By Craig Ferriman@MrImpact
10/08/2019, Toronto, Canada
The night before the “Biggest party of the summer” Last night was the 26th NXT Takeover and live inside the Scotiabank arena in Toronto, Ontario. It was a great show with strong matches and an excellent roster of men & women also featured a match of the year candidate in the main event. Although I had a few issues with the network in the beginning I still got to watch all of the matches.
NXT TAG TEAM TITLES: Street Profits © Def. Undisputed Era (Fish & O’Reilly)
A very good tag team match as we’ve come to expect from the NXT tag division over the years, particularly from the Era who no matter which combination always look like they are about to take the gold back. However, it was the profits who retained after big spears by Dawkins to both Fish & O’Reilly then Montez Ford hits a big frog splash off the top onto O’Reilly. Other highlights from the match came from a peoples elbow attempt by Ford but to the dismay of the live crowd was stopped by O’Reilly, Ford would then take out O’Reilly before dropping Fish with a Rock Bottom to chants of “Rocky!!!”. O’Reilly would hit some very heavy knee shots and the Era looked strong with some gnarly double team moves and O’Reilly would even attempt the ankle lock to tease a finish, but the street profits would retain. A strong match by all involved and despite the Undisputed Era wanting to leave Toronto draped in gold they didn’t get off to a promising start.
Io Shirai Def. Candice LeRae
Both Candice and Io did very well in this match as the newly heel “Genius of the sky” and Candice “Wrestling” just started brawling outside as Candice goes straight for Io before the bell has been rung. Shirai destroys Candice with a suplex onto the announce table in the early moments of the match causing LeRae to nearly get counted out. Candice tries fighting back against the attack of Shirai, but Io drops her with an Air Raid Crash Slam. However as soon as Io misses a dropkick that’s enough time for Candice to lock on an octopus submission but “The Genius of the sky” would force Candice to break the hold when she made it to the ropes. A “This is Awesome” chant broke out after LeRae countered a fireman’s carry with a reverse rana followed up by a top rope neck-breaker. Both would end up back on the top rope however it was Shirai who delivered a big move this time by hitting a Spanish fly, a move that I love to watch over an over. The crowd breaks out into chants of “Mamma Mia” in tribute to Mauro Ranallo who is one of the best commentators by the way. Shirai would try to put Candice away with a perfect moon-sault but Candice “Wrestling” would kick out making her the first woman in NXT to do so. But Shirai would lock Candice up in a submission that I couldn’t even begin to describe and puts LeRae to sleep.
Solid match and I feel this Io can be the one to dethrone Shayna 2time.
Scheduled next was the North American title triple threat and whilst the graphic was being displayed on screen, we heard the sound of “Bro, Bro, Bro” of course it was Matt Riddle and he challenged Killian Dain to come out for a fight. Dain accepted and came out through the crowd and is met by Riddle the two brawl all the way up the ramp despite attempted separation by backstage officials and I’m guessing security guards one of which was Stone Rockwell who has recently been featuring on IMPACT Wrestling a few times however I do remember reading that he received a try-out at the performance centre recently. As both men start taking out “Security” Dain would pick Riddle up in a back pack position and run towards the edge of the stage where there were tables set up on his way over Dain clotheslined a member of security bringing him through a table as well as himself and Riddle on his back.
Good segment, not the biggest fan of Matt Riddle but there’s no denying he’s very good at what he does.
NXT NORTH AMERICAN TITLE: Velveteen Dream© Def. Pete Dunne, Roderick Strong
Before the match Dream treated us to a classic Dream takeover entrance this time it started with The Mounties theme followed up by an image celebrating the Raptors NBA Championship win supported by the Raptors team dancers with a huge pop from the local crowd. Dream is very entertaining and honestly, I’m worried for him when he goes up onto the main roster.
All in all, the match was great with all 3 men looking like they can win. Dream being the Dream to perfection, Strong living up to his name the “Messiah of the Backbreaker” very well as he hit backbreakers to Dunne on the crowd barrier, one to Dream on the ring apron. Dunne being Dunne throughout this match with his excellent finger and joint manipulation, during the course of the match a few things happened to the point you believed the title was about to change hands. Like Strong locking in the strong hold on both of his opponents but he couldn’t keep it in for too long without hurting himself. At one point all 3 men are on the ropes as Pete is manipulating the fingers of Dream, Strong avalanche Olympic slams Dunne causing Dream to be pulled down and all 3 men crash onto the mat. Strong gets up and throws Dream out of the ring and turns to The “Bruiser weight” but Dunne locks in a triangle hold however Strong gets to the corner and grabs the rope but Dunne still has the hold and as the ref is trying to get Pete to break the hold Velveteen Dream is climbing the top rope on the other side of the ring and delivers a coast to coast elbow drop onto Dunne. The finish would come later when Dunne simultaneously snaps both of his opponents’ fingers and Strong meets the “Bitter End”, but dream breaks it up at 2 to save his title. Strong puts Dunne in a strong hold but Dream once again saves his title, Dream delivers a dream valley driver onto Dunne, Strong throws Dream from the ring and delivers a suplex-back breaker to Dunne and covers him.
Dream drops in with an elbow drop off the top and covers Dunne for the 1-2-3 and retains his title in a very good match, not much triple threat action but enough, all 3 looked great and it’s excellent seeing Dunne on such a big stage.
NXT WOMEN’S TITLE: Shayna Baszler def. Mia Yim
During this match both women would look to injure the others arms with Yim trapping the champions arm between the ring-post and the steel steps before kicking the steps right into the arm of Baszler. Throughout the match Mia would continue working on the arm and made us believe she could actually dethrone Shayna 2-time. Especially when she broke the kirifuda clutch with ease due to the injured arm of Baszler. Shayna would get her own back though when she put Yim in a vicious looking shoulder lock but as Yim broke out by pulling on the hair of the champ Baszler dropped her with a clothesline. The match looked to be over when Mia nailed Shayna with an avalanche code blue from the top rope. But after Baszler put on the clutch Yim would find another way to escape that was until the “Submission Magician” lived up to her name and wrapped her legs around Yim in a triangle choke Yim would have no choice but to tap and Baszler would retain her championship again.
A good match from both and the way Mia had to do everything she can by any means necessary to put Shayna in a position where she looked like she could be beaten but then eventually be good enough to win anyway was great booking.
NXT TITLE 2 OUT OF 3 FALLS: Adam Cole © 2 def. Johnny Gargano 1
Main event time.The first fall was a normal wrestling match, the second a straight up street fight. Should it be required the third fall would be inside a steel cage covered in weapons and barbed wire across the top, as bought to you by NXT GM William Regal. Gargano is out first in Wolverine inspired attire, followed by the champ Adam Cole who the Toronto crowd is very hot for.
The two begin with straight up mat wrestling they know each other very well so it’s counters on counters in the opening with neither really picking up an advantage, that was until it spilled outside where Cole picks up Gargano and delivers a wheelbarrow slam onto the apron. Cole locks Gargano in a reverse triangle choke in the centre of the ring which countered by Johnny with an Ankle lock.
This fall was exactly as described two of the best wrestlers in NXT right now trying to gain the upper hand but not really being able too, attempting big move after big move and not always connecting. Eventually Cole grew frustrated and exited the ring, walked into the timekeepers area picked up a chair and bought it into the ring, the referee picked up the chair and warned Cole that should he use it he will be disqualified and the first fall would go to Johnny “Wrestling”. As the referee slid the chair onto the apron with his back turned, Cole would low blow Johnny and cover him but only for a two. Gargano would then pick up the chair and received the same warning as Cole from the official, it was clear however Johnny had a plan and nailed Cole with the chair and got disqualified, the next fall was a street fight.
Johnny just continued to lay in chair shots until it spilled outside then the two would go through the crowd with Johnny being in control for all of this fall. They had walked half of the arena as Gargano was clearly very pleased with plan he had set up, they would reach the back of the time keepers area and Cole got thrown over the barrier and is in front of the wall that separates ringside from the Timekeepers area, Johnny would climb on a production box and leap at Cole knocking down the barrier in front of the timekeeper. The fight would spill onto announce tables. As Gargano was clearing the middle table he called out “Mamma Mia” as a signal he was about to do something worthy of that call. Both men climb onto the middle announce desk and attempt powerbombs/ or pedigree looking moves however as the two jostle for position Cole ends up going back first through the Spanish announce table.
After putting the champion back in the ring Johnny takes out Kendo sticks, Chairs and a few tables, Cole hits a shinning wizard as Johnny re-enters the ring followed up by an Ushigoroshi backed up by chants of “This is Awesome”. A steel chair is set up in between the ropes in the corner, Cole superkicks Gargano. Johnny counters Cole’s next move and proceeds to throw the champion like a lawn dart into the steel chair then locks him in the Gargano Escape Cole quickly taps out and it comes down to the final fall. Steel Cage, no Escape
The third and final fall was inside of a steel cage covered in weapons from ladders, tables, Chairs, fire extinguishers and Sledgehammers. All of which got a huge pop from the Toronto Crowd and a chant of “Thank You Regal”.
Gargano and Cole start the fall off by just trading strikes, super kicks, clotheslines, more superkicks. Each pick up a kendo stick off the side of the cage and just start swinging at each other. Then both connect with super kicks and just fall to the admiration of the crowd they were very into it. Gargano sets up a table in the corner of the cage underneath a table that was on top of the cage, it was clear that was going to be used soon. Cole hits a back breaker then sets up two chairs by a turnbuckle, he attempts a super plex from the top rope but Johnny battles out and sprays Cole with a near by hanging fire extinguisher then hits a tornado DDT onto the steel chairs, a move which looked very painful for Cole as he appeared to catch his neck/throat on the top of the chair however the champion Cole would kick out at two.
Gargano climbs up the cage to retrieve a sledgehammer but is met on the ropes by Cole and the two fight for the hammer, Johnny knocks Cole away with a sunset flip for a two count then retrieves the sledgehammer. Attempting to drive it into Cole but is met with a superkick, Cole climbs the top rope to take down the ladder attached to the top of the cage which he then proceeds to throw at Johnny but dodges it however is then met by a panama sunset from the top. Cole then sets up a ladder and begins the climb to hit another panama sunset from the ladder onto Gargano for another 2 count.
Gargano dodges a shinning wizard and chokes Cole out with a kendo stick, Cole escapes by biting Gargano’s hand. Gargano though picks up the sledgehammer and drives it into Cole’s gut. Gargano sets up two tables and a ladder, then ascends the ladder Cole rolls off the table, though they find themselves on the top rope Gargano hits a sunset flip piledriver, two count.
Gargano empties a bag attached to the cage and finds a pair of pliers and climbs up the cage to unclip a piece of the barbed wire and heads back to Cole, Cole visibly worried climbs up the cage in an attempt to escape Johnny but ends up on top of a table secured to the top of the cage. Johnny follows him up by climbing the ladder set up previously, Gargano tries to cut Cole with said barbed wire and as Cole tries to fight him off both men fall from the top of the cage through the tables Johnny had set up earlier, Cole reaches over and manages to cover Gargano for the 1-2-3 whilst the live crowd where still shocked at what they just saw.
That was NXT Takeover Toronto and was an excellent show, Summerslam will have a hard time following that later.
