From The Network – NXT Takeover: Unstoppable

WWE NXT Takeover: Unstoppable
5-20-15
Winter Park, FL

Your hosts are Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton, and Corey Graves.

#1 Contender’s Match- Tyler Breeze vs. Finn Balor
We see some footage from earlier in the day of Hideo Itami mysteriously attacked in the parking lot, so that’s how they wrote him out of the match. Both men try to gain the upper hand early and Balor hits a dropkick forcing Breeze to bail. Breeze comes back with a springboard dropkick knocking Balor off the apron. Back in, Breeze stomps away on Balor in the corner and he catches Balor with a swinging neck breaker for 2. Breeze snap mares Balor into a leg drop for 1 and he goes to the rear chin lock. Balor fights out and he rolls through a sunset flip attempt into a basement dropkick. Another basement dropkick by Balor forces Breeze to bail. Double stomp off the apron to the back of Breeze!!!! Back in, Balor catches Breeze with an enzuigiri in the corner for 2. Sling Blade by Balor and he runs into a super kick from Breeze for 2!!! Breeze exposes the top turnbuckle and he stomps away on Balor in the corner. Beauty Shot misses but Breeze still catches Balor with a roll-up for 2. O’Connor roll by Balor gets 2 and the kick out sends him into the exposed corner. Beauty Shot by Breeze gets 2!!! They go to the floor and Balor catches Breeze with a forearm smash. Balor goes on top of the LED lights and dives onto Breeze on the entrance ramp!!!! Back in, Balor hits the shotgun dropkick. Balor goes up and hits the Coup De Grace for 3!!!
Winner- Finn Balor ***1/2 (Really good opener. Breeze looked awesome, working with the sense of urgency and desperation because he wants to get a crack at the NXT Championship, helping to make the contest a dramatic and exciting affair. Balor continues to look like a mega star and the clock is ticking on when he eventually gets the call-up.)

Emma and Dana Brooke vs. Charlotte and Bayley
Brooke and Bayley start. Bayley takes down Brooke and slingshots her into a Charlotte clothesline. Emma tags in and she uses Brooke as a shield from Bayley. Bayley dropkicks them both and back in, Bayley goes up but a distraction from Brooke allows Emma to pull her to the mat. Emma grabs a neck twist but Bayley starts to fight out so Emma hammers away. Tag to Brooke and she stomps away in the corner. Tag to Emma and the heel take turns stomping away on Bayley. Crossbody in the corner by Emma gets 2. Exploder suplex by Bayley and Charlotte tags in. Chops to Brooke and Charlotte hits a neck breaker. Big boot by Charlotte and Brooke attacks from behind off the distraction from Emma. Double DDT by Charlotte gets 2. Emma goes up for a crossbody but Charlotte rolls through into the Figure-4!!! Bayley catches Brooke with a belly to belly suplex and Charlotte hits Natural Selection on Emma for 3!!!
Winners- Charlotte and Bayley **1/2 (Solid match but this is not up to the standard that the NXT women’s matches usually set. Dana Brooke looked lost against the other three, so she still has some work to do. Hopefully they find something for Charlotte to do, otherwise she needs to get to the main roster ASAP as she’s been ready for months now.)

Rhyno vs. Baron Corbin
Rhyno overpowers Corbin to start and he clotheslines Corbin to the floor. They brawl on the floor and back in, Rhyno goes up but Corbin knocks Rhyno down to the floor. Back in, Corbin sends Rhyno hard into the corner for 2. Corbin hammers Rhyno on the mat and he stomps away on Rhyno in the corner. Corbin throws some knees and hits a hard forearm smash for 2. Half nelson by Corbin but Rhyno starts to fight out. They collide mid-ring and both men are down. Rights by Rhyno and he begins to clean house. Running shoulder to the gut in the corner by Rhyno and Corbin blocks a belly to belly suplex with some head butts. Spinebuster by Rhyno gets 2. Belly to belly suplex by Rhyno and he goes for the Gore but Corbin blocks with a lariat. End of Days by Corbin gets 3.
Winner- Baron Corbin ** (This was fine but nothing spectacular, like most of Corbin’s performances. I like the idea of NXT bringing in some established workers to come in and develop some of the greener talents, so matches like this will help Corbin improve over time.)

Kevin Owens discusses his appearance on Raw laying out John Cena and he says his big week culminates tonight. He warns Sami Zayn not to show up tonight or it will be the last time we will ever see him.

NXT Tag Team Championships- Blake and Murphy © vs. Enzo Amore and Big Cass w/Carmella
The crowd can do Amore and Cassady’s pre match speech word for word, so they are super over in Full Sail. Amore and Blake start. Roll-up by Enzo gets 1 and Enzo hits a crossbody for 2. Dropkick by Enzo gets 2. Murphy tags in along with Cass. Chops by Murphy have no effect and Cass blocks a Tornado DDT. Hard right by Cass gets 2. Enzo tags in and he hits an Avalanche in the corner. Enzo goes up and hits a crossbody off the top for 2. Murphy catches Enzo with a clothesline, knocking him off the apron. Back in, Blake tags in and covers for 2. Back breaker by Blake and he goes to a chin lock. Enzo starts to fight out so Murphy tags in and he goes to the rear chin lock. Enzo fights out and Murphy charges in the corner but misses and goes shoulder first in the post. Tag to Blake and he grabs the abdominal stretch. Tag to Murphy and they hit the power bomb/backstabber combo for 2!!! Murphy puts Enzo on top and he follows up. Enzo blocks the superplex and he knocks Murphy off. DDT off the top by Enzo and Cass tags in. He cleans house and catches Blake with a big boot. Big boot knocks Murphy off the apron and he hits the Empire Elbow on Blake for 2 as Murphy saves. Sidewalk slam to Murphy and Cass tags Enzo in. He helps Enzo go up but outside, Alexa Bliss attack Carmella. Cass checks on Carmella, allowing Murphy to catch Cass with a super kick. Bliss crotches Enzo to bring him down and Blake covers for 3.
Winners and Still NXT Tag Team Champions- Blake and Murphy **3/4 (Solid match. Enzo and Cass are such a great act and it makes for having an easy story to work with in their matches. Enzo takes the beating, Cass dominates when Enzo makes the hot tag. This was one of the better Blake and Murphy performances that I have seen and it looks like this feud’s going to get extended, which I’m totally cool with.)

Video package for Banks/Lynch airs.

NXT Women’s Championship- Sasha Banks © vs. Becky Lynch
Lynch trips up Banks and gets a crucifix for 2. They trade roll-ups for near falls and Banks takes Lynch down by the hair for 1. Flapjack by Lynch and she goes for the Fujiwara arm bar but Banks quickly escapes her clutches. Lynch goes to work the arm but Banks backs her into the corner and hits a forearm smash. Springboard kick knocks Banks to the apron and Banks catches Lynch with an arm wringer sending Lynch crashing onto the apron. Back in, Banks covers for 2. Banks extends Lynch’s arm against the ropes but Lynch catches her with a small package for 2. Regal Slam by Banks gets 2 and she goes to the Japanese Strangle Hold. Backstabber by Banks applies added pressure but Lynch backs Banks into the corner to force a break. Banks puts Lynch in the ropes and hits the double knee drop ON THE ARM for 2!!! Banks bends the arm of Lynch in SICKNING ways and releases for 2. Cross arm breaker by Banks and she coverts it into the short arm scissors. Lynch powers out of it and drives Banks down to the mat to force the break!!! Lynch cleans house and she goes up. Missile dropkick by Lynch gets 2. Springboard arm drag by Banks and she hits a double knee strike in the corner. Basement double knee strike by Banks gets 2. Lynch dumps Banks to the floor and she follows out. Forearms by Lynch and she pulls Banks’ shoulder first into the post. Back in, Lynch hits a hammerlock suplex. Leg drop to the arm by Lynch and she extends Banks’ arm. Release German suplex by Lynch gets 2. Lynch blocks a suplex attempt and rolls Banks into the Fujiwara arm bar!!!! Banks makes the ropes to break!!! Banks pulls Lynch to the floor and she goes for a suicide dive BUT LYNCH CATCHES HER AND DRIVES HER INTO THE STEPS!!!! Back in, Lynch goes up but Banks runs up and catches her with the Divorce Court!!! Bank Statement and Lynch taps!!!! Becky Lynch gets a well-deserved standing ovation after the match.
Winner and Still NXT Women’s Champion- Sasha Banks ****1/4 (Psychology wise, this is one of the best worked matches from any promotion all year. The match was built around arm and shoulder work and played into all aspects of the match, including the finish. On this night, Banks was flat out better than Lynch. I’m in love with the NXT Diva’s division and props to these two for stealing the show tonight. Can’t wait for a rematch down the line.)

Video package for Owens/Zayn airs.

NXT Championship- Kevin Owens © vs. Sami Zayn
Kevin Owens wears a John Cena t-shirt to send a message to his opponent at Elimination Chamber. Zayn attacks Owens on the floor to start and he hits some rights. Back in, Zayn clotheslines Owens to the floor. Zayn follows out and Owens goes for the power bomb but Zayn backdrops out. Zayn hammers away on Owens and he sends Owens into the steps. Zayn knocks Owens into the crowd and Zayn follows out. They brawl in the crowd and Zayn is able to block the powerbomb again. Zayn backdrops Owens back to ringside and back in, Zayn hits the Blue Thunder Bomb for 2. Release half nelson suplex by Zayn gets 2. Owens blocks the assisted Tornado DDT with a back breaker and he goes for the Cannonball in the corner but misses. Exploder suplex into the corner by Zayn and Owens bails to avoid the Helluva Kick. Exploder suplex on the floor by Zayn and he charges but Owens catches him with the Pop Up Powerbomb onto the apron!!!! Owens hammers away on Zayn as officials try to check on Zayn. Officials try to keep Owens off but he is still able to get some shots in. Owens drags Zayn back into the ring and he wants to deliver another power bomb but William Regal comes out and warns Owens not to do it. Regal rakes the face of Owens to get him off so Owens throws a head butt at Regal!!! Owens grabs a chair and he nails Zayn in the shoulder with it. Suddenly, music plays and SAMOA JOE COMES OUT!!!!!!!!! He stares Owens down but Owens wants none of him and leaves. Joe poses so Owens comes back out. He again backs off and says “Not Tonight” as we go off the air.
Match ends in a No-Contest ***1/4 (They did the absolute best they could with Zayn’s injury and they had an intense brawl built around the idea of Owens hitting that power bomb once being Zayn’s downfall. The post-match angle was fantastic stuff and we now have Owens vs. Joe and Owens vs. Zayn continued to look forward too.)

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

This was a very good show. In terms of the in-ring stuff, this is probably on the lower end of the NXT Takeover shows. The opener was really good and the Banks/Lynch match was outstanding, everything else was decent but nothing spectacular. I give Sami Zayn props for going out there and working a good brawl with his arm in bad shape and they did the best they could with those circumstances. I loved that most of the matches on this show built up to future matches down the line without going the rout of cheap and lame finishes and the show had that big show energy and atmosphere we have all come to love with NXT events. This is a easy recommendation, especially for the Banks/Lynch match and the historic debut of Samoa Joe in WWE. Check this one out as soon as you can.