Takeover was supposed to be NXT’s next killer two-hour special, but away from Charlotte Flair’s NXT Women’s title win, a wonderful Main Event and a damn good match between Sami Zayn and Tyler Breeze, most of the show was nothing special.
Simply put, if this was a one hour show that featured just the three top matches, it would have been amazing.
But between a relative squash match between Adam Rose and Camacho, as well as a rather uncontested NXT Tag Team title defense from The Ascension, NXT Takeover didn’t have much of a big fight feel. That changed at times, especially during the finals of the NXT Womens title tournament and Adrian Neville and Tyson Kidd’s epic, but overall NXT’s first special Arrival was a far better show.
Could that have had something to do with the fact that Arrival featured many current and former WWE star, while Takeover was essentially a homegrown show?
At any rate, NXT has proven itself as a venerable one-hour weekly wrestling show. At two hours however, it still has a lot to prove.
Matches:
Adam Rose vs. Camacho: Rose went through his normal routine of getting the crowd excited, but Camacho maintained control early with strikes and a nice Butterfly Suplex. Feeding off the crowds energy, Rose fought back with a Spinebuster and his modified Choo Choo Buster in the corner. After the Party Foul, Rose, scored the pinball win.
NXT Tag Team Champions Konnor and Viktor, The Ascension vs. El Local and Calisto: The Champions absolutely decimated Calisto for a good eight minutes to start the match. Using strikes and double team maneuvers, the little luchador barely got any offense in. But after Calisto tagged in his teammate, El Local hit a Moonsault for a near-fall that appeared to change the momentum. Quickly fighting back however, Viktor hit the STO before Konnor jumped in for the Call of Man for the win.
#1 Contenders Match for NXT Title: Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze: This match started a lot slower than many might have expected, as Breeze worked over Zayn with strikes until the former El Generico began to implement his high-flying offense. But after he nearly won with a Blue Thunder, Zayn was unable to follow up the offense as Breeze hit a nice swinging DDT to get back in the match. A modified Powerbomb later from Breeze nearly got him the win again, but Zayn managed to kick out. Summoning all of his energy, the groggy Zayn hit the Exploder Suplex in the corner to leave himself and Breeze on the mat fighting for air. After a bevy of strikes and counters, Breeze hit a monster Super Kick but couldn’t get the win. Zayn then almost won with a botched, but still awesome looking Fisherman Suplex/Powerbomb. After Zayn hit a Suicide Dive, the action went back into the ring. When Zayn went for his Signature Big Boot in the corner, Breeze managed to Elbow Zayn in the groin in defense and before he got the win with his Spinning Wheel Kick finisher.
Impromptu: Alexander Rusev w/Lana vs. Mojo Rawley: Rusev locked in The Accolade after Rawley talked some trash. Rusev applied the submission maneuver again on the entrance ramp before the end of the segment.
Finals of NXT Women’s Title Tournament: Charlotte Flair w/Ric Flair vs. Natalya Neidhart w/Bret Hart: This was easily the best Divas match on WWE Television this year. Talk about back and forth. These two traded strikes, near-falls and submissions for the majority of the match. After Flair nearly won with a Backpack Stunner, she continued to pound on Neidhart and applied the Figure-Four Headlock and followed it up with an Abdominal Stretch to slow things down. Neidhart then countered the move and nearly won with a pinning combination, but Flair quickly hit a basement Dropkick. Neidhart showed she had some fight left with a Butterfly Suplex, followed by her Stomp/Dropkick combo, but she couldn’t get the win. After the action spilled to the outside, Flair appeared to be in control once again. However, Flair missed the Moonsault, which allowed Neidhart to score a near-fall with a Discus Lariat that she followed up with The Sharpshooter. In epic fashion, Flair countered the move into the Figure-Four. Continuing to reverse the hold on each other, both Flair and Neidhart traded vicious slaps until the action went to the outside. Once back in, Flair applied The Sharpshooter, which Neidhart managed to reverse, but before she could get her breath Flair hit The Here Comes the Queen to win the Women’s NXT Title.
NXT Champion Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd: This felt like an ECW match between Eddy Guerrero and Chris Benoit for the simple fact that these guys just worked so well off one another and were in chain and counter mode. The technical proficiency went out the window after a massive Kidd Elbow and some Tree of Woe kicks. With Neville down, Kidd continued to hit strikes and apply submissions, but he couldn’t put Neville away. Fighting back slowly, Neville hit a few high-flying moves and made the match much more open. Kidd then went to the top rope, but Neville took advantage and after a few counters was able to hit Kidd with a sit-out Powerbomb. Kidd showed some resiliency as well with a Side Russian Leg Sweep from the second rope, but again, couldn’t put Neville away. After the action spilled to the outside, both competitors got back into the ring before a ten-count, but had little gas left. Kidd eventually latched on the Dungeon Lock, but Neville escaped. After a Somersault Leg Drop, Kidd still couldn’t put Neville away. Going back to the top rope, Kidd was met by Neville, who hit the Hurricanrana and followed it up with the Red Arrow for the win.
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