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It was a near-impossible task for the NXT roster to top NXT Takeover: New Orleans during WrestleMania weekend.
It was arguably the best Takeover in the history of NXT highlighted by the unsanctioned match between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa and the NXT North American Championship Ladder Match.
While the second installment of NXT Takeover: Chicago didn't surpass New Orleans, it stood out on its own and an amazing night of action. With Money In The Bank tonight, the NXT roster once again served the main roster notice to try to top what they did here on Saturday.
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As is standard on NXT Takeover events, there were five matches on the card, and a few matches that took place beforehand that will air this Wednesday on NXT television.
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Of those five matches, three of the NXT Championships were on the line to go with the grudge match between Ricochet and Velveteen Dream and the Chicago Street Fight between Ciampa and Gargano.
Just like my WWE television report cards, the format for these specials is the same, the best grade a segment or match can get is an A+, with the worst grade one can earn is an F.
Let's kick things off with a hard-hitting NXT Tag Team Championship Match...
The Undisputed Era (Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong) d. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships
The opening match of the evening saw the first title defense of The Undisputed Era's Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong taking on the hard-hitting duo of Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch.
Chicago gave The Undisputed Era a huge ovation when they came to the ring, but in the end, it was Lorcan and Burch who won the crowd over. Submissions and brutal strikes were the hallmarks of this brilliant 16-minute match.
Burch put O'Reilly on his shoulders and Lorcan hit a devastating flying uppercut. It almost seemed certain that they were going to get the upset win, but Adam Cole pulled O'Reilly out of the ring, leading to his ejection.
The end of the match so a great brawl of all four men (seen in the photo above) before The Undisputed Era got the advantage and hit a double team leg sweep and clothesline combo to end a great opening match.
GRADE: A
Ricochet d. Velveteen Dream
The second match of the evening was arguably the most-anticipated match of the evening when Ricochet and Velveteen Dream clashed. If it wasn't for Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano, this could be up there for feud of the year in NXT.
Dream came out dressed as Hulk Hogan and even did all of the Hulkster's mannerisms, it was highly entertaining. Ricochet came out to a major Chicago pop and the two would stare down in the and look the opposite way just like The Rock and Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8.
The theme of this match was that anything Ricochet could do, Dream could do better. The entire 21-minute match was a battle to one-up each other. Ricochet would land an amazing Shooting Star Press from nearly three quarters across the ring, but Dream got his knees up to block.
The obsession to be better than Ricochet would get Dream after that moment as Dream tried for his patented Purple Rainmaker elbow from all the way across the ring. He came up short and Ricochet landed his 630 Senton for the win.
A truly TREMENDOUS effort from two men who will be the future of NXT going forward.
GRADE: A+
Shayna Baszler d. Nikki Cross to retain the NXT Women's Championship
Next up was the NXT Women's Championship match as Shayna Baszler defended her title against the unpredictable Nikki Cross. That unpredictability came into play immediately at the start of the match as Cross wanted to go to sleep as you can see in the gif below.
The match itself was decent, but there was never any point in the match where you felt like Cross was going to win. Baszler slapped on the choke hold onto Cross and she had nowhere to go.
Cross didn't tap out, but she passed out. Just before she passed out she had a smile on her face, and that was definitely creepy.
The match was too short and lacked any uncertainty to grade high, but I fully expect Cross to rightfully join her brothers in SAnitY on SmackDown Live after this.
GRADE: B-
Aleister Black d. Lars Sullivan to retain the NXT Championship
The second-to-last match of the evening was for the NXT Championship as Aleister Black had his first title defense against the Leviathan of NXT, Lars Sullivan. You could tell immediately that Black's mindset was different from this match as he didn't deploy his usual psychological tactics.
We already knew Black is a major star for NXT and could get the call-up after SummerSlam this year, but this match proved that Sullivan belongs at the top of the card in NXT as well. Just look at his matches closely and you'll see some great psychology, it's not just a big man smashing his opponents.
The end of the match saw Black surviving the Freak Accident and rebound with two SICK Black Mass kicks on Sullivan to end a tremendous 14-minute championship match.
GRADE: A-
Tommaso Ciampa d. Johnny Gargano in a Chicago Street Fight
After the conclusion of the unsanctioned match between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa at NXT Takeover: New Orleans, I cannot remember ever being as emotionally spent in a professional wrestling match as I was there. It was truly tremendous and no doubt will be the match of the year.
Though Gargano thought the chapter was over, Ciampa made sure it wasn't when he screwed Gargano out of an NXT Championship shot against Aleister Black, thus the amazing feud continued.
While the match in New Orleans was emotional, the match in Chicago was borderline barbaric, but still an epic and amazing 36-minute match.
The end of the match saw Gargano get his revenge on Ciampa from 392 days ago in the arena by driving him through tables; which led to the medical staff putting Ciampa on a stretcher. Gargano wasn't done there though, he wheeled the stretcher back towards the ring and tried to inflict even more damage.
Officials were trying to stop Gargano from causing further damage, but Johnny would fight them off. Gargano put handcuffs on Ciampa and nailed him with several brutal Superkicks before putting him in the Gargano Escape and making Ciampa tap out. Unfortunately, the referee was still incapacitated on the ramp.
Even more officials including ECW legend Steve Corino came out and tried to stop Garagno. This led to Ciampa recovering and hitting a vicious DDT on the exposed wood where Ciampa tore up the ring.
This was yet another epic journey in this great chapter in professional wrestling history.
GRADE: A+
