WWE NXT: Evaluating Tommaso Ciampa’s Reign After TakeOver Phoenix

via wwe.com

A First Challenger in a Post-Gargano World

After Aleister Black’s attacker was revealed to be Johnny Gargano and after months of dealing with his ex-DIY partner, The Psycho Killer could finally lock horns with someone new. Enter Velveteen Dream. Truth be told, Tommy Sports Entertainment’s post-Gargano world was looking a bit rocky.

In terms of storyline only, the Dream vs Ciampa program was poorly executed. Nothing of note occurred during their rivalry and it didn’t do much to make us buy into the possibility of Dream beating Ciampa. On one occasion during the Nov. 7 episode of WWE NXT TV, Velveteen would lay out the NXT Champion mere seconds after falling victim to a loss at the hands of Lars Sullivan. Booking wise, that just doesn’t make sense and made it harder to imagine an outcome where The Dream held the title over his head in victory at TakeOver: War Games.

Frankly, that sole moment is the only memorable thing which occurred during this feud. It could also be argued that the NXT Champion was being shafted once again in favor of the TakeOver event’s special War Games match-up. Much more time and effort was put into booking storylines for the title main event than for the NXT Championship. That’s a big problem and did nothing but help hurt the Champ’s reign in the public eye.

While their feud was a lackluster one, their match at War Games II was great. Whatever character building that NXT failed to do on television, they more than made up for at TakeOver. While his TV booking failed to make him feel like a substantial challenger going into the big show, Velveteen Dream’s performance during the match made us feel like Dream could pull off an upset at any moment.

On the flip side, Ciampa once again proved to look like a strong, dastardly champion.