Adam Cole Retains Over Gargano in Hour-Long Match at TakeOver Toronto
Adam Cole had retained the NXT Championship over Johnny Gargano at NXT TakeOver Toronto II 2019, in a 2 out of 3 falls match which lasted for nearly an hour.
The first of the three falls was a normal wrestling match as chosen by Adam Cole. As we have seen in their earlier battles, both Cole and Gargano were able to counter each others’ moves quite a few times. And even when they were able to execute their moves successfully, the other person refused to get pinned or submit. So much so that Adam Cole frustratingly brought in the steel chair into the ring. However, the referee was quick to tell him that he could use the chair. As Cole got into an argument with the referee, it was Johnny Gargano who used the chair, leading to disqualification and losing the first fall.
As the second fall was a street fight, Gargano continued to use the steel chair on Cole. However, their fight quickly spilled into the crowd. On their way back, Gargano first put Cole through the barricade and then through the Spanish announce table. As they got back into the ring, both were able to use different weapons to harm each other. After more back and forth control, Gargano sent Cole into a chair like a lawn dart before locking in the Gargano Escape for the submission and winning the second fall to tie the tie at 1 fall each.
The final stipulation, which was chosen by NXT General Manager William Regal, took place inside a steel cage with barbed wire wrapped around the top and weapons attached to the cage. The added stipulation was that they could not escape from the cage, and that only a pinfall or submission would end the bout. After some more brutality inside the cage, the fight still looked like a never-ending battle as Cole hit a Panama sunrise from the turnbuckle and then from the top of a Ladder.
During the final minutes, Gargano cut out barbed wire and attempted to use it on Cole. Realizing the danger, Cole went on the table on top of the cage. As Gargano attempted to punch Cole with the barbed wire, Cole blocked the punch and caused both men to fall through a pair of tables on the ring below. Cole then rolled on top of Gargano to cover him and got the pin to retain the title.
NXT Takeover Toronto 2019 was the third consecutive TakeOver show where Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole headlined the show. The first meeting came at TakeOver: New York 2019 and TakeOver: XXV in April and June respectively. Ironically, both Cole and Gargano are at 4 falls each over the course of 3 matches with one fall coming via disqualification at their match at Toronto last night. But, Adam Cole has survived the brutal match and came out on top as the winner.
