Since I started watching wrestling, I’ve always wanted to go to a WWE event. Then I started watching the Takeover specials NXT would have, and then I wanted to make it a point to be in one of those crowds, and it seems as though every time I had a chance, there’d be something in the way. Whether it was prior commitments that I made, bad weather, or whatever, I was always being contested. But not today. Here was my experience at NXT.
So walking out this afternoon, I was met with a heavy rain shower. I thought that surely this was another omen to prevent me from going, but no way was I being denied this time. So I eventually got to the terminal station where I saw WWE/NXT fans fill up the arena and waiting areas. From Balor Club shirts to those holding up a box of Booty O’s, I already felt like I was a part of NXT. Chants of “I’m a Hugger” and “Brother Nero” broke out on the terminal. I don’t know who it was, but there was a, well, pungent odor on the train. The type of smell that you can tolerate but would quickly spray air freshener the first chance you get. Once I got off the train, I walked up and then I saw the outside of the Barclays Center with the Summerslam poster on top. I almost couldn’t believe it. I was actually going to my first wrestling event! It didn’t seem real. It was like when the Cavaliers won the NBA Championship. I admit, I needed to collect myself and gain my composure. Chants of “New Day” rocks, Ric Flair’s WOOOOOOOO and Nakamura roared through as I went through security and the ticket center. I knew at that instant that not only was I in an NXT crowd, but I was in a smark crowd. Of course you had those with tattoos, the smell of beer or alcohol resonating on their chest, and WWE merchandise to the core. Now, on to the event.
The loud chants were ringing through the arena before I had even stepped foot in the arena. The event had not started yet, and the crowd was unglued. I had difficulty finding my seat at first due to the various rows and the loud chants banging at my ears, but this was a hardship I overcame. I sat about 7:40, and at that time, I believe a dark match with Tye Dillinger was taking place. He was super over with the crowd. The other tag match that was before the main card involving The Authors of Pain also took place, and it was a decent, but not memorable outing. Now on to the main card.
Austin Aries def. No Way Jose
The crowd was HOT for Austin Aries, and to a lesser extent, Jose. It was clear that Austin was the crowd’s favorite. Initially in the match, loyalties swayed 50/50, but towards the middle and end, Austin was the clear favorite. I would like to take credit for the Si Se Puede you hopefully heard, because me and a couple of others started that out of random. Anyways, the match was very good for an opener. It had some basic psychology with Austin pretending to run away and Jose playing a face in peril. A fan sitting a row behind me said that the referee aught to have stopped the match because Jose had a little red blood from his mouth (an obvious shot at the stinginess of WWE). I thought that was pretty funny. Another person sitting in front of me thought that Austin Aries was Mario and Luigi’s 3rd cousin. Jose hung in with Aries with the match, told a good story and was able to get the crowd warmed up towards the end. The crowd was also nuclear for Hideo appearing after. Of course there was a “CM Punk return confirmed” comment made by someone. ***1/4
Ember Moon def. Billie Kay
The match was short, but the crowd (at least my section) bought Moon’s offense as it seemed original. We were a little disappointed because it seemed as though this was an extended squash of sorts as it appeared Kay just sold and sold for Moon so she can hit all of her big moves. It wasn’t anything special, save for the finisher (it was pretty awesome), but it accomplished its purpose, nothing seemed forced, and I thought it looked pretty good on my end. One fan said to Billie Kay, “Back to Australia for you” while another said in reference to Ember Moon, “Cameron, who do you think your’e fooling?”. These guys are too smart. Overall, a decent watch. Perhaps Ember will be able to shoulder some of the load in the NXT Women’s Division. **1/4
Bobby Roode def. Andrade “Cien” Celmas
Man, if only you were in the crowd for Bobby’s entrance. The acoustics in the Barclays center amplified Roode’s theme perfectly, and as the crowd sang aloud, it was like a beautiful chorus. I couldn’t help but notice the goosebumps that formed on my arms. A group of fans behind me actually invited me to sing along with them, and I was like, what the hay? So we sang aloud together. Of course I can’t sing, but when you’re in a group of thousands of people who can’t sing either, does it really matter? Andrade really had no chance out here with the crowd. It was really all Roode here. When the pre-match package played for Roode, and when he mentioned Brooklyn as the “armpit of New York”, a fan about three seats down from me said “Well yeah, Brooklyn does need more armpit spray”. And a boy (can’t be any older than 8), who sat next to me the entire night said, “Why is Andrade even in the wrestling business? Why don’t you go back to TNA with all the other rejects?”. Ouch. As for the match, I wasn’t really blown away, but Roode took every opportunity to get the crowd to play up the Glorious moniker. The match was okay, but again, nothing blow away. The chants from the crowd sort of diverted my attention away, but there really wasn’t anything keeping me invested in the match as a whole. But who the hell cares? Roode is GLORIOUS. Oh, I would have also like to have seen a better finish than a Pumphandle Slam, but I’ll take what I can get. I’m not complaining. **3/4
The Revival (C) def. Johnny Gargano and Tommanso Ciampa
I LOVE The Revival’s theme. It’s sort of like a song you may hear a football team listen to before a big game, and hearing it live had me bobbing my head back and down. SAY YEAH (YEAH!). Anyways, The Revival is what I call a “throwback”. They just have that old school look and feel to them that works so well, and it displayed in their chemistry. Their heel tactics of stalling tags, isolating Gargano, attacking two on one when the ref wasn’t looking, all of it was stupendous to see, because it’s simple, but it tells a story, and that’s what is important. Gargano and Ciampa also had good chemistry, as they played up the whole face in peril bit, waiting for Gargano to finally get his hot tag. The near falls towards the end of the match had my heart racing for real. I called three about three times before The Revival put it away. The match started off slow, as usual, but it picked up in a big way. False finishes and a great story told made for what I consider the best match of the night by FAR. The crowd gave a standing O to Gargano and Ciampa after. A lot booed, especially my section when Ciampa didn’t attack Gargano while he was selling his leg, but we quickly forgot about it, because we all just witnessed a stellar tag team match. ****1/4
Asuka (C) def. Bayley – NXT Women’s Championship
Asuka’s titantron scared the living crap out of me live. That mask was staring into my soul, bro. Anyways, the crowd went unglued for Bayley as she came out for her entrance. Asuka’s theme is also badass live. And we got a great view of her…..ASSets if you will. The match was sort of similar to their Dallas match in a way, but with subtle changes. Both of them hit their big moves, but I must point out that Bayley did botch a powerbomb move, at least from my viewpoint. Someone behind me said, “Bayley, I love you and I want to marry you and have kids with you but you botched there honey.” Another said, “I wouldn’t cheat on Asuka. She’s that crazy ex that you left on prom night and is now outside of your window with a crazy smile with flowers in one hand and a chainsaw in the other”. For me, the match ended kind of abruptly for me. Asuka, in her match against Nia Jax at Takeover: The End had to result into just beating the crap out of her because she was too big to lock a submission in on. Bayley didn’t give in to the submission this go around and suffered the same fate. Bayley’s loss seemed to affect a little girl after the match, and of course Bayley gave her a hug. We all stood up and gave her a standing ovation that she deserved while my group started a “See you Tuesday” chant. Seriously though, what else is left for her to do in NXT now? It’s really only a matter of time now before she gets called up. The way she looked at the NXT logo before she went through the curtain really told the whole story. Now that Asuka has pretty much cleansed the entire Women’s portion of NXT, who’s next? ***1/2
Shinsuke Nakamura def. Samoa Joe (C) – NXT Championship
I don’t know who the guy was playing the violin before Nakamura’s theme song played, but my goodness the man was rocking it. He had the crowd in the palm of his hands and had the perfect intro for Nakamura. You know how at WrestleMania you may have live performances of a person’s theme song? Well this is perhaps one of the best variations of that I heard. I couldn’t actually believe that I was seeing Shinsuke live. I’d say that he got the biggest pop of the night with everyone singing his song (off-beat of course). Samoa Joe didn’t receive nearly the same reaction, but he did get some good heat. Samoa Joe is a mat-based brawler and grappler, so of course I tempered by expectations to more realistic levels as I wasn’t expecting something to the tune that Nakamura/Zayn was. Still, Samoa is still extremely gifted for a man his size. You can hear how his knife edge chops and kicks connect in the ring. He makes you FEEL his moves. Although some fans in my section where chanting for Chris Benoit while he applied the crossface while others suggested that he try a salad. The little boy sitting next to me said, “YO JOE, TRY AN EXTRA TOMATO ON YOUR BIG MAC!”. It was clear that this was going to be the story of whether Samoa’s ground game would overcome Shinsuke’s feet and strong strikes, and we would get the answer to that question soon enough. The crowd bought the near-falls, especially Nakamura’s first Kinsasha. I was actually surprised he hit his second Kinsasha nearly simultaneously, but I digged it. The crowd went bonkers as our new NXT Champion was crowned. The match had a good flow to it, and while Nakamura has had better performances in my opinion, this was far from lacking. There was good rising action, spots were hit with force, Joe’s suicide dive garnered big heat and the right man won in my opinion. Oh, and some guy who was shouting all night said that Sting was in the rafters and told everyone to look up. I wish Chris Jericho was there because there were a lot of stupid idiots who actually looked up and wondered where this mysterious, bat-wielding retired legend was. Smarks, I tell you. ****
Conclusion:
After the final match, I gave a standing ovation and stayed in my seat for about 5 minutes as I watched Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Mick Foley and Charlotte leave. And when I saw Shinsuke take his final bow before leaving to the back, I instantly saw it as somewhat metaphorical. Was this my first NXT experience? Yes. Will it be my last? HELL NO. Seating was a chore, and there were rowdy fans, but that’s what NXT is all about. I can finally say that I’ve been to NXT, and that I’m going back again when they pass by. Summerslam is being hosted by Brooklyn next year, so I’m saving up from now so I can get a little Summerslam weekend vacation next year going, because there’s no way I’m missing out on this again. Singing along with random fans, hearing the young smarks in the making have their expert analysis, seeing fans of all shapes and colors, hearing the wrestlers hit the pavement live, know what it feels like to be inside an arena that pops enormously on a moment’s notice and to finally have the WWE/NXT experience in my blood makes me thirst for more. I thoroughly enjoyed myself tonight, and I’ll gladly put up with the negatives because the positives outweigh them. As I took one last glance at the Barclays center to a Shinsuke Nakamura cosplayer and another duo mimicking Enzo and Cass, I realized that this CANNOT be the last time that I make a wrestling appearance. Takeover last year was better, but this year was still an enjoyable watch for me. Thumbs way up. Until next time.
