Csonka’s NXT Takeover: Rival Review 2.11.15

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.

NXT Takeover: Rival 2.11.15

OFFICIAL RESULTS
~ Hideo Itami defeated Tyler Breez @ 8:50 via pin [***½]
~ No DQ Match: Baron Corbin defeated Bull Dempsey @ 4:10 via pin [*¾]
~ NXT Tag Team Title Match: Champions Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy defeated The Lucha Dragons @ 7:35 via pin [*½]
~ #1 Contender’s Match: Finn Balor defeated Adrian Neville @ 13:40 via [****¼]
~ NXT Women’s Title Match Sasha Banks defeated champion Charlotte, Bayley and Becky Lynch @ 11:55 via pin to become the NEW champion [****]
~ NXT Title Match: Kevin Owens defeated champion Sami Zayn @ 22:45 via referee’s stoppage to become the new champion [****½]

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Tyler Breeze vs. Hideo Itami: Following Itami’s loss to Finn Balor, Tyler Breeze was a dick and attacked Itami in the locker room. Itami had defeated Breeze back on January 21st as part of the #1 contender’s tournament. Breeze is now carrying a furry selfie stick. Itami controlled early, using lots of kicks and rocking Breeze. Breeze would cut him off and work the legs, using the figure four on the post and a variation on the sharpshooter. Itami once again teased the GTS, which got a great response from the crowd, but Breeze would counter and start to lay in punches. Itami then found his FIGHTING SPIRT and Inoki’d up and started to kick the hell out of Breeze. Itami then hit the running kick and scored the win. Itami was a little dodgy on the selling when he fired up, but he did keep selling right before and after the finish so I appreciated that. This was one of Itami’s best singles outings to date; some have discussed him being hesitant or just off, including Triple H. This was the closest he’s felt to being “KENTA” since working in NXT, and that is certainly a good thing. Breeze is still fun, and more than did his part here.

Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey: Baron Corbin is 2-0 vs. Bull, including a win in the contender’s tournament. Bull then cost Corbin his chance at the tournament finals, which was also Corbin’s first loss. They brawled right away, which was appreciated. I liked the vibe and energy they fought with, they went for a good pace and didn’t overstay their welcome. But they botched the Cactus clothesline spot, and Corbin’s finish looked off as well. For a no DQ match they didn’t do anything wild, and it really didn’t play a major part in the match so in a way it felt like a waste since NXT hasn’t done much in the way of gimmick matches. Corbin won as he should, but this wasn’t all that good. Thankfully the crowd was into it, but the sloppiness hurt what could have been a fun brawl.

NXT Tag Team Title Match: Champions Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy vs. Lucha Dragons: Blake and Murphy won the tag titles a few weeks ago in a completely forgettable three minute match. Cara blew a head scissors early, and then Kalisto nearly blew out a knee when he messed up a step up dive to the floor. This was about the worst start possible for this match. They tried really hard, and did a series of near falls that seemingly went on for minutes that no one gave a single solitary fuck about. That’s not a good thing. The champions retained, again they tried but even with some good work at times, this was overall not a good match. This was a really bad night for the Lucha Dragons. Wesley and Murphy are fun, and I dig the direction, but the faster they move on from this match the better.

* We got a Solomon Crowe teaser, telling us to tune in next week.

#1 Contender’s Match: Adrian Neville vs. Finn Balor: GIVE FINN BALOR ALL OF THE ENTRANCES! Seriously, the guy simply carries himself like a big time star. He did in New Japan, and continues to do so here. You couldn’t ask for a more ready guy. The opening stretch I really enjoyed, they worked a slower and more deliberate pace. Commentary was the key here, as they sold that Neville had the experience advantage (on the NXT stage) in big time and long matches since he was the champion. Good work by them, it’s nice to see commentary actually do their job here. Both guys worked really well together, they built things well and the crowd responded very well to the near falls. Neville’s facial expressions have gotten really good, especially selling amazement when Balor would kick out down the stretch. Amazing near fall as Balor got the knees up on the red arrow and Balor then rolled him up for a super close 2 count. Balor eventually hit the double stomp for the win in what was an excellent match. This is the match they needed to bring the show back after the two rough matches that preceded it. This was so much fun and the timing was great as it never felt long or over stayed its welcome.

NXT Women’s Title Match: Champion Charlotte vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch: The NXT ladies have delivered very well on these specials, but those have been singles matches. A four way, no matter who is working it, can become problematic at times so I will be interested to see how they do. Lynch and Banks took out Charlotte early, and they worked over Bayley before Lynch predictably took out Banks. Charlotte would return and run wild for a bit, dominating and looking for revenge on Banks. Bayley got to run wild and got a near fall on Charlotte, but Lynch broke that up, leading to Bayley snapping and beating her around the ringside area. Banks and Charlotte hit some dives, and the crowd is really into the match and near falls. Sasha Banks was excellent selling frustration when she couldn’t get the win here, because it MATTERED to her. Funny how that works isn’t it. Banks was working the cross face, and turned it into a crucifix pin to win the title. The finish came off as anti-climatic and weak, but overall this was a really, really good match from the ladies. Despite the handicaps of the four-way match, I felt that they did an excellent job and the crowd responded. While not as technically as crisp or clean as Balor vs. Neville, the NXT ladies keep getting the opportunities, and keep delivering big time. I cannot praise them enough. It’s just a shame that the main roster ladies never get these chances due to the antiquated thought processes of Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn.

NXT Title Match: Champion Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens: Two months ago Owens debuted with NXT, and on the same night, Zayn completed his journey and won the NXT Title. The two embraced and had a moment that was ALL THE FEELS, until Owens took out Zayn and laid him out with an apron powerbomb. They have played up their 10-plus year friendship in building to the match and have done a great job, now we get the match. Owens stalled early, which led to Zayn getting pissed and attacking. His over-zealousness eventually got the best of him, allowing Owens to take control and deliver some brutal looking offense, in the best way possible. Zayn’s selling is just so good, and again as I have previously said he is the best pure babyface in wrestling. His resilience and then fire when he comes back is awesome, and the crowd busy into it with no hesitation. Owens is also just so good, he feels so different (like Balor, Neville and others) as compared to the main roster guys who mostly feel interchangeable these days, and it is refreshing. Commentary did a nice job reminding people of their story, and also selling Zayn’s ability to take punishment but continue to fight. They teased the apron powerbomb spot, which was a nice call back to two months ago. Zayn did a split-legged moonsault to the floor, and sold that he bumped his head badly, and commentary focused on that. When they got back in the ring, he had difficulty keeping balance when he went for the Helluva kick, leading to Owens hitting the pop up powerbomb for a near fall. Owens then simply started to pummel Zayn with forearm strikes and uppercuts, leading to the ref separating them so he could check Zayn and call in the trainer. Owens would have no part of this, and hit two powerbombs on Zayn, who kicked out. They got some great shots of people in the crowd being shocked. The trainers tried to check on him again, so Owens hit two more powerbombs, and as he went for a third the trainers stopped the bout to jeers. I know some will dislike that finish, but I love it. These finishes can work, you have to educate the audience to do make that happen, so I can see some hate right now but in the long run it can work, especially in the future for teased stoppages. It’s different, and sold the story well. Owens was focused on his job here, he wanted to win the title at any cost, he wanted what Zayn had and nearly destroyed him to get it. The spot to the floor was a good set up, and Owens came off as a remorseless asshole. Zayn chasing the title will be fun, and Owens came off looking amazing here, which was the goal of the booking. The best part is that with their history and the booking so far, you can easily build to a big stipulation match like an I QUIT match down the line. It would feel organic and would make complete sense. Also, the crowd went from loving Owens to finally showing distain, which he deserved. This worked for me big time. They had two great matches to follow, they did that here and it was awesome.

* End scene.

* Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

9.0

The final score: review Amazing

The 411

The two matches I had question marks about weren’t very good, while Breeze and Itami was a good opener. Everything else was awesome, and the NXT specials continue to be the crown jewel of the WWE Network. Seriously, if you watch nothing else on the Network, you need to watch these specials, they are well worth your time. From the strong booking and the awesome talent, I have not been disappointed once. Balor, Neville, the ladies, Zayn and Owens all served notice tonight. This was one of the best shows of 2015 so far. The closing three matches made this feel like a New Japan card, and that is a high compliment.