5 Surprising moments from NXT TakeOver: New York

I love pro wrestling.

If you ever feel your fandom waning, simply watch an NXT TakeOver and your mood will change considerably for the better. This show had five wonderful to truly excellent matches. It had a beautiful mix of different paces and styles. All the matches were really given time to shine and did so on this fantastic Friday night. It was a very hot crowd that was rewarded with one of the best TakeOvers ever.

With all of this in mind after another fun and a truly thrilling NXT night, I present my list of the top five most surprising moments of WWE TakeOver: New York.

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#5 The Athleticism of the NXT Tag Title Match

One of the many painful moments of the amazing tag team match.

I send a fond farewell to Ricochet and Aleister Black. They ended their amazing NXT careers with a bang.

Their final match with the War Raiders was one of the better tag teams matches you will ever see. NXT always does a fantastic job with its hot opener and this was the perfect choice. What surprised me the most was the pace of the match. It never allowed you to catch your breath.

You also had unbelievable moments. You had Hanson match Ricochet with flips, Ricochet showing his strength and catching Hanson in mid-air, and all four wrestlers flying out of the ring in athletic and impressive ways. It was a match of impressive pacing that was surprising to see for a nearly twenty-minute match. I hope this leads to better things for War Raiders. They needed a strong showing like this. I think they showed their impressive talent on this day.

#4 Velveteen Dream with a roll-up win

I think nothing is more American than the Velveteen Dream.

I think that I sometimes watch TakeOver events just to see Velveteen Dream’s entrance. I mean I should have seen him Statue of Liberty entrance coming. Dream might be the most charismatic entertainer in the WWE today. Please keep him in NXT for a long time. It is the perfect place for him.

The match itself had an interesting bit of storytelling. Riddle controlled a majority of the match. It was a great showcase for his impressive submission-based offense. It simply looked painful and Dream sold it like a champ.

So it was a bit sudden when both wrestlers were attempting pin attempts and Dream caught Riddle with a quick roll-up. It was surprising but allowed Dream to pick up a rare win on a TakeOver. Neither wrestler looked bad in the process and Riddle seemed to tease a potential heel turn. I look forward to seeing more matches from both going forward.

#3 Pete Dunne’s 685-day reign ends

One of many painful moments from a painful looking match.

I don’t want to get slapped by Walter.

NXT UK is the forgotten brand of the WWE. It is a shame because the roster is quite talented and last night was a true reflection of that fact. The UK Title match itself was so unique from what we usually see at NXT TakeOver. It was British Strong Style at its best. Strong Style is very physical and full of attacks on body parts. It simply looked painful for the entire 25 minutes of the match.

While it makes sense to have Walter go over Pete Dunne, it was still surprising to see. Pete Dunne has had the most impressive run with a WWE title in a long time. He has been a credible champion that carried the brand so well. It will be interesting to see where the NXT UK brand goes from here. Can Walter be a big enough draw to lead the brand in 2019? Time will tell but Friday night showed me he is more than capable to do so.

#2 Shayna Baszler retains

Shayna loves her submission holds...

Shayna Baszler has been the dominant force of the NXT Women’s Division since early 2018. She has become the only two-time NXT Women’s Champion. She has basically run through the entire roster. It seemed like she had nothing left to prove and likely should move on to the main roster.

So it was quite surprising to see one of the best heels in NXT win with a clean submission over Bianca Belair. The match itself was quite fast paced with Belair showing her impressive strength and amazing athleticism from the talented Kairi Sane and Io Shirai. The three of them produced most of the best moments of the match. Shayna seemed almost an afterthought until she was able to make Belair tap out.

It makes you really wonder what is next. Belair has lost clean twice to Baszler now. Shayna has defeated every current member of the roster with little to no help. I guess we will have to wait in see how they can build a credible challenge to Shayna.

#1 Johnny Wrestling finally wins

Johnny Wrestling finally wins the big one.

Johnny Gargano has been putting on five-star classics to end most NXT TakeOvers since NXT Philadelphia. It was shocking at that show to see his chase of the NXT Championship come up short on that night. But you also assumed he would get his big moment shortly after that show last January. But the NXT roster isn’t one for short term storylines.

We watched Johnny go through a long feud with Ciampa, turn to the dark side to fight Aleister Black and even win the North American Championship. When the storyline ending fell through with Ciampa’s injury before New York it seemed like Johnny Gargano may not ever get his moment to shine with the NXT title.

Imagine my surprise to see Gargano overcome to odds to finally win the NXT Championship. The match with Adam Cole was fantastic. It was easily Adam Cole’s best in NXT. The third fall, in particular, had an amazing pace with a lot of believable near falls. But the sight of Johnny overcoming the cheating of all four members of the Undisputed Era to finally get his moment was special.

Or I thought it was special until I saw Ciampa come out and hug his friend. It was the culmination of two years of storytelling and a wonderful way to end another impressive NXT TakeOver.