In the last match of the NXT television taping at Full Sail Live tonight (Jan. 30), Velveteen Dream challenged Johnny Gargano for the North American title.
This was a surprise. Not that this match would happen, but that it would happen so soon. Even though it probably won’t air until Feb. 20 or 27, Gargano just won the belt from Ricochet this past Saturday at TakeOver: Phoenix. To get the NA championship match, Dream used his Worlds Collide tournament victory. That was filmed during Royal Rumble Axxess last weekend, but won’t air until this upcoming Saturday (Feb. 2). And both men will be wrestling in Sunday’s live Halftime Heat match.
Perhaps that’s why the end of the match left some in attendance and following along via social media confused. And that may even have been the plan, to mess with those sharing and consuming spoilers. It’s possible, but the majority of people tweeting from Full Sail seem to think this was the official finish:
The Velveteen Boyhood Dream HAS COME TRUE! @VelveteenWWE is my champion. #NXTFSLive pic.twitter.com/rosiWebwd5
— Kyle (@FLWrestlingFan) January 31, 2019
Big #NXTFSLive news: Velveteen Dream is your new North American champion, beating Johnny Gargano in the main event of Wednesday's tapings. Another spectacular match. Gargano stole the belt from Dream and left with it, posing with fellow champ Tommaso Ciampa to end the night. pic.twitter.com/NxBEMPxyKl
— Jay Reddick (@runninjay) January 31, 2019
As the Orlando Sentinel’s Jay Reddick says, after Dream celebrated as new North American champ, Gargano returned to take the belt and end the night with a familiar scene:
Scoop #49: During Dream’s Celebration, Gargano attack’s him pic.twitter.com/bVIp3YoxSu
— Jacob Cohen (@MrJacobCohen) January 31, 2019
Or is it “AND STILL”?! #NXTFSLive pic.twitter.com/KHOrSVonmY
— Will Henderson (@willh94) January 31, 2019
As you can see by Will’s tweet, no one is 100% sure what happened. Is Velveteen Dream the rightful North American champ, while his belt has been stolen by Johnny Delusion? Or have Triple H and team filmed Bandersnatch style so as to not give away this weekend’s shows and keep us guessing?
WE GOT DOUBLE FINISHED???? Like Johnny came back out and they reshot the finish and I ?????? #NXTFSLive #NXTFULLSAIL pic.twitter.com/A2dh9VGD2h
— Tarra (@Tarratastic) January 31, 2019
People are saying that Johnny just stole the belt but then another says that the finish was re-shot and that Johnny is champion still. Can someone who was in attendance confirm what the truth is?! #NXTFSLive #NXTFullSail
— Kelsey (@iAmKelsey91) January 31, 2019
Based on Gargano’s character arc the last few months, I’m guessing he lost and can’t accept it. But even then, I’m not sure why Dream would cash in on the secondary title, or why they’d film this when they know it would be spoiled?
I guess we’ll have to watch to see exactly what happens and what the story is... what a concept!
For more from the tapings tonight, click here. For full Worlds Collide results, click here. To find out what happens at Halftime Heat, you’ll have to watch live, cause its live.