On on Sun., June 7, Johnny Gargano headed out of his house (after paying tribute to Dok Hendrix, natch) and into his match with North American champion Keith Lee at TakeOver: In Your House.
Is this your king? #NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/SHABlbHrEu
— Italo Santana (@BulletClubIta) June 7, 2020
Gargano made sure to bring his keys with him, the first time we were reminded about the injuries the challenger inflicted on the champ on last Wednesday’s go home show. Lee - resplendent in Black Lives Matter trunks - dominated at the outset, and even sent Johnny running for the door. That gave us a clever shot from the home security camera as The Limitless One battered Gargano outside the ring.
.@JohnnyGargano can knock at the all he wants... There's no escaping @RealKeithLee! #NXTTakeOver: In Your House pic.twitter.com/1jg99JvF1T
— WWE (@WWE) June 7, 2020
But back in the ring, Johnny took control by targeted both the eye and hand injuries he gave the champ a few days ago. The left hand he’d crushed in the ring steps was a particular focus, and saved Gargano from Lee’s comebacks and power moves.
Johnny’s best moves seemed to be come when he rolled out after a big slam. Not only did he prevent a cover, but he lured Lee to the floor where he nailed him with a DDT. But due to the champion’s advantage, Gargano needed to get the much larger man back in the ring. He couldn’t, and instead chose to distract the referee to stall the count. That gave Keith a chance to recover and POUNCE Johnny through the ringside plexiglass.
Wait for it.... #NXTTakeOver @RealKeithLee @JohnnyGargano pic.twitter.com/2CyRWsucuB
— WWE (@WWE) June 8, 2020
The champ was carrying Gargano back to the ring when Candice LeRae showed up. Mia Yim cancelled her out, but the distraction allowed Johnny to key Lee in the eye once again. Neither that nor stomping on the injured left hand again could keep the Limitless One down though. Two Spirit Bombs and a Big Bang Catastrophe ended Gargano’s night.
For a complete rundown of everything that happened in Orlando tonight, head to our live blog here.