6 Ups And 3 Downs From NXT TakeOver: Chicago

DOWNS…

3. NXT Championship Match Not On-Par

When done right, the David versus Goliath story works really well in professional wrestling.

But Saturday night, Aleister Black versus Lars Sullivan did not click on that same level.

Black is a proven commodity, and Sullivan is an impressive, but still green, big man. They produced some pretty good moments during their NXT Championship match, but overall, their match was a bit lacking. Lars hit several eye-popping power moves – catching a quebrada, running through a clothesline, hitting a powerslam on the apron – but the match itself wasn’t up to par with several past NXT title bouts, and was the second-worst match of the five-match PPV. (But to be fair, the other matches were pretty damn good.)

And of course, it’s worth noting the whiff on Black Mass. Though it's not clear whether it was Aleister’s fault or Lars’ miscue, it definitely did not help things right at the climax of the match. And just to be clear, this wasn’t a bad match at all. But if we’re rating contests against others on the same PPV, this lands barely on the down side. However, your mileage may vary.