7 Ups And 3 Downs From NXT TakeOver: WarGames

3. Slugfest

Black Gargano
WWE.com

Aleister Black and Johnny Gargano were almost certainly going to kick the hell out of each other at TakeOver WarGames, and that’s exactly what happened.

The two men traded stiff kicks and knee strikes, countered moves and tried to play mindgames with each other throughout their standout match. At one point, Gargano was all but beat and told Black he was sorry and begged him to finish it. But he was goldbricking, and ducked a Black Mass and trapped Aleister in a Gargano Escape.

In the end, Black won by obliterating Gargano with two Black Mass spinning heel kicks, keeping himself at the top of the NXT men’s division. It feels like a bittersweet situation for fans who have been rooting Johnny on since Tommaso Ciampa turned on him, but Black is a lethal competitor who should be at the top of the food chain.

If you like a hard-striking match, this one was for you.

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Contributor

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 fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.