wrestling / TV Reports
Views from the Hawke’s Nest: WWE NXT TakeOver – Rival
Loading...February 11, 2015
Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, & Jason Albert
Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze
Does Hideo finally hit the GTS?
A “fan” tried to hug Tyler Breeze during his entrance. Security took her away.
Hideo hit an early Penalty Kick. He then caved in Tyler’s chest in with some kicks. Tyler went after Hideo’s left leg to cut him off. It worked. Tyler was in control for a while. Hideo teased the GTS out of nowhere, but Breeze escaped. Breeze hit a superkick for a nearfall. Hideo started to Hulk Up. He fired back with some brutal strikes. CORNER DROPKICK OF DOOM AND DESTRUCTION! BUSAIKU KNEE: 1…2…3
Hideo really came across as something unique here in the context of WWE. Working short-ish matches in this fashion is the best way to get him over until he’s in a position to work more important programs.
Match Rating: ***
Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey [No Disqualification Match]
They ended up on the floor very quickly. Back in the ring, Corbin hit a spinebuster. They then botched the Cactus Jack clothesline spot. Bull hit a diving headbutt for a weak nearfall. Bull then went for a chairshot, but Corbin caught him with the End of Days: 1…2…3
This was poorly-executed, and I found virtually nothing about it to be entertaining. I like Bull Dempsey’s look more than Corbin’s but neither of them seem to have a ton of upside.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Buddy Murphy & Wesley Blake (c) vs. The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto & Sin Cara) [NXT Tag Team Championship]
Not familiar with these Blake/Murphy chaps. Their names remind me of Gunner and Murphy, which is not a good thing. They look like Jerry Lynn’s twin sons, which is not significant in any way. Let’s see if I can make an amusing running joke of it though.
Blake and Sin Cara botched a headscissors. Kalisto then botched the Air Jordan. He botched that a ton on the indies. Not sure why he’s still trying. Blake and Murphy eventually cut off Sin Cara and worked him over. Kalisto made a hot tag of sorts. He hit the spiked hurricanrana. He and one of Jerry Lynn’s sons did a very labored sequence. Sin Cara made a comeback. The match has lost all momentum. It feels very clunky and awkward. The Jerry Lynns pinned Sin Cara after a frog splash.
This was VERY poorly-executed. Like, no one in this match looked ready for television (yes, I know Sin Cara has been around for a while on WWE TV). The botches were awful and took the air out of the building every time. The NXT tag team division has yet to have a strong showing on any of the live specials. It’s time to reevaluate how the division is booked.
Match Rating: 1/4*
They did the “hacking” angle that’s teasing Solomon Crowe’s debut.
NXT Title #1 Contendership Tournament Final
Adrian Neville vs. Finn Balor
These lads had a very fun match in the 2012 BOSJ.
For all those concerned, Finn Balor did in fact come out with body paint. Neville grounded Balor early on with chinlocks. Do they learn any other way to control a match down there? Balor came back after connecting on a great tope con HELLO. Balor followed it up with a dropkick on the floor that sent Neville through a barricade. Back in the ring…DOUBLE STOMP TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD: 1…2…NO! Neville avoided Reverse Bloody Sunday. They traded big kicks. Neville planted Balor with a release German and then a delayed German: 1…2…NO! Great nearfall. Neville busted out the middle rope Phoenix Splash: 1…2…NO! Neville can’t believe it. They’re nuts if they don’t put Balor over here, but it certainly feels like Neville is winning. Sling Blade from Balor. Reverse Bloody Sunday: 1…2…NO! Balor avoided one British Airways and then blocked a second one by getting his knees up: 1…2…NO!!!! I bit on that one. JOHN WOOOOOOOOOOOO! Ghetto stomp: 1…2…3!
Excellent match. After an unnecessary slow start, this picked up tremendously after Balor hit the dive. The action after that was everything you want from an exciting junior heavyweight match. Huge spots. Big moments. Believable nearfalls. Ending at its peak. Seek this match out. It’s match you very rarely see on WWE programming.
Match Rating: ****1/4
Charlotte (c) vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks [NXT Women’s Championship]
Crazy how every women’s title match on the NXT specials have felt unique so far. It’s the exact opposite on the main roster.
Becky and Banks were working together early on. Becky eventually got tired of that and gave her a Taz-plex. Becky and Banks were controlling the early stages of the match in terms of keeping the match from falling apart. Charlotte finally started to become more involved. Bayley gave Charlotte a Frankensteiner. Bayley to Belly: 1…2…Beck saved Charlotte. Banks hit a wild tope suicida onto both of them. Charlotte then took out everyone with a pescado. Back in the ring, Becky gave Charlotte an exploder for a nearfall. Bayley took out Sasha and gave Becky a German. AVALANCHE BAYLEY TO BELLY: 1…2…SASHA BANKS MADE THE SAVE! Sasha made the cover: 1…2…NO! Banks applied a crossface for a long time…transition into a pin out of nowhere: 1…2…3!
The finish was not great, as it felt like it came out of nowhere in a bad way. It was a real good match other than that though. Becky and Banks really impressed here at keeping everything flowing very well. Bayley delivered HUGE in her big moments. And Charlotte seemed a bit awkward but did not actively detract from the match with said awkwardness.
Match Rating: ***3/4
Sami Zayn (c) vs. Kevin Owens [NXT Championship]
“I think you and I are destined to do this forever.”
Owens was stalling early. Sami got sick of waiting and hit a tope con HELLO. Owens took control in the ring soon enough. He worked Sami over in a very methodical manner. The chinlock was much more in tone with the match at least. Sami finally started to fight back. He hit the BT Bomb for a nearfall. Owens cut him off with a superkick/cannonball splash combo. PUMP HANDLE NECKBREAKER: 1…2…NO! Sami came back with a half-nelson suplex. Sami actually teased the turnbuckle brainbuster, but Owens avoided it. He went for the swanton, but Sami got the knees up. Exploder into the corner. Sami desperately avoided the apron powerbomb and then hit the Arabian Press Moonsault. Sami’s head absolutely smacked the ramp on that one. Sami lost balance on a yakuza attempt, and that allowed Owens to give him the pop-up powerbomb. They’re doing the concussion angle with Sami. Owens continued to go after Sami’s head, and the referee kept trying to pull him off. Oh, I really hope they’re not going with a non-finish. Another powerbomb. And another: 1…2…NO! Sami basically just rolled over to avoid losing. Medical personal tried to check on him. Another powerbomb. And another. The referee stopped him from delivering another one and then ended the match. He ruled Owens the winner? Yes, yes he did. Owens won the NXT Championship via referee stoppage.
The easy comparison to make with this match is the Brock Lesnar/John Cena Summerslam 2014 match. While I enjoyed the story of the match here (I’m sucker for bigger dudes destroying little dudes), the match didn’t have the “shock” value that the Brock/Cena match had for obvious reasons. I thought it was really good but missing a spark needed to make it great.
On the plus side, the story is a great balance of doing a somewhat screwy finish that is both definitive and organically extends the feud into the future. That is something that the WWE is generally the absolute worst at. So, it’s nice to see NXT find yet another way to be better than the flagship shows.
On top of all that, I love the title change here. Owens being on top is great for NXT. He’s dynamic personality that will match up well with every credible babyface challenger that they have down there. Sami didn’t look weak at all, and I’m now even more excited for their rematch than I was for this match.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Watch some WWE matches for free!
Bruno Sammartino vs. Ernie Ladd
Shawn Michaels vs. Shelton Benjamin
Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler
Watch some NJPW for free!
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hirooki Goto (G1 Climax)
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jun Akiyama (G1 Climax)
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata (G1 Climax)
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Prince Devitt (G1 Climax)
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Togi Makabe (Chain Match)
Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Karl Anderson
Kota Ibushi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi [Fantastic Match]
Prince Devitt vs. Kenny Omega
Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi (With thoughts from Prince Devitt)
Katsuyori Shibata &Wataru Inoue vs. Eddy Guerrero & Black Tiger
If you want to watch some ROH matches for free, check out:
CM Punk vs. AJ Styles
Eddie Guerrero vs. Super Crazy
Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins
Daniel Bryan vs. Nigel McGuinness [Great match]
The Young Bucks vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico
El Generico vs. Chris Hero
The Young Bucks vs. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli
AJ Styles & Matt Sydal vs. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong
CM Punk vs. Brian Kendrick
