Leighty’s Retro Review: NXT TakeOver Fatal 4 Way

-Written: 01.09.26
-Source: Peacock
-Run Time: 1:58:45

-Announce Team: Tom Phillips, Renee Young, and Byron Saxton
-Full Sail University, Orlando, FL
-Sept 11, 2014

NXT Tag Team Championship: The Ascension (c) vs. The Lucha Dragons

-The Ascension’s reign is at 344 days. The Lucha Dragons won a Tournament to become the number one contenders. The matches went: Lucha Dragons over Blake and Murphy, Rose and Zayn over Gabriel and Kidd, Vaudevillians over Mojo and Dempsey, Enzo and Cass over Jordan and Dillinger, Lucha Dragons over Rose/Zayn, Vaudevillians over Enzo/Cass and then Lucha Dragons over The Vaudevillians. Sin Cara starts with Viktor and Viktor fires off chops in the corner. Cara springs off the middle ropes and hits a head-butt and then another with a cross-body and one more time with a moonsault presss for two. Cara ends up on the apron and kicks Konnor, but Viktor knocks him to the floor and into the railing. Tag to Konnor and he runs Cara into the apron and then pitches him back into the ring. Stomps in the corner and back to Viktor who rips at the mask. Viktor drops a knee and hooks a submission. Viktor tries a sling shot powerbomb, but Cara reverses to a rana. Tag to Konnor who knocks Kalisto off the apron, so not tag for Cara. Konnor with a splash in the corner gets two. Cara hits an enziguiri to leave both men down and the crowd is begging for a tag. Konnor throws his weight on Cara to keep him from getting to the corner. He bulldozes Cara back to his corner, but Cara flips out and hot tag to Kalisto. He runs wild and pops the crowd with his crazy offense that I can’t even explain. Everyone in the ring for a brief second. Konnor dumped to the floor and Cara hits a suicide dive. Kalisto with a head scissors that sends Viktor to the floor. He makes the mistake of diving on The Ascension and they catch him and toss him over their heads, but he lands on his feet. Cara out with a dive. Back in the ring Kalisto misses coming off the top and Viktor hits a running STO. Cara blocks Fall of Man and takes Konnor out of the match. Kalisto hits Salida del Sol for the upset pin and titles at 7:36.

Winners and New NXT Tag Team Champions: The Lucha Dragons via pin at 7:36
-Kind of boring to start but the last few minutes had the place rocking. Good moment for the Dragons. **1/2

-Renee Young, looking fantastic, interviews the new Champs and they are quite happy. The future is now!

-Adrian Neville video package! He’s our Champ! A bastard too!

CJ Parker vs. Baron Corbin

-Parker is still a hippy, eco warrior. He demanded a match from the new GM, William Regal and I am sure that will go well for him. Baron Corbin is already in the ring, which is usually a bad sign. The announcers note this is Corbin’s NXT debut, but it’s not. Corbin with a heavy clothesline and End of Days finishes at 30 seconds.

Winner: Baron Corbin via pin at 30 seconds
-This is where the push began and who knew it would turn into Main Event Baron Corbin. I will say, Bum Corbin was great and they ended it way too early. Also, I shall laugh at Corbin because his Chiefs are out of the playoffs this week. Oh sorry, had to fill space as this was a SQUASH. CJ got JUICED! SQUASH

-Tyson Kidd video package!

Hair vs. Hair: Sylvester LeFort (w/ Marcus Louise) vs. Enzo Amore (w/ Big Cass)

-This is the first LeFort match I’ve ever seen. Enzo does his shtick which the crowd enjoys and then cuts a promo. I assume that will be more entertaining than the match. Enzo with a side headlock as Renee is all in her glory talking about these guys needing a hair cut and what have their head shaved will mean. Enzo gets a roll-up for two as this one isn’t really going anywhere yet. LeFort lands a kick to the gut but misses a right hand. Enzo with a dropkick and goes after the hair. A hip-toss brings LeFort back into the ring, but he rolls back to the apron. He catches Enzo throat first on the top rope and starts laying in the boots. LeFort with a slam and then a reverse chinlock. He sets too early on a backdrop and eats a knee. That only ticks LeFort off and he hits a running knee in the corner. Heavy kick to the back and we kind of stall for a bit. Enzo lands a right hand and another. Weak punches from Enzo. Marcus distracts Enzo which lets Sylvester hit a clothesline. Big Cass takes out Marcus and Enzo gets a roll-up with the tights for the pin at 5:36.

Winner: Enzo Amore via pin at 5:36
-Not good, but the crowd was into it. *

-The crowd chants “to the chair,” so Sylvester tries to run and Cass drops him with a clothesline. Marcus saves, so Sylvester runs away. Marcus ends up getting a bucket of hair potion dumped on his head. Nobody got their head shaved though. That’s rather crappy! I think the crowd can even tell they were ripped off there.

-Tyler Breeze video package!

-Monday Night War commercial. That was one of the first things I was asked to review for 411 when the Network launched.

-William Regal is out and introduces the newest signing to NXT, KENTA. I forgot he was brought out by Hulk Hogan at a live event, where he signed his WWE contract. The crowd is really excited to see KENTA and we get a “GTS” chant, but then they “What”him when he cuts a promo in Japanese. He lets us know his name in NXT will be Hideo Itami and his goal is to be NXT Champion. Sounds like a plan unless they sign someone else and makes him a tag partner, that upstages him, but how likely is that? 

-The Ascension are out and toss Itami to the floor. They want a rematch from Regal, but Itami is back in and he lays waste to both members of The Ascension. Dudes dominated for nearly a year and then lose their Titles to cruiserweight and get destroyed by one guy. Perhaps Vince saw this and figured he would cut his losses when they got to the Main Roster.

Bull Dempsey vs. Mojo Rawley

-It’s pretty interesting seeing the guys on these early shows and who got dropped once HHH started signing all the indie talent. They immediately start trading blows and I appreciate the intensity from both. They end up colliding in the corner and Mojo gets a shoulder tackle in the corner. Another one as this one is getting a little clunky. Bull just runs Mojo over and heads up top and hits a head-butt for the pin at 1:10.

Winner: Bull Dempsey via pin at 1:10
-Short and they got in and out before getting too clunky. I’m fine with a 60 second mean guy match. *

-Enzo and Cass find Marcus backstage and attack. They carry him to the ring and want everyone to see his bald head. They take off the towel and he is bald including his eyebrows being gone. Well, I guess someone is bald, but not the loser of the match. Enzo cuts another promo.

-Charlotte/Bayley video package!

NXT Women’s Championship: Charlotte (c) vs. Bayley

-The crowd: “Bayley’s gonna hug you,” Awesome! Charlotte offers a handshake but Bayley runs her into the corner and rams her head off the top buckle. Bayley charges in, but Charlotte gets a knee up to block. Chops from Charlotte and a WOOO. Bayley back with a cross-body for two. She follows with an elbow to the back and one to the chest for a two count. They fight over a backslide, but Charlotte gets back to her feet and drops down to rock Bayley. She drops a series of knees for a two count. The crowd really wants Bayley to get back into this one. Figure Four Headlock into The Devil’s Kiss. Weird seeing that move get no reaction. Bayley rolls back to get a two count which leads to Charlotte releasing the hold. She hits a basement dropkick for two. Byron being a heel announcer sounds weird. They trade Chops, but Charlotte wins the exchange and goes back to a figure four headlock and she just rolls Bayley all over the ring. Charlotte gets a pin off it, but Bayley counters for her own two count. Figure-Four is blocked and turned into a small package for two. Charlotte back with another dropkick. Bayley slips out of a slam and gets a roll-up for two, but runs into a knee. That gets two for Charlotte. Bayley runs her into the corner and hits a shoulder tackle, but Charlotte drops her on the back of her head for a two count. Charlotte heads up, but Bayley stops that and they trade strikes in the corner. Top Rope Rana from Bayley and that gets the crowd going. Bayley crawls and gets a two count. Suplex blocked into a roll-up for two. Bayley goes for another one, but Charlotte knocks her out with by send her back of the head first into the bottom rope. Top Rope Moonsault gets two and Bayley defiantly stares down Charlotte. Natural Selection finishes at 10:40.

Winner and Still NXT Women’s Champion: Charlotte via pin at 10:40
-This was good, but not yet to the level we would come expect from the division and these two. ***

-Sasha Banks comes down and attacks Bayley, which has Charlotte going back to pull her off. Sasha is rocking an “I’m Not Ratchet,” shirt which gets chants from the crowd.

-Sami Zayn video package!

-Breaking News: Hideo Itami makes his debut on NXT TV next week.

NXT Championship: Fatal 4-Way: Adrian Neville (c) vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd

-It’s Neville against the World in this one. The crowd is all over Tyson to start and then start singing for Sami. They pair off after a tense start with Zayn and Breeze on one side and Kidd and Neville on the other. They all head to the floor to continue brawling. Neville and Kid trade forearms one one side while Sami clocks Breeze with one on the other side. Neville and Sami end up in the ring and the crowd gives an “oooh,” but Tyler and Kidd break that up before it can happen. Bummer! Everyone back to the floor again and back to the pairs that started this match. Chops from Neville one one side. Right hands from Sami to Breeze on the other. Sami gets hold of Breeze’s phone and decks him with it before taking a selfie. You know, I think this Sami guy could have some big personality to show off on the main roster at some point. Kidd makes the first move to someone else and attacks Zayn from behind. Sami gets a Flatliner into the Koji Clutch, but Breeze makes the save. Neville and Breeze fight up the ramp, but here’s Kidd with a chop block to Neville’s knee. Breeze and Kidd hit Neville with a double suplex on the stage. Breeze tries one on Zany, but he blocks. Kidd comes in to help and Sami takes a double suplex on the grated ramp. That sounds great and probably sucks to take. Sami gets double teamed by Kidd and Breeze back in the ring. Neville tries to come back, but Zayn gets tossed into him. The crowd lets Tyson know that “Nattie’s better.” Neville tries to crawl in again, but Breeze kicks him back to the floor. Double elbow and Breeze goes for a pin, which annoys Kidd. He kicks Breeze in the face and hits a neck breaker on Zayn for two. Well, that alliance is finished. Neville gets kicked to the floor again as that story beat continues. Kidd with a reverse chiulcok which is weird to see in a 4 Way Match. Sami breaks with a jawbreaker, but gets run down with a clothesline. Neville makes it into the ring, but Kidd sends him to the floor. It is getting kind of funny now. Punt to the back gets Kidd a two count. How hurt is Breeze as dude has just disappeared? Kidd off the ropes with a leg drop on Sami as he was stuck in the ropes and that gets two. Tree of Woe and of course Neville eats a knee on the apron to keep him on the floor. Kidd destroys him with a running knee on the floor and then a dropkick to Sami in the Tree of Woe gets two. That was a fantastic sequences for Kidd! The crowd sings for Sami and he slaps Kidd in the face, but Kidd beats him down and goes back to the reverse chinlock. You seriously, where is Breeze? Oh, he is still on the floor checking his face. He’s been out of this match for over 4 minutes at this point. Neville finally makes it in and lands a kick, but Kidd sends him back to the floor. I want them to keep this going, but Neville finally gets in for good and runs wild on Kidd. Here’s Breeze, but Sami cuts him off and runs wild on him. Sami teases diving to the floor, but Neville stops him and springs off the top rope with a moonsault press to Breeze and Kidd. Awesome! Neville and Sami stare each other down as the crowd chants “Yes.” Here we go! Neville wins the initial exchange as we get a “this is wrestling chant.” Neville handsprings into a kind of suplex as he slipped out of Sami’s grasp. That gets two as Breeze makes the save. Kidd back in and he sets Neville up top. Neville fights off, but Sami with an alley-oop off Kidd into a head-butt to knock Neville to the floor. Breeze gets sent to the floor and Kidd gets a neck breaker on Sami for two. Kidd goes for the Sharpshooter, but Sami fights his way out. He walks into a head kick though and Kidd springs off the top rope with an elbow to the knee. Breeze in with a Beauty Shot to Sami and one to Kidd. Neville comes flying in but Breeze catches him with a dropkick. That gets two so he covers Kidd and that also gets two. “NXT” chant from the crowd. This match is cranking right now! It sounds like we get a CM Punk chant next and some people booing that down. Not sure if I heard that right. Neville up top and Kidd and Breeze join him. Sami over to complete The Tower of Doom spot and that lets Sami gets two on Neville. The crowd wants us to know that was three and that “this is wrestling.” Kidd and Zayn up first and they trade blows. Sami STOMPS Kidd down in the corner and gives us an Austin “Hell Yeah,” for fun. He runs into a boot from Neville though. He heads up and hits a moonsault on Zayn, but Breeze sends him to the floor and tries to steal the pin. Sami is out at two in a great near fall that nearly brought the house down. Yo, this match SLAPS! Beauty Shot misses Sami, but Kidd is there to turn it into a Sharpshooter. Neville rushes in and grabs the hand to stop the tap. Cool! Sami in as well as the crowd chants “thank you Neville.” I don’t think the crowd likes Tyson that much. Just a feeling! Neville and Sami trade heavy blows with each man dropping to a knee. Neville with a spin kick to the gut but gets backdropped to the floor. Kidd runs into an Exploder Suplex and Sami teases a Helluva Kick, but sees Neville moving and hits a suicide dive. He then dives through the corner on the other side and plants Breeze with a Tornado DDT. Back in he hits The Helluva Kick and the place is ready to explode, but Neville pulls the ref out and the crowd is PISSED! All fair though. Neville decks Sami and comes off the top with The Red Arrow on Kidd to get the pin at 24:12.

Winner and Still NXT Champion: Adrian Neville via pin at 24:12
-Amazing stuff here that turned this from an okay show to a good show. I had a blast watching this match. Neville retaining is the right call as him losing in a 1 vs 1 match seems more appropriate. ****1/2

-Thanks for reading!

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

The last two matches definitely saved this one as the stuff underneath was either okay or not good. This was still early NXT and not the Super Indie they would become, but the last two matches delivered and the Main Event went above and beyond. Crazy even the weaker of the shows so far is still good.