The Match Facts
The Match: Johnny Gargano vs Adam Cole
The Event: NXT TakeOver: New York
The Stipulation: Two Out Of Three Falls for the vacant NXT Championship
Meltzer Rating: 5 1/2 stars
Cagematch.net Rating: 9.20/10
Where to Watch: Various Services Depending on Region (Peacock, WWE Network, Binge, etc.)
How We Got Here
Originally, this match was going to be the final chapter in a critically acclaimed feud between Gargano and then-NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa. The two joined WWE in 2015 as the tag team #DIY, quickly becoming one of the top teams in NXT, capturing the NXT Tag Team Championships from The Revival during an acclaimed feud. The team split in 2017, with Ciampa turning heel on Gargano and leading to their feud. I'll delve deeper into that feud when I cover those matches, but as I said, TakeOver: New York was originally going to see Ciampa defend the title against Gargano to close out this story. However, just over two weeks before the show, it was announced Ciampa would have to undergo neck surgery, forcing him out of action and to vacate the title. That story would end in 2020 with "One Final Beat", a cinematic match that will be covered in...another series...Instead, Gargano would compete for the vacant title against the winner of a Fatal 5-Way. That winner was Adam Cole.
Adam Cole officially signed with WWE in 2017, having spent nine years on the independents. Most notably, he was a staple of Ring of Honor, having won the ROH World Championship a record three times. Five days after it was reported he'd signed with the company, Cole debuted at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, attacking the new NXT Champion Drew McIntyre alongside fellow ROH alumni Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly and forming The Undisputed Era. The group, which later added another former ROH wrestler in Roderick Strong, would dominate NXT as the top stable in the history of the brand, with Cole himself becoming the inaugural NXT North American Championship, and being recognized as an NXT Tag Team Champion (through the Freebird rule.) By this point, the only thing left for Cole to do in NXT was win the NXT Championship.
Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole. The two biggest names in NXT that had yet to win the big one. The two men who would not only be competing for the NXT Championship but the title of NXT's first Triple Crown winner. All in the Barclays Center, the building Cole made his NXT debut in, and the building Gargano had gone 0-4 in and had yet to win a TakeOver match in. That would be settled definitively in a Two out of Three Falls match. Let's take a look.
The Match
The two circle the ring to start the match, the crowd incredibly hot for this match. The two lock up, with Gargano quickly taking Cole down to the mat with a waistlock. Cole scrambles, not allowing Gargano to gain any better position before getting to his feet. Another lock-up leads to Cole locking in a headlock. Gargano manages to fight out and turn it into a wrist lock. With the wrist lock applied, Gargano rolls Cole over onto his shoulders, but Cole quickly kicks out at one. Gargano keeps the hold locked in until Cole fights to his feet.
Cole reverses the hold, locking in a wrist lock of his own before locking in a headlock. Gargano powers out and locks in a headlock of his own, but Cole quickly shoves him to the corner. Gargano attempts to leap out of the corner over Cole, but Cole bluffs him, staying put so he can take Gargano down with a headlock takeover. Cole keeps Gargano on the mat until Gargano fights to his feet. Gargano shoves Cole towards the ropes, but Cole bounces back and knocks him down with a shoulder block.
Gargano does the drop-down & leapfrog as Cole runs the ropes, only for Cole to grab a waistlock. Gargano quickly reverses it into a waistlock of his own, prompting Cole to run to the ropes. Gargano goes for the roll-up, but Cole blocks it by grabbing the ropes. Cole tries to follow up with a running knee, but Gargano ducks it and rolls Cole up for a one count. Gargano tries for the Gargano Escape (an over-the-shoulder crossface) right after, but Cole avoids it. Cole tries to catch Gargano with a bicycle kick, but Gargano dodges it and takes Cole down again with a snapmare. Gargano tries to follow up with a superkick, but Cole dodges it. Cole charges at Gargano, but Gargano avoids him before taking him down with an arm drag, earning applause from the crowd.
Gargano locks in an armbar on Cole. Cole fights to his feet and takes Gargano down with an arm drag, but Gargano rolls through and keeps the armbar locked in. Gargano presses his knee into Cole's head before standing both of them back up. Gargano goes for a wristlock, but Cole quickly sends Gargano to the ropes. Gargano bounces back with a shoulder block and quickly goes for Gargano Escape again. Gargano gets a hold of Cole, but Cole quickly gets to the ropes before it gets locked in.
Cole fires back with a right hand. The two trade forearm shots, with Cole getting the better of the exchange and striking Gargano into the corner. Cole whips Gargano to the opposite corner and Cole charges after him, but Gargano leaps over him out of the corner. Gargano follows up with a hurricanrana and a dropkick before clotheslining Cole to the outside, with him hitting the apron as he goes over the top rope. Gargano goes onto the apron and goes for a running kick, but Cole moves out of the way. Gargano quickly adjusts, getting back in the ring and dropkicking Cole through the ropes.
Gargano throws Cole back in the ring, but Cole immediately rolls back out the other side. Gargano reaches through the ropes to get him, only for Cole to leap up and hit a big enziguri.
Cole takes control, beating down Gargano in the corner before hitting him with knee lifts. Cole takes Gargano down to the mat with a headlock, keeping him down for a while before Gargano fights to his feet. Gargano escapes the headlock with a forearm and hits the ropes, but Cole keeps control with a running back elbow, which gets a one count. Cole locks in a dragon sleeper. Gargano again fights to his feet and out of the hold before sending Cole towards the ropes. Cole ducks a clothesline from Gargano before both men hit the ropes and go for a crossbody, causing a midair collision and leaving both down.
The two get back to their feet and trade forearms again, this time with Gargano getting the better of the exchange. Gargano floors Cole with a clothesline, then another, before ducking Cole's clothesline and hitting a quick belly-to-belly suplex. Gargano rolls up Cole, but Cole rolls through for a pin of his own after a two count. Gargano also kicks out at two before Cole charges at him. Gargano sidesteps him and rolls him up again, this time catching him with a rolling enziguri. Cole rolls out of the ring and Gargano tries to dive at him, but Cole slides back in the ring. Gargano adjusts midair and lands on the apron as Cole charges at him, only for Gargano to dive through the ropes for a slingshot spear. Gargano makes the cover, but Cole kicks out at two.
Gargano chops Cole in the corner before attempting to whip him to the opposite corner. Cole reverses it and sends Gargano to the corner, but Gargano catches him with a boot when he charges in. Gargano jumps to the second rope for a dive, and Cole attempts to superkick him in midair. Gargano bluffs him, however, faking a jump before actually diving and hitting a swinging reverse STO for a two count. Gargano tries to follow up with a front suplex, but Cole blocks it and goes for one of his own. Gargano lands on his feet and goes for the Hurts Donut (a lifting full nelson into a reverse STO), but Cole blocks it and grabs a waistlock. Cole shoves Gargano into the corner and charges in. Gargano tries to catch him with a boot up, but Cole blocks it, turns Gargano around, and hits a Backstabber for a two count.
Cole tries to follow up with a front suplex, but Gargano blocks it and rolls Cole up for a one count. Cole rolls it over for a one count of his own, so Gargano rolls it back for another one count. Cole rolls it back over again, this time scoring a two count before Gargano kicks out. Cole picks up Gargano for the Ushigoroshi (a fireman's carry neckbreaker) right after, but Gargano slips out and grabs a waistlock. Cole catches him with a back elbow to break the hold, sending Gargano into the corner. Cole charges in, but Gargano leaps over and rolls Cole up. He goes for the roll through enziguri again, but Cole avoids it and hits a jumping enziguri.
Cole lowers his kneepad and sets up for the Last Shot (the Shining Wizard), but Gargano surprises him with a roll-up. Cole rolls over at two and scores a two count of his own. Both men spring up and go for superkicks, but stop before delivering them. Gargano superkicks Cole's knee, knocking him down, and goes for a low roundhouse, but Cole ducks it and superkicks Garagano's knee. Cole goes for another superkick, but Gargano ducks it and rolls up Cole for another two count. Cole lands a kick to the gut, and hits the ropes, but Gargano hits the ropes right after and sunset flips Cole. Cole rolls through, rolling Gargano over right into position for Cole to hit the Last Shot.
Cole makes the cover, gets the three, and the fall to go up 1-0.
As soon as Gargano gets to his feet, Cole pounces, beating him down in the corner. Gargano fights back with forearms, but a discus forearm is ducked by Cole, who hits a German suplex followed by another Last Shot. Cole makes the cover, but Gargano kicks out at two. Cole tries to follow up with the Ushigoroshi, but Gargano grabs the ropes to block any offense and slips onto the apron. Gargano goes for step-up enziguri, but Cole blocks and hits a big forearm strike. Cole goes out onto the apron, only for Gargano to launch at him with a spear. Cole falls down to the outside as Gargano climbs back onto the apron, quickly diving at Cole and hitting a senton.
Gargano tosses Cole back in the ring and goes for the slingshot DDT (the future One Final Beat), but Cole catches him in a fireman's carry and hits the Ushigoroshi for another two count. Cole climbs to the second rope for the Panama Sunrise (a Canadian Destroyer), but Gargano dives into the corner to get out of position. Cole punches away at him and drags him to the second rope, where he goes for a powerbomb. Gargano blocks it and muscles Cole up for an Avalanche Air Raid Crash. Gargano makes the cover, but Cole kicks out.
Gargano crawls onto the apron and sets up for the slingshot DDT, but Cole falls to the mat to avoid it, rolling onto the apron himself. Gargano hesitates, allowing Cole to pop up and pick him up in a fireman's carry. Gargano slips out back into the ring, where he hits a step-up enziguri followed by the slingshot DDT onto the apron.
Both men fall to the outside, prompting the referee to count them both out. Gargano gets to his feet and into the ring but rolls right back out to break the count, being the babyface and not taking the countout win.
Being a good guy bites Gargano in the ass, however, as Cole shoves him back into the ring post. Cole throws Gargano into another ring post before throwing him back in the ring. Cole lowers his knee pad again for the Last Shot, only for Gargano to grab him and go for the Gargano Escape. Cole blocks it with punches, but Gargano keeps control and locks in a bridging Fujiwara armbar, which Tommasso Ciampa used to use in NXT. Cole fights out and rolls Gargano up, but Gargano rolls through and locks in Gargano Escape. Cole immediately taps out, smartly minimizing the effect of the submission, and evening the score 1-1. Also, in a moment that has aged incredibly well, Mauro Ranallo says you have to "give the devil his due" when talking about Cole tapping out right away.
We see Gargano's been cut by his right eye, prompting the referee to check on him as ring announcer Kayla Braxton announces this is the final fall.
The two trade forearm shots in the middle of the ring, with Gargano getting the better of the exchange. Gargano hits the ropes, but Cole catches him with a bicycle kick when he bounces back. Gargano falls back into the ropes and bounces off, so Cole hits him with another bicycle kick. Gargano falls into the ropes again, but this time bounces back and hits a big discus lariat. Gargano tries to follow up with a superkick, but Cole dodges it and grabs a waistlock. Gargano reverses it, and avoids a jumping enziguri from Cole right after before hitting a big low-roundhouse kick. Gargano hits the ropes, but Cole catches him with a tilt-a-whirl, which he turns into a Brainbuster into his knee for a two count.
Cole climbs to the second rope for the Panama Sunrise, but Gargano rolls out of the way to avoid it. Cole quickly tosses Gargano back to the corner and goes to the second rope, but Gargano catches him with a step-up enziguri. Gargano grabs Cole off the second rope, running him to the opposite corner and tossing him into the second turnbuckle for the Lawn Dart (Snake Eyes.) Gargano quickly follows up with the Hurts Donut and makes the cover, but Cole kicks out.
The two trade forearms, first on their knees, then on their feet, with Cole getting the better of the exchange. Cole goes for a superkick, but Gargano catches it and goes for one of his own. Cole catches his attempt, but Gargano follows up with a step-up enziguri. Cole stays on his feet and fires back with the jumping enziguri, but Gargano stays on his feet as well. The two hit multiple simultaneous blows, first forearms, then clotheslines, and finally superkicks that knock both men down. Gargano goes for a clothesline, but Cole ducks it and sets up for a straight jacket German suplex (his old finisher, Florida Keys.) Gargano blocks it, hits a forearm, and goes for a Poison Rana (a reverse Hurricanrana.) Cole avoids it and hits a superkick to the back of the head, quickly following up with the straight jacket German. Cole makes the cover, but Gargano kicks out just before the three.
Cole goes for Tommasso Ciampa's Fairytale Ending (a double underhook sitout facebuster), but Gargano blocks it and goes for Gargano Escape again. Cole stays on his feet, however, and cuts off Gargano with a side suplex. Cole goes to the second rope and dives for Panama Sunrise, but Gargano dodges it and hits the Poison Rana. Gargano follows up with a superkick, but Cole rolls out of the ring before Gargano can cover him. Gargano prepares for a suicide dive, but Cole pulls him out of the ring by his legs. Cole keeps a hold of Gargano's legs, wheelbarrow suplexing him into the ring apron.
Cole throws Gargano back in the ring and climbs onto the apron, only for Gargano to spring to life and hit a DDT through the ropes. Gargano quickly climbs onto the apron and hits the slingshot DDT. Gargano makes the cover, but Cole kicks out. Cole quickly rolls out of the ring, putting him in position for Gargano to hit the suicide dive. Gargano throws Cole back in the ring before climbing back onto the apron. Gargano goes for another slingshot spear, but Cole catches him with a superkick as he dives through the ropes. Cole quickly goes to the second rope and hits the Panama Sunrise. Cole makes the cover, but Gargano kicks out again.
Gargano rolls out onto the apron, prompting Cole to boot him to the outside. Cole follows him out, taunting him and calling him a failure. Gargan fires back with a forearm before tossing him over the Spanish announce table. Gargano takes apart the table and climbs on top, but Cole catches him with a punch to the gut before hitting the Fairytale Ending onto the table, which doesn't break. Cole rolls back into the ring, opting for the countout win. Gargano staggers to his feet by the time the referee gets to 7 and just gets in the ring before he reaches 10. Cole quickly superkicks him and makes the cover, but Gargano kicks out again.
Cole pulls the knee pad down a third time and goes for the Last Shot, but Gargano pops up and hits a superkick. Cole stumbles but hits a superkick of his own before going to the second rope. Cole goes for another Panama Sunrise, but Gargano blocks it and locks in the Gargano Escape. Suddenly, Roderick Strong runs out from the crowd and hops up onto the apron. Gargano breaks the hold and knocks Strong off the apron. Cole goes for a clothesline, but Gargano ducks it and quickly locks in the Gargano Escape again. Strong hops back up on the apron, distracting the ref. Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly enter through the crowd, with O'Reilly crawling into the ring and raking Gargano's eyes.
Gargano releases the submission and the referee checks on him. Cole takes the opportunity to boot Gargano in the back, knocking him into the referee. The ref falls through the ropes and out of the ring, allowing the rest of the Undisputed Era to pounce. Fish & O'Reilly hit Gargano with the High/Low (high knee/leg sweep combo) before Strong throws the referee back in the ring. Cole crawls into the cover and the referee counts, but Gargano kicks out. Cole sets up for the Last Shot, but Gargano counters, backdropping Cole over the top rope and onto the rest of the Undisputed Era.
Gargano leaves the ring and tosses Cole back in before throwing Strong into the ring post. Fish goes for a roundhouse kick, but Gargano ducks it and superkicks him. Strong runs back over as Gargano goes for a tornado DDT on O'Reilly. As Gargano swings around, he kicks Strong, taking both men out. Gargano slides back in the ring, only for Cole to catch him with a superkick. Cole delivers another superkick, this time to the back of the head, and Gargano falls into position for the Last Shot. Cole delivers the Last Shot and makes the cover, but Gargano kicks out again. Cole sets Gargano up and goes for the Last Shot again, but Gargano ducks it and locks in the Gargano Escape. Cole crawls and almost gets to the ropes, but Gargano rolls over and brings them back to the middle of the ring. Cole finally taps out for the third and final fall, giving Gargano the win 2-1, and finally, the NXT Championship.
The Verdict
Basically, there is nothing wrong with the in-ring work. It's the high energy, all-action style that the independents, and later NXT, made huge, turned all the way up to 11. It's not surprising, Gargano & Cole are among the best at this style right now. If you like that style, you're going to love this match. There are a few things that I think keep the match from being perfect. There are definitely points that feel like overkill in terms of Gargano kicking out after a big moves (most notably the Last Shot right after the first fall, even after a Last Shot put him away for the first fall.) The additional run-ins from the Undisputed Era also add to that kind of overkill that I think knocks it down a bit in my eyes. Still, this is a fantastic match.
So, like with the Worst in the World, I'm gonna end up ranking all the matches I cover in this series. Unlike the Worst in the World, I'm gonna add my own rating for the matches. I'm gonna rate every match out of 10 like on Cagematch.net, but I'll also have ratings in between numbers (like 9.5)
My Rating: 9/10
The Rankings (Best to Worst)
- Johnny Gargano vs Adam Cole-NXT TakeOver: New York
Thanks for reading! Be sure to share if you enjoyed and don't forget to click the link here and vote in the poll to decide the next edition of the 5 Star Series, which will be posted in two weeks. Stay tuned...
One of the best matches from the old HHH era of NXT, Gargano was Mr NXT and Adam Cole (bay! bay!) was on top of his game when he came to NXT. It was a shame Vince McMahon booked NXT wrestlers like losers when they got called up which makes me happy with Vince no longer part of creative and HHH giving NXT wrestlers proper main roster booking.
ReplyDeleteThis match will always have a spot in my heart anyway (Gargano was big in the Cleveland indy scene and was a huge part of my favorite indy Absolute Intense Wrestling) but even without that, I still love this match. Easily among the best of both men's careers.
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