NXT TakeOver: Phoenix Results and Recap: A Night of Title Changes and Reunions

There’s nothing quite like the card for an NXT TakeOver show. They just look so pure, removed of all filler. There’s a beauty to them. Not every big star has to wrestle. Rather, the TakeOver shows are for settling serious feuds.

Heading into Phoenix, there were more than a few of those. Aleister Black, coming back from injury, was ready to reclaim his NXT Championship from Tommaso Ciampa. Johnny Gargano challenged Ricochet for his North American Championship, but he’s also had his hands in Black’s business while forming an uneasy alliance with his old DIY partner Ciampa. Matt Riddle and Kassius Ohno have been sour on each other ever since they ran into one other at Full Sail when Riddle first signed. And the War Raiders have been coming for tag gold since their debut.

Then there’s Shayna Baszler and Bianca Belair not only fighting over a title but the right to claim themselves the baddest woman in NXT. It’s a night filled with the kind of incredible wrestling and storytelling we’ve come to expect from TakeOver, so let’s dive right into the breakdown.

War Raiders def. The Undisputed Era (c), for the NXT Tag Team Championship

Things start in the most badass way possible, with a killer Viking entrance from the War Raiders, who are looking to win their first tag team championships by snatching them away from The Undisputed Era. Hanson and Rowe have been on a tear, but Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly have held those titles for some time, so it’s no easy task. Hanson and Rowe obviously have the size advantage, so Undisputed jump them as soon as the bell rings, knocking Hanson to the outside in order to isolate Rowe. It’s a good idea…that doesn’t work at all. Hanson and Rowe immediately fight back, with latter throwing the former into both Strong and O’Reilly.

(Ed. note: Their one fatal flaw? They assumed Hanson was the powerhouse of War Raiders. It’s Rowe.)

It takes a full two-man effort for Undisputed to gain control back. They spend a lot of the early part of the match keeping one member of War Raiders on the outside while beating the other down in their corner. O’Rielly is the workhorse early on, nailing Hanson with a bunch of kicks and then keeping him grounded with numerous submissions. It’s truly a battle of Undisputed’s technical ability and War Raiders’ astonishing strength. Rowe literally uses Strong as a weapon against O’Reilly, throwing him around like he belongs on 205 Live.

The thing is, Raiders are at a disadvantage as the match goes on if Undisputed can keep one man in the ring and wear him out. They do everything they can to keep Rowe out of his corner, even distracting the ref in order to pull Rowe back to their corner so he can’t make a tag to Hanson. That kind of methodical approach gets Undisputed the match’s first near fall, but a comeback from Rowe, capped off by a vicious knee to O’Reilly’s face, gets War Raiders back in the match.

Hanson is the hot tag of all hot tags, and he runs roughshod over Undisputed once he’s tagged in. He goes from corner to corner, hitting both Undisputed members with clothesline until he draws O’Rielly out of the corner, dodging his kick so that it hits Strong instead. Hanson follows that up with a Bronco Buster and gets a near fall for War Raiders, and a double team just a bit later gets another, and it looks like the match could go either way.

As “THIS IS AWESOME” chants rain down, the two teams get desperate. They’re exhausted, each coming within milliseconds of winning and yet there’s no end in sight. Hanson even kicks out of the High Low, the double team finisher that’s left every other opponent laying down for the 1-2-3. They’ve run out of options, and that’s bad news as Rowe finally gets back in the ring. He lays out Strong and O’Rielly at the same damn time with an incredible combination body slam and powerbomb, and they follow it up with their double team finisher. That’s finally enough to get the win, and War Raiders their first championships in NXT.

Matt Riddle def. Kassius Ohno

Riddle and Ohno’s feud is one built on jealousy. Ohno saw his star fade when he came to NXT, and he’s grown to resent every new highly-touted signing. He finally snapped when Matt Riddle was getting a ton of attention, making a point of trying to knock the young star down a few pegs. An embarrassing loss at WarGames made Ohno even angrier, and he’s wanted Riddle again ever since. He ambushed the “Original Bro” a few weeks ago to underscore how much he hates him.

Riddle’s clearly angry about the attack, going right after Ohno as the match begins. That means it doesn’t take long for Ohno to start cutting corners, putting Riddle’s head inside the ring apron and stomping on his defenseless opponent’s face. Ohno controls the early part of the match by simply being vicious. Knee strikes, boots, chops, and every other strike you can think of keeps Riddle from getting any momentum whatsoever. The beating is so bad that Riddle starts bleeding from the mouth just minutes into the match.

Riddle’s sneaky though, and he starts coming back when he reverses a suplex into a rear chokehold and follows it up with a bridged German suplex to get a two-count. That near fall sends Ohno over the edge. He stomps on Riddle’s bare foot and then, and I’m being completely serious here, he bites it. He bites Riddle’s toe. I… have no other words. He really will do anything to turn his luck around.

Riddle doesn’t take too kindly to that, and he fights back with renewed anger and focus, to the point that Ohno, reeling from another chokehold, pleads with Riddle to stop, asking for a friendly fist bump instead. Riddle doesn’t oblige. He hits the prone Ohno with a knee and then just starts delivering one forearm after another to his head. It’s pure anger, and it leads to something I’ve never seen: a tapout during a beating. The forearms and elbow strikes are simply too much for Ohno, and he taps out to end the match. That’s yet another loss under his belt. The question is: Will Ohno come back more desperate, or humbled? One thing we know for sure though is that Matt Riddle is rolling in NXT right now.

Johnny Gargano def. Ricochet (c), for the North American Championship match

Gargano and Ricochet are fighting for pride and championships. Their rivalry grew out of Gargano feeling like Ricochet was overstepping his bounds, feeling too confident about how he’s been “stealing the show” at NXT TakeOvers. Gargano believes he’s “Mr. TakeOver,” and taking exception to Ricochet’s confidence, he challenged “The One and Only” for his North American Championship.

The tights tell the story early on. Gargano’s trunks have “TAKEOVER” splashed across them, confident in his ability to be the top guy, and he shows it early with a flurry of locks and submissions. But, as Ricochet’s Spider-Man-inspired tights suggest, you can only keep the aerial artist down for so long. He flips his way to creating space, even allowing his opponent to get up to square off with integrity. This is a new Gargano though, the one who’s slowly been turning to the dark side. He punches Ricochet in the face, which only angers the North American Champion, who fires back with a dropkick and then an insane moonsault to the outside.

That’s the kind of offense Gargano needs to avoid if he wants the North American Championship. He can’t hang with Ricochet in the air, so he needs him on the mat. He gets Ricochet there by slamming him off the turnbuckle and then striking him while he’s down and keeping him on the mat with submissions that bend the limbs in some truly nasty ways. Ricochet comes back as the two trade blows in the middle of the ring. A flying head scissors leads a flurry of offense from the champ, capped off by a springboard uppercut that transitions into a deadlift suplex. The way Ricochet can just fluidly combine moves is remarkable. That leaves no space for Gargano to catch his breath.

A quick reversal into a submission gets Gargano back in the match briefly, nearly locking in the Gargano Effect, but Ricochet creates some space, tosses his opponent to the outside, and executes a beautiful twisting dive over the top rope. Gargano knows that he can’t stand the aerial assault for long, so he gets desperate, grabbing on to Ricochet’s legs as he goes to the top rope yet again. But again it’s not enough. Gargano thinks he has Ricochet when he goes for a hurricanrana off the top rope, but Ricochet lands on his feet because he’s not human. No human can do that!

With nothing left to do, Gargano simply runs. He heads outside the ring, refusing to engage with Ricochet. That’s not a problem for the champ though because, like I said, he’s not human. He runs across the entire ring and flies over the ring post! It’s breathtaking. He follows that up with a springboard 450, but he can’t put Gargano away.

It’s a mad dash to the finish from there, the crowd on their feet giving a standing ovation as both competitors empty the tank. Gargano fights back by hitting a reverse hurricanrana on the outside, and then his signature slingshot DDT lays waste to Ricochet. The champ kicks out there, and that’s it for Gargano. He’s had enough. He snaps, exposing the concrete floor and putting Ricochet on the apron for a DDT. But, he thinks twice. There’s still some good in there, somewhere.

Maybe it’s a mistake though. When Ricochet locks in the Gargano Escape, surely “Johnny Wrestling” is thinking that he’s weak, that he really does need to do whatever it takes if he wants to taste NXT gold again. So, when he’s on the apron with Ricochet and sees that exposed concrete, he doesn’t hesitate. He delivers a brutal brainbuster to Ricochet, crossing a new line. He throws Ricochet back into the ring, begging him to get back up. “I win,” he says before delivering another slingshot DDT, and that’s it. We have a new North American Champion, and a new Johnny Gargano who’s seemingly following in the footsteps of Tommaso Ciampa.

Shayna Baszler (c) def. Bianca Belair, for the NXT Women’s Championship

Baszler and Belair have been at each other’s throats for weeks now. They’re both full of confidence, convinced they’re the baddest woman in NXT. There could only be one left standing in Phoenix though, and you can read all about the match here.

Tommaso Ciampa (c) def. Aleister Black, for the NXT Championship match

If we’re being honest, Aleister Black didn’t really lose the NXT Championship. He technically lost, but it was an errant shot from Johnny Gargano that laid out Black and allowed Ciampa to get the pin. Black’s been working his way back to that championship, first dealing with Gargano, the man who also put him on the shelf for weeks after attacking him from behind in the parking lot at Full Sail. Now, he has his chance to reclaim the gold he lost in dubious fashion.

Ciampa isn’t going to give up Goldie easily. He was a strange affection for that title, like it’s an extension of himself. Early in the match though it’s Black who looks focused and driven. He grounds Ciampa with some side headlocks, and fully engages in the mind games that Ciampa so successfully used on Gargano. Ciampa seems to be thrown by Black’s offense. He can’t keep up. Everything he does is countered. The champ only gains control when he lures Black to the outside, throwing him into the stairs and then following it up with a suplex that slams Black’s knee into the steel.

Ciampa focuses on that knee from there on out, working to hyperextend the ligaments so that Black can’t hit his signature Black Mass. The Black Heart is in full control as he slams Black’s knee into the ring post over and over again before driving his opponent on to the announce table. Ciampa gets cocky though, taking his time to taunt Black and drink some water outside the ring. The Dutch Destroyer hits him in the chest with a swift kick, but back in the ring Ciampa takes control again, connecting with a dropkick to that injured knee.

Black only needs a moment though. That’s the beauty of the Black Mass. When Ciampa heads to the top rope, Black takes advantage of the space, climbing the proverbial ladder to deliver a boot to Ciampa’s face. It’s one kick after another once that happens, and suddenly Black is regaining control, getting that much closer to the NXT Championship. That leg is really hurt though; Black can’t raise Ciampa with his foot for the Black Mass like he usually does, and he struggles to lock in submissions for any length of time.

Black’s struggles lead to Ciampa hitting the Tower of London on the apron and getting a near fall. The two are drained, trading knees and kicks in the ring after that, each man attempting rollup pins to snag a win late in the match. Nothing works though. A running knee to the back followed by a brainbuster gets Black close, but close doesn’t get you a championship. Ciampa even hits his finisher, the Fairytale Ending, but there’s no end here, at least not yet.

So, Ciampa does what Gargano did earlier: He exposes the concrete floor. But, he gets sidetracked arguing with the ref, and Black comes off the apron with the double knees. When he throws Ciampa back in the ring he hits him with the Black Mass. He crawls for the cover, but Ciampa manages to turn over just in time, his shoulders not on the mat. When Black goes for it again Ciampa pulls the referee in front of him. The distraction is enough to allow Ciampa to drape Black over the middle rope for a DDT followed by a second Fairytale Ending, but Black kicks out again. When he goes for a third, Black reverses and goes for the Black Mass, but that injured knee comes back to haunt him. He can’t pivot through the move. Ciampa takes advantage of that pain, grabbing Black for yet another Fairytale Ending, and this one ends it. Aleister Black loses at NXT TakeOver for the first time, and Tommaso Ciampa continues to rack up the days as NXT Champion.

Another TakeOver in the books, but a lot of stories that we surely haven’t seen the last of. When we’re back at Full Sail, I fully expect the likes of Black, Belair, and so many others to keep chasing gold, while Baszler, Ciampa, and the newly-crowned Gargano do everything they can to hold on to what they have.

As the show comes to an end, it’s a sight we never thought we’d see again. Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano stand at the top of the ramp together, each holding their titles high. They’ve crossed lines and done dirty deeds to get here, but they each have gold in their hands. Was it all worth it? Time will tell.

You can watch NXT TakeOver: Phoenix on the WWE Network.