Thursday, March 28, 2024
EditorialNXT TakeOver: Unstoppable Reaction, Review & Thoughts

NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable Reaction, Review & Thoughts

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Pre- Show:

Not very often something big happens on the pre show, but it sure did here. It turns out Hideo Itami had been attacked earlier in the day outside in the parking lot. Therefore the first match of the night of the number one contendership will now be a singles match. Initially I wasn’t sure whether this was legit or not but apparently it is a real injury and Itami will be out for 6-8 months. It seemed to be teased that it was Kevin Owens who passed Hideo saying “that’s a shame”. At the time I thought it wouldn’t be because Owens seems to be feuding with everyone at the moment, but since Itami will be out for 8 months is very well could of been.

Finn Balor vs Tyler Breeze:

I was satisfied with this match on purely the entrances, Breeze’s featured attractive women with phones al taking selfies which was impressive enough but Balor’s entrance…. wow. Balor’s entrance is by far the best in the wwe at present. It’s on Undertaker level cool and the face paint was amazing. The match was very fast paced as expected with or without Itami. Highlight for me was the crowd chanting “please don’t die” as Balor climbed the stage and leaped onto Breeze. Balor wins with the Coup de Grace. Having only watched NXT for a weeks Balor is one of the main guys who has stood out to me. Impressive character and wrestling ability.

Prediction – Finn Balor

Winner – Finn Balor

Bayley & Charlotte vs Dana Brooke & Emma

This match had enough build up to keep me interested between all 4 women involved. The match was good too, nothing particularly special but a decent match. I seriously don’t know what’s happened to Emma. She wrestles on WWE programmes she loses, she wrestles on NXT she loses. The crowd were hot for Charlotte and Bayley yet there were still chants for Emma. She seems to be a face on WWE but heel on NXT. Lets see where she goes from here, whether she continues her feud with Bayley or she stays off of NXT. Looking at Charlotte it seems only a matter of time before she’s called up to the main roster, surprised it hasn’t happened already tbh since AJ Lee retired.

Prediction – Bayley & Charlotte

Winners – Bayley & Charlotte

Baron Corbit vs Rhyno

Despite being my least favourite match on the card it was what it was. Two bigger men with an aggressive style going at each other. I love Rhyno being on NXT, it gives NXT a whole different dynamic. It isn’t just rookies trying to make a name for themselves, or experienced stars trying to get their big break. It’s for veterans who want to get their career back on track. Corbit has been picking up a few wins as of late so he probably has a push in his future.

Prediction – Baron Corbit

Winner – Baron Corbit

Blake & Murphy vs Enzo & Cass

When I first saw Enzo and Cass I hated their shtick but as time has went on I’ve warmed to them and been impressed by them. So much infact I wanted them to win this one and I predicted them to also. Again another decent match but nothing that blew me away here. I’m not seeing anything in Blake & Murphy yet but like I said earlier I’m still very new to NXT so there is time. The champions only retained because of an interference from Alexa Bliss, something I was not expecting. Chances are this feud will continue and a feud between Carmella and Bliss is imminent.

Prediction – Enzo & Cass

Winners – Blake & Murphy

Sasha Banks vs Becky Lynch

There were parts of this feud that disappointed me. Like until the Takeover special I didn’t know Lynch and Banks were actually friends and tag partners. Thankfully a very nice video package caught me up to speed. My opinions on both women have dramatically improved after this match. It truly was fantastic, there was lots of work on the arms of both women and some holds looked legitimately painful. The crowd were very split on this one with Sasha maybe having the slight advantage. But yes I now know why the NXT women’s division is looked on so highly, very much match of the night for me. Crowd sang Lynch’s theme at the end of the match which was a nice touch and showed respect to a very good match.

Prediction – Sasha Banks

Winner – Sasha Banks

Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn

It was nice to have a main event that didn’t involve a Kane interference! But in all seriousness Kevin Owens is the hottest thing in all of WWE at the minute, bar none. A package was shown from Raw of him confronting John Cena which was really epic. Although I wouldn’t rank this match above their first encounter it was very different in that Zayn took it Owens and dominated a lot of the match. There were a lot of throws from Zayn which really shocked me. For a 212 pounds man, he threw Owens around with almost ease. Taking to the crowd was also a nice touch. The chemistry between these two is some of the best in the WWE, there appeared to be real hate between them, increasing my interest in the match. However the ending was slightly disappointing as there wasn’t a real winner. Infact who actually won?! I guess Owens won because Zayn could not continue but you could argue a no contest. That powerbomb of Owens’ is truly devastating. It keep Zayn looking strong because being taken out by that powerbomb to the ring apron is no disgrace. But then what happen!…….. The Samoan submission machine makes his NXT debut! This wasn’t a surprise for me, however if I didn’t read it prior on here I would I would of been utterly shocked. The most shocking however was that it appears he will keep the Samoa Joe name. This is the first time I can recall a TNA star keeping their TNA name and gimmick. (Correct me if you can think of one please).

Owens and Samoa Joe coming nose to nose was epic and it seems to be a sign of things to come. Having said that Owens is feuding with everyone at the minute, Cena, Zayn, Joe, Itami (maybe down the line), so we shall see how that goes down. I expect to be seeing Owens appearing on Raw until Elimination Chamber to show the fans who he is and what he’s about. There is one big question I have over this match with Cena though. Is it gunna be for the US title or just a non-title match. Signals have been mixed up to now, on Raw Owens had no interest in the US title and even stepped on it. However at TakeOver he wore a “The champ is here” shirt featuring the US title, he did cover it with the NXT title when he got in the ring though.

Prediction – Kevin Owens

Winner – Kevin Owens (Could argue No Contest)

I highly advise watching this one, if you’re a late watcher of NXT like me, give this one a chance, it was better than Payback in my opinion. This is an example of one of those shows where predictability is a good thing. I only got the tag match wrong but the matches were good enough and included enough suspense to keep me interested in every single match.

Order of matches – Worst to best:

6. Rhyno vs Baron Corbit
5. Blake & Murphy vs Enzo & Cass
4. Bayley & Charlotte vs Dana Brooke & Emma
3. Finn Balor vs Tyler Breeze
2. Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn
1. Sasha Banks vs Becky Lynch

As always I look forward to your feedback and will answer all (sensible) comment.

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