[2019-04-05-WWE-NXT Takeover: New York] Johnny Gargano vs Adam Cole

[SmartMark15]

Went into this match expecting very, very little so really it didn't take too much to turn me around on it. It was clear from the start that the main issue this match was going to have was being mostly heatless given the lack of story so the weight of the crowd reaction really had to come from the wrestling itself. On that note, the first fall was a pretty effective feeling out fall for me. They did some good stuff, some nice exchanges that didn't feel too cooperative (though there was some of that sprinkled in), and everything generally looked pretty good. I wasn't too big a fan of all their feints and counters because in kayfabe, I don't really see the reason for these two to know each other's offense so well? This isn't Tanahashi and Okada where they've been warring for years so there's not really a backstory they could build on in terms of the action. That being said, it ended soundly enough with the Last Shot to give Cole the win.

The second fall was the worst of the bunch. The only bright spot was Johnny's energy hitting the Spear on the apron but the tension and selling they brought to the exhaustion felt entirely wrong for the pace they were going out. For that, the second fall moved at a snail's pace despite having some big bumps and spots in it. Just a lot of bland exchanges and lethargic action in this fall.

The third fall is where they really got to play around. They finally turned the energy up and started throwing the bombs that could get us biting. A slight dip with the classic Gargano ~~~DRAMA~~~ moment with Cole calling him a failure on the outside. But they compensated nicely with an energetic comeback from Johnny and culminating in Cole hitting a Fairy Tale Ending on the table. From there, they just went into finisher trade overdrive but the spike in energy drove the match forward. The highlight of the match for me was UE coming out for some shenanigans and Johnny just going wild and taking all of them out. Thought that was excellent and created some real tension when you thought Cole might just slip away with that distraction. To have Johnny finally get the win was a great moment and to pair it with a (seemingly) final reconciliation with Ciampa at the end was a nice way to end the show. The strength of the third fall, and the benefit of just having the right guy win did a lot to boost this match after an abysmal second fall.

****1/4

[RingoPlaysDrums]

Honestly I absolutely loved this. Not the kind of match I usually like with it going so long and there being so many near falls but here I just thought it worked. Maybe the rest of the show being so great led to me being in such a good mood that I was ready to really enjoy this and ignore some of the flaws of this match (because it was probably the match I had the least interest in going in) but that doesn't really matter. My experience watching it was one of genuine excitement and investment in the result. The last 15 minutes was incredible. Epic contest, superb feel good ending. They did a hell of a job of turning the crowd around in getting behind Gargano. Great spots, athleticism, molten crowd, masterfully told story. 

[ShittyLittleBoots]

The first fall was literally... nothing? Like absolutely nothing of note happened there, and honestly, the same could be said about the 2nd fall. Then in the final fall they go all out & have an epic w/ million nearfalls & Gargano looking like a superman, surviving everything Cole had to offer & more w/ Kyle, Fish & Roddy interfering. It was pretty ridiculous how many nearfalls they did w/ Gargano kicking out of literally everything Cole had in store. The Fairytale Ending on the announcer table by Cole to Gargano was a perfect example of the forced storytelling I've come to expect from big Gargano matches these days, too. OH WELL. At least the post-match w/ Gargano celebrating with his family, Candice, the crowd & Ciampa was legitimately pretty touching, but this wasn't a good match at all. One of the most hollow feeling TakeOver matches I can recall. *

[nivvad]

I'm probably in the minority who thought the first two falls were pretty good as they came at a crisp pace. Then it got excessive, just like most Gargano matches nowadays. Superkick after superkick, head drop after head drop, thigh slap after thigh slap. Look I'll forgive the moves fest because at least it didn't have any of Gargano's lame high school theater melodrama, but it still became redundant after a while. Like just call this dude Johnny Cena for how many fucking times he kicked out of several match ending moves. I won't argue too much about the narrative because I think it can be justified, but reminder that excess does not equal MOTYC, especially when there wasn't much of a story in the match to begin with, ****1/2.

[Tetsujin]

All K wanna say about this is that the magic of pro wrestling is when you enjoy a very bad match.

[Makai Club #1]

 I think this match is a perfect example of WWE big matches failing. The first two falls were so forgettable and mediocre. Small things like Gargano going down to the first Last Shot, but not the second. It just common sense really that would've helped the first parts of the match along the way, but nope, it didn't happen. Then the third fall happened, and the match turned from mediocre to awful at an alarming rate. I know that people will praise anything that has a long series of kick outs, even if the entire match is very mediocre. Just the way it is nowadays, people only care about a closing stretch without taking in account the build up to that spot. Even then, the finishing stretch was nothing but kick outs on an absolutely ridiculous scale. It was laughable at how many kick outs there actually was in the match. There was more than 10 kick outs, at least including, Gargano kicking out of chasing the dragon, a Panama Sunrise, tons of superkicks, a fairy tale ending on the table, absolutely EVERYTHING Cole has and he kicked out of all of it. A huge burial of Cole's offence, and I don't use burial lightly. This is the stuff people, rightly, criticised Roman vs Brock at WM 34 for. It's certainly way worse than what Cena did to the Nexus because at least it didn't have this amount of unnecessary excess that this match haf. Their selling was so awful too - both guys have no clue on when to no sell moves and when to sell. The no sell superkick into another superkick is one of the worst sequences in Wrestling and people should stop using it. This wouldn't be out of place in the worst of PWG which is saying a ton. There is literally nothing I thought that was enjoyable about this match barring a pretty nice spear on the apron. The rest was a true masterpiece of pure garbage. DUD

[catsfan1984]

Such strange reviews of this match anywhere from DUD to some people calling it their match of the year so far. It was somewhere in between for me but I like both of these guys. If you do not like false finishes blame all of the stars given out over the years to matches with the same sort of delivery. Was it as good as Gargano vs Ciampa or Gargano vs almas... no but I did not expect to be going in so I was upset. 

[Boss Rock]

On the one hand, the amount of superkicks, no-selling, and finisher kick-outs was extremely excessive. On the other hand, the culmination of Johnny overcoming a year of shitty booking and actually overcoming the odds led to some excellent drama and created a genuinely feel-good story. When looking at the match on a meta-level like that, I think it worked extremely well. And even when looking at the match in a vacuum, it's still enjoyable if knocked down a few pegs by the most excessive of indy wrestling's worst habits. I also credit Cole and Johnny for making a 38-minute match feel shorter than that.

So yeah, I thought this was really good if not quite the best match of the card due to the aforementioned excess. ****1/4