NXT Thread *SPOILERS*

ThePott

Jesus, that Doomsday Device on the outside was mental!

Unreal match, would have liked to see GYV win but MSK isn't a surprise and fine with either tbh.
Rascalz vs New Day would be an absolute banger if Trey Miguel ever comes to WWE.
Still don't know what MSK stands for though haha.

PTH2009

Msk are like Ricochet turned up to 80 very impressed with them

J. Marston

Lads, looking at Finn's body would depress ya.

PTH2009

You can never get bored looking at Toni Storm Jesus

ThePott

I don't care what anyone says that Cameron Grimes music video was the highlight of the night

ThePott

At this point not even sure who is there to unseat Io.

PTH2009

Pete Dunne looks permanently dodgy, can't see him been a nice person in real life either

PTH2009

Quenching looking at Pete Dunne snapping Finns fingers

ThePott

That was a really impressive technical match, think it might have a love/hate reaction. Different to the usual NXT Main events. Was a bit slow in parts but was a masterclass imo. Looked tough as hell and both looked great coming out of it.

hynesie08

Those technical strike based matches are like crack to me, could watch them all day.

Hopefully finn recovers from his bonitis....

PTH2009

Was expecting a turn but not by Adam Cole and I think that's the shot in the arm he needed

Red vs Black UE ? Cole/Strong vs Kyle/Fish (or Finn)

ThePott

Was about to comment that Cole feels wasted and an afterthought at this stage. Reckon they're breaking him away from TUE to eventually move him up.

JP Liz V1

Eli Drake has signed

LineOfBeauty

Great Takeover, maybe my favourite Takeover in a couple of years honestly. Nothing bad, no nonsense, clean finishes all the way and, most importantly, it felt like there was some fresh direction with the show closing angle and, probably more significantly, because there was some fresh faces on this show that have given the company something of a fresh coat of paint.

The Female Dusty Cup finals was a fun opener, a sloppy couple of minutes aside and some minor gripes about the spacing between spots, this was good stuff. They did like a million things, you couldn't fault the effort levels at all. ***1/2

Enjoyed Gargano/Kushida a lot, someone mentioned that it was like a BOSJ Final in this thread and I'd agree, it played like a big Kushida match at a major show. That's not to take away from Gargano who was really good here, his worst tendencies did not fully manifest here (though maybe they could've shaved 3 or 4 minutes off this), the melodrama was not to the fore and the finish was clean as a sheet. I'm surprised Kushida didn't get the win here, given how this was kind of built as his retribution match, his clean loss probably tells you where the ceiling is for him in this company, you'd expect this Gargano feud is likely to be the peak of his run in NXT. ****1/4

MSK/GYV was a banger. Ambitious, beautifully paced, the heat spots were never dull and were not elongated. The MSK offence is mind blowing at times. Tremendous match to finish out a tremendous tournament for MSK. Must watch. ****1/2

The Shirai/Martinez/Storm match I'm trying to balance out in my mind. On one hand they suffered a lack of time to get across the story they tried to tell, as a result it felt rather rushed and the commentary table break (how hilariously flimsy was that table by the way) was horribly unfortunate given that was supposed to the highlight spot of the match, but on the other hand they worked real hard, they recovered well from that missed spot and some of the sequences were really good. Ultimately it felt like the most underwhelming match on the card and a match nobody will be thinking of today, but for the effort and ambition I'll go ***1/2

The main event Balor/Dunne match was superb. Super deliberate, wrestled like struggle and a departure from some other Takeover main events but very much in keeping with this solid, stiff and physical Balor NXT Title run that really has been low key pretty great. The easiest comparison for this match is the Ibushi/Sanada match that occurred a few days ago. But where the Ibushi/Sanada match felt listless and as though they were going through the motions, this came across as though it was building tension and drama more and more, the mat wrestling of the first 3rd fed into the second 3rd as they moved into a more high impact style and it informed the final 3rd which had a wonderfully hot closing stretch. Superb match to close a superb show. ****1/2.

Show closed with Cole turning on Balor and O'Reilly. I like it. UE are the most over thing in NXT, too often the weekly show feels dry, give us something interesting, which this really could be, with the characters people are invested in. At 2 and a half hours it was super right, super easy to watch.

Though I will get a quick dig in. Birmingham must be in a different hemisphere to Bray because Pete Dunne looked like he was a completely different ethnicity to Balor. Maybe best to lay off the fake tan for a while Pete.

beakerjoe

It was a show which I wasnt looking forward to if Im honest, I knew Id get solid in ring action but I felt the product to be lacking lately. So maybe my low expectations meant I was going to love what ever I was watching.

LA Knight/Eli Drake...... well hes got all the tools to be a big star. Always came off as a star in Impact/TNA. Has big potential in WWE land and seems ready made for the main roster at this stage more so than NXT. Hes fresh for NXT though and I look forward to his run.

Opener was fantastic. Shotzi's best match thus far. All seem to be improving and Moon has always been great when not injured /misused.

Gargano vs Kushida was great, mostly due to no shenanigans'. I agree that Kushidas celling is limited and after a clean loss its unclear where he goes from here. Match was great though, not over indulgent and nicely paced.

Heart Cameron Grimes.

Womens match was good, compared to other matches it lacked.

Mens DCF was excellent. Both teams dug it out and its a pity this hadnt a live crowd, Very close to perfect. Both teams elevated here.

Best Balor match yet in WWE for my money. A few minor cripes (the bitter end kick out should of won it). While Dunne and Balor lack speaking skills, they excel in-ring and Balor hasnt had a match like this in ages.

Liked the closing angle, though Coles body language telegraphed it.

Can NXT go forward..... it has a far way to get back to being on par with AEW. The show still has the WWE souless vibe and its missing a hot crowd, but this is a hugely positive step.

Sirsok

I love Pete Dunne. The way he sells is second to none. His knee is sore and when Irish whipped he sells it. Little things like this make me enjoyed the product more. A realism to the product.

I'd even suspect that it was intentional that Balor kicked out of the sit out powerbomb in the side he did, as it was Dunnes weak leg pinning his arm

PTH2009

Would like to see Bo Dallas (remember him) return to NXT who has gone missing on the main roster

Humberto could also make a impact if he went to NXT

JP Liz V1

ThePott wrote: »

Was about to comment that Cole feels wasted and an afterthought at this stage. Reckon they're breaking him away from TUE to eventually move him up.

What else can Cole do in Nxt?

hynesie08

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

What else can Cole do in Nxt?

He'll put over o'reilly on the way up, he's been doing it for a decade now.

ThePott

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

What else can Cole do in Nxt?

That's exactly why I think he has to be moving up at this stage. He's been on autopilot for a while. Reckon he'll put Cole over as a singles and then move up post-Mania.

Sirsok

Cole only kicked Balor after they all posed and Balor was the last one to bust of a pose and went with the guns.

Could have a legitimate gripe, after saving him and they all stood together, almost like an invitation to join The UE and Balor disregarded them.

Could be a nice nuance to the whole fued.

The White Wolf

Sirsok wrote: »

Cole only kicked Balor after they all posed and Balor was the last one to bust of a pose and went with the guns.

Could have a legitimate gripe, after saving him and they all stood together, almost like an invitation to join The UE and Balor disregarded them.

Could be a nice nuance to the whole fued.

That's how I took it too, it was very nicely done.

Things might start to be looking up again for NXT. It really is a ridiculous roster there so that was never the problem, more that nothing felt fresh or exciting.

Fascinated to see how LA Knight fits in too.

CastorTroy

Well Pat's still alive anyway.

Thought NXT would be taking the high ground and not mention Nia's hole. But no such luck.

Guess Cole confirmed his turn on Kyle. New merch incoming to remove the 'O' at least.
Bobby seems to be missing a lot.

The White Wolf

MSK being the Rascalz was a welcome if not strangely placed move.

J. Marston

Xia Li may be the most effort they've put into a push in a while, with the cinematic stuff and animated backstory. It's weird that it's her that's getting it but it's working for me.

CastorTroy

Will Boa ever fight though?
Are they planning a push for China?

PTH2009

The White Wolf wrote: »

MSK being the Rascalz was a welcome if not strangely placed move.

find them a little annoying but i suppose been the hyper kids is their character. Would love to see Nia and Shayna lose the tag titles

Looking like Kushia is down the pecking order once again

LA Knight has the ability to be top guy in NXT

Be cool if they go with Adam Cole been the lone wolf but i have a feeling Strong will side with him. could end up being Cole/strong vs Finn/Kyle vs Pete Dunne/Pat McAfee

Going to be interesting

The White Wolf

That's what I mean about MSK...they're fantastic but placing them in a such a weird situation as they did within a serious moment....it's going to end up annoying quick.

LA Knight just needs to take it handy on the catchphrases and cut his first real promo. He's so good he doesn't need to do the YEAH and DUMMY lines constantly. A well placed Fact of Life line is most welcome however.

I feel I'm in the minority but I found the Rascalz really annoying in Impact any time I'd watch.

I do think Eli Drake will be a great signing though.

Furious-Red

The White Wolf wrote: »

That's what I mean about MSK...they're fantastic but placing them in a such a weird situation as they did within a serious moment....it's going to end up annoying quick.

LA Knight just needs to take it handy on the catchphrases and cut his first real promo. He's so good he doesn't need to do the YEAH and DUMMY lines constantly. A well placed Fact of Life line is most welcome however.

Its WWE so they will use it in every promo sadly