The final match of TakeOver: Stand & Deliver had so much bad blood pumping through its heart that security was present to keep the competitors apart until the bell rang.
Former Undisputed ERA teammates Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly spent the last several weeks trying to “end” one another, and when they were left alone for their Unsanctioned Match at Capitol Wrestling Center on April 8 they didn’t waste any time focusing on that goal.
Cole was more successful at the jump, not too surprising considering O’Reilly wasn’t (kayfabe) medically cleared to compete. The former NXT champion inflicting punishment on KOR’s neck made him an even more sympathetic figure that he was already was after Cole turned on his brothers.
This is hard to watch, on so many levels. #NXTTakeOver @AdamColePro @KORcombat pic.twitter.com/59o3OYXMUf
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) April 9, 2021
Kyle eventually got plenty of opportunities to put the hurt his former friend of course...
Take a seat, @AdamColePro. #NXTTakeOver @KORcombat pic.twitter.com/OJTDrKp7Ds
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) April 9, 2021
... and while he was in the driver’s seat, O’Reilly introduced a weapon that would be used in a number of creative ways. A steel chain added to KOR’s kicks, and was used by Cole to clothesline Kyle and stop a comeback. Big spots and nearfalls followed as the drama headed into its third act.
Shining Wizard spells brutal pain for @KORcombat. #NXTTakeOver @AdamColePro pic.twitter.com/n3r0gru7WL
— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) April 9, 2021
When Kyle had an opportunity to perhaps actually end Cole on the steel steps, he paused. O’Reilly’d said he was a different man than he was during the height of the ERA’s heel run, and it looked like would cost him. It wasn’t long after he offered Cole a reprieve that he had a flat screen smashed into his face.
The violence continued, and involved a tire iron and lots of chairs. When Cole went to Pillmanize O’Reilly’s neck, the referee tried to convince him to show some mercy. So the Panama City Playboy knocked out the ref before hitting Panama Sunrise on Kyle. No one was there to count three though.
An #UnsanctionedMatch means NO RULES, and, right now, that also means NO REFEREE. #NXTTakeOver @AdamColePro @KORcombat pic.twitter.com/IBLcU0eV8x
— WWE (@WWE) April 9, 2021
With no one there to stop them, the action spilled to the outside - and through and under the ramp.
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) April 9, 2021
Bravo, @AdamColePro & @KORcombat. We thought we had seen EVERYTHING; we were wrong. #NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/quVmCpt12x
In typical NXT main event “epic” fashion, the match continued for many minutes, and callbacks, and false finishes. It wasn’t until KOR hit a low blow on the top turnbuckle, wrapped his knee in the steel chain and dropped it onto Cole’s neck to drive his face into a steel chair that it finally ended.
No disrespect to two guys who will probably be feeling this one for years to come, and there are clearly folks who want O’Reilly and Cole to “fight forever” even after Kyle raised his hand in victory.
The #WWENXT Universe is STANDING on their feet because @KORcombat & @AdamColePro just DELIVERED an incomparable #UnsanctionedMatch at #NXTTakeOver: Stand & Deliver! pic.twitter.com/ZEul0JWD6B
— WWE (@WWE) April 9, 2021
But we sure have seen this kind of match a lot from the black-and-gold brand at this point. Your mileage may vary.
For a complete rundown of everything that happened on Night Two of TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, check out our live blog here.