NXT Takeover Brooklyn II Coverage: Nakamura Wins Title

Smackdown and RAW have had their “New Era” campaigns for a few weeks now, but NXT Takeover Brooklyn II was the beginning of NXT’s.

Between the debuts of Ember Moon and Bobby Roode, what could be Bayley’s swan song and Shinsuke Nakamura’s capturing of the NXT title, this event was a special one that signified a new chapter in the WWE’s developmental promotion.

Matches:


No Way Jose vs. Austin Aries: Lots of back and forth and a ton of near-falls. Jose escaped the Last Chancery, didn’t allow Aries to get in a position to hit the 450 and used strikes and a nice Modified Brainbuster to stay in it. But after a Top Rope Sit-Out Powerbomb, Aries transitioned into the Last Chancery for the win. After the match, Aries attacked Jose again until Hideo Itami hit the ring and nailed Aries with the GTS.

Ember Moon vs. Billie Kay: A short, but effective win for Moon, who made an emphatic statement that she’s ready for the upper tier of the NXT Women’s Division. Moon was athletic as hell throughout, but Kay hit the Eat Defeat, a Gory Special and a plethora of stuff strikes to keep the newcomer grounded. Moon eventually got the win with her Corkscrew Diving Stunner.

Bobby Roode vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas:Roode’s entrance was awesome and the match was a fun back and forth as Roode showboated, as did Almas. These two have plenty of chemistry. Alma’s almost won with a Modified Tiger Suplex and again after he countered The Perfect Plex into a Rollup. Alma’s then landed a ton of Elbows and went for the Double Knee in the corner. Although he hit it, he couldn’t hit the Hammerlock DDT. After a Roode Spinebuster, Roode hit a Pumphandle Side Slam for the win.

NXT Tag Team Champions: The Revival: Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder vs. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa: A strike-heavy war. This had shades of the Von Erich/Freebird epics where both teams simply just beat on one another. The Revival were smarter though, using heel tactics to shield the ref’s vision from tags and even fake injury. Things changed for The Revival once Gargano got in the ring. Using stiff Kicks and a Spear, Gargano got his team back in the fight. Ciampa then nearly won with the Arm Bar, but Wilder got in to break up the submission. After some more back and forth, Ciampa and Gargano hit the Superkick/Knee combo, but Wilder got his leg on the ropes. After Wilder took out Gargano’s knee, they combined on a Knee Attack on the top rope before Dawson got the submission win with the Reverse Figure-Four.

NXT Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Bayley: Lots of back and forth early as it was evident these two were evenly matched. After a healthy chunk of strikes from both competitors, Asuka latched on a few submissions and worked on Bayley’s legs. Although Bayley fought back with a Double-Underhook Pancake, Asuka latched on the Asuka Lock. Bayley found a way to counter and hit the Bayley-to-Belly, but Asuka latched on the Lock again before Bayley escaped. Although Bayley slapped Asuka in the face, Asuka got the win with a massive Buzzsaw Kick. After the match, the two embraced.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. NXT Champion Samoa Joe: Another incredibly evenly-matched encounter between two serious opponents. From strikes to submissions, these two traded blows, as the crowd was heavy pro-Nakamura, despite Joe being in control for most of the match. At one point Joe was in complete control, hitting the Powerbomb and then transitioning in signature Joe style, into three different submissions. Nakamura fought back though with Kicks and his Double Knee in the corner to get back into the match. Unable to hit the Reverse Exploder, Nakamura got nailed with a Joe Big Boot, but fought back with Knees. Exhausted, Joe hit a sloppy version of the corner Urinage and then went for the Muscle Buster, but Nakamura hit the Front Kick from the second rope. Nakamura then decided to go strike for strike with Joe, but the Samoan Submission Machine nailed him with a Stan Hansen Clothesline. Nakamura fought back with an Armbar and a Triangle, but Joe countered with a Cloverleaf before the King of Strong Style grabbed the ropes to break the maneuver. After a vicious Knee, Joe then locked on the Kokina Clutch, but Nakamura used his legs to escape on the ropes. After Joe attempted the Muscle Buster, Nakamura then landed a vicious German Suplex and Joe was able to then hit the Powerslam on a Kinshasa attempt. Joe soon hit the Muscle Buster, but Nakamura kicked out. Joe went for the move again and Nakamura hit the Kinshasa for a near-fall Nakamura then hit the move again to win the NXT title.