Ricochet vs. Johnny Gargano official for NXT TakeOver: Phoenix
Another title match is official for NXT TakeOver: Phoenix.
Via a tweet from William Regal, WWE announced on Wednesday that Ricochet will defend his North American Championship against Johnny Gargano at TakeOver: “At #NXTTakeOver Phoenix, @KingRicochet will defend his North American Championship against @JohnnyGargano.”
Gargano defeated Humberto Carrillo in a match that aired on this week’s episode of NXT television. After he won, Gargano looked into the camera and challenged Ricochet to show up on next week’s episode.
The storyline for Ricochet vs. Gargano began on the final NXT TV of 2018. NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa suggested that, instead of going after Ciampa’s title, Gargano should challenge for the North American Championship. While saying he wasn’t aligning with Ciampa again, Gargano set his sights on Ricochet’s title and cut a promo the next week vowing to become a champion in 2019. Gargano said he still wants the NXT Championship and called Ciampa a “piece of trash.”
Gargano laid out Ricochet with a cheap shot in an angle on last week’s NXT TV.
This is the fourth match to be confirmed for TakeOver: Phoenix. Ciampa will defend the NXT Championship against Aleister Black at the event, Bianca Belair is challenging for Shayna Baszler’s NXT Women’s Championship, and Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong are defending their Tag Team titles against War Raiders.
TakeOver: Phoenix is taking place at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday, January 26.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.