While NXT isn’t the hot product it use to be about two years ago, it remains the best written and compelling wrestling show on all of WWE television at the moment. Watching NXT every week lately, there’s always a purpose to every match and a story that’s being told both inside and outside the ring. Granted, NXT isn’t perfect, but it’s definitely worth your time. NXT Takeovers tend to be good to fantastic, and tonight was no exception. While not the best Takeover, it was still a very good night of wrestling for the developmental brand. Let’s quickly get into it:
Sullivan/Ohno was a fun, short, big man match. The finish was never in question, but that didn’t stop the opening from still being entertaining nevertheless. The surprise of the night was Velveteen Dream vs. Aleister Black. What I loved about this match is the story that was being told. It also helped that the crowd was insanely hot for this match. Patrick Clark has come leaps and bounds from where he was years ago and Aleister Black is simply awesome. A strong match and for me, the second best match of the night.
The fatal 4 way women’s match was good, but felt a bit too short for my liking. All the women worked hard and had a really fun match. I would’ve had Peyton Royce win, just because there’s more money in the babyface chasing the heel champion. Moon needs to just develop her character more and she’ll be fine.
For me, the match of the night goes to Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas vs. Drew McIntyre. First, this will not top anyone’s list for match of the year; however, these two put on an excellent bout that told a damn good story. Almas winning was a surprise, but I like it because the guy is a workhorse and deserves a reign at the top. Plus, this puts over Zelina Vega as a manager as well. I felt that McIntyre winning in Brooklyn was too fast. I would’ve given it to Roderick Strong. It’s time for McIntyre to go on a journey first before capturing the NXT title again. Sadly, he’s just not over at the moment. The match lacked crowd heat, which is a shame as McIntyre is a hell of a worker and is strong on the mic. WWE can easily put McIntyre on the main roster. HE’S READY. But hopefully they save it and have him connect with the audience first before they send him up on the big stage again. An excellent match and performances by all competitors (including Zelina Vega) and I look forward to seeing what’s next for everyone.
Finally, the NXT main event. This was a good match that I felt dragged a bit. By no means was this terrible or illogical booking. All guys worked their asses off and produced a fun spot fest. The problem was, there was no stakes for this match. What happens if one of these teams win? How will their career change from now on? The match only feels like it exists because of the gimmick. This is the same problem the forced Raw vs. Smackdown feuds have. Anyways, I wasn’t truly invested in the match because of this. Granted, this match was built nicely even though Roderick Strong felt out of place with the AOP. Perhaps we’ll find out more as Regal talked to all three teams before the match throughout the night. The Undisputed Era winning was a MUST. Where these guys go next intrigues me as I thought for sure Cole would next be in line for the NXT title. We’ll find out.
Despite my negatives, this was a great Takeover. Nothing was terrible or offensive. Simply a great night of wrestling and storytelling. This won’t be marked as one of the best Takeovers in history, but that just tells you how high the bar has been set from recent Takeovers.
Lars Sullivan def. Kassius Ohno
Aleister Black def. Velveteen Dream
Ember Moon def. Nikki Cross, Peyton Royce, and Kairi Sane to become the new NXT Women’s champion
Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas def. Drew McIntyre to become the new NXT Champion
Undisputed Era def. SAnitY, Roderick Strong & The Authors of Pain in a War Games match