Csonka’s NXT Takeover: Unstoppable Review 5.20.15

Introduction
As a reminder, this will not be another traditional recap, but instead it will be a mash up of the Rs, Instant Analysis and my usual Twitter ramblings I would do during the shows; completely uncensored and as the ideas flow unfiltered to the old keyboard. Remember, this is a review; and I am here to review the show. As always, I encourage discussion and even disagreement, just do so in a respectful manner. I will be doing the review for Raw and most PPVs and iPPVs going forward.

Image by Ric Gray

NXT Takeover: Unstoppable 5.20.15

OFFICIAL RESULTS
~ #1 Contenders Match: Finn Balor defeated Tyler Breeze @ 11:08 via pin [***]
~ Bayley and Charlotte defeated Emma and Dana Brooke @ 7:30 via pin [**]
~ Baron Corbin defeated Rhyno @ 7:13 via pin [**]
~ NXT Tag Team Title Match: Champions Blake and Murphy defeated Enzo Amore and Big Cass @ 8:50 via pin [**¾]
~ NXT Women’s Title Match: Champion Sasha Banks defeated Becky Lynch @ 15:33 via submission [****½]
~ NXT Title Match: Champion Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn went to a no contest @ 9:00 [***½]

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#1 Contenders Match: Finn Balor vs. Tyler Breeze: There had been reports that Itmai was injured, which were confirmed on the conference call yesterday. They shot a “parking lot attack” angle before the show to explain his absence from the match. I was surprised that they started the show with this match (I hope it isn’t because of issues with Sami) but they got some main event style entrances, and with the stipulation did an excellent job of making this match feel important and the crowd was invested into the match even before the bell rang. We also got a cameo by Dark Angel Sarah Stock during the Breeze entrance…

Word is that she is going to start working at the Performance Center, taking over Del Rey’s old position. They worked a really basic beginning, and then they started to pick things up nicely and worked some good near falls. Breeze had took the buckle pad off, and send Balor into it late, hit the beauty shot and got a great near fall from that. They then went to the floor, with Balor hitting a dive off of the NXT entrance and that directly led to the shotgun dropkick and double stomp for the win. This was a good, but not great opener as far as the match went, but they had a great atmosphere.

Emma and Dana Brooke vs. Bayley and Charlotte: Bayley and Charlotte controlled early, and then as expected, they for the heat on Bayley. Bayley is a ton of fun and connects with the crowd well, Emma is fine and Brooke needs a lot of work in the ring. Charlotte was easily the most polished performer in the match, but even she felt off tonight. The women have set high standards for these special events, and they did not live up to them here. It wasn’t bad (a bit rough down the stretch) but I came away disappointed.

Baron Corbin vs. Rhyno: As you would imagine, this was far from a technical classic. There was lots of brawling in and out of the ring, with Corbin controlling a good portion of the match. Rhyno made a solid comeback, but Corbin connected with end of days to secure the victory. They see something with Corbin, so working longer matches (and with veterans like Rhyno) is a good plan if they have designs to promote him to the main roster. In that regard, it worked. But the match should have been a but more energetic and had more of a wild feel to it, dare I say more of an “ECW” vibe to play off of Rhyno’s background and to also differentiate the match from everything else on the show. Corbin showed improvement, and he won clean so in some aspects mission accomplished.

NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Champions Blake and Murphy vs. Enzo Amore and Big Cass: They showed a good video package, showcasing the feud and how we got to the title match. Enzo and Cass did their usual gimmick entrance, which the crowd loves. The champions got the heat on Enzo and worked him over for the majority of the match. Ezno played resilient babyface and made a small comeback and then got the hot tag to Cass. He ran wild, and had the champions down. He tagged in Enzo and dragged him to the corner so that they could do the rocket launcher. Alexa Bliss then attacked Carmella, this led to Cass being distracted and eating a superkick on the floor. Enzo was tossed off the top rope and the champions retained. Blake and Murphy are a solid, but bland team. They don’t do anything really wrong, but don’t do a ton to grab my attention. Enzo and Cass have really improved, and overall the match was better than I thought. I don’t like the shenanigan filled finishes, but if this is the only one on the show, I am cool with it because it makes sense. They can do mixed tags and such as they build to another title match.

NXT Women’s Championship Match: Champion Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch: Sasha Banks has become a very well rounded performer, and still has a big upside because she’s not done evolving and improving. I have been a huge fan of Becky Lynch for a very long time, and she’s so damn good so we could have something special here. Banks continues to improve, not only from an in ring standpoint, but in her demeanor and facial expressions. She worked like a remorseless bitch here (and I mean that is a complimentary way) as she worked submissions on Lynch. I feel as if Banks makes leaps and bounds in between these specials, she is putting the whole package together and now really hitting on all of those little things. The crowd has been really good tonight, but the ladies put on a great effort with spectacular pacing and did everything that they could to make the fans stay involved from bell to bell, and along with a damn fine match we had a really good atmosphere. They both took turns working the arm of the other, and Lynch went wild down the stretch working on the arm with suplexes and submissions. Lynch had a great counter into he arm bar submission, and the crowd was biting on it, but Banks was able to make the ropes. Banks did a dive late, the only real flub was that Lynch was supposed to catch her, but she got right back up and slammed her to the steps. Lynch rolled her back in, but Banks ran up the ropes and hit a hit the divorce court off the top, and then transitioned into the banks statement for the win. Post match Lynch not only sold the pain of the arm, but the disappointment of the loss as she got lots of love from the crowd. Becky Lynch is awesome. Sasha Banks is REALLY good and keeps improving, which is the real scary thought. This was a tremendous match and so far is EASILY the best thing on this show and one of the best matches I have seen this year. It had the whole package, and in the feature matches, the ladies of NXT prove that they can hang with anyone.

NXT Championship Match: Champion Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn: They got a great video package to set up the match and the feud. Owens came out wearing a Cena US Title shirt, which was awesome. This was an al lout fight early, as they went to the floor and were looking to take each other out, selling the intensity of their feud. I don’t love it all the time, but there are instances where it is NEEDED, and this was that time. Sami shouldn’t want to lock up and grapple, he wants revenge and is determined to get it. In the first match Owens was a machine and was destroying Zayn, this time around Owens couldn’t get sustained momentum and Zayn was dominating for most of the first six minutes until Owens nailed him with a pop up powerbomb onto the apron. Owens would have to be restrained by officials, but kept attacking Zayn as they tried to check on him Kevin Owens is an asshole (and that is a compliment, he’s a great heel). Regal eventually came out to stop Owens, and tried to restrain Owens but got taken out. Owens looked to beat down Zayn with a chair, but then SAMOA FUCKIN JOE made his debut. He and Owens had a face to face, and Owens bailed. He teased a return, but said “not tonight”. The story here is that Owens “did what he had to do,” which he said several times. He vowed to take out Zayn and exploit his injury, and did just that. As a “traditional match” it may look under whelming on the surface, but they did a lot here. They continued Zayn vs. Owens, they showed after the severe beating the first time around that Zayn can hurt Owens and looked to have him beat. The solidified that Owens is a relentless asshole that will do anything he wants in the ring, including attacking Regal. Then they set up the Joe debut and eventual match. Add in that Owens still has to deal with Balor as #1 contender, punishment from Regal and Zayn when he returns (because this was done to write him out), and they painted a beautiful picture here. This is the difference between booking a major show non-finish with great booking and doing it with a bunch of bullshit that just pisses you off. I loved this. Joe and Owens felt like a huge deal. Word on Joe is that he has a deal similar to Rhyno, he’ll work Indies, but will also work NXT dates and they will go from there.

* End scene.

* Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

8.8

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

NXT delivers again with a very good show. The opener was a good match with a great atmosphere, the main event was a good match with even better storytelling and a huge debut. Finally, the women stole the show as they put on a legitimate match of the year candidate. Put it all together, and this felt like a major, big time event with tons of important parts. After the first three matches I thought, “this feels like a good show.” But when all was said and done and the parts were all in place, this was one of the best shows of the year. Come for the MOTY candidate, stay for some great stories.