3. NXT North American Championship – Six-Man Ladder Match – EC3 vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Ricochet vs. Adam Cole
Kicking off this week is possibly the greatest and most unique ladder match in the history of professional wrestling and I’m putting it third on this list. These six guys, two of whom are making their on-screen NXT match debut (or re-debut in EC3’s case), left everything out there at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.
The story of the bout was brilliant, with three distinct feuds stretching across the competitors. Firstly was the debuting Ricochet against Velveteen Dream who have been going back and forth on Twitter recently due to Dream not appreciating the indie darling’s presence in his company. These two had some incredible moments throughout the match but Dream’s signature Rolling Death Valley Driver on Ricochet across a suspended ladder to chants of “please don’t die” was a thing of beauty.
Second, is the age-old classic “I’m a scarier monster than you are” feud going on between Killian Dain and Lars Sullivan who had a great spot during the bout where they took it in turns to see who could throw Ricochet the furthest… Dain won, in case you were wondering. Later in the match, they also took it in turns to see who was the best at murdering two people at the same time with a ladder assistance… for my money, Dain won again.
The final of the three feuds was the interesting cocky heel vs. cocky heel dynamic of Adam Cole and EC3. The pair began the bout with an allegiance, teaming up to incapacitate Lars Sullivan with a ladder. EC3 cracked the ice, however, by trying to emulate Cole’s signature chant but using his own name instead… needless to say, it didn’t go down well and Cole decided to throw a superkick party and received one of the night’s largest crowd ‘pops’ to show his foe how it’s done.
This was pure and simple carnage from start to finish with the big men using their smaller foes as tools to destroy ladders, Dream making it rain purple from the high heavens, and Ricochet telling everyone that he is truly the ‘One and Only’ by pulling out a Springboard Shooting Star Press to the outside as well as turning a ladder tip spot into a Moonsault.
I only have two complaints about this match. The first is that, for me, EC3 didn’t impress as much as I had hoped he would. There were a few great spots from him such as a TKO on Cole from half-way up a ladder, and him Powerbombing Dream into another that was propped up in the corner. Unfortunately, he spent most of the bout taking bumps and even though I suppose someone had to – why not one of the heels? – I just don’t think he was destined to shine in this match.
My other complaint is that every time Lars Sullivan was alone in the ring and began to climb for victory, the crowd would immediately “boo” him and it came across as a legitimate “you don’t deserve this” heckle as opposed to a ‘kayfabe’ one, especially as they would cheer for other heels when they made their ascensions. Sullivan deserved to be there and although I agree that he shouldn’t win the NXT North American Championship, it’s because he doesn’t need it, not because he doesn’t deserve it.
In the end, though, the right man won and I can’t wait to see where this all leads in the future. It’s also worth noting that this match received the full five stars from Dave Meltzer in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter which means all six of these men have bagged the coveted five stars from ‘Uncle Dave’ before Daniel Bryan… what a world we live in.
6 years ago by Wrestle Talk
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