Tommaso Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream

[9.0] "[4.25*] This is the kind of match that represents the best the NXT Black & Gold brand has to offer instead of the ROH-style copy-and-paste matches with 75 finishers like that 2/3 Falls match. It showed how creative, innovative and full of personality these characters could be, which resulted in an absolute AWESOME match in every facet, with brilliant both in-ring work and character development. Of course we all know the terrible things Patrick Clark did as a person, but the Velveteen Dream persona was just captivating and this Hollywood Hogan thing unfortunately ruled a lot. Ciampa, as always, portrayed the psycho, killer veteran who gave the flamboyant kid the beating of his life. This was way more stiff than I anticipated lol. Velveteen's comebacks were just full of life and the last 90 seconds of the match are perfect, with the Purple Rainmaker nearfall quickly transitioning into a Diving Elbow Drop to the floor attempt, which resulted badly for Dream. The veteran took advantage of his mistake and did his DDT on the middle of the two rings, using the War Games stage as a weapon. Just brillant storytelling all around, this really rocked."

[9.0] "Tommaso Ciampa was a beast in 2018, and I was a truly menace for watching this match literally in the same that Hogan died. Oh, what a good feeling boy! Anyway, miss Dream, so much, unfortunatelly I wish he will never be back. Also, the sport entertainer term suck."

[8.0] "Easily Velveteen Dream's best singles matches in his whole career. This was just a well done match between these two. Ciampa had another great title defense here and made Velveteen look like a million bucks here."

[9.0] "(9.5) One of the best NXT title matches ever between two men who don't really have another singles match for the belt on this caliber. It's a very unique NXT title match as character shines through more than the stunning moves that are on display, but everything really works for me. Dream is the cocky young challenger that tries to act like the legends of the industry, and Ciampa is the paranoid heel that clings to his title and does not respect dreams entitlement. This leads to Dream toying with Ciampa early while Ciampa uses his offense to brutalize Dream's head and neck. As the match progresses and Dream gets more serious, he starts to ground Ciampa more with more limb work on his legs, setting up his finishes later. Ciampa just has too much fight and attachment to his title to not kick out, and his last ditch effort to avoid the last elbow drop leads to Dream's ambition being his downfall, as the final DDT is hit brutally onto the metal divider of both rings. One of my favorite NXT matches ever, filled with everything that made this year of NXT so great."

[6.0] "I have a problem with this match, becauseit felt like a parody of NXT Black & Gold. The performances are good but ultimately wasted by a weak start, thousands of false finishes and the lack of intensity in the overall feud. It feels less than the sum of its parts."

[10.0] "A really phenomenal and entertaining match between both men. Ciampa was spectacular with his heel work and Dream continues being the most charismatic WWE/NXT star ever, giving an absolute star making performance."

[10.0] "My jaw dropped so many times in this match. I dont hear about this one a lot but like, why? This was one of the single best matches I have ever seen. A cocky young brash rising star wanting to make his name against a vicious and violent douchebag whos been there for a while. The dynamic is played into perfectly and it has everything you would want in a match. The energy in the crowd is explosive and theyre red hot for Dream, and loathe everything Ciampa does. Theres some fantastic psychology here with Ciampa perfectly selling his knee to the point where he straight up has to remove his boot and Dream just bumping for every move like his life is over. When Ciampa has him in that headlock, the most simple of holds, he looks like his life is in legitimate danger and it makes the whole match feel super personal and real. Dream and Ciampa also had great storytelling chemistry with the mind games at the start, and Dream utilizing moves from Hogan and Flair, showing that he believes he will eventually be a big enough star to be in that group. And I gotta give massive props to Ciampas heel work here. He is a horrible douchebag who still has more heart than most competitors. He doesnt stop at all and knows when to get dirty. I especially loved how he tapped out of the figure four on the post to get Dream to break the hold knowing the ref couldnt see it, and when he assaulted Mauro because of his badmouthing. And then of course the near falls. Some of the greatest Ive ever seen. The kickouts of the elbow drop, the elevated DDTs and especially the twisting DDT onto the belt all popped me at 2 in the morning. I genuinely love this match so much, and it a real big fucking shame Velveteen would be cast into infamy with his whole ordeal. What couldve been."

[10.0] "What a spectacle! A brash, rising star in Velveteen Dream and a gritty, unhinged veteran in Tommaso Ciampa had a magnificent encounter. I remember rooting for Dream to win this, but it is what it is. He lost, but had a showing of a lifetime. It's a damn shame his career went down the toilet after what he did a few years ago"

[9.0] "A huge match. Brilliant storytelling and very good psychology. The crowd is involved in the match. Intense near falls and superb moves. The Dream perfectly adapted the Hollywood Hulk Hogan gimmick from the nWo with his moves and facial expressions. (4*3/4)"

[9.0] "Another fantastic match for this show. Velveteen showed everyone the potential he had to become one of WWE/NXT's top stars in this match, but, unfortunately, things didn't go that way. As for Ciampa, this was another great title defense for him here. Ciampa has to be one of the greatest NXT Champions of all time."

[10.0] "This match was incredible, Ciampa had A top 5 NXT title reign without A doubt. Knowing what we know about Dream now, it may make it A little harder to watch but, this match was awesome. I loved the finish with the willows bell between the rings. I hope one day we see this Ciampa on the main roster and this Ciampa win A world title on the main roster."

[9.0] "This was an incredible match. I loved the mind games in the beginning and the match had great pacing. I loved the performances from both Ciampa and Dream in this. The finishing stretch was fantastic. ****1/2"

[10.0] "Amazing match between Tommaso Ciampa and Velveteen Dream here which was just as amazing as I remembered, I love to watch this match again every year when the mood strikes and I love to comment on it again every time because I love it so much. It was a fresh bout from start to finish between two top stars who had the inspiration to give us a big NXT title match like I was hoping for, there was no reason why this match couldn't deliver and it even completely exceeded general expectations I think as these two connected beautifully for a first match together. Everything about this one and only encounter between Ciampa & Dream was just pure excellence, everything was enjoyable in the action with perfectly clean work between the ropes and absolutely top notch character-work from both. Both have personalities that complement each other so well so the dynamic was super interesting and the crowd was loud for this, it was full of great sequences and insane nearfalls that made us believe that the ultimate underdog Velveteen Dream was going to win this title by surprise. They put in a brilliant effort and this match is definitely one to watch, tremendous stuff."

[7.0] "This was a pretty good match but flawed like any other Takeover big match. Dream shows his charisma here and Ciampa's a pretty good heel when he's not doing hokey verbal exchanges with Johnny. Ciampa's work on top dragged for a bit but he did some fine work. I think his knee strikes looked good here. The finishing stretch was complete overkill and knocked the match down for me. They were rushing the nearfalls and big moves at a rapid fast pace. Ciampa just completely no sells the concrete spot. Good lord. ***1/2"

[9.0] "Great mind games going on in the early going and then the match just builds and builds to a fever pitch. Loved the spot with Dream going through a series of "the hits" of past WWF stars. Eventually, it looks like a for sure Dream victory with a great near fall, but then a missed elbow leads to Dream's demise with Ciampa able to take advantage of the steel partition between the two rings for War Games to eke out a win to save Goldie. Great storytelling and drama. ****3/4"

[9.0] "Dream with a Hogan gimmick tonight and he pulled it off well. Dream is still learning and lacks refinement but he's got spirit and a lot of flair. Chiampa is the best heel in the business right now and once again, he doesn't disappoint. Dream went all out, he borrowed Hogan's moves, hit Chiampa with his own moves, even got the Purple Rainmaker yet Chiampa doesn't stay down. In his desperation, he makes a miscalculation and completely misses a Purple Rainmaker on the Apron and he crashes hard, I mean really hard. Willows Bell connects and still ur Champion Tomasso Chiampa. Great pacing, great nearfalls and had me on the edge of my seat believing that Dream could actually pull it off. Great match. ****1/2"

[5.0] "The final third or so wasn't so bad but everything before that dragged. Dream is as generic as they come and no amount of fan service (including his cliched sassy gimmick) is enough to cover that. Ciampa doesn't come off looking so great either, and though I think he's a very good heel, this match makes me think that a lot of that relies on him getting his just desserts with stiff hits and hard bumps. He's good at that but I don't think he was able to play to those strengths here. Dream is just so boring. He's a recycled character and nothing more, and his "character" doesn't improve the match at all for me. There's nothing there. Ultimately, decent final few minutes dragged down by everything else."

[8.0] "I originally had no plans watching this match, but after reading one particular review, I got very intrigued by it. So naturally I decided to give this shizzat a shot! The match was very good. I wasn't into the fighting over the HOLLYWOOD bandana -stuff, but once that was done with, things got good. Ciampa on top was pretty damn enjoyable - that headlock spot which the Dream sold via SPIT was wonderful. Great image & loved how tight that headlock looked. Dream's work over the leg was pretty great - the Figure-4 spot in the ring was absolutely superb. Perfectly done drama. Ciampa's selling was fantastic for the most part, but once it was time for him to get back into things, he dropped the selling; him delivering Project Ciampa perfectly fine bothered me quite a bit. Around that is when the match essentially kicked into it's finishing gear, and that was real good; some really great nearfalls, with the 2 delivering them via some pretty clever ways. ***1/2"

[8.0] "This match had me on the edge of my seat. It amazes me how great of a performer The Velveteen Dream is with such a limited moveset. Ciampa carried his load as well with marvellous character work and oportunistic use of the double ring. Loved it, Velveteen should definitely be NXT Champion before being called up"

[8.0] "8. 35/10 - #3 Best of SSeries18 Weekend : Oh damn you NXT, with your "still great" 3rd best matches on the card... Great action and storytelling done by the NXT formula, this match had a bit of everything you want in a great match in a moderate but not quite mind-blowing kind of way. The start was really good and fun, and the closing 5-7 minutes were amazing, its only detriment would be that it did not go 100% the whole match, the middle third of the match went no where and quite frankly almost lost me. Not to knock on it too much though, it was still great and entertaining as a whole."

[6.0] "Not a big fan of Velveteen Dream, but the match was alright. Just like Gargano/Black match, too much moves and too much no-selling."

[5.0] "Dream paying tribute to Hulk Hogan was pretty fun to watch in the first half. Despite his limit in the ring, he has charisma that draw sthe audience. Ciampa, on the other hand, was very hit or miss when working on top as a heel. And this was a miss. His work was uninteresting and largely boring at some points. The leg work was a nice plan but if only it led to something. Both forgot about it quickly and turned the match into Finisher fest with lots of big moves-kick out-overkill like usual big match epic formula on MR. I agree with the user below me that the booking only wanted to get heat on heel instead of making moments for the fan favorite like Dream. The closing sequence was definitely overkill to some extent that let me down. And the whole match wasn't much special either."

[9.0] "Amazing to witness this clash of styles. Really close nearfalls especially in the last five minutes."

[10.0] "Absolutely incredible clash of styles and personalities. The many near falls made the crowd absolutely electric and there was many times time I was convinced Dream was going to be NXT Champion. No matter who won this match it would be the right decision and this match officially proved to all the doubters that Velveteen is ready for stardom. (****3/4)"

[9.0] "Perfect length and brutal as hell. The crowd were fully behind Dream and his Hogan thing, the final 5 minutes were great with the crowd eating up every nearfall to the point where I believed Dream was winning this thing. He's only 23 and he can only go up from here. This was more Dream than Ciampa for me, I preferred Dream's performance although Ciampa obviously performed well. (****1/2)"

[8.0] "These two had a great match, but it took a while to get there, although it was very heated once it did so."

[7.0] "I thought that this was good. Dream paid tribute to Hollywood Hogan this time out and of course he threw out a few of Hogan's big hits. Dream was really good here and has improved tremendously in the past year. Ciampa surprisingly didn't put his best foot forward here, his control segment was rather bland. The finishing sequence was rushed as fuck too. Also Dream put the figure four on the WRONG leg, come on now. ***1/2"

[9.0] "Amazing match for the NXT championship. Every minute the match was getting better and better. Probably this is the best match of Dream in NXT in my opinion. ****1/2"

[8.0] "Can't give 7, 5*, so 8 will do fine. I wasn't really interested in this match. The story behind it was really meh, I barely knew what was going on. Definitely one of the most boring feuds in recent months, but the match itself, while being quite an overkill spotfest, managed to tell a story of its own. A lot of mind games from both guys. They both were incredibly crafty, putting each other to uncomfortable positions. A very enjoyable spotfest, overally. Really have nothing more to say."

[6.0] "I did not give two damns about this match, I was not invested and they did a pretty poor job of getting me invested for most of the match. It was really dull but by got me by the end with them going bat shit crazy (lol) and taking some nasty bumps. Again, Ciampa? s selling was bad, in particular the concrete spot. Credit to Dream, he looked like a star by the end. ***"

[8.0] "As much as Velveteen Dream does deserve the championship, it helps the title and Tomasso to keep it on him presently. Great match."

[8.0] "Dream is pageantry incarnate throughout the match, and foils the crazed, belt-obsessed Ciampa well. The match begins with Dream getting the upper-hand in a mat exchange as the crowd chants "Velveteen". At one point, Ciampa delivers a terrifying clothesline to Dream off the turnbuckle to the outside. After being beaten from pillar to post, Dream channels The Hulkster and delivers three consecutive leg drops to Ciampa, followed by a spinebuster for a two count. A series of seemingly never-ending false-finishes soon follow, starting with Ciampa hitting "Project Ciampa" for a close two. Dream hits the Purple Rainmaker from the top for a near fall, and follows it with one to the outside that misses. The match ends with Ciampa delivering a middle-rope DDT to Dream on the steel binding for a three count. Ciampa's no-selling near the end with the finishers is something that could've been axed, and the finisher-spam itself isn't my cup of tea, but the match definitely delivered. ****"

[5.0] "I can't deny that I had fun during parts of this but it became too excessive. Between the padded length, the 'signature -> kickout -> shock -> signature' moments repeating, the tributes to legends like Hogan and Rude, it felt too much and ill-fitting. It was a weird match. Once the legend tributes stopped I got more into it but I thought it could have shaved a bit of time. I bit into the drama of Dream winning but for Ciampa to take a 1-2 combination of a DVD on the outside then Purple Rainmaker, only to pop back up and win with the DDT in a few seconds was headscratching."

[9.0] "Awesome story-telling, Velveteen fill this match with his personality, his impersonation of Hogan was great and Velveteen looked like a great babyface due to Ciampa's heel work. The only bad thing is the basic technical level of this match that lead to a bit too much of near falls but it's still a great match. (****1/2)"

[9.0] "I never thought I would be at the point where I think Velveteen Dream of all people has the match of the night on a TakeOver show. Aside from his terrible choice of outfit wear, Dream was on fire here as he put on the performance of his life against Ciampa who was no slouch either. The storytelling here was much more subtle which I prefer greatly. Neither guy was concerned about hitting their moves but rather just trying to beat the hell out of each other and win the match. I could've done without the generic finisher kick outs though, ****1/2."

[9.0] "This match was awesome with some amazing nearfalls. With that said though, I feel Ciampa was made to look a bit too indestructible here. No moves we're left protected. They both pretty much kicked out of everything, but Ciampa especially got to kick out of DDTs on titles and the Purple Rainmaker. Nonetheless, the tension and drama was there and they did an amazing job of building to each fall. So the match was still incredibly enjoyable even with that gripe ****1/2"