NXT TakeOver: New York results – War Raiders send off Ricochet and Aleister Black in style
BROOKLYN — NXT TakeOver specials have had a habit of setting a tremendously high bar for WrestleMania weekend over the last few year and, on paper, NXT TakeOver: New York appears likely to keep that trend rolling.Five titles will be defended Friday night at the Barclays Center — headlined by a 2-out-of-3 falls match between Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano for the vacant NXT championship.
Tim Fiorvanti is live in Brooklyn for the event, with Sean Coyle adding additional insights throughout the night.This story will be updated in real time.
The longest-reigning WWE champion has been dethroned as WALTER defeated Dunne. Full recap to come.
The NXT North American championship match between Velveteen Dream and Matt Riddle offered something of a conundrum. It was clear this would be a great match, but after Dream played second-best on a number of occasions to NXT’s top-line talent, he was just starting to get on a roll as champion heading into this match. Conversely, Riddle hadn’t yet lost a one-on-one match in NXT, and was on an absolute roll of his own.
The personalities of these two charismatic forces shined brightly early and often as they delivered a perfectly timed and immensely entertaining match.
Storytelling: 1.00
In-ring execution: 0.75
Match psychology: 1.00
Timing: 1.00
Innovation: 1.00
— Sean Coyle
Dream and Riddle threaded the needle effortlessly, in front of what seemed to be a conflicted crowd that couldn’t fully decide which star they wanted to get behind for most of the match. Dream ultimately squeezed out a roll-up victory in an excellent closing sequence, and both men parted with a fist-bump of respect that Dream initially refused to start the match.
Both men were clearly embracing the moment and the stage entirely, with Riddle sporting Yankees-inspired pinstriped wrestling gear and Dream getting carried to the ring on a platform dressed like the Statue of Liberty.
Riddle got the first real advantage in the match with a dizzying trio of moves — a ripcord knee, a patented move he calls “bro to sleep” and finally a snap German suplex, only to get a two-count.
Dream swung the crowd back in his direction by channeling his inner Hulk Hogan, ignoring the damage of multiple Riddle strikes, pointing directly at Riddle’s chest and then finishing it off with a big boot.
Riddle seemed to have an answer for everything Dream could think of, but Dream started to have an answer everything Riddle did late in the match as well. Even as Riddle locked in a tight ankle, and then switched legs to take out Dream’s base, Dream reversed out of a powerbomb and then hit his high-torque spinning DDT — setting up the Dream Valley Driver.
Riddle dodged a purple rainmaker elbow by locking on an armbar and trying to transition into the bro-misison. As Dream tried to catch a breather on the ring apron, Riddle — still standing in the ring — picked up Dream and went up-and-over with a suplex to return Dream into the ring. The crowd was fully back in Riddle’s corner, but they hit the top of their energy when Riddle showed off a different set of skills with a moonsault that had a full rotation built in.
Neither would back down, but Dream started showing serious fatigue. After a last gasp superkick, Riddle hit a powerbomb/rollover into knee combo, but only got a two-count.
Riddle would’ve been a believable contender to walk out of TakeOver with the title in hand by any measure, and when he successfully locked in the “bro”-mission (and added torso punches for good measure), it seemed likely he would. But Dream rolled over into a crazy-tight small package to pick up the three-count in a tremendous final sequence that left both men walking out of Brooklyn as good, if not better, than where they walked in.
Both Riddle and Dream have plenty of options moving forward, but likely not much more against each other. This was a nice, well-contained short story, and a nice base to build upon if given another chance in the future.
Aleister Black and Ricochet have clicked as a team. They won the 2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic to earn their opportunity at the NXT tag titles at TakeOver and have also racked up wins on both RAW and SmackDown Live and, as a result, find themselves pulling double-duty this weekend..
What a high octane way to open TakeOver. Both teams displayed incredible chemistry connected on all of their high risk spots. The crowd ate up every sequence and rightfully so.
Storytelling: 1.00
In-ring execution: 1.00
Match psychology: 0.50
Timing: 0.75
Innovation: 1.00
— Sean Coyle
The bout, a clash of strength and power, began with Rowe and Black countering each other multiple times to set the tone. The crowd was into it from the start..
Black and Ricochet got the better of the War Raiders early on by way of their athleticism, but this one went back and forth more times than you can count. Each team used their attributes to their advantage, including a picture perfect springboard clothesline by Ricochet to Rowe, followed up by a standing shooting star press.
Both teams, however, also exhibited the strengths of the other team’s frequently throughout the match. Hanson showed off his cardio when he nailed Black and Ricochet with consecutive body avalanches in their respective corners at least 10 times. Seconds later, Ricochet caught the massive Hanson in mid-air and executed a fallaway slam. The trend continued further when Hanson hit Ricochet with a springboard clothesline while Rowe held Ricochet in the air. Those sequences were enough to warrant “fight forever” chants from the Brooklyn crowd.
The aerial attacks continued, highlighted by a beautiful corkscrew moonsault by Ricochet to the outside of the ring onto Rowe. Not to be outdone, Hanson proceeded to leap off the top rope and deliver a somersault senton onto all combatants.
Once back inside the ring, Black abruptly caught Rowe with his Black Mass spinning heel kick followed by a Ricochet shooting star press. However, Hanson broke up the three count.
The high risks caught up to Ricochet and Black, though. Ricochet missed a 630 splash and Black missed a moonsault to the outside of the ring, providing the opening for the War Raiders to connect with their Fallout double-team finisher onto Ricochet for the win.
Post-match, both teams embraced in a showing of respect towards one another while the crowd serenaded Black and Ricochet with “NXT” chants and laud applause.
If this was the end of Ricochet and Black as part of the NXT brand, and it certainly seems that way, it was one amazing way to go out. Next up for the duo: another tag team championship opportunity at WrestleMania on Sunday.
Still to come:
NXT Championship, two-out-of-three falls: Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole
NXT Women’s championship: Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Io Shirai vs. Kairi Sane