Saturday night Adam Cole defeated Johnn Gargano at NXT TakeOver: XXV in a rematch to become the new NXT Champion. This is the first time Cole has won the NXT Championship.
"@AdamColePro is the u̶n̶crowned #NXTChampion." #NXTTakeOver #NXTChampionship pic.twitter.com/BDdDquX4B0
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) June 2, 2019
The pair’s match was Cole’s opportunity for revenge after he fell to Gargano in a 2-out-of-3 Falls match to win the vacant NXT Championship at TakeOver New York, two nights before WrestleMania at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Tommaso Ciampa underwent neck surgery in early March, and due to that he was forced to vacate the title.
Cole was poised at defeat Gargano more than once during their previous match up, but even after his stablemates interfered, he was unable to stop Johnny Wrestling from claiming his destiny. Their match at TakeOver New York received top marks from wrestling critics and fans alike, and is considered by many as one of the best matches in NXT’s history.
So how do you top a match like that? Well, apparently if you’re Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole, it’s all just another day’s work.
The two rising stars put on an absolute clinic last night, with near fall after near fall, high spots, referee interference, and psychological trickery.
At one point Cole feigned calling for the Undisputed Era to come out to the ring, successfully tricking Gargano enough to cause the champ to accidentally knock out of referee, and fall victim to a vicious piledriver from the middle rope. This is turn lead to Cole being locked in a Gargano escape, which wasn’t his first of the match either.
After working on Gargano’s leg throughout the match, Cole was able to use it to his advantage at the end, delivering a flurry of blows to the bum leg to escape Gargano’s vicious submission. Queue a Canadian destroyer, followed by a Panama Sunrise and Last shot, and we had ourselves a new NXT Champion.
Congratulations to Adam Cole on his first NXT Championship. May his reign be long and prosperous for all.
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