Everyone will know Velveteen Dream’s name after his epic war with Aleister Black at NXT TakeOver: WarGames. The only problem for the rising young Superstar is that he was unable to claim victory in a sensational showdown against the Dutch destroyer.
For weeks, Dream had been stalking Black, trying to get the shadowy Superstar to say his name and acknowledge The Velveteen Dream Experience. The dynamic competitor gave Black arguably his toughest fight to date in NXT – an especially impressive feat considering this was Dream’s first TakeOver bout – but when the contest concluded, Dream had faded to black.
The prolific Dream started the mind games before the bell even rang, wearing his opponent’s face on his wrestling tights. Dream soon found out why Black is so dangerous, as the notoriously dangerous striker used his mat-wrestling expertise to ground his adversary.
The mind games between these two rivals continued as Black went into his trademark sitting pose after dumping Dream from the ring. In response, Dream swayed his hips a la WWE Hall of Famer Rick Rude before sitting across from Black and mirroring his pose. Black, in return, then crawled seductively over to Dream, mimicking the flashy competitor’s usual maneuver.
As the fierce foes once again engaged in battle, Dream showed off his offensive prowess, hitting a vicious superkick followed by a Rude Awakening. Despite Dream’s impressive Rude-inspired assault, Black managed to battle back with his devastating kicks.
Both supremely talented Superstars continued to trade high-impact maneuvers to the delight of the NXT Universe in Houston. The crowd roared in approval with each acrobatic counter and jaw-dropping move, and Dream came within a millisecond of handing Black his first-ever loss in NXT on multiple occasions.
Eventually, though, with Dream struggling to stay on his feet, Black delivered Black Mass to the jaw of the spectacular Superstar, keeping him down for the three-count.
Ironically, despite ending up on the losing end of the contest, Dream got just what he wanted … Black to say his name. After winning the bout, the usually silent Black took the mic and proclaimed, “Enjoy infamy, Velveteen Dream.” While Black’s run of dominance through NXT continued, TakeOver: WarGames just might be remembered as the night Velveteen Dream made a name for himself.