WWE NXT TakeOver: Chicago 2 is all set to pop off tonight (Saturday, June 16, 2018) at 8 p.m. ET, live on WWE Network!
CagesideSeats.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, match-by-match coverage of NXT TakeOver: Chicago 2 below, beginning with the first match of the evening and right on through to the main event.
Tonight's show kicks off Money in the Bank weekend for WWE from Allstate Arena, and it's offering up a stacked card.
Two non-title matches are probably the most anticipated of the night, as Johnny Gargano’s ongoing war with former tag partner Tommaso Ciampa will continue in a Street Fight, and Ricochet faces Velveteen Dream in a showdown NXT has dubbed “The King vs. The Prince“.
In championship action, Aleister Black defends his NXT Title against surging monster Lars Sullivan, Women’s Champ Shayna Baszler deals with someone immune to her mind-games in Nikki Cross, and Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly try to hold onto some of Undisputed ERA’s gold when they face Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch.
While you're waiting for the show to begin, dig into our predictions - as well as a preview of the entire card!
Kick your off your shoes, relax, and enjoy all the action with the best damn pro wrestling community on the interwebs. And remember to keep refreshing!
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WWE NXT TAKEOVER: CHICAGO 2 QUICK RESULTS
Undisputed ERA (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) def. Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan
Ricochet def. Velveteen Dream
Shayna Baszler def. Nikki Cross
Aleister Black def. Lars Sullivan
Tommaso Ciampa def. Johnny Gargano
WWE NXT TAKEOVER: CHICAGO 2 LIVE BLOG & MATCH COVERAGE
Luck is a lady whose smile is as cold as a stone. She’ll bring you things, many things you might never have known, but when your die is cast she’ll have the final laugh at you. She’ll lock you in a duel, where you come out the fool. Beware of the Queen of Spades, her black widow’s curse might find you yet-- but me? I’m just here to liveblog this here pro wrestling show, folks.
The show opens with a video package about pain.
Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan vs. Undisputed ERA (Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong) (c) (NXT Tag Team Championship)
Lorcan and Strong to start, Oney goes low but Roddy blocks and fends him off. Collar and elbow, side headlock, Lorcan shoots him off, up and over, leapfrog and Strong runs right into an uppercut! Tag to Burch, Roderick with a front chancery and he gets the tag to O’Reilly. Side headlock takeover, trap the arm, punches to the face but Danny stands up and punches his way out.
Off the ropes, drop down, boot to the face, drop down, leapfrog, Burch picks his leg out of mid-air! Strike exchange, tag to Lorcan, double whip into a double back elbow, Strong runs in and they suplex him onto his own partner! Stereo charges, lariats send the champs to the floor and the challengers are fired up! Undisputed regroup with Adam Cole at ringside before KOR gets back into it.
Kyle wants to fight on the mat, Oney’s not having it but Roddy’s distraction lets him get a leg kick in and take things to the corner. Pasting each other with hard strikes in the corner, shot off, shoulder block, drop down, wicked knee from Lorcan! Tag to Burch, Kyle fighting two for one but he gets cut down with stereo basement dropkicks! Running combinations on an interfering strong, missile dropkick into a kip-up and the Strong Style Brit is fired up!
Dumped to the floor, he catches a kick from O’Reilly but Roddy cuts him off and throws him into the apron. Stomp to the ribs, tag to Kyle, working Burch over in the corner, arm wringer to a shoulder armbreaker and then a Blue Thunder Driver transitioned seamlessly into a kneebar! Strong tags in, punching Danny’s head in before taunting Oney and hitting a backbreaker on Burch for two.
Drawing him up, short whip into the corner, tag to KOR and they chain charging strikes into another shoulder armbreaker attempt but Burch is back at it! Taken down by Kyle, wicked knees and punches, looking for the armbar but Danny blocks and gets a foot on the ropes for a break. Stomp to the head, smash into the corner, tag to Roderick and he and Burch trade forearms.
Big dropkick from Strong, only two, and he locks a top wristlock on to continue working the arm. Danny to his feet, Roddy with elbows, charging knee... NOBODY HOME! Back body drop connects and O’Reilly tags in, clearing the apron and following with Ax and-- CUT OFF WITH A HEADBUTT! Tags made, Lorcan in hot with punches and chops, off the ropes with a huge lariat! Again, uppercut, fending Kyle off with chops and a dropkick sends both men to the floor... TOPE CON ONEY!
Back inside, duck a lariat, half neson suplex into another running uppercut... NOT ENOUGH! Charging uppercuts, Undisputed try to come back, malfunction at the junction... double blockbuster! Tag made, assisted DDT... KYLE MAKES THE SAVE! Oney heads up top but he gets sent crashing to the floor by way of putting his back into the apron! Burch staggered, tag made, O’Reilly in with striking, Danny starts to recover, knee strikes, KOR gets him up... BRAINBUSTER CAN’T PUT DANNY BURCH AWAY!
Going for the armbar... HE’S GOT THE EXTENSION BUT BURCH WON’T GIVE AND FIGHTS TO THE ROPES TO FORCE A BREAK! Strong in, turning back suplex facebuster, KOR with a running knee... DANNY BURCH WON’T STAY DOWN! Tag made, setting him up, Burch blocks the finish with a headbutt, back body drop to the floor... ONEY’S BACK ON THE APRON! Tag made, double blockbuster to the floor, electric chair... UPPERCUT DOOMSDAY DEVICE BUT ADAM COLE PULLS KYLE OUT OF THE RING!
Referee DA Brewer throws Cole out! Burch tries to clutch Kyle but his arm gives out and by the time they switch Strong pulls him out of the ring! O’Reilly’s got a guillotine in but Lorcan won’t give up and turns it into a northern lights suplex! Charging in, boot to the face, Roddy tags in but eats a few uppercuts. Knee connects, Oney slips out of a suplex attempt, Tenryu powerbomb... INTO THE HALF-CRAB ON THE KICKOUT!
O’REILLY TRIES FOR THE SAVE BUT ONEY WON’T LET GO! KOR grabs the guillotine but Burch yanks him off and down into the arm-trap crossface! KYLE REPOSITIONS AND GETS ENOUGH UPKICKS TO KNOCK LORCAN OFF HIS PARTNER! All four men staggered and stumbling to their feet... WE’VE GOT A BRAWL! Burch gets knocked down but Oney has sweat-slinging slaps for Kyle, champs with a double-team Ax and Smash...
Undisputed ERA win by pinfall with their Total Elimination, retaining the NXT Tag Team Championship.
Undisputed celebrate their victory and leave, allowing Burch and Lorcan a moment to soak in the appreciation of the crowd.
We go backstage to see Lars Sullivan preparing for his match before cutting to Kairi Sane at ringside using a spyglass for, uh... pirate... reasons?
Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream
Staredown to start, sizing each other up, collar and elbow, Dream backs Ricochet into the corner and breaks clean with a flex befitting his Hulk Hogan-esque entrance gear. Ricochet with a waistlock, VD counters with an armbar, countered with headscissors and the King wrenches it in. Dream with an escape, back in, kip-up attempts to slip out again but he can’t quite get it.
Rolling around, side headlock, Ricochet to his feet, armbar, kneeling him down into a pin but Velveteen kicks out. Side headlock, VD shoots him off but Ricochet holds on and slides low to stop it. Dream reverses to one of his own, shot off, shoulder block, off the ropes, leapfrog, duck a lariat, headscissors takeover but Ricochet kips up out of the impact!
Duck a lariat, up and over, rolling through, handspring, nothing, another handspring and Ricochet lands staring at VD! Trading slaps, schoolboy gets one, waistlock, roll under a lariat, handspring headscissors into a dropkick and the King kips right back up! Headed up top, Dream knocks him to the floor and follows after, throwing him back in. Smashing his face into the turnbuckles, punching and stomping in the corner until referee Drake Wuertz backs him off.
Right back to pummeling him in the corner, Drake pulls him off and Velveteen scolds him for touching him before going back to Ricochet. Hot Shot, Rude Awakening... NOPE! Clubbing away, whip reversed, big back elbow from Ricochet but VD shoves him to the floor when he goes to capitalize. Off the ropes... STEP UP TOPE CON GIRO! Boxing his ears, rear chinlock applied but the King fights to his feet.
Dream takes him down into a reverse chinlock, Ricochet to his feet, trading forearms but VD collapses him with one. Off the ropes, desperate knee, a back elbow, trying to get himself together, block a punch, duck another, he dumps Velveteen to the floor and kicks him away. Back inside, pick the leg, duck the leg-feed enzuigiri, Dream picks the leg again but Ricochet throws him off.
Boots in the corner, rolling thunder dropkick sends VD to the floor, off the ropes... SUICIDE DIVE! Back in... CORKSCREW TOPE CON GIRO! Inside fully, Ricochet fired up, strikes in the corner, corner Tiger feint kick, springboard uppercut... only a nearfall! Whip, Dream has the back body drop scouted but Ricochet hits a running neckbreaker into a shooting star press for another nearfall!
Fireman’s carry, Benadryller denied, Ricochet heads up top but VD crotches him! Uppercut, climbing to meet him, jockeying for position and the King shoves him to the mat. Perching up top, Dream wakes up, Ricochet sidesteps to the apron and cuts him off! Climbing up with him but Velveteen gets a fireman’s carry... AVALANCHE DEATH VALLEY DRIVER! HE’S TOO SLOW ON THE PIN AND RICOCHET KICKS OUT!
Dream crawls back to the corner, climbs up top but Ricochet cuts him off and slaps him to the apron. Drawing him up... VELVETEEN DREAM SUPERPLEXES HIM TO THE FLOOR?! Referee Drake Wuertz begins counting... BOTH MEN IN AT THE BUZZER! Running low, trying to drag themselves to their feet, VD ducks a punch, hits the Death Valley Driver... RICOCHET AIN’T GOING AWAY LIKE THAT!
Back on their feet, trading punches, Dream going for his version of Dave Crist’s Square Compass DDT but Ricochet hits the northern lights! Looking to roll through... HIS BACK GIVES OUT! Trading kicks, uppercut, Dream moonsaults into something but Ricochet sidesteps and hits a lariat! Benadryller, his back’s still no good, Square Compass... NOT ENOUGH!
Disdainful slaps from Velveteen Dream, yelling at Ricochet that he belongs in a bingo hall... the King gets him up and hits a Death Valley Driver of his own! Headed up top, doing VD’s taunt... PURPLE RAINMAKER BUT DREAM KICKS OUT OF HIS OWN MOVE! He moves Velveteen into place and perches up top again but the younger man rolls away and he dismounts momentarily only to climb again... SHOOTING STAR PRESS HALFWAY ACROSS THE RING BUT THE KNEES WERE UP! VD’s cover comes up empty and he drags himself up top... NOBODY HOME ON THE COAST TO COAST PURPLE RAINMAKER!
In position...
Ricochet wins by pinfall with the 630 senton to Velveteen Dream’s back.
We go backstage where Tommaso Ciampa is sitting quietly on some road cases with hate in his heart.
Nikki Cross vs. Shayna Baszler (c) (NXT Women’s Championship)
Cross standing still as Baszler starts to get into and Nikki demands she take her shot! A leg kick has Cross on the mat and super excited and bouncing up and down charging in on all fours and getting into the champ’s head! Turning her back on Shayna, duck a lariat, and Nikki has a sleeper hold on! Baszler staggers but throws her off and grabs the Kirifuda Clutch in return only to get backed into the corner for a break.
Queen of Spades taking a breather, Penalty Kick from the apron comes up empty and Cross trips her up and traps her in the apron for elbows! Charging around, back to the sleeper hold... SENTON ON THE DIAMOND PLATE RAMP COUNTERS! Back inside, wristlock knee strike gets two, following up with mounted punches to the head, clawing at Nikki’s face before raking the bones of her forearm across her face!
Inverted chickenwing chinlock, Cross fights out with punches, but Baszler kicks her to the mat. Off the ropes, running knee, but Nikki’s fired up by it and asks for more! She gets another knee, catches the next one and lands a forearm to the jaw! Shayna fighting back into it with the Kirifuda Clutch but Nikki counters with a back suplex! Off the ropes, Lou Thesz Press into mounted punches!
Lariat, forearm, repeated stomps in the corner and referee DA Brewer counts for the break. Headed up top, Cross perches and hits a diving crossbody... NOPE! Following it up with an inverted DDT on the apron to the same effect, looking for the fisherman neckbreaker but Baszler slips out and comes off the ropes with another knee strike! Back to the Kirifuda Clutch, Nikki rams her into the corner, elevated dragon screw neck whip... SHAYNA HAS HER FOOT ON THE ROPES!
Crucifix pin, reversed, Kirifuda Clutch in the middle of the ring! Cross fighting, rolling, trying to find a way out but the champion has her locked down but the more she wrenches it in the more Nikki smiles until at long last she fades and DA has to call it...
Shayna Baszler wins by referee stoppage with the Kirifuda Clutch, retaining the NXT Women’s Championship.
We get a plug for the theme song for TakeOver: Chicago, as performed by current IWGP Intercontinental Championship Chris Jericho’s band.
EC3 is shown in the crowd, followed by LIMITLESS KEITH LEE HIMSELF! BASK IN HIS GLORY!
Aleister Black (c) vs. Lars Sullivan (NXT Championship)
Sullivan jaws and Black steps right up to him, calm in the face of his increasing agitation. Aleister unleashes a strike rush and they both go for their finishers early only to get blocked! Front kick to the arm, roundhouse kick to the head sends Lars to the floor and Black follows. Punches, float over a powerbomb... METEORA! Wild haymakers from Sullivan, Aleister back with a knee, only one!
Grinding him down with a Fujiwara armbar, Lars to his feet, shoves him off, kick gets a goozle, shove into the corner, sidestep the body avalanche, back body drop to the apron and Sullivan wrenches his arm to get him on his shoulder! Running through a lariat, body avalanche knocks the champ to the floor and Lars poses! Black reverses an attempt to ram him into the post, staggering the monstrous man.
Orihara moonsault... CAUGHT AND HE GETS DROPPED ONTO THE APRON! Shove into the barricade, back inside, corner body avalanche and a cocky two-hand pin gets two. Rear chinlock, crossface strike and Lars asks the crowd who the man is before going for another cover, reverse chinlock and Aleister fights to his feet and escapes with body blows only to be cut off with a knee.
Off the ropes, pop-up, slip out, looking for a leg pick but Sullivan blocks and hits a World’s Strongest Slam! More jawing from the intellectual leviathan, Black getting some weak forearms in before finding his footing and ducking a lariat... POP-UP POWERSLAM CAN’T QUITE WIN LARS THE TITLE! Sullivan heads up top but gets cut off with a Mafia kick!
Climbing to meet him, jockeying for position, overhead elbows from Aleister knock Lars to the apron where he’s able to to take Black’s legs out from under him and lariat him to the mat! Headed up top... DIVING HEADBUTT BUT ALEISTER GETS A KNEE UP! Sullivan pulls off clutching his jaw and Aleister capitalizes with charging elbows. Kick combo takes his leg out from under him, strike rush, roundhouse kick, QUEBRADA... NOT QUITE!
Lars blocks a kick but Black flips out, chop block, front kicks but the left leg gives out... SULLIVAN HAS A STANDING STRETCH MUFFLER IN, HOSSING THE NXT CHAMPION AROUND! BLACK REVERSES TO A PIN FOR TWO! Lars has him up... Freak Accident countered into a DDT! To the apron, kicks on kicks, but Sullivan finds another wind... POWERSLAM ON THE APRON!
Up top... diving headbutt can’t quite do it! Aleister gets a double stomp, Black Mass... LARS KICKS OUT! A second try, Sullivan catches it and drops him with a lariat! Freak Accident, float over, jumping knee... BLACK MASS! Black doesn’t capitalize, Lars has fight in him, Aleister squares up on him...
Aleister Black wins by pinfall with Black Mass to retain the NXT Championship.
Commentary hypes up Triple H’s Facebook Live post-show.
We go backstage where Johnny Gargano is walking in some sweet Captain America gear. Candice LeRae rolls up to give him a crutch and tells him to kick Ciampa’s ass.
Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (Chicago Street Fight)
Ciampa runs down with a crutch of his own and they clash before Gargano takes him down for mounted punches! Lariat over the ropes to the floor, superkick off the apron, Johnny with a somersault senton to the floor! A cravate tosses Tommaso over the announce table and he wipes Nigel McGuinness out! Fighting into the crowd, a fan screaming at Ciampa that he’s the devil as Gargano throws haymakers!
Ciampa gets a few shots of his own back in and fails to rip up a fan’s sign! Johnny takes it and hits him with it before tearing the paper off to reveal a stop sign! Repeated stop sign shots, Gargano climbs on a platform of some kind and hits a diving crossbody on the Sicilian Psychopath! Continuing to club away, Johnny throws Ciampa over the barricade and back to ringside.
Tommaso back in the ring, Gargano goes under for some plunder, retrieving a trash can, its lid, and a steel chair. Attempted lid shot, Ciampa counters with a German suplex and stomps his head against the chair! Johnny throwing wild punches that become lariats only to get caught with another German! Holding the waistlock, a third connects and a fourth, but a standing switch gets Gargano the fifth!
Ciampa to the floor, Johnny Wrestling runs the ropes... SUICIDE DIVE! Throwing Tom into the steel steps, looking for plunder and he gets clocked with the knee! Ram into the barricade, Ciampa rearranges the steel steps to his liking before following up with a stomp to the head as a glassy-eyed Gargano tries to get his bearings. Throwing another trash can around, getting a second chair and lid, he rams the top of the chair into Johnny’s midsection!
Horse collaring it around his neck, right hands to stagger the former Open the Freedom Gate champion... HE RAMS JOHNNY CHAIR FIRST INTO THE STEPS TO ATTACK THE INJURED NECK! A trash can to the back follows and he presses Gargano’s head agains the steps for punches before hurling the trash can at him! Back inside, Tommaso takes his shirt off and chokes Johnny with it!
Overhead elbow, stomp to the midsection, face to the turnbuckle and kicks to the midsection, Ciampa completely dominating the match as he slingshots Gargano face-first into the bottom turnbuckle! Tom gets a pair of handcuffs out from under the ring but Gargano manages to stop him from locking them on and hits the Superman Spear! Johnny takes his belt off and whips Ciampa like a mule!
He loads the belt around his fist and cracks Tommaso across the face with it! Trash can on his dome... BASEMENT SUPERKICK! Wedging the can in the corner between turnbuckles, Johnny hoists him up for the Lawn Dart but it’s countered with a rake of the eyes! PROJECT CIAMPA INTO A LID-ASSISTED KNEE STRIKE BUT JOHNNY’S STILL FIGHTING! Another knee with the lid in place against the ropes and Johnny Wrestling is down and out on the apron.
Ciampa looks to get him up, Gargano slips out with overhead eblows, raining down on his ear, Tom gets him up... AIR RAID CRASH INTO THE STEEL STEPS! NOT ENOUGH! Back under the ring for more plunder, Ciampa pulls out a toolbox before grabbing a set of bolt cutters... HE’S GONNA DISMANTLE THE RING! He cuts the ropes securing the canvas and peels it back to expose the foam underneath!
Tearing up the foam next... THE BOARDS ARE EXPOSED! Chairshot to the back to keep Gargano down as he finishes up and he then perches Johnny up top, biting his ear for good measure! Climbing up with him, getting underneath him, Air Raid Crash... COUNTERED INTO A SUNSET FLIP ATTEMPT! Tom blocks, Gargano adjusts and tucks Ciampa’s head into the turnbuckles... CHEEKY NANDO’S!
Both men on their knees, trading punches as they rise inexorably to their feet and Johnny wins the exchange only to get kicked in the face! Enzuigiri connects, trash can lid shot for superkick... JOHNNY WALLOPS HIM WITH THE TRASH CAN LID AND NEARLY ENDS IT HERE AND NOW! Tom to the floor, Gargano thinking plancha... TRASH CAN LID TO THE FACE CUTS HIM OFF IN MID-AIR!
Running knee... JOHNNY DODGES AND CIAMPA PUTS HIS SURGICALLY REPAIRED KNEE INTO THE STEEL STEPS! Rolling inside, Tommaso tries to loosen his knee brace but Gargano’s right on him, blood in the water! Chair shots to the knee, driving the hard edge of the backrest into the damaged tissue! Tom kicks him away and back-first into the trash can wedged in the corner before locking his own Gargano Escape on!
Johnny facding but he’s able to get the crutch so Ciampa tries to reverse to a crutch-assisted STF, breaking before he gets it on all the way to rain forearms down on the back of his neck! Finally loosening the brace, he hits another knee but nearly crumbles from the force of his own impact! Crutch in hand, he clobbers him in the back of the neck... GARGANO IS STILL IN THE FIGHT!
Dumping Johnny Wrestling to the floor, the Sicilian Psychopath takes his time, staring thoughtfully at a man he once called brother before heading to carry him up the ramp, reminding him that they traveled the world together and Johnny did this to himself, that he needs to say bye to Candice and to his career before ramming him neck-first into the LED board... RUNNING KNEE!
BUT IT’S NOT ENOUGH HE SAYS! He drags Johnny over to a production table, climbing some stacked road cases and dragging Gargano to his knees, pulling his wedding ring off and spitting on it... HE THREW IT AWAY! JOHNNY GET TO HIS FEET... AIR RAID CRASH OFF THE ROAD CASES AND THROUGH THE TABLES! Referee Eddie Orengo calls for medics! They come down and put Ciampa in a neck brace as Johnny looks on sitting on the road cases.
A stretcher comes down and they load Tommaso on it as he screams in agony. Johnny examines the spot where his wedding ring used to sit as they strap him in and go to take him out... BUT JOHNNY WRESTLING ISN’T DONE YET, OH NO! HE RUNS OUT AFTER THEM AND THROWS A TRAINER INTO ORENGO! HE DRAGS THE STRETCHER TO RINGSIDE, UNSTRAPPING HIM AND THROWING HIM OFF OF IT!
Back into the ring, Ciampa dead weight in his hands, Johnny yanks the neck brace off... GARGANO ESCAPE! HE TAPS BUT THERE’S NO REF AND SECURITY PULL JOHNNY OFF! GARGANO FIGHTS THEM OFF AND HANDCUFFS TOMMASO’S HANDS BEHIND HIS BACK AS CIAMPA PLEADS FOR HIS LIFE! SUPERKICKS WITH NO DEFENSE! HALF A DOZEN OF THEM! CROSSFACE APPLIED, CIAMPA TAPPING AGAIN BUT NO ONE’S HERE TO COUNT IT!
MORE SECURITY PULL JOHNNY OFF AGAIN INCLUDING STEVE CORINO! JOHNNY TAKES THEM OUT AND COMES BACK OVER... TOMMASO DDTS HIM ON THE EXPOSED BOARDS! IT’S OVER!
Tommaso Ciampa wins by pinfall with a DDT on the exposed boards of the ring.
Corino and referees tend to Johnny Gargano and his beleagured neck as referee Eddie Orengo checks on Ciampa, a grin playing across his face as it dawns on him what he’s achieved. He leaves using the stretcher to hold himself up and we cut over to see that Candice LeRae is in the ring checking on Johnny. Ciampa waves a demented goodbye to them.
That’s the show, folks.