Impact Wrestling: ReDefined (August 30, 2018) -- Results & Afterthoughts; Bonus Comments on Slammiversary XVI

On August 30, 2018, Impact Wrestling featured their television special, ReDefined, in the place of their usual television episode/taping to feature several title matches and marquee matches, highlighting and focusing on various feuds up to this point in preparation for the road to their next PPV event, Bound for Glory.

I've been meaning to do a write-up on Impact Wrestling's PPV event, Slammiversary XVI, from July 22, 2018 for about two months now, but keep getting sidetracked. Ultimately, the opinions all around are unanimous about that event though - amazing show from top to bottom. I can't put this event over more. Even if you haven't checked out Impact Wrestling in a long time or even just new to their product, this show is a great spot to start before checking out ReDefined.

Quick Results from Slammiversary XVI:

Johnny Impact defeated Fenix, Taiji Ishimori and Petey Williams in a barn-burner to kick off this show in style. -  Definitely go out of your way to watch this match. 

Tessa Blanchard defeated Allie - Continuing to show off why Tessa Blanchard belongs at the top spot of the Knockouts division going forward

Eddie Edwards defeated Tommy Dreamer - House of Hardcore rules match - First of many hardcore themed matches on this show. Wasn't too crazy about this but they got the point across. 

Brian Cage defeated Matt Sydal (c) - Singles match for the Impact X Division Championship - Wasn't expecting anything less than a win for Cage here. Solid performance from both men, even though Sydal botched the Shooting Star Press towards the end. 

Su Yung (c) defeated Madison Rayne - Singles match for the Impact Knockouts Championship - Even though they did some great storytelling in the build to this match, I can't admit that this match lived up to the hype. Another decisive win for Su Yung in her reign as champion, but I have to say that Rayne might have to step aside when it comes to all of these title shots she's been getting in not only Impact Wrestling but in Ring of Honor and other promotions as of late as she's on her road to appearing in WWE's Mae Young Classic II. 

The Latin American Xchange (Santana and Ortiz) (with Konnan) (c) defeated The OGz (Hernandez and Homicide) (with King) - 5150 Street Fight for the Impact World Tag Team Championship - Crazy match right here. Only thing that held this back is that this was the second hardcore match on this card and there was a lot of "been there, done that" in terms of hardcore spots when you've seen LAX kill it with oVe earlier this year. 

Pentagon Jr. (mask) defeated Sami Callihan (hair) - Mask vs. Hair match - Match of the Night IMHO. Pentagon Jr. is the king of these hardcore deathmatches in the modern day landscape of professional wrestling. Just do your favor and watch this match if you want to see the pure insanity that both Pentagon and Sami put their bodies through in this match. I wouldn't be surprised to see either of these men going for the Impact World title come Bound for Glory. 

Austin Aries (c) defeated Moose - Singles match for the Impact World Championship - After that excellent video package to highlight and promote this match, I thought Moose was a shoe-in to pick up the title here. Boy was I wrong. Moose took one good Brainbuster from Aries and that's all she wrote. Too bad though as I thought this was a solid affair for both men. 

Why Are These Events Important Going Forward?

Between Slammiversary XVI back in July and ReDefined last week, both shows creates a sense of new and fresh that the new, current regime running the company needed going forward once the mistakes of Dixie Carter and her entourage left the minds of fans that they turned away to show them, "Look we got our shit together now. Give us another chance."

Plus with all of the talent from House of Hardcore and more importantly, Lucha Underground, calling Impact Wrestling their home as of late, you can't really go wrong from the in-ring product. Seriously speaking though, TNA/Impact Wrestling's problem has NEVER been the actual in-ring wrestling part. Almost every wrestler who has stepped into one of their rings has held it down when push came to shove.

Before someone brings it up, I'm not talking about that Jenny Morasca versus Sharmell clusterfuck or that Rebel vs. Shelly Martinez botchfest either...

I mean that statement as their talent has more consistent standout performances than flops is all that I'm saying. You cannot deny that Impact Wrestling as a whole are beating WWE (as a whole as we can't just look at NXT on it's own as it's only measuring stick of match quality) in terms of their in-ring product on a consistent regular basis.

Currently, both their in-ring product and behind the scenes work is really shining. I was just talking with a friend the other day, discussing about how well that they have been building up Su Yung as this monstrous force of nature with her horde of zombie brides doing her dirty work. Her feuds with Allie, Rosemary, and recently with Madison Rayne have been great to see unfold on Impact TV tapings over the past few months. If that's not enough, Tessa Blanchard hasn't been in the Knockouts title hunt yet, but she's been having her presence felt throughout this division as a constant reminder that she has that title in her crosshairs. I'm wondering who is going to be that one Knockout who is going to give her the standout performance in-ring that she really needs to get up to the next level in Impact Wrestling. A lot of people are calling her ascension on the indies, similar to how Charlotte Flair rose to dominance in WWE and I can easily see why on that comparison. Both women are second/third generation wrestlers with relatives who hold an impressive pedigree to live up to. It's either come out guns blazing or sink to the bottom of the talent pool like a brick.

Moose was diagnosed with a concussion after this event and haven't seen at the Impact TV tapings that took places that following week. Even though I was shocked that Austin Aries didn't drop the title to Moose there, especially after that great build and video package that preceded the match on PPV to sell Moose up as the next big thing and flag bearer for the company going forward. The other news coming out of this event after recent weeks is that Austin Aries is going to be one of many featured talent on the upcoming wrestling show that WGN America is set to air this fall season. I'm guessing Impact had a change of heart and saw it as the opportunity to have Aries continue to carry the championship with even more exposure on another network as Aries has been making rounds popping up to challenge for Ring of Honor's Television Championship as well. I'm not saying that he's bad at the role in the least. I'm just surprised that they haven't taken the title off him by now, that's all.

Enough going off-topic on Slammiversary XVI coverage though, let's switch gears and focus on what you're really here to get my thoughts upon and that's ReDefined.

X-Division Championship Match - Brian Cage (c) def. Fenix

The pace of this contest is absolutely frenetic. #ReDefined @MrGMSI_BCage pic.twitter.com/U0rELULEii

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 31, 2018

Really scary moment here as Cage almost botched the Jumping Powerbomb from the top rope during the finish. Fenix was able to get his neck up in time before the landing but damn that was scary to look at. Other than that spot, this was a solid opener.

Best spot of the entire match was Cage catching Fenix out of the suicide dive and suplexing him to the floor. Man, I wish more big guys would do that to all of these cruiserweights and lightweights throwing themselves around recklessly.

Eli Drake def. Brandon Tidwell

I have no idea what this was about but it ended up being a complete waste of time. Complete squash here. I don't understand why they are wasting Drake in a spot like this on this card, but whatever.

Knockouts Championship Match - Tessa Blanchard def. Allie and Su Yung (c) to become the NEW Knockouts Champion

.@Tess_Blanchard press slams @realsuyung onto The Undead Bridesmaids! #ReDefined pic.twitter.com/L6DEL64nmg

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 31, 2018

Kinda sloppy starting off, but once they got on the same page, this wasn't a bad match at all. My favorite spots were the three way submission holds and the Military Press Tessa performed to toss Su Yung out of the ring and into the crowd of Undead Brides standing at ringside. Allie had Su Yung laid out in the finish, but Tessa rolled her up to steal the win.

I wouldn't call this a win in dominant fashion (that's why her post-match promo seemed a bit off to me when she was acting like it was afterwards), but that Knockouts title belongs on Tessa right now. She's their biggest female star on the rise and it would make more sense to have everyone chasing and challenging her going forward.

The Smoke Show w/ Scarlett Bordeaux, featuring Grado, Catalina, and Joe Hendry

I couldn't help but crack up laughing at Grado here in this. Catalina has a right to fear Scarlett as she's better at "manipulating" her boys more than she is. Can I mention that this whole storyline is a clever call back to Katie Lea's previous Impact Wrestling gimmick as Winter who was manipulating Angelina Love to do her bidding? Here, she's playing Joe Hendry and Grado potentially against each other. I wonder how many people caught the vulgar references on the walls of the scene/studio where they were having this segment.

Crazy how well Scarlett's gimmick is getting over to say she hasn't wrestled a single match in Impact Wrestling and it's all been just mere segments and vignettes for her since she made her debut. I think Impact Wrestling are sitting on a potential goldmine with this character if they continue to play this up properly.



Rich Swann def. Petey Williams

The whole story to this match was that Swann had the Canadian Destroyer scouted and had a counter to it every time that Petey went for it. This made for a fun match here. Too bad it was over pretty fast, but there was a lot of great spots here to look out for. My personal favorite was the counter to the Destroyer to a powerbomb followed by a pin. From the annoyed look on Petey's face, this isn't over by a long shot.

Once @GottaGetSwann gets rolling he's very difficult to stop. #ReDefined pic.twitter.com/cMUZlRMdUs

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 31, 2018

After all of the hot water Swann found himself in last year, I'm glad to see him enjoying wrestling again. He's definitely right at home in the X-Division.

Update following Little Richie getting run over by the OGs

I had a few friends ask me what I thought about this last week, but I didn't see it live at the time and didn't catch up on the past two weeks worth of Impact Wrestling until earlier this week, so I'll give my thoughts now. The kid getting run over was a little in bad taste BUT it's entertainment. I've lost track of the death toll on Lucha Underground this season and you don't see anyone moaning about that. Glad to hear that the kid is okay, but watching it at the time didn't bother me in the least. As long as we're not doing stupid shit like 12 year old Izzy taking chokeslams on the indies then I'm fine with this for the sake of the storyline.

Austin Aries and Killer Kross def. Eddie Edwards

.@TheEddieEdwards takes Austin Aries out like a missile! #ReDefined pic.twitter.com/aLKkLHuTcE

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 31, 2018

Moose allegedly assaulted backstage before the start of this match, so this match was started as a handicap match instead. Surprisingly enough, "crazy" Eddie Edwards was able to hold his own for most of this match until the numbers game caught up to him. Moose raced down to the rescue, only to turn on his alleged best friend Eddie Edwards.

I'm sorry but this didn't make a lick of damn sense to me. Aries was the one who gave Moose a concussion at Slammiversary and prevented him from becoming the new Impact World Champion. Did that Brainbuster scramble his brains or something? It makes no sense to me on why Moose would align with Aries and Kross. At this rate, I honestly can't see who is going to overthrow Aries unless they pull the Pentagon/Sami Calihan stuff into the main event picture. You could have Eli Drake somehow find his way back into the title picture, but I think that ship has sailed at this point. I wasn't crazy about this finish at all, but I won't pass final judgment on this until I see how they follow up with this on tonight's episode of Impact. From a narrative standpoint, I did like the final shot of Alisha Edwards coming out and slapping the taste out of Moose's mouth for his betrayal though. Shows that no matter how far off the deep end her husband has gone, she's still standing by his side.

IMPACT Wrestling vs. Lucha Underground At WrestleCon (April 6, 2018) -- Results & Afterthoughts

As part of WrestleMania weekend and the ongoing WrestleCon annual convention, both IMPACT Wrestling and Lucha Underground talent faced off in this event streamed live and FREE on Twitch TV on Friday, April 6, 2018. The entire event can be viewed in its entirety here on Video on Demand on Twitch TV at the link below.

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/247553403


Even though it seemed like it was awkward at first with the crowd trying to bury Impact Wrestling's brand at first, the crowd eventually came around after some coercing from Melissa Santos and Mckenzie Mitchell sharing ring announcing duties for the night. If I may add, the baby weight on Melissa is a great look on her and makes her look juicy in the right places. Lord, have mercy for her in this upcoming season of Lucha Underground.

Matanza defeated Moose, Matt Sydal, Caleb Konley, Jack Evans, and Chavo Guerrero Jr. in a six-way match

This would end up being Jack Evans' last match for Lucha Underground after he (along with Angelico) tweeted that he was done working for the promotion. I have no idea if that means he's not in Season 4 or what, but sucks to see him go. I wonder what's going to happen to Mundo's Worldwide Underground faction in Season 4 then. Chavo took the mic and treated the crowd to this teaser for the next season of Lucha Underground following this match:

As for this match, it was a fun start to this show. We got to see everyone clash at one point or another, but the most fun interaction for me was Matanza and Moose sizing each other up. That didn't last for long until Matanza tossed everyone around like lawn furniture and picked up the win promptly.

Knockouts Champion Allie defeated Taya Valkyrie to retain her title

I can't remember but isn't this their first encounter here in Impact Wrestling? I mentioned this on social media during my #IMPACTonPop live discussions, but why do people keep giving Taya shit on her weight gain? Thickness is a great look on her - much better than look she had in the last two seasons of Lucha Underground. In that case, I blame their lighting on making everyone look like they are tanning worse than Hulk Hogan. Seeing this match made me immediately think of the lack of Rosemary (or better yet no Catrina, Ivelisse, nor Black Lotus...) on this card in terms of femme fatales to represent both the Impact and Lucha Underground brands. Allie and Taya had a pretty average match here and that's fine, given everything else going on this show.

Scott Steiner & Teddy Hart defeated oVe (Dave & Jake Crist)

It still blows my mind that both Scott Steiner and Teddy Hart were tag team on this card, let alone on this card PERIOD. For those who don't know, Teddy's been on a mission to revitalize his career and repair the damage to his reputation in the business with a fresh start. TJ Wilson (AKA Tyson Kidd/Natalya's husband) even went as far as tweeting out some kind words for his fresh start and asking his peers in the business to give him a second chance to redeem himself.


We've seen a lot of craziness from oVe over the last few months in their feud with LAX, so this match was pretty tame in comparison. Hell, Teddy wasn't even doing anything crazy like I remember from his Wrestling Society X days.

King Cuerno, Drago & Aerostar defeated Andrew Everett, Dezmond Xavier & DJZ

This was my second favorite match of the night, just from all of the talent involved. Impact could sign all of these guys from Lucha Underground tomorrow and run a X-Division clinic on the next PPV. This is the first time I remember seeing DJZ on an Impact card in quite some time. Someone will correct me in the comments or via social media, but wasn't he dealing with an injury of some kind? I remember Dezmond Xavier won that X-Division tournament they had last year to face Ishiimori in a short feud, but I don't remember seeing him much on TV tapings afterwards. It's a damn shame too to say that guy is hella talented. Wouldn't be surprised if WWE swoops in with an offer for him to join 205 Live once his contract is up.

Trevor Lee (w/ Caleb Konley) defeated Marty The Moth (w/ Famous B)

Marty the Moth being Famous B's partner was a pleasant surprise, but this match wasn't as great as I was expecting it to be. I did get a good laugh at Melissa Santos running out of the way AS SOON as he was announced given their history on Lucha Underground. Too bad we didn't get Dr. Wagner Jr. and Beautiful Brenda along for the ride too. I honestly was shocked that Marty took the L here, but then again, I'm not given that Trevor Lee always seems to be booked strong throughout his tenure in

Impact World Tag Team Champions LAX (Santana & Ortiz w/ Diamante) defeated Killshot & The Mack to retain their titles

This wasn't an Art of War match like we saw at Ultima Lucha Tres, but this was another fun match on this show. Given everything that we've seen from LAX in terms of sheer brutality with their feud with oVe, this was another tame match in comparison to that stuff, but still worth the watch.

Brian Cage defeated Eli Drake

Much like every other match (outside the one with Lashley) he's had since arriving in Impact Wrestling, Cage ended this in a promptly manner. There wasn't a second I believed that Drake was going to pull out a win here. He put up a good fight, but we all knew where this was going the second the bell rung.

Jeremiah Crane (Sami Callihan) defeated Eddie Edwards in an I Quit match

I busted out laughing at the spot where Eddie called Crane by his NXT name to piss him off. Yeah, we were all mad at that wasted opportunity there. At least Callihan is doing better for himself now, much like Edwards here after getting the shaft from NXT. After what transpired in their match a few weeks ago on Impact that drew all of the media attention from the botch that caused Sami smash Eddie's orbital socket with a baseball bat, I thought they would have given the win to Eddie here. Color me surprised on that one. I guess Impact wants to continue riding that heel heat for Sami until their upcoming Redemption PPV for Eddie to finally get his comeuppance for Sami's actions.

Pentagon Jr. defeated Austin Aries and Fenix in a triple threat match

It is worth noting that the main event for the event had been set to be a tag team match with Alberto El Patron teaming with Austin Aries to face Pentagon Jr. and Fenix, but El Patron did not show at the event. At this time there has been no explanation offered as to why the Mexican star did not show at the event, but one Impact Wrestling source has since claimed El Patron had become sick. El Patron is due to face Aries for the Impact World Championship at Redemption on April 22nd. Impact Wrestling came to terms and terminated El Patron from his contract by the end of the weekend after no showing another appearance on Saturday.


Good riddance if you ask me. I wouldn't have rehired him after all of that bad PR and negativity surrounding him in the first place. On top of that, the guy is a damn charisma vacuum and extremely bland. He does NOTHING to elevate their product, unlike how resigning Aries has done. To say they lost Lashley, EC3, and James Storm over whatever they were too generous paying El Patron, he wasn't worth that investment in the least.

As a result of El Patron's no showing this event, we got a MUCH better main event bout as a replacement - Austin Aries versus Fenix and Pentagon Jr. in a triple threat non-title match. IMPACT Wrestling announced later this weekend that the main event for their upcoming Redemption PPV will be a repeat of this match, but for the IMPACT Global Championship.

NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II (August 20, 2016) -- Results & Afterthoughts

 

NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II was a professional wrestling show in the NXT TakeOver series that took place on August 20, 2016. The NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II event was produced by WWE, showcasing its NXT developmental brand, and streaming live on theWWE Network. The event took place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Austin Aries def. No Way Jose

Jose has so much intensity when it comes to his meanstreak and aggression when he needs to fire up. That dude's mean/game face is fucking scary. I'd hate to be in his way on a bad day. Jose was beating up Aries at one point like he was fighting for payback for every slave during the civil rights movement. I was surprised that Aries picked up the win with the Last Chancery in a WWE ring though - even though he comboed into it after the Rolling Powerbomb out of the corner. I would've preferred to see the Brainbuster into it, but that works too.

Overall, this match had some high and low points, but it served as a good warm-up to get the crowd buzzing.

They put this off LONG enough. About time Itami finally did it in WWE.

The biggest takeaway from this match was Hideo Itami coming down to confront Aries and lay him out with the Go to Sleep. About time KENTA started reclaiming his moves that were raided by CM Punk, Daniel Bryan/Bryan Danielson, and even AJ Lee.

Ember Moon def. Billie Kay

This match was a FAR too short for my taste, but these two SHIMMER Women's Athletes' alumni know each other well enough to get both of their shit in and make this look good enough for Athena's NXT debut. She's been hired for over a year and working house shows just as long so I don't know what was the hold up on getting her on TV until now. I really hope that Moon is built up as the one who ends Asuka's streak. Bayley doesn't need any more accolades in NXT. She's long overdue to move on to the main roster. The women of NXT are being held underneath her thumb as long as she's there in the top spot. It's time to make some new stars in that women's division.

We finally get to see the O-Face in a WWE ring! Welcome to NXT, Athena... err Ember Moon.

I'm SOOOO glad that Athena/Ember Moon got to keep the O-Face as her finisher in NXT. From the reactions on Twitter and social media, I can tell that people were blown away from what they have seen in this debut. Athena vs. Naomi has been on my list of dream matches out of women's wrestling for a LONG time now and I might get to see that in the near future.

Bobby Roode def. "Cien" Almas

That entrance was something else, but man, I hated how the Brooklyn crowd ruined this match for me for the most part. They were booing Almas throughout the ENTIRE match when Roode is supposed to be the heel. Cool, you like his entrance but at least TRY to buy into the heel/face dynamic when Almas is busting his ass off trying to get a reaction from the crowd - only in vain. Ultimately, Roode ends it with a fucking Pumphandle Slam/Drop that they are calling the Glorious Bomb. I guess no Payoff (Perfect Plex) since Curtis Axel is still on the payroll nor a Roode Bomb when Cena and like two other guys are using finishers and signatures similar to that, but whatever. That was a fucking lame way to end the match.

Both of these guys tried, but I wasn't really impressed. Both are talented but there's no chemistry between them. They definitely have to do something to change up Almas. I'm starting to think that taking the mask off of La Sombra was a HORRIBLE idea because the Mexican pimp look isn't doing anything for anyone.

NXT Tag Team Championship Match - The Revival (c) def. DIY (Ciampa & Gargano)

This was essentially a tag team clinic from top to bottom. Somehow, someway, the Revival surpassed their performance with American Alpha here and even managed to get in all of their tag team spots in to garner and maintain heel heat. Whether you love or hate this tag team, you have to respect and admit that these guys are the best pure tag team in WWE today. Gargano and Ciampa put up an amazing effort though and don't have a damn thing to be ashamed of.

After that match, I feel like the main roster needs to trash the WWE Tag Team titles because those two divisions are laughable in comparison to what they are doing on NXT. So, when are we getting a #GiveTagTeamsAChance movement going on the main roster?

NXT Women's Championship Match - Asuka (c) def. Bayley

This was a lot more of the same from their first encounter at Takeover: Dallas, but a lot more heavy-hitting from Asuka - if that's even possible - and more aggression from Bayley. There were a few stumbling blocks here and there, but it ultimately came together for the most part.

I'm VERY happy that Bayley didn't pick up the win. Asuka doesn't need to have her hype train derailed by anyone who is set to move up to the main roster at any moment now. I know the marks would have preferred to see Bayley become a two-time NXT Women's Champion but she has overstayed her welcome in NXT for far too long. It's time for Bayley to move on like the rest of the Four Horsewomen.

I thought it was a little in bad taste to have Asuka hug Bayley after the match. That moment takes away a bit of Asuka's aura of bad-assery in my honest opinion. You don't see Brock Lesnar hugging guys after he just beat the shit out of them. Keep me in the suspension of belief that Asuka legit wants to kill all of these girls and eat their flesh.

By the way, how the HELL did Izzy get there? Does WWE have an all-expenses paid deal with that kids' family to be there for all of Bayley's matches?

NXT Championship Match - Shinsuke Nakamura def. Samoa Joe (c)

Going into this match I thought this was going to be a straight up slugfest or a brawl given the build after the last few TV episodes of NXT. Nope - they worked a pretty slow and technical match. It seemed pretty strange to follow up with that after the Brooklyn crowd blew their loads during the Women's title match. Then again, how could you follow up the main event with anything else other than a cool down before slowly building up to another powerful finish.

I have to admit that I applaud WWE for getting someone to play the violin to the sound of Nakamura's theme for his entrance. That was fucking amazing but can they tone down the flashing lights a bit. I had to look away from the TV as I was avoiding having a seizure as my eyes are already bad enough from sensitivity to bright lights.

I was legit shocked that they went with Shinsuke Nakamura getting the gold tonight and becoming the first Japanese NXT Champion - they are really trying to sell the Network to the Japanese fans to compete with New Japan World, huh? At the same time, I hope Samoa Joe is okay. He looked like he couldn't close his jaw after the first Bomaye from Nakamura. The follow-up attacks and the finish didn't do him any favors as the referee threw up the "X" symbol as soon as the match was over. I'm thinking they called an audible with Joe possibly off the table from this injury.

Closing Thoughts

This was a solid show from top to bottom, despite a few very minor stumbling blocks. As usual, it's going to be a tough act to follow for the main roster at Summerslam the following night. The men and women of NXT definitely continued the trend of great wrestling that Ring of Honor started with Death Before Dishonor Friday evening. As for Samoa Joe and Bayley, it's about time that they move up to the main roster after their performances tonight. You could call up the Revival too, but I would be scared to see what happens to the NXT Tag Team division without them. I can honestly see Bayley debuting as early as Sunday during Summerslam or during Monday Night RAW.

As for tonight's show, it blows my mind that there was ZERO talent booked on this card who could be considered in "development" - i.e. meaning that they were trained from scratch out of WWE's system. I guess Triple H wanted to play it safe and stack the card full of their "internet darlings" instead of giving the newer folks a platform. At the same time, that shows how little confidence they have in their own homegrown talent when NXT lives and dies off their big indie signings.

NXT Takeover: The End of the Beginning (June 9, 2016) -- Results & Afterthoughts

NXT TakeOver: The End was a professional wrestling show in the NXT TakeOver series that took place on June 8, 2016. It was produced by WWE, showcasing its NXT division, and stream live on the WWE Network. It took place in the Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.

Andrade "Cien" Almas (formerly La Sombra) def. "Perfect 10" Tye Dillinger

You'd think he would finish the match with this but nope...

This is La Sombra's Takeover (debut), but this isn't my first time seeing him wrestle for the NXT brand. He's been wrestling live events, including the NXT Columbia event I went to shortly after Takeover: Dallas. At that event, he faced off against Nakamura and I was hoping they would put him in a program with Nakamura. This isn't a bad alternative as Dillinger is a strong hand on the roster. That being said, I'm honestly sick of NXT just using Dillinger as a strong hand instead of pushing this guy. He's obviously talented and the WWE Universe are behind the guy so why not give him a chance to see what he can do with a push? I don't have a problem with La Sombra (get used to me calling him that until I get used to his WWE name...) taking the win here, but goddamn that finish was lame to say this opening match was decent for the most part.

One more thing I have to add is that BOTH Dillinger and La Sombra's entrance gear looked fucking stupid. Was Sombra supposed to be a Mexican pimp and Dillinger was a walking billboard? Either way it looked ridiculous.

NXT Tag Team Championship Match - The Revival def. American Alpha (c)

Kurt Angle would be proud... 

These two teams have been fighting since Takeover: Dallas at live events and know each other very well. You know what to expect here - tons of great old school tag team wrestling. American Alpha has the Steiner Brothers' routine down to the tee. I absolutely adore rough-and-tough style of the Revival. It reminds me of the Arn and Ollie Anderson in their prime. TONS of great spots in this match and the excitement never wanes here from start to finish. I felt that NXT's booking in this match and the opener took the air out of the sails  in Full Sail University since the crowd weren't too happy with both finishes. They really wanted Alpha and Dillinger to pick up the win here.

That being said, Shocked to see the Revival pick up the win... BUT I get what NXT is doing. American Alpha are better in the chase than as the champions, so I'm guessing another build throughout the next few tapings going into Takeover: Brooklyn where they pick up the gold all over again.

As for those guys who looked like 3 Minute Warning crossed with the Shield and Leo Kruger (Triple H has stated they are called the Authority of Pain... *rolls eyes*), I have no idea to think of them yet. Major props to American Alpha for selling the match they were in prior beforehand though. That was something small that doesn't get enough praise in modern wrestling. - SELL your fatigue after a grueling contest for crying out loud. That annoys me to no end. I'm anxious to see why Paul Ellering of all people would want to come to NXT though.

Shinuke Nakamura def. Austin Aries

This spot made me wonder why hasn't AJ Styles busted out his
Brainbuster onto the ring apron spot in WWE yet?

This match was everything that I expected it to be... awesome. Seriously though, if you can't work a great match against Nakamura then you need to be fired in my eyes. Another showstealer, but I don't think it was as good as Sami Zayn vs. Nakamura at Takeover: Dallas. It was definitely Aries' best NXT match to date though. Aries seemed to be just going through motions on auto-pilot since his debut in NXT, but it's great to see him on all four cylinders in this match, much like his main event push in TNA.

I thought it was a little odd that Aries was working Nakamura's leg to say he kept going for head-based submissions, but whatever... That's just a minor gripe I had with this match.

NXT Women's Championship Match - Asuka (c) def. Nia Jax

I really got sick of hearing Nia shouting "HUH!!??" during this match. I was glad to see that she's FINALLY starting to show a little more aggression here but it was a little to late in the ending phase in this match. As a powerhouse/monster, Nia Jax still bores me. She needs to be getting mentored or getting advice from Big Show or Kane on how to carry herself in these David vs. Goliath matches. It wouldn't hurt to watch some of Awesome Kong's matches from Impact Wrestling either. I just can't buy into her as dominating threat outside of the first few spots in this match, but that was all thanks to Asuka selling like Dolph Ziggler...

Surprised that was enough to beat Nia but whatever, we all knew this was filler.

As a result, I felt this was the weakest match on the card in my eyes. There wasn't not one instant I thought that Asuka was going to lose. Nia Jax kept stalling and taking her time to cover and following up to buy into the drama. We all know that NXT is setting up Asuka vs. Bayley II for Takeover: Brooklyn anyway. This was just filler until then.

Steel Cage Match for NXT Championship - Samoa Joe (c) def. Finn Balor

Has to be my favorite "Demon" entrance to date with this Walking Dead style intro...

For me, the steel cage match stipulation didn't really add much more depth to this match. It seemed to hinder them both rather than helping the finale of this feud. Regardless, Samoa Joe and Finn Balor didn't pull any punches and did their best to pull out all of the stops in the finale of this epic (I guess...) feud.

Seems weird that Joe is billed as a Submission Specialist in WWE, but
rarely wins with submissions...

One thing I have to note is the change of Balor's attire - he's gone from his traditional red and black attire for these Takeover events to white and black. It's the same colors that AJ Styles was wearing last week before laying out John Cena and revealing himself to be aligned with the Bullet Club all along. I still say that was bloody obvious to see coming last week because why else would Styles change his gear to be just like Anderson and Gallows' own even though they were "done" with each other.

Closing Thoughts 

If I were to give this event a grade, it would be a passing grade of B+. The finish to the opener and the Women's Championship matches were very weak overall, with the tag team match and Nakamura/Aries were the strongest showings on the card. One could blame the PG environment that WWE caters to (despite the event being on the WWE Network...) nowadays, but I can't condone that the steel cage match was played a little too safe. I guess Samoa Joe and Finn Balor didn't want to go all out after their match at Takeover: Dallas was cut short from Joe being busted open within the first few seconds of the match, so they didn't want to derail the momentum in this finale of their rivalry.

NXT Takeover: Dallas (April 1, 2016) -- Results & Afterthoughts

NXT TakeOver: Dallas was a major professional wrestling show in the NXT TakeOver series that took place on April 1, 2016, produced by WWE, showcasing its NXT developmental brand, and was streamed live on the WWE Network. It took place in the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, during the weekend of WrestleMania 32. It was the first show in the NXT TakeOver series to be broadcast live on the WWE Network during WrestleMania weekend and first of 2016.

Apollo Crews defeated Elias Samson

This match was recorded on Friday, but aired as part of NXT's TV taping the following week. I would have been pissed off if this match opened the show for the Takeover special. Samson and Crews have next to no chemistry with each other and Samson has a LONG way to go before anyone takes him serious on that show. Good grief that was a hard match to watch. I can't believe that they gave those two guys that much time on an ENTIRE episode of NXT to go at it. Wow, that was such a damn waste.

I guess Crews got called up to the main roster as a pat on the back for putting up with this shit.

American Alpha (Jason Jordan and Chad Gable) defeated The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) (c) Tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championship

Four of NXT's homegrown talents that WWE didn't manage to raid from other promotions and worked their way up to this spot from nothing. The Revival (For the record, I HATE that name for their team by the way...) are throwback to the old school tag teams like Arn and Ole Anderson and gave a lot of tag teams on NXT a run for their money with pure dominance in the ring, surprising a lot of fans with their success on multiple occasions after winning the NXT Tag Team titles. Tonight was American Alpha's night (not too crazy about their name either but whatever). Jason Jordan and Chad Gable were two guys who scratched and clawed their way to the top for this moment and they deserved every ounce of this glory.

You guys knew I was pissed off when they didn't capture the win during the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, but I'm glad to see that they finally won the big one here. This match was a wonderful display of athleticism for both teams with the crowd easily won over by American Alpha.

Maybe now people can quit saying that they need Kurt Angle to get over... Please, they don't need ANYONE to help them get over. I'm looking forward to seeing them dominate the tag division for a long time.

One thing I'm glad to see in this match is that WWE subtly erased the tired and true pattern to their tag team matches.

Austin Aries defeated Baron Corbin Singles match

An A for effort for Aries doing everything in his power to make Corbin look good and this match not to look like a flop in his debut. After the buzz and excitement from the tag team match to kick off the show, this match sucked all of the air out of the building and not in a good way.

Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Sami Zayn Singles match

I think we can all agree that this is an easy Match of the Year candidate. After spending the past year working with Ring of Honor talents, I was confident that Nakamura would adjust to American wrestling style for the most part, but I was worried that WWE would try to "bastardize" his offense on NXT like they did KENTA and Devitt to an extent. I'm happy to see that they didn't change a thing. From the second Nakamura made his trademark flamboyant entrance, I knew we were in for something special here tonight. Great match from bell to bell. Nakamura is going to be a star for a LONG time if he keeps doing stand out performances like this on the regular.

To be fair though, it's hard NOT to have a great match with Nakamura. You can ask anyone who fought him in Ring of Honor in the past year that question.

Asuka defeated Bayley (c) - Singles match for the NXT Women's Championship

This match was literally the female equivalent of the Nakamura vs. Zayn match. The main roster Divas will put up a good showing at WrestleMania two nights later, but their performances don't even come close to what Asuka and Bayley did here. Asuka winning was the right decision to maintain her aura of invincibility, but I can see why people were upset that Bayley lost. Bayley's been riding a lot of momentum and hype since NXT Takeover: Respect, but here's the thing, she really doesn't need the title to be successful at this point. She's established herself as a role model and an icon for this generation of women's wrestlers. More importantly, she's going to get a rematch at the next Takeover special, so why are you whining about it? I just thought it was messed up that Bayley lost against the first "real" threat to her title, but that was the corner that NXT's bookers and writers put themselves in and I don't feel sorry for them in the least.

Finn Bálor (c) defeated Samoa Joe - Singles match for the NXT Championship

I didn't understand why did Finn retain here when they were acting like Samoa Joe is going to get another shot, but who would care now that he's lost clean to Finn TWICE now? I can understand their frustration with the doctors trying to wipe all of the blood off of Joe's face, but fans need to understand that this isn't indie promotions where guys will continue wrestling with their eyeball hanging out of the socket like Vader or Daniel Bryan until the match is over. WWE has a reputation to protect - like it or not.

Closing Words

This is going to be a tough act to follow, but the main roster should be used to being overshadowed by the talent in NXT by now.

In terms of wrestling, the title matches delivered and Nakamura's debut was amazing. If I had any complaints about this show it's that they did all of their high profile matches back to back with little to no breaks in between to catch your breath. WWE did a bad job of keeping fans in the know on when the show officially started on the Network as I heard about 3 different start times on Friday, which sounded like WWE were trying to compete with Ring of Honor's live event that same night.

As with everything great about NXT, I just hope that they follow through with the strong start and don't allow what they did good here lose the magic with lackluster booking later.