On a night where the black and gold brand makes history, NXT had one of the only Takeovers that do not run alongside a main-roster PPV for their 25th show. We have a legend returning home, a group of tag teams trying to showcase they’re the best and a fairy-tale potentially ending.
Roderick Strong vs Matt Riddle
Result: Riddle wins via pinfall
Thoughts: A great, exciting opener was exactly what this show needed and Riddle vs Strong absolutely delivered on all counts. Sometimes, wrestling is complicated. Other times, all you need is two men absolutely battering each other for nearly twenty minutes and everyone will love it. This was the latter. Both men gave absolutely everything for this opener, knowing the history they had on their shoulders. Riddle dominated from the start before being blindsided by Strong’s high intensity offence. Neither man could hit their main finishers for most of the final stages of the match due to the limbs and body parts that the other targeted being beaten down. However, Riddle manages to pick up the win eventually with the Bro-geric and it is clearly the right decision. On one hand it continues the story of ‘Strong failing the Undisputed Era’ and, on the other, keeps Riddle on a winning streak and slowly pushes him up the card. You can’t ask for more from your opener.
NXT Tag Team Championship Match – Street Profits vs Undisputed Era (O’Reilly and Fish) vs Forgotten Sons (Blake and Cutler) vs Burch and Lorcan
Result: Street Profits are the new NXT Tag Team Champions
Thoughts: Going into this match, many people didn’t expect it to eclipse last years North American Championship Ladder Match due to the talent the former had. However, in my opinion, this eclipsed that bout and then some. Literally every team and every individual looked incredible. Burch and Lorcan looked like hard hitting brawlers. The Forgotten Sons were heat magnets and utilised that to the best of their abilities. The Street Profits showcased ridiculous athleticism and…well Kyle O’Reilly specifically absolutely died from bell to bell. Every spot was based around tag team action and, in a ladder match, that’s often hard to do regardless of the wrestlers involved. However everything felt raw. Everything felt real. And every team came out of the match looking stronger than they entered. The Street Profits winning is a great decision as they’re a team often under-looked by many but have consistently fantastic matches and are hugely over. I can’t wait to see what’s next for the NXT Tag Team Division.
NXT North American Championship Match – Velveteen Dream (c) vs Tyler Breeze
Result: Dream retains via pinfall
Thoughts: This was the ultimate story-telling match. It faced the wily upstart who’s at the top of a division versus a veteran who has been misused elsewhere and, debatably, did what the young man did first. Breeze and Dream have fantastic natural chemistry and it was properly showcased here. The little moments like Dream taking a selfie with the unconscious Breeze on the announce table to Breeze having an answer to everything Dream threw at him to Tyler being hit by the un-prettier but kicking out and, finally, Breeze’s over excitement costing him. Keeping Dream as champion does make sense as he continues to solidify his status as an incredible mid-card champion with all the potential in the world but I desperately wanted Breeze to win. However, now he is back on the black and gold brand, he will absolutely be able to have another shot. Tyler Breeze fully showcased why people hate how he has been utilised on the main roster. He can go with absolutely anyone in the ring and this match showed it. I cannot wait to see what is next for The Gorgeous One in the future of NXT.
NXT Woman’s Championship Match – Shayna Bayzler (c) vs Io Shirai
Result: Baszler retains via submission
Thoughts: Shayna Baszler is the best heel champion in WWE right now and this match absolutely showcased why. Every moment is important. There is never a moment wasted. Every single thing she does is incredible. And Io is an absolutely fantastic pairing to her in her heroic, fiery and likeable babyface. Both women have previously fought in STARDOM and their experience together was clearly shown during these twenty or so minutes with how fluid and precise their work was. The aerial comeback from Io was made all the better after the brutal attacks Baszler carried out on the limbs of Shirai. The other two horsewomen getting involved but not fully due to Candice’s interruption worked perfectly as Shayna still did it on her own. NXT have built up Shayna’s finisher so perfectly that, as soon as she sunk it in, the crowd booed for half a minute as they knew what it meant. THAT is how you build up a champion. I honestly feel that Shayna retaining is the right decision due to how fantastic she has been. And Io is saved from looking weak as she attacked Shayna post-match in a brutal beatdown. Incredible stuff from the women of NXT.
NXT Championship Match – Johnny Gargano (c) vs Adam Cole
Result: Cole wins via pinfall – New Champion Crowned
Thoughts: This was, as expected, incredible. Many people felt that, due to the lack of stipulation, this match wouldn’t be as good or as memorable as their former match that was competed under the two out of three falls stipulation. However, a singles match with no stipulation, somehow, felt as impactful. Both men gave absolutely everything and told very simple stories. Adam Cole kept going for the strongest weapon in his arsenal, the Panama Sunrise, but continually failed to do so whereas Johnny Gargano kept going for the Gargano Escape, despite his injured knee. There was a Panama Sunrise on the outside, Cole locking in the Gargano Escape, Johnny hitting the Last Shot then Gargano kicking out of another Last Shot. This was absolute mayhem. The over-arching story of NXT TV played into the match as well – Cole called for the rest of Undisputed Era but they never arrived. They ignored their leader. But having Cole win anyway, without them, shows his dominance. Absolutely fantastic viewing and a main event worthy of any show. An instant classic.