6 Ups And 3 Downs From NXT TakeOver: Chicago

by Scott Carlson

1. Hatred, With Mustard

NXT TakeOver Chicago 2 Tommaso Ciampa Johnny Gargano
WWE

The rivalry between Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano has been a tremendous roller-coaster of emotion. Ever since last year’s TakeOver: Chicago, we’ve seen the former DIY teammates’ hatred boil over.

It exploded in New Orleans, but it went full nuclear in Chicago on Saturday night. The two men took a street fight and turned it into an all-out brawl that felt very different than your typical “garbage” match. We got some of the typical spots you see in these street fights, but the storylines – Gargano’s injured neck, Ciampa’s surgically repaired knee, the intense hatred – were woven into the match.

Seeing Johnny Wrestling snap – after Ciampa had ripped Gargano’s wedding ring off, spit on it and threw it away – was something else. Gargano handcuffed Tommaso and superkicked him a half-dozen times, which is something no babyface would ever do in WWE.

But ultimately, officials interfered in trying to stop a no-holds barred match (William Regal needs to fire those suits!), which gave Ciampa one last gasp for a DDT on the exposed wood – and the win.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fortunately became a fan in time for WrestleMania III and came back as a fan after a long high school hiatus before WM XIV. Monday nights in the Carlson household are reserved for viewing Raw -- for better or worse.