Tonight’s NXT Takeover: Phoenix event saw a couple of titles change hands. Not only were The War Raiders able to defeat The Undisputed Era for the NXT Tag Team Championships during the show, but later on, another challenger managed to win gold. Johnny Gargano defeated Ricochet to win the NXT North American Championship during the event. Gargano and Ricochet have known each other for at least a decade and have competed against each other before, but their match from Takeover from earlier today arguably had more on the line than any of their other previous matches. Ricochet and Gargano tore the house down in their match just as fans expected them to do, but it proved to be Gargano’s night.
#WinsAndChampionships ?@JohnnyGargano is your NEWWWW NXT #NorthAmericanChampion!!! #NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/CWvHprBkhZ
— WWE (@WWE) January 27, 2019
Ricochet and Gargano went at it in a back and fourth match that ended up seeing “Johnny Wrestling” win the North American title. However, Gargano had to go to sinister lengths in order to win the match. During the match, Gargano went outside of the ring and exposed the concrete floor underneath the mats. After spending time considering whether or not he should resort to using the concrete to win the match, Gargano did indeed plant Ricochet to the floor. This worked tremendously to Johnny’s benefit as he was able to pin “The One and Only” not long after this. Using the concrete floor is a move that has become a regular part of NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa’s matches, who up until recently was Johnny’s greatest enemy in NXT.
Call him #JohnnyWrestling.
Call him #JohnnyTakeOver.
Call him your NEW NXT #NorthAmericanChampion, @JohnnyGargano.#NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/D96Yhvle0r
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) January 27, 2019
Gargano’s win marks the beginning of his first reign as North American Champion, and it is also Johnny’s first time with singles gold in WWE. He previously held the NXT Tag Team Championships with Tommaso Ciampa. Gargano is also only the third man in history to win the NA title. As for Ricochet, he had been the champion ever since he defeated inaugural champion Adam Cole during the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event back in August of 2018. He held the title for 161 days before he lost it during NXT Takeover: Phoenix tonight. With Tommaso Ciampa still running NXT as NXT Champion, it will be interesting to see what becomes of the landscape in NXT now that the former #DIY partners represent the brand as champions.