WWE NXT TakeOver Chicago II Results, Highlights, And Grades

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa In A Street Fight

Result: Ciampa hits a no-hands DDT on the exposed ring surface to pin Gargano

Rating: ALL THE STARS (5.0+ Out Of 5.0)

This is the venue where Tommaso Ciampa so heartlessly turned on Johnny Gargano last year. Gargano and Ciampa are coming full circle here, and I wouldn’t put it past them to exceed their seven-star (ish) classic at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans. This has been perhaps the best rivalry in WWE since CM Punk vs. John Cena, and it’s right up there with any of NJPW’s great rivalries over the past five years.

There was some drama regarding Candice LeRae’s feelings about Gargano pursuing a “Street Fight” match against Ciampa, especially after everything Ciampa has done to the both of them. But before the match, Candice ran in to catch up to Gargano and gave her a crutch. The crutch that has been the centerpiece of this feud, and the fact that both walked into this match with a crutch symbolizes the poetic symmetry of this rivalry.

Gargano started wailing on Ciampa with a stop sign that was literally hidden in between two Gargano signs. That, of course, was topped by Gargano’s jaw-dropping crossbody to Ciampa on a hard-ass surface.

The “Street Fight” went back into the ring, as Gargano brought in a trash can, the lid, and a steel chair into the ring. He tried to attack Ciampa with the lid, but it backfired. Ciampa started to show off his strength, hitting Gargano with three straight german suplexes before Gargano countered with one of his own. And then Gargano got the crowd going again with a fiery suicide dive.

https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1008169400640237568

Now here’s the brutal spot of the night (so far). Ciampa wrapped a steel chair around Gargano’s neck (a la Kevin Owens on Chris Jericho), and after giving Johnny a few punches, he threw him head-first at the steel steps. Then he just stared a hole at the half-dead Gargano. But he wasn’t done yet, denting a trash can after hitting it across Gargano’s back.

Ciampa took off his shirt and wrapped it around Gargano’s face, stuffing it into his mouth. He proceeded to start stomping all over Gargano, earning ‘”You Suck! Whoop! Whoop!” chants from the raucous Chicago crowd. The Sicilian Psychopath attempted to handcuff Johnny Wrestling, but Gargano fought back, hitting Ciampa with a savage spear that honestly hurt Johnny just as much as it hurt Ciampa.

You know how Ciampa took off his shirt? Well, Gargano took off his belt and started whipping Ciampa around with it. I mean, it wasn’t a Bianca Belair hair whip, but, man, Ciampa was getting CRUSHED. Gargano placed the trash can over Ciampa and superkicked the hell out of him.

It looked like Ciampa might have the match won when he raked Gargano’s eyes, hit Project Ciampa, and then kneed him  with a trash can lid. After Gargano kicked out, Ciampa did the knee strike/trash can lid combo again. He wasn’t done yet. Ciampa hit Gargano with a piledriver on the steel steps, but Gargano somehow kicked out again!

Worse yet, Ciampa took out some wire clippers and started cutting off attachments holding the mat to the ring. He just got rid of the canvas to inflict maximal damage on Gargano. I NEVER thought I’d see this.

The Psychopath ominously waved “Goodbye” at Gargano, and then he fully exposed the wooden underbelly of the ring. Even crazier than that, Ciampa start biting Gargano’s ear as Johnny Wrestling was perched on the top rope, poised to take a crazy move to the wood. But Gargano countered! And both started holding on for dear life before Gargano superkicked him to get them both out of the precarious position.

Both men started dueling punches, and the crowd was SO involved with the cheers and boos going back and forth. Gargano went for a plancha on the outside, and Ciampa smashed him in the face with the trashcan lid. Nigel McGuinness yelled, “C’mon! Enough is enough!” And when Nigel starts getting antsy on commentary, you start getting scared. This match is fun but it is BRUTAL.

Another possible turning point occurred. Ciampa went for a knee, but he missed and smashed his previously injured knee on the steel steps. Gargano capitalized and started attacking it like crazy, even using a steel chair.

But Ciampa locked in the Gargano Escape (!!!) on Johnny Wrestling himself, generating huge amounts of heat for this piece of thievery.

The best part of the match came when Ciampa yelled at Gargano and threw him at the LED board, the same way he turned on Gargano last year. Ciampa even hit him with a knee.

Ciampa said to Gargano, “We were like brothers! You and me! Best friends man! We traveled the world together! We were like family! You did this to yourself!”

He bellowed “It’s not enough!” at the ref, pure hatred in his voice and eyes. The devil himself pulled Gargano up, took off his wedding ring, spit on it, and threw it away. Gargano, however, countered and hit Ciampa with a piledriver on the table, hurting himself in the process. The medics then came in to attend to Ciampa, with Gargano perched on top, either regretting what he did or contemplating hurting Ciampa even more…

However, Gargano thought about what Ciampa did to his wedding ring, grabbed his finger, and then shoved the medics/officials aside to drag Ciampa’s stretcher towards the ring. Johnny Wrestling pulled him off the stretcher and into the ring, blinded by rage he put Ciampa in the Gargano Escape. Ciampa immediately tapped out, but no referee was there to call the finish.

Gargano brought out the handcuffs, superkicking a defenseless Ciampa six times before locking in the Gargano Escape again! Ciampa kept tapping out, and NXT officials desperately tried to rip Gargano away from Ciampa.

Then insanity happened! Gargano absolutely HAD this match, but Ciampa pulled out a DDT onto the wooden, exposed ring surface on Gargano, pinning Johnny Wrestling handcuffed.

Next: Money in the Bank Staff Predictions

This is far from over, and I can’t wait for Part 3. The finish was beyond brilliant, and I didn’t see it coming even though they gave us all the pieces to what the finish would be. Somehow this match was better than their bout at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans. I’m not sure if this was the match of the year over Omega vs. Okada IV, but it’s certainly the story of the year. And it ain’t close.