NXT Takeover: London is the last major event on the WWE Network for the year 2015. It has already received a lot of acclaim and with the different time slot many will be watching the show throughout the night. How was it? Did it live up to expectations?
Asuka (with Dana Brooke) vs. Emma
Jon Potter: This was much more of a back-and-forth match than I expected. With Emma being “saddled” with Dana Brooke for a while, I’d forgotten how well she can wrestle. She hasn’t looked this good since NXT Arrival back in early 2014.
In my preview, I referred to Asuka as the female version of Brock Lesnar. Well, I did this woman a disservice. She tore the place down and had the British crowd eating out of her hand the entire time. Her moves were crisp and her mannerisms were perfect. But don’t think that this was just about hard strikes and disturbing smiles. They put together a really good homestretch too, with believable false finishes. Quite frankly, this match could have main evented quite easily, let alone started the show.
Steve Coulson: This match! This was just awesome. I had big things in mind for this and I’m very glad they lived up to my expectations and seemingly exceeded most others. Emma is a great talent and one that people kind of missed out on due to NXT really taking off in popularity once she left the show and obviously Asuka is just a thrill to watch with so much charisma. This was arguably the match of the night, although I hold another in slightly higher regard and it certainly continued the streak of women on NXT having fantastic matches.
Maybe more people will start appreciating Emma now? PS, Emma v Bayley and Asuka v Bayley will be absolutely show stealing matches as well in the future.
Winner: Asuka
NXT Tag Team Championship
Dash and Dawson vs. Enzo Amore and Big Cass (with Carmella)
Jon Potter: This match felt like a true old school tag match. I mean, there were enough modern trappings to keep today’s fan excited, but this match had really solid psychology. Enzo isn’t a particularly good wrestler, but his size and fire make him great as a target of two heels. Dash and Dawson reminded me of Tully and Arn as they dissected Amore and the crowd really cared which always helps.
In truth though, this match was made by the little details. Numerous moments tied into the build for the match, which makes everything more logical. Once you believe, you become emotionally invested. The crowd were dying for a title change, but it didn’t happen. Like I said in the preview, the money is in the chase and Enzo and Big Cass will make one hell of a redemption story in Dallas. While this bout wasn’t mind-blowing, it was a clinic in how to get the fundamentals of tag team wrestling right.
Steve Coulson: This was just an awesome old-school tag match. Enzo and Cass were so over they could do anything they wanted. Big Cass’ fire and working the apron with Enzo’s selling and general personality, it just works. Of course Dash and Dawson are awesome at all the little things and make great foils for the babyface team. This wasn’t anything stellar but it was just really good tag wrestling that the crowd ate up. Add in Air Enzo always being beautiful and an awesome finish, and this was a big success with two Takeovers in a row delivering big in terms of tag action.
Winners: Dash and Dawson
Baron Corbin vs. Apollo Crews
Jon Potter: Yeah, this match didn’t really do it for me. It seemed to really struggle in the middle of the card. While Appollo Crews showed more flashes of brilliance and is steadily growing on me, Corbin seemed to really regress tonight. I’m just not sure he’s ready for the positions he’s being put in. At least the athletic reversal of The End of Days was fun, but even this red hot crowd seemed restless for 90% of the bout.
As you can tell by my comments above, I’m not too confident in Baron Corbin seemingly getting the nod here. If this is a sign of Corbin getting a chance against Bálor, I just hope it gets blown off on TV. If this match was on the weekly show, it would be more acceptable, but as it was, botches and off pacing meant it paled in comparison to the rest of the card. You can skip this if pushed for time.
Steve Coulson: This one surprised me. While I was wrong about another decision later in the show, I was pretty split on it. While this one caught me off guard. It isn’t extremely surprising in retrospect as both guys are “blue chippers” and guys NXT clearly likes, but still I expected the Crews momentum to continue. In a way, I’m glad it went like it did as the crowd was probably the least into this match so maybe Crews’ momentum has already stalled a bit anyway.
As for the match itself I thought it was good. I really liked Corbin’s banter. I’d probably say this was my second least favorite match of the night besides the Women’s Championship match, but it was perfectly fine and at times good. That shows you what a strong show this was. I did see some wrestling journalists saying a major issue was Crews having to “slow down” for Corbin, but I don’t buy that as a criticism. Corbin has had some really good matches lately even if he is hit or miss, so to critique Corbin the match solely seems unfair.
Winner: Baron Corbin
NXT Women’s Championship
Bayley vs. Nia Jax
Jon Potter: Let me be straight here: this wasn’t one of the amazing athletic spectacles that we’ve become accustomed to. However, this told a story similar to Vader vs Shawn Michaels or Bret Hart vs Yokozuna. This was about a plucky, beloved champion chipping away at seemingly insurmountable odds. The early stages of the match along with the pre-match tease of Jax/Asuka lead me to ponder whether Bayley’s underdog reign was finally set to expire.
But my god did the Women’s champion have the crowd in the palm of her hand. She sold the beating perfectly and played dead on more than one occassion. Nia Jax played her part very competently too. She’s still obviously learning, but I see great potential in her in the fairly near future. Sometimes, story means more than flashiness. While this match wasn’t devoid of the latter, it hit a home run with the former. Bayley sold herself as tenacious, while Jax is still a beast despite her submitting.
Steve Coulson: I have mixed feelings about this one. First of all, Bayley is absolutely incredible and I’m very pleased she retained. The crowd was a joy in this one as well. But seriously, Bayley, what a talent this woman is! I put emphasis on this because while NXT IS at it’s heart still a developmental brand and there is time to improve, Nia Jax is not good. At all. Eva Marie’s match, while using smoke and mirrors to help it, was certainly better than this one. But with that said, Bayley worked hard and got a solid match out of it with a really cool moment. I liked that Bayley had to work differently and it made the match stand out as a result. It was a hell of a battle and I like that.
Now can Nia please do something about those leg drops? Watch Yoko or Mabel drop a leg, please.
Winner: Bayley via submission
NXT Championship
Finn Bálor vs. Samoa Joe
Jon Potter: In my preview thoughts for this match, I suggested that we could see some NJPW stiffness. Boy, was I right on that one, huh? This match was extremely hard hitting and the best match that Samoa Joe has had in years, By the way, bonus points to anyone who noticed the “Somoa Joe” error on the nameplate during his entrance. That made me chuckle. But seriously, the man was on fire.
The story of the match was Joe weathering the storm of babyface fire, befor dominating a large stretch. Of course, “The Demon” Bálor refused to die and we built up to one of the best back-and-forth endings I’ve ever seen. This match was surprisingly short and under 19 minutes, but it packed in so much action and told such a good story that it still felt fulfilling. Was this the best TakeOver main event ever? No, that honour belongs to Neville/Zayn or the iron-woman match, (sorry Brock) but it still deserves all the credit in the world for being so aggressive and memorable.
Steve Coulson: Okay, let’s look at the bad here first: I lost AGAIN to Jon. Ugh.
Now onto the important part: Holy hell this was awesome! It was no surprise this would be really freaking good and it lived up it’s expectations unquestionably. Samoa Joe’s re-invigoration has been incredible to see and obviously Finn is a tremendous talent. This match had a lot of emotion, ton of crowd support, stiffness, cool sequences, and drama. Everything one could ask for.
Did Joe win? Nope. Am I disappointed? Maybe slightly, but this just means we could either see a big rematch in Florida in February or both move onto something else, which seems more likely. I just hope whatever they move onto isn’t Finn vs. Corbin, as I believe it would be good but it certainly couldn’t hold a candle to Owens and Joe.
Winner: Finn Balor
Closing Thoughts
Steve Coulson: What a show. The opener and the closer in particular delivered in two excellent matches. I would love rematches for both as both were great, but I don’t actually see either happening at a Takeover at least. Going forward I have a feeling we will see Finn and Corbin go at it for the title which while I don’t dislike Corbin nearly as much as most, the thought of Reigns and Corbin both being champion does scare me a little bit. Too much alike for my taste. I’d want something a little different.
As for the show itself? Just awesome. Great atmosphere. Really good-great matches. Just a super memorable experience. It gets me really excited to see the upcoming Dallas show, as the regular Full Sail shows while still stellar just lack a bit of the magic that these big tour ones have. I can’t wait until April.
Jon Potter: This was one hell of a show. For what it occassionally dialled back on non-stop action, it made up for in awesome story-telling. The Women’s and Tag Team Championship matches were the epitome of emphasizing story over pretty moves. They used great psychology and got the crowd in attendance (and myself) invested. It’s good to remember just what an emotional connection can do for wrestling. If Bayley wasn’t beloved, her bout with Nia Jax would have been extremely flat.
Like Steve, I’m not sure where Bayley and Finn Bálor go from here. As I said above, I hope Corbin gets his shot quickly. Despite her submission, I do wonder if Nia Jax will join Asuka for a 3-way Championship match, I guess we’ll see.
And there’s our review of NXT TakeOver! Be sure to stick with WWE Network Chronicle for all your news and reviews!