NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II is in the bag, and to coincide with my normal “pay-per-viewpoint post show” podcast talking about the show, I figured I’d pepper in a bit more with a simple pros/cons list as well.
Well, that’s not going to happen, as this event ended up having way too many positives and almost no negatives from my point of view, so it would be ridiculous to spend half an article trying to nitpick something to complain about just for the sake of it.
Instead, let’s focus on the optimistic side of things and talk about what was great. There’s a ton of things to mention, but I’m going to be narrowing them down to my top 3 of the night. Make sure you guys do the same in the comments below!
3) Big Event Feel
This is a very general choice, but I think it’s something that might go overlooked. To me, this event came off as equally important in some regards to tomorrow night’s SummerSlam show. This felt like NXT’s WrestleMania, more so than NXT TakeOver: Dallas did, by far.
Maybe it was the lighting or the awesome crowd, but whatever the case, every match on this card felt like it was something really important instead of just being an event filled with developmental talent. TakeOver specials have an insanely good track record, so that’s not a surprise at this point, but it’s nice to see that even in the post-draft environment where many key figures were taken out of NXT, nothing was really lost in the transition.
We’re not dealing with the dregs of the roster like when you turn on Superstars or Main Event, nor was there a semblance of pity that the card is filled with supplemental talent and we should cut them some slack. All of the men and women went out there and acted like it was the biggest event of the year, and that just made everything in turn come off so much more impactful.
2) Glorious Entrance
Ember Moon had an impressive debut and No Way Jose kicked off the show with a fun entrance, but nothing in that regard comes even close to comparing to Bobby Roode’s introduction. The fans were super into it, singing along with the song and taking it all in as he descended on a podium and milked it for as long as possible.
Every so often, a catch phrase or some music will catch on and reach meme status with WWE. We’ve had the RKO out of nowhere, Unexpected John Cena, Fandangoing, Yes/What, and the latest addition to that list is Glorious Bombing, which could have easily died out by the time Roode wrestled tonight and instead, is still going on full steam.
It’s great to see Roode get the proper welcoming he deserved in such a way that you could see his eyes light up with joy. It must feel amazing to be accepted by 15 thousand people when you worked for a company like TNA for so long.
1) Tag Team Championship
Holy cow, if you had told me the best match of the night was going to be this one, I would have called that into question immediately, but this ended up being my favorite of them all and I didn’t dislike a single one.
This was just shy of being the longest match on the card and I would have been okay with it having another couple minutes added onto it, as it was just nonstop fun from start to finish. All of the near-falls were amazing and I can’t remember the last time I was fooled that many times in a row in thinking the match would actually end, rather than being cynical about it from a longtime viewer’s perspective and thinking “okay, he’ll kick out, though.”
Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa went from being slightly glorified enhancement talent to legitimate stars in NXT and in the Cruiserweight Classic to the point where I think the case can be made that they should definitely move up to the main roster at some point down the line, rather than get lost in the shuffle. Even The Revival, who I’ve been down on in the past, keep proving me wrong and I have to admit by now that they’re just flat out a damn good tag team if they keep having matches of this quality.
Out of all the matches I would recommend someone to check out that missed this show, this is without a doubt the standout I’d pinpoint. So, so good.
For a more in-depth analysis of NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, check out the latest special edition of the Smark Out Moment wrestling podcast SMACK TALK, as myself and my co-host review the show from start to finish:
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