Ranking Tommaso Ciampa's 10 Greatest NXT Matches
3. Vs. Velveteen Dream - TakeOver: WarGames 2018
Perhaps not since Austin in 2001 has one WWE performer had such a connection to a title. When Ciampa got his hands on the NXT belt, he wasn’t just a proud champion, he was an obsessive. Nicknaming the strap “Goldie”, he puts across its importance beautifully en route to the ring, clutching it tight to his body, paranoid eyes detecting threats everywhere.
The young, brash Velveteen Dream was the perfect foil in every way for Ciampa. For Dream, wrestling was a hoot, a chance to show off and be flamboyant. For Ciampa, it was something he needed to do in order to retain his treasured prize.
In the ring, the two mesh brilliantly. Both have a fairly old school bent, but Dream attacks with speed and flair, Ciampa with pure brutality. It’s a relentless affair, with plenty of spills to the outside, Hogan-aping offence from Dream, and increasing desperation from the champ.
It helps that the crowd digs Dream in a big way, completely sucked in by an incredible near fall after his Purple Rainmaker elbow. But the veteran Ciampa has other ideas, catching Dream with a DDT on the metal between the two WarGames-ready rings and keeping Goldie in his grip for another day.