1. NXT North American Title: Keith Lee [c] vs. Dominik Dijakovic
Pro wrestling is about spectacle, right? That’s why it’s Happy Wrestling Land and not Sad Wrestling Land. The spectacle makes us happy. I know there’s an artwork to timing and pulling off this type of thing, but the human in me just wants to sit back and watch two grizzly bears batting their claws at each other and occasionally doing a Skytwister Press or something.
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The everlasting touring rivalry finally got a TakeOver match and it delivered. The freaks of nature showed it all off – Dijakovic jump, Keith Lee strong. If I’m putting on my Jay Sherman hat the in-between can use a little work as far as seeming like a fight but I did like Lee’s little elbows to Dijakovic’s back that he kept throwing between the crazy.
The crowd gave Dijakovic’s big Cyclone kick NOTHING, but his springboard plancha to Lee seated in a chair (!) would’ve made even Mitsuharu Misawa get out of his seat. And that Spirit Bomb near fall – holy cow. Kayfabe is alive. ****1/4
2. Street Fight: Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai
Street Fight’s in the World Wrestling Federation are always going to have cute stuff in them like cricket bats beneath the ring and stunts delivered for the benefit of a nearby camera, but this was as close as we might get to a chaotic brawl in this generation of the WWF. It felt a little like Becky vs. Sasha at Hell in a Cell actually, like it’s time for the women to come in and re-invent the stale WWE gimmick match by just being absolute violent psychopaths.
Tegan Nox was committing and bumping here like the greatest wrestler there ever was. Dakota Kai’s little lift of Nox to the apron followed by the trash can lid shot was brilliant too. Wish Tegan didn’t try to kill Dakota – felt a little unnecessary – but otherwise this hit. Also, “Oh my god, it’s Raquel Gonzalez!” – c’mon, Beth. C’mon, WWE. ****
3. Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Balor
This went from vaguely annoying to undeniably great. Balor kept on the Gargano leg so hard I thought Mauro would make at least one reference to Oscar 2020 Best Picture Parasite, but it wasn’t to be. Sometimes I think there aren’t a lot of surprises left in the Gargano and Balor match, but then they do a bunch of cool setups and twists on their signature moves that reminds me they still think deeply about this stuff. ****
4. NXT Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley [c] vs. Bianca Belair
Well, the WWE Performance Center has produced at least two good wrestlers. The early stuff was really impressive, as they took it slow which could’ve easily died after the three matches that preceded it, but they pulled it off. They brought the big fight holds, a slap-off, and Rhea looked mad as hell anytime she missed something – it’s little things like that that I love about pro wrestling.
Eventually they were heading towards a finish that had the crowd chanting “WOMEN’S WRESTLING” which is a nice show of appreciation but maybe also a little condescending. There were a few no-sell spots and finisher counters at the end that felt like were trying to get noticed by STARDOM, and a back body drop to the floor that felt like they were trying to go viral.
Between the Black History Month cape and parents in the front row I really thought Belair had this in the bag, but nothing beats Charlotte Flair. Great stuff with a finish that just kind of happened. ***3/4
5. NXT Tag Team Title: Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish [c] vs. The BroserWeights (Pete Dunne & Matt Riddle)
It appears Misawa and Kawada have smoked some weed.
I kid, but maybe not? Welcome to a confusing but amazing tag match, a meteor shower of crazy wrestling with work Katsuyori Shibata would approve of in between. It began with Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne entering with their trophy in a golf cart and singing a song about Bobby Fish frying fish, it continued with O’Reilly and Fish working on Dunne’s leg which they made use of later, it got moving when Riddle made the most bodacious hot tag, and it closed with the biggest of biggest match feels.
Riddle throwing a knee while trapped in a sleeper was such a bro move. They actually did something new with the Pete Dunne hand shtick too! And I love how even in the midst of this big sweaty strike-filled exciting finish Bobby Fish does not over-do it, reacting to the Chasing the Dragon near fall with a look that was more disappointed than shocked. ****1/4
6. NXT Title: Adam Cole [c] vs. Tommaso Ciampa
For better or worse, NXT brings you Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H in a main event match with all the tricks. It was good, a tough prospect being the closer to all that came before it, but also more impressive for actually delivering in a tough spot. I mean, wait… was this even No DQ? The barricade and table spots just felt so normal, I’m not even sure they count as DQ’s anymore.
Ciampa brought the intensity, reason to care, and scary bumps in between Cole jumping around. He also kissed a man on his bald head, creating a fan interaction moment that might be the next natural step once barricade and table spots become as commonplace as a tope suicida.
Cole is capable in this role, but capable is a complicated word – it’s like bare minimum. It’s impressive to be here, but still – bare minimum. I begrudgingly respect that he has the spot where he can jump into any dumb thing – a KUSHIDA cross armbreaker, a Ciampa jumping knee – and it presumably means he was going for the Panama Sunrise.
I did NOT see the Gargano finish coming. At all. I appreciate NXT telling stories via plain old-fashioned match results – a lot is setup out of the Balor/Gargano and Cole/Ciampa matches. The matches themselves? Occasionally annoying, but pretty great. ****
Happy Thoughts: This ruled. Great match after great match, and not in a pretentious way. Everybody going for an epic was risky, but they actually… pulled it off? Home run performances by literally everybody on the show. Straight-up. Pro wrestling is different in 2020 than it was in the years before it, but I will absolutely take this version of it. 10/10
