NXT TakeOver: Orlando (April 1, 2017) -- Results & Afterthoughts

NXT TakeOver: Orlando was a professional wrestling event in the NXT TakeOver series. It took place on April 1, 2017, at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, as part of the WrestleMania 33 weekend festivities. The event was produced by WWE for its NXT brand, the event was streamed live on the WWE Network.

Five matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Bobby Roode defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to retain the NXT Championship. On the undercard, Asuka retained the NXT Women's Championship against Ember Moon and Authors of Pain retained the NXT Tag Team Championship against #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) and The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder). The event also saw the debut of Aleister Black. Also, all of the championships were given new belt designs.
Note: This article was posted AFTER my WrestleMania 33 write-up, so I'll be mentioning stuff from after the fact.

SAnitY def. Tye Dillinger, No Way Jose Kassius Ohno, Roderick Strong & Ruby Riot

You guys can go back to one of the earliest entries I've wrote about women's wrestling for here or for the archives from Let's Talk Wrestling, but DAYUM Heidi Lovelace/Ruby Riot isn't easy on the eyes. She's even uglier to me in HD. That being said, it was cool to see what she brought to the table against Nikki Cross. I still feel like she needs to change her ring gear as it looks like she belongs in Sanity instead of against them. Her and Cross didn't do much other than deliver their own unique brands of crazy while the guys did most of the work.

No Way Jose was written off in an injury angle during the preshow so Kassius Ohno was made to be his replacement. Thank god he changed up his ring gear to some more flattering colors to hide his fat. That white NBA jersey wasn't doing him any favors. Now you can focus on his offense instead of seeing his gut and cellulite jiggling around during everything that he does. Can someone tell Roderick Strong to SLOW THE FUCK DOWN? This isn't Ring of Honor anymore so he doesn't have to go a million miles per hour in his matches. I'm sure one of the coaches/road agents chewed him out about that post-match. A part of me hopes Dillinger gets called up just for he doesn't have to be burdened with this feud much longer. I rather see NXT go in a different direction with everyone involved here (except for Ruby and Cross) out of the guys as it just seems to be redundant at this point.

This wasn't a bad match at all and definitely got everyone hyped to kick off the show, but I rather see most of the guys on Dillinger's team in singles feuds than in a huge stable war against Sanity, who could be in the tag team division conversation, especially in a division that's going to be lacking bodies once Revival get called up.

Aleister Black def. Andrade “Cien” Almas

I had no idea who this guy was supposed to be from the vignettes until I read up on message boards and social media to find out that this is the debut of Tommy (FUCKING) End in NXT. The guy definitely lived up to his reputation and I appreciated that NXT presented him like a megastar right off the bat. That's something I'm still shaking my head at how they failed to do with Roderick Strong. That guy was a fucking main eventer for Ring of Honor (which you can pretty much call an unofficial feeder system for WWE nowadays) and they just brought him in like a regular guy with little to no fanfare. Some of the Full Sail folks knew who he was but it wasn't made into a big deal like End's debut here. I've seen Almas work matches at NXT house shows, so he was the perfect opponent to put End over in his TakeOver debut.

If memory serves, isn't this the same guy who had that stellar exhibition match against Neville during the UK Championship Tournament?

NXT would be crazy not to push this guy to the moon. Then again... this is the same company that's deadset on doing NOTHING with guys like Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler, etc. at a main event level...

NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain def. #DIY and The Revival

I've been hearing people call this a MOTY candidate all weekend and I don't know about that. I'm usually biased towards the Revival's matches because they are that damn good at tag team wrestling, but at the same time, this wasn't as flawless as Revival's last few TakeOver outings. Don't get me wrong, Revival and DIY made the Authors of Pain look like a million bucks by enduring their arsenal of moves being laid on them, but the second DIY got eliminated this match went to shits. The Authors of Pain went back to being sloppy and green as grass. You could see that in how sloppy they finished off the Revival for the win here. Everything up to that point was superb though from DIY and Revival.

I was personally pulling for Revival as three time NXT Tag Team Champions but whatever, if they want to keep pushing AoP, I hope they learn something from Paul Ellering in the long haul as they got a LOT to learn about tag team wrestling.

I'm sad that we didn't get a special one night only appearance of Jim Cornette managing The Revival since he raves about them so much on his podcast.

NXT Women’s Champion Asuka def. Ember Moon

This was a great back and forth match with Ember Moon matching and one-upping Asuka move for move and counter for counter. They have fought each other previously prior to signing with WWE, so this was a highly anticipated rematch of sorts for fans who have followed both the former Kana (Asuka) and Athena's (Ember Moon) careers up to this point. I was ready to call this the match of the night until the finish.

I get that NXT are toying with the idea of making Asuka a heel but it really doesn't work when everyone is going to cheer for her anyway when she's beating the shit out of everyone thrown her way. Besides, it doesn't make much sense that she has to cheat when her whole gimmick to this point has been she's been an unstoppable striking machine. The whole referee bump spot just seemed like a cop out since they want to milk this feud until the next TakeOver event or even longer. I seriously doubt they are calling up Asuka to the main roster any time soon anyway. From the way it looks currently, I wouldn't be surprised if they call up Ember Moon before they call up Asuka.

That being said, NXT needs to do something drastic to pull this women's division out of being on life support. I was hoping that this Ember/Asuka feud was going to be the shot in the arm that it has needed since all of the Four Horsewomen left, but I was kinda let down here. Sure, Ember was the first opponent in a long time where she could go all out against instead of holding back (looking at all of you - Eva Marie, Aliyah, Liv Morgan, Billie Kay, and Peyton Royce), but it seemed like they were told to not play all of their cards at once. I don't know what it is about NXT and wanting to wear out something good (the Joe/Balor feud, any feud involving Revival, etc.). Start doing some one-off feuds and a rematch tops after a title change. No need to force feuds to go on and on to bore people to no end. Besides, NXT has a TON of talent that hasn't even debuted on TV yet, so you would think they would be trying to cycle in as many people as possible to get them TV ready for the main roster before they raped clean like last year's draft again.

NXT Champion Bobby Roode def. Shinsuke Nakamura

I'm going to be in the minority here and I'm starting to get bored by these bouts between Nakamura and Roode. They are both amazing wrestlers, but this is getting stale to watch. It's starting to bore me as much as the Nakamura/Joe and Balor/Joe feuds where they blew their load on everything that you can expect them to do. This match felt like the Asuka match before it whereas it's starting to become a chore to watch these repetitive rematches since audiences have become used to what to expect from these two. At least Ember Moon/Asuka was something new, but this was the exact same thing that we saw at the previous TakeOver event without the whole injury angle at the end. I'm honestly ready for both Roode and Nakamura to move onto other things. Wouldn't be surprised if Nakamura gets called up to SmackDown! tonight. At the same time, I don't see why they wouldn't call up Roode for either brand. You got an instant main eventer here that can talk and work solid bouts, so why keep him in NXT? He's not getting any younger.

I forget which podcaster said it best, but WWE need to start worrying about how many guys they have on their roster that are mostly "entrance props" and that's it. The more it carries on, I fear that Roode's music will be more over than he actually is in the eyes of WWE fans. Wrestling fans that have seen him elsewhere in TNA and GFW know better, but I'm skeptical that he's just over because his music is freakin' awesome.

I have to ask at the end of this NXT TakeOver review, but where do we go from here? Solid show as usual that we've come to expect from these events, but what's next for this brand in terms of storylines? It just seems like a lot of feuds have stagnated.

NXT Takeover: Toronto (November 19, 2016) -- Results and Afterthoughts

NXT TakeOver: Toronto was a professional wrestling show in the NXT TakeOver series that took place on November 19, 2016, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The event is produced by WWE for its NXT brand, and streamed live on the WWE Network.

Bobby Roode def. Tye Dillinger

This was a solid opener for this event, but if I'm perfectly honest, I'm not really blown away from anything Bobby Roode has done since his arrival in NXT. I'm not knocking the guy - it's just that I have been bored with him since his last run in Impact Wrestling and Global Force Wrestling. That goes double for Austin Aries too. It just seems like those guys are riding off the same old shit that they were doing in TNA for the last decade or more and the WWE marks who haven't bothered to watch anything outside of Vince's kingdom don't know any better, even though NXT is supposed to be the smarky audience.

To say that Roode dominated the majority of this match to a minor comeback by Dillinger, only for Roode to ultimately win at the end (with a fucking Impaler DDT no less) just seems like another blow to Dillinger as NXT continues to chop that guy's legs out from underneath him. Despite how stupid he looked in his entrance and he had to follow behind Roode's fucking mass choir singing along with his GLORIOUS entrance theme, Dillinger didn't allow that to shake him and the crowd was really behind the guy - even carrying on his memory throughout the weekend. I just wish WWE would give him a chance to shine instead of allowing him to fizzle out like most of their homegrown talent in NXT in favor of the established "indie darlings".

Dusty Tag Team Classic 2016 Finals - Authors of Pain def. TM61 with Paul Ellering confined within a shark tank hanging above the ring

Speaking of indie darlings, this is one case where the established indie guys should have gone over. The Authors of Pain have been lame since their debut and having Paul Ellering in their corner has done them absolutely no favors. They pulled that shark tank stipulation right out of their asses too as who saw that one coming. I guess they wanted to hype up that new playset for the kids with the holidays right around the corner.

Outside of that crazy dive spot off the structure at ringside, I couldn't have cared less about this match. Both teams tried but this year's Dusty Classic has been a complete waste just to feature the former CWC talent in pointless tag team matches as filler while taking away the focus from deserving new and established teams in NXT. Goddamn, this tournament has been such a wasted opportunity this year.

I'm guessing that they gave Paul Ellering's team the win since they are trying to brown nose him into sticking around even though his daughter recently signed with Ring of Honor for their women's division.

By the way, Paul Ellering would be one hell of a Hall of Fame induction sooner more than later. He's MORE than qualified at this point.

NXT Tag Team Championship Match - DIY def. The Revival (c) in a Best of 3 Falls Match

After the first fall, I stood up and applauded as I thought that was the finish. I had NO fucking idea that this was a Best of 3 Falls Match like Revival's last encounter against American Alpha. That Shatter Machine counter to Gargano's Slingshot Spear was fucking beautiful. That being said, Revival and DIY put on a tag team clinic in this match. It was as great as their last Takeover match, despite a few miscues and botches but it came together by the end. This was the ONLY match the entire weekend that had me emotionally invested from bell to bell.

I predicted that DIY would win the gold here, but at the same time, I was a little heartbroken to see Revival lose the titles. I hope they are getting a call up to the main roster sooner more than later as both brands could benefit from a tag team of their caliber on their rosters. If it is time for Revival to move up, then the division is in good hands with DIY on top.

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

I don't get why the Canadian crowds were chanting that Mickie "still got it" when she honestly never quit wrestling much other than during her pregnancy. Just because you leave WWE for roughly the last few years doesn't mean that you haven't been wrestling period. Geez, folks. Give TNA some credit for keeping her memory alive after all of WWE's work lately to drag the post-Lita and Trish era of WWE Divas in the mud until the Bella Twins came around.

This match just seemed off. It wasn't as bad as Gail Kim and Mickie James' lack of chemistry from throughout the years, but to me, it felt like that Asuka and Mickie James were struggling to click with each other on this one. At the same time, I couldn't help but think in the back of my mind that Trish Stratus turned down this match because there wasn't no way in hell she would have come back just to get stiffed by Asuka and job out in her homeland. Yeah, I'd get knocked up too if that meant I would have an excuse not to fight her. Mickie did enough to keep this one interesting but not at one moment I felt that Mickie was going to win here.

Sadly, this match had a rushed/sloppy finish that just came off awkward in the middle of their reversal exchange. That alone left a bad taste in my mouth as we didn't get a true "decisive" win here. Instead, it just looked like a botch and the girls went with it. On top of that, this seemed like a missed opportunity to not have Asuka's next challenger make herself known after this match but I guess they didn't want to take the spotlight away from Mickie's "glorious" return.

As for Mickie James, I doubt she'll come back to a full-time WWE schedule when she's got a kid at home and her husband is still working the indies as well.

NXT Championship Match - Samoa Joe def. Shinsuke Nakamura (c) to become the first ever 2-time NXT Champion

Outside of not dislocating Samoa Joe's jaw again, I felt that this was about the same as their first match. Not saying that was a bad thing, but if you enjoyed their first encounter then it was a lot of the same here. I was really surprised to see Joe bust out the Chimera Plex in this match, but I guess that was to cater to the New Japan fans. I was even more surprised to see Nakamura lose here. I thought they would have given the two-time NXT Champion spot to Balor before he left but I was definitely wrong on that one. Samoa Joe seems like he's going to be one of Triple H's pet projects for a long time. If handled well, Joe could be a more dominating and unstoppable force than Owens and Lesnar combined. That would definitely make up for how TNA handled that guy's main event push.

I have to wonder if Nakamura is getting the call up sooner than we are expecting. I mean c'mon the guy is FAR too big of a star too keep him down in NXT for two WrestleManias in a row. Then imagine the crowd reaction for his entrance at WrestleMania, let alone for the Rumble next month if they debut him like they did AJ Styles last year. Just imagine that crowd reaction for Nakamura if he showed up in the Rumble match. It would be crazy if Nakamura and Styles have their Wrestle Kingdom rematch at WrestleMania next year.

After seeing people mention this online, I have to agree with the predictions that Nakamura will more likely get the belt back when NXT tours in Japan next month. That makes perfect sense for Samoa Joe's last hurrah and for Nakamura to regain the gold back in his homeland. I'm fine with that as long as they don't start tossing the belt back and forth like a hot potato like how Sasha Banks and Charlotte were doing on the main roster for the last few months.

Closing Thoughts

If I were to give this show a grade, I would give it an average B. That's it. It was your average run of the mill NXT episode stretched into two and half hours. The best match was easily the best match of the night and I'm sure people will be buzzing about the entrances for months to come, but there's nothing much else to write home about this event. Sad to say, but this was EASILY the best thing that WWE offered during Survivor Series weekend. If forced to pick between the two to watch, I HIGHLY recommend watching this show over wasting 3.5+ hours of your life watching that mess that was Survivor Series.

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.