Triple H's baby shows its might among the brands of WWE

Photo courtesy of WWE.com & Eduardo Harari

 

By Eduardo Harari

 

TORONTO. - WWE's NXT “Takeover: Toronto 2019” starts when a massive LED board lights up behind the stage and the NXT theme song plays and a video package plays on the scoreboard.

 

 

NXT Tag Team Titles Match: The Undisputed Era vs. The Street Profits

 

Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish came into the night attempting to win their third NXT Tag Team Championship as they fought The Street Profits in the opening bout. Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford main goal on the evening was to prove that they deserve to be the Champions and that the jokes and comedy are just part of their personas.

 

Dawkins started quickly, but eventually found himself across the ring from Montez and on the receiving end of a targeted attack from Fish and O'Reilly.

 

Dawkins created some separation and tagged Ford, whose emotions got the better of him as he tried for a People's Elbow, only to be tripped up by O'Reilly. He escaped the quick striker and produced a Rock Bottom for a near-fall.

 

 

O'Reilly started to work a heel lock on Ford, looking for a tap out, but Dawkins broke the hold.

 

With Dawkins officially in the match, he threw his opposition around the ring, delivering a esque suplex to O'Reilly. A double-team action placed the Fish's and O'Reilly's championship dream into jeopardy, but Fish broke up the pin.

 

At the end, Dawkins delivered a pair of spears and Ford frog splashed O'Reilly for the successful title defense.

 

Montez Ford was the man who was able to pick up the win for his team, but it was on the illegal man. The storyline was later confirmed backstage when Fish and O'Reilly went in search of GM Regal to request that the result be voided on this account.

 

The one thing that everyone saw was that Ford had his knee and leg attacked by Kyle O'Reilly and had to make it to the ropes multiple times before Angelo Dawkins saved him a second time. He was even placed on the painful Achilles Heel, which makes it so confusing to see Ford dancing his way backstage without selling the fact that his entire leg had been destroyed all evening.

 

 

Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai

 

Candice LeRae was looking to give Io Shirai a lesson for her shocking betrayal nearly a month ago as the former friends took to the ring. Her revenge would have to wait, as Shirai dropped her on the announce table with a damaging suplex.

 

The pain of her opponent allowed The Genius of the Sky to pounce over LeRae with a constant and unrelenting aggression not seen from her until now.

 

 

LeRae fought back surviving a 619 to deliver a tope suicida into a tornado DDT. A top-rope double stomp earned her a close two-count.

 

A Spanish Fly from the top rope by Shirai failed to put away her opponent, resulting in a momentary meltdown by the relentless villainess. Frustration mounting, Shirai was still able to apply the Koji Clutch, forcing LeRae unconscious for the victory by referee stoppage.

 

 

NXT North American Championship: Triple Threat Match

 

Roderick Strong found himself on a double ambush attack by both Pete Dunne and the Velveteen Dream early in their Triple Threat match.

 

The action continued, both challengers and champion taking control of the bout for a moment or two. A coast-to-coast elbow drop by Dream to Dunne drew a huge ovation while making McMahon's trademark move look like child's play.

 

 

Strong applied his Strong Hold to both opponents but was unable to force a tap out. The competitors escaped, and Dunne snapped both opponents' fingers.

 

Dream executed the DVD to Dunne, but Strong tossed him from the ring just in time to deliver the patented "End of Heartache". Just as it looked like he might win the title, Dream flew in from out of nowhere, delivered a diving elbow and successfully retained his title.

 

 

NXT Women's Championship Match: Mia Yim vs. Shayna Baszler

 

After a 10-year wait, it finally was Mia Yim's time to shine in the bright lights of the WWE with a chance at the NXT Women's Championship belt in NXT's Summer Spectacular. 

 

Mia rose to the occasion taking the fight to the champ Shayna Baszler. She left her reeling from a cannonball in the corner and then sent her to the floor, where Baszler's left arm hit the ring steps.

 

The champion's injured arm debilitated her, and kept her from clotheslining with intensity, execute moves well and allowed Yim to get out of her grasp.

 

Rules have never been in Yim's forte so when possible, she broke them by poking into Baszler's eyes and pulling her down by the hair to create space between them. 

 

 

Yim delivered a beautiful "tope suicida" and was ready to do what none of her contemporaries could: dethrone Baszler.

 

Yim fought out of Baszler's attempt at a clutch, targeting that injured arm. Baszler regained control, and this time, when Yim targeted the arm, Baszler trapped in a triangle and tapped her out to retain the gold.

 

 

NXT Championship: Best 2-out-of-3 Falls

 

Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole brought their rivalry over the NXT Championship to the climatic the main event of the show, a best 2-out-of-3 Falls match. The kicker, each fall would have a different stipulation. The first, a wrestling match. The second, a street fight and the third, if necessary, a weapon-filled steel cage match.

 

Driven by revenge and a crowd that greeted him with a chorus of boos during prematch intros, Gargano seized control early. Targeting the knee of the champion, Gargano sought to take his “Last Shot” finisher away from him. Cole, though, answered with a wheelbarrow suplex into the ring apron.

 

Gargano continued to work the knee of his opponent, outwrestling the champion in the stipulation the defending titleholder handpicked for the fall. Cole built some momentum and tried for “Panama Sunrise”, but the challenger countered into a “sunset driver” for two.

 

As the match continued, a frustrated Cole tried to bring a chair to the ring. Using it as a decoy, he waited until the referee removed it and then kicked Gargano low. It still only earned him a two-count. Gargano utilized the chair, bashing Cole in the back and drawing a disqualification.

 

Adam Cole leads 1-0.

 

He unloaded on the champion, mercilessly blasting him with the weapon before taking a seat in the middle of the ring.

 

The second fall took the Superstars through the arena and back to ringside, where Gargano speared Cole through the barricade. He followed with a back body drop through the table, leaving Cole a battered mass. Gargano retrieved weaponry from under the ring, including a table, but the delay allowed the champion to recover and drop him for a two-count.

 

Gargano recovered, sent Cole into a steel chair propped between turnbuckles and tapped him out to the Gargano Escape for the second-fall victory.

 

Cole and Gargano tied 1-1.

 

 

A barbed-wire steel cage, complete with weaponry strewn about it, lowered from the ceiling. It was announced there was no escape from the cage, that a warrior could win only via pinfall or submission. Cole and Gargano stared each other down and unloaded with strikes. The crowd erupted, their appreciation for the artistry on display abundantly clear.

 

Gargano blinded Cole with a fire extinguisher and delivered a tornado DDT that left Cole reeling and the official checking on the champion. Both men recovered and scaled the cage, seeking to gain control of a sledgehammer. Gargano delivered a sunset flip powerbomb, climbed back up and wrested the weapon from the cage.

 

Gargano fought back, sent Cole knee-first into the steel chair and tried for the Gargano Escape with a kendo stick. Cole bit his challenger to avoid it, though. The fight continued, the announcers put over the pain and punishment the competitors endured and the effect the sinister structure had on them.

 

Gargano delivered an avalanche Canadian destroyer for two. Gargano produced a baggy filled with various weapons, including a pair of pliers. He used them to remove barbed wire from around the cage. Cole joined his opponent on the top of the structure as fans chanted "please don't die."

 

Grabbing onto each other, they flew through the air, crashing through the table below. Cole rolled over, draped his arm over Gargano and successfully retained his title.