10 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE NXT TakeOver
4. The Rise Of #DIY Is As Good As Everybody Remembers...
When TakeOver pivoted from presenting the first best-in-class set of Performance Center standouts to Triple H and William Regal's grand collection of newly-signed indie darlings, guaranteed match quality all but replaced regular storyline development.
TakeOver was such a safe bet of a destination that less care was given to the journey, but the uneasy rise through the tag ranks by #DIY, their engaging run as reigning-then-former Champions and the brutal blood feud that spanned nearly two years from heel turn to babyface redemption ensured that every supercard had something with emotional substance.
Fittingly, it all peaked on what must surely be the most creatively satisfying night of Triple H's booking career.
April 2019's TakeOver: New York was one of the company's best-ever shows, NXT's WrestleMania X-Seven and - in hindsight - the season finale proper for this magic era of NXT TakeOver. Gargano and Adam Cole found the peak of the well-trodden black-and-gold in-ring epic over 38 impossibly electrifying minutes, and 'Johnny Wrestling's embraced by an injured Ciampa as he's crowned Champion of the place he loves.
It was the perfect conclusion to their saga, but as NXT content was suddenly of greater value to Vince McMahon with the advent of All Elite Wrestling, there was no chance the story could ever be allowed to truly end...