Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Balor

NXT TakeOver February 16

Balor held Gargano on the mat with a head scissors and did some push ups. Mat wrestling would continue for the next few minutes with Gargano controlling until Balor could work in some strikes.

Gargano speared Balor on the apron and then rammed him into the barricade. Gargano went to do a running dropkick through the barricade, but Balor saw it coming and hit a sling blade on the floor.

Balor focused on Gargano’s knee for the next portion of the match. When Gargano made his comeback, Balor caught him attempting a suicide dive. Balor went for the 1916 on the floor, but Gargano shoved him into the steps and hit a rolling senton from the apron to the floor.

Johnny sent Finn into he corner with a lawn dart, but Finn answered with a pele kick. With Gargano draped over the second rope, Finn went for a coup de grace, but Gargano moved and hit Balor with a swinging DDT. Gargano and Balor traded blows and Balor nearly hit coup de grace, but Johnny evaded and moments later had Finn in the Gargano escape. Finn made it out of the Gargano escape once and Johnny went right back to it until Balor rolled to the ropes and then to the outside.

When Gargano went to use the announce table, Balor countered and tossed Gargano on the table instead. Finn then climbed up on the English announce table ran at Gargano and drop kicked him off the Spanish table. After Finn tossed Gargano back in the ring, he hit the coup de grace and then the 1916 DDT for the pinfall victory.

Match Ratings

Six dimensions combine to make up the overall rating. Matches score ratings of 1-10 only if the match lasts for a minimum of 5 minutes.

1. Match Quality– Was the match well wrestled or sloppy?
2. Audience Engagement– Did the live audience care about the match?
3. Competitiveness– Was the match competitive or one-sided?
4. Stakes – Did the match matter?
5. Finish– Did the match end in a satisfying manner?
6. Performance: (1) Poor (2) Below Average (3) Average (4) Above Average (5) Excellent