NXT Takeover: Chicago II Review

  Well, another Takeover has come and gone and they absolutely killed it once again!  Even with matches and wrestlers that I may not enjoy, Takeover has not once disappointed me.  That's not to say that it was better than Money In the Bank.  It's a completely unfair comparison that I refuse to make. That's why I'm doing these reviews separately.  For now, my focus is on Takeover: Chicago II.

Tag Team Titles - Undisputed Era vs. Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan

   What a great way to start the show!  Though Oney Lorcan is someone I just can't seem to understand the appeal of, he and Burch worked their asses off Saturday night.  Roderick Strong and Kyle O'Reilly did as well.  It was an incredible match with great story telling.  There were so many times I thought the Titles were about to change hands.  The performances from all four men were great.  I'm actually surprised Adam Cole did not get involved until the very end.  If I were to guess, I'd say they will hold on to the Titles and eventually drop them to the War Raiders.  Those three members of the Undisputed Era will be taking on Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate, & Trent Seven (British Strong Style) at the next UK tournament event soon and I'd expect those men to challenge for both the Tag Team Titles and Cole's North American Title at Takeover: Brooklyn.  

Ricochet vs. The Velveteen Dream

   If you want to talk about two guys who will become big stars when they reach Raw and Smackdown, look no further!  For those that were already aware of how amazing Ricochet is in the ring, they should understand it takes two to tango.  While he did an incredible job, credit must also be given to The Velveteen Dream.  He took me from someone not liking his gimmick at all to being a fan in a very short time.  In the three singles matches he's had at Takeover events thus far, the build has been fantastic and the matches were awesome.  As we've seen with others, not every NXT star becomes a sensation on the main roster.  The audience is a little different and they might not connect.  However, often times I see people brought up without a plan or something for them to do.  That's why I feel both men should stay in NXT for a longer time than I expect them to.  Dream came out in basically Hulk Hogan inspired garb and it was fantastic.  I don't look at it as a shot to Hogan, I look at it as a tribute and maybe a sign that he will one day return to WWE.  The match itself between Dream and Ricochet was great and even though my prediction was wrong, I still feel like a winner.  If you're a fan, you won by simply watching this match.

Women's Title - Shayna Baszler vs. Nikki Cross

   They finally found someone that is not afraid of Shayna Baszler.  I think we're seeing why Nikki Cross was not brought up with the rest of Sanity.  The women's division in NXT still needs her.  People need to give Shayna a lot more credit than she's getting.  She's the dominant force in the women's division right now, playing her character perfectly.  While I predicted a win by the Queen of Spades, I did not see this ending coming.  I know some were not fans of the ending but I think it was the perfect way to do it. Cross was not going to submit so having her pass out due to her refusal to tap out was the best option.  Shayna still looks like a beast and Cross didn't lose any credibility.  Based on the ending, I'm thinking the feud continues through the Summer.  Good job by both women!  

NXT Title - Aleister Black vs. Lars Sullivan

   Considering Black just won the Title in New Orleans not long ago, I was worried that he might lose it already.  Back when Andrade "Cien" Almas challenged for the NXT Title, I did not expect him to win, and when he did, I was shocked.  Although, I still think his win and subsequent Title reign only occurred because Drew McIntyre got injured.  Due to that, it made me think twice about dismissing Lars Sullivan. After all, Sullivan is a monster and should be taken as a threat to any Championship in NXT.  There were many times where I thought Black was going to lose.  This match made both men look great, despite me not caring the slightest about Sullivan.  They needed someone credible and threatening for Black's first Title defense.  Sullivan was shown as a monster heel and Black had to really reach deep down to defeat him.  Aleister hit Sullivan with a Black Mass that just grazed the back of Sullivan's head and didn't take him down.  Later on, he hit another Black Mass and it still didn't put him down.  It took one more to finally defeat the big man.  Black retained the Title and Sullivan retained his credibility.

Chicago Street Fight - Johnny Gargano vs. Tomasso Ciampa

   As Mean Gene would say; holy balls!  I almost can't even describe this match!  It was all over the place, but in a good way.  Although I did predict Ciampa to get the win this time around, I thought it would be due to EC3 getting involved.  However, maybe I looked into Gargano interrupting EC3's match too much. Back to this encounter, these guys killed each other for well over 30 minutes.  It could have gone either way!  I thought it was about to go down when both made their way to the top of production grate where two tables stood below.  Gargano became a man possessed when Ciampa removed Johnny's wedding ring, spat on it, and threw it away.  Gargano then performed an Air Raid Crash to Ciampa through the tables.  

   Ciampa then began to be stretchered out.  Johnny Wrestling was not done yet, though, as he dragged his former best friend back to the ring while Ciampa was in a neck brace.  From there, Gargano proceeded to handcuff Ciampa and beat him down some more, even though it looked as if the match was over due to the injury.  Gargano was so enraged that he attacked the medical personnel and officials and repeatedly super kicked Ciampa.  In a twist no one saw coming, Ciampa was able to somehow land an elevated DDT to Gargano on the exposed wood from the ring that he set up long before.  Ciampa got the win!  Honestly, these men could fight forever for all I care.  They put themselves through so much just to entertain the fans.  This is far from over and I'm excited about it! In order to extend the feud, it might be a good idea to separate them again for a while.  Perhaps give Ciampa a match with someone to become number one contender to the NXT Title.  Maybe even have him win the Title and drop it to Gargano next year during WrestleMania weekend for the rubber match.

   Another great Takeover with little to no complaints!  I can't wait until Brooklyn!  The Women's Title match and the NXT Title match were good, and the Tag Team Title match was great.  As for the Ricochet/Dream match and especially the Gargano/Ciampa match, they were simply unbelievable.  Not to mention, we also got a glimpse of Independent stand out Keith Lee in the audience.  I was not aware of him to be honest but after doing a little research about what this man can do, I'm intrigued by this potential signing for the NXT brand.  Stay tuned for my review of Money In the Bank!

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