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Kevin’s Random Reviews: NXT TakeOver Fatal-4-Way
Loading...NXT TakeOver: Fatal-4-Way
September 11th, 2014 | Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida | Attendance: N/A
Remember these days? This was just the second ever official TakeOver event. NXT was still about a year away from branching out to taking their TakeOver shows away from the friendly confines of Full Sail. Adrian Neville still had a first name, Charlotte was only in her first reign as any sort of champion, the Ascension were a dominant team, Tyson Kidd was still active, and so much more was just so very different here.
As a small bonus, I used my NXT’s Greatest Matches Vol. 1 Blu-Ray to include the dark match from before this show aired live.
Becky Lynch vs. WWE Divas Champion Paige
Paige was already a main roster fixture and two-time Divas Champion. Becky had still yet to be established, though she was quite over here. Paige’s pop was much bigger, especially given that her appearance was a surprise. Their exchanges came at a very fast pace. Paige was a bit overwhelmed early, but rebounded quickly and got her stuff in. Becky made a short rally, but got pulled off the top into a RamPaige for the finish in 4:17. That was a fun little exhibition. The crowd was hot for everything and both girls got a decent amount of shine. [**¾]
Onto the main show! Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, and Renee Young handled commentary. I miss Renee there.
NXT Tag Team Championship: The Ascension [c] vs. The Lucha Dragons
Kalisto failed against the Ascension with El Local (Ricardo Rodriguez) at the last TakeOver. The Ascension won the titles back on 9/12/13, so a win would put them at one year exactly. The champs dominated Sin Cara, which you wouldn’t expect since he’s the bigger member of his team. Kalisto got the hot tag and flew around the ring, showing why the hot tag made more sense going to him. He wowed the crowd with his acrobats. After some great dive spots, Kalisto planted Viktor with Salida del Sol to capture the titles in 7:33. It started a bit slow, but everything after Kalisto’s tag was awesome. The moment of the title change was great and kind of unexpected since they were a relatively new team. [***]
Renee Young interviewed the Lucha Dragons about the win and they said the future starts now.
An Adrian Neville video package ran. He sounded cocky, but not to the point where it came off as heelish.
Baron Corbin vs. CJ Parker
Corbin got the jobber entrance. He tossed Parker over and hit the End of Days to win in 0:29. Successful debut squash for the future BIG BANTER. Imagine being told that in three years, CJ would be in a better career position than Corbin. [NR]
Tyson Kidd got the next video package treatment. His douchebag character was incredible here, as was this promo. He seemingly put over the other three guys in the main event, only to reveal he was talking about himself the entire time.
Hair vs. Hair Match: Enzo Amore w/ Colin Cassady vs. Sylvester Lefort w/ Marcus Louis
Enzo’s pre-match promo was among the best he’s ever cut. Instead of doing the tradition head shave gimmick, the loser gets a bucket of hair removal cream dumped on them. Lefort dominated the match, as Enzo’s offensive game was always weak. Unfortunately, Lefort’s wasn’t very good either. It’s mostly dull stuff, though the crowd were rather loud. After Cass took out an interfering Louis, Enzo rolled up Lefort to win in 5:38. Nothing much from the in-ring stuff, but it was as good as it could’ve been with the talent. Plus, the crowd was hot. [*]
Post-match, Lefort ran away, so Louis got the hair cream instead. He ran away before we could see his BALD HEAD.
Tyler Breeze’s video package talked about how good looking he is and how his NXT Title win will usher in the “Era of Gorgeousness.” We also got to see him preparing for the match and two women brought him outfits. They just happened to be Dasha Fuentes and Dana Brooke. Cool.
William Regal came to the ring for the big debut of KENTA. I’ve loved KENTA since I first saw him in Ring of Honor back in 2005. Regal called him the biggest international signing in WWE history, though they topped it twice in the next two years. KENTA arrived, said hi to the crowd, called this a dream come true, and officially changed his name from KENTA to Hideo Itami. Surprisingly, he was interrupted by the Ascension. They tossed him out of the ring, still upset about their loss earlier. Hideo got back in the ring and kicked their ass, sending them packing.
Bull Dempsey vs. Mojo Rawley
So, this is a match. Mojo charged the ring because he’s mad and HYPE. Bull weathered a short storm and won with the headbutt in a quick 1:10. This was all to set up Bull/Corbin. Bull had no chance, because he looked like a 90’s WWF jobber and couldn’t be the badass big guy with Kevin Owens coming in right after this. [NR]
Outside, Enzo and Cass went looking for the Legionnaires. They spotted Louis with a towel over his head and they chased off Lefort. Cass carried Louis to the ring to reveal his new look. Completely bald, including eyebrows. There were a few patches, making it all look worse. Renee: “He looks like a Chia Pet.”
NXT Women’s Championship: Charlotte [c] vs. Bayley
Part of the reason Bayley worked so well in NXT was because none of it was rushed. Her character went through major development over the course of her time in NXT and this was a big step for her. Early on, Charlotte combated Bayley’s heart with her strength and athleticism. Bayley threw in some hope spots, though none felt that threatening. Things picked up when she took Charlotte to the top and busted out a super rana. I’m pretty sure that was the first time she did that. A rollup fight led to Bayley’s head whiplashing off the bottom turnbuckle. Charlotte overshot the hell out of her ugly moonsault for a near fall, before retaining with Natural Selection at 10:41. I remember liking this more. It lacked a lot of what made the Women’s Title matches in NXT special. Bayley showed heart, but Charlotte still seemed unsure of how to lead a match like this. Pretty good, though the women were about to step up on NXT in a major way. [**¾]
After the match, Sasha Banks came out to attack Bayley. Charlotte turned face and saved the woman she just beat. This was Sasha’s first TakeOver appearance and it set in a motion a run of matches that would put the NXT women on the map. From December 2014 to October 2015, she had fantastic outings at every TakeOver.
Our final video package to hype the main event focused on Sami Zayn, who many considered the favorite.
NXT Championship: Adrian Neville [c] vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd
I loved these four in 2014. Tyson Kidd’s FANTASTIC work in NXT doesn’t get talked about nearly enough. All four men brawled to the outside, highlighted by Sami using Tyler’s phone as a weapon and to take a selfie. I appreciated Breeze and Kidd teaming up to double suplex the champ on the stage. Gotta take out the guy who keeps beating you. Although, they also did it to Sami, just because. Zayn got isolated from there, though the heels eventually turned on one another. During that segment, Kidd starred. When Neville got back into the mix, the match kicked into the next gear. Everyone got shine and some close calls. There was some great spots involving multiple guys. The best of those was a great tower of doom. It looked like Breeze would win after stealing a pin on Zayn following a Red Arrow. Somehow, Sami kicked out. When Kidd nearly won with the Sharpshooter, Neville slid in and prevented Breeze from tapping. Amazing spot. The finish was tremendous, as Zayn went into an incredible flurry, that included him knocking Neville into the crowd. He hit the Helluva Kick on Kidd and would’ve won, but a desperate Neville pulled the referee out to stop the count. Unbelievable. Zayn went after Neville and ate a superkick. Neville added the Red Arrow on Kidd to retain in 24:10. People don’t mention it, but this is a top five NXT main event ever (Almas/Gargano, Neville/Zayn, and Sasha/Bayley are the others). An incredible match that had awesome action, while also telling a great story. Neville was willing to do anything to remain champion, even if it meant screwing over his friend. Everyone was great in their roles, making for a special match. [****½]
