On April 2nd, 2016 the WWE Network presented NXT Takeover: Dallas! The event featured five huge and exciting matches, three of which were championship bouts while the other two featured major debuts. The show is receiving critical acclaim from pretty much everybody, although one match seems to be the most popular based on our match of the night poll, but what did we think of the show? Let’s take a look.
NXT Tag Team Championship
The Revival (Dash and Dawson) vs. American Alpha (Jason Jordan and Chad Gable)
Jon Potter: If I’m ever asked to point to awesome tag team wrestling that doesn’t involve tables, ladders or chairs, I’ll now point to this match every time. This wasn’t about just getting flashy moves in, it told a story. American Alpha are wrestling machines, while The Revival were willing to use every shortcut in the book to retain their Championships. It just so happened that American Alpha were unstobbable as a unit on this night.
The story wasn’t complicated, but it worked. It steadily built to a crescendo so perfectly that the crowd was invested hugely in a homestretch that mainly consisted of unflashy pinfall reversals. When you don’t have to up the ante to ridiculous levels to get a reaction, you know you’ve done a great job. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the big botch by The Revival. The crowd picked up on it, but the teams just carried on as if it was natural, so it didn’t detract too much at all.
The right team obviously won here, as evidenced by the crowd reaction. I look forward to the reputation the new Champions can carve out for themselves.
Steve Coulson: This was great, I thought. Both teams are fantastic, and American Alpha are everything I want them to be and more. Meanwhile, Dash and Dawson are excellent foil for any babyface team. Oh, also gear American Alpha wore out was pretty cool too. I like when teams match, and both here did.
There was one big unfortunate mistake, but I feel like the crowd was too hard on them for it. And other than that, this was fantastic. Great match with two great teams and a super hot crowd. This is almost as good as tag wrestling gets.
Winners: American Alpha
Austin Aries vs. Baron Corbin
Jon Potter: This was solid but very unremarkable. The crowd didn’t seem fully invested either. It probably didn’t help that Aries has had zero opportunity to showcase himself on NXT until tonight.
I said Corbin has improved and I stand by that. However, he reminded me here that the still has a long way to go. His offense is very basic, his prolonged claw hold seemed to lose the crowd rather than annoy them and he just doesn’t seem to know how to draw the audience in yet.
Aries was a little better. He showcased himself well and his comebacks woke up the crowd to some degree. I don’t think this was the best choice for his debut though, especially if he was going to squeak out a win with a reversal. This wasn’t bad, but it lacked real anergy to be truly special. At least I’m ahead on predictions now!
Steve Coulson: This was expected to be the worst match of the show, and it was. That sounds like a bad thing, but a show this strong means the worst match was still good. I don’t think they quite clicked for a classic, and the fans weren’t as into Aries as maybe you’d hope, but this was still good.
The offense was a lot of fun, Aries is so good and Corbin keeps working his way up. It wasn’t Corbin’s best match in WWE or anything, but it was quite good nonetheless. I was surprised Aries picked up the win as I didn’t think he and Nakamura would win, but hey, I can admit when I’m wrong. Jon gets the win with this one. And so does Austin Aries.
Winner: Austin Aries
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn
Jon Potter: What the hell can I say? This match built and built and built. What could have just been a strong exhibition for the debuting Nakamura turned into something I will remember for the rest of my life. The strikes made me cringe, the story had me hooked and the commentary was the lyrics to a beautiful song.
Sami Zayn has another match this Sunday. He didn’t have to go all-out in this match. But he stood toe-to-toe with “The King of Strong Style”, giving it back just as hard as he got. Shinsuke was always going to win and he did. But when a performance makes me forget all that and makes me bite on everything, it has to be tremendous. Look, the crowd literally begged for this to never end. What more recommendation do you need? Go watch it already because on this night, infront of this audience, this was perfection!
Steve Coulson: This was hands down one of the best matches ever. I have no hesitation in calling it the best match in NXT history and the match of the year thus far. I also have no hesitation saying nothing outside of MAYBE Lesnar/Ambrose will reach this level of amazing on Sunday. Not to say there won’t be great matches, there very well could be, but this was on an entirely different level.
The crowd was electric and then some. The action was amazing. The selling was great. The commentary was spot on. This was the perfect storm in every way and as a result, Nakamura and Sami Zayn put on a once in a lifetime match. If I was into star ratings, I’d have no problem giving this the full five. This was absolutely tremendous.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
NXT Women’s Championship
Bayley vs. Asuka
Jon Potter: This really impressed me. As I said in our preview for the show, this match has been built carefully over many months. It all culminated really well here.
First, I need to address the elephant in the room. The crowd did struggle to wake up after the previous classic and these ladies did start a little slow. To give them all the credit in the World though, they did earn a response as things progressed.
What I enjoyed most here was that Bayley responded to Asuka’s renowned aggression in kind. All without betraying her own character. Bayley did all she could to crack the armor of the Japanese lioness, even busting out strategies that were successful for her in the past. Eventually Asuka sunk in her choke variation and despite a very valiant effort, the referee called an end to the match for the sake of Bayley’s safety.
This may be a controversial finish to some, but I liked it. Bayley didn’t submit (like a babyface shouldn’t) while Asuka maintains her ruthlessness. It strengthens both as characters, while leaving the door open for a rematch.
I’d recommend this to anyone, but I hope they get another chance infront of a crowd that isn’t so (understandably) worn out.
Steve Coulson: I thought this was great. Bayley’s had so many excellent matches and this marks two in a row for Asuka at Takeover. The big story here is that Bayley lost the NXT Women’s Championship, although she did not submit. So what does that mean? Will she be called up Monday? Will it be awhile? I suppose we’ll have to wait and see.
The only real flaw with this match was the crowd was a little quieter thanks to being burned out from the match prior, but this was so excellent. Bayley showing aggression was fantastic and I recommend everybody check this out. Yet another great match on this show.
Winner: Asuka
NXT Championship
Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor
Jon Potter: I can see why this match would divide a viewing audience. If you’re someone who gets into a rage about the death of blood and grit in wrestling, the cautious treatment of Joe’s very bad cut will infuriate you. I get it. I don’t definitively think PG is to blame, but I understand the frustration.
Did it seriously harm the story of the match? For me, it was a very minor problem at worst. Joe made the most of the situation, incorporating hs character’s rage into it and always bursting back into the action angrier than he was before. It worked. Don’t worry, you can disagree with me and we can still be friends.
The match itself was hard-hitting and was about Samoa Joe believing he had Balor’s number. Joe was ruthless, hitting Bálor with his hardest shots. While Finn did his best to keep fighting, it looked like a title change was at hand.
Then the Demon awoke. Bálor showed a true intensity here like I’ve never seen from him before. The “Sanoan Submission Machine” showed fear in his facial expressions perfectly. Even when Joe thought he had a choke synched in, Finn pulled out a reversal ala Bret Hart and retained his Championship. It gave me what I personally hoped for. It was very high quality work.
The result surprised me, but I get it. Triple H or WWE obviously sees “The Demon” as the face of NXT and aren’t quite ready to move on. I just hope this means Samoa Joe is main roster bound. Finally, where does this leave the reportedly incoming Bálor Club? This will be an interesting next few days…
Steve Coulson: This is a match that has a lot of people divided. Some thought it was great, some thought it was not. Of course, those who dislike it don’t dislike it because anything the two men did. But instead, Samoa Joe was bloodied bad early and this led to a lot of referee stoppages. And I mean a lot. And the fans were on them hard.
Let’s not look at the health concern for a second, but just the flow of the match. I think stoppages can help a match sometimes. I think they really make things feel more intense and violent. This had a few too many for my taste, which definitely brought down my love for it, but both guys worked hard and there was a lot of good here. Joe should be champion, but hopefully there is a big reason he isn’t. The big question though: who’s next for Finn?
Winner: Finn Balor
Closing Thoughts
Jon Potter: I’d call this a truly classic show. When I say that, I don’t mean that the entire card was stuffed with 5-star classics. I mean that every match worked exactly as it was designed to. At no point did I feel bored. Not once did I check the time or leave the room. How often can anyone say that?
Yes, NXT did throw down the gauntlet to WrestleMania. Will the show of shows reach the same lofty heights in the same way? Probably not. But let’s be honest here. If WrestleMania 32 even comes close to this, we’ll be lauding it as one of the best shows ever.
The only step down in the whole show was Austin Aries vs Baron Corbin. Even that was perfectly solid. The rest gets my doubtless recommendation. A very easy way to spend two-and-a-quarter hours.
Add in the hints at NXT’s future from the crowd, and the next few months seem extremely bright indeed.
Steve Coulson: What can I say about this? The show was heart stopping, emotional, exciting, breath taking, and pretty much any other positive cliche you want to make. It was just, simply put, stellar. Every match was good, with a few being great, and one in particular, in my eyes, being as good as it gets.
NXT definitely told the main roster to bring your best, because you’re going to need to. This was just phenomenal. I can’t recommend this show enough. Everybody should check this out. Oh, and how can I not mention that both Kota Ibushi and Robert Roode were in the crowd, with Roode getting a loud reaction? This hopefully means big things for both going forward with NXT.
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