NXT TakeOver: XXV (June 2019)

 

Original Airdate: June 1, 2019

From Bridgeport, Connecticut; Your Hosts are Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, and Beth Phoenix

Opening Match: Roderick Strong v Matt Riddle: Riddle tries for a takedown right away, so Strong drops onto him, but ends up getting outwrestled. Another go goes Riddle's way as well, and Strong hides in the ropes to regroup. He tries for his own takedown on the third go, but Riddle is immediately in the ropes, and starts bodyscissoring him to shake Strong off. Strong responds with chops, but Riddle is ready with a three-alarm rolling Northern lights suplex, and Strong wisely bails. He tries to trip Matt up when Riddle follows to the outside, but a slugfest ends badly for him, and Riddle springboards off of the steps with a dive. Another slugfest on the apron goes better when Strong manages to shove him into the post, and he adds a side suplex on the apron to turn the tide on the way back in. Strong unloads with chops in the corner before dumping Matt across the top rope, and Riddle ends up back on the outside. Strong rolls him back in to cover for two, but Riddle starts holding the ropes to try and slow him down, so Strong gives him a scrap backbreaker to nip that in the bud. Cobra clutch, but Riddle fights to a vertical base, so Strong slugs him right back down, and wraps him around the ring post. Riddle just keeps fighting back, and tries to shake off a flurry of fists with a cradle for two, but Strong suplexes him again before he can follow up. Riddle tries for another cradle, but Strong blocks, so Riddle fisherman busters him instead. That buys time, and Matt starts peppering him with strikes. Suplex puts Strong in trouble, and Matt hits a senton splash, followed by a kick to the chest for two. He goes for a German suplex, but Strong blocks, so Riddle unloads kicks instead. Strong manages to dodge the big one, but Riddle counters a suplex attempt with a GTS into a bridging German for two. Riddle goes up to the middle, but Strong throws an enzuigiri before a dive can take place, and he superplexes Matt down for two. They stagger up for another slugfest, which turns into a reversal sequence that ends in Strong hitting a big kneesmash. He peppers Riddle with forearms to daze him for a suplex, but it only gets two, and Strong is pretty spent. He decides to slow it down with a Boston crab, but Riddle sends him to the outside to block - buying enough time to dodge when Strong rushes back in. That leads to a wild dead lift powerbomb into a kneesmash to fin... nope, Strong kicked out at two! Riddle stays focused with a flying corkscrew somersault senton splash, but Strong lifts the knees to block, and blasts Matt with a kneesmash. Gutbuster and a powerbomb get two, with Strong then using the momentum of the kickout to turn it into the Boston crab he couldn't get on earlier. Riddle inches for the ropes, so Strong shifts to an elevated crab instead, but Matt kicks his way out of it. That prompts Strong to try and drop down with mounted punches, but it's a trap, and Riddle hooks a submission. Strong won't tap, so Matt starts throwing elbows while holding the move, but Strong catches the arm to stop the assault. Riddle responds by powering to a vertical base with him, however, and a package powerslam finishes at 14:42. This was pretty great! Lots of interesting stuff, but grounded in storytelling as opposed to simply high spots, and knew when to go home. ****

NXT Tag Team Title Ladder Match: Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish v Street Profits v The Forgotten Sons v Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch: This is for the vacant title. I have a feeling this is going to be a hard one to do play-by-play for, but I'll try. Undisputed Era clean house to start, and hold the high ground for a while as various challengers come in. Here's a thought: maybe don't attack one-by-one? Just an idea. Lorcan and Burch try going in together, and make some headway, but ultimately get dumped. Eventually, the Era have to abandon their spot to grab a ladder, but that backfires when Wesley Blake dives into the ladder they are carrying with a tope! That looked like it hurt him more than them. Everyone slugs it out on the floor to set up a dive from Angelo Dawkins to give us the requisite dog pile sequence, and he heads in to climb along with partner Montez Ford, but the Era stop them. They climb, but Blake shoves them off of the ladder, and the Sons grab it to use as a weapon to hold the high ground. That works for a while, but backfires when they decide to wear the ladder around their necks, and Lorcan/Burch hit them with stereo German suplexes - sending them AND the ladder flying into poor Kyle. Holy fuck! Kyle looked like he ducked JUST in time there. Another second, and we'd have seen the Network debut of decapitation. All that leads to the Profits cleaning house with tandem moves, but the Era manage to penetrate by doing in together while they're trying something on Steve Cutler. The Era tandem suplex Ford onto a ladder before Fish makes a climb, but Blake powerbombs Kyle INTO the ladder to knock him off! Cutler climbs, so Kyle grabs at the leg from underneath the ladder to grapevine him, but Blake saves. Cutler tries to keep climbing, but now Fish is on him, and he has to abandon the effort to dive down onto him. Both Forgotten Sons climb, but get pulled off, and hit with doomsday devices from Lorcan/Burch and the Profits. Here's another thought: maybe ONE person from the team climbs, and the other stands guard? Seriously, it's not that hard to not be stupid. Okay, so now Kyle climbs, but Jaxson Ryker suddenly shows up, and powerbombs him into another ladder to stop the effort. Ryker destroys everyone else while he's there, and shit, how did they not snap this guy up years ago? He's on the older side to get much of a shot now, but based on his looks alone, I can't believe they didn't try before. So Ryker wrecks everyone to clear a path for the sons, but by the time either is remotely ready to climb, the other three teams gang up on Ryker, and beat the piss out of him with a ladder. Brutal! That leaves him retreating to the outside, so guys take turns diving at him - including a terrifying one from Ford that nearly ended very badly. Lorcan and Burch take control of the ring and climb, but the Era come in, and now we've got side-by-side ladders, since of course. No one wins when the Sons tip over both ladders, which allows Blake to climb for the gold - only for Ford to springboard onto the side of the ladder, and knock him off so he can grab the belts himself at 21:30. Lots of cool spots, lots of cool bumps, but where's the storytelling? *** ¼

NXT North American Title Match: Velveteen Dream v Tyler Breeze: Battle of the guys who would have been mercilessly booed with these gimmicks twenty years ago! As much as I miss old school wrestling, some things DO change for the better. They size each other up to start. Breeze gets control, but Dream blocks a dive. He goes up for one of his own, so Breeze hides in the corner on the outside, and then sweeps the champion down when Dream gets flustered. That allows Breeze to post him, and he dives off the apron with a clothesline. Again, but Dream manages to block this time, and he takes him back in for the Dream Valley Driver, but Breeze blocks. He takes Dream down with a half-crab, but the champ makes the ropes, so Breeze dropkicks him over the top. Tyler follows, but Dream is ready with a superkick to shake him off out there, and Breeze eats table a bunch of times. Dream decides to grab the title belt and a smart phone to taunt Tyler with a selfie, and he openly mocks the referee's threats of a countout. Ha! Unfortunately for him, all this backfires when Breeze is able to recover with a superkick, Dream is still ready with the Driver for two on the way back in. He goes up for the elbow, but Breeze wisely rolls to the apron to distance himself. He manages an enzuigiri when Dream goes after him, but Dream rolls through his flying bodypress for two. Driver, but Breeze blocks, and a reversal sequence ends in Breeze landing another superkick for two. Unprettier, but Dream blocks. He tries a springboard, but now Breeze blocks with a dropkick. Unprettier, but Dream counters with a DDT for two, and both guys are left down. Dream recovers first, but a trip to the top ends badly when Breeze crotches him. Tyler pulls him down for a tombstone, but Dream reverses, triggering multiple reversals around the horn, and ending in Dream landing his own unprettier for two. Dream goes up for the flying elbowdrop, but Breeze lifts his knees to block, and hits a weird version of the unprettier for two. Dream did a full flip there, and didn't really take any sort of bump that made the move look devastating. Not sure what he was trying for, but that looked bad. Breeze tries again, but Dream is ready with a cradle for two. Breeze quickly cuts him off with a spinheel kick, so Dream wisely rolls to the outside before Tyler can cover. Breeze is frustrated, but stays focused - going to the outside to drag him back in ahead of the count. Dream dead weights him to prevent it, and poor Breeze is left begging and pleading with the referee not to count them out. That distraction allows Dream to sneak up with the Driver, and the flying elbowdrop retains at 15:57. Generally good, but felt a little forced at times, and underwhelming overall. Good finish, though. ***

NXT Women's Title Match: Shayna Baszler v Io Shirai: Io shows no fear as she charges at the bell, but Shayna easily shakes her off. Io gets the better of her by using speed, and a seated dropkick sends the champ bailing to the outside. Io goes after her with a baseball slide, but a try at a dive on the way back in ends badly, and Shayna goes to work on the arm. Clothesline gets her two, so she goes back to cranking on the arm, and the camera work here is getting very 1989 WCW. In a good way. Io starts dodging her long enough to get off a German suplex, but the bad arm prevents her from holding a bridge. She settles for a series of axehandles ahead of a tiger feint kick, and a springboard flying dropkick punctuates it for two. Shayna tries putting the brakes on with fists, but Io latches on with a cripple crossface to take her down. Shayna manages to power out, and she takes her challenger into the corner for arm abuse, but Io manages to knock her to the outside with a dropkick. Io dives with a flying moonsault press on the floor, and she uses a flying dropkick on the way back inside. Running kneesmash in the corner sets up a moonsault, but here come the MMA gal pals. Candice LeRae (looking real good) cuts them off with a kendo stick, but the distraction allows Shayna a cradle for two. Clutch, but Io fights out of it, and goes up for the flying moonsault - only to miss. That allows Shayna to slap on the Clutch, but Io is ready with a cradle for two. She tries a bridging cradle next, but Shayna hooks on the Clutch during the bridge, and Io is done at 12:14. This was fine, but nothing special, and certainly the low point of the evening. ** ½

Main Event: NXT Title Match: Johnny Gargano v Adam Cole: Gargano's outfit is... no. Just no. He looks like he's in line for Comic-Con, or something. Big criss cross early on leads to a big reversal sequence, and we have a stalemate. Gargano goes for the Gargano Escape, but Cole slips to the outside before he can lock it on, and he stalls. Back in, another reversal sequence ends in a slugfest, and Cole manages to get the better of that in the corner. Johnny responds with a rana to send his challenger to the outside, and we get another reversal sequence on the floor as they fight over a dive - ending in Gargano hitting one off of the apron. He rolls Adam back in, so Adam rolls back out to try and sucker him into a enzuigiri, but Johnny is onto him. He dives off the apron with a double stomp onto Adam's arm instead, and we have a target established! Hopefully they don't forget about it, like in the women's match. Inside, Gargano goes to work on the arm, before switching to an elevated Texas cloverleaf. No submission, so Johnny goes back to the arm. Cole tries to hide in the ropes, so Gargano uses an enzuigiri, but a superplex attempt ends badly when Adam clips the leg. Cole goes to work on that for a while, until a dive off the middle gets caught in a sitout powerbomb, and Johnny catches a breather. He starts making a comeback, and uses an overhead suplex, followed by an enzuigiri. Tornado reverse STO gets two, and the slingshot spear is worth two. Upstairs for a superplex, but Cole slips off, so Johnny tries a dive instead - only to land in a lungblower for two. Nice sequence there, with callbacks to their previous match. Reversal sequence sees Adam hit an enzuigiri, and a fireman's facebuster gets him two. Dive off the middle misses, however, and both guys throw superkicks. Cole gets the better of it, but another try at a dive off the middle lands in another superkick, and Adam falls out of the ring. Gargano follows, and both guys again launch superkicks - this time for a double knockout on the outside. I like a good superkick as much as the next guy, but chill. Both guys beat the count, with Cole a step ahead - setting himself up for Gargano's slingshot DDT for two. He goes back to the arm again, so Cole tries clipping the leg again, but it backfires. Johnny goes for the kill, so Cole slips to the outside, and this time is able to properly sucker him with an enzuigiri. He adds a fisherman's neckbreaker on the floor, then a second one on the way back in, but it all only gets two! He goes up to the missile again, so this time Johnny grabs at the arm to pull him down, and he gets the Gargano Escape on at center ring! Cole manages to counter to a figure four, but Johnny grabs the bad arm to force a reversal, and Cole needs the ropes to save himself. Gargano goes right back to the arm from there, leaving Cole to have to unload with desperate strikes to save himself again, and he's able to do that long enough to buy time to take a shot at the leg. That backs Johnny off, and Adam pounds the part, all while selling the arm. Figure four, but Gargano shoves him to the outside to block, and catches him with a DDT when Adam tries rushing back in. Cole wisely falls to the outside, so Johnny tries getting in his face with a tope... only to land in a superkick. Seriously, cool it. Cole dives off the apron with a Canadian destroyer on the floor, and he shoves the referee away from checking on Gargano so that he can roll him in and cover as quickly as possible. Nice touch. Still only gets two, though. He goes for the kill with his kneesmash to the back of the head (the move that won him the first fall in the earlier match), but Gargano counters to the Escape! Cole reverses, but Johnny escapes, and throws his own knee to the back of the head for two! Both guys are beat, leading a slugfest on their knees, and up to a vertical base. Cole gets the better of it with a trio of big boots, but Johnny rebounds off the ropes with a clothesline. Adam responds with a superkick. So does Johnny. Fuck off. Gargano spikes him with an inverted rana, but Cole immediately pops up with a knee to the back of the head for two. Frustrated, Adam goes out to grab a chair, but the referee steps in. As they fight over the weapon, Gargano recovers enough to dive with a tope - only for Cole to shove the official into the flight path! That allows Adam to swing with the chair, but Gargano ducks, and superkicks it back into his face. Come on, now. Cover, but there's no referee. Johnny drags his dazed ass back in, but by then Cole has recovered, and he's signaling his pals down for an assist. Gargano arms himself with the chair to fight off the incoming onslaught, but it turns out to be a ruse, allowing Cole to piledrive him for two as he prepares for the phantom attack. Totally bought that as the finish. Cole props him up to kill with the knee, but Gargano is so battered that he flops before Adam can nail him. Cole tries again, but this time Johnny is ready with the Escape, and he positions his bad leg away from Adam's reach, in a nice detail. Cole rolls it over to give himself a shot at the leg, and manages to take one to break the hold. Nice. Adam adds a pair of kicks to the leg, and he goes up for the Canadian destroyer - only for Gargano to cradle for two! Johnny's leg prevents him from following up, however, and Cole hits the destroyer, then immediately adds the knee to the back of the head for the gold at 31:46. Some great psychology, and well structured, but too long for its own good. I liked the two-out-of-three falls one better. *** ¾

BUExperience: I really should start rating NXT shows on a sliding scale, because they’re just so far above and beyond everything else I regularly cover. This one I would consider great in general, but merely ‘good’ on a sliding scale with other TakeOver events.

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