This year’s pre-WrestleMania NXT Takeover hails from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.
All week long, I’ve had to hear people ask me the question that was asked the last three years in a row, “Why do you say that Takeover is better than WrestleMania”? Well, outside of the Nakamura/Styles and Charlotte/Asuka championship matches, not many matches on the card are as appealing as this stacked NXT card. This event certainly lived up to my expectations.
ADAM COLE vs. EC3 vs. KILLIAN DANE vs. LARS SULLIVAN vs. RICOCHET vs. VELVETEEN DREAM (Ladder match for NXT North American championship):
The Good: These men looked to steal not only this show, but the entire weekend. The match had a smidgen of psychology amongst all of the insane high spots. Ricochet’s shooting star press to the outside, mere seconds into the match, made me jump out of my seat. Lars Sullivan and Killian Dane were the giant forces of destruction that their characters dictate them to be. EC3 and Adam Cole tried to outsmart everyone else in the match and forged an alliance of convenience. Velveteen Dream showed a new level of aggression with the Purple Rainmaker elbow from the top of a nearly 20 foot ladder, as well as doing a Death Valley Driver on top of a ladder.
The Bad: The match did run a bit too long. A good 6-8 minutes trimmed off of the match would have made the match flow that much better. Also, having this match go on first may have been detrimental to the one or two matches following it.
Overall: These guys left it all on the mat and we got to finally see singles championship gold on the leader of the Undisputed Era. WINNER: ADAM COLE, BAYBAY!!!
SHAYNA BASZLER vs. EMBER MOON (NXT Women’s championship):
The Good: These women went after each other with great fury as soon as the bell rang. I appreciate when a heated feud is in progress and the competitors don’t go for collar and elbow tie-ups. These women beat the holy hell out of each other. Baszler is one of the best strikers, male or female, in all of WWE. Not all people with MMA backgrounds know how to throw great worked punches. Shayna’s punches, kicks, knee strikes all look good and all don’t accidentally injure people left and right. She delivered punches, kicks and quite a devastating knee to the chest that would make Harley Race proud.
Ember Moon showed more believable aggression than in their prior encounters, trying to damage Baszler’s arm just as was done to Moon before. Shayna, showing us something different (which I wish WWE allowed more on the main roster), rammed her shoulder into the ring post over and over until she forced her separated shoulder back into place.
The Bad: Some of the match still felt like an actual wrestler fighting someone playing wrestler. Ember Moon’s spots looked a bit too telegraphed. Baszler is great at selling; however, a monster heel like her probably shouldn’t have been selling for that much of the match.
Overall: Ember Moon is a solid performer, but she’s been booked as a weak champ from day one. I normally expect better of NXT creative. Despite that, the match ended just as it should have. Baszler has enough skill and legit fight background that she deserved to be crowned at an event of this nature. WINNER: SHAYNA BASZLER
AUTHORS OF PAIN vs. PETE DUNNE & RODERICK STRONG vs. THE UNDISPUTED ERA (NXT Tag Team championship):
The Good: Much like the DIY/Revival/AOP match, both teams tried to bring it to the Authors. AOP have improved by leaps and bounds and their double team moves, like their combination neckbreaker/power bomb, looked as crisp as ever. Adam Cole had to play double duty tonight. He sold his ribs, injured in the opening match of the night, like a champ.
The Bad: Even though they’ve improved by leaps and bounds, the Authors still managed to botch a few moves tonight. Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O’Reilly provides a styles clash that I’d love to see in an extended singles feud, not in a tag match. Adam Cole, having to sell his injuries, wound up being a non-factor in this match.
Overall: The turn at the end of the match was unexpected, since this storyline was drawn out so long that no one thought they’d pull the trigger. But for the sake of Roderick Strong’s momentum in NXT, he needed to go heel. WINNERS: THE UNDISPUTED ERA
ALEISTER BLACK vs. ANDRADE ‘CIEN’ ALMAS (NXT Championship):
The Good: Another heated feud and the match starts, not with a collar and elbow tie-up, but with brawling. Why can’t the agents who book the main roster matches grasp this? Almas and Black both went out of their way to make the match look like a real fight instead of a choreographed spot fest. Almas worked over Black’s arm quite well.
The Bad: Zelina Vega got up on the ring apron while the referee was still looking in her direction. He should have turned away faster or forced her off the apron. Black’s selling of his injured arm was not consistent throughout the match.
Overall: Almas is a lot like the IWGP Heavyweight champion, Kazuchika Okada, in that he can adapt to nearly any opponent’s style. He will likely be called up to the main roster, hopefully to not waste away and get ruined (like their creative team does to so many NXT call ups). Black was the right opponent for Almas to drop the title to. Aleister has the aura of not only a bad ass, but a mega star. WINNER: ALEISTER BLACK
JOHNNY GARGANO vs. TOMMASO CIAMPA:
The Good: Those saying that there are no true heels in pro wrestling must have completely ignored this feud in general and this match in particular. Ciampa’s slow (no music) entrance to the ring, his cold stare, his brutal offense, all drew thunderous boos. When he slowly pulled up the mats to expose the concrete floor, the crowd truly feared for Gargano’s safety.
The Bad: The story to get here centered on Gargano losing a “loser leaves town” match, then returning only a few episodes later. This stipulation not being adhered to is unlike NXT and the stench of that took away from the feud and the match. If this match was about ten minutes shorter, it would have had a stronger exclamation point at the end, so to speak.
Overall: Both men’s pent up hostility boiled over in this match, to the delight of fans of PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING. It was violent, it was gut wrenchingly emotional and it was cathartic, for the men in the ring and the people following this feud. WINNER: JOHNNY GARGANO
In conclusion, NXT once again gave us a hell of a show. And it proved that a three hour pay-per-view is ALWAYS going to leave wrestling fans more satisfied and less worn out than a six to seven hour one. WWE is going to be hard pressed to top this Takeover event, even with WrestleMania.
