WWE NXT TakeOver: Phoenix Results, Highlights, And Grades

WWE NXT TakeOver: Phoenix promises to be a stellar show, just like every other TakeOver Special, with matches like Bianca Belair vs. Shayna Baszler and Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet on the card.

Although Sunday’s Royal Rumble card looks absolutely fantastic, tonight’s WWE NXT TakeOver: Phoenix show is very much tuning into. Beyond the fact that the show will almost certainly deliver in a big way, some of the wrestlers competing on this card could make a surprise Rumble appearance, including NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler.

After defeating Kairi Sane at TakeOver: WarGames 2 thanks to interference from stablemates Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir, Baszler is running high as the first two-time NXT Women’s Champion. She puts that on the line against Bianca Belair tonight, and odds are that Belair will walk away from TakeOver: Phoenix *still* undefeated and with her first championship. Defeating Baszler is no easy task, but Belair has been on another level over the past several months.

The North American Championship match between Ricochet and Johnny Gargano is another potential show-stealer that will blow our minds. Ricochet’s amazing superkick spot against Adam Cole at TakeOver: Brooklyn IV is still fresh in our minds, as are his and Gargano’s excellent performances at TakeOver: WarGames 2. Gargano and Ricochet have been two of the world’s finest in-ring performers for years, and they’ll get a chance to show their brilliance on a big stage this weekend.

Since Roderick Strong betrayed Pete Dunne at TakeOver: New Orleans to join the Undisputed Era after months of being courted by Cole and Co, he and Kyle O’Reilly have formed one of wrestling’s most captivating tag teams. With amazing matches against the likes of Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan and Moustache Mountain, Strong and O’Reilly have pulled the division as NXT Tag Team Champions. Those titles will be on the line against the insanely athletic War Raiders, who are just itching to get their first taste of gold in NXT after being one of the most acclaimed tandems in the world.

At TakeOver: WarGames 2, Matt Riddle and Kassius Ohno had a surprise match that truly shocked the WWE NXT Universe, as Riddle squashed Ohno in seconds. Though Ohno has saved face since then, defeating Riddle’s friend and future NXT Champion Keith Lee in a recent singles match, he’s the heavy underdog in Phoenix following his stunning November loss. Riddle is ticketed for huge things, but how will he respond to a pissed-off Knockout Artist who is willing to do the dirty work to remind fans that he’s still a threat in NXT?

And finally, the main event of the show will pit Tommaso Ciampa and Aleister Black against each other for the NXT Championship. Ciampa has brought even more dignity to the NXT Championship since winning the title off of Black, thanks to Gargano’s interference, but this may prove to be an even tougher test for Ciampa, who barely survived the potentially main roster-bound Velveteen Dream at TakeOver: WarGames. It’s all on the line here, and expect an absolutely brutal match between two driven, gifted men who have nothing but contempt for each other.

NXT TakeOver: Phoenix’s loaded card has something for every wrestling fan, and all eyes are on Belair as she attempts to capture gold and become an even bigger star in 2019. Meanwhile, Ciampa’s dark days as NXT Champion could end at the hands of a man who absolved Gargano of his sins…by kicking his head off.

Check back here at 7 p.m. ET for live results, highlights, grades, and analysis for the show. TakeOver: Phoenix’s pre-show begins at 6 p.m. ET on the WWE Network, but the main card and the live updates will begin at 7.

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The Undisputed Era (c) vs. War Raiders For The WWE NXT Tag Team Championships

Result: War Raiders are the new NXT Tag Team Champions

Rating: Great, definitely worth watching, and it WILL get you hyped for the rest of the show. 

Hanson and Rowe make their entrance to the ring in fiery fashion, wearing “Viking” gear as they began their march to the ring flanked by a dozen other “vikings”. That entrance alone guarantees them victory, correct?

Meanwhile, the Undisputed Era made their typically cocky entrance, with Roderick Strong looking particularly excited for this TakeOver: Phoenix title defense of the WWE NXT Tag Team Championships. At the beginning of the match, the crowd is very much behind  the Undisputed Era, which comes as no surprise.

Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong attack War Raiders right when the match begins to try and get the upper hand, but they just couldn’t handle the War Raiders’ power. Rowe threw Hanson at both O’Reilly and Strong before Rowe gorilla pressed Strong back into the ring – and Strong ate another powerful move from Hanson.

The War Raiders got an early nearfall on Strong by throwing the tag champs around and working quickly, showing the NXT Universe that they are somehow almost as quick as they are strong.

O’Reilly and Strong finally got the advantage, working together to isolate Hanson in the corner with frequent strikes after Strong bent the rules a little bit to ground Hanson initially. The chemistry between the Undisputed Era’s best in-ring performers allowed them to maintain an advantage over Hanson, who found it difficult to evade KOR’s firm grip. (Mauro Ranallo compared getting out of O’Reilly’s grip to breaking a pistachio nut.)

Rowe tagged in and immediately turned the tables with his insane strength, shocking the announce team by absorbing a right-hand to the face from O’Reilly without so much as flinching. But once again, Undisputed Era used the numbers advantage to briefly overwhelm Rowe. Hanson tried to help out, but UE ducked the suicide dive.

Once again, O’Reilly got the upper hand on Rowe in the corner, attempting to lock in various submission holds. Though Rowe easily used his strength to get out of the predicament, he didn’t notice Strong’s tag, as Strong hit him with a massive backbreaker before bringing O’Reilly back into the ring.

Hanson kept begging for the tag, so Strong tried to wipe him off the apron. In all the chaos, the referee turned his back to Undisputed Era, who cheated to lock Rowe in the corner. But that didn’t last, as Rowe suplexed O’Reilly so hard that both men were sent flying outside the ring, Rowe crawled to Hanson’s corner, but O’Reilly and Strong took Hanson out before Rowe could make the hot tag to his partner.

KOR’s strikes started to come in hard and fast, but Rowe’s strikes were even more massive; he knocked O’Reilly lights out with a vicious knee to the face that would have made Shinsuke Nakamura proud.

At last, Hanson finally tagged in, dominating Strong with big-time strikes, high-flying offense, and one of the best-sold back-body drops in memory. Hanson even got the crowd HOT with an INSANE cartwheel to avoid O’Reilly that must be seen to believe – Percy Watson even compared his quicks to the 205 Live superstars’ athleticism. And thanks to Hanson’s in-ring work, the crowd got behind War Raiders for the first time in the match.

Strong and O’Reilly had a miscommunication that nearly costed Undisputed Era, but Strong was able to kick out at two again.

It didn’t take long for the match to break down, as all four men started hitting each other with huge moves, including a suicide dive from Hanson on Strong that nearly led to Rowe putting the game away with a pin on O’Reilly. And if the crowd wasn’t fired up before, they were surely going wild after that nearfall.

Hanson ascended the top rope for a MASSIVE splash that nearly spelled doom for the NXT Tag Team Champions, but Strong broke up the pin at the last second. So Rowe dispatched O’Reilly  and went for another big move, but O’Reilly got out of it. And with Hanson still on the top rope, Strong met him there for another thunderous superplex.

It looked like Undisputed Era would successfully retain the titles following a huge knee from the top rope by O’Reilly to Hanson, but Hanson somehow kicked out! Yes, Phoenix, “This is awesome!”

An Olympic slam from Strong nearly bagged Undisputed Era the victory, but Hanson found enough strength to kick out again; it’s going to take something special from O’Reilly and Strong to finally put one of these two highly impressive athletes away for good. And on cue, Hanson kicked out AGAIN.

After their amazing entrance and winning the crowd during the course of the match, War Raiders picked up a tremendous, satisfying NXT Tag Team Championship victory. I didn’t think they’d have it in them against the dominant duo of O’Reilly and Strong, but Hanson’s insane resiliency, kicking out of UE’s tag team finisher for the first time, and athleticism (he hit a handspring double back-elbow!) proved key.

War Raiders are ready to mold the NXT Tag Team Championships in their image, and the tag division is headed for an exciting 2019. Also, this was yet another awesome opening match from Undisputed Era, who are easily on the shortlist of the most prolific tag teams in the world; that’s why they were so loved by the crowd at the beginning of the match. But the War Raiders showed their own quality by getting themselves over on the strength of their own work, and they are an elite tag team.

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Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno

Result: Matt Riddle forces Kassius Ohno to tap

Rating: Good, Loved the story-telling and character development here. This was the right match to follow up the fast-paced War Raiders vs. Undisputed Era match.

Surely this match will go much better for Kassius Ohno, who lost in mere seconds to Matt Riddle at TakeOver: WarGames 2, which was Riddle’s TakeOver debut. Riddle and Ohno had one more counter on NXT Television, and Ohno defeated his friend Keith Lee thanks to a “knockout” low blow.

Riddle and Ohno fought to a stalemate in the early moments, predictably trading plenty of strikes. Ohno showed off his brilliance, using the apron of the ring to drape Riddle’s head when “The King of Bros” attempted to sunset-flip powerbomb Ohno to the floor; it’ll take a lot more than that for Riddle to put the strong and savvy Ohno away this time.

After Riddle barely kicked out of a big move, Ohon followed up with some stomps, calling Riddle a “bum” as he disrespectfully kicked him in the face. That only got Riddle fired up, but his flurry of energy was short-lived against a pissed-off Ohno, who sent Riddle sprawling outside the ring. And just like on television, Ohno drove Riddle into the ring post and the steel steps, reminding Riddle and the fans of his previous attack on the NXT newcomer.

Blood pouring out of his mouth, Riddle took Ohno’s best shot on the apron and screamed, countering a vertical suplex into a sleeper hold. Riddle went to suplex Ohno, who took note of Riddle’s bare feet and stomped the living hell out of Riddle’s left foot.

But Riddle ignored the pain to hit a lovely bridging German for a nearfall…and then the kicks to the mid-section started coming hard and fast.

Ohno nearly won the match with a NASTY Liger Bomb, as Riddle just barely got the shoulder up. Desperate, Ohno went to the top rope for a moonsault that bagged the Knockout Artist another moonfall. Ohno overshot the moonsault a bit, which enabled Riddle to get out at two.

The crafty Ohno tried to beg Riddle off with some tears and a fist-bump attempt as a callback to their earlier television encounter, but Riddle wasn’t buying it. Riddle went right at Ohno by locking in on the elbow with relentless strikes, and the furious “Bro” got Ohno to tap out to the strikes, giving him a second highly impressive TakeOver victory for Riddle over Ohno (third win against Ohno overall).

It’s rare for a superstar to win by submission via strikes, and this was the perfect way for Riddle to beat the Knockout Artist. We saw some more great character development from Riddle, who is here to own 2019.

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Ricochet (c) vs. Johnny Gargano For The North American Championship

Result: Johnny Gargano wins his first singles title in NXT

Rating: Amazing, The story-telling, the counters, the athleticism, the chemistry, the quality of wrestling…more greatness from these two men. Ricochet is a huge star in the making, and Gargano consistently produces the best matches of anyone in WWE. Early Match of the Year candidate.

Johnny Gargano is driven to win his first championship in WWE NXT, and he’s turned his attention to Ricochet’s North American Championship. As Mauro Ranallo noted, Gargano’s record at TakeOver is reminiscent of the Cleveland Browns frequent losing, but with the Browns rising under 2018 No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield, perhaps Gargano’s fortunes will turn. It won’t be easy, of course, against “The One and Only” Ricochet, and this match has plenty of show-stealing potential.

Gargano starts the match by showing off his incredible wrestling ability on the mat, but Ricochet was plenty game in the quickness department, evading Gargano’s sudden strikes. The opening exchanges could be headed for a stalemate, even as Gargano is the superior grappler.

Ricochet kipped up after Gargano’s shoulder tackle, so Gargano threw him back on the mat again. The counters here were difficult to keep track of, and this was an INCREDIBLE showcase of athleticism, particularly Ricochet’s slick reversals. The crowd certainly approved as a frustrated Gargano sat there in awe of the respectful “One and Only”, who offered his hand and asked, “Which Johnny are we going to get?”

And Johnny punched him in the face. Welp.

“Johnny Wrestling” tried to take control again, but Ricochet’s quickness and acrobatics earned him an advantage. Gargano scouted Ricochet’s initial attempt at a dive to the outside, but Ricochet hit a BEAUTIFUL moonsault; it’s not fair what he can do!

In an attempt to slow down the match, Gargano trapped Ricochet in a nifty submission, and he continued to do his best to take Ricochet’s legs out from underneath him. The pinning combinations and submissions from Gargano were excellent, and he truly is capable of putting on a master-class in between the ropes.

Ricochet snuffed out a slingshot spear and that went for a no-look standing moonsault on Gargano, hitting the former NXT Tag Team Champion in the back. Then, the two started trading strikes, with Ricochet coming out on top in this battle.

This time, it was Gargano’s turn to hit a crazy counter, as he seamlessly powerbombed a charging Ricochet, who was going for another headscissors. Gargano followed that up immediately with a crossface, manipulating Ricochet as best as he could to prolong the submission. Ricochet, however, made sure that Gargano couldn’t turn it into the Gargano Escape, his finisher, and ended up getting out of the predicament with a counter into a pin.

A potential turning point in the match occurred shortly after. Ricochet countered Gargano’s DDT and sent Gargano rib-first into the barricade (that was SICK), nailing him with a huge dive that got the crowd going.

Ricochet dazzled again, hitting a standing shooting star press and a parkour-style moonsault off the middle rope for a two-count. “This is awesome!” chants rang out as Gargano somehow stayed in the match, as the North American Champion was simply rolling with all of his big moves and impressive pre-match scouting.

Finally, Gargano caught up to Ricochet on the top rope and seemed poise to hit a momentum-changing move of his own. Ricochet briefly hoisted Gargano on his shoulders, but Ricochet countered. And Gargano went for a frankensteiner, but Ricochet landed on his feet to completely shock Gargano and the WWE NXT Universe!

And we got some more rapid counters and strikes! This match is ridiculous!

Gargano countered Ricochet’s handspring cutter into the Gargano Escape, but Ricochet used his strength to avoid what looked like a loss for the North American Champion!

Sensing a huge top-rope move, potentially the finisher, from Ricochet, Gargano rolled to the far side of the ring. As he saw Ricochet charging at him, Gargano moved to the outside to safety…but he wasn’t so safe after all. Ricochet dove on him to the outside and immediately ran to the top rope for a picture-perfect 450. But Gargano somehow kicked out!

Gargano blocked a shooting star press from the top rope by an increasingly motivated Ricochet, who nearly had the match in the bag, and he almost paid for it dearly, barely kicking out of a small package. Clearly, Gargano has done his homework on Ricochet, too!

In another insane moment, Ricochet caught Gargano’s suicide dive and went for a fireman’s carry, but Gargano countered that into a reverse-rana. Gargano threw Ricochet into the ring, hit a slingshot DDT, and just barely got a two-count! Ricochet showed that he’s just as resilient as Gargano, getting off the mat at the last possible millisecond to save his championship. This match!

Enraged, Gargano started pacing to the outside and yelling at himself, and he dug deep into the Tommaso Ciampa bag of tricks, pulling off the mat covering on the outside. Oh no! Gargano put Ricochet in position for an elevated DDT on the exposed surface, but he finally came to his senses and put Ricochet back in the ring.

Distracted, Gargano got rolled up by Ricochet but also kicked out at two-and-a-half. Ricochet went back up to the top rope, rolled through the miss, and ate a superkick from Gargano. Ricochet locked in the Gargano Escape and held his opponent in his own finisher for what felt like an eternity as a desperate Gargano screamed. But thankfully for Gargano, Ricochet’s grip gave out as Gargano crawled essentially from one side of the ring to the other.

Ranallo wisely noted that fatigue will likely lead to the critical error that decides this match, and we all sat there on the edge of our seats. After hitting Ricochet on the ring post, Gargano stood there for a hot minute, contemplating sending Ricochet int the exposed floor.

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And he did it. He did the damn thing. He hit Ricochet with a vertical suplex on the exposed floor. This man has officially sold his soul.

Gargano rolled Ricochet back into the ring and labored up to the apron, moving in for the North American Championship. He slapped Ricochet with a slingshot DDT to pick up a win and his first singles championship in WWE.

Wow. What a match and what a story. Ricochet will one thousand percent get his revenge, but this was about Gargano finally winning the gold…and losing his soul in the process. This hasn’t been a fairytale for quite some time, but Gargano has truly lost himself, especially in the moment where he used the exposed surface to win.

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Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Bianca Belair for the WWE NXT Women’s Championship

Result: Shayna Baszler forces Bianca Belair to pass out

Rating: Amazing, Though it was disappointing to see Bianca Belair lose, the crowd couldn’t get enough of her and believed in her throughout. As usual, the heel/face story-telling in a Baszler match was fantastic, and Belair was absolutely brilliant. This was the most dramatic match of the night so far. And Bianca isn’t done yet.

The only two-time Women’s Champion in WWE NXT history, Shayna Baszler, is at serious risk of losing tonight against the undefeated Bianca Belair. She is the EST of NXT and has inspired fans with her confidence, strength, and ability to mentally dissect opponents. Belair and Baszler will look to steal the show in a brutal match, and we’re about to witness one hell of a story in the ring.

Also Sam Roberts and whoever wrote those lines for him can shove it. Belair is ready, and I don’t need your fake heat to build some BS story focused around her “readiness”. Just beating Baszler is a challenge enough, even for an undefeated superstar.

Baszler and Belair start feeling each other out as grapplers to a stalemate, and both women look enthused to have finally met someone who they feel is a worth opponent. Belair has the strength advantage, but Baszler has the experience and technical know-how.

Early on, Belair kept trying to remind Baszler that she’s “Undefeated”, and Baszler was NOT amused. She also wasn’t amused by Belair’s handsprings and back-flips, gaining an advantage on Shayna with her athleticism.

But Baszler has her tricks. She pulled Belair by the hair and sent her head-first into the ring post. Now that was savage.

Belair barely rolled into the ring with an injured shoulder following that attack onto the ring post, as she nearly lost via count-out. Baszler started locking in on that left arm, contorting it brutally and attacking it just like she attacked Dakota Kai’s arm. This could be it for Bianca, as the ref had to check up on the injured babyface.

Of course, Shayna wasn’t easing up on the EST any time soon, as she kept focusing her full attention on the left arm with some creative and devastating moves. And at this point, The Queen of Spades was just toying with a surviving Bianca.

Baszler attempted to lock in the rear-naked choke, but Belair was able to use her strength to shove Shayna off of her. Again, Shayna was all smiles, enjoying the punishment she was delivering to the EST, slowly sapping the strength out of the match’s babyface.

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Shayna called Bianca “overrated”, and Belair slapped the taste out of her mouth before ramming Baszler into the corner. Basically restricted to one arm, Belair started using her prodigious strength and quickness to come back, getting a two-count that even impressed heel commentator Nigel McGuinness.

Belair completely whiffed on several strikes in almost embarrassing fashion, but Belair finally managed to send Shayna flying…by using her hair whip! What a connection, too!

A potential turning point in the match that left a mark on Baszler’s mid-section, Belair, however, couldn’t capitalize. Shayna shoved Bianca into the ref and started using the hair against her, but Belair HAD THE MATCH WON by countering into the KOD shortly afterwards. However, the ref was OUT, and Bianca panicked.

Marina Shair and Jessamyn Duke ran in to cost Bianca, but the EST bested both former MMA stars, KOD’ing Duke onto Shafir.

Belair had this match won, but all of a sudden she found herself in the Kirifuda Clutch just as the referee began to stir. Gasping for air and screaming, Belair was losing strength in the grasp of one of WWE’s most devastating finishers. The crowd stood anxiously, as Bianca somehow found enough strength to stand in the face of the Kirifuda Clutch.

She suplexed Baszler, and all of a sudden it seems like Bianca is ready to win that NXT Women’s Championship! Baszler made it a point to say that it doesn’t matter how strong you are in the Kirifuda Clutch, but Bianca proved that false with her counter!

Duke tried to interfere again, but Belair kicked her off the top rope. She missed with a big move, however, and got put back in the Kirifuda Clutch immediately, struggling for dear life. Belair and Baszler were locked in an absolute struggle, as Belair struggled to her feet. She was so close to pulling it off, too, but her legs gave out at the last possible second…

…but what, Bianca stood up! Baszler had to switch arms to keep her grip, but Bianca somehow found something extra and stood up AGAIN after being in the submission for ages!

Unfortunately, just as the crowd started chanting EST, Belair collapsed and passed out.

And this crowd was PISSED at the finish. Baszler’s reign of terror on the NXT Women’s Division continues, but, man, Belair showed so much heart in this match. I really thought she should have won, but Belair came away looking like the huge star that she is. This was an incredible performance from her, and even though she’s no longer undefeated, she IS winning that NXT Women’s Championship soon. I can guarantee it.

Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Aleister Black for the NXT Championship

Result: Four Fairytale Endings later, and Ciampa retains

Rating: Good, Enjoyable story-telling and solid in-ring action ensured that the main event once again delivered, even if Gargano did steal the show again. I mean, that’s just inevitable. 

The match begins as the two brawl, heading to the outside of the ring as neither could gain an early advantage. Tommaso Ciampa hit Aleister Black with a heavy chop, and Black immediately responded with a takedown as the two started grappling to another draw inside the ring.

Black’s strikes and grappling seem to be superior, but Ciampa showed off his own in-ring prowess, locking in on the left arm as he sought to cement an early advantage.

But Black started getting into the match, going for an early cover before grounding Ciampa. It didn’t take too long for Ciampa to reassume an advantageous position, though he was put back into a hold after teasing his finisher.

The mindgames began with Black sitting right in Ciampa’s face after gaining the upper hand, and Ciampa’s response was classic; he just kicked Black right in the face Ciampa thought he had thrown Black to the outside, but Black stayed in, caught Ciampa off-guard, and sent the champ packing to the outside, following up with a tope con hiro.

We got our first nearfall off of Black’s springboard moonsault, and the two started to take the fight to the outside. Black avoided going head-first into the steel steps at first, but Ciampa drove his left knee into the steps and sent him flying into them for a second time.

Ciampa noticed the weakness and kept going right after the left leg. Steel steps again? Elaborate submissions? It was all part of the dastardly Ciampa’s gameplan here.

“Blackheart” started going to work, slamming Black’s left knee into the ring post multiple times to continue methodically breaking down the former NXT Champion. Black was in a bad way, and Ciampa made it worst by throwing Black knee-first onto the announce table as he proudly clapped for himself.

Taking a few sips of water, Ciampa walked over to Black and ate a monstrous kick that sent the water flying. Black hobbled into the ring and was quickly brought back to the mat again, and Ciampa just kept coming for the babyface’s injured knee.

Black got the momentum to turn into his favor with a MASSIVE kick to Ciampa on the top rope that sent BOTH men flying outside the ring. Now, Black has some life in this match, and while it took a lot out of his already-hobbled left knee, he has a glimmer of hope against the WWE NXT Champion after his first big move in some time.

Though Ciampa went for the knee again, Black countered, desperately kicking Ciampa away whenever the champ went for his injury. Black didn’t have enough power on his left leg to drive into big moves, but he could still hit strikes with his right leg and use his fists. That’s exactly what Black did as he came back, going for a cover that induced an easy kick out from Ciampa at two. But it was important for Black to even get a cover, as he now has his lifeline in the match due to his huge kicks.

Ciampa went for a sudden victory with a small package and teased his finisher, ducking a Black Mass counter. Black barely countered the “Fairytale Ending” again despite being weakened, and it was just Black desperately avoiding that move while getting some kicks of his own. Black hit an impressive one-legged bridging German, but he was never going to pin the champ with that.

After kicking off Ciampa while in a single-legged crab on his injured knee, Black went for a single-legged crab on Ciampa but couldn’t lock it in for long due to his knee. Black was trying everything, but that knee injury prevented him from hitting those big moves. The “Black Mass” is still always there, but it’s desperate times for Black, who barely kicked out of the Tower of London and a running knee strike.

Cocky with his taunting, Ciampa got hit with a huge knee from Black. Though Ciampa hit a knee strike of his own afterwards, he was too worn-out to follow up with that, still dazed from Black’s strong knee. And then the two traded strikes again, going blow-for-blow with wild energy to pick up the crowd.

The counters and pinning combinations came in, as both men found their second wind to put together a couple of awesome sequences. Black countered a running knee from a desperate Ciampa and exposed his own knee in the ring, but could “only” hit a double-stomp. Once again, though, Black’s knee gave out until he finally found the inner strength to hit a big vertical suplex for a two-count. Though the knee damage has been done, Black was finally able to find a way to shake off the pain enough.

Like Ricochet, Black hit a huge moonsault to the outside, but he slipped on the spilled water! That stumble gave Ciampa a brief advantage, and he nearly capitalized with the “Fairytale Ending”. But Black kicked out after his unfortunate slip! The fairytale isn’t over for Black! (Also credit to Percy Watson for the save, not calling the move Ciampa’s “finisher”!)

Ciampa went to the well after that display of resiliency from the challenger, exposing the concrete on the outside, just as Gargano did to win the North American Championship earlier tonight.

It was Ciampa, however, who got caught out. As he argued with the ref, Black hit double-knees to Ciampa on the outside! This could be it! Black hit a PERFECT Black Mass from out of nowhere! This really could be it! But Black didn’t have the energy to get to his feet, and in the time it took for him to crawl to the cover, the “Greatest Sports Entertainer of All-Time” wisely rolled to his stomach to spare himself losing “Goldie”.

Black stood up and put Ciampa in position for a second Black Mass, but Ciampa nefariously pulled the ref in the way. He then rolled through, hit the elevated DDT perfectly, and then hit the Fairytale Ending…it’s over…

But Black kicked out of the Fairytale Ending for a second time! WHAT? HOW?

Stunned, Ciampa hit a third Fairytale Ending…but his ego got in the way. He went for a third instead of being satisfied with three and the cover. Black hit a kick and went for another move, but the knee gave out…and Ciampa hit a fourth Fairytale Ending.

It’s over. Ciampa retains. WWE NXT remains in a dark place.

This was a great back-and-forth match, and the nearfalls ended up making sense. The story-telling around the knee was nice, but it didn’t evoke enough emotions for me. Overall, this was a good match and story, but it just never hit that level of passion that I wanted. Still, I loved the finish, enjoyed the match, and it was another quality main event for the Black and Yellow brand!

And after Ciampa’s win, guess who appeared to raise his title with the Blackheart? Yup, the former “Rebel Heart”. It truly has happened.