NXT: Velveteen Dream’s Secret TakeOver Weapon Is His Style

The Purple Mouthpiece

Dream typically uses his clothing choices to make fun of his opponents, but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes he uses his accessories to create allusions, build up his character in a promo, or even- in one instance -help build up the intensity of a match by selling an opponent’s killer strike.

NXT Takeover Philadelphia was a highly-anticipated PPV, and it remains one of the best shows NXT has ever pulled off. This was Velveteen Dream’s second high-profile TakeOver bout, and his opponent was none other than Kassius Ohno. An arrogant Dream claimed that not only could he beat Ohno, but he could knock him out in thirty seconds.

Dream’s entrance into the ring was delightfully theatrical- vamping to his theme song, strutting through purple smoke, and pausing ringside to place his gum on a velvet pillow held by a stone faced member of his entourage. After he did that, a similarly glamorous woman placed a purple mouthguard in his mouth.

It was a lot of pomp and circumstance for a piece of safety equipment, but it served an important storytelling purpose later in the match.

True to his word, Dream did manage to knock Ohno to the ground within the first thirty seconds of the match. But he paused to cheer for himself instead of going for the pin when Ohno was vulnerable. He paid dearly for this just seconds later, as Ohno got back to his feet and delivered an elbow to Dream’s face that was so stiff it sent Dream’s mouthguard sailing out of his lips and out of the ring.

While Velveteen Dream did win this match, the mouthguard moment proved it wasn’t as easy as he thought it was going to be. It also established Dream as someone whose arrogance will lead him to make bad choices in the ring, and whose ego can occasionally cost him.