NXT TakeOver: Phoenix - Ranking all the matches

#2 Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black

Round two

I'll flat out say that this match wasn't as good as the first one they had, back in July at Full Sail, but the absence of a shock factor wasn't enough to take away too much from this one.

This was another excellent title match and should go down as a match of the year candidate, albeit a low tier one (the crowd didn't help).

Ciampa targeted Black's leg throughout the match, wisely taking away most of his powerful moves.

Black sold like a champion. He battled through the injuries to bedevil Ciampa throughout the latter portion of the contest and even hit a Black Mass.

But Ciampa survived by hook or by crook as he always does, and went on to deliver three finishing moves in short order to finally win the match, retain his title, give Aleister Black his first clean loss in NXT, and end his TakeOver undefeated streak.