At NXT TakeOver: Toronto, Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano will battle in a Three Stages of Hell Match for the NXT Championship. But what will the stipulations be?
Following their in-ring classics at NXT TakeOver: New York and NXT TakeOver XXV, NXT Champion Adam Cole and number one contender Johnny Gargano will script the final chapter of their trilogy on the eve of SummerSlam at NXT TakeOver: Toronto in a Three Stages of Hell match.
If you are unfamiliar with the rules of a Three Stages of Hell match, don’t fret. After all, WWE has used this match only four times in their nearly seven decades of operation (coincidentally, NXT senior producer Triple H has participated in three of the four), so if you’re a newer fan, this may seem like a unique concept.
In essence, a Three Stages of Hell match is a Best-of-Three Falls match, with each fall carrying a distinct stipulation. Whoever reaches two falls first wins the match and, in this instance, the NXT Championship.
As of Jul. 18, WWE hasn’t officially announced the match types for each fall, which leaves plenty of room to debate which stipulations the NXT creative team should use the bring this disjointed feud to its conclusion — unless you’ve read the spoilers and already know what they’re doing. Of the endless matches at their disposal, these three possibilities stand out the most.
Fall 1: Standard Wrestling Match
Given the stipulation and the stakes, it’s safe to assume that Cole and Gargano will receive the bulk of the show time to tell their story. Starting the match off with a traditional wrestling match lends itself to the long-form match layouts fans have come to expect from a Gargano match.
If these two plan on delivering another 30-minute epic, then they will need to pace themselves, much like they did in their prior encounters. Cole and Gargano are savvy workers and realize that going all out in the opening bout risks burning the crowd out before they get to the second fall, let alone the third.
That doesn’t mean they won’t pack as much quality workrate as they can into the opening act. We’re sure to get some fun chain wrestling sequences and finisher teases that establishes both men as in-ring equals, even with them starting at half-speed.
From there, they could go one of two ways: they could end the opener with a leverage pin of some sort (preferably Gargano surprising Cole with a quick roll-up on an overconfident Cole) or they could have Cole bash Gargano with a weapon to draw the disqualification. Either way, a standard singles match allows Cole and Gargano to set the table for what’s to come later without giving away too much.
Fall 2: Falls Count Anywhere Match
Cole and Gargano’s brawl throughout the Full Sail Arena on the Jul. 17 episode of NXT indicates that we’re getting some sort of garbage match for the middle fall. While an Extreme Rules match or a Street Fight are the obvious candidates, a Falls Count Anywhere stipulation makes even more sense.
Setting aside that the stip gives Cole and Gargano latitude to wallop each other with whatever weapons are lying around and trade hands at various parts of the arena, the Falls Count Anywhere rules would open the door for Cole’s Undisputed Era cronies – Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly, and Roderick Strong – to interfere on his behalf.
Picture this: Gargano gets the upper hand on Cole and just when he’s about to put him away, possibly with the Garga-No-Escape, one of the UE members could distract the referee while another attacks Gargano. That opens the door for Cole to take the second fall. If done right, it could get some good heat on Cole (or cause the fans that cheer him to cheer him more).
Given NXT’s track record at these shows, any shenanigans we see in this match will be subtler than the usual fare fans generally see on the main roster. Even if it’s blatant, Cole tying the match up at one apiece with the help of his cronies would serve as the perfect transition to the deciding fall.
Fall 3 (If Necessary): Steel Cage Match
The vast majority of any sort of Best-of-Three Falls matches go the distance, so the disclaimer above is a formality. Plus, assuming the writers use this stip, it would be a jerk move to have a crew erect a cage with no plans on using it, though doing so would work in the sense that the cage was built in the event of the match reaching a tiebreaker.
Even if heavy interference in this match isn’t the plan, the specter of UE run-ins makes the cage match stip a no-brainer. Yes, this would mark the fourth time since Money in the Bank last May that WWE has used this type of match and sure, the company has chipped away so much of the match’s credibility that no one buys it as a deterrent to outside chicanery (even NXT has reused some of these cage match interference tropes).
But given the possible extracurricular activity that could be afoot in either of the first two falls, we likely won’t see the writers and the producers bog the final fall down with more nonsense at what should be the most climactic moment of the match.
Or, they could swing the pendulum in the other direction and foreshadow the interference early on to set up Cole’s pals helping him win the deciding fall. Helmsley and company’s proclivity to deliver clean finishes at these TakeOvers – a refreshing one, by the way – likely means the latter option won’t happen, but you never know.
No matter how they choose to outline the final fall, don’t be surprised if it goes down inside of a cage.