While it’s WrestleMania weekend, many of us were simply waiting for one of NXT’s biggest event of the year, NXT TakeOver: New York.
If you were not warmed up enough for Sunday, this show would have certainly toasted you with the most dreamy matches, fast-paced action, and shocking results.
As many of us were hoping for our favorites to come out on top, the results that followed were quite mixed and gave the faces and the heels equal opportunity.
At the end of the night, we were left shocked by a few surprise decisions, and also a few moments which we saw coming but hoped would never happen.
From Gargano winning the NXT Championship to Shayna Baszler retaining her title and Pete Dunne’s reign coming to an end, we look at the most shocking moments from the event below.
#3 Shayna retains
Shayna Baszler is arguably the hardest hitter in NXT today. "The Queen of Spades" has run through her competition time and time again to protect her NXT Women’s Championship.
The match was top-notch in terms of the storylines that played into it. Belair sought redemption, Sane and Shirai tried to keep their friendship alive but not let the other win the championship, while Baszler proved that there is no match for her.
Shayna is probably the better MMA import for WWE and is a harder worker than Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, and Matt Riddle. However, she has run her course as the champion, and there are many women budding in the NXT roster who deserve a chance to hoist the championship belt.
The reason for that is simple: WWE is trying to run a Women’s Revolution, and they need more accomplished top tier women on the main roster. This requires one to come up against all challenges and then progress to the main roster to become an instant hit.
With Belair, Shirai, and Sane, all deserving of the title, it was a shocker to see Shayna retain the championship once again at the end of the night.
#2 The Last Shot
In a battle that involved two of NXT’s biggest wrestlers, we were ready to see anything and everything go down the line. We were ready to see The Undisputed Era wreak havoc, we were ready to see some assists from Gargano’s side, we were ready to see the use of weapons and we were ready to see the display of superhuman strength and endurance.
However, one thing we were not ready for was to see someone kick out of the Last Shot. In case you didn’t know, the Last Shot is Adam Cole’s finishing maneuver.
While Cole was able to score the first pin by delivering his finisher to Gargano, he was unsuccessful in pinning the man who won the title after delivering two more Last Shots later in the match.
This was a huge shocker, as the Last Shot is arguably the most effective finishing maneuver in WWE today, and even the commentators immediately announced the fact that Johnny Gargano was the first WWE Superstar to kick out of Adam Cole's 'Last Shot'.
By letting Gargano kick out of the move twice, WWE managed to make him look like a superhuman, but that was at the expense of Adam Cole’s best weapon!
#1 Pete Dunne loses the UK Championship
Pete Dunne has been one of WWE’s best champions of this decade. Not only has he been a great defender of his title, but has also gone all out to give anyone who wants a shot at the championship a chance to take it away from him.
While no man had been a match for the Bruiserweight for 685 days, Walter was able to pull off an incredible victory against Dunne in New York.
The match was an extraordinary affair and even better fight between two of the most physical wrestlers on the planet. The result could have gone either way as Walter has been extremely dominant in his career, it was still a surprise once he did get the pin over Pete Dunne.
This Match of the Year candidate was probably the best match of the night and showcased what NXT UK is all about. NXT UK got its third champion after Pete Dunne’s extremely dominant reign came to an end.
Now we wait and watch what this means for Pete Dunne and his future in NXT UK. Will he progress to NXT or something better?