NOTE: This article was written by our friend David Conrad with his permission (Follow him @The_DavidConrad)
The dust has cleared after an incredibly raucous NXT Takeover, leaving us all to wonder “what now?”
After first watching NXT Takeover, I honestly felt underwhelmed. I mean, I was full and satisfied, but I wasn't fat and happy. Maybe it was because the NXT special was preceded by WWE's TLC pay-per-view, which while not as technically sound, was a lot more exciting simply due having more bells and whistles. Maybe it was because TLC ended on a note that felt more “to be continued” than NXT's “the end”. Maybe because there wasn't just that one stand-out moment for NXT like Kalisto's Salida del Sol from the top of the ladder the Sunday before.
Now that I'm 24 hours removed from NXT, I still have that lingering feeling that the show could have been more, but it was by no means the underwhelming show I felt it was after the last bell rang. A lot of rivalries came to a head on Wednesday, and with all matches having definitive endings, it will be interesting to see where they go from here. Now, it's making sure the people will tune into NXT to see where they go. And they will, considering NXT knows their demographic: people that love wrestling. The show, while not as flashy as TLC, definitely produced some great matches and some great storytelling that will ensure the people that want an in-depth weekly episodic program will turn in again.
So let's get into the action that was NXT Takeover: London.
The show opened up with Asuka taking on Emma in a match that not only showed off not only the skills of the competitor's, but also those of Dana Brooke at ringside. She was loud, obnoxious, but also added an extra layer of entertainment to the match. Whether it was her praising Emma during the match (“Nice strength!”) or speaking for Emma during submissions (“She says no!”, she shouts as Emma is trapped in a submission), Dana kept the match entertaining. Asuka and Emma were no slouches either, going back and forth in a match where no competitor really took total control; Asuka kept the pressure on with her grappling and striking ability while Emma constantly found a way to escape and counter.
My only real nitpick on the match would be the energy from it. It wasn't that the match was lacking in energy, but that Asuka seemed a bit too energetic for me in the big picture. That fire that she had during the match was engaging and contrasted nicely against Emma, but sometimes distracted me from the match. The building was dressed in black and white, the lighting was simple on the stage, but Asuka was anything but simple. It would have been nice for that to be toned down a hair, but as I said, that's me being nitpicky. There were a few other odd moments, most notably when Emma tried to dodge a kick in the corner from Asuka and ended up getting clipped in the shoulder. It seemed to stun them for a moment, but they were able to continue match as normal after that hiccup. It was a solid opener, and while I wish Emma could have gotten her hand raised, I can't say I'm disappointed Asuka walked away the victor. We'd see a Nia Jax vs Asuka tease during the night, and Asuka's win sets that up nicely.
Next we'd be treated to crowd-favorites Enzo Amore and Colin Cassidy taking on the tag-team champions Dash and Dawson. Again, we would see a lot of energy from Enzo (as is the norm), but there was a lot of movement and little action in the first minute of the match. Still, that energy and the contrasting styles of the teams worked well and Dash and Dawson were able to fully display their mat expertise against the more "on-the-fly" offense of Enzo. It was exciting not in a TLC kind of way, but rather a lot of fun to watch these teams almost in a new-school vs old-school kind of way. The crowd was solidly behind Enzo and Cass (who personally I can't wait to see with gold around their waist) as they played the babyfaces in danger. The champions worked Enzo over hard and had a few great cutoffs before Cass got the hot tags. Near the end, he'd end up back in a figure-four leglock that would seem to re-injure his leg from nearly 2 months before. After one last attempt at a comeback and a Rocket Launcher, Dash and Dawson finally took control of the match and were able to hit the Shatter Machine for the win.
Again, if I have to be nit-picky, I would have liked to seen less shuffling from Enzo at the start of the match, or at least have Dawson treat him more like the gnat he was. Also, Cass' leg was the target of some nasty attacks at the close of the match. After such a painful injury, I'd love to have seen him sell that leg a bit more. Still, the match was exciting and entertaining. I will admit the ending left me sour (sorry New Day) because I desperately want to see Enzo and Cass win the NXT tag-team championship. I'll be sorely disappointed if they reach the main roster without ever hoisting that belt.
Third on the card was “lone wolf” Baron Corbin against Apollo Crews, a match where I was almost positive Apollo would be going over in. The two had a solid back-and-forth match with some great spots (Apollo's End of Days counter into a standing moonsault and Corbin hurling Apollo over the ropes into the ring steps) that had the crowd into the match the whole way. Eventually, Baron Corbin would hit the End of Days and cement himself as a future #1 Contender. While this would have been a great showcase victory for Apollo, I can understand putting the spotlight (literally and figuratively) on Baron. With Sami Zayn returning, there's a need for a heel to come up and balance the roster, and he's the one. Hopefully they'll be able to book Apollo strong coming out of this loss, but you can't say he looked weak in it. The match made them book look worthy of competing for the belt.
There isn't much to say about this match other than that. It wasn't exactly exciting by any means, but it was definitely competitive and held my attention bell to bell. I can't say there was anything extraordinary about it, but it was a solid, competitive match. They story here was that both guys wanted to win, and one was just better in the end. And I can dig that.
The Women's Championship match though, that story's been a year in the making. After finally earning the NXT Women's Championship, Bayley's been able to defend it from her detractors and those that say she is not "champion material". First Alexa Bliss, then Eva Maria, and next, her biggest (literally) opponent yet: the fearsome Nia Jax. While Alexa and Eva were contrasts to the girl-next-door Bayley, no one has been such a polar opposite in style and appearance than Nia. The story told during the match was near perfection: Bayley gave a flurry of offense early, but never could take down the imposing heel. Once Nia took control, it was up to Bayley to find a way out of it. There was no way a Bayley-to-Belly could work against someone Nia's size, so what was she to do? The answer was simple: make her tap. It took a few tries, but finally, Bayley brought Nia to her knees and was able to get her to submit in a rather nasty-looking guillotine choke.
I enjoyed this match a lot, though again, the ending left me a bit sour. I love Bayley's submission victory and shows a lot of heart and smarts from her to not even attempt the Bayley-to-Belly. On the other hand, for Nia to fall into three consecutive guillotine chokes makes her look pretty bad in my opinion. I would have rather seen the chokes more spread out, or at least not as many in succession. If you want to build Nia as a credible heel threat, I think she should look a little smarter. No championship contender should walk into two guillotine chokes and not think about trying something different. But outside of that, I thought the match did a lot for both women.
Finally, we arrived at the Main Event between Samoa Joe and Finn Bálor. Just like the Corbin / Crews match, the story was simple: both men wanted to win, and one needed to be better. True, there were many levels to that story: Samoa Joe throwing away a 10-year friendship, Joe's constant attacks on Bálor, and Bálor's need to prove himself against Joe after everything the challenger had said. Still, there was no nagging injury for Joe to prey on, no extraneous circumstances to battle against, or tomfoolery from either side. It was simply going to be a brawl. And it was a rather good one at that. Both competitors looked strong, and both refused to budge until the very end. When all was said and done, however, Finn Bálor hit the Coup de Grâce on a prone Samoa Joe and was able to continue his reign as NXT Champion.
Another hard-hitting match that showcased both competitors, through watching the match live, some of Finn’s offense (specifically his Pele kicks) seemed off. With Finn holding onto the belt, we look ahead to who might be each wrestler’s next opponent. Early speculation looks to Corbin moving into the #1 Contender position, while perhaps Samoa Joe moves into a feud with a returning Sami Zayn. Both ideas seem pretty solid, and with Zayn having left near the top, perhaps Joe is a good entry-point for him. On the other end, there aren’t many other top heels for Bálor to fight against, and Corbin would be another imposing figure across the ring from him. But that’s a post for another day.
Overall, I can safely give NXT Takeover: London a solid B+. Sure there were a few nitpicks, but the wrestling was there and it was good. Nothing particularly exciting, nothing particularly memorable, but maybe that’s not what NXT needs every show. Maybe a night of solid matches to say “WWE can put on a good show, but we wrestle well” is just what they wanted after that TLC pay-per-view. And damn, did they deliver.
Make sure to follow David Conrad on Twitter: (@THE_DAVIDCONRAD) for more wrestling articles in the future!