Last week in this space, we went over the matches one by one and I gave my fearless predictions of who would win and why.
I didn’t do so well.,..I mean I guess 3-2 isn’t that bad.
NXT especially did a great job of driving the suspense bus down the highway and had several finishes that I did not see coming.
Truthfully, I enjoy wrestling more when I am wrong.
That means the show did a great job of not being too predictable.
My ego has been crushed, but nevertheless, here are the results and the grades from both NXT Takeover and SummerSlam (part 2 later this week).
TakeOver Brooklyn 4
NXT Tag Team Title Match: Undisputed Era defeated Moustache Mountain.
With all apologies to Trent Seven (I somehow replaced him with Pete Dunne). I was excited to see this match first, and it did a great job of setting the tone.
- My prediction: Undisputed Era
- Result: Undisputed Era
- Rating: (A+) A solid match from bell to bell. War Raiders putting the entire division on notice was how to do run-ins at a high stakes PPV (after the match is over with complete and total destruction).
Velveteen Dream vs EC3
The worst crime this match committed was following the tag match. Very strange ending (rumor is EC3 may have been injured toward the end of the match). Dream is going to be a mega star. The “Call Me Up Vince” on the back of his tights was perfection.
- My prediction: Velveteen Dream
- Result: Velveteen Dream
- Rating: (B) For match with very little build, this was certainly very well done. Slightly screwy ending and too long of a match were the negatives here.
Ricochet vs Adam Cole (NXT North American Title)
Two world class athletes delivered at a high level- in the match that I said would steal the entire weekend. While it was great, it wasn’t even the best match on the card.
- My prediction: Adam Cole
- Result: AND NEW…Ricochet
- Rating: (B) A few missed spots were more than made up for by the best spot I’ve seen in a long time. The Adam Cole superkick to Ricochet as he was doing the backflip had to be 100% perfect, and it was as perfect as it could be. Great match, a little slow at times.
Kairi Sane vs Shayna Baszler (NXT Women’s Championship)
Holy mackerel can these two women deliver. Kairi showed her experience in big matches, and Shayna backed up my claim that she is the bad *** they hope Rhonda turns in to. I’d love to see Shayna called up soon to battle her way to the top of the women’s division. She’s got “it”.
- My prediction: Shayna Baszler
- Result: AND NEW…Kairi Sane
- Rating: (A) High drama and great performances by both women. Even though Kairi took the belt, Shayna looked dominant. Would have like to see this one go a bit longer, but still great storytelling.
Tomasso Ciampa vs- Johnny Gargano
I’m comfortable being in the minority here. This match just didn’t do it for me. Seemed pretty carbon copied from their last two matches. To be fair, this match was changed quite a bit by the absence of the injured Aleister Black (who will likely not ever be seen in NXT again).
- My prediction: Tomasso Ciampa
- Result: Ciampa retains
- Rating: (B-) Again, I love the story, just thought the match felt uninspired. The ending was sublime. Direction from here will be interesting.
Record: 3-2
Missed on: Biggest surprise, Women’s title and North American title
Most enjoyed: UE vs Moustache Mountain
Least Enjoyed: Ciampa/Gagano
Most surprised by: NXT crowds get me every time. That is what a wrestling crowd should sound like.
Later this week in part 2, we will breakdown SummerSlam.
