against the odds after getting hurt early. Now that she's put Moon over, Baszler can start dominating as the monster heel she is meant to be.
Aleister Black vs. Adam Cole in a Extreme Rules match
Attempted murder in the ring
After the first three matches, I felt really smart about my predictions. And in one respect, I was dead on. I wrote the two men will "find creative and incredible ways to make us think one of them has killed the other," and good gods did they EVER. This was as good an extreme rules match as one can imagine, and both men showed just how good they are. In most PPVs ever, this would be the match of the night, hands down. I was, obviously, wrong about the winner.
Andrade "Cien" Almas vs. Johnny Gargano for the NXT title
I expected this match to be good. I didn't expect it to be THIS FREAKIN GREAT. I feel like Almas and Gargano sat down ahead of time and said "okay, we're following Black and Cole who will try to murder each other with weapons. How do we top that?"
And they found a way. They topped the previous match by having as close to a perfect match as you're going to find. There were times when it felt like the WWE Network was going at X2 speed. And the story, about Gargano's epic struggle to beat the bigger, stronger Almas, and overcome Almas' manager's Zelina Vega's interference, was told perfectly, with a heartbreaking ending. Candice did, as I predicted, come to Gargano's aid at a critical moment, neutralizing Vega and chasing her away. But it was all for naught.
This Ciampa guy may not be a good guy!
And then, after it was all done, and Gargano was on the ramp, contemplating his loss with his wife by his side, the credits started coming up... and Ciampa attacked. From behind. With a crutch. And then just stared at the fallen Johnny Wrestling for a long time before limping away.
So I was 3 for 5 on my predictions, but I don't care that I got stuff wrong. Because Takeover was a work of art. This, as the audience sometimes chants, IS WRESTLING.