10 Ups & 1 Down From NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day

5. Kushida’s Performance

Kushida Johnny Gargano
WWE.com

Kushida has never really got going since he signed on the dotted line for WWE back in 2019 (which seems like a lifetime ago). In fact, most of his matches on NXT have been weirdly muted and haven't shown anywhere near the levels of excellence he was known for in Japan or on the indy scene.

That all changed at TakeOver: Vengeance Day.

A ton of credit must go to Johnny Gargano for giving Kushida 90% of the match to show off with too. The opening moments had the challenger trying to out-wrestle 'Johnny Wrestling' to prove a point, and then the pace naturally quickened from there. The end sequence was superb stuff, and the whole match played to Kushida's strengths.

These dudes mixed strong style strikes with that trademark Junior Heavyweight speed. The bonus story of Kushida targeting Gargano's arm was also ace, and everything just clicked. This was the showing that Kushida badly needed to finally get on track in WWE.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.