| NXT TakeOver: New York | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuring various WWE wrestlers | |||
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Brand | NXT | ||
| Date | April 5, 2019 | ||
| City | Brooklyn, New York | ||
| Venue | Barclays Center | ||
| Attendance | 15,697[1] | ||
| WWE event chronology | |||
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| NXT TakeOver chronology | |||
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NXT TakeOver: New York was the 24thNXT TakeOverprofessional wrestlinglivestreamingevent produced byWWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion'sNXTbrand division. The event aired exclusively on theWWE Network and took place on April 5, 2019, at theBarclays Center inBrooklyn, New York as part of theWrestleMania 35 weekend festivities.
Eight matches were contested at the event, including three taped for the April 10 episode ofNXT. In the main event,Johnny Gargano defeatedAdam Cole in atwo out of three falls match to win the vacantNXT Championship. In other prominent matches,Walter defeatedPete Dunne to win theWWE United Kingdom Championship (also ending Dunne's record-setting reign at 685 days),Shayna Baszler retained theNXT Women's Championship in afatal four-way match,Velveteen Dream endedMatt Riddle's undefeated streak and retained theNXT North American Championship, and in the opening bout, TheWar Raiders (Hanson andRowe) retained theNXT Tag Team Championship againstDusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic winnersAleister Black andRicochet.
TakeOver was a series ofprofessional wrestlingevents that began in May 2014, asWWE'sNXTbrand held its secondWWE Network-exclusive event, billed asTakeOver.[2] In subsequent months, the "TakeOver" moniker became the brand used by WWE for all of its major NXT events. On March 15, 2018, it was announced thatWrestleMania 35 would be held at theMetLife Stadium inEast Rutherford, New Jersey, with the event's associated NXT TakeOver being held at theBarclays Center inBrooklyn,New York on April 5, 2019. The event was in turn titled TakeOver: New York. It was the 24th NXT TakeOver event and was the first TakeOver named after theU.S. state instead of the host city. Tickets went on sale December 7, 2018, throughTicketmaster.[3] The official theme songs for the event were "You Should See Me in a Crown" byBillie Eilish and "Are You Ready" byDisturbed.[4]
NXT previously held a recurring subseries of TakeOvers titled TakeOver: Brooklyn, which were each held at the Barclays Center and were a support show for WWE's annualSummerSlampay-per-view in August. Although TakeOver: New York was held at this same venue, it did not continue the TakeOver: Brooklyn name. It was also held in April as a support show forWrestleMania.[5][3]
The card included matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television program,NXT.[6][7]
In the fourth annualDusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic,Aleister Black andRicochet advanced to the finals and defeated The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler andWesley Blake) to win the tournament. This also earned them anNXT Tag Team Championship match against theWar Raiders (Hanson andRowe) at TakeOver.[8]
In the Classic,Johnny Gargano decided to team up once again with former friend and bitter rival,NXT ChampionTommaso Ciampa, reforming#DIY. After losing to Black and Ricochet in the semifinals, Ciampa was about to turn on Gargano again, but Gargano was prepared and turned the attack around.[9] On the March 20 episode ofNXT,Triple H revealed that Gargano was supposed to face Ciampa at TakeOver for the NXT title, but those plans halted due to the real life situation of Ciampa needing neck surgery, thus forcing him to vacate the title. Triple H then stated Gargano would still be in the match, andThe Undisputed Era'sAdam Cole won a fatal five-way againstVelveteen Dream,Matt Riddle, Aleister Black, and Ricochet to fight for the vacant title. Triple H also announced that, in order to get a definitive winner, the match would be atwo out of three falls match.[4]
After winning theWorlds Collide tournament duringRoyal Rumble Axxess for a championship match of his choosing,[10] Velveteen Dream defeated Johnny Gargano for theNXT North American Championship.[11] Over the next few weeks, Dream had run-ins with Matt Riddle, who fantasized about what the championship would look like around his waist. After weeks of head games, it was eventually announced that Dream would defend the title against Riddle at TakeOver.[8]
AtTakeOver: Phoenix,Shayna Baszler retained theNXT Women's Championship againstBianca Belair by technical submission. During the match, Belair also had to deal with outside interference from Baszler's friends, formerUFC HorsewomenJessamyn Duke andMarina Shafir.[12] This led to a match with Belair teaming withIo Shirai andKairi Sane against the three women, and resulted in Shirai pinning Baszler.[13] Belair, however, was not pleased as she wanted the pin and another shot at Baszler's title. During a match for a title shot at TakeOver, both Shirai and Belair were attacked by Baszler, who also choked out an assisting Sane. As she was leaving the building, Baszler was informed that, due to her actions, she would be defending her title against Belair, Shirai, and Sane in afatal four-way match.[9]
AtNXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool, afterPete Dunne's successfulWWE United Kingdom Championship defense,Walter made hisNXT UK debut and confronted Dunne.[14] On February 23, a title match between Dunne and Walter was scheduled for TakeOver: New York.[15]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| English commentators | Mauro Ranallo |
| Nigel McGuinness | |
| Percy Watson | |
| Vic Joseph(UK Championship match) | |
| Spanish commentators | Carlos Cabrera |
| Marcelo Rodríguez | |
| Jerry Soto | |
| Ring announcer | Kayla Braxton |
| Referees | Drake Wuertz |
| Eddie Orengo | |
| Darryl Sharma | |
| D.A. Brewer | |
| Interviewer | Sarah Schreiber |
| Pre-show panel | Charly Caruso |
| Sam Roberts | |
| Pat McAfee |
Before the event went live on the WWE Network, three matches took place that were taped for the April 10 episode ofNXT. In the first match,Candice LeRae took onAliyah. LeRae performed a Lionsault on Aliyah to win the match.[16]
In the second match,Danny Burch (accompanied byOney Lorcan) took onJaxson Ryker (accompanied by Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler). Ryker performed a Sitout Uranage on Burch to win the match.[16]
In the third match,The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins andMontez Ford) took onFabian Aichner andMarcel Barthel. The Street Profits performed an Electric Chair Blockbuster on Barthel to win the match.[16]
The actual event began with The War Raiders (Hanson and Rowe) defending the NXT Tag Team Championship against Aleister Black and Ricochet. Hanson and Rowe performed Fallout on Ricochet to retain the titles.[17]
Next, The Velveteen Dream defended the NXT North American Championship against Matt Riddle. Dream pinned Riddle with a roll up to retain the title.[17]
After that, Pete Dunne defended the WWE United Kingdom Championship against Walter. Walter performed a Diving Splash on Dunne to win the title; this ended Dunne's record title reign at 685 days.[17]
In the penultimate match, Shayna Baszler defended the NXT Women's Championship against Kairi Sane, Bianca Belair and Io Shirai. After Belair performed a doubleKiss of Death on Shirai and Sane, Baszler applied the Kirifuda clutch on Belair, who submitted, to retain the title.[17]
In the main event, Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole competed in a two out of three falls match for the vacant NXT Championship. Cole performed a Last Shot on Gargano to win the first fall. Cole performed a second Last Shot on Gargano for a nearfall. Gargano forced Cole to submit to the Garga-No-Escape to win the second fall. Gargano performed a Slingshot DDT on Cole for a nearfall. Cole performed a Panama Sunrise on Gargano for a nearfall. Cole performed a Fairytale Ending on an announce table on Gargano. Back in the ring, Cole performed a Superkick on Gargano for a nearfall. Gargano applied the Garga-No-Escape but The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong) appeared. O'Reilly attacked Gargano with an eye rake and Cole pushed Gargano into the referee. Fish and O'Reilly performed Total Elimination on Gargano and Cole scored a nearfall. Gargano performed a Back Body Drop onto Fish, O'Reilly and Strong on Cole and threw Strong into the ring post. Gargano performed a Superkick on Fish and a Tornado DDT off the ring apron on O'Reilly. As Gargano returned to the ring, Cole performed two Superkicks and a third Last Shot on Gargano for a nearfall. In the closing moments, Cole attempted another Last Shot, but Gargano avoided it and applied the Garga-No-Escape. Cole tried to make it to the bottom rope, but Gargano brought him to the middle of the ring and forced him to submit to win the third fall and the title.[17]
After the match,Candice LeRae, Gargano's wife, appeared to celebrate with Gargano. Tommaso Ciampa, the former NXT Champion, appeared and congratulated Gargano. Gargano celebrated with LeRae and Ciampa as the event ended.[17]
The event received widespread acclaim. Jake St-Pierre of411Mania rated the event a perfect 10/10 rating. He described it by saying, "It's getting to the point where I don't know which TakeOver event stands out the most, but I'll be damned if New York didn't throw its hat in the ring with authority".[18]
Dave Meltzer of theWrestling Observer Newsletter awarded, out of five stars, 4.5 stars for both the NXT Tag Team Championship and the North American Championship matches, 4.75 stars to the Walter-Dunne match, 3.75 stars to the Women's Championship match (the only match of the event below four stars), and 5.5 stars to the Gargano-Cole match.[19]
The Gargano-Cole match would later win the NXT Year-End Award for Match of the Year.[20]
On the April 17 episode ofNXT, Johnny Gargano talked about his NXT Championship win, but Adam Cole (along with Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) called him the "uncrowned champion" of NXT, since Cole won the first fall at TakeOver: New York. Gargano then mocked Cole's "bay bay" catchphrase. Afterwards, Strong attacked Gargano from behind, and Cole, Fish, and O'Reilly joined the beatdown.[21] The following week, Gargano defeated Strong due to an untimely assist by Cole.[22] On the May 15 episode, a singles match between Cole and Gargano for the NXT Championship was made official forNXT TakeOver: XXV.[23]
The rivalry between Kairi Sane and NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler ended on the April 17 episode ofNXT, where they battled for the title under the stipulation that Sane could no longer challenge for the title if she loses. Throughout the match, Baszler focused on injuring Sane's arm. In the end, Io Shirai shoved Baszler, who won via disqualification to retain the title. Afterwards, Baszler's Horsewomen stablemates, Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir, dragged Shirai out of the ring and forced her to watch as Baszler stomped on Sane's injured arm.[21] This would be Sane's final NXT appearance, as she was drafted toSmackDown during the2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up.[24] After several more weeks of feuding,[22][25] a match between Shirai and Baszler for the NXT Women's Championship would later be scheduled for NXT TakeOver: XXV.[23]
On the May 1 episode ofNXT UK, after WWE United Kingdom Champion Walter won his match, he was confronted by Pete Dunne, who wanted another shot at the title.[26] The match was scheduled for the May 22 episode,[27] where Walter retained after interference from Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel. After the match, Aichner and Barthel sided with Walter, reuniting Ringkampf under the new nameImperium.[28]
| First Round NXT (Taped February 20, aired March 6)[35] | Semifinals NXT (Taped February 20, aired March 13)[35] | Final NXT (Taped March 13, aired March 27)[36] | ||||||||||||
| Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven andTyler Bate) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins andMontez Ford) | 7:22[37] | |||||||||||||
| Moustache Mountain | 9:38[9] | |||||||||||||
| The Forgotten Sons | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Oney Lorcan andDanny Burch | 8:23[37] | |||||||||||||
| The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler andWesley Blake) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| The Forgotten Sons | 14:24[8] | |||||||||||||
| Aleister Black and Ricochet | Pin | |||||||||||||
| DIY (Tommaso Ciampa andJohnny Gargano) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| The Undisputed Era (Kyle O'Reilly andBobby Fish) | 14:01[37] | |||||||||||||
| DIY | 13:27[9] | |||||||||||||
| Aleister Black and Ricochet | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Aleister Black andRicochet | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Fabian Aichner andMarcel Barthel | 8:17[37] | |||||||||||||