NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 (August 2018)

Original Airdate: August 18, 2018

From Brooklyn, New York; Your Hosts are Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, and Percy Watson

Opening NXT Tag Team Title Match: Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong v Moustache Mountain: Strong and Trent Seven start off, and both guys immediately go after the opponents partner on the apron, leading to a big brawl right from the get-go. The challengers clean house, and hit Kyle with a combo for two, but Tyler Bate gets distracted by Strong, and kicked in the leg. Mountain still manage another double team to keep control, but Seven eats a modified backbreaker from Strong, and O'Reilly unloads with kicks. The champs go to work on Seven, as I notice that one longhaired super fan dude that's always in the front row is now wearing shades. He's just a bit of facial hair away from becoming the modern Faith No More Guy. Bate hits the champs with a pair of cool combos where he's hitting both with independent offensive moves simultaneously, but ends up getting overwhelmed fighting a two front war, and Strong clips him with a hangman's clothesline. The champs work Tyler over, but he manages to launch them both over the top so he can make a break for the tag! Seven comes in hot with a backdrop on Strong, then a tope on O'Reilly, and he dodges a double team, causing the champs to collide. That gets him a two count on Strong, but Roderick blocks a short-clothesline, and Kyle comes in with a brainbuster for two. The champs double up in the corner, and Strong hits an Olympic slam for two. Another combo, so Bate hustles in with a koppou kick to stop it, but the champs fight him off. That ends in Strong getting Seven in a Boston crab while Kyle gets Bate in a triangle choke, but Tyler powers to a vertical base, and powerbombs Kyle into Roderick to break the crab! Great spot! Bate suplexes them both to the outside, and he dives with a tope suicida, then hustles Strong back in for the Tyler Driver... for two. Bate goes up, but Kyle bashes his leg into the post up there, and Strong quickly drives it into the turnbuckle to follow up. That allows Kyle to apply a vicious looking grapevine, and Bate is debating throwing in the towel, but ultimately can't bring himself to do it. He's lucky Owen Hart wasn't at ringside. Poor Bate fights his way to the corner while still in the hold, and the challengers hit a suplex/flying knee combo for two! Seven puts Kyle in a full-nelson, but Strong hustles in to save, and the champs quickly hit the total elimination to retain at 18:07. Again, a million miles per hour the whole time here. Just incredible conditioning. The quality of the work was top notch, and they were pulling out really interesting and complex spots, but I again failed to make the necessary emotional connection to the material that separates really good matches from great ones. I was loving the action, but I wasn't invested. Still, hell of an opener. Afterwards, per NXT tradition, the War Raiders show up and wreck the battered champions. *** ¾

Velveteen Dream v EC3: I kinda hope EC3 never makes it to the main roster just because it's a pain in the ass to type 'EC3' all the time while trying to do play-by-play. Same reason I hate Faarooq matches. EC3 dominates him to start, with Dream bumping all over the place for him. Dream tries a slingshot sunset flip after getting dumped to the outside, but EC3 manages to block, and he clobbers him with a clothesline. EC3 with a bodyslam to set up an elbowdrop, and a cactus clothesline sends them both to the outside. EC3 tries a suplex on the ramp out there, but Dream counters with a twisting DDT, and he sends EC3 into the post. Back in, Dream hooks the leg for two, and a 2^nd rope flying tomahawk chop follows. Dream drops him across the top rope, then dumps him into the corner for some abuse, before snapping EC3's throat across the top rope. Dream with a neckbreaker for two, and it's headvice time. Another neckbreaker gets two (complete with Rick Rude theatrics), so he dumps EC3 to the outside for a few trips into an announce table. Dream with a reverse STO on the way back in, but a slugfest goes badly, and EC3 starts mounting a comeback. EC3 really looks like a JTTS guy from the Hogan era. Like, I could totally picture him in the Young Stallions, or something. EC3 with a legsweep bulldog for two, and he goes to town in the corner after Dream tries to disrespect him with a slap. Dream manages to fight him off long enough to get to the top rope, but EC3 slams him off before he can dive, and he goes up with a flying bodypress - only for Dream to roll through for two. EC3 responds with a powerbomb, and then he dead lifts Dream up into a sitout-powerbomb for two. EC3 takes him upstairs with a vertical superplex for two, but Dream lands a superkick as EC3 goes for a fireman's carry. Dream Valley Driver (great move name) gets two, but EC3 counters the follow-up with a bridging German suplex for two. EC3 drags him to the apron to kill, but Dream fights him off with a Dream Valley Driver on the apron, and then adds a neat flying elbowdrop on the apron before rolling EC3 in to pin at 15:04. Solid action, though not especially notable. ** ¾

NXT North American Title Match: Adam Cole v Ricochet: Speaking of guys whose names I hate typing. Feeling out process to start, with Ricochet getting all flippy, so Cole simply kicks him, then adds insult to injury by telling him that he's not special. Words hurt, douche. Adam works a headlock for a while, but gets knocked to the outside with a well executed dropkick when Ricochet forces a criss cross, and Cole does everything he can to avoid a follow-up dive. Back in, Ricochet charges him in the corner, but Cole manages to sidestep, and he sends his challenger over the top. Cole follows to toss Ricochet into the barricade out there, and he drills him with some mounted punches on the way back inside. Cole with a neckbreaker for two, and a fireman's neckbreaker also gets two. He wrenches on another headlock, but Ricochet fights free, and manages another dropkick to send the champ back to the outside. This time Ricochet is able to add a moonsault suicida, though he doesn't actually, like, make contact with it. Details, details. No time to worry about those when you're a flyboy. Back in, Ricochet hits a flying backelbow for two, and a whole mess of flipping around ends in Ricochet hitting 2^nd rope phoenix splash for two. Even Rob Van Dam would be telling him to calm it down already. Ricochet tries a handspring, but Cole catches him in a lungblower for two. Great timing there. Adam looks for a follow-up, but Ricochet fights him off in the corner, and tries a springboard, but has to stop short when Cole throws a superkick. Ricochet with another springboard, but this time Cole manages to stick the superkick to knock him out of the air, and a suplex-neckbreaker is worth two. Shining wizard, but Ricochet counters with a schoolboy for two, so Cole tries another superkick, but Ricochet ducks it this time. Cole fires an enzuigiri instead, but Ricochet returns fire in kind before going down - only for Cole to fall right on top of him for two! I love spots like that! Both guys stagger to their feet, but Cole misses a charge, and Ricochet hits an inverted rana. He goes up for a dive, but Cole rolls to the apron before the challenger can leap, so Ricochet dives over the top rope with a rana off of the apron and to the floor! Back in, Ricochet heads up for the 630 senton splash, and we have a new champion at 15:20! Some incredible timing here, but a little too flippy for my tastes. ***

NXT Women's Title Match: Shayna Baszler v Kairi Sane: I take it back, that dude is not the modern Faith No More Guy. Faith No More Guy would have never removed his sunglasses during a show. This dude's FNMG game is weak. Ronda Rousey and her gal pals are sitting in the front row to support Shayna between cosmos and talking about Mr. Big. Baszler tries to shoot on her early, but Sane uses her speed to evade, and actually gets a grapevine on, but the champ basically laughs it off. Sane tries a somersault cradle, but only gets one, so she uses a schoolgirl for two, and Baszler is starting to get pissed. That leads to a slugfest, which in turn leads to a criss cross, and Sane sends her to the outside following a headscissors and a baseball slide. Kairi dives off the apron after her, and rolls the champion back inside for some chops, but Baszler dropkicks the knee as Sane tries a charge. Baszler works the leg, but Kairi comes back with a pair of somersault neckbreakers. She goes upstairs, but Baszler brings her down with a gutwrench superplex, and hits a knee for two. Suplex, but Sane slips free, and throws a spear before hustling to the middle rope for a 2^nd rope flying elbowdrop like a woman who hasn't had her leg bashed up for the last five minutes. Sane goes to the top to finish, so Baszler rolls to the outside, but Kairi dives after her with a flying bodypress. Back in for the flying elbowdrop, but it only gets two, so Sane tries to go for a submission, but Baszler counters with the Kirifuda Clutch! Sane makes the ropes just in time, so Baszler starts pounding the leg again, and traps her in a grapevine - only for Sane to counter to a stepover-toehold. Baszler makes the ropes, so Kairi wrenches back on the leg while Shayna is half on the apron, then whiplashes her to set up the flying elbowdrop, but Baszler dodges! Clutch, but Sane counters to a cradle, and we have a new champion at 13:36! Good finish! ** ¾

Main Event: NXT Title Last Man Standing Match: Tommaso Ciampa v Johnny Gargano: Gargano attacks him during the entrances, and stomps the shit out of him in the corner to start. Ciampa slugs back, but Johnny takes him down with a Thesz-press for some mounted bunches, and then into the corner for another flurry of fists. Ciampa tries dumping him, but Gargano tenaciously hangs on, and ends up sending the champion to the outside instead. Tope, but Ciampa avoids it, and sends Johnny into the steps. Barricade, but Gargano reverses, then tosses Ciampa into it a second time for good measure. He starts teeing off on Ciampa with punch after punch until the poor guys bald head is bright red, and Johnny pulls up the mats to have some fun with the exposed concrete, but Ciampa goes to the eyes to derail that plan. He tries an elevated DDT off of the barricade from there, but Johnny shoves him into the post to block, and dives with a somersault senton off of the apron. Gargano tosses Ciampa into an announce table, but trying to put him through it with a piledriver backfires when Tommaso counters to an Air Raid Crash! Emphasis on the 'crash' there. Gargano beats the count, so Ciampa grabs a chair on the way back in, but Johnny is feeling frisky. Ciampa stifles him with a kick to the head, and a pair of running kneesmashes in the corner makes Johnny nice and docile. Ciampa covers him over with the chair for a third kneesmash, but Gargano throws it at the leg to block, and goes to town with the weapon. Gargano goes for a snake-eyes into the chair, but Ciampa counters with a sleeper, openly using the ropes for leverage after muscling Johnny down. He lets off so the referee can count, but Gargano is still in the game, so Ciampa latches it on again! He climbs onto the middle rope while applying it to get some extra leverage, but that positions him for Gargano to grab for a brutal looking snake-eyes into the corner-mounted chair! Gargano sets up a table on the outside, but an attempt to suplex Ciampa from the inside out fails, and Tommaso hits a three-alarm rolling German suplex. Kneesmash follows, allowing Ciampa to grab the chair, and go to work. Gargano still has some fight left in him, so the champ drops him with a fucking TRIO of Project Ciampa's, then takes a seat in the chair so the referee can count this loser's ass out. Man, what a dick. And the crowd just HATES him. Gargano manages to get up in time, and he superkicks Ciampa out of his chair like Michael Corleone at the end of Godfather III. You know, when Andy Garcia popped in with a superkick. It's in the director's cut. Gargano tries the slingshot spear, but Ciampa throws a knee to block, only to have the Project countered with a rana. Reversal sequence ends in Johnny hitting a German suplex, but they both end up knocking each other down with a simultaneous clotheslines. Both guys beat the count for a slugfest, and that quickly turns into superkicks that leave both looking up at the lights again. Ciampa bails to the outside, so Gargano dives off the apron with another somersault senton, but the champ dodges this time. He takes Johnny up onto the steps for a nasty tiger driver onto the steel, but a groggy Gargano beats the count! Ciampa seems at a loss, and decides to pull up the canvas to expose the wood underneath like he did in Chicago, but gets blasted with a fire extinguisher when he tries to bring Gargano in to abuse. With Ciampa temporarily blinded, Gargano grabs a crutch and starts unloading - shattering the thing into multiple pieces as he tees off on the champion. He stalks him around ringside, but almost gets caught in the rope-hung DDT on the way back in, but manages to throw an enzuigiri to counter, then drops Ciampa onto the exposed wood with his own rope-hung DDT! Ciampa rolls to the outside as a means of getting to his feet ahead of the count, so Gargano dives after him with a tope. Ciampa doesn't get the message, so Johnny gives him another one to make sure he does, but ends up creaming some poor production guy while trying a superkick. The distraction allows Ciampa to throw him into an announce table, and a crazy running kneesmash with a chair puts Gargano through the barricade! Ciampa then goes berserk, burying Johnny under a pile of various pieces of furniture - throwing those heavy office chairs at him like they're pillows. Gargano still beats the count, so Ciampa procures a set of handcuffs, and decides to get medieval on his ass. Unfortunately for Tommaso, Johnny fights him off on the apron, and nearly turns the tables on the champion! That leads to a fight over the next move on the apron, ending in Gargano superkicking Ciampa off, and through a pair of tables over a bed of exposed concrete! In a nice touch, Ciampa uses the remnants of the discarded crutch from earlier to beat the count, leaving Johnny just kind of accepting that he hasn't done enough, and that it's time to get crazy. Ciampa hobbles up the aisle on the crutch, but Gargano kicks it away from him, and wails on him with mounted punches. He launches Ciampa into the entrance set, and slaps the crippler crossface on him over there, with Tommaso openly tapping out, but it's meaningless here! Gargano lets off and uses the handcuffs to shackle Ciampa to a piece of the set, and he pops him with a superkick! Ciampa is begging off, so Gargano grabs him by the beard to make sure he's good and awake, then drills him with another two superkicks. Ciampa is totally at Gargano's mercy now, but Johnny doesn't have any for him, and pulls down his kneepad for a running kneesmash! That clips Ciampa badly, but the momentum carries Gargano over into a crash landing off of the stage! Both are down, but Ciampa is able to shift his weight so his limp, shackled body falls off the stage into a standing position for long enough to beat the count at 33:40! I've never been much of a fan of Last Man Standing matches, but this was a damn good one! Maybe the best one, even. I'd call this a step below their last two Takeover bouts, but those were really high bars to try and clear to begin with, and that they even got this close on the third go-around, and with a match type that isn't especially conducive to great performances is impressive. This is legitimately one of the greatest series of matches I've ever seen, and Ciampa clutching the belt while still shackled to the set as a loopy Gargano desperately claws his way over at him is a great final image. For now. **** ½

BUExperience: The main event is another must-see instant classic of a match. The rest not so much, but there are no weak links in this chain, and every match delivers in one way or another.

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