WWE NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 Results, Highlights, And Grades

Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Johnny Gargano For The NXT Championship In A Last Man Standing Match

As Sam Roberts, Pat McAfee, and the great Charly Caruso said on the pre-show, what will it take to keep either man down for the ten-count? We’ve seen Tommaso Ciampa (it feels SO weird typing the “(c)” next to his name, by the way) and Johnny Gargano brutalize each other in New Orleans and Chicago, so what insanity will go down tonight? And does Gargano have it in him to outlast someone as sadistic as Ciampa?

Gargano wasted no time, attacking Ciampa like a man possessed while the NXT Champion was still being announced. He, rightfully, blames himself for Ciampa being the NXT Champion, and he’ll do anything to rectify that.

We’ve seen Ciampa expose the concrete in New Orleans and the ring surface in Chicago, but this time it was Gargano who took the proactive approach, exposing the concrete on the outside early in the match. Ciampa raked at Gargano’s eyes viciously in order to avoid possible punishment, before Gargano countered a draping DDT on the outside.

Gargano flung Ciampa over the announce desk and at Percy Watson for “crazy spot No. 1” of what will likely end up being a match of a million even crazier spots…such as Ciampa’s Air Raid Crash to Gargano on the other announce table!

Ciampa started hitting running knee strikes at Gargano in the corner. After the first one, he bellowed, “We’re not done by a longshot!” in Gargano’s face. After the second one, he brought out a steel chair to knee Gargano in the face with it. Instead, Gargano countered, attacked Ciampa with the chair, and started wailing on Ciampa for a good minute with the chair (that Ciampa initially introduced to the match).

So Ciampa tried out a new strategy, locking Gargano in a sleeper hold. And immediately when Gargano got up from it, he just locked it in again. Finally, Gargano got out of this vicious cycle, as he lawn darted Ciampa into a steel chair after all!

After setting up two tables on the outside, Gargano tried to suplex Ciampa to the outside onto them. Instead, Ciampa countered out of it and started hitting some german suplexes on Johnny Wrestling. It didn’t take long for Ciampa to get the steel chair in his hands, as he started bashing him in the back.

He hit three Project Ciampas on Gargano after Gargano had already taken three german suplexes. Ciampa took a seat as Gargano lay there, just waiting for the ref to count to ten following those Project Ciampas. Gargano got up at nine, and he superkicked Ciampa off his perch.

These two started hitting some awesome moves and counters, and then they got up at one just to start tearing at each other. This made the crowd HOT, but the flurry of energy couldn’t last forever; the two ended up on the ground again before long.

Just as he did in Chicago, Ciampa uncovered the ring canvas, ready to destroy Gargano once and for all. But Gargano surprised him with a fire extinguisher and started breaking a crutch over Ciampa’s back. Ciampa went for the DDT on the exposed ring surface and then went for a move to the chairs on the outside. But Gargano countered him with an enziguiri and eventually hit Ciampa with a DDT on the exposed ring canvas!

Ciampa rolled out of the ring to get up at 9, showing his creativity in the process. Gargano, on the other hand, hit someone on the production crew, and it costed him. Ciampa started throwing absolutely everything on top of Gargano to prevent him from getting up! Johnny, of course, managed to land on his feet and keep the match going.

Gargano tried to handcuff Ciampa again (after doing this at TakeOver: Chicago), but Ciampa was barely hanging on. He couldn’t afford to get handcuffed. Instead, he was smashed into the two tables on the outside. How did he survive? Ciampa used the crutch to stand up, as the two received more “Fight Forever” chants from the crowd.

But Gargano kicked away the crutch and slammed Ciampa head-first into the boards, just as Ciampa did to Gargano at Chicago I. Gargano handcuffed Ciampa to the ringside area, just after making him tap out to the Gargano Escape (this is a Last Man Standing match, so that can’t be the finish). He kept kicking Ciampa in the head, in spite of all of Ciampa’s apologies. Gargano told Ciampa that it is too late for apologies.

All of a sudden, Gargano is beginning to rethink everything after Ciampa begs for mercy. He puts his hands to his face…but he still hates Ciampa enough to keep going! Gargano hits a brutal running knee at Ciampa, but he wipes himself out in the process.

And guess who gets back up on his feat? Tommaso f**king Ciampa does, as he slides off the stage to retain the NXT Championship.

Gargano couldn’t get up with a dislocated knee…And now we sit here, nervously awaiting this next chapter in this storied rivalry.

Rating: EXCELLENT, I was so worried that this match would be overdone, contrived, or too similar to their past matches. Instead, it was unique, spellbinding, and an emotional roller-coaster that stands with all of their previous matches.