Views from the Hawke’s Nest: NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable

 

May 20, 2015
Winter Park, Florida

Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, & Byron Saxton

 

In the opener, Tyler Breeze took on Finn Balor with the winner becoming the number one contender for the NXT Championship. Hideo Itami was supposed to be in the match, but there was “fan footage” of Itami being injured in the parking lot. Kevin Owens seemed to be the assailant. Someone needs to get Kane on the case. I found this match to be underwhelming, as it was missing a spark throughout the majority of the action. Nothing of real note was done in the ring, and they inorganically set up a dive off the NXT entrance setup. In theory, building to a “giant” stage dive was a good idea (and it certainly was unique for WWE programming at the very least). It did not feel earned in the slightest though; the spot would have been perfect if Breeze was destroying Balor or just cheating repeatedly to the point that Balor needed to bust out something crazy to stay alive. This was just a high spot for the sake of a high spot. If you were looking for arguments against these two being called up right now, this effort would be the best piece of evidence. (**1/2)

 

The next match was Charlotte and Bayley taking on Emma and Dana Brooke. Charlotte pinned Emma to win the fairly quick match. Much like the opener, I was taken aback by how underwhelming this match ended up being. It was not bad exactly, but it was way too ordinary for an NXT Special. Charlotte looked downright terrible with her hot tag, as her chops and big boot were just embarrassing to witness. Charlotte was put in positions to succeed over and over again in 2014. This was the opposite of that. (*3/4)

 

Rhyno vs. Baron Corbin was next. These two worked the wrong match as far as I am concerned. A short, energetic brawl (possibly with some plunder) probably would have gotten over and felt really unique on this show. Instead, they settled into a fairly standard WWE match (complete with boring heat segment). Corbin won clean at least. (*3/4)

 

Enzo Amore and Big Cass (w/ Carmella) challenged Blake and Murphy for the NXT Tag Team Championship. This match impressed me just because of the wrestlers’ ability to make the fans really care about it. Blake and Murphy looked solid enough here when they got the heat on Enzo. Enzo did a better-than-expected job as the face in a peril, and the hot tag to Cass felt like a big deal. Unfortunately, they did a finish that made Cass look like a gigantic moron as he rushed to Carmella’s aid because Alexa Bliss attacked her. That allowed Blake and Murphy to finish off Enzo to retain the titles. This was a good match until the television finish. I have a lot more interest in Enzo and Big Cass after this match though. As long as they stay over, they probably will remain effective in whatever role they’re put in. (**3/4)

 

The semi-main featured Sasha Banks defending the NXT Women’s Championship against Becky Lynch. In case it was not clear already, Sasha Banks proved here that she is one of the best wrestlers in the world. Everything from her entrance, look, and work is just top-fucking-notch. She is one of the very few workers in the company that is compelling to watch from beginning to end in her matches, and she’s arguably in a league of her own right now in that regard. She got control of the match when she found an opening to hit a devastating move on Becky’s left arm. She then tore after it for a while. Becky made a spirited comeback and then added some intensity to the proceedings by going after Sasha’s left arm herslef. Just as Becky looked to have all the momentum, Sasha managed to bust out another big move on Becky’s left arm, which allowed her to apply the Bank Statement to pick up the win. Great fucking match. A genuine MOTYC. (****1/4)

 

The show concluded with Kevin Owens defending the NXT Championship against Sami Zayn. While this match did not reach the heights of the previous match, I thought they made great use of their time and organically continued the feud between these two in an effective manner. Is that what I want from a main event from “PPV-like” show? Not really. They did some solid brawling in the crowd and on the floor though, and the match felt unique by NXT Championship standards. They did not really have finish (Owens gave Zayn the pop-up powerbomb on the apron and then attacked him some more) unfortunately but Owens decisively getting the upperhand towards the hand was more satisfying than your standard WWE non-finish. (***1/2)

Luckily, the show had a couple of aces up its sleeve for the post-match segment. First, Owens ended up headbutting William Regal after the latter tried to pull Owens off Zayn. That teased match ended up just being a red herring though, as Samoa Joe then debuted to save Zayn. Owens ended up walking away before anything physical could happen. Owens now has two hot title matches waiting for him: a blowoff match with Sami Zayn and a match with Samoa Joe.

 

Watch some free wrestling matches!

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

The Young Bucks vs. Super Smash Bros. [GREAT match]

Sara Del Rey vs. Cesaro

Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi [Features a brief written interview with Devitt where he discusses the match]

Sami Zayn vs. Alex Riley [from NXT]

Samoa Joe vs. Low Ki

Prince Devitt vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [G1 Climax match]

Kevin Steen vs. PAC vs. Takeshi Morishima vs. Ashley Reed

Prince Devitt vs. Michael Elgin

Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

The NXT TakeOver formula is so sound that it has become nearly impossible for them to produce a bad show. This show seemed primed for NXT to finally slip up, as they had an underwhelming undercard on paper that lived down to my expectations. Then the second hour happened, and it was one of the most compelling and exciting hours of WWE programming in a while. Sasha Banks solidified herself as one of the best wrestlers in the world, the Owens/Zayn feud had a strong middle chapter, and Samoa Joe made a memorable debut to end the show. You cannot ask for anything more from that second hour. Great job, WWE.