TakeOver events are significantly special without needing to rely heavily on main events (as several Ups will highlight later), but the dismal and overwrought to Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole's scintillating series underscored a card that should probably be objectively considered the worst of its kind.
Aside from the Ambrose Asylum reboot that went on last, Shayna Baszler had perhaps her worst ever title match in a lumbering effort against Mia Yim, Pete Dunne, Velveteen Dream and Roderick Strong simply didn't click, and Street Profits' win over The Undisputed Era was one victory too far for the departing duo.
But this is NXT. Even as comfortably the weakest presentation from the black-and-gold brand's 2019, it still had one f*cking sensational diamond in the rough...
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
