Match of the Night – NXT Takeover: War Games “Aleister Black vs. Velveteen Dream”

It’s Survivor Series Weekend and that seems as good of a time as any to introduce our newest Wrestling blog feature. Match of the Night where Wrestling Fan (and host of multiple podcasts) Matt Kelly discusses the Match of the Night from the previous night of Wrestling. We kick off from NXT Takeover: War Games and the match between Aleister Black and Velveteen Dream.

 

It’s typically a given that NXT takeover is good. Last night was no exception. As it’s been with Takeover’s of the past, it’s tough to pick a “bad match”. Usually the worst match of the night is still a 3.5 to 4 star match. Last night saw a title change, the crowning of a new NXT Women’s champion and a jaw-dropping War Games match full of great spots, blood, compete destruction and Adam Cole living up to all his hype. However the best match of the night saw Aleister Black defeat the Velveteen Dream.

The build to this match is one of the best in a long time. Black was dope, always. But he really had no solid storyline backing him. He was just a bad ass dude who wrecked house and took names. Then we have Velveteen Dream. He (Patrick Clark) has been in developmental for years and when I saw his world Goldust meets Prince gimmick I didn’t know what to think.

Multiple wrestlers (Ric Flair and Bruce Prichard come to mind) have always stated there is no bad gimmick as long as the wrestler gives it 100%. While I think there are plenty of examples where this is not the case, Clark has really made the Velveteen Dream a great and memorable character.

I was hype for this match, but I had no preparation for how great it would be. Every element of it represented everything I love about wrestling. You have to larger than life characters ripped straight out of a warped comic book, tons of outrageous movements and a compelling story (regardless how silly the story may feel). Even though there were a few awkward moments where moves could have been sold a little better it didn’t distract or affect the overall flow of the match.

The catalyst of the storyline is so dumb it borders on brilliant. Dream just wants Black to say his name. It’s bizarre and stupid but by both performers committing 110% to the bit this silly concept ends up coming off quite dark and at times disturbing. The match is a heavy hitter filled with brilliant moves and hard hits but the highlight was a moment than involved the bare minimum of movement.

Mid-match Black throws Dream from the ring and then charges, however instead of jumping the ropes as you’ve become accustomed to he bounces off the ropes and lands indian style in the ring and just stares at Dream. Instead of attacking, Dream sits Indian style and locks eyes with him. At the end of the match, after winning… Black congratulates Dream and in doing so finally says his name. It’s hard to not think that the eye locking moment was the second that Dream earned Black’s respect.

The match is fun and worth watching but there’s one thing that truly steals the show. Velveteen Dream’s tights. Throwing a total homage to Rick Rude he reveals a pair of tights that have his face airbrushed on the front with his name across the top. It’s everything you need to see to understand the character.

NXT has had a real struggle in the past making the main-roster fans care about their more eccentric characters. Tyler Breeze, Vaudevillians and to an extent Finn Balor have not lived up to the MASSIVE popularity they had in development and I think a large portion can be blamed on the main-roster fans not knowing how to feel about these characters. Velveteen Dream is the first one in a long time that I think will do exactly what he’s supposed to. Patrick Clark still has a lot of a work to do to be main roster ready but if last night was any indication he’s going to be just fine when he gets there.