NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 Results: Ciampa vs. Gargano and Highlights, Low Points
NXT has an impressive track record of putting on amazing events with the TakeOver series, particularly with the past three that took place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
With that in mind, NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 had a lot of hype to live up to and a card that looked to be able to deliver on those expectations Saturday.
Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa have had the feud of the year in WWE, The Velveteen Dream and EC3 continually prove themselves to be stars to watch out for and The Undisputed Era's members have been invaluable from the start, and that isn't even counting a rematch from the finals of last year's Mae Young Classic.
This pay-per-view seemed to have it all, and now that it's in the books, it's time for us to look back on what transpired and assess how it turned out.
Here are the top highlights and low points of NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4, presented in order of appearance.
Low Point: Pre-Show Hour
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Starting with this event, an extra half-hour was added to the pre-show, making it a full 60 minutes. Sadly, no extra bonus material was added to supplement those extra 30 minutes.
The main roster's pay-per-views at least have a match of sorts on the kickoff, even if some of those matches can be somewhat pointless, but this was 100 percent nothing but the panel giving their analysis of the card intercut with video packages.
If you're the type of person who doesn't watch the regular NXT episodes and you need this recap, it's a good thing that you had an entire hour to fill you in on what has happened over the past few months, but if you've been following the program, it was a waste of time.
It's disappointing that after all this time, WWE hasn't figured out a way to make the pre-shows more entertaining, as they've had this formula of recap material and not much else for several years. They could be so much more without any real effort.
A few live promos that say something more than what we've already heard, some further developments regarding the attack on Aleister Black, an appearance from someone who wasn't booked on the card or maybe a throwaway match would have been a welcome break from Charly Caruso, Sam Roberts and Pat McAfee talking in circles.
Highlight: The Undisputed Era vs. Moustache Mountain
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The NXT Tag Team Championship match was a very solid opener for the evening, as The Undisputed Era and Moustache Mountain put on their third great match of this feud.
It's hard to dislike something that is fast-paced and shows that both teams are hungry and wanting to prove themselves any chance they get. Thankfully, they did just that and showed that it wasn't a mistake to keep this feud going until now.
One of the best parts of this segment was how they played off their previous match by teasing throwing in the towel again, only to power through it and keep going for a few more minutes.
Sadly for Trent Seven and Tyler Bate, they were unsuccessful in regaining the tag titles, but that was the right call in the long run. Roderick Strong and Kyle O'Reilly are simply bigger stars in NXT, and with the War Raiders attacking them after the match, the next feud has already begun.
With this performance, though, Moustache Mountain has solidified itself as the favorite to win the upcoming United Kingdom Tag Team Championship belts whenever WWE is ready to crown the champions.
Highlight: EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream
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Velveteen Dream and EC3 went into TakeOver as two of the biggest prospects for WWE's future, and after their match together, their stocks have risen even more.
This was a different style of match than either of them have wrestled recently, but they didn't skip a beat along the way. EC3 accentuated his power, while Velveteen Dream showed more finesse and speed, allowing them to find a healthy balance for the match.
One of the most crucial elements to the match was also one of the most vicious, as Velveteen Dream gave EC3 a DDT on the entrance ramp that was referenced several other times afterward as being the reason EC3 wasn't able to mount more of an offense.
He still put up a great fight, though, as it took two Dream Valley Drivers—one on the ring apron—followed by Velveteen Dream's elbow drop to pick up the win.
Surely, people will be talking about the potential of Velveteen Dream graduating to the main roster any time soon, particularly as his tights had "call me up, Vince" on them and alluded to the possibility. We'll just have to wait and see, but the future is bright for both of these Superstars.
Highlight: Adam Cole vs. Ricochet
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Continuing with the theme of NXT's stars proving that they are extremely talented and reliable for WWE's future, Adam Cole and Ricochet went out to steal the show and managed to surpass the two matches that came before them.
In all honesty, if you watched this match and you weren't entertained, you might need to rethink whether NXT is worth your time, as it just may not be for you in general.
Without needing to resort to weapons and Extreme Rules stipulations, Cole and Ricochet still pulled off enough spots to pop the crowd enough to channel their inner Mauro Ranallo, chanting "mama mia" and "this is awesome."
Two moves in particular that were impressive were the super smooth dropkick and Cole's superkick while Ricochet was mid-moonsault. If you missed them, they're both sure to spread in GIF format very soon as highlights everybody should check out.
Ricochet being crowned the new North American champion was another great booking decision from the writers, as he'll help balance the scale of babyface and heel champions, as well as defend the title with amazing matches going forward.
Highlight: Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane
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Not to be outdone, the women of NXT shined yet again in what ended up perhaps the best match both Kairi Sane and Shayna Baszler have ever had in their WWE careers so far.
If you read the book by its cover, it would seem like Baszler would run through Sane rather easily, being the more physically dominant of the two, but they have proved three times over that they have the proper chemistry to subvert that simplicity and do something more.
They still played into that hand at times, though, which is what made this match so entertaining.
For instance, having Baszler twist Sane's ankle so viciously seemed to set up the inevitable submission victory, and there was a great fake-out with Sane hitting an elbow drop, a crossbody to the outside and a second elbow drop, only to have Baszler still kick out.
At that point, it felt like there was no chance Sane would win the title, especially when she couldn't lock in her anchor submission. Lo and behold, expect the unexpected, and Sane overcame the odds to win the title.
This was perhaps the biggest shock of the night, and since it didn't come off as happening just for pure shock and little substance, it was the cherry on top of an already-great match.
Highlight: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano
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To no surprise, the main event lived up to the hype, as Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano kept their streak of phenomenal performances going strong with this NXT Championship match.
Feuds that consistently deliver on all fronts like this are the reason professional wrestling is certainly an art form and not just a circus of athleticism and scripted results. There's a reason the fans chanted "fight forever," and it certainly wasn't because they were told to.
From the start, this rivalry has been intense, and despite this being the third match between the two with some sort of No Disqualification stipulation attached to it, they tried new things and kept it from becoming boring and repetitive.
Whether they were going at it in the ring like any normal match or brawling with weapons, every shot felt like it hurt and was a personal attack against the other man, illustrating that they sold the bitterness between the two without breaking character.
It's hard to find any fault in this segment, as even the ending was a great way to cap it off, seeing Ciampa retain almost on a technicality more than anything else, meaning he retains his heel heat and Gargano still looks like the rightful winner.
All in all, this was another fantastic TakeOver event, as expected, and it will be interesting to see how SummerSlam is able to equal or top this!
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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