WWE Elimination Chamber (March 8, 2020) -- Results & Afterthoughts

Elimination Chamber (2020) (also known as No Escape (2020) in Germany) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brands. It took place on March 8, 2020 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the tenth event under the Elimination Chamber chronology.

Eight matches were contested at the event, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event, NXT's Shayna Baszler won Raw's women's Elimination Chamber match to become the number one contender against Becky Lynch for the Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania 36. On the undercard, Aleister Black defeated AJ Styles in a no disqualification match, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Cesaro defeated Braun Strowman in a 3-on-1 handicap match, with Zayn pinning Strowman to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship, and The Miz and John Morrison retained the SmackDown Tag Team Championship in SmackDown's tag team Elimination Chamber match.

---

Note: I'm not going to discuss every match on this card as I think we can all agree that this show was unamiously a massive dud. Not a bad show, but just a really boring one, missing a lot of key top talent and lackluster matches, save for a few bright spots on the under card. A lot of people, myself included, went into and walked away from this show feeling like it was a bigger waste of time than advertised. This show did absolutely NOTHING to get me excited for WrestleMania in any shape nor form. 

Tag Team Match

The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) def. Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder

Kick-off Match. Didn't watch. Didn't care.

Singles Match

Daniel Bryan def. Drew Gulak by technical submission

For the love of all that's holy, can we stop with all of these scary neck bumps? Daniel Bryan for sure doesn't need to be taking them in any way, shape, nor form.

Enough with the fucking neck bumps. I'm sure Naito and Ibushi's dicks were hard seeing that spot though...

Outside of that scary moment (along with another with their Dynamite Kid-style suplex out of the ring spot), I thought this was a decent technically sound match. I understand that Bryan wanted to work with Gabba Gulak to give him the rub/shine so to speak, but I don't see how a loss in their initial encounter is going to do anything to advance this program to make anyone want to see them do a possible rematch for WrestleMania.

Singles match for the WWE United States Championship

Andrade (c) (with Zelina Vega) def. Humberto Carrillo

I get it - Humberto Carrillo is one hell of a talent in terms of the lucha libre style, but ENOUGH with the title shots that this dude has gotten over the months against Andrade or for the United States title in general. I can't look at the guy without thinking that he's the love child of Evan Bourne/Matt Sydal and Joe Lopez ("Other Joe" on AngryJoeShow). Seriously, Google those two guys and tell me you don't see it too!

This wasn't a bad match, but holy shit, they are running this feud into the ground just like how they did Andrade vs. Mysterio last year, which burned people out well before the feud could properly climax at WrestleMania last year too!

Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship

The Miz and John Morrison (c) def. The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston), The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso), Heavy Machinery (Otis and Tucker), Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado), and Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode

Eliminated	Team	Entered	Eliminated by	Method	Time[1]
1	Lucha House Party	3	Heavy Machinery	Pinfall	17:15
2	Heavy Machinery	5	Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode	Pinfall	23:45
3	Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode	6	The Usos	Pinfall	25:15
4	The New Day	2	The Miz and John Morrison	Pinfall	29:05
5	The Usos	1	The Miz and John Morrison	Pinfall	32:55
Winner	The Miz and John Morrison	4

For me personally, this was the match of the night - until Heavy Machinery were eliminated. Lucha House Party killed it here with a ton of great spots (at least the ones that they didn't botch upon execution), only to get eliminated right after their biggest spot of the match by the New Day. You knew that wasn't good when that elimination took all of the air and excitement out of the building in one fell swoop.

This was a thing of beauty right here. Too bad the Lucha House Party got eliminated immediately after this spot.

Heavy Machinery got the crowd going again, until they got eliminated as well, following Tucker's failed attempt to hold his own after Otis went flying out of the one of the chamber pods down to the floor.

I'm still disappointed that Otis hasn't been out for blood since Ziggler stole Mandy away from him.

I don't know what the hell WWE Creative was thinking in regards of booking this match. The only thing they had to do was either let Heavy Machinery win here after getting their hands on Ziggler and Roode or allow Roode & Ziggler to win to have them lose the titles to Heavy Machinery at WrestleMania. This isn't rocket science. Otis AND Tucker are over like rover. It's not like with the Street Profits where the team obviously had one clear star (Montez Ford) from sheer charisma and athleticism and his partner is just standing in his shadow (Angelo Dawkins).

Tonight was your weekly reminder to NOT sleep on Tucker Knight.

Both members of Heavy Machinery proved their worth here in this match with Tucker reminding people that he's a force to be reckoned with as well.

I get that reuniting The Miz and John Morrison in 2019 and putting the tag titles on them earlier this year was a big deal in terms of nostalgia, but it wouldn't have killed them to drop the titles to the two teams I mentioned earlier, especially when the Otis-Mandy-Ziggler triangle is the biggest storyline going over on SmackDown! that people care about. Haven't we seen The Usos against the New Day enough in our goddamn lifetimes though? When they started this match I was already rolling my eyes harder than that Tony Stark/Robert Downey Jr. meme that people love using.

No Disqualification Match

Aleister Black defeated AJ Styles (with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson)

For a No DQ match, I thought this was mostly pretty darn boring until towards the end of the match. The most frustrating thing here is it was obvious that they were dragging this out to fill out time on the show and the fact that I know that both Black and Styles are capable of much better performances than this.

The Club's reactions here were priceless.

The only reason I was engaged as I was just waiting for the arrival of The Undertaker like everyone else was at this point. They had to do something to continue hyping up this feud between Styles and Taker, so it was a given that something was going to happen in this match to even up the odds. That being said, I hope it's The Undertaker and Aleister Black against The O.C. (AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson) at WrestleMania instead of Styles and Taker one-on-one. Styles would bump his ass off for the Deadman for sure in a singles match, but let's not leave any window for another lackluster performance by The Undertaker, especially when his best years are behind him. A tag team match would be much more easier for him with Black doing most of the heavy lifting so to speak.

I love how Styles get caught out of the Phenomenal Forearm as if it's a video game. 

Tag Team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship

The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) (c) defeated Seth Rollins and Murphy

Simply put - this was a Monday Night RAW television match. Nothing more, nothing less.

Owens came out with a bag of popcorn to distract Rollins' for the finish.

...Only to get served a Stunner for his troubles.

This match was easily forgettable, save for Rollins' sell to Kevin Owens' Stone Cold Stunner.

3-on-1 Handicap match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Cesaro defeated Braun Strowman (c)

Since Zayn pinned Strowman, he won the championship.

During the promo backstage before this match started, Sami told Nakamura and Cesaro to stand back while he handled Strowman on his own. Boy was that a load of bull... As soon as it started he retreated back to allow his cronies (sad what both Nakamura and Cesaro have been reduced to at this point...) to do his dirty work.

I'm happy that Sami Zayn (who is getting a bit of a Dad Bod...) finally won singles gold on the main roster, but did they need to take the title off of Strowman right now? Dude already seemed like he was allergic to titles every opportunity he got to win one in the past. I would like to assume that they will have Strowman run through Nakamura and Cesaro over the course of the next few weeks of SmackDown! programming, only to force Sami to face him one-on-one at WrestleMania. If they end up being in that nothing of a match called the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal then someone needs to be slapped. That's all what I'm saying. This should be as easy as booking The Big Show versus Cody Rhodes that one year at WrestleMania. Nothing fancy. Just go out there and get the job done to drop the title back to Strowman.

Elimination Chamber Match for a WWE Raw Women's Championship match at WrestleMania 36

Shayna Baszler defeated Natalya, Liv Morgan, Asuka, Ruby Riott, and Sarah Logan

Eliminated	Wrestler	Entered	Eliminated by	Method	Time
1	Sarah Logan	3	Shayna Baszler	Submission	7:50
2	Ruby Riott	2	Shayna Baszler	Submission	8:15
3	Natalya	1	Shayna Baszler	Submission	9:30
4	Liv Morgan	5	Shayna Baszler	Knockout	15:00
5	Asuka	6	Shayna Baszler	Knockout	21:00
Winner	Shayna Baszler	4

I understand why this match went last (mainly because it was International Women's Day and the SJWs would have roasted them all over social media if it wasn't...) but it didn't deserve that spot, much like Becky Lynch doesn't deserve to main event WrestleMania for the second year in the row. This should have ended with either the Tag Team Chamber match or Black/Styles just for the massive pop this dead crowd erupted for the arrival of The Undertaker at the end of that match. Instead, we got a massive dud of a main event here. Don't get me wrong. I understand that this was damage control to repair Shayna Baszler's street cred and overall impression since arriving on the main roster as most people aren't savvy to her credentials from dominating on NXT over the past two years. I just didn't agree with these massive windows of time where there's absolutely nothing going on other than Asuka shouting in Japanese while Shayna is merely posing as they are awkwardly standing around as they wait for the pods to open up.

Asuka's taunting within her pod was one of the more entertaining moments of this match.

This match would have ended better if Liv Morgan got in before Shayna for they could have done the confrontation of all three members of the Riott Squad facing off, only for Shayna to come in shortly afterwards and clean house with them upon arrival.

Jeebus Christ!

I wouldn't be surprised if Nattie was concussed during this match, especially after those cringe-inducing bumps she took back to back from Sarah Logan. Like holy shit, I thought she bit the turnbuckle at ringside from that first bump from Logan after being dropkicked into the pod. Don't forget about that dive too where Logan's knee smashed Nattie in the face. I'm sure she had to be pissed about that as I was mad seeing it. If I were to speculate, that's another possible reason why this match didn't go as long as it should have. Nattie was probably meant to go the distance against Shayna until she got hurt here, but who knows. As of this posting (3/13/20), there's no reports floating around of possible injuries from this match from the female talent but there's no denying that Nattie got her bell rung here.

As much as they were teasing and hyping up the confrontation between Asuka and Shayna towards the end of this match, I was disappointed that Asuka didn't last longer against her, especially given her own reputation as a record holding NXT Women's Champion in the past. I guess they wanted to play it safe with Asuka's recent wrist injury and didn't want her to have too much action here with WrestleMania around the corner.

---

Afterthoughts:

At the end of the day, WWE got what they wanted. They established Shayna Baszler as the "killer" set out to challenge "The Man" Becky Lynch for WrestleMania - as if there was any shred of doubt going into this PPV. With those reports floating around of Vince not really buying into Shayna and that leaked photo of Rousey at WWE HQ, I was half-expecting them to pull an audible and sub-in Ronda Rousey instead of Shayna for WrestleMania against Becky Lynch one-on-one since it didn't happen previously. Y'know, do the finish where someone (Shayna) is eliminated early for the shock factor, only for Ronda to replace someone else and steal the win like that one year Edge stole Kofi Kingston's Elimination Chamber spot, only to win the entire thing after losing the title earlier that night. (Laughs) Yeah, I know. I give WWE Creative too much credit in that regard and should have known better.

Despite of all of that, I wasn't anywhere as pissed off like a lot of other people online after this show. I don't know what it is but I'm at the point where I just watch these PPVs, NXT, and read spoilers/highlights from RAW and SmackDown!. If I don't like this processed bullshit that WWE continues to churn out every week, I know how to turn the channel to something else I rather see. That being said, I can totally relate with the complaints about this show. This is the last stop before WrestleMania and with the clear lack of star power and big names, you can tell that this show was phoned in after Sweet Saudi Money V: Keep Hope Alive. They don't care as WWE is obviously in their annual "It's WrestleMania and we know you're going to watch anyway" mindset at this stage of their schemes. WWE needs to start getting concerned, especially when people had "#CancelWWENetwork" trending after Super ShowDown when Goldberg beat The Fiend for the WWE Championship, only to follow that show up with another flop. It's not doing anything for fans' morale going into "The Show of Shows". I just hope they get their shit together - not only with these coronavirus concerns - but with this show altogether. Maybe they should cancel WrestleMania? That would give WWE Creative a lot more time to fix this shit and figure out exactly what the hell they should be doing with their product.

WWE Extreme Rules (May 22, 2016) -- Results & Afterthoughts

Extreme Rules (2016) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE. It took place on May 22, 2016, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. It was the eighth event under the Extreme Rules chronology.

** Preshow ** No DQ Match - Baron Corbin def. Dolph Ziggler

Not even Ziggler can make me give a damn about Baron Corbin. I've said it at least every week since he was called up to the main roster that he's not ready for this position. Corbin is boring on every aspect that you can look at him. To say that this was a no disqualification match you wouldn't even noticed from how the match was worked.

I cracked up laughing at Ziggler selling a LOW BLOW from Corbin like he got shot before he took the End of Days for that L. Someone explain to me why big guys like Corbin and Undertaker have to use a low blow to gain an upper hand when they are already supposed to be dominant and over-powering against their opponents?

Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows def. The Usos - Extreme Rules Match

In a bizarre twist of irony, Jey Uso fell on top of the ring bell (obvious throwback to Gallows' previous WWE run as Festus), allowing Anderson and Gallows to hit the Magic Killer for the win.

This is one situation where WWE's 50/50 booking is really hurting guys. How in the world are Anderson/Gallows supposed to stand out from the rest of the boring teams of the tag division if they couldn't beat the Usos of all people in dominating fashion. I don't hate the Usos unlike most fans, but damn, this one dragged out longer than I thought it would have.

I still have a feeling they are going to be heavily involved in the main event. I guess we'll see but I'm writing this as I'm watching AND live-tweeting the show.

Rusev def. Kalisto (c) to become the NEW United States Championship

Kalisto showing that he can look like a million bucks against bigger opponents left and right. First with Ryback and now with Rusev. Sadly, there wasn't much else to write home about his US title reign other than a few decent matches here and there. Nothing against Kalisto but he was a complete afterthought in terms of booking lately. I'm anxious to see Rusev continue where he left off before him and Lana were split up roughly a year ago. With Big Match John coming back in another week, I'm sure they are going to book Rusev/Cena IV for Summerslam this year.

As for Kalisto, the tag team division needs the Lucha Dragons desperately to freshen things up on a competitive level. I can't even remember if they've even held the tag titles since coming up from NXT.

One thing I have to notice about Lana's managerial performance at ringside is that she was a lot less animated as she was in the past. I don't know if someone told her to do less or something but it was throwing me off a bit to see her do less when she's normally a much more "lively" character at ringside. She's still got the facials and stuff down but she's not doing much else.

The New Day (c) def. The Vaudevillains to retain the Tag Team Championships

Pretty average match save for the finish and the near-fall spot where the Vaudevillains took out Big E and Kofi at ringside and hit their finish on Woods only for him to surprise the WWE Universe by kicking out. I was more shocked at reactions on Twitter that people weren't aware that Woods is actually a good wrestler. Hello, he's been on the WWE roster prior to this retarded gimmick. Then he was one hell of an X-Division champion in TNA too.

I really wish Big E would quit doing that suicide dive/spear spot out of the ring during every other match. He's landing on his head and/or arms and just bound to break something within this slew of injuries WWE has not bounced back from on the main roster.

A title win for the Vaudevillains could have helped them get over. Let's be serious here. Exactly how long do you think this gimmick is going to work on the main roster until WWE forces them to be repackaged? At least it wasn't a failure at launch like the Ascension or Emma's dancing gimmick...

As popular as the New Day are, people seem to forget that titles are for getting people over who can't get over on their own. When you're more over than the title you're carrying it's time to move to something else and propel someone else for that spot.

Fatal 4-Way Match - The Miz (c) def. Cesaro, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn to retain the Intercontinental Championship

Definitely a match of the night candidate with everyone shouting "Fight Forever" - echoing the chants from NXT Takeover: Dallas between Zayn and Nakamura from WrestleMania weekend. This is going to be a hard match to top on this card. Great work from all four men involved.

I'm not a Miz fan but he's definitely one of WWE's best pure heels (who doesn't need cheap pops or cheap heat nor flip flops to get over with the fans) and it's going to mean a lot more for whoever the babyface is that's going to beat him. Owens and Zayn can easily bounce back from this loss while Cesaro is going to have to do something to get his momentum back, but that shouldn't be too hard given his skillset.

Compared to Lana, Maryse is the complete opposite tonight when it came to being animated and supporting her man at ringside. Maybe one of the agents told Lana to scale it back a bit for she wouldn't step on Maryse's shoes a bit here? I dunno, maybe I'm thinking too much into that.

First Ever Asylum Match - Dean Ambrose def. Chris Jericho

I didn't care when they fought earlier this month and I honestly don't care in this glorified rip-off of TNA's Lethal Lockdown match mixed with Monster's Ball. Ambrose won by busting out the thumb tacks and hitting the Dirty Deeds on that for the win. Really surprised that the E would bring that weapon back out since like forever, but this event needed something truly "hardcore" to stand out.

Until that spot, this match ultimately boils down to being a huge cock tease for pending violence that almost never happens. It's still pretty awkward to see these hardcore matches without an ounce of blood in them at all too. At least the ending of this match remedied that situation slightly after the two moves onto the thumb tacks.

I guess Ambrose really is crazy if he dropped himself onto the tacks just to beat Jericho...

I hope this feud is over at this point. It's dragged on long enough. Ambrose needs to move onto someone else and get his eyes back on a bigger prize... preferably the WWE Championship.

The most whored out weapon in the PG-era landscape of WWE has to be the kendo stick. I would love to see a lot less of that weapon in the future if possible.

Submission Match - Charlotte (c) def. Natayla to retain the Women's Championship

Goddamn this fucking match. I don't have a problem with Dana Brooke as a person but I absolutely hated this finish. It was already bad enough that this match was below-average for what both of these women are capable of, but they just had to end it with Dana dressed up as Ric Flair to distract Nattie long enough for Charlotte to get the win?

Anyone who watches NXT should be able to tell you how moronic it is to align Charlotte and Dana Brooke together when they both wanted nothing to do with each other when they were feuding on that brand. Just typical WWE Creative booking this shit to fill in the gaps since Emma is injured and to leave Becky high and dry without a feud. This isn't a promotion in the least; Dana just went from being Emma's partner/sidekick to being Charlotte's goon/lackey. It's not like Charlotte needed anyone else in her corner when Ric Flair is already muddling that up in that aspect and holding her down in her career, but damn. Just when I thought WWE can't find more ways to devalue women's wrestling during this whole Divas Revolution, they find a way to make it even more stupid.

I'm honestly getting fed up of this settling for less when it comes for women's wrestling in WWE, no rather in WWE's booking and storylines as a whole. Fans complain and they cave in a sense to throw fans a bone to make them shut up for the time being. For example, when fans complained about the WWE Divas not getting much air time on the main roster like the NXT Divas, they called up Sasha Banks, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch all in fell swoop to kickstart a "revolution". The Divas Revolution didn't go as how fans hoped as every woman was just as generic and cookie cutter as before, just stuck into stereotypical factions/tag teams. So what did WWE do to stop fans shitting on it? They stripped away the term "Diva", made Charlotte the first "Women's Champion" with a rebranded title. At the end of the day, they are still doing the same shit as before. Women are booked slightly better than a year ago, but the match quality is roughly the same since the veteran women are getting used more among the string of injuries thanks to everyone else. This still hasn't stopped Creative from booking some absolutely moronic finishes to these last few title defenses.

People keep calling it that Natalya's being "protected" but I fail to see how this is a legitimate argument. It's more akin to that Charlotte is being protected for whatever reason (more so than Nikki Bella in her record-breaking Divas title reign). She was protected at WrestleMania when it was clear her opponents were much more over than her and the crowds were ready for them to win the title for the first time. She was protected two weeks ago at Payback when WWE rehashed the Montreal Screwjob for the finish of a women's wrestling match. It's not making Charlotte look like a "strong" champion at all when she can't get the job done herself, even when her father was banned from ringside.

Boy, and people said that Samoa Joe's first and only title run in TNA was portrayed as weak with the bullshit finishes...

Seriously though, how is anyone supposed to take women's wrestling in WWE seriously when the competitive aspect goes out of the window at every opportunity in favor of something that doesn't show the champion as a credible athlete and deserving of said title?

Extreme Rules Match - Roman Reigns (c) def. AJ Styles to retain the WWE Championship

While I wasn't too crazy about the brawling in the crowd at the beginning of this match, I appreciated that someone finally used the preshow panel set for something for once. I was a little bummed out that the glass table didn't shatter from Styles being dropped onto it though.

For the rest of this match, Styles and Reigns killed each other to the point I was wondering if Styles must have insulted Reigns' mother to generate so much aggression from Roman during this match. Even the run-ins from the Usos and Anderson/Gallows made much more sense here and added to the drama of the match as they handily helped each Superstar attempt to get pins over the opposition and broke pin attempts. It all made SENSE - something that's rare in the current landscape of WWE storylines. AJ Styles and Roman Reigns kept upping the scales with the damage back and forth, even though it seemed like Reigns was thrashing Styles handily in a convincing manner at one point. If I had any issues with this match it's the fact that Styles telegraphed the counters for Reigns a bit TOO much and the fact that Reigns really didn't sell anything until Anderson and Gallows came out to even the odds.

Another thing older fans seem to forget that title matches used to be anything goes but damn, this match and the bulk of this entire PPV wasn't really "extreme" at all. They could have knocked out or blindsided the referee and still did all of these spots anyway. I'm not really trying to knock AJ Styles nor Roman Reigns as I thought they did phenomenal - no pun intended - for what they were given to work with in this spot.

From a storyline perspective, I got a feeling that AJ Styles flipping out with the steel chair towards the end of the match could be figuratively the point where Styles has accepted Gallows and Anderson's way of thinking. That could lead into the Authority being brought back into the fold backing Rollins once again. With Rollins already back as a heel (obvious by him attacking Reigns post-match), I'm guessing they are going to pick up where they left off on his run before his unfortunate injury last year.

Speaking of Rollins, I kinda wish that WWE played his music first before he came out as the crowd's reactions ruined his return before they showed him on camera - that is if you didn't see the news leaked out on almost every other website before the event even started.

What didn't sit well with me with this match was the reactions by fans on social media after the end result. C'mon you have to be fucking stupid to think that a decorated high profile champion and former TNA/Impact Wrestling wrestler - no matter who they are - will win WWE's top title within their first few months of being employed there. AJ Styles is lucky to even be in this position PERIOD. Tonight's match and the one at Payback were both great matches, but Styles didn't do it on his own - it was a team effort along with Reigns. That being said I wish fans would quit giving that guy such a hard time as he's actually pulling his weight in the ring. It's not like he's being thrown around like a ragdoll with next to no offense (AJ Lee) or being carried through the bulk of his matches (Ultimate Warrior, Batista, Charlotte, etc. - take your pick). The guy can actually work.

Roman Reigns may be The Guy, but Seth Rollins is THE MAN.

Welcome back, Architect. WWE's main event scene is in need of some restructuring.

Closing Words

Like mentioned above, Extreme Rules was a mediocre event, with only the Intercontinental, United States, and WWE Championship matches sticking out as the best of what this event had to offer. Sadly, this event is starting to stray far away from the extreme aspect completely. Outside of the Asylum Match, this entire event was your average run of the mill PPV. 

Seth Rollins is back in the mix, aiming for the title that he never lost thanks to his injury last year and we're a week away from the return of John Cena. Looks like Money in the Bank is going to shape up to be "money" with it's major players back on the table. 

WrestleMania 32 (April 3, 2016) | Post-WrestleMania Monday Night RAW (April 4, 2016) -- Results and Afterthoughts

WrestleMania 32 was the thirty-second annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It took place on April 3, 2016, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Kickoff: Kalisto def. Ryback to retain United States Championship

Kickoff: Team Total Divas (Brie Bella, Alicia Fox, Natalya, Paige, and Eva Marie) def. Team B.A.D. and Blonde (Lana, Naomi, Tamina, Summer Rae, and Emma)

The Usos def. The Dudley Boys

Ladder Match for Intercontinental Championship - Zack Ryder def. Kevin Owens (c), Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, Stardust, and Sin Cara to become the NEW Intercontinental Champion

This was pretty much what I expected here - a spotfest. There wasn't little else going on other than high spot after high spot to keep the crowd buzzing. I did appreciate that they did take the time to keep people engaged in the Zayn/Owens rivalry so that's something to appreciate.

Chris Jericho def. AJ Styles

I don't understand the point of the finish recycling the same spot that they used earlier in the match. It made absolutely NO sense. I hope Jericho is sticking around; otherwise I don't see are reason for him going over on Styles. I understand that WWE are billing the Springboard Forearm as Styles' finisher but they are diluting the rest of his arsenal when Jericho was kicking out left and right to everything else, including the Styles Clash and Calf Killer.

League of Nations def. The New Day

Nothing outside of the ordinary if you've seen these two teams go head to head for the past few months.

I was glad that the LON went over but burying them to Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels, and Stone Cold Steve Austin killed any momentum they had from that win instantly. I understand sending the crowd home happy with cheap pops but c'mon WWE you're better than this, or I'd like to think so. At least the New Day got laid out too so I can't complain too much here.

Brock Lesnar def. Dean Ambrose in a No Holds Barred Street Fight

This was a really underwhelming match to say that it was billed as a street fight. Dean Ambrose and Brock Lesnar did the same thing they do all the time. Brock hits like a dozen suplexes for the first half of the match while Ambrose sells this punishment like a ragdoll. It was a nice tease that he was actually going to use the chainsaw and "Barbie" before Brock got his hands on him. This was pretty much a weak rehash of Dean Ambrose versus Bray Wyatt by the end of it.

Man, WWE really let me down on this one. I thought Ambrose would at least come close to beating the guy but there wasn't a second that I thought that he was going to win against the Beast.

Charlotte def. Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch to win the NEW Women's Championship and retire the Divas Championship

This was a great match to spark off the new direction for the WWE Divas, or rather Superstars now that they are integrated with the rest of the roster in terms of terminology, but the finish proved that brand labels and a new title isn't going to fix the lingering problems of the Divas division. Bad booking and creative still hinder this division from being truly great and the finish of this match made that fact painfully evident.

You can make all the excuses you want about the finish but that's what matters, despite the girls trying their hardest to put this division over. It's all for nothing if creative can't get with the program.

The Undertaker def. Shane McMahon in a Hell in a Cell Match

Much like Brock Lesnar versus Dean Ambrose, this was another match that didn't really live up to the hype behind it. It was strange that Vince didn't even take the opportunity to come out and gloat afterwards, especially after his own son risked life and death jumping off the top of the Cell for the finish. I'm glad that The Undertaker didn't lose here but I was expecting a LOT more from this match.

Baron Corbin wins the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Why did they save this for roughly the last billed match before the main event? Outside of the moment that it looked like the Social Outcasts were going to win it and the Shaq and Big Show confrontation, this was completely forgettable, especially how Corbin won the damn thing after doing next to nothing the entire match.

If this was his first match to call/move him up onto the main roster, then I'm all for him making an impact with a win like this, but it's all for nothing then if they still have him hanging out on NXT for the next few months despite this huge win for his career.

The Rock announces the Record Breaking Attendance Record for WrestleMania; Wyatt Family interrupts

This turns into an impromptu match with The Rock defeating Erick Rowan in SIX seconds - a WrestleMania record. Bray and Braun Strowman storm the ring and out comes a returning John Cena in what is the most random thing ever on a WrestleMania card in YEARS. The Rock and Cena hit their finishers on the Wyatts to send them running.

I don't get what was the point of all this other than to give The Rock his annual WrestleMania payday, but it seemed more damaging for the Wyatt Family than anything else, even if their intentions were pure.

Roman Reigns def. Triple H (c) to become the NEW WWE World Heavyweight Champion

We were up what felt like hours 5 through 7 at this point and it didn't help that this match dragged along. I don't hate Roman Reigns like most people seem to do, but this match didn't do him any favors to make this conclusion to this night of questionable booking worthwhile. I don't want to say that the match was bad, because Triple H and Roman Reigns tried to keep things interesting but this crowd wasn't having any of it in terms of the boos for Reigns. It got to the point that WWE muted all of the crowd sounds to the point you could CLEARLY hear Stephanie McMahon talking shit at ringside LOUDER than the crowd itself.

Reigns may have won the title after it was all said and done, but I couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy having the fans shit down onto his parade.

---

Post-WrestleMania Monday Night RAW (April 4, 2016)

The New Day (c) def. The League of Nations to retain the WWE Tag Team Championships

Pretty weak match to start off RAW. This was actually worse than the match we saw the night before at WrestleMania. The only reason the crowd didn't shit all over it is because the New Day are over ask fuck with the smarks that compose the bulk of the post-WM crowd.

AJ Styles, Chris Jericho, Sami Zayn, and Kevin Owens confront Roman Reigns for a title shot for the WWE Championship

Sasha Banks def. Summer Rae

Summer Rae calls out Sasha Banks and gets beat in a pretty quick fashion. I was honestly laughing to myself during this match, reading comments on Twitter seeing people say that Summer has improved a lot.

Hello, Summer Rae was always decent since her days of feuding with Paige on NXT! It's just that she never got a chance to showcase said skills on the main roster. That being said I hope she knows that since Maryse is back (see below) that she's going to have to change her ring gear from being a clear ripoff of hers.

I'm sure the smarks won't admit that Sasha Banks and Charlotte would still be irrelevant on NXT if they weren't taken underneath Summer Rae's wing as part of the BFFs (Beautiful Fierce Females). Then again... Charlotte's still as bland as she was back then and Sasha just took ratchet and turned the dial to 11... so nothing really didn't change much.

The Miz def. Zack Ryder (c) to become NEW Intercontinental Champion with the help of the returning Maryse Ouellet

On one hand, I feel bad for Zack Ryder having a 24 hour title reign, but on the other hand, he got his WrestleMania moment and that's really all that matters. On top of that, he came out of this match with a feud when he was almost completely irrelevant on the main roster a few weeks ago.

I totally didn't see Maryse coming back at all. That was a welcome surprise. I'm guessing that WWE is going to use her like Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis' pairing on Ring of Honor/Impact Wrestling, where she doesn't have to get too physical in the ring unless she wants to. Damn shame that we didn't get Maryse to come back during AJ Lee's title reign when she broke her record or while Nikki Bella was breaking AJ's. Oh well, it's all good. From what I've read, Maryse will be replacing the Bella Twins as one of the veteran Divas on Total Divas once they make their retirement official.

Baron Corbin def. Dolph Ziggler in his RAW debut

Good grief, Corbin dropped the ball on his first promo on the main roster. Same bland and boring shit from NXT and the crowd were more entertained at a beach ball in the crowd than his actual debut.

I TOLD you guys that this guy is exciting as watching paint dry. At least Dolph Ziggler went out of his way to make the guy look good. I'll say that much.

Apollo Crews def. Tyler Breeze in his RAW debut

I'm sure this is one job that Breeze didn't mind doing even though Crews botched the finish. In the back of my mind, I got a feeling that Crews only got called up this soon only because Vince and the rest of the front office thinks that Bobby Lashley is back with the company.

I just hope that his career doesn't end up like Lashley's WWE run.

Women's Championship "Celebration" Ceremony for Charlotte

In a bizarre bit of irony, this segment reminded me of the Championship Coronation Ceremony for the unification of the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship with all of the past and current champions invited to the ring. The expressions on the faces of the Divas in the background were almost as priceless as CM Punk facepalming and laughing during that segment those many years ago.

To say that Charlotte has the honor to have her father, the legendary "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, accompanying her to the ring and acting as her manager, I wish she would pick his brain and get more advice and feedback on how to do promos. She comes off SOOO fucking bland and boring on the microphone. And to say that people were complaining about the Bella Twins on the microphone. This is just as bad, if not worse, in some aspects.

The one of two most interesting moments out of this segment was Sasha Banks storming out with the rest of the Divas following behind her. I dunno if that was a shoot or playing up real life emotions, but it was a nice touch that the entire division are disgusted with how Charlotte won on Sunday. Turn that ugly negative into a positive to move forward for the better of this division.

The second moment was Natalya being the one to confront Charlotte and call her out. I hope this doesn't mean that Natalya is going to do the job - as always, to make Charlotte look good by carrying her through another A+ performance in a high profile match. I'm guessing that WWE doesn't want to jump the gun on the Sasha Banks or Becky Lynch winning the gold quite yet, so they are stalling until roughly Summerslam.

The Dudley Boys def. The Usos in a Tables Match

This felt like a copy and paste of their match from the night before on the WrestleMania preshow. Damn shame that Lillian Garcia and the bell keeper botched the finish.

What the fuck is up with that vignette for Primo and Epico "greeting from Puerto Rico"? I rather see those guys in Lucha Underground with Carlito than another lackluster WWE run...

Enzo Amore and Big Cass debut to confront the Dudley Boys

Unlike Baron Corbin, Enzo took this opportunity to step up to the plate and knocked out of the park with a home run. He had this crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. Cass' success is going to be entirely dependent on how much tied to the hip he is to Enzo with his superb mic work. Otherwise, he's going to be another boring big man on the WWE roster after the initial big push wears off.

As for their feud with the Dudleys, I hope that they allow Bubba to fire back on the microphone against Enzo as they could make some magic in that department, as long as egos don't get involved.

AJ Styles def. Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn Cesaro to become the #1 Contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Sami Zayn got taken out after an attack by Kevin Owens so he wasn't medically cleared to compete in this match, so Shane McMahon names the returning Cesaro as his replacement. While I was happy as everyone else to see the Swiss Superman back, but I was bummed out that he didn't win this match. What was the point if he wasn't going to win this thing? It seems like they are only going to feed AJ Styles to Roman Reigns at Payback just to kill some of his buzz and take some the wind out of the sails of the ex-TNA guy or "internet darling" as how Triple H would refer to him as.

I want to be wrong but with Roman Reigns acting tweener here, WWE would have to be pretty fucking stupid if they think that they can get the crowd to cheer for him at Payback against AJ Styles. Now is a good of time as any to pull the trigger on turning him heel and get the most out of it.

Closing Words

I'm going to elaborate this in detail in a future article, but I want to clarify that I don't mind the new design for the WWE Women's Championship, along with the change from "Divas" to "Superstars" and the retirement of the Divas Championship. I have a problem more with the idea that people found the term "Divas" was so offensive, rather that the way how WWE books and writes creative material for the women on the main roster. This sect of fans act like those changes will be an automatic instant fix to the issues that have been plaguing the division for years now. Proof of that was evident in tonight's Triple Threat Match. Charlotte, Becky, and Sasha put their bodies on the line for an amazing match, but that went down the drain with the piss poor finish. To say that WWE is all for establishing that this is a revolution for WOMEN, why does Charlotte need her dad to bail her out of every hairy situation? I understand that she is a heel, but there's more methods to drive that point home and at least provide a better finish than what we have seen on the typical episode of RAW or Smackdown.

Ultimately, I felt that Brock got the win over Ambrose to satisfy Brock since he's running out of appearances on his current deal, but I can understand why a lot of fans are muffed about Ambrose losing the fight here since the win for Brock does nothing for neither of them. Brock has nothing to follow up on and Ambrose has nowhere to go from there.

I felt bad for Shane doing the bump of the night or better yet, the decade, only to lose the chance at winning his legacy. Everyone watching live in Dallas AND around the world would have been in an uproar if The Undertaker had to retire with Shane O'Mac being his last opponent of all people. What was more messed up was that Shane went through all of that and Vince STILL ended up letting him run RAW the next night... Talk about a lack of consistency in storytelling.

What a way to make RAW feel less important than WrestleMania though... NONE of the big names made an appearance the following night, none of the Hall of Famers, no Rock, John Cena, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman, nada... It just felt VERY odd to say that they went back to their lazy booking for RAW with just stacking the card full of debuts and returns. You can't debut that many people on one night and expect everyone to get over, especially with the post-WrestleMania crowd. I feel sorry that the Vaudevillains have to debut on Smackdown instead of getting the honor to be on RAW like everyone else, but damn, it just seems like they are dooming these new debuts to failure right off the bat. Outside of the main event, there wasn't really too much to write home about with this show. We're right back to mediocrity with typical WWE programming as we move towards WrestleMania 33 next year and to be quite honest, I'm really let down that they didn't give us nothing to sink our teeth into for the new season. Talk about a buzzkill...

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.

NXT Takeover: Rival -- Results & Afterthoughts

NXT TakeOver: Rival took place on February 11, 2015 and served as NXT's premiere event to kick off the 2015 season of NXT programming and storylines in the wake of the critically acclaimed and praised NXT TakeOver: [R]Evolution. Did this event live up to the hype and high-standard that it's predecessor set the bar for? Let's find out shall we?

Hideo Itami defeated Tyler Breeze. Itami pinned Breeze after a running kick.

Not bad for an opening match. I still feel like Tyler Breeze has been reduced to an afterthought or rather, enhancement talent, after the monumental signings of Prince Devitt (Finn Balor), KENTA (Hideo Itami), and Kevin Steen (Kevin Owens), but at least he put on a stellar showing in this match with Itami. I wonder where they will go from here as NXT has to be VERY careful how they push Itami and Balor from here on out. I personally would have kept them both as a tag team a bit longer before dissolving their partnership, but apparently NXT wanted to split that up and push them to the moon as singles competitors.

I'm not taking anything away from Itami in the least but I can't help but feel sorry for Tyler Breeze who constantly seems to be getting the short end of the deal.

I'm guessing that NXT are going to keep teasing the Go To Sleep by Itami until his first big title win as a singles competitor. I'm already shocked that they are still letting him use the Busaiku Knee Kick while Daniel Bryan already had first dibs on that as a finisher. CM Punk isn't coming back anytime soon so WWE should go ahead and give Itami one of his iconic moves to his NXT arsenal.

No Disqualification Match: Baron Corbin defeated Bull Dempsey. Corbin countered a chairshot attempt into the End Of Days for the win.

To be quite honest, NXT lost my interest in this feud the second these two fought each other for the first time after all of the hype and anticipation, only for Bull Dempsey to lose CLEAN. No bullshit, no count out, nada - just a CLEAN loss. Apparently, Bull Dempsey is the 2015 edition Mojo Rawley after losing not once but TWICE to Corbin prior to this match. Corbin's match against Adrian Neville two weeks ago on NXT's weekly broadcast, but I'm skeptical how they are going to continue to build this guy off squash matches.

I honestly don't see how this guy is being garnered as "the next big thing" (no pun intended), when we haven't see him do much in an extended bout that's not a squash match. Neville can work a stellar match with a paper bag so you can't garner judgment on Corbin's single match against him.

As for this match itself, it was better than what I was expecting going into this. If this event had any piss break match, it was this one for sure. This match was littered with "been there, done that" spots and a more than obvious finish.

NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Blake & Murphy (c) defeated the Lucha Dragons. Blake & Murphy retained after a frog splash. After the match, we got more teases for Solomon Crowe’s debut.

I have been saying it since they debuted but Blake and Murphy are NXT's poor man's version of the American Wolves sprinkled with a little of the Motor City Machine Guns, but without their flair and charisma. It disappointed me to see this match filled with botches to start off, but they were fortunate to shake off those shortcomings and turn this match around for the better during it's latter half.

I feel like the Lucha Dragons are trying to overcompensate and compete with what the guys down in Lucha Underground are doing every time they perform on NXT over the last few months. If I were Kalisto, Hunico/Sin Cara, Primo, Epico, and El Torito, I would be racing to Lucha Underground without hesitation once my contract expires. They are talented without a doubt, but their talents pale in comparison to the folks in Lucha Underground as a whole.

I have been believers of Blake & Murphy's abilities for a while now, but I wish they had a better storyline that secured them tag team gold instead of a fluke win after they were one of (MANY) teams fed to the Ascension religiously over the past year in squash matches. In the words of Jim Cornette, it's going to take a while to wash that smell of funk off of them.

#1 Contender Tournament Final: Finn Bálor defeated Adrian Neville. Bálor pinned Neville after a top rope double-stomp.

I'll give you guys a second to recover from your orgasms from Devitt's entrance again...

Great match from start to finish. This match marked the point of this event where business really picked up big time. I'm glad that WWE are allowing Devitt to keep using the Bloody Sunday (and it's variations) as signatures/finishers, but I rather he end a match with that than the double foot stomp.

On a side note, wasn't it ironic that New Japan Pro Wrestling's weekly show made sure to highlight Devitt's match against Okada this past week? I thought that was perfect timing given that this was one of the three high profile matches on this event's card.

Fatal 4-Way for the NXT Women’s Championship: Sasha Banks defeated Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Bayley. Bayley hit a second-rope Bayley-to-Belly on Charlotte and went for the pin, but Sasha pulled her off. Sasha locked in the Banks Statement on Charlotte, who refused to tap. Ultimately Sasha turned the crossface into a crucifix pin to win and become the new NXT Women’s Champion.

(Stands up and applauds)

The ladies had the infamous "death spot" before the main event and managed to COMPLETELY blow Balor and Neville's match out of the water from start to finish.

. @MsCharlotteWWE @SashaBanksWWE @itsBayleyWWE @BeckyLynchWWE You have my respect and admiration. #NXTTakeoverRival
— Lance Storm (@LanceStorm) February 12, 2015

I know some ppl won't want to believe it but the divas match was the match of the night. #NXTTakeOverRival
— Evel Ted (@EvelTed) February 12, 2015

I LOVE WOMENS WRESTLING 😍 What an AMAZING match put on by these NXT divas!!! Congrats @SashaBanksWWE!!!!! 😎 #NXTTakeoverRival
— Noelle Foley (@NoelleFoley) February 12, 2015

That was great wrestling. Not great "women's wrestling". Not "good for a girl's match". That was fucking GREAT. #NXTTakeover
— Thomas Green (@NotThatTomGreen) February 12, 2015

What a Boss, Congrats @SashaBanksWWE ! pic.twitter.com/O5upaSFNMS
— WrestlinGifs (@WrestlinGifs) February 12, 2015

If you're a fan of women's wrestling, you MUST see this match. If you don't believe women are just as talented as men in this sport, watch this match. If you're just a fan of professional wrestling in general, PLEASE do yourself a favor and watch this match. It's that damn good.

With Sasha Banks being crowned as the new NXT Women's Champion, it looks like Charlotte could be bringing a little Flair to the main roster sooner more than later. I'm all for her on the main roster as long as she doesn't steamroll over the already battered Divas division. This is the time to rejuvenate the division not dig it into the dirt even further. Both AJ Lee and Paige's title reigns over the past year have done enough damage to the perception of the division.

As for the NXT Women's division, Sasha's title reign was LONG overdue in my humble opinion. She should have gotten it over Charlotte in Paige's absence if she wasn't riding her Daddy's coat tails to stardom. Sasha has more than capable opponents to keep her busy for the duration of 2015 and beyond -  Bayley, Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss (why hasn't she been on any of these events??), and Carmella to name a few.

The sky is the limit for these girls down here on NXT. I can see why even the main roster Divas are saying the NXT girls are better off staying down there after this wrestling showcase that these girls put on this event.

NXT Championship Match: Kevin Owens defeated Sami Zayn (c). Owens repeatedly powerbombed Zayn, causing doctors to check on Zayn. Owens was relentless, repeatedly powerbombing Zayn until the referee stopped the match and awarded him the NXT Championship. Title change by TKO.

I'm going to get heat for saying it but here goes...

SO BASICALLY HE KILLED SAMI pic.twitter.com/lBlHDVihPl
— WrestlinGifs (@WrestlinGifs) February 12, 2015

In complete shock here, they gave Owens the title in his 2ND match in the company O__O;;; I got nothing. #NXTTakeOver
— Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) February 12, 2015

This match was a bit of a letdown.

Allow me to elaborate. I have watched this event about three times now and while I cannot fault NXT for their masterful storytelling with this narrative with this match, I cannot get behind putting the strap on Kevin Owens immediately like this. Sami Zayn losing in his first second defense is a bit jarring, but I suppose it added more shock and awe to the Streak being ended-style reaction from the live audience. A part of me felt like Sami Zayn got the rug pulled out from underneath him prematurely, but at the same time, the guy has based his ENTIRE NXT career on bouncing back from screw jobs and shortcomings. He's better at being Daniel Bryan (i.e. the underdog babyface) than Daniel Bryan himself.

I had to ask a friend to clarify, but the title change via KO hasn't been used in decades as a finish. That alone is a milestone for NXT's storytelling here. Plus that is a rather ironic way to win your first title when your moniker/gimmick is "KO", Mr. Owens.

At the same time, I was expecting something a bit more graphic (i.e. some blood in there...), especially given Owens/Zayn's history on the independent scene that NXT are playing off of here. I had my fingers crossed for a Package Piledriver spot, but I guess we're all going to have to get used to Owens' finisher being the Snap Powerbomb in WWE's playground.

Closing Thoughts 

This event was great, but at the same time, it was NOWHERE as good as NXT Takeover: [R]Evolution back in December. If you ask the WWE marks who eat and worship all of the shit that comes out of WWE's ass with a shovel, they will tell you that this show or ANY NXT event was the hottest thing since sliced bread.

We are killing it with NXT (and by "we" we're referring to the 2012 @ringofhonor DVD that we keep ripping off) #Kayfabe
— WWE Creative Humor (@WWECreative_ish) February 13, 2015

There's one huge glaring weakness to NXT and I have to admit that they are doing a fine job at covering it up, but it's their tag team division. I'm not really surprised as WWE as a whole doesn't know what to do with tag teams anymore. As soon as something gets hot, they want to split a team up and push them as singles stars. The Dubstep Twins (the smarks' name for Blake & Murphy) aren't doing much to change that mindset while the Lucha Dragons failed to provide something new and fresh in a division that seems completely lost after the Ascension got called up to the main roster. Enzo Amore and Big Cass are excellent on the microphone but as exciting as watching wet paint dry in the ring, while Jason Jordan and Tye Dillinger showed some promise, but they were currently split up and reduced to squash/jobber matches as of late. The Vaudevillains haven't been seen for weeks, despite their strong outings throughout 2014 and their recent failure to capture the gold from the Lucha Dragons. Like I mentioned earlier, NXT would have benefited from keeping Itami and Balor as a tag team after they disposed of the Ascension. It was rather strange that they didn't challenge for tag titles at least once. Instead they quickly split up and went their own separate ways.

I personally wouldn't rate this event higher than [R]Evolution, but it ties with the ArRIVAL event from last year in terms of quality. The ladies truly stole the show from the boys on this one and as a fan of women's wrestling, it makes me beam with pride from that fact. This just makes me wish that WWE would have more confidence with their women on the main roster and give them similar opportunities to shine like this. Contrary to popular belief, it's not that the main roster's Divas "suck" in comparison, it's the fact that they have little to nothing to work with. Try getting yourself over, tell a story, work some psychology, AND create a character for yourself within 3-5 minutes (entrances included in that time), if THAT much once every other week on WWE programming? Not every Diva is AJ Lee, who gets a lot more screen time to get herself over on the camera than most of the other girls - in and out of the ring.

The last three matches of the show really saved this show from being a flat out average event. Neville/Balor threw the home run pitch while the Fatal 4 Way for the Women's Championship knocked it out of the park big time. The main event was great, without a shadow of doubt, but it just left me craving more.

I guess I'm a little disappointed to see Sami Zayn go from his show-stealing performance at [R]Evolution only to find himself in the same position as John Cena at Summerslam last year against Brock Lesnar, mounting little offense against Kevin Owens. It seems like every major North American-based promotion is going for their own Brock Lesnar archetype that is systematically destroying everything in their way - Bobby Lashley (Impact Wrestling), Brian Cage (Lucha Underground), Moose or Hanson (Ring of Honor), and now Kevin Owens on NXT.

Then again, babyfaces always need to be chasing something so I'm anxious to see how Sami Zayn bounces back from this defeat as we know that this feud is far from over. As for Finn Balor as the next #1 contender, NXT have to play that match VERY carefully as they don't want to tarnish his credibility prematurely. I'm guessing that Owens will retain against him via DQ or count-out without the title changing hands. Once again, NXT have to be careful how they weave the narrative of Owens vs. Balor as they don't want to damage either rising star's credibility at this point.