Johnny Gargano entered NXT Takeover: New York as an underdog, but left the ring as the newest NXT Champion, taking down Adam Cole in a 2-out-of-3 falls match that should go down as one of the best NXT title matches in recent memory.
From the start of the match, Gargano and Cole traded pin and submission attempts in an effort to gain the upper hand. Unfortunately for Gargano, it was Cole that got things going early, as he was able to hit Johnny with a Last Shot and pin him for the first victory of the night. Now staring at an even tougher challenge, Gargano needed two consecutive pins in order to become champion, but he was undeterred.
After surviving multiple Last Shots from Cole and throwing some hits onto Cole, Gargano was able to lock Cole into the Gargano Escape, and get Cole to tape out almost immediately.
When the ref's way, #UndisputedERA will play. ? #NXTTakeOver #NXTChampionship pic.twitter.com/8uYg9Cj3Jt
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) April 6, 2019
With both superstars needing just one successful pin or submission to win, both threw everything they had at each other. The pair took the fight everywhere, including outside of the ring, where Cole managed to deliver an angels wings onto the announcers table. Things got worse for Gargano, as shortly after he made it into the ring, the Undisputed Era made their way to the match and began hounding Gargano.
After knocking the referee out and landing a Total Elimination on Gargano, Cole looked to have an easy victory, but Gargano somehow managed to kick out of that and an additional super kick by Cole. As Cole struggled with not being able to pin Gargano, Johnny was able to surprise Cole and lock him into the Gargano Clutch. Although Cole was inches from the rope, Gargano pulled him away and forced Cole to tap out a second time, ending the match and crowning him the new NXT Champion.
