Kevin’s NXT TakeOver: In Your House Review

NXT TakeOver: In Your House
June 7th, 2020 | WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida

Hey, everyone! No live coverage for me this week but I’m still here with a review. If you’re interested in more of my work you can follow me on Twitter and/or support me on Patreon to get things like my list of the “Top 500 Matches of the 2010s” and more!

An intro featuring Todd Pettengill and the old school In Your House stage made this feel awesome.

Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez vs. Mia Yim, Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox
I was honestly probably most excited about this match. I absolutely love Dakota and Tegan and am also a fan of Mia and Candice. The idea early was that Candice would avoid Mia and let Raquel handle the heavy work. Dakota and Tegan got a chance to renew their rivalry with good back and forth. We got a spot where everyone hit dives from a Mia tope suicida to a Candice moonsault to a Tegan somersault. Shotzi became the face in peril, which makes sense given everyone’s standing. The hot tag to Mia gave us Mia/Candice, which is the focal point here. They ended up fighting to the back as others became legal. Shotzi saved Tegan from tandem offense, leading Kai to kick Raquel. Tegan chokeslammed Kai, they took out Raquel, and then Dakota took the Shiniest Wizard, ending this in 9:51. Really fun way to start the show. Everything flowed nicely, they kept the action up, and the feuds that needed to be progressed got their shine. [***¼]

Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor
Finn exploded out with a dropkick before the bell. Priest quickly turned the tide and did some interesting stuff like a sidewalk slam off steel steps and onto the apron. Though he wore down Balor, this didn’t really hit a slow spot. They kept the pace moving rather nicely. Balor was back to his old babyface days of working from under and bringing fire. He does it well, so that made this click. Priest was more aggressive than usual, even hitting a Razor’s Edge onto the apron. Priest cut off the Coup de Grace with an avalanche Chokeslam but was too hurt to cover instantly. He went for a Razor’s Edge onto steel steps but Finn got free and knocked him onto the steps, which was a vicious looking bump. The Coup de Grace inside finished it after 13:08. The breakout match Priest has needed for a while. He looked great here and they had a match with some non-stop action and impressive violence. [****]

NXT North American Championship: Keith Lee [c] vs. Johnny Gargano
Keith Lee wore trunks that said Black Lives Matter. He has a damaged eye due to the car keys spot on NXT. Regardless, he was dominating to start. Gargano ran and even tried to escape through the stage door, which he happened to lock with his key gimmick. The doorbell cam was a nice little touch. Gargano took control, focusing on Lee’s eye and hand, which was also damaged on NXT. Still, the heat segment wasn’t all that interesting. It’s not Johnny’s strong suit. Things picked up toward the end a bit, with Gargano countering the Big Bang Catastrophe into a rollup for a close call. Lee POUNCED Johnny through the plexiglass and into the crowd. Candice showed up and Mia attacked her. Then, Johnny used the key from his trunks to jab Lee in the eye and hit his DDT for a big near fall. Lee retained with a combo starting with the Spirit Bomb and ending with the Big Bang Catastrophe in 20:36. This was good but nowhere near great. Johnny’s heel work still needs improvement and it felt like it dragged at points. [***]

NXT Championship Backlot Brawl: Adam Cole [c] vs. Velveteen Dream
So, by Backlot Brawl they seem to just mean a Parking Lot Brawl. Cole rode in on a monster truck, complete with Undisputed Era flags. Dream showed up in a yellow Lamborghini and was dressed as Negan, complete with a bat. There was a ring setup in the middle of everything. It was a bit jarring to have commentary during this cinematic match. Dream and Cole fought all over the place, using ladders and fire extinguishers. The other UE members showed up but it just led to Cole being dropped through a windshield. Of course, UE arriving meant that Dexter Lumis appeared. He took care of Bobby Fish and Roderick Strong, putting them in the trunk of a car and driving off. Cole survived a Dream Valley Driver and Purple Rainmaker and then hit Panama Sunrise onto a pile of chairs to retain in 14:58. It wasn’t nearly as fun as some of the other cinematic matches but it still had a of good going for it. [***]

Karrion Kross vs. Tommaso Ciampa
It’s a big moment for Kross to show if he’s legitimate or not. This started with some intense stuff. The big moment was Kross basically hitting a Baldo Bomb onto the edge of the apron, which looked especially brutal given Ciampa’s neck history. Once that happened, Kross dominated. He suplexed and threw Ciampa around with reckless abandon. Suddenly, Ciampa hit a running knee and his DDT, which came from out of nowhere. Then, Kross got him in a choke and Ciampa passed out in 6:15. It wasn’t a great match but it did something important and that was put Kross over as a beast. He beat a guy who has been so important to NXT in about five minutes and did so handily. [**¾]

NXT Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair [c] vs. Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley
Charlotte was more than happy to let the other two handle the action early. Once she got involved, she kind of took charge and proved why she’s at the top of the division. That was followed by Io getting a segment to shine and then one for Rhea. They kept things moving along at a good pace. I thought it was over when Io got hit with Natural Selection but she ultimately kicked out. I loved how they started using the set to their advantage. Charlotte threw Io through a window and Rhea threw a plant at Charlotte. Io climbed to the top of the IYH set and dove off with a cross body. Rhea hit the avalanche Riptide that won her the title but Io broke up that pin. Realizing she was in trouble, Charlotte just got a kendo stick and wailed on both ladies. As she put the Figure Eight on Rhea, Io came off the top with a moonsault and pinned Rhea to win the title in 17:34. I popped hard for that because Io absolutely deserves the championship. She has been incredible since turning heel. The match itself was very good, though that finish kind of fell flat. [****]

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

Think about this. The score I just gave makes this the worst TakeOver in years. That’s the ridiculous bar the shows have set. This was an entertaining show that was a breeze to watch. It just didn’t have any MOTY candidates and capped out at ****. Still, you’ll always take this kind of quality.