[10.0] "Such a spectacular match between both men with absolutely incredible in ring action and chemistry, both men played their baby face and heel roles spectacularly, the interference from Gargano was amazing for the story and it was cool for Ciampa to be crowned NXT Champion."
[8.0] "On a rewatch, I like this match more than I did the first time, but I still think its a tad overrated. This was essentially just a hard hitting slugfest between Aleister and Ciampa. There was some great drama here and the strikes were extremely loud with the leg slapping. Aleister in particular was hitting some nasty kicks in this match. Its a shame his title reign ended so soon already, but also a shame that he didnt have as good of defenses as he shouldve had. The ending was pretty sick too with the drama and intensity growing and growing with the fantastic near falls, only for Gargano to get involved and having it backfire. What I do think this lacks though, is the big fight feel. This shouldnt have been a TV match. This shouldve happened at a takeover. Also theres only so many times you can kick and punch before it does get a tad boring. Still a good match though."
[8.0] "The further we advance in the match, the better it becomes. The near falls at the end are more and more intense. The overbooking of the last two minutes is well done and the match writing is good. (4*1/4)"
[10.0] "One of my favorite NXT matches ever! This had everything that a pro wrestling match could ask for: a popular face champion in Aleister Black, an absolute heel menace in Tommaso Ciampa, a hot Full Sail crowd, great back-and-forth action, and a fantastic finish with Johnny Gargano accidentally costing Black the title. Fantastic."
[6.0] "This was a good match. It's been insanely overrated because it's NXT, but it was one of the better 'workrate epics' from the black & gold era. Ciampa was alright with his character work. I'm not really a fan of the 'Twitter troll heel' persona. Most of the first half of this match was really forgettable wrestling. I've watched this match at least twice and it's still difficult to remember what happened for the first 2/3 of it. Black's kicks ranged from good to meh. Ciampa did sell them well to his credit. The final 1/3 of this match is big moves galore with your usual hit-a-move-and-run-the-ropes-and-repeat formula. It wasn't egregiously bad because some of those moves did look impressive with solid impact. The finish was overbooked but I thought it worked in this scenario. ***1/4"
[10.0] "Amazing match between Ciampa and Black here which was surely one of the best matches of the 2018 year but also one of the most underrated so it's quite surprising, I just feel like this match doesn't get the recognition & reputation it deserves and I think that's unfortunate because it doesn't reflect the quality of this incredible encounter at all. Ciampa & Black have always had a very solid chemistry and here they managed to do better than their (great & also underrated) TakeOver Phoenix bout so I extremely enjoyed this as I imagined. These two incredible wrestlers had over twenty minutes in the main event of this episode and it felt like a must-see NXT TakeOver title match so that's all positive, it was even better than the banger between Black & Almas at New Orleans so that's saying something. Great action, perfect rythm, clean & smooth content between two veterans of the game who know how to build a long match like this, I enjoyed every second of it. I'm a bit sad that this match-up didn't have a big rivalry behind it but the storytelling was still off the charts between the ropes. Some won't like the overbooking at the end but I thought it was perfect, the return of Johnny Wrestling who promised Ciampa he wouldn't win this title but gets screwed over again by his worst enemy, which will justify the third match of their 2018 trilogy. Shame enough that Black didn't have a bigger reign at the time but Ciampa was far too incredible not to strap the rocket on him."
[10.0] "One of the best matches not only in NXT's but in WWE's history. Heel Ciampa was the best thing going in wrestling until his injury. I can't believe how underrated this match is."
[9.0] "Das war großartig, hätte ich es früher mal gesehen dann hätte ich es noch mehr gefeiert. Es war ein Schock wie der Crowd dreinschaute als Ciampa der neue Champion war. Sehr gutes WWE NXT Title Match (****1/4)."
[8.0] "Einer der vielen großartigen TV-Matches von NXT in diesem Jahr. Die zwei haben echt wunderbar im Ring harmoniert und die Schlussphase war bärenstark, auch wenn der Anfang etwas zahm war. Die Geschichte rund um Gargano wurde auch nochmal aufgegriffen und sollte noch einmal zwei starke Matches bei TakeOver vorbereiten. Die Zuschauerreaktionen auf das Ende waren ebenfalls belustigend beim Anschauen und eine der besten NXT Momente in diesem Jahr. ****"
[7.0] "I gave this match *** 3/4 stars out of five. The match picked up towards the end with the really good near falls, but the beginning was just an average slugfest. Good match, nearly great."
[10.0] "Rein von der In-Ring-Leistung ohnehin schon eine 9, aber ich will hier noch einen Extrapunkt geben für das Heel-Work von Ciampa und die dramatische Wende in der Story mit Gargano. Ciampa ist so dermaßen gut als Heel, ich kann es kaum in Worte fassen. Ganz bestimmt der beste Bösewicht seit Jericho vor 10 Jahren, aber mit einer höheren Intensität, die eher noch HHH oder Austin erinnert. Wahnsinn! Das Match mit Black war dynamisch und die Nearfalls super getimet. Garganos Eingriff war geil abgepasst und das was folgte, war für die Fans sichtlich ein Schock. Alles richtig gemacht."
[9.0] "Ciampa ist der beste Heel 2018 für mich. Da passt weiterhin alles zusammen. Nicht auszumalen, wie krass dieses Match für mich geworden wäre, hätte aufdringliche Social Media-Werbung es mir nicht gespoilert. Die Action und Dramatik der Schlussphase sind nahezu perfekt. Der Weg dahin immer noch sehr gut. Da machen Ciampa und Black beide Vieles richtig, auch wenn sich hier Ciampa schon früh ein Stück weiter anfühlt, da alles, was er macht, einfach nach purer böswilliger Berechnung aussieht. Black antwortet auf seine Art, aber nicht ganz so eindrucksvoll, wenngleich er ebenso Dinge herauskramt, die man von ihm nicht regelmäßig sieht. Dass sich das Finish dann in die Action einfügt ist beim Angle auch keine Selbstverständlichkeit, aber passt halt sehr gut zur Story, die diesen Twist durchaus vertragen kann, um nicht zu linear zu wirken. Sackstark. (****½)"
[8.0] "Zunächst einmal ist das ein ziemlich intensiver Brawl mit einigen gut dosierten Impacts. Das Tempo ist nicht überdreht, beide verkaufen die Moves professionell, wozu sich auch eine gewisse Sauberkeit in Durchführung und Dramaturgie gesellt. Ciampa ist als Heel over wie geschnitten Brot und der Champion hat bisher mit einer stillen Souveränität regiert, so dass der Titelwechsel tatsächlich überraschend kommt. Auch wenn man Ref-Bump und Outside-Interference nicht unbedingt lieben muss."
[10.0] "I loved this. The heat that this had was off the charts. This wasn't like old school heat. It was like a hot modern crowd as hot as they will get. This might have been the loudest i've ever heard Full Sail. Ever. It was like instead of 25 - 50 %of the crowd chanting, 100% of them were. The match was a great back and forth battle. One of the best matches i've seen in 2018. ****2/3."
[8.0] "The beginning was meh. The middle was also meh. But the ending sequence was really great. Ciampa heel work was great and I liked the fact that they protected the black mass and Aleister Black by making Johnny Gargano interfered because these three are set to main event Takeover Brooklyn. Making Aleister loose clean would have made him looked weak before Brooklyn. Most of the time I feel interference are unnecessary but it was necessary here. Great booking decision."
[7.0] "Good, physical back & forth action from start to finish, with a very well executed angle finish. A very strong TV bout, and honestly, considering the fact that Tommaso Ciampa vs. Aleister Black doesn't look appealing at all to me on paper, I am very happy about how good it turned out to be. ***1/4"
[8.0] "Another highly praised NXT match that was pretty great, but I wouldn't say it was TakeOver main event quality if I had to make a comparison. Black was pretty fantastic in this match as he was all over the place hitting some great strikes here and there. Ciampa was alright with his offense, his control segment wasn't super exciting, but his heel work was definitely on point. The overbooking with Gargano at the end was unnecessary, but I get the purpose so it makes sense I guess. Very fun match with a shocking(? ) title change in the end, ****1/4."
[8.0] "8. 35/10 : NXT ! NXT ! NXT ! I know the NJPW die-hards hate to hear it but NXT is the best brand of wrestling on the planet right now. But not to make this an NXT vs NJPW debate right now, let's get to the match. Putting these two names in a one-on-one match-up is bound to generate loads of hype so it did, I was coming into it expecting a take-no-prisoners all-out classic, which did not happen but the fact that it did not stoop to an unacceptable level allowed it to not be a disappointment. The match started off a bit dull, not slow just dull, not much interesting going on and a bit of "going through the motions", a few minutes in though that all changed and the action picked up. The back and forths got hot and the strikes got hotter, Aleister finally started delivering and the match clicked. From then on it was a bonafide thriller that earned its great match stature. Interested to see how the Black/Ciampa/Gargano story fizzles out from here on to Takeover where whomever of the three meet, it is bound to be epic !"
[7.0] "This was an NXT Title match, so of course it's going to be overrated to hell, but that doesn't mean it wasn't good, because it definitely was. Ciampa has been the star of NXT for quite a while (even when in matches I've found pretty dull), and he continued to show that here. The match started off well enough with some decent grappling exchanges, all while Ciampa attempted to use his sneaky, underhanded tactics to get a quick pin. Ciampa's in-ring is very compelling because he genuinely comes off as an egotistical psychopath. His gimmick isn't forced like so many other NXT characters; it just flows naturally out of him. Black has always been an incredibly dull character but with a very good offence, especially his kicks. He delivered a ridiculous number of kicks and Ciampa sold them all extremely well, which helped when the impact wasn't very audible. While the general wrestling and character work was decent I was really struggling to find anything special about the match for the first 2/3 of it. Things picked up after that really messy second rope diving DDT from Ciampa, since the match then essentially just moved into big move trading territory. It was quite good too, at least for a while. Both men delivered and sold these big moves very well, but I personally thought things went overkill when Black survived the first hanging DDT. What reason is there to have Black kick out of what is essentially Ciampa's superfinisher so soon after it has first been established? Luckily this meant we got a pretty cool (if heavily overbooked) finishing sequence involving a creative ref bump and tragic accidental interference from Gargano to aid his mortal enemy in winning the one major championship that he himself never had. Since I'm a big Ciampa fan I was really pleased with the finish, and I really enjoyed the story of how Gargano was essentially the reason Ciampa won. Some decent wrestling and a very good story made for a good match. ***1/2"
[9.0] "Kein Technisches Meisterwerk. Dennoch ein super gut geführtes Hard Hitting Match mit fantastischer Matchstory, ein großartigen Crowd und einer PERFEKT gebookten Finish Phase. Schade das Aleisters Reign vorbei ist, da er eher so semi gut war, aber schön dass der "overste" Mann bei NXT den Titel bekommt und so auch ordentlich Heat. **** 1/2"
[9.0] "Starkes Match von Black und Ciampa. Am Anfang etwas langsam geführt, wo beide versuchen ihren Stil durchzusetzen, legt das Match ab der Mitte richtig zu. Tolle Aktionen mit guter Workrate und Ciampa als Heel großartig. Endphase sehr dramatisch mit den Finisher Kickouts und Ciampas fiesen Tricks. Refbump und Garganos Eingreifen führen dann unglücklich zum Titelverlust für Black. Schade das seine Regentschaft hier der Storyline um Ciampa und Gargano geopfert wird. Dennoch ist das hier ganz gut umgesetzt, sodass Black nicht schwach aussieht. Sehr gutes Match für eine weekly NXT-Show. ****1/4"
[7.0] "It's a good match, but it is too overbooked and slow in the first part. The two performers have a similar style, the first part of the match seems boring with static submission moves, but the match, helped by the narrative flow, has a great rythm in the second and final part. The storytelling is very good: there are some good references to the Ciampa-Gargano's feud and a wonderful Ciampa's heel work. The Black's back selling is discreet, but in some parts it seems fake. The match has too many overbooking events and the final seems too fake: Gargano seems to hit Black intentionally. *** 3/4"
[10.0] "Another one in Ciampa's string of f**kin awesome main events. Ciampa's heel work is absolutely on fire here, always using the dirtiest of dirty tactics to try and keep Black down, raking the eyes, throwing him into steel steps, using his crutch and whacking Black over the head with it, and that's just one of the few callbacks to Ciampa's past few matches with Gargano in here. The floor padding is removed a la Takeover New Orleans in their unsanctioned match but this time the referee is thrown onto the floor, that looked like a nasty f**king bump for a ref to take. The drama builds and builds as Black hits him with the Black Mass but the ref is too busy f**king dying on the outside so Ciampa claws at Black's eyes and goes to hit him with the title belt when Gargano interferes but inadvertently hits Black with the title instead giving Ciampa the shock win. Hell of a way for Black's streak to end. ****3/4 Cannot wait for the triple threat at TakeOver Brooklyn."
[10.0] "Wowie! What a main event. Incredible storytelling. Ciampa is the best heel in the business currently. Him and Black had a great match, and Gargano getting involved added another layer of depth into their already intricate rivalry. This has to be the best storyline that wwe has produced in years. Adding Black and the nxt title to the mix just makes it even more thrilling. Great stuff from nxt here."
