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NXT TV REPORT
MARCH 20, 2019
TAPED IN ORLANDO, FLA. AT FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY
REPORT BY JUSTIN JAMES, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Triple H kicks off the show, carrying the NXT Championship in his hands. He talks up NXT and how special it is, and how it is a place where dreams come true and dreams end. He says that his intention tonight was to announce an epic match years in the making between Johnny Gargano and the NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa. “Reality has made that match an impossibility” because “reality has dictated” that Ciampa needs neck surgery which has already happened, and Ciampa has vacated the championship. HHH announces that Gargano will still fight at Takeover: New York for the NXT Championship, against the winner of a Fatal Fiveway for tonight. That match will have Adam Cole, Ricochet, Aleister Black, NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream, and Matt Riddle. The match at Takeover: New York will be a two-out-of-three-falls match.
Cathy Kelley is shown talking outside of the men’s dressing room. Kona Reeves comes out and she says she was hoping to get his reaction. He says the fatal fiveway match will be “alright” but not “the finest”. Then Forgotten Sons came out. They whine that they are being “forgotten” again because no one cares about their match next week. Jaxson Ryker actually says a sentence in there.
Video package from Ricochet and Aleister Black talking about how they will win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic then one of them will get the NXT Championship match.
Velveteen Dream package vowing to win tonight.
Interview with Tommaso Ciampa. Shots of Ciampa and his family. The doctor talks about his two shoulder surgeries and knee surgery. They say it can take up to a year to recover, and that it went perfectly.
Video package on Matt Riddle. Nice, serious tone from Riddle here.
Now Adam Cole’s chance to talk.
Kelley backstage again. She talks to Kairi Sane and Io Shirai. They are excited to watch the Fatal Fiveway. Kelley brings up their match at Takeover: New York. Shirai says that nothing can hurt their friendship. Sane says they will fight if needed. Bianca Belair interrupts and says that neither one of them should be at Takeover at all. Belair says she will beat them both up to become NXT Women’s Champion because her mindset is un-duh-feat-ed. Shirai holds Sane back from chasing Belair.
Ricochet and Aleister Black will face the Forgotten Sons next week in the final round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Adam Cole comes out first for a Fatal Fiveway match. The winner of this match will face Johnny Gargano at Takeover: New York for the “vacant NXT Championship”.
1. ADAM COLE vs. RICOCHET vs. NXT North American Champion VELVETEEN DREAM vs. MATT RIDDLE vs. ALEISTER BLACK
Dream and Riddle end of brawling outside for a moment with the rest inside. The action is predictably chaotic at first. Dream tried a cover on Black. somehow Dream and Black end up in the ring together for some very sweet sequences. Inside cradle by Black for two. Cole trips Black up from the outside but takes a big kick to the chest. Now it is Dream and Ricochet, now Ricochet and Riddle who delivers a string of gutwrench suplexes. Cole has an enzugiri for Riddle. Riddle out, Black now Ricochet in. Cole out. Ricochet and Black think about squaring off, shake hands, and Cole jumps Ricochet, knocking Black out of the ring in the process. Neckbreaker earns Cole one. Cole keeps the ring empty as he works on Ricochet. Dream is able to send Ricochet out and take it to Cole. Dream empties the ring and hits a double axe handle to Cole. Riddle intercepts Dream, suplex, then ducks a Black Mass and locks Black in the Bromission. Dream breaks it up. Black and Dream, then Cole inserts himself into the picture for a moment, Black picks up two on Dream. Black wants a Black Mass but Cole yanks him out of the ring and puts him in the steps. It’s Cole and Riddle in the ring. Cole stomps Riddle’s bare foot, tries a superkick, Riddle catches it and transitions to an anklelock until Dream breaks it up. Dream, Riddle, and Cole deliver chops from their knees then get their feet and continue to brawl. Ricochet sneaks into the ring to add some movement. Riddle and Black deliver big kicks simultaneously to each other and everyone is down. Ricochet drags Riddle to the corner and starts to climb to the top, but Cole has an elbow for him. Cole thinks superplex, Dream stops it and also climbs to the top. Black adds himself to the mix, then Riddle, it’s a four-man superplex to Ricochet. Dream and Black end up alone in the ring. Bridging suplex to Dream, Riddle lands a senton to Black to break up the cover, a cover of his own and Cole makes the save. Shoulder breaker to Riddle, cover, Ricochet jumps on Cole. Rapid back-and-forth with Cole and Ricochet and Cole ends up outside the ring.Ricochet manages to moonsault over the top rope from the ring and to the outside. Dream and Riddle show up some very unique sequences. A knee to the jaw lets Riddle try a Bromission, Cole yanks the referee out of the ring, so Riddle releases the hold. Black Mass to Riddle, Dreamvalley Driver to Black, Ricochet huracana’s Dream off the top to the outside, shooting star press from Ricochet off the top, cover, Last Shot to Ricochet gets Cole the win.
Winner: Adam Cole in 14:44. This match had some fun times, but it took the weaknesses of a triple threat or a fatal fourway and stretched them beyond all incredulity. Adam Cole or Matt Riddle would have both been fine opponents for Gargano, but it feels like they had some ideas of what they wanted to do with Gargano as champion before moving onto Riddle, and you don’t want to see Gargano finally capture the title at Riddle’s expense.
Overall a lackluster episode, they could have trimmed Dream, Ricochet, and Black from the match and made it Cole – Riddle for a much better match, and then given us some other matches to boot.
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S REPORT: 3/13 NXT TV REPORT: Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Moves On, Bianca vs. Shirai #1 Contender Match
Where’s William Regal?? Why does NXT even have a manager if HHH gets to make all the important announcements? I’m salty.
also, I may be the only person on earth who was like “Oh hey, Kona Reeves! cool!” but it was nice to see him get a teeny bit of tv time.
I second that and I think it woulda been cool to get some feedback from more of the midcard. Apropos of nothing I still think that ultimately Cole will go de facto face when UE turns on him, letting Strong step up into the leader role.