Well, another NXT Takeover is in the books (in the pocket, out of sight) and as always, it didn't disappoint. The Takeover shows are always great and frequently have some Match of the Year candidates. Here are my thoughts on the show.
Dark Match: Ember Moon def. Peyton Royce
If you never seen any of Ember Moon. formerly known as Athena, on the independent scene, I heavily recommend checking out some of her matches. She was one of the best female wrestlers on the indys and I think she could fill the top babyface spot when Bayley & Asuka eventually go up to the main roster.
Andrade "Cien" Almas def. Tye Dillinger
In his debut on NXT TV, Andrade "Cien" Almas, the former La Sombra, defeated The Perfect 10 Tye Dillinger in rather quick fashion (5:22) with a double knee smash in the corner. Now personally, I think they made the wrong choice having Almas debut against Dillinger. Not because he's bad, but because Dillinger is so over with the crowd that he ended up getting cheered over the new guy. Regardless, it was good, hot opening match that made both guys look great.
The Revival def. American Alpha to win the NXT Tag Team Championships
In what was arguably the most shocking moment of the night, the former champions The Revival reclaimed their titles from American Alpha, getting the win in 16:00 with a Shatter Machine on Jason Jordan. This actually marks the first time a team has become two-time NXT Tag Team Champions, and Dawson & Wilder become the second and third people to win multiple titles in NXT (the first being Neville). Now, I haven't seen Benoit & Angle vs Mysterio & Edge in a long time, and this might be just because it's so fresh in my mind, but I think this could possibly one of, if not the, greatest tag team matches of all time. Everything was just working so well. Each team definitely brought their A game last night and put on, in my opinion, the best match on the show. Every near fall had me believing it could be the finish, the double team spots all looked great, and everything was awesome. Honestly surprised that the Revival got the win, considering you rarely see repeat champions in NXT, but they're a great team and I wouldn't object to them leading the division.
After the match, American Alpha stood in the ring defeated, only to be ambushed by two giant men in tank tops & cargo pants. These are Sunny Dhisha (right) and Gzim Selmani (left) and they are the Authors of Pain. Dhisa & Selmani beat down American Alpha, finishing Gable off with a big boot/sidewalk slam combo and finishing Jordan off with a Russian leg sweep/lariat combo. And in another surprise, out came WWE Hall of Famer Paul Ellering, the former manager of the Road Warriors, who stood with the Authors of Pain at the top of the ramp. This looks like a tag team I'm really going to like.
Before I go on, I just wanted to address the "Who Are You?" chants that started up as soon as Ellering came out. A lot of people (including Kevin Owens) believe that the chants were directed at Ellering, but in the crowds defense, I'm pretty sure (or hoping) that they were chanting that at the Authors of Pain, considering they were the ones in the ring, which everyone was paying attention to, and not the ramp. That's just how I saw it...but Tom Phillips on commentary had no excuse for not knowing who Ellering was. F*ck you, Tom Phillips.
Shinsuke Nakamura def. Austin Aries
In what I would consider the second best match on the card, Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Austin Aries in 17:05 with a Kinshasa. The match was back and forth all the way through, and while there were some spots that looked a little wonky, it was still a great match. The huge combo finish at end with Nakamura hitting a jumping knee strike to the back of Aries' head from the top rope, followed by an inverted powerslam and a Kinshasa to get the win was fantastic. I thought Aries would turn heel in this match and possibly cheat to win, but it appears that wasn't the case. I also thought that we could possibly get a Bobby Roode debut during this match, but that was saved for later.
Asuka def. Nia Jax to retain the NXT Women's Championship
In a battle of the absolute killers, Asuka defeated Nia Jax with a series of kicks in 9:12. Honestly, I wasn't digging this match too much. It wasn't bad by any means, and maybe because it followed up two great matches, but I just couldn't get into it. I felt like it was just kind of the same Bayley-Nia match they had at London, only instead of Bayley, we had Asuka. The problem is that Asuka isn't Bayley. Bayley's an underdog who could actually get beat at any time. She wouldn't just run through people like Liv Morgan or Sarah Dobson in record time like Asuka would, they'd get at least some offense on her before losing. That's what made the match with Nia so good. Nia was bigger and stronger than Bayley and had never been beaten before, and Bayley had to overcome massive odds. With Asuka, she's an unstoppable beast going up against a stoppable beast. Asuka's whole thing is that she kills everyone she wrestles in quick fashion. Even when she goes up against Nia Jax, she's still the favorite to win. The one person Nia had lost to at that point was the person Asuka knocked out to win the championship. Maybe that's just me, though.
Samoa Joe def. Finn Balor in a Steel Cage match to retain the NXT Championship
In the final match between NXT Champion Samoa Joe and Finn Balor, Joe became the first person to defeat The Demon, finishing him off with a Super Muscle Buster of the top rope in 16:10 in what will probably be Finn Balor's last NXT match. This match was fine, but it could've been a lot better. I'd say it was better and more dramatic than the London match, but not as good as the Dallas match. Also, a major down for one of my biggest pet peeves in wrestling. This was built up as a blood feud where Joe and Balor wanted to destroy each other. Joe even slammed the cage door shut for emphasis of how bad he wanted to break Balor. What's one of the first things Joe does in this match? Sprints for the door. Piss off. If you want to beat your opponent so bad you have to do it in a steel cage so no one tries to get out of it, why would you try to win via escape. It makes no sense. So yeah, the match was fine. Balor's entrance was great as usual, and that's about it. Here's to what ever comes next in NXT.
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Oh. and Bobby Roode showed up. That's pretty dope.
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