Hey guys and welcome to my review of NXT Takeover Chicago, and without a doubt, we are in for one hell of a show. As always we get kicked off with the hype promo, hyping up each match for the evening’s card. This is truly going to be outstanding. As usual, we are brought in by Tom Philips, Percy Watson and Nigel McGuiness who get the show on the road, and the fans are pumped! Here we go, opening match.
Eric Young With Sanity VS Roderick Strong
This one is very personal as far as Roderick Strong is concerned as it all stemmed from two weeks ago on NXT when Strong came up short against Hideo Itami and was without specific reason, attacked by Sanity. Strong is hell bent on revenge here, and this is going to be hard hitting. And rightfully so, as Strong comes out of nowhere to lay out both Killian Dain and Alexander Wolfe before aiming fire at Eric Young. Strong was on fire here and the crowd were absolutely in favour of him. There was plenty of back and forth trading here as expected but Strong was getting the better of it. That was until Sanity and the numbers game came back into play, and before we knew it, Young was in charge. And he was not letting up, he expertly stayed on Strong, and despite the fans’ efforts to get Strong back in, nothing was happening for him for the time being. Strong managed to land a great looking Dropkick as Young leapt off the tope rope, and that is all he needed to get back into the contest and he got more offence in. It was anyone’s match to win here, it was a back and forth contest. Strong looked to be wounded following Young’s Wheelbarrow Neckbreaker on the outside and eventually landed his Top Rope Elbow Drop for a close near fall. Strong once again did well to keep Sanity at bay and refocused on Young, and caught Young with a knee right to the chin and followed with the Double Knee Back Breaker, 1..2..3. That was freaking awesome. That is how you open a show, well done to both guys.
Roderick Strong Beat Eric Young By Pinfall – Double Knee Back Breaker
Highlights were shown from the United Kingdom Championship Tournament back in January between Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne, in which Bate won to become the first ever UK Champion. Tonight, up next, in fact, is the long awaited rematch for the UK Championship, and this is going to be fantastic.
WWE United Kingdom Championship: Tyler Bate (C) VS Pete Dunne
And to make things even better, Jim Ross is the special guest commentator alongside Nigel McGuiness for this match. Their chemistry during Friday’s UK Special was awesome. Here we go: Back and forth trading of holds between both guys to get started, chain wrestling is always a great way to start. The crowd were absolutely lit up and were split between ‘Tyler Bate’ and ‘Bruiserweight’. Things started to pick up as expected and Dunne caught Bate with an X-Plex on the apron to take control of the champion. I felt that both men, agreed with JR, were so crisp in their respective offence. Both were trading punches, kicks and so on, and neither had control for long periods. Bate got a near fall following his Aeroplane Spin, which the fans loved. When Dunne lands elbows, they look brutal and that is what happened when Dunne got a near fall following an elbow and a Powerbomb. The crowd were just absolutely electric, is was spine tingling. Both men just traded and traded and traded, it was fantastic to watch. This was just simply too close to call, I had goosebumps. After a perfect outside Moonsault and a Top Rope Corkscrew, Bate went for a further attack outside, only to miss completely, be thrown into the ring by Dunne, and finally pinned following Dunne’s Bitter End. Words can barely describe what just happened, that was truly epic. Very well done to both guys. Any wrestling fan out there who did not enjoy that?! Find yourself a new sport to follow.
Pete Dunne Beat Tyler Bate By Pinfall To Become WWE United Kingdom Champion – The Bitter End
Words can barely describe what just happened, that was truly epic. Very well done to both guys. Any wrestling fan out there who did not enjoy that?! Find yourself a new sport to follow.
Next up was the highlights package hyping up the upcoming Triple Threat NXT Women’s Championship Match and how it all came about.
NXT Women’s Championship: Asuka (C) VS Nikki Cross VS Ruby Riot
Not only to both Nikki Cross and Ruby Riot both want the NXT Women’s Championship, but this is and always has been personal between the two. Every woman for themselves here and this was never going to be a slow start. All out right away between all three women, and with Cross taken out early on, it was down to Asuka and Riot, however, Cross came back in with sheer devastation focusing on Riot. The only thing missing from this match?! Ember Moon. But the show must go on. Asuka’s brilliant kick came into play and everyone knows how brutal the champion’s kicks are. Asuka had the upper hand over Cross and Riot and was on top of the action. But being a Triple Threat, things change quickly, and that is exactly what happened. Asuka was taken out and it was down to the two bitter enemies, which Riot got the better of, but momentum kept switching and switching. All three were
Just trading blows and pin attempts, and Asuka looked to have the match over when she superbly caught Riot off guard with the Asuka Lock, only for Cross to make the save. The action was all over the place and it was great. Cross put the focus on Asuka and was dominating the champion. Eventually, it came back down to Riot and Cross but this time it didn’t last long. Following some offence by Riot, she went for the pin on Cross, only to be met with a Running Kick to the face by Asuka. That was it, game over, Asuka pinned both women to retain. Asuka has been absolutely unstoppable and she continues yet again. Well done to all ladies for a superb match. Ember Moon is now waiting.
Asuka Beat Ruby Riot And Nikki Cross By Pinfall To Retain The NXT Women’s Championship – Running Kick
Coming up next was the NXT Championship Match between champion Bobby Roode and challenger Hideo Itami, who beat Roderick Strong to get this opportunity. The highlights package was shown to get the match hyped.
NXT Championship: Bobby Roode (C) VS Hideo Itami
Yet another class entrance by the one and only Bobby Roode, so awesome. Just like this match is going to be. It has been a long road for Hideo Itami who, just when it seems like he is in the mix for the NXT Title, injury strikes and it has been unfortunate. Tonight, he gets his shot, but Bobby Roode stands in his way. Once again, nice slow pace to get kicked off here, until Itami attempted the Go To Sleep right away to give Roode a scare. From there the pace was on the up, and the challenger took control for the time being. Itami started with his kicking offence, and when he starts kicking, opponents are in trouble. Itami did well to keep on Roode until Roode caught Itami with a Blockbuster Neckbreaker. Just like that, the tide had turned. When Roode gets in control he is hard to stop, he is a master of his craft, one of the best. The pace picked up even more and after a trading of kicks, Itami took back over. It was great back and forth action with both men getting their fair share. Roode landed his famous Double R Spinebuster but his shoulder was giving him trouble, which Itami used to his advantage. It got to the point where both Roode and Itami were hurting on the outside from this gruelling battle. Any man had the chance of walking out as champion here. Roode managed to land his Glorious DDT but could not go for the cover right away due to the shoulder. Itami landed the GTS, only for Roode to roll out of the ring. Genius! The match went on, and it was outstanding. Itami went for it again but was countered. He went for it once again, only for Roode to turn it into a Glorious DDT, followed by another Glorious DDT. Match over. That was outstanding. Back and forth action, and a perfect build, superb work from both champion and challenger.
Bobby Roode Beat Hideo Itami By Pinfall – (Glorious DDT X2) To Retain The NXT Championship
Spotted at ringside were United States Champion Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, WWE Hall Of Famer Pat Paterson and Kassius Ohno. I always look forward to seeing who appears at Takeover as there is always someone at ringside.
Next up is the main event, which sees DIY getting their fair one one one shot against NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors Of Pain, this time contested in a Ladder Match. This is yet again going to be awesome, and as usual, we were treated to the highlights package to hype the match. The journey and story of Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano has been emotional and amazing to be a part of.
NXT Tag Team Championship Ladder Match: The Authors Of Pain (C) VS DIY
Main event time folks, and this one will be a fantastic headliner. An all out brawl to get us kicked off, which was sure to be expected as these guys have a lot of beef and unfinished business. DIY got the better of the champions at the get go and wasted no time at all in going for ladders. Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano were on fire up to this point and displayed some great offense as always. Gargano’s Suicide Dive through the ladder looked superb, and following so, DIY used the ladders to great advantage. However, it wasn’t long before the up to today unstoppable Authors took control of the contest. Just like DIY, the Authors used the ladders to their advantage to stay on top of the challengers, and the challengers were in some trouble.
I must say, whether it was the Authors or DIY, regardless, the use of ladders was brilliant as they were used very frequently and creatively. Gargano and Ciampa did well to escape what looked to be a couple of brutal Powerbombs on to and or through ladders. Following which was an awesome spot where Gargano and Ciampa put the Authors through separate ladders with Splashes off of the huge ladder. Great stuff to witness. This was just excellent to watch, it really was, and I expected no less. Johnny Wrestling should have had the titles won if it weren’t for Paul Ellering, who received a Superkick for his efforts, and before we knew it the champs were back in command. Wow, what happened next was astounding: Gargano took a full force hit to the face with a ladder to save Ciampa, and just when it looked like the Authors would retain, Ciampa managed to deliver a German Suplex to one of the Authors, off the ladder through another ladder. That was absolutely unbelievable! Tag Team Title main event?! You are damn right it was the main event!
Just as awesome was their Knee And Superkick Combo to Razar while is head was stuck in the ladder rungs. As the challengers went to unhook the championships, they were caught with Super Colliders and Powerbombs, before the Authors climbed and unhooked the title. And still NXT Tag Team Champions. I must say, with everything, I wanted DIY to win this, however, that was absolutely awesome and deserved to be the main event. Well done to all, that was fantastic. Following the match was a standing ovation for Ciampa and Gargano, absolute respect.
However, things fell apart: Just as it looked like they were headed backstage, Tomasso Ciampa did the unthinkable. He turned his back on his best friend and completely laid him out with what was an absolutely vicious and brutal attack. I honestly could not believe what I just saw.
The Authors Of Pain Beat DIY In A Ladder Match To Retain The NXT Tag Team Championships
Overall Thoughts
I have said it before, I am saying it now, and will more than likely say again and again: If there is any wrestling fan out there who does not watch NXT or NXT Takeover Specials, you have no idea what you are missing. This show was epic, just like the rest.
The opener was a terrific opener which saw Roderick Strong get his revenge on Eric Young and Sanity, and it will be interesting to see what happens next with both parties.
The UK Championship match blew the roof off the place and was an absolute joy to watch as both Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne put it all on the line, and surely Bate will be looking for a rematch down the line.
The women tore it up also, and Asuka’s dominance continues yet again, and both Ruby Riot and Nikki Cross looked very impressive. Now, Ember Moon will be after Asuka when she is healthy, and I myself cannot wait.
The NXT Championship match was glorious, pun intended. Both Bobby Roode and Hideo Itami put on a wrestling clinic and the match had a perfect build and pace to it, both men were awesome. Again, I have pointed out that Roode is indeed one of my favourites so I am glad he remains champion, and I look forward to seeing who comes calling next. Something tells me Drew McIntyre (another favourite of mine) is not far away. That potential match has epic written all over it.
And finally, the main event itself was indeed that, a main event. Main event calibre, main event quality. All four men worked their asses off, put on a hell of a match, and re-blew the roof off of the arena. Again, personally I was really rooting for DIY, but they came up short. And as far as Tomasso Ciampa was concerned, there was a heavy price for Johnny Gargano to pay for DIY falling short. As I explained above, I did not see that coming, and neither did the live fans based on expressions of faces. It was an unbelievable ending to a scorching show, and one thing is for sure. Johnny Wrestling is on a manhunt for the Psyco Killer as we speak. Thanks to anyone who joined me for this review, and I will be back Thursday will my usual NXT review.