With WWE NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia concluded, it’s time for another 3-Count reaction and Smack Talk Pay-Per-Viewpoint post-show podcast review!
As always, click the video at the bottom of this post to check out the podcast breakdown of everything on the show, but before we get into that, I want to focus on three things that standout from my mind in regards to NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia.
For this edition, let’s do a little round of Green Light, Yellow Light, Red Light—effectively, what was a big positive, something mediocre in the middle of the road, and a big negative of the show.
Green Light = Johnny Gargano and The Velveteen Dream
Credit where it’s due, neither of these guys could have pulled off the tremendous things they did tonight without their match partners Andrade “Cien” Almas and Kassius Ohno, but I think it’s safe to say the true stars of those segments were Johnny Gargano and The Velveteen Dream.
Both of them have been proving time and time again that they can deliver high-quality performances on such a consistent basis where they can be trusted to keep doing the same thing in the future.
In fact, I think tonight cements them as being two of the big, big superstars to watch out for not just in 2018, but in 2019.
The Velveteen Dream showcased yet again how he understands storytelling variety by putting on a match that wasn’t just about moves and had something different to it, while Gargano proved that he can flat out go like he has the stamina of five men injected with adrenaline.
Again, Almas and Ohno needed to play their parts as well and shouldn’t be overlooked, as it takes two to tango, but I can’t imagine walking out of this event not excited in particular for the futures of Gargano and TVD more than virtually anybody else in NXT.
Yellow Light = Tommaso Ciampa’s Appearance Booking
Talk about nitpicking, I know, because everything with the main event was just so damn good, but I do have to say that if I’m honest with myself, I’m disappointed in how Tommaso Ciampa was used on this show.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m very glad that he made an appearance, but I think it was a missed opportunity to have him actually be the reason Andrade “Cien” Almas was able to retain the title, rather than just having a cheap shot after the match had already concluded.
That is what the Yellow Light is for, though—something that isn’t bad but isn’t something great—and this could have been better, even though it’s still leading in the same direction of having the two fight at TakeOver: New Orleans.
When that match happens, it could potentially even rival the fantastic Almas vs. Gargano match we got tonight, and if that happens, it’s assuredly going to be on everyone’s lists for top matches of the year in all of WWE, not just NXT.
Red Light = NXT Women’s Championship Match
WWE booked themselves into a corner with this one.
They didn’t want to give Ember Moon the title when Asuka was holding it, as that would lead to the end of Asuka’s undefeated streak, so they had her come up short more times than she arguably should have.
To rectify this, the first chance they got to put the belt on Moon once Asuka left, they pulled the trigger, but it just so happened to be at WarGames, which wasn’t that long ago, and if they were to take the belt off Moon right now, she would look like a weak champion overall.
However, this is not the time to have Shayna Baszler be fed to her, so they needed to figure out a way out of it where Baszler wouldn’t win the title, but would still look strong.
I get it. It could have been avoided, but I get that it was a tough situation.
What I don’t get was why they decided the best way out of it was to have almost an entire match of Moon struggling not to submit and then sneak away with a roll-up when two matches prior, The Undisputed Era did the exact same thing by getting dominated and winning with a cheap roll-up.
Baszler could have won by disqualification or count out. Moon could have put up more of a fight before the arm injury so they could have had a more solid match. Baszler could have maybe been hit with another Eclipse and kicked out on the three so she seemed like she wasn’t really going to be pinned. There are a lot of other ways this could have gone down, and I don’t think this segment was anything remotely close to the potential it could have been, so now that they’ve already fought, I have to wonder if they just don’t have good chemistry together or if I’m simply going to have to wait 2 more months before I get the real match between the two that we should have gotten here.
Either way, I’m disappointed and underwhelmed with this women’s title match and I’m more excited to see Zelina Vega vs. Candice LeRae than anything with Baszler and Moon again.
For more opinions on the show as a whole, check out the latest edition of the Smark Out Moment wrestling podcast SMACK TALK as the panel reviews NXT TAKEOVER: PHILADELPHIA with our immediate reactions following the event before the dust has fully settled.
WATCH/LISTEN TO SMACK TALK on YOUTUBE | ITUNES | STITCHER
FOLLOW SMARK OUT MOMENT on TWITTER | FACEBOOK
Make sure to subscribe and leave your comments and ratings!
