[2016-08-20-WWE-NXT Takover: Brooklyn II] The Revival vs Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa

[Loss]

Consider this my first shot of adrenaline. I feel like with the daily grind, my love of wrestling has taken a hit in recent months and I asked around for some suggestions to pump some life back into me. This absolutely did the trick. The best tag team match I've seen since I can even remember. I liked all the neat little heel tricks we got from the beginning, but also that them working this style doesn't feel like a cutesy in-joke about an era gone by -- the stuff they wanted to get certain reactions got the desired reactions, and with a smart crowd at that. The leg stuff at the end felt a little tacked on when it wasn't really part of the match up until that point at all, but I don't see that as a huge negative, or maybe not even a negative at all. Doing it the way they did felt like it had contextual meaning that probably went over my head. I'm also not really a fan of babyfaces submitting. But I loved everything else about this -- the match was made by Dash and Dawson pulling some stuff out of mothballs that hasn't been done for years, making it fresh again. They served many masters by doing all the nearfalls that are sort of a requisite for a big WWE match but also building drama from the opening bell to the bitter end and not compromising their tag team vision in the slightest. Great match. ****1/4

[AstroBoy]

I think contextually the leg work at the end is enriched if you look at two things.

 

1. The Revival used the same type of attack to put out American Alpha months prior.

 

2. DIY is still lower on the totem pole than Revival at this stage. Taking hierarchy into account, it worked for me to have the dominant tag champs put away the plucky challengers with a short and decisive but desperate finish.

 

I loved the match.

[Exposer]

Loss, the leg work/submission finish does have context. Gargano sold the injury in his match with TJ Perkins at the CWC this week. The Perkins match was actually taped a month ago. So my guess is they had this finish so that it would lead into the Cruiserweight Classic match that aired later in the week.

[Loss]

I figured as much. What I don't get is why they didn't target it until the last two minutes, or that it didn't seem to shape the match in any way until then. It worked the way they did it, it just felt tacked on was all. It's definitely a mild issue at best, but it was one thing that brought an otherwise really great match down slightly down for me.

[DMJ]

^ Damn. That's pretty awesome.

 

 

I had the match at 4-stars, but almost want to retroactively push it to 4.5 out of frustration with SummerSlam.

 

Obviously the super smart fans or those that have been following NXT and the CWC closely knew Gargano and Ciampa, but I happen to think there are loads of fans like myself who would call themselves big NXT fans but only really catch the Takeover shows and maybe one NXT/CWC show every couple of weeks. The type, like myself, who'd definitely buy a ticket for a Takeover show, but not necessarily know every character (if you would've told me that that was Billie Kay *and* Ember Moon's debut, I would've believed you).

 

I mention this because of how impressed I was at what I'd call a relatively "cold" match (it certainly didn't have the months-long build of the other title matches or the "marquee" appeal of Roode's debut) featuring one team that actively works a methodical style and a "no-frills" gimmick (which, of course, makes them great and unique compared to most other teams in the company) and a team of two guys that, save for their humorous Glorious Bomb videos, I don't think have really been given any character development or personality, at least to "part-time" fans like myself. The heat and excitement and suspense in this match was built almost entirely between bells for me and, boy, did I get caught up in it.

 

In summation, I cared more about the outcome for a match I couldn't have told you was even on the card before it started then I did for Balor/Rollins and that match was designed to crown a champion of the entire fucking UNIVERSE.

[WingedEagle]

Originally watched this live on my phone from the beach. Yes, hate me. At that time I thought it was an incredible 4.5 star affair. This afternoon I rewatched it on the big screen and actually loved it even more. You had effective heat segments first on Gargano, then on Ciampa (who knew he would make such an incredible face in peril?) with The Revival pulling out every Andersons/Horsemen/MX trick to cut the ring in half as well as cut off just about every hope spot Gargano & Ciampa could muster. The Revival are such a unique fit in wrestling today. They maintain a tremendous pace without relying on many highspots beyond some tremendously timed and executed double teams.

 

But don't stop there. Gargano's hot tag, punctuated by the kick to Dash on the floor and spear through the ropes to Dawson set up one hell of a stretch run that featured near falls on both sides that had the crowd biting in real time and me even on replay. The finish? While I'd normally prefer a longer focus on the knee, I thought what they did was put over so strongly from the chop bock to the great stomp, and finally a quick tap to the reverse figure-four that emphasized the damage done in such a short time.

 

Best tag team match I've seen in who knows how many years and in most cases a legit MOTYC. Somehow its possible this is only the 3rd best match of the month, but we'll have to watch the others to confirm.

 

****3/4

[Makai Club #1]

I've always been someone who wasn't a huge fan of these matches. Didn't hate any of them, but like most NXT matches, I thought it was slightly over hyped. It's similar to this match. It's a very good match but I wouldn't give it high marks like some/most would. The Revival do an excellent job of establishing their roles in the match. Whilst making their entrance, DIY were standing on the ropes and Scott Dawson, in a moment of simple & pure genius, pushes him off and taunts him. Lovely touch that was just a sums up what they did in their match. I adore their bruiser approach to things. Constant communication to keep on top, tagging in and out and hitting some double team offence. You got a bunch of that in this match. DiY are very likable and their offence suited being the underdogs perfectly. Ciampa was excellent as the FIP and Revival maximized that further with their great cutoffs. The closing stretch didn't grab me as much as it should've. The near falls weren't as dramatic as they were intended to be, imo, but I do acknowledge the crowd bought into it. The finish was extremely clever too. ****

[Superstar Sleeze]

NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival vs DIY - NXT Takeover Brooklyn 8/22/16

After all these years, I finally watched this. I generally like The Revival/FTR. I am not huge on Ciampa & Gargano although the current angle with Zayn/Gargano/LaRae has made me a pretty big Johnny G fan as a character. I had an open mind to this match because I know this and the Toronto rematch have been hyped. I thought this was great and very fun. I didnt think it was spectacular or best match I have ever seen. I thought The Revival were easily better than Ciampa  & Gargano. I preferred this version of Ciampa to the huffy puffy, super serious, ultra-intense guy we got now. Johnny G wrestled how I expected him to wrestle so I think I am pretty even on him. 

They immediately get great marks because they waited like 8 or so minutes before they went into heat. Already I am a fan of this match. I was worried I was going to have sit through a ten minute heat segment. I thought Shine was really well done. Ciampa & Gargano dont have all time great shine offense but instead they worked it around mini-battle where DIY kept winning. The Revival is supposed to be a throwback, but yet they were losing wristlock exchanges, chop/strike exchange and generally their bullying was not working. The best part was the Revival's catchphrase is No Flips, Just Fists, but yet when Ciampa & Gargano had their fists cocked and ready to fight The Revival bailed. That is just genius stuff. Exposing the heel and the heel showing ass is so refreshing. It proves that The Revival does get what made the 80s work and that is a selfless heel who is not afraid to look like a chump. The double dive was a good punctation mark on the shine. I thought the transition to heat could have been more emphatic. The slingshot-y back suplexes looked cool, but I would have liked something that really said ok Ciampa is fucked now. The heat segment was solid. Absent of any limb work, the chinlock and body scissors are ok. They didnt stay in heat too long and there was quite a bit of struggle. I liked how Dax cold-cocked G to prevent a tag. I wish G sold that more. Cash falling into the ring to distract the ref was a neat heel trick. The Johnny G hot tag is where this just kinda went south for me and prevents me from going ultra-high with my rating. His offense is just so indy-riffic. I just didnt find myself pumping my fist like I would if Rick Martel was taking that hot tag. The nearfalls did ramp up quite nicely. Even I started biting on them because I incorrectly assumed DIY won the titles here. So with each nearfall, I was biting harder and harder. I think what took this to the next level for me after the nearfall barrage was the chopblock on Johnny G with like two minutes to go, the nasty crash landing of Cash on the legs of Johnny G and then going right into the finish with the reverse figure-4 submission victory. I actually prefer this immensely compared to the leg selling for 10-15 minutes that people do a ll the time. First because it is fresh. Two minutes, three spots, bang victory. Efficiency is beautiful. Two is far more realistic. If your knee is fucked, you are probably going down in 2 minutes. This puts over the chop block way more as a nasty, heel tactic. It is heels that know they are about to be beaten so they flip the game board over and just do a nasty, low down tactic to win because they would rather win cheap than lose as warriors. I think it is a brilliant finish. Honestly as I write my review I come out with a higher impression of this match and I think the finish is so novel it should be rewarded.

I think if they did arm work on Ciampa in the heat segment to give themselves a hook there and Johnny G just had  better offense they would have had the all-timer a lot of people claimed they had. I think it is safely away from **** 3/4 - ***** territory which needs to move me emotionally. I will go **** 1/2 on the strength of such an innovative, efficient finish. I wish more and more wrestlers would think do something like that more. A late-game wrestling injury that leads to a quick finish. Very impactful. The way it was done as they were heels that were on the verge of losing that nearfall barrage made it look like it was only a matter of time for the Revival to lose or for them to do a low-down chop block enhances the finish even more. Genius stuff. **** 1/2