With WWE NXT TakeOver: In Your House 2020 concluded, it’s time to look back on what happened and assess the damage, praise the positives and talk about what went down.
As I’ve been doing lately, I kept track of my reactions and thoughts throughout each segment tonight. There were some positive moments here and there with plenty of negatives, too.
Check them out below, as well as my regular Smack Talk Pay-Per-Viewpoint post-show podcast at the end of this post, which reviews the event in more detail.
Without further ado, here’s what was running through my mind during WWE NXT TakeOver: In Your House 2020:
Pre-Show
- I’m so glad they got Todd Pettengill to pop up for this. He’s so synonymous with that era in my mind that it would have felt off without him.
- Parody of the old WWE intro, too? Some old production music? I’m loving the intro.
- Oh hell, now it’s a “musical” performance of screamo. Never mind. I could do without the shouting.
- Now that my ears are destroyed, I guess I won’t be able to hear the Performance Center recruits in the crowd being told what to cheer and boo for, right.
- I LOVE that they have the house set for the stage. That’s awesome!
Six-Woman Tag Team Match: Mia Yim, Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox vs. Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez
- I haven’t been digging Candice LeRae’s new look. The hair’s just a thumbs down. The pixie wings…same thing.
- Not too much to talk about here or react to. The action’s been solid, but nothing memorable.
- Lots of instances of Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez miscommunication. They’re splitting this team up already, I guess? Curious why they aren’t sticking together, if that’s the case. They haven’t been a team too long.
Finn Balor vs. Damian Priest
- Priest looks leaner than I remember him being. They mentioned him having lost 100 pounds before, but he definitely looks like he’s lost some even recently.
- The “crowd” chanting Priest’s theme is pretty funny. Ho ho ho ho ho. I could see that catching on when a real audience is around if they keep that up.
- I like the idea of Priest doing a Razor’s Edge. I’ve always liked that move and it works best when a big man does it.
- Did the ref just say “six minutes, guys” or did I hear that wrong? Let’s see. It’s 7:35 right now.
- OUCH. Priest falling backward onto the bottom part of the steel steps had a good thud to it and must have hurt.
- 7:39. Not quite six minutes, but close enough.
- Good match and good showing for both guys. Priest losing this doesn’t hurt him, in my opinion. A win would have meant more, but Balor’s the veteran and he didn’t win by any squash or anything. I’m on board.
NXT North American Championship Match: Keith Lee (c) vs. Johnny Gargano
- Digging Gargano’s ring gear. His TakeOver outfits are usually some of the best. By the way, The Mandalorian is the best thing that has happened to Star Wars during this new era, as the films were garbage.
- I’m also a fan of the whole entrance of locking the door and calling back to the keys from the last episode of NXT. Nice touch.
- “Johnny sucks” chants to the Imperial March. Nice.
- Someone needed to go through the plexiglass at some point. I’m glad it was Gargano being body-checked by Lee.
- Nice false-finish with the distraction by Mia Yim and Candice LeRae, plus Gargano using the keys. I thought that would be the end.
- Damn good match.
NXT Championship Backlot Brawl Match: Adam Cole (c) vs. Velveteen Dream
- This match is happening next? Adam Cole must be retaining.
- Yeah…I’m not digging this whole car thing at all. Dream didn’t even come out with anything extravagant. Why? And why is he dressed as Negan from Walking Dead? I’m not a fan of that show, so maybe I’m missing some sort of reference here.
- Between Braun Strowman’s car and these, I wonder how much money WWE is spending on this damage that could have been applied to keeping another person on payroll.
- I’m not quite sure what they were going for with this match. All of it feels just…off.
- So Cole is still the champion and Dream can’t fight for the title anymore. That must mean Dream comes over to Raw or SmackDown, right? Also, who could really be the next in line to challenge Cole at this point?
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Karrion Kross
- Kross is looking like the new Ciampa in this match with how angry and psychotic he appears. I don’t know if that’s a distinct attempt on WWE’s part to pass the torch, so to speak, or just a lucky coincidence, but it’s working for me.
- Wow. It’s over already? That was pretty quick, wasn’t it?
NXT Women’s Championship Triple Threat Match: Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Io Shirai
- I’m suspicious of this being the main event. If the title changes hands here, especially if Flair doesn’t take the loss herself, this is going to feel so cheap for her to have won the belt in the first place.
- This had a lot of potential, but I’m honestly not feeling it.
- I have nothing to really say about this, either. It’s fine, but it’s pretty standard stuff. Nothing is striking me as special or memorable at all.
- Flair throws Io into the window of the set. Nothing happens, really. Wow, that was underwhelming. It didn’t even make a sound.
- Io jumping off the roof was decent, though.
- Kendo sticks are lame. I’m sure they hurt, but they are so overplayed and they make zero sense to be within the set of a wrestling ring. They’re just WWE’s go-to foreign object because they make a loud sound and aren’t as dangerous as chairs. I’m not opposed to them trying to be safer, but it’s still just not my thing.
- Io wins the title by pinning Ripley?? What the hell? Why did WWE have Flair beat Ripley and derail her momentum just to do nothing with the title for a bit and then drop it to Io with Ripley being the one taking the pin? How in the world is that supposed to help them push Ripley has the new hot ticket?
- Not a fan of that ending at all. Kudos to Shirai for becoming champion, but this REEKS of WWE doing the wrong thing like they’ve done in the past with Jeff Hardy beating Edge instead of Triple H and such.
For more opinions on the show as a whole, check out the latest edition of the Smark Out Moment SMACK TALK podcast:
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