NXT is like three shows away from Bruce Prichard coming out and rebooting everything. Still though, TakeOver always has a great atmosphere and usually ends up a fun show – this was no different, though like a lot of them over the last year it lacked the excitement and buzz of NXT past. It’s less, “Oh my god the future is bright!” and more “Ah, WWE got a hold of it. OK. I’ll enjoy it for what it is. Yup.”
Pre-show gonna pre-show. Not sure if I should be impressed or creeped out how seamlessly Sam Roberts has adapted to becoming a WWE Network pitch man. No Way Jose getting attacked at WrestleMania Axxess to setup a mystery partner was a nice hook. Thought the approach of saying Aleister Black WAS Tommy End and is now just crazy was interesting. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce are heading towards something awesome: “Are you STILL here?” “A PANT. SUIT.” New championships! In briefcases! NEAT!
5-Hour Energy was just Straight Shootin’ on Rockstar, Monster, and Red Bull. As a longtime Red Bull nut, here’s a tip: start drinking coffee ASAP. Cream if you need it, but embrace the blackness. Don’t look back.
1. Tye Dillinger, No Roderick Strong, Ruby Riot & X (Kassius Ohno) vs. SAnitY (Eric Young, Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe & Nikki Cross)
Even SAnitY gets a reaction at TakeOver! Masks and black eye shadow – you are not The Shield, but nice touch. This was a fun multi-man opener… didn’t re-invent the wheel and didn’t need to. Fun spots, high energy, moved fast, Kassius punching people, Ruby Riot showcase, a couple hot tags, build to the Tye Dillinger/Eric Young showdown… good stuff. A few highlights for me were Ohno’s punch after Wolfe’s goofy moshing, Nikki’s screams of NOOO as Ohno bent Wolfe’s fingers, Roddy’s hot tag run, and Young’s desire to just bump his head off – some real classics by that guy here. Enjoyed hearing the WWE fan archetype colliding – DA-MO chants vs. SHAVE YOUR BACK! Thought they could’ve milked Tye getting his shot at Young a bit better, though the hot tagwas pretty cool. This was another fun TakeOver opener in a long line of them. ***1/4
2. Aleister Black vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas
This, meanwhile, was another solid TakeOver debut in a long line of them. The Black entrance was cool – sweet theme too. Nice struggles for control early, Nigel hard-selling Black’s background, Almas being a cock. A much better look at who Tommy End is than the UK tourney match – this is a tattooed, moonsaulting, kicking motherfucker. The Lionsault > indian-style sit spot is a winner. Wasn’t big on the powerbomb catch off the top by Black leading to the submission from Almas. Some douchebag in the crowd taking away heat from the finish was kinda crap, but dug the “picking him up with his boot” setup for it. Almas doesn’t really work in the CJ Parker/Tyler Breeze spot; I’m not sure he works in NXT period. Solid match though. **3/4
3. Triple Threat Elimination Match – NXT Tag Team Title: The Authors of Pain [c] w/ Paul Ellering vs. #DIY vs. The Revival
This was a ton of fun, like a TLC without ladders or chairs. A great car-crash type of match, tons of big spots all paced out really well with a positively batty crowd. Liked the theme of #DIY and Revival having to team up against AoP, then each team deserting the other when it came time for a tag to take on AoP. AoP just throwing Gargano into the Ciampa tope is always a good spot. Table spot on Rezar was put over huge, and dug the stuff with everyone surrounding Akam until Rezar just forced his way through. The superplex to the outside felt like a great climax to everything. Then Razar just clotheslining Dawson after it and finishing off Ciampa was great. “My god I’m glad I retired” – nice Nigel. Lost a little steam when #DIY left, but also ended pretty quickly after that. ****
4. NXT Women’s Title: Asuka [c] vs. Ember Moon
Would’ve been nice if they built up Ember Moon a bit more before the title match, but thought her vs. Asuka did a better job of putting her over than anything NXT has done so far. This was good stuff… pretty compact at 12 minutes, but established Ember as an equal and Asuka as a conniving shit. Lots of Ember proving herself to be equal early on. Asuka remains the best wrestler in the world that nobody talks about because she wrestles like once a quarter. Those BACKFISTS!!! The slap-off!!! Then, Asuka pushes the ref to avoid the Eclipse and wins. Not the epic showdown it could’ve been, but a good solid match. ***
Drew McIntyre Shown in the Crowd
Let me tell you something about Drew McIntyre. When he debuted, I wasn’t into it. Like, in retrospect, the push was good, and he was relatively competent… but it hit me in a match he had with John Morrison for the IC Title – WTF is this guy’s deal? What does he even DO? What about him is interesting? Why is HE the Chosen One? And that was probably the point, but still: in-ring, he was kind of a total bore. At the same time, he had the tools. He had the potential. And everybody knows he is sexy as fuck. So, with a little bit of sarcasm the 1053 Ridge crew before happywrestlingland.com existed started a blog: Fire Drew McIntyre. Still up at Blogspot, actually. The tagline was: Because we have no idea what we’re talking about. Because yeah we thought Drew sucked, and we liked Daniel Bryan! CM Punk! Ring of Honor!!! But we also knew we had no fucking clue. And then, as soon as Drew rose up… he was brought down. And down. And down. And then he got like, kind of good. Great matches with Rey Mysterio, Chris Masters. U enjoyed the brief tag team with Cody. And then… he kept going down. And then he joined 3MB. And then… he got fired. Like, he actually got fired. It actually happened. Like – WHAT!!?!? So, he did everything you are supposed to do when you got fired – he got buzz, he got better. And now he’s back, and that’s cool. And I hope he kicks some life into this fucking brand. But that is always the hope, isn’t it? Tough break for NXT that the most interesting thing on this show was this. Still though, cool nonetheless. I just hope NXT isn’t … cue theme music OUT OF TIME…..
5. NXT Title: Bobby Roode [c] vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Bobby Roode and Shinsuke Nakamura are two guys good at working characters. I think they can both succeed on the main roster. The first few minutes of a Nak or Roode match with the SHTICK~! are great. But for some reason, everybody decides: hey this is a big title match. How ’bout you go 25 more fuckin’ minutes? And that’s fine if you can. I just don’t think these guys can. I liked the first match they had because it was a crafty vet finding a way to beat the all-powerful God and King of Strong Style Shinsuke Nakamura. So this more than anything just felt unnecessary. It was just a solid match. And a solid match main eventing a TakeOver means it kind of stunk as a match. Like, I’d be willing to listen to an argument about it being a throwback to an old school title match… but be better at that too, ya fuckers. **1/2
There was some good wrestling here, but a weak main event and the continuous dwindling of THE BRAND really hurt it. The status quo remains the same, outside of McIntyre showing up. A fun night at the matches, but rarely got a feel of elation from this. Even if there was some good stuff, the disappointments of NXT in 2017 felt like they came to a head here. 5/10
