NXT Takeover Brooklyn 4 card is nearly complete
NXT Takeover Brooklyn, the Wrestlemania equivalent of the underdog WWE brand is already just a few weeks away. Takeover Brooklyn is easily the biggest show of the year for NXT, and this will be no exception. This will be the first NXT Takeover where the show starts at 7 PM EST as opposed to 8, so there have to be more or at least bigger matches planned. Let’s look at what we have to look forward to so far.
Moustache Mountain vs Undisputed Era for the NXT Tag Team Championships
These two teams have been the highlight of the tag team division the last few months. Moustache Mountain won the titles in their homeland of England at the Royal Albert Hall. Unfortunately, they lost the titles back to Undisputed’s Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong at Full Sail on NXT TV a few weeks back in a match that Dave Meltzer rated a perfect 5*. At one victory each, I have no doubt they will blow the roof off of Brooklyn in their 3rd bout to break the tie.
Ricochet vs Adam Cole for the NXT North American Championship
Adam Cole and Ricochet are two of the biggest indie darlings in NXT, both having won the PWG tournament: Battle of Los Angeles, with Cole in 2012 and Ricochet in 2017 respectively. Both have been on a roll since they’ve come to NXT, and Ricochet has been tailing Cole. In the 6 man ladder match for the very title they competed for, Ricochet all but had the match won, but Cole jumped in and capitalized winning the title. A few months later and some time apart, now the two will be going one on one for the title in what will surely be a banger. In PWG 2 years ago, the two met in a tag match that involved Cole teaming with the Young Bucks and Ricochet along with Will Ospreay and Matt Sydal in what ended up being a 5* match. Be ready to keep your eyes on this one.
Velveteen Dream vs EC3
Arguably the two most over the top characters in NXT, this is a classic in the making. Every time Dream steps in the ring, he creates magic. He presents a story like no other. I’d even argue that he’s the best in-ring storyteller since Shawn Michaels. Having only been a part of the 6 man ladder match at Takeover New Orleans earlier in the year, EC3 hasn’t yet had a singles match at a Takeover, so I hope they’ll give this one a lot of time for both personalities to go wild.
Kairi Sane vs Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s Championship
A little over a year ago, these two met in the finals for the women’s tournament, the Mae Young Classic. In my opinion, they put on a great match, but having followed an episode of SmackDown Live, didn’t have the best crowd to perform in front of. Kairi won that match, thus winning the Mae Young Classic. Shayna has grown since then as a performer and character, so have faith this match will top their first from last year.
Aleister Black vs Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Championship
This one is technically a spoiler since it hasn’t aired yet, but if you watched this week’s NXT, you’d most likely be able to guess where they were going with the angle. Aleister got screwed over by an obsessed Gargano and a cheating Ciampa, he’s now been pulled into the feud that overshadowed his NXT title reign. Now is his chance to prove himself as the absolute top dog in current NXT. It’s almost scary to see that Gargano has become a pseudo-heel due to his obsession with Ciampa.
And there you have it. Another Takeover, another complete list of winners. In fact, every one of these matches, the opponents have met in some way before. With each of them having experience with each other, it’s almost guaranteed that Brooklyn will house even better matches for each and every one on the card. I also expect maybe something with newly signed Keith Lee, and it sure would be nice to see the NXT UK title be defended again. But honestly, this is a perfect amount for any viewer to walk away satisfied.
NXT Takeover Brooklyn 4 airs the night before Summer Slam, on August 18th.
Braden Jackson – @Dembrae
Image provided by WWE.com.