Wrestling Thread April-September 2018 RIP

WWE NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 preview - Match by Match

NXT’s latest live special, TakeOver: Brooklyn 4, will come our way Saturday, Aug. 18 at 7PM Eastern on WWE Network (a new, earlier start time), so we’re here to help you get ready for it.

The black-and-yellow brand will ride into Barclays Center on the eve of SummerSlam, a venue and position on the calendar which have important place in NXT history. Even more than their pre-’Mania event, this is the show many believe to be NXT’s WrestleMania.

We won't be able to form an opinion on how well Brooklyn 4 stacks up to the previous three trips to this building, or the other TakeOvers, until after NXT’s twenty-second Network special leaves our screens. But we can start getting ready for the show by looking at what brought us here and what we’re excited about or intrigued by in each match.

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Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Johnny Gargano - Last Man Standing match for the NXT Championship

How we got here: Pull up a chair, scripted fight fans.

At its core, this is actually quite basic. These guys had a great babyface tag run as #DIY. It included one big match between them at 2016’s Cruiserweight Classic where many were expecting a Ciampa turn. He didn’t snap then, but the scene they shared after Gargano defeated him where Tommaso pulls his partner in for a seated side-hug after a tense moment has become one of the signature images in NXT history, and something the two men have returned to often as rivals.

When Ciampa needed time off to deal with lingering injuries (and possibly aggravated or suffered a new one at a house show), all involved steered into fans speculating about a potential replacement partner for Johnny Wrestling ahead of #DIY’s Title match in Chicago last year. That proved to finally be the impetus for Tommaso to become the Blackheart, as he attacked Gargano to close the show and left for multiple surgeries and months of rehab a short time later.

Shaken by the betrayal, Johnny took those months to regain his confidence and find his footing as a singles wrestler. It led him to a NXT Title opportunity against Andrade “Cien” Almas on Royal Rumble weekend. Gargano came up short, but made a statement with his performance in an instant classic. Which is when Ciampa returned to remind his old friend they weren’t done.

Despite a career-saving win against Tommaso in New Orleans this spring, the rest of 2018 has seen Ciampa continue the process of mentally breaking Gargano he started at the first TakeOver: Chicago. He baited Johnny into a snatching defeat from the jaws of victory at this year’s Chi-town event, and used Gargano’s rage-driven interference in the NXT Title match to take the belt from Aleister Black.

Interference by the Sicilian Psychopath left a battle to settle the score between Johnny and Aleister without a clear winner. That led General Manager William Regal to add Gargano to Black’s rematch, but another house show injury (and an on-screen mystery attack) took the Dutch Destroyer out of action, and took Saturday’s main event from a Triple Threat to a third straight TakeOver main event pitting the former #DIY partners and best friend against each other... this time in a Last Man Standing match for the brand’s top prize.

If you haven’t seen it already, or even if you have, I’d recommend watching this hype video for Brooklyn 4’s main event. It really only covers this year’s portion of their saga, but it’s really great and has everything you need.

What to look out for: Some have commented that they’re tired of seeing these battle in TakeOver’s last match of the night. I’m not among them, but I get where they’re coming from, I guess. Three shows in a row is a lot, especially when you start with the one where the babyface’s job is on the line. They’ve all also had different versions of a hardcore stipulation, which contributes to the sameness, if that’s bothering you.

While the plan was to change things up with Black’s involvement, Triple H is confident enough in these guys to put them in this spot again. And we have zero evidence they won’t deliver.

Creative has also been up to the task of adding new wrinkles to their characters and rivalry to keep things fresh. The big change for Ciampa is the belt, which gives him something else to taunt Johnny with as proof he’s “won”. Gargano seems to be on a path to redemption after succumbing to the dark side at Allstate Arena in June. Does he achieve that goal with a title win this weekend?

The wild card is the unsolved mystery of who took out Aleister in the Full Sail parking lot. Is the attack directly tied to this story - meaning Johnny, Tommaso or possibly Mrs. Gargano, Candice LeRae - did the deed? Or someone with whom they’ve secretly aligned? NXT doesn’t usually schmoz up their live matches (attacks like Ciampa’s Philly one happen after the finish), but it’s possible that bit of intrigue factors in somewhere.

Between that bit of suspense, the depth of story overall and these men’s talent, there’s no reason to fear this won’t be a worthy addition to their program.

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Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler (c) - Women's Championship match

How we got here: Woo, got a little carried away talking about those best friends-turned-mortal enemies. It’s just that it’s the longest running story in wrestling outside of New Japan and Golden Lovers, more or less. Anyway...

Gonna have to exercise some brevity in discussing the rest of the card. But that doesn’t mean there’s not history to all these matches.

Take the Women’s Title bout. Sane defeated LeRae and Chicago 2’s challenger Nikki Cross in a Triple Threat to become #1 contender, but this rivalry stretches back to 2017’s Mae Young Classic. Kairi was the only wrestler who could take down The Queen of Spades in the tournament, and she did so live in Las Vegas to win the trophy.

And Shayna’s never forgotten it. She spent her entire stint on commentary on the ‘go home’ show explaining how she’s improved since losing to the Pirate Princess last September. There’s a lot of evidence to back up her claim, too. Not only did she beat Ember Moon for the belt, she’s taken down all comers since winning in New Orleans - including Sane.

What Baszler can’t prove heading into this tiebreaker is that Kairi lacks a “killer instinct”. It’s a point the champ has been trying to make, but through her program with Lacey Evans and last Wednesday’s dismantling of the Shayna-coached Aliyah, we’ve seen quite a bit of ruthless aggression from the Japanese Superstar.

We’ll see who has what it takes Saturday night.

What to look out for: More than the other matches on this card, this might be the one where the possibility of a main roster call-up looms the most. If Baszler loses, start booking your Four Horsewomen feud for the fall.

Aside from that, this will be the latest test of both women’s development as WWE wrestlers. Can Kairi continue to show the kind of mean streak she’d need for more intense feuds or even a heel turn? Has Shayna mastered her throwback style, and can she throw in enough flourishes of the modern one to hang in longer matches?

Should be fun finding out. And the kayfabe heat doesn’t hurt, either.

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Adam Cole (c) vs. Ricochet - North American Championship match

How we got here: These gentlemen haven’t been rivals for that long, but there are a few ways to look at the competition between them.

In-story, both took part in the ladder match to determine the first ever North American Titleholder, and Cole snatched the belt out from under (or, I guess, over) Ricochet for the finish. Since then, they’ve had run-ins in multi-man affairs, and Ric has questioned Undisputed ERA’s main man’s pedigree as a “fighting champion”. He called for a title shot, and Regal gave him one.

Outside that, they’re two highly touted workers who were prominent on the independent scene that happen to have arrived in NXT and WWE at a time when the company has one of the deepest talent pools in wrestling history. If they’d been clear to sign a couple years earlier, they’d have been shot to the top of the black-and-yellow brand.

Neither’s in a bad position now, of course - especially Cole, as Undisputed gets more screen time than anything in NXT except maybe Gargano/Ciampa. But both would probably love to be feuding for a different belt.

What to look out for: There’s not a ton of story depth, but there’s nothing wrong with a basic rivalry. And Cole and Ricochet are both capable of putting on great matches. Pretty much sit back and enjoy the show.

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Moustache Mountain vs. Undisputed ERA (c) - NXT Tag Team Championship match

How we got here: Two great tag matches on a brand known for its great tag matches, that’s how.

When it comes to history, the rivalry itself is a relatively recent one. Undisputed’s had issues with folks from the United Kingdom since they arrived in Brooklyn last year to jump Drew McIntyre. But that was before Roderick Strong joined the faction as Kyle O’Reilly’s tag partner, and well before the ERA’s beef with Pete Dunne forced him to reunite (in WWE, anyway) with his British Strong Style brethren Trent Seven and Tyler Bate. And that team-up only happened after his reluctant allies Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan were defeated by UE in Chicago and Lorcan sidelined with an injury.

At the London shows which launched NXT’s UK brand in June, BSS defeated Undisputed in six-man action on night one to earn Moustache Mountain a Tag Title opportunity on night two. They made the most of it and won the straps... but dropped them in a rematch on NXT television a few weeks later.

They weren’t beaten in typical fashion, however. Strong and O’Reilly targeted Seven’s injured leg and threatened to do permanent damage to it when he refused to submit. His young partner and mentee threw in the towel rather than see his partner get hurt. Trent says he’s 100% now, a claim Kyle and Roddy find laughable, but...

What to look out for: Possibly the match of the night, based on their first two outings. And that would read “definitely” if this wasn’t TakeOver, and the #DIY-ers weren’t warring in the main.

Conventional wisdom points to the Undisputed ERA retaining here so Moustache Mountain can pursue the UK version of this championship whenever its unveiled. But Triple H likes to book against conventional wisdom from time-to-time.

There’s also an open threat to whoever wins - and every duo on the brand, really - from War Raiders. Hanson and Rowe probably won’t show up until after the bell, but then? Everybody but watch their backs.

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EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream

How we got here: What this match lacks in gold, it makes up for with sheer swagger. And no small amount of sex appeal.

Both men were in the NA Title ladder match a few TakeOvers back, but their real issues began in the UK. EC3 and Dream were booked as partners against Black and Ricochet, but when the going got rough, Velveteen got going. The One Percenter was left to take the fall.

Since then, it’s been a game of one-upsmanship between two men who don’t like to be one-upped. It’s also left Dream with the short-end of the stick, as his demands for a summit with EC3 have left him thrown in a swimming pull and dropped with a cutter.

What to look out for: If Sane/Baszler is the “who’s getting called up?” match in Brooklyn this year, Dream/EC3 is the “who can afford to lose/who wins the need more?” affair.

fka Ethan Carter III likes to talk about turned NXT into NX3 by stacking victory after victory after... but he doesn’t have a ton of those. He wasn’t even on the card in Chicago after debuting at TakeOver: New Orleans. His act is popular, and has survived and possibly even thrived while pivoting to a babyface role, but is over enough to avoid being pigeon-holed as a Kassius Ohno gatekeeper-type if he doesn’t win a big match soon?

Ohno is the only man Dream’s beaten on a NXT live special, but his popularity doesn’t show any signs of fading. The issue the man who turns 23 on Sunday faces is getting audiences not to cheer him when he’s supposed to be a manipulative villain. That, and the amount of time he has ahead of him in his career, provide some arguments he’s more likely to put EC3 over on Saturday night.

And the biggest thing Velveteen can probably do for his career at this point is deliver a great match with EC3. Injuries and bodybuilding have made the veteran a more limited in-ring performer than he was during his first stint with WWE. This match won’t lack for character, but if Dream can get people buzzing about its workrate... there really might be nothing he can’t do.

That's our rundown of what should be a fun night of pro wrestling... however it measures up to the events which preceded it. Check out our predictions post from earlier for lots of opinions on how the action might unfold.

Will we see titles change hands? Who will establish themselves as a future main eventer? Are any acts saying goodbye this Saturday night? New stars saying hello for the seats? Will any mysteries be solved? Where will this TakeOver rank in the show’s illustrious history?

Let us know what you think about those questions or anything on the Brooklyn 4 card below!
 
predictions:

baszler
undisputed era
cole
ec trey
champuh

100+ mamma mia
announce table no-sells
dream's gear steals the show
 
When Miz found out the writers weren’t allowed to attend the WM 28 after party, he and Maryse (also not allowed at party) bought them all dinner instead of going to the party himself.

From the latest episode of Wade Keller’s podcast.

Good guy Miz -- this is probably why he always has a storyline
 
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