| NXT TakeOver: Phoenix | |||
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| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Brand | NXT | ||
| Date | January 26, 2019 | ||
| City | Phoenix, Arizona | ||
| Venue | Talking Stick Resort Arena | ||
| WWE event chronology | |||
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| NXT TakeOver chronology | |||
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NXT TakeOver: Phoenix was the 23rdNXT 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 January 26, 2019, at theTalking Stick Resort Arena inPhoenix, Arizona as part of that year'sRoyal Rumble weekend.
Five matches were contested at the event. In the main event,Tommaso Ciampa defeatedAleister Black to retain theNXT Championship. In the penultimate match,Shayna Baszler defeatedBianca Belair by technical submission to retain theNXT Women's Championship. In other prominent matches,Johnny Gargano defeatedRicochet to win theNXT North American Championship, and in the opening bout,War Raiders (Hanson andRowe) defeatingThe Undisputed Era (Kyle O'Reilly andRoderick Strong) to win theNXT Tag Team Championship.
TakeOver was a series ofprofessional wrestling shows that began in May 2014, asWWE's then-developmental leagueNXT held their secondWWE Network-exclusive event, billed asTakeOver.[1] In subsequent months, the "TakeOver" moniker became the brand used by WWE for all of their NXT live specials. Announced on January 24, 2018, TakeOver: Phoenix was scheduled as the 23rd NXT TakeOver event and was held on January 26, 2019, as a support show for that year'sRoyal Rumblepay-per-view. It was held at theTalking Stick Resort Arena and was named after the venue's city ofPhoenix, Arizona.[2] Tickets went on sale on October 26.[3]
The card included matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayedheroes,villains, orless distinguishable characters that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television program,NXT.[4][5]
On the July 25, 2018, episode ofNXT,Tommaso Ciampa defeatedAleister Black to win theNXT Championship when interference byJohnny Gargano, who was feuding with Ciampa at the time, backfired and instead he cost Black the title.[6] After their interaction, in August, Black was injured by Gargano backstage, preventing him from getting his rematch against Ciampa.[7] Black returned a few months later[8] and on the December 5 episode, a match between the two was scheduled for TakeOver: Phoenix.[9]
On the December 26, 2018, episode ofNXT, after three weeks of qualifying matches,[9][10]Bianca Belair defeatedIo Shirai,Lacey Evans, andMia Yim in afatal four-way match to become the new number one contender for theNXT Women's Championship.[11]
On the January 9, 2019, episode ofNXT,War Raiders attackedThe Undisputed Era duringEC3's match withAdam Cole. General Manager of NXT,William Regal announced viaTwitter that at TakeOver: Phoenix, The Undisputed Era'sKyle O'Reilly andRoderick Strong would defend theirNXT Tag Team Championship against The War Raiders.[12]
On the December 19, 2018, episode ofNXT, Johnny Gargano defeated Aleister Black in aSteel Cage match after interference from Tommaso Ciampa.[13] The following week, via a video recording, Ciampa suggested that Gargano go after theNXT North American Championship so he and Gargano could "take over the world" in NXT.[11] On the January 9, 2019, episode, championRicochet told Gargano that he only needed to ask for a title shot, though he questioned if Gargano would ask face-to-face or attack from behind, referencing Gargano's attack on Black. Ciampa came out to further the conflict between Ricochet and Gargano, but was attacked by Black. This confrontation distracted Ricochet, allowing Gargano to give him a superkick, and the match was made official later in the night.[12]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| English commentators | Mauro Ranallo |
| Nigel McGuinness | |
| Percy Watson | |
| Spanish commentators | Carlos Cabrera |
| Marcelo Rodríguez | |
| Ring announcer | Kayla Braxton |
| Referees | Drake Wuertz |
| Eddie Orengo | |
| Darryl Sharma | |
| Jessika Carr | |
| Interviewers | Sarah Schreiber |
| Pre-show panel | Charly Caruso |
| Sam Roberts | |
| Pat McAfee |
The event opened with The Undisputed Era (Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong) defending the NXT Tag Team Championship against War Raiders (Hanson and Rowe). Hanson and Rowe performed"Fallout" on O'Reilly to win the titles.[14]
Next, Matt Riddle faced Kassius Ohno. Riddle forced Ohno to submit whilst executingarm trapelbow strikes to win.[14]
After that, Ricochet defended the NXT North American Championship against Johnny Gargano. Gargano applied the"Garga-No-Escape", but Ricochet escaped. Gargano performed aslingshot DDT on Ricochet for a near-fall. Ricochet applied the "Garga-No-Escape", but Gargano escaped. Gargano performed abrainbuster onto the exposed concrete outside the ring and a second slingshot DDT on Ricochet to win the title.[14]
In the penultimate match, Shayna Baszler defended the NXT Women's Championship against Bianca Belair. Belair attempted a450° splash, but with the help from Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke, Baszler avoided the move and applied the"Kirifuda Clutch". Belair passed out, meaning Baszler retained the title by technical submission.[14]
In the main event, Tommaso Ciampa defended the NXT Championship against Aleister Black. Ciampa performed a"Fairytale Ending" on Black for a near-fall. Black performed a"Black Mass" on Ciampa, but Ciampa performed anelevated DDT and a second "Fairytale Ending" on Black for a near-fall. Ciampa performed two more "Fairytale Endings" on Black to retain the title. As the show closed, Ciampa and Johnny Gargano stood at the top of the stage with their respective championships.[14]
After the event ended on the WWE Network, in a WWE.com exclusive, a confrontation between Aleister Black, Ricochet, Velveteen Dream, Johnny Gargano]], Tommaso Ciampa, and Adam Cole was quickly broken up by referees and officials, but it continued into the backstage area where they were separated again and Black, Ricochet, and Dream were confronted by Triple H. After everything had settled down, Black, Ricochet, and Dream returned to the ring to celebrate. This led to asix-man tag team match atHalftime Heat in which Black, Ricochet, and Velveteen came out victorious against Cole, Gargano, and Ciampa.
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[21][14] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1N | The Sky Pirates (Io Shirai andKairi Sane) defeatedMarina Shafir andJessamyn Duke bypinfall | Tag team match[15] | 6:39 | ||||
| 2N | The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake andSteve Cutler) defeatedStreet Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) bypinfall | Tag team match[15] | 7:17 | ||||
| 3 | War Raiders (Hanson andRowe) defeatedThe Undisputed Era (Kyle O'Reilly andRoderick Strong) (c) bypinfall | Tag team match for theNXT Tag Team Championship[16] | 16:57 | ||||
| 4 | Matt Riddle defeatedKassius Ohno bysubmission | Singles match[17] | 9:20 | ||||
| 5 | Johnny Gargano defeatedRicochet (c) bypinfall | Singles match for theNXT North American Championship[18] | 23:36 | ||||
| 6 | Shayna Baszler (c) defeatedBianca Belair bytechnical submission | Singles match for theNXT Women's Championship[19] | 15:26 | ||||
| 7 | Tommaso Ciampa (c) defeatedAleister Black bypinfall | Singles match for theNXT Championship[20] | 26:30 | ||||
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