wrestling / TV Reports
Zen Arcade Reviews: NXT TakeOver: Orlando
Loading...I feel like I’ve said this for the past million Takeover events, but the buildup for this one has been about as cold as you can get for a Mania weekend show. It feels a lot like The End last year, where we got several rematches in lieu of a fresh card, which isn’t something us fans expect from the normally reliable NXT. With that being said, there’s still a lot of things to be excited about tonight. We finally get to witness the debut of Aleister Black against Andrade Almas, a Match of the Night contender if there ever was one. Ember Moon finally challenges Asuka for the Women’s Title in a match that’s been built up for over half a year. And even the main event is a rematch of an outstanding title match in San Antonio, so don’t let me lead you on into thinking this is going to be a bad show. This one has the potential to be a sleeper hit, even if it doesn’t immediately seem so on paper.
We are LIVE from the Amway Center in Orlando, FL.
Your hosts are Tom Philips, Nigel McGuinness, & Percy Watson.
SanitY vs. Kassius Ohno, Roderick Strong, Tye Dillinger, & Ruby Riot
This has actually been one of the more solid midcard feuds NXT has had in some time, mainly due to the fact that you can tell SanitY has been carefully protected as a unit since their debut. This rivalry has felt consequential and organized, which NXT hasn’t quite mastered as of late as sad as it is to say. While Roddy could definitely use a bit of an overhaul in the character department, he’s been as reliably good as ever in this supporting role. Ruby Riot, the former Heidi Lovelace, is making her official debut in this match after evening the odds in a fun angle during the go-home NXT TV show. This has all the making for a fun, wacky opener so let’s get going!
No Way Jose was injured by SanitY at Axxess, so Ohno is his replacement in a wonderful move. As one would predict, this is a Pier Sixer from the word go. The babyfaces run wild in the earlygoing, with Ruby and Nikki Cross starting as the bell rings. Ruby gets the upperhand, forcing Nikki to tag right back out to Alexander Wolfe. Wolfe does wacky dancing for some reason, so Kassius Ohno slithers in and cold cocks him with a left hand. He goes after the left hand of Wolfe, but Wolfe powers through and eventually gets Ohno in SanitY’s corner for some quick tagging. Roddy tags in and goes BANANA having his way with Wolfe and Young. Killian Dain tags in for the first time after Wolfe folds Roddy up with a German Suplex, stopping the face’s momentum cold. Eric Young hits a GORGEOUS elbow drop to the back of a struggling Roderick Strong, but Tye Dillinger defiantly breaks up the pinfall… which earns him a cheapshot from the angry EY. Young crashes and burns on a dropkick in the corner, and he hot tags to Tye Dillinger! Dillinger cleans house and PLANTS Wolfe with a DDT, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Dillinger heads up top for a crossbody before hitting EY with a TOPE SUICIDA! Killian Daine stops that noise, but runs right into a dropkick from Strong! Ohno fakes out a dive beautifully, and settles for an elbow on Wolfe! Ruby Riot attempts a dive of her own, but Nikki stops her cold with an elbow. They brawl out of the ring to make way for Dillinger and Young, with Dillinger hitting the 10 Punches on EY! Dain walks into a Superkick, but Alexander Wolfe breaks it up. Wolfe and Ohno face off, with Kassius hitting Cyclone Kill, only for EY to give him a Neckbreaker. EY looks for the Wheelbarrow Neckbreaker on Dillinger, but RODDY HITS HIM WITH A SICK KICK! Roddy and Killian face off, but Nikki jumps Roddy! Ruby jumps Dain! Ruby disposes of Nikki, and hits a nasty dropkick from the apron! DILLINGER WITH A TYEBREAKER ON DAIN… BROKEN UP! ONE WINGED ANGEL FROM DAIN! SanitY gets the duke in 13 minutes. ***1/4 About as fitting as opener as you could want for a big show. It was as chaotic as advertised, but had enough elite workers within it to retain a competent sense of structure. SanitY started a bit slowly I think, but as they go along they get more entertaining with each outing. My only real qualm here was the lack of proper interaction between Ruby Riot and Nikki Cross, with most of their spotlighted exchanges being catfight spots rather than the advanced wrestling they’re capable of stringing together. But beyond that, this was all it needed to be and kicked off the show in fun fashion.
Aleister Black vs. Andrade Almas
Andrade Almas has slowly but surely started to find his footing within NXT, embracing his heel character with tinges of his Los Ingobernables persona, along with his ever-growing list of reliably good matches. But the real star of this show is Aleister Black, the former Tommy End, finally making his debut after what’s felt like an eternity of waiting. To be as blunt as possible, the guy is a complete superstar. I truly believe he has the ability to carry the NXT brand as a top babyface, as his wrestling style and Antihero persona both have top guy written all over them. He’s one of the best professional wrestlers on the planet, can cut a hell of a promo, and has an aura you only see once in a blue moon. NXT is much better with the presence of Aleister Black, and I hope he and Cien get the time to make something of this match.
Black’s entrance is unbelievably great, really enhancing that wacky dark aura of his and magnifying it to superstar proportions. Andrade goes hard on the Tranquilo poses early, but Black doesn’t get roped into his game despite it. Andrade dodges a Tope Suicida, but Aleister instead settles for a Quebrada into meditation, bringing the crowd to its feet. Almas makes him pay for it with a running slap in the corner, followed by a cross armbreaker over the ropes. Almas climbs the rope for a beautiful missile dropkick, right into an armbar. Tommy builds up a head of steam with some furious kicks, knocking Andrade out of the ring for a Golden Star Moonsault to the outside! Andrade throws some elbows as they get back to the ring before locking in another armbreaker in the ropes, but he dives RIGHT INTO A POWERBOMB! ALMAS COUNTERS RIGHT INTO A RINGS OF SATURN! Almas starches him with elbows in the corner, but misses the double knees. They trade some nearfalls before crumbling each other with stereo kicks! HANDSPRING BACK KICK FROM ALMAS! Aleister powers out at two. The double knees in the corner connect, but Aleister counters out of the Hammerlock DDT! FLORIDA KEY FROM ALMAS! Black kicks out again! Almas runs into a jumping knee from Tommy, who crumbles him with some Bicycle Kicks! BLACK MASS KICK! Alesiter Black wins at the 10 minute mark. ***1/2 Quite an outstanding match given the less than generous time allotment. After a very rocky start last year, Andrade Almas has become perhaps the most reliable midcard hand NXT has, and he provided an excellent heel foil for the debuting Black. Aleister came in and did his thing, getting his character and in-ring acumen over in the time allotted, which is all you could have really asked from him on a debut. The guy really is an elite talent and he needs to be on the top of the card immediately, no questions asked. Great stuff and I’m excited to see where both men go from here.
NXT Tag Titles: Authors of Pain © vs. DIY vs. The Revival
The AOP had an outstanding match against DIY back in San Antonio, and have been steadily improving to the point where I think they might excel in this triple threat match. Not only did they prove to have great chemistry with DIY in January, but the Revival’s presence can only enhance the psychological end of things given just how great they are at every facet of pro wrestling.
William Regal is out to introduce new Tag Titles, which look GREAT it has to be said. They’re basically just an enhanced version of the current design, but it looks grander, which is what you want from a belt at the end of the day. The Revival and DIY stand side by side to take out the Authors in a cool moment, DIY takes out Akam early with a drop toehold into the guardrail, before INTRODUCING A TABLE! The crowd goes berserk. Akam recovers though, and he’s able to keep DIY at bay momentarily, only for the former champs to run him into the ringsteps. The Revival disposes of Razar, and it’s DIY vs. Revival! DIY hits stereo dropkicks before Gargano starts working over Dash. Akam blindtags Dash and bowls over DIY with a double clothesline as the match starts to organize itself. Razar tags in and catches Ciampa on a high cross, but Tommaso wiggles out and tries to tag The Revival, who fucks off when presented with the opportunity to face off with the AOP. The Revival finally makes their move, taking out Akam behind the ref’s back and getting their hits in while they can. Dawson tries to tag out to DIY, but they dip too to give him a taste of his own medicine. Gargano blind tags Akam and hits a slingshot spear on Dawson for a nearfall. He kicks Dash out of the ring and follows up on Dawson before DIY takes out the AOP with dives! Slingshot DDT scores for Gargano on Dawson, but it only gets 2. The AOP catch Johnny on a pescado, and THROW HIM INTO A TOPE FROM CIAMPA! THEY THROW GARGANO INTO THE REVIVAL! That was an outstanding spot. The AOP is in firm control with that. Johnny escapes an Akam Torture Rack, and after a struggle is finally able to get to his partner. Ciampa cleans house and hits Akam with a snap German off the ropes, before hitting a second one off a jumping knee! RUNNING KNEE FROM CIAMPA! Akam powers out at two. That thing looked gorgeous. Ciampa tries powerbombing Razar through the table, but can’t quite get it. Johnny tries help, but he can’t even pull it off! The Revival sends Razar through the table! DIY and the Revival corner Akam, who is able to fend off all four men, finally decking Ciampa with a lariat. Ciampa fights out of a powerbomb, and tags in The Revival who chop blocks Akam AND PUTS HIM IN A REVERSE FIGURE FOUR! GARGA-NO ESCAPE FROM JOHNNY! RAZAR BREAKS IT UP! Johnny and Dawson corner Razar and HIT DIY’S FINISHER! SHATTER MACHINE FROM TOMMASO AND WILDER~! The Revival and DIY face off again, and they start throwing leather! DASH AND GARGANO HIT STEREO TOPE SUICIDAS ON THE AUTHORS~! Ciampa sees the carnage on the floor and ascends the top rope, but Dawson stops him and SUPERPLEXES HIM ONTO THE PILE!~! AOP hits The Last Chapter on Ciampa in the ring for the first elimination in 19 minutes. DIY is eliminated.
The AOP isolate Dash in the ring, until they hit Razar with an assisted Powerbomb! The Revival hit uppercuts into Germans! Razar kicks out. Razar chokeslams Dawson and the AOP looks for the Last Chapter, but Dash breaks it! Dawson nearly gets a rollup for the win, but the AOP hit stereo powerbombs on The Revival. Dawson’s too knackered to go up for a powerbomb, but nearly gets the win with a small package as Wilder holds Razar’s leg. STEREO DVD’S FROM THE AOP! Super Collider gets the win for the AOP in 23 minutes. **** An absolutely stunning piece of tag team wrestling when DIY was in there, but the rating falters a bit with the rather lackluster finishing stretch with the Authors and The Revival. On paper the last segment seems like a prime way to get The Revival some babyface shine with some good hope spots, but it seemed uncharacteristically sloppy and unorganized, which ended an otherwise outstanding spectacle in something of a damp squib. Everything before that? Astonishingly great and so far above my high expecations. The Revival and DIY working together had the dual effect of being a massive markout moment, as well as a piece of tremendous psychology. It was an easy out in terms of telling a story, but they timed these tandem attacks in such a way that every moment felt huge. They felt like big turning points within the match, and made you think that perhaps the Authors may fall to this duo given the sheer amount of talent involved. The sequence with the finishers right before the first elimination was out of this world awesome, and was a wonderful spin on the otherwise obvious David vs. Goliath story. It made everyone into key parts of the story, and gave you that little bit of new feel with The Revival and DIY co-existing. It ain’t rocket appliances, but all three teams are so skilled (even the Authors) that these sequences came off unbelievably well. With a better finishing sequence we might be talking a MOTYC, but it’s still an excellent, excellent effort as it stands now.
NXT Women’s Title: Asuka © vs. Ember Moon
When the former Athena debuted back in Brooklyn, a lot of people predicted that she would finally be the woman to dethrone the undefeated Asuka. After all, she was one of the more hyped female debuts in NXT history and had the push to back it up. While this match doesn’t feel like the huge match I think they would have wanted – Ember Moon hasn’t really showed the charisma of a top woman in my opinion – it still has massive potential and for once, there’s intrigue in an Asuka match as it pertains to the result. So hey, beyond a few nitpicks, I’m excited.
Every time I watch an Asuka entrance, I begin to hope she holds the NXT title for a thousand years. Regal introduces the new NXT Women’s belt, which RULES and is infinitely better than the old one. They’re at a stalemate early, and Asuka offers a handshake as a result. Of course, she ‘too slow’s’ it and keeps on the offensive, but Ember is up for it. They don’t budge on shoulderblocks, so Asuka passe’s into a hip attack to get the upperhand. Ember pops right back up and sends Asuka to the outside after a barrage of kicks, but Asuka dodges a dive and uses that to hip attack young Ember Moon out of the ring. Asuka hits a couple nasty spinning backfists, followed by a spinning kick that sends Ember careening to the mat. Ember fights back and sends Asuka outside again before hitting a HUGE double jump plancha to the outside. Asuka escapes Eclipse and hits a running knee for a two count. Asuka tries an Asuka Lock, but Ember puts up a fight of all fights and keeps on her feet! She eventually falters, but powers back up and falls back, splatting the champ on the mat. Ember starts making her comeback, but ASUKA CATCHES HER MID-SPRINGBOARD WITH A GERMAN! Ember kicks out at 2. They trade strikes in the center of the ring until Ember crumbles Asuka with a rolling right hand, but Asuka pops up! SHOULDER CAPTURE SUPLEX FROM EMBER! Asuka kicks out. Ember measures for the Eclipse, but Asuka stops her and attempts a superplex, but Ember sends her to the mat once more… only for Asuka to throw the ref into the ropes and crotch Ember! A roundhouse scores, and Asuka picks up a tainted win in 13 minutes! ***1/2 Perhaps not as drop-dead awesome as I’m sure many expected, but it still served a damn good purpose of making Asuka finally look beatable. So beatable in fact, that Asuka had to resort to blatantly underhanded tactics to keep her title and perhaps finally kick her slow-burning heel turn into overdrive. I loved the story of Ember keeping up with Asuka throughout the match, getting up after every attack and throwing out one of her own. That’s not something Asuka has had to deal with before, and she had to outright cheat to make sure she left Orlando with her status intact. That’s an awesome story, and sets up for rematches down the line where she and Ember can have a bigger, better encounter. Character development is something NXT has struggled with, but they’ve been excellent in their handling of Asuka and that’s no more apparent than here. Thumbs way up for everything from the wrestling – even if it wasn’t their best – to the wonderful psychology.
Some dude named Drew McIntyre is in the crowd. No big deal.
NXT Title: Bobby Roode © vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Probably the coldest main event in NXT history in terms of build. I thought the first match between these two men in San Antonio was outstanding and did everything right, but even then I’m not clamoring for a rematch so much. Personally I’d have had Kassius Ohno face Shinsuke while Roode faces a new challenger like Tye Dillinger or something, but there’s a reason I’m not running the promotion ya know? Either way, it should be a great main event so why complain too much?
We get live piano players for Bobby Roode, because there’s no real reason not to really. His robe is probably his swankest yet to boot. The new NXT Title is pretty dope too, but anything really beats the piece of shit that they’ve had for 5 years now. Surprised it took them that long to replace it, but better late than never. Roode tries to take Shinsuke down early, but Nakamura sprawls and keeps him at bay. Shinsuke drops a knee on Roode, speeding things up a bit and sending the champion reeling. Roode busts out a nice dropkick to try and knock the challenger off the apron, and eventually sends him flying into the guardrail with a running tackle, using that to take control. Shinsuke starts using his striking to make a comeback, hitting the knee to the midsection before dropkicking Roode out of the ring. Nakamura looks for the Inverted Exploder, but Roode elbows out and hits a nice discus lariat. Roode dodges a Kinshasa and hits a chop block, finally getting a breather. He posts Nakamura, putting a final stop to all his momentum. Nakamura is able to reverse a Figure Four, but Roode goes right back on the offensive… but NAKAMURA COUNTERS INTO A CROSS ARMBREAKER! Sweet counter there. He goes for the knee in the corner again, but Roode dodges it, causing Shinsuke to crumble. Nakamura powers up and hits a barrage of kicks to the arm, but Roode ducks one and hits a nasty Backstabber for a nearfall. Shinsuke knees out of a Glorious DDT before hitting a Gordbuster, and he hits a sliding Kinshasa for a nearfall. Roode ducks out to the floor to prevent another Kinshasa, but Nakamura follows him and chucks him right back in. Roode crotches Nakamura with the second rope, and he hits the Glorious DDT for a nearfall. Roode heads right back to the outside and snatches the ring bell, but ref Drake Younger takes it away from him. Nakamura capitalizes with a roundhouse and a reverse Exploder, but KINSHASA IS COUNTERED INTO A SPINEBUSTER! Nakamura kicks out! Nakamura gets out of another Glorious DDT, but eats a chop block. TORNADO GLORIOUS DDT! Roode retains in 28 minutes. *** Even though I was a massive fan of these two’s effort together in San Antonio, their follow-up to it left me feeling decidedly indifferent. Let’s start by saying it was a GOOD match. It was too long and meandering, but it certainly had enough solid qualities for me to at least call it good. But beyond that? Hardly a match I’d call worthy of a Mania weekend main event. They were very content with going through the motions in the earlygoing, not doing much to involve the yoked up crowd despite every opportunity to do so. The knee work that was so excellent a few months ago showed up in mediocre fashion and didn’t really make for anything out of the ordinary. It was just your usual time-waster until the finishing sequence, which wasn’t all that awesome either. The Spinebuster counter from the Kinshasa was fantastic, but it wasn’t really followed up upon, nor did it follow up anything. This just felt inconsequential, and that’s not something I want when I devote thirty minutes of my life into a pro wrestling match. This was a pretty major disappointment I’m afraid, but you can’t win ’em all. Hopefully we see Nakamura on the main roster very soon, because I think he’s run his course in NXT as a full-time character.
