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On Friday night, NXT put on another classic Takeover event. This is the latest in an endless collection of brilliant Takeovers. NXT has mastered the formula for these such shows, going with five matches within two and a half to three hours. This one went longer than that. This one also felt even more epic than every previous Takeover. For the fourth time, the Takeover before WrestleMania was just amazing. Every match delivered, like always.
However, it was more than just that. It was bigger. It was grander. There's something about WrestleMania weekend that just brings out the best in NXT. Last year, NXT Takeover: New Orleans blew everyone's minds. Two five-star matches along with thrilling title changes and a shocking heel turn made that the greatest Takeover event of all time. But this time around, under the bright lights of New York City, NXT did the impossible and topped their previous best.
Takeover New York is now the best one ever and here are four reasons why.
#4 NXT's history at the Barclays Center
The first NXT Takeover outside of Full Sail University took place at the Barclays Center during SummerSlam weekend in 2015. Since then, NXT has taken over Brooklyn on the night before SummerSlam every year. And more often than not, they have pretty much been the biggest Takeovers of the year. The history in this building just makes all NXT events here seem much bigger than they are. The Barclays Center is to NXT what Madison Square Garden was for WWE, to a degree.
This year, New York received WrestleMania weekend and the Barclays Takeover took place on the biggest weekend of the entire wrestling calendar. Even little things like the name change, Brooklyn to New York, have made this show feel even more special. Barclays will always hold a special place in the hearts of all NXT fans. Some of the biggest moments in its history have happened here. From the groundbreaking Sasha Banks vs Bayley match to the debut of the Undisputed Era, a lot has happened here. Not to mention the magic that was in the air on Friday.
#3 The end of a historic reign
Pete Dunne won the WWE United Kingdom Championship from Tyler Bate at NXT Takeover: Chicago in May 2017. To put that into perspective, he won the title a day before Jinder Mahal defeated Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at Backlash. For the previous 685 days, the Bruiserweight was on top of the entire UK division. He defended the title all around the WWE and UK scene for close to two years. That was until his biggest challenger stepped up. WALTER, a mountain of a man, was the man to end this unbelievable reign of dominance.
The match between these two was exhilarating and would have stolen the show if it wasn't for the main event. It was so brutal, with Dunne splitting fingers and WALTER chopping like a madman. The Austrian giant's victory was a really big deal because of how long Dunne reigned as the UK Champion. We can now move on to the next dominant force on NXT UK. Also, the fact that this happened on a regular Takeover event made it feel even bigger. No man, woman or tag team in WWE will ever come close to reaching Pete Dunne's historic 685-day title reign.
#2 Every match was fantastic
It is now customary for NXT Takeover to have five great matches. Very rarely do we see a bust of a match on these shows. But what makes this show stand out from others? Every match told different stories and was booked to perfection.
They all were of a certain standard that is pretty impossible to meet, in terms of every match on a wrestling show. It was consistent from start to finish. The tag title opener was the perfect choice to kick things off on a killer note. It was followed by an intense Matt Riddle vs Velveteen Dream match, which got better as it went on.
After that, we got the previously mentioned United Kingdom Championship match. It went for over 25 minutes and provided the women's 4-way with the tough task of following such a match.
It was a fun fast-paced match, but might just be the weakest of the night. That just shows how amazing this show was. And then we had the main event, which was as good as the hype surrounding it. And that says a lot. The consistency of this show makes it stand out from the likes of Takeover New Orleans which has been regarded as the best one till date.
#1 The main event
NXT Takeover New Orleans during last year's WrestleMania weekend was headlined by the first match between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. It was brutal and captivating, with the story being masterfully told. One year later, it looked like the end of the feud was coming here. Ciampa, unfortunately, had to undergo neck surgery and the blowoff match, for the NXT Championship, was cancelled. Adam Cole stepped in for the fallen champ, to face Gargano at Takeover New York.
This two-out-of-three falls match was not compromised on quality at all. Both Gargano and Cole put their heart and soul in the ring, bringing out all the stops. After the brutality of Gargano's main event matches with Ciampa over the spring and summer, it was nice to see Johnny Wrestling doing what he is the best at. The third fall was absolutely ridiculous and it saw the babyface overcome the numbers game of the Undisputed Era to make Cole tap out and finally come out on top. This was the perfect conclusion to a near perfect show.
Gargano was previously 0-3 at the Barclays Center, but here he was, winning the biggest match of his career. His journey was finally complete. After a difficult year or two, Mr NXT is finally on top. This match should be rated five stars, especially for the emotional value of the moment. The ending shot was beautiful as well, when Tommaso Ciampa came out to congratulate Gargano and hug it out with both him and Candice LeRae. Sure, it has eradicated all of Ciampa's heel heat, but some moments are bigger than that. No moment was bigger or better than this.
No Takeover was bigger or better than this.
