Pro Wrestling

NXT Takeover Brooklyn IV Recap

Posted on Author Jeremy Laracuente Comments(2)

NXT has always delivered high-quality Takeover Network Specials. And Takeover Brooklyn 4 was no different. As with nearly every NXT Takeover Special, this card was jampacked with many must-see matches. So let’s not waste any time and get right into it.

NXT Tag Team Championship: Undisputed ERA (Kyle O’ Reilly, Roderick Strong) vs. Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven, Tyler Bates)

Laracuente Ledger Rating:

Two of the top tag teams in the business lead off this Takeover Special. Undisputed Era started things off very quickly but was met just as quickly with some hard-hitting blows by Moustache Mountain. The “Messiah of the Backbreaker” Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly worked fast and continued tagging out quickly. The strength of Tyler Bates was on full display when he swung and suplexed both members of the Undisputed Era. The technical mastery of Undisputed member Kyle O’Reilly was on full display throughout the entire contest. Beginning the Takeover Special with these four men was an excellent start to an incredible night. The aggressive nature in the in-ring storytelling of O’Reilly and Strong was remarkable to watch. Trent Seven was a man on a mission once he was hot-tagged back in delivering some high octane and high impact moves. In the midst of a double submission, the strongman that is Tyler Bates showed that power off by throwing O’Reilly into Strong to break up the submission. Bates gave the Brooklyn crowd an absolutely breathtaking sequence leading to a very close near fall. This matchup was awesome to watch. But ultimately the brilliance of the tag team champions held their ground and their championships.

Following the match, the War raiders attacked the champions. And as Mauro Renallo stated “showing that the NXT Tag Team championships in their sinister sights.”

Grudge Match: Velveteen Dream vs. EC3

Laracuente Ledger Rating:

This matchup was built up as a grudge match based on disrespect. The pacing of the match was deliberate as EC3 was controlling Velveteen Dream with a top wristlock. The styles of these two competitors matched up well in this contest. As the power of EC3 was met by the agility of Dream. EC3 dominated the early part of the competition until a twisting DDT by Dream on the steel entrance ramp. On a side note, the attire of the Velveteen Dream is always one to behold, but this events attire was one of his funnier ones as he had “Call Me Up Vince” scrolled across the back. This match was a hard-hitting bout, and both men dealt powerful blows to the other. Velveteen Dream had an incredible sell job on the headlock driver by EC3. The biggest blow came on a “Dream Valley Driver” by Dream on the ring apron to EC3.

Matt Riddle Sighting

NXT North America Championship: Ricochet vs. Adam Cole “Bay Bay”

Laracuente Ledger Rating:

This was the match I was most looking forward to as both Ricochet and Adam Cole are two of my favorite wrestlers in WWE. The match started out with an exchange of holds leading to a couple of standing switches between the two men. As a fan of “Professional Wrestling,” the storytelling by these two men was downright incredible. Including the “usual” spot of dropdown followed by leapfrog that Ricochet turned into a front dropkick. Adam Cole would control much of the contest, keeping the usually high flying fast paced Ricochet grounded. The speed and high flying ability of Ricochet is a sight to behold. Ricochet is a real-life video game wrestler set to the highest high flyer settings. The ring psychology in the wrestling business was set on display as on a back handspring Cole caught Ricochet with a backstabber. The most incredible spot I have ever witnessed in a wrestling match was the superkick by Cole on the springboard back somersault by Ricochet. Following that spot, they two men exchanged some of the most hard-hitting strikes by both men. Then Ricochet provided another “Holy Explitive” moment with leaping hurricanrana over the top rope down to the floor. This was one of the most impressive matches I have ever seen.

NXT Women’s Championship: Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler

Laracuente Ledger:

This match was a perfect way to display the talent in the NXT Women’s Division. Baszler and Sane would exchange some hard hitting blows. Along with some beautiful highspots. Sane would start the match out quickly knowing that if Baszler got control of and limbs she would take control. Baszler would gain control and would begin the assault on the leg of Kairi Sane. Baszler’s performance over the last several months has been fun to watch. When Kairi started getting the adrenaline running, she started unloading some massive strikes of her own. Shayna would catch Sane on the top turnbuckle and unload with a gutwrench superplex. Then both women exchange some more strikes including a devastating bicycle knee strike. Sane would hit Baszler with a spear and then went to the top rope. Shayna would roll to the outside. Only to be caught with a top with a diving top rope crossbody. Kairi would then hit Baszler with a top turnbuckle diving elbow drop. Kairi Sane would attempt a submission only to get caught in a cocina clutch. Shayna would continue to go after the leg. Sane would use the rope for leverage in an uncharacteristic move, she would then head back up to the top. Baszler would have the diving elbow scouting and get the feet up. Shayna would go for another submission, and that would be met by the veteran Sane with a backward roll for the one, two, three.

NXT Championship: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Laracuente Ledger Rating:

Johnny Wrestling wouldn’t wait for the opening bell, as he would attack Ciampa before the introduction. In this Last Man Standing match, there wasn’t so much a winner as a survivor. Gargano would take the early lead in dishing out some damage. As Johnny would toss Ciampa into the barricades repeatedly. Johnny Gargano would want to give Tommaso a receipt by exposing the concrete floor. Ciampa would battle out with a fish hook to the eye. Gargano would not hold any regard for his own well being as he would hit Ciampa with a somersault plancha off the ring apron. Johnny would then toss Tommaso over the announce desk. Ciampa would recover quickly and drive Johnny through the Spanish announce table with kryptonite krunch maneuver. Ciampa and Gargano would then exchange vicious strikes. Including a running knee strike to aproned Gargano. Ciampa would attempt another knee strike to a chair in front of Johnny’s face. Johnny would the\n take the chair and hit Ciampa in the knee. Johnny would get caught in a sleeper by Ciampa. And in a Last Man Standing match, if a competitor gets put to sleep, he cannot stand before the ref’s count of ten. Tommaso would have the sleeper hold locked, but Gargano would counter with snake eyes into a chair positioned between the ropes. Johhny would then start to stack tables. More strikes would be exchanged between the two men. Then the Sicilian Psycho would hit three german suplexes on Gargano. Ciampa would follow that up with a running knee strike to the side of the head. Then repeated chair shots would punish Johnny Gargano. Tommaso would perform a trifecta of powerbomb lung blowers on Gargano. But Gargano would get up at the count of nine to plant a superkick in the face of Tommaso Ciampa. An exchange of punches would lead to Gargano going for his patented slingshot spear. However, Ciampa would catch him with a knee to the head. Then a slugfest broke out in Brooklyn. Johnny Wrestling would go to the well once too often, and Ciampa would sidestep the somersault plancha. Ciampa would then proceed to plant Gargano onto the steel steps with Angels Wings. Both competitors would continue the fight being driven by their hatred for one another. In an eerily familiar sight, Tommaso would begin pulling apart the ring covering to inflict more pain. Gargano would spray Tommaso with a fire extinguisher in the ace. Johnny wrestling would the take a cruth to the back of Ciampa. Gargano would then DDT Ciampa onto the exposed ring is a state of ironic brilliance. As Tommaso barely got to his feet, Johnny Wrestling would hit him with back to back diving suicide dives through the ropes. Ciampa would move out of the way of a superkick, and a crew member would take the shot. Ciampa would capitalize with another knee strike. Tommaso would then pile up the crew member and anything else he could find on top of Gargano. Johnny would break the count at nine. The Sicilian Psycho would bring out handcuffs. Gargano and Ciampa would exchange blows over the tables setup previous by Johnny. Johnny would then hit Tommaso with a superkick and Ciampa would crash through the tables. This match then took on another familiar sight with a slight twist as Ciampa would be thrown into the entrance way. Johnny would then handcuff Ciampa to the stage. Tommaso would break the count causing Gargano to attack with a running knee strike. However, Johnny Gargano would crash and go flying into some staging equipment. As a result of it, Gargano could not stand, and Ciampa would roll off the stage onto his feet. Thus retaining his NXT Championship.

Overall Laracuente Ledger Rating:

This NXT Takeover Special, as nearly all the others, delivered some amazing and incredible moments. The WWE “Main Roster” should pay more attention to the stories being told in NXT.

Jeremy Laracuente

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