wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: NXT TakeOver
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-Written: 01.05.26
-Source: Peacock
-Run Time: 1:58:40
-Announce Team: Tom Phillips, William Regal, and Byron Saxton
-NXT Arena, Full Sail University, Orlando, FL
-May 29, 2014
Camacho vs. Adam Rose
-The crowd really likes Rose and his entourage as they come in through crowd and it just looks like a party. Camacho is the son of Haku and after being released and being in Bullet Club, he has been back in the WWE as part of the New Bloodline and now MFT as Tonga Loa. The deal here is Camacho doesn’t like Rose having a care free attitude and thinks he is a poser and freak show. He has been attacking members of the Rose Buds and thus we have this match. Rose plays mid games to start and we get comedy spots which the crowd enjoys. Camacho finally just decks him and lays in the boots. Double under hook suplex gets two! Camacho working in what looks like khaki pants is cool. I love me some khaki pants! Cargo pants ever better! Rose tries to fire up, but Camacho runs him down with a big boot. Camacho hooks a reverse chinlock as the crowd chants “party time, all the time.” Camacho gives us an Eddy shimmy before dropping a leg for a one count. Head-butt from Camacho but he sets too early on a backdrop. Boot to the chest from Rose and he delivers a series of right hands. The crowd hums Rose’s song and he responds by hitting a spinebuster. Rose with a train whistle and hits a Bronco Buster. Part Foul finishes at 5:09.
Winner: Adam Rose via pin at 5:09
-Just a match to get the crowd going and it worked as Rose could have been opening match on house shows and Main Event for as long as he wanted. **
-The Rose Buds are out and they celebrate with Rose as the crowd is having a good time.
-Video package on Sami Zayn and the great match he had with Cesaro, but he lost. Sami notes “you need to learn to lose before you can win.” I think he will be fine. Zayn vs. Breeze for the #1 contender spot tonight!
-We are told that Tyler Breeze has entered the building by Eden (the future Brandi Rhodes).
NXT Tag Team Titles: The Ascension (c) vs. Kalisto and El Local
-Ascension have been champions for 240 days at this point. El Local is Del Rio’s personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez under a mask. The Ascension attack before the bel, but Local and Kalisto send them to the floor with stereo head scissors. They go to dive, but The Ascension fire up and catch both with forearms as they tried to make their dives. Viktor starts with Kalisto and beats him down in the corner. Konor in and they double team Kalisto. Konor drops an elbow for a two count. More double team offense from The Ascension. Viktor back in and he pulls at the mask as the crowd starts a “Lucha” chant, but the Ascension fans in the building shout over them. Kalisto gets set up top and hung in the Tree of Woe. Tag to Konor and he kicks away. Back to Viktor who knocks Kalisto out of the Tree of Woe with an elbow and that gets two. Kalisto tries to fight back, but gets pitched through the ropes. Konor throws him against the ropes and Kalisto bounces back and onto the floor. He does it again, but Kalisto hangs on to the ropes and uses his legs to pull Viktor head first into the apron. Konnor in to stop a tag and carries Kalisto back to their corner. Viktor in, but he gets caught running in the corner. Hot Tag to El Local and he gets to run wild. He nearly slips off the middle ropes but completes the move. The crowd caught it though and you can tell they wanted to chant about it. Everyone in the ring and Kalisto rolls into a kick to Konnor. Local gets PLANTED with an STO by Viktor. Fall of Man finishes at 6:17.
Winners and Still NXT Tag Team Champions: The Ascension via pin at 6:17
-Just a basic tag match with Kalisto taking a beating before the hot tag. The Ascension won this one without much trouble. Shame they were buried so quickly on the Main Roster, but Vince can fall out of love with talent rather quickly. **
-Tyler Breeze video package. That’s a young Alexa Bliss in that video package.
#1 Contender’s Match: Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze
-it’s fascinating watching these shows and realizing who somehow made it through Vince’s reign and who fell out of favor. They work over a wrist lock to start and Zayn takes Breeze down to the mat. Breeze goes to the face to force a break and gains arm control. Zayn springs off the ropes and gets a series of arm drags and then into an armbar as we get the Ole chant from the crowd. The chant always reminds me of former Pirate’s pitcher Oliver Perez. That one’s for my friend BK. With Paul Skenes and a rebuilt offense, playoffs this year! Sami ends up sitting on top in the corner, but Breeze blocks a kick and decks Sami so that he crashes to the floor. Tyler is more than happy to take the count-out as that’s a win, but Sami is in at seven. Breeze boots him down in the corner and chokes with his boot. Knee drop gets a one count. Bulldog into the corner in a fun move gets a two count. Breeze with forearms to the back and he plants Sami face first into the mat for a one count. Front facelock from Breeze as I can’t shake the Ziggler vibes watching him work here. Sami fights to his feet and on a third try, tosses Breeze on his stomach. Zayn gets Breeze to chase and drops low by the ropes, causing Breeze to crash to the floor. He bounces off the top rope and hits a seated moonsault. Nice! That gets an NXT chant. Zayn off the top with a cross-body for two back in the ring. The replay shows that Zayn flipped so much he basically turned it into a Scorpion Death Drop and Breeze hit his head on the metal ramp. Again, cool! Blue Thunder Bomb gets two. Breeze avoids Zayn coming off the top and hits an Impaler DDT for two. Breeze pulls Zayn out of then corner into a sit-out powerbomb for two. Sweet! That gets two. Breeze is growing frustrated and starts firing away with right hands in the corner as the ref tries to force him back. Sami hits an Exploder out of nowhere and both men are down. Props to the guy with a “What a Maneuver” sign. “This is awesome” chant from the crowd. They start trading punches as the crowd can boo and yay. Zami wins the exchange and the ref nearly gets bumped which leads to Tyler getting a roll-up for two. They trade standing switches and Breeze hits a super kick for two. Great near fall and we get the crowd chanting “Yes.” Wrong underdog! The crowd is rumbling as both men get to their feet. Breeze lands the first blow and another. Sami responds with a slap to the face, which sets Breeze off and he throws more punches. Zayn blocks a a whip to the corner and we get a them trying something that doesn’t really work, so Sami just turns it into a wild looking powerbomb. That was both awkward and pretty awesome at the same time. Breeze bails to the floor to avoid a Helluva Kick, but Sami dives over the top onto him. Helluva Kick in the corner misses as Breeze drops low and Sami gets hit in the balls. Beauty Shot finishes at 15:54 in an upset.
Winner: Tyler Breeze via pin at 15:54
-Great match and a win that shocked the crowd. I loved the ending too with Breeze getting a low blow, due to covering up in the corner. Sami’s story continues as he is still trying to win a big match. ****
-Lana is out and she introduces Rusev and they praise Putin. Mojo Rawley is out, waving an American Flag. In the USA they don’t get hyped, they stay hyped. He is going to shut that flag up Rusev’s Putin apparently. He rushes in and Rusev beats the piss out of him and locks him in The Accolade. He does it one more time on the ramp for good measure. Mojo looked like a dork here and even Saxton is chuckling at him.
-Video package on the NXT Women’s Championship Tournament. We are down to Charlotte vs. Natalya and they bring Ric Flair and Bret Hart into it for some extra juice.
-Here is a rundown of the Tournament to this point: Sasha Banks over Bayley, Natalya over Layla, Alexa Bliss over Alicia Fox, Charlotte over Emma, Nattie over Sasha, and Charlotte over Alexa.
-Kris Kristofferson is in the crowd!
-Paige is out to relinquish the NXT Women’s Championship as she had been called up to the Main Roster since the last special and is now the Divas Champion.
NXT Women’s Championship: Charlotte (w/ Ric Flair) vs. Natalya (w/ Bret Hart)
-Lil Naitch is the ref which seems unfair to Nattie considering his history with Ric. You would think Bret would be all over a ref that may play favorites. We get some mat wrestling to start and Charlotte gets a hammerlock. Nattie escapes and gets an arm-bar as we get a dueling chant. It’s a stalemate so we go again. Side headlock from Nattie as Regal waxes poetic about Ric’s training and Bret’s father. They trade arm control and settle into Charlotte working an arm-bar. Nattie rolls out and flips to get to Charloitte’s legs and gets a trip. She hooks the leg and works the knee while Charlotte tries to pull hair to break. We get a clean break and start again. Nattie goes back to the leg, but Charlotte reaches back and grabs a headlock to break. Nattie counters into a front face lock and offers a Wooo, which seems to annoy Bret as he wants her to focus. Nattie counters a pick up into a victory roll, but Charlotte is out at two. Body scissors by Nattie and she rolls into a two count. Charlotte rolls back and gets top position and bounces Nattie’s head off the mat. Nattie forces a break and we start again. Charlotte with a SLAP to the face and Nattie responds. Charlotte throws knees to the ribs and lands a chop that has Ric trying to jump in the ring. He starts dancing and Bret breaks a smile at him. Funny! Nattie gets back control but Charlotte runs her into the corner. Nattie back on her again, so Charlotte drops down on her ass to force a break. That gets two as Ric starts yelling at Robinson. Charlotte pulls Nattie out of the corner and gets a two count. Figure-Four Headlock from Charlotte and she rolls into The Devil’s Kiss years before it had Booker losing his mind. Abdominal stretch from Charlotte and she smartly throws elbow to the ribs. Nice! Nattie reverses and hooks the leg which would make Gorilla Monsoon proud. Charlotte escapes and hits a basement dropkick for two. Charlotte misses a charge in the corner and Nattie gets a butterfly suplex. Snap mare followed by her own basement dropkick and that gets two. Charlotte flips over the corner to and runs the apron, but Nattie knocks her to the floor. Regal wants Nattie to take the count-out but she goes out after and it’s a mistake. Charlotte grabs Nattie by the leg and pulls her down to the floor where she lands on her back. Charlotte heads back into the ring and gets a two count. Charlotte heads up top and misses a beautiful moonsault! “This is awesome,” chant from the crowd and Bret is leading them along. Discus Clothesline gets two for Nattie! Sharpshooter is applied and Bret mouths “it’s over.” Nattie drags her back into the center of the ring, but Nattie counters and ends up with a figure-four and now Flair thinks it’s over. Nattie rolls, but Charlotte rolls with her. SLAP from Charlotte and they roll back the other way, but Charlotte still has the hold. They continue to roll and Charlotte continues to control. More SLAPS are traded and they roll to the ropes. Charlotte falls to the floor, but maintains the hold and that looks like it sucks for Nattie. Fantastic spot! Charlotte lands a dropkick that sends Nattie knee first into the steps. Uh oh! Nattie gets creative and hooks The Sharpshooter and stares at Bret! Nattie escapes and tries for the Sharpshooter, but Charlotte kicks away and hits Natural Selection (called Bow Down to the Queen then) for the pin at 16:50.
Winner and New NXT Women’s Champion: Charlotte via pin at 16:50
-Fantastic as they just built and built this match until the crowd was rocking with them. This was fun to see Charlotte in the early days and Nattie, of course, crushes it, and they have her working with Evolve kids today. ****
-Everyone hugs after the match and Charlotte celebrates with her trophy as Ric has tears in his eyes.
-Video package on NXT Champion, Adrian Neville! Bastard!
-Christian and Cesaro are in the front row. Lot of AEW in these last few minutes.
-Nattie gives Tyson Kidd a hug and kiss before our Main Event.
NXT Championship: Adrian Neville (c) vs. Tyson Kidd
-Regal notes Kidd is looking to make a name for himself and get back to the Main Roster. The idea is can he make a name for himself or always be known as Nattie’s husband. Neville has been Champion since winning it from Bo Dallas in February. They stare each other down and then they lock-up. They jockey for position and Kidd offers a clean break in the corner. Kidd offers a handshake and Neville accepts. It was kind of contentious, but it was a handshake. Kidd with a headlock to the mat. Neville powers out but Kidd keeps arm control. Neville jumps over to escape and Kidd back to the mat and it’s a stalemate. Kidd pats Neville on his back and the crowd chants, “you got served.” Kidd back to the arm and Neville tries to roll out, but Kidd just drops down and holds him on the canvas. Neville starts flipping and building some speed which lets him break and he has words for Kidd, who is shaking his arm. Kidd charges and gets caught with an arm-drag into an armbar. Suplex by Neville back into the armbar and that has Kidd scrambling to the ropes. Kidd with a shoulder tackle and goes for a monkey flip, but Neville lands on his feet. They both kip up and try dropkicks only to flip back to their feet and the crowd applauds. They talk some more smack and Kidd has had enough as he blasts Neville. Hard whip to the corner and Neville gets put in the Tree of Woe. Kidd delivers some knees and then a kick to the back. Another one and why not one more? Dropkick knocks Neville out of the Tree of Woe. Kidd delivers a running back elbow for two and goes to a reverse chinlock. Kidd: “Come on Neville. I need this.” Neville fights to his feet, but gets caught with a stun gun. A boot sends Neville to the floor and Kidd follows with a suicide dive. That gets two back in the ring. Nevill gets a boot up in the corner and they collide as they each got for a cross-body. Neville is up first and starts rallying as he goes through a series of kicks. To the second rope but he changes his mind as Kidd rushes in. Kidd gets stuck in the Tree of Woe and now Neville pays him back for the punts to the back and also hits the basement dropkick. I think they want us to know these two are seen as mirror images of each other. Hey, a pop up lets us know Legends House is up next on the live feed. I miss those early days of the WWE Network! Neville goes for a suicide dive to continue the mirror deal, but Kidd gets a boot up to block and gets a two count. Kidd heads up but takes too long and Neville lands a forearm to knock him off balance. They battle up top and Kidd goes for the MDK Powerbomb, but Neville flips onto his feet. Kidd rushes into a pop-up powerbomb for two. Neville fires off kicks and goes to spring off the middle ropes, but Kidd follows and brings him back with an elevated Side Russian Leg Sweep. Sweet! Kidd up top, but Nevill gets the knees up, which Kid catches. He goes for a submission, but Neville counters that. Kidd back with a kick and they both end up over the top and to the floor off a suplex. NXT chant from the crowd! The ref starts his count and it’s a race, but both men are back in the ring at nine. Dueling chant from the crowd as the two men start trading strikes. Kidd gets a trip and hooks the sharpshooter! Neville blocks, so Kidd transitions to a Dungeon Lock. He throws kicks at Neville’s head for good measure as well. Neville is close enough and gets his hand on the bottom rope to break. Neville gets caught up in the ropes, so Kidd comes off the top with a flipping leg drop and that gets two. I was never a fan of moves where guys have to hold themselves up on the ropes, but this one was more realistic with the set-up. Kidd up top again, and Neville is up to meet him. Kidd punches him down, but Neville just keeps coming and runs up the ropes and hits a belly-to-belly. Neville up top and Red Arrow finishes at 20:55.
Winner and Still NXT Champion: Adrian Neville via pin at 20:55
-Good match, but I liked the two previous one more. I dug the early idea of them being similar. The ending works as Neville just kept coming and Kidd could never get that last shot he wanted. ***1/2
-Neville offers a handshake and Kidd shoulders him as he walks away with the crowd booing.
-Thanks for reading!
