NXT
Date: June 15, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett

We’re past a pretty lackluster Takeover and that means it is time to start getting ready for the rest of the summer. I’m not sure what that is going to included but William Regal was teasing some kind of a big change. That could mean multiple things, though there are some rumors of what it could mean, most of which are rather intriguing. Let’s get to it.

Here is Takeover if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Takeover.

Here is a serious looking William Regal for a chat. Regal talks about being with NXT from the beginning, including starting at the commentary desk for the first Takeover. NXT has grown throughout the last few years and they have gone around the world, including to his hometown of Blackpool. Regal gets a bit emotional as he talks about everything that NXT has done for everyone involved here. He thanks everyone who took them to San Jose and Houston and Brooklyn and Portland, but now there is so much chaos around here.

Regal doesn’t think he is capable of giving us what we deserve anymore, so it is time for…..him to be interrupted by Karrion Kross and Scarlett. Kross says he knew this was coming because he was going to control NXT with chaos and violence. He wants Regal to leave and admit that Kross has won…..and here is the returning Samoa Joe.

That makes Kross look a little worried and Regal says Samoa Joe should be the new General Manager. Joe understands what is going on but he is absolutely not accepting the job. Regal has cast a large shadow for seven years and Joe made his job a nightmare. Now though, he would like to make sure that Regal receives the respect that he deserves.

Regal finds this intriguing, but says Joe cannot be a competitor and cannot lay his hands on anyone…..unless he is provoked. Joe accepts, and asks why Kross is still in this ring. Joe: “Tick tock, young champion.” The fans sing the Goodbye Song as Kross and Scarlett leave. This is quite the nice moment, as Joe is a great way to counter Kross, especially if he can have a match one day.

The Grizzled Young Veterans are ready to take out Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher.

Imperium vs. Breezango

Barthel shoulders Breeze down to start but a quick jawbreaker gets him out of trouble. It’s off to Fandango for a dropkick but Aichner pulls him into an armbar. Some chops in the corner look to set up a sunset flip so Fandango is back with a legdrop. Breeze loads up a bit dive but only hits mat, allowing Fandango to hit his own big flip dive. Back in and Fandango gets crotched on top and it’s an uppercut off with Aichner.

We take a break and come back with Aichner hammering away at Fandango and planting him with a slam. Barthel comes back in and grabs a cobra clutch but Fandango kicks him away. A backdrop allows the hot tag off to Breeze to….get dropped with a clothesline. Not that it matters as Breeze grabs a small package for the pin at 10:26.

Rating: C. I’m a bit surprised by the finish but Breezango continues to be one of the weakest teams around. I’m not sure what Imperium is going to be doing, though the wrath of Walter seems to be a real possibility. I can’t imagine MSK having to worry about either team, but at least we got a decent tag match here.

Post match Imperium lays out Breeze and drapes an Imperium flag over him.

Regal is breaking up a fight between Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole and says they can fight at the Great American Bash. Until then, they can pick their own opponents to fight next week. Joe comes in and gets shoved away by Cole, who is promptly choked out. With that broken up, Joe says that when Cole wakes up, he can give Mr. Regal an answer.

We see an image of a battery charging and it reaches 1%.

Santos Escobar does not like Bronson Reed putting him through a wall. Reed has revealed a weakness but now it is going to be one on one. This time, he’ll pick Reed up and let gravity do the rest on the way to the title.

Cruiserweight Title: Kushida vs. Trey Baxter

Baxter, better known as Blake Christian, is challenging and promises to show that he is all heart. Feeling out process to start with Baxter grabbing a rollup for two. A running hurricanrana sends Kushida to the corner and there’s an enziguri in the corner. Kushida gets draped ribs first over the top rope and sent to the floor for a big dive. Cue Kyle O’Reilly to watch from the stage as we take a break.

Back with Kushida scoring with an atomic drop but missing a running kick to the face. An enziguri doesn’t miss but Baxter hits a handspring kick to the face. Baxter is back with a Spanish Fly into a springboard 450 for two more. They head up top with Kushida hitting a super flying armbar, setting up the Hoverboard Lock to retain at 10:27.

Rating: C+. Another good open challenge title match here but Kushida vs. O’Reilly should be a heck of a match whenever we get there. That is the kind of a match which could tear the house down in a hurry, though I’m not sure how much of a chance that Kushida would have to keep the title. O’Reilly needs to win something, but it’s still the Cruiserweight Title. That is something that works great for someone new like Baxter (because his name is Trey Baxter) and he got a good rub out of this one.

Post match Kushida shakes Baxter’s hand but O’Reilly gets in the ring to say he wants to face Kushida next week. Kushida is ready.

Frankie Monet is going to be back in the ring next week but she goes over to Jessi Kamea and Aliyah, saying they would have won their most recent match if Robert Stone hadn’t gotten involved. Stone comes in and Monet says the team would have won if they had listened to Stone a bit more.

Mercedes Martinez talks about how she got taken down by Tian Sha but she isn’t going to be held down. If Boa wants to come after her, come get her. She and Xia Li are 1-1 so come on for round three.

Here is Ted DiBiase to present the Million Dollar Title to LA Knight. DiBiase shows us a video on Knight, who arrives in a rather nice car. Knight comes to the ring and loads up LET ME TALK TO YA but cuts himself off. Instead he would rather talk to DiBiase, because it is rare that you get to meet your heroes. Knight watched DiBiase growing up and he always wanted to be DiBiase when they were wrestling in the backyard. He needed DiBiase here tonight just to say thank you and they shake hands.

It would be the honor of Knight’s life to have DiBiase officially crown him the Million Dollar Champion. DiBiase puts the title on Knight’s shoulder and they take turns laughing. The fans still want Cameron Grimes but Knight says he has everything that he wants. Now it’s time to get rid of everything he doesn’t need, and he decks DiBiase. Knight shouts that this is his title and now he is the only true Million Dollar Champion. Cameron Grimes makes the save and clears Knight out in a hurry.

Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez are ready for to get the Tag Team Titles back.

The battery is now at 11%.

Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez vs. Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter

Carter sends Kai into the ropes for a double knee to the face. Kacy holds Kai in place for a running dropkick to the side of the head. It’s off to Gonzalez to pull Carter by the hair but some double teaming puts Gonzalez on the floor. Carter hits a huge dive onto both of them and we take a break. Back with Gonzalez working on a backbreaker on Catanzaro, setting up Kai’s running knee in the corner. A running pump kick sends Catanzaro to the floor but she gets over for the tag off to Carter a moment later.

Carter gets to clean house and a nasty running kick to the face gets two on Kai. Gonzalez hits a messy spinning side slam for two on Carter and an assisted Codebreaker gets the same. Everything breaks down again and Catanzaro’s hurricanrana off the apron sends Gonzalez face first into the apron. Back in and a neckbreaker/450 combination gets two on Kai with Gonzalez making the save. Carter is sent hard into the barricade and the GTK finishes Catanzaro at 12:27.

Rating: C-. This was a bit too much on the sloppy side and that hurt what they had going on here. Catanzaro and Carter are a fine team for a spot like this as Gonzalez and Kai needed a win to build them up a little bit. It wasn’t exactly a red hot match, but it did what it was supposed to.

Ever-Rise isn’t happy with Hit Row breaking their house on the Takeover Kickoff Show but they have rebuilt.

The battery is now at 21%.

Here is Io Shirai to say that she is back. She says that her next target is….and here is Candice LeRae to interrupt. Candice talks about how she is no longer an uncrowned champion and Shirai picked the wrong time to come back. Cue Indi Hartwell to jump Shirai from behind and the beating is on. The announcers’ table is loaded up but here is Zoey Stark for the save.

William Regal and Samoa Joe are leaving but are asked about how they feel tonight has gone. Regal…..is cut off, as we jump to MSK eating popcorn as Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher are on their way to the ring. Thatcher comes back and angrily steals some popcorn.

The Diamond Mine is opening next week.

William Regal and Samoa Joe are trying to give an update on the evening when the Way comes in to mock the JOE chants. They’re glad he’s here but Joe tells them to get out. Pete Dunne comes in for a heck of a staredown with Joe.

Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Tornado Tag. It’s a brawl to start with Thatcher and Ciampa taking them down into stereo forearms to the chest. The stereo holds send the Veterans to the floor and the chase is on. Back in and the Veterans get in some cheap shots to take over, meaning the beating can be on. Thatcher is sent face first into a light tower but he is fine enough to come back in for a standing sleeper on Drake.

That is broken up but Ciampa is back in with a chinlock of his own. Ciampa is taken outside for a whip into the barricade, leaving Thatcher to get taken down in a belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination. Ciampa is back up to send the Veterans into the barricade, setting up a running hip attack into the two of them. Back in and Thatcher and Ciampa hit some running shots to the face in the corner as we take a break.

We come back with Thatcher getting knocked into the Koji Clutch so Gibson can stomp away. Ciampa makes the save (after unloading on Drake’s head that is) but accidentally kicks Thatcher in the face. A Doomsday Device is broken up though and Ciampa hits a super Air Raid Crash on Gibson as Thatcher has Drake. Somehow Gibson kicks out so it’s Ciampa and Drake chopping it out on the apron.

The running Doomsday Device on the floor plants Ciampa so it’s time for Thatcher and Gibson to slug it out inside. An exchange of holds doesn’t work but Drake is back in for a running boot in the corner. A Backstabber hits Thatcher so Ciampa runs in for the save. The Veterans double team Ciampa on the floor and put him (mostly) through the top of the announcers’ table. Ciampa is back up with the Air Raid Crash to drop Gibson onto said table. Back in and some hard slaps set up Angel’s Wings into an ankle lock/armbar combination for the tap at 17:27.

Rating: B. This was a fight and that’s exactly what they were shooting for here. What mattered here was it felt like they wanted to win at all costs, which is not something you see enough of in wrestling. I’m a bit surprised at the result as the Veterans really need to win something at some point, but at least they had a pretty awesome showing in defeat. Thatcher and Ciampa moving up the card works too, so this was a pretty solid match all together.

William Regal is pleased with Samoa Joe’s first night around here. Joe says that was the first night of many as Regal gets into his car and……drives off with no problem to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The return of Joe was the big story here and the rest of the show was build around it. What matters is they have something fresh which might make people interested, which has been lacking around here as of late. It’s a good show with a solid main event, plus some things being set up for later. NXT still has some work to do, but this was a nice start.

Results
Breezango b. Imperium – Small package to Aichner
Kushida b. Trey Baxter – Hoverboard Lock
Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez b. Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter – GTK to Catanzaro
Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher b. Grizzled Young Veterans – Ankle lock/armbar combination to Drake

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Takeover: In Your House 2021
Date: June 13, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

We’re back to this series but in this case, the card isn’t looking like the strongest in the world. That has been the case for some of the last few of these have not exactly had a great build. I’m not sure what to expect from this one, as the main event is a five way match for the NXT Title. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is a pretty standard look at every match on the card.

Naomi Fox performs the theme song live.

There seems to be a full capacity of fans here, making the show feel much more like classic NXT.

Here’s Todd Pettengill (who looks and sounds the same, albeit with a beard) to welcome us to the show.

Tag Team Titles/North American Title: MSK/Bronson Reed vs. Legado del Fantasma

Legado is challenging and it’s winner take all. We get a nice shot of Legado putting their masks on the apron before Lee and Mendoza go with a fast pinfall reversal sequence to start. Lee flips out of a headscissors to land on his feet and it’s off to Wilde to send Carter into the corner. A dropkick sends Wilde into the corner so Escobar comes in for the big staredown with Reed.

As expected, Escobar tags Mendoza back in rather than face the monster. A blind tag brings Escobar back in for a cheap shot to the head, but for some reason Escobar tries a slam. This goes as badly as expected and it’s MSK taking turns on Wilde. MSK holds Wilde up for a running backsplash from Reed but Carter gets sent outside. The parade of alternating dives is on with Reed’s big one knocking out everyone else. Back in and Lee gets taken down, including an elevated 450 from Wilde.

Lee manages to roll over for the tag to Reed though and house is cleaned in a hurry. Reed wants Escobar, who somehow manages a Michinoku Driver to stun Reed for two. It’s already back to Carter, who gets caught in the Russian legsweep/running boot to the face. Lee dives in for the save in a pretty hot near fall but Reed comes back in to wreck things. The big charge sends Escobar through the set, leaving Wilde to take the Blockbuster Hart Attack. Reed adds the Tsunami to retain at 12:29.

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going but there were some hot near falls, including a good false finish with Carter. Reed is a force of nature though and that Tsunami is an awesome finisher which looks great every time. It was a hot choice for an opener here and while I’m not surprised at the result, Reed vs. Escobar should be a good singles match down the line.

Earlier today, Kyle O’Reilly nearly got in a fight with the Way in the parking lot but security broke it up.

Todd Pettengill throws us to a video (as in a tape) of Xia Li losing to Mercedes Martinez in the 2017 Mae Young Classic, but McKenzie Mitchell says it’s all digital now. Todd calls her Stephanie Wiand in a joke a lot of people probably won’t get.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Xia Li

Boa is here with Li. Martinez starts fast and knocks Li to the apron but Li ties her up in the ropes. They head outside with Li sending her into the post, starting the XIA LI chants. Martinez’s bad ribs are wrapped around the post and a running dropkick sends her outside again. Back in and Martinez gets smart by kicking at Li’s legs to give her an opening.

Li manages to send her back into the corner but charges into a hot shot. Something like a Razor’s Edge Dominator gets two on Li and Martinez hits a running knee to the face to send her outside. Boa’s distraction doesn’t do much for Li, who is backdropped onto the floor. Back in and Martinez loads up the Air Raid Crash but Li slips out for the spinning kick to the face and the pin at 7:40.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what that was as it felt like they were getting into another gear and then the match just ended. Li is a monster and beating Martinez means something but it wasn’t exactly a match that felt like it belonged on Takeover. This could have been a fairly hot TV match but the sudden ending and pretty short run time hurt it a bit.

Post match Li grabs a chair but Martinez takes it away and drops Boa. Some chair shots put Li down but Mei Ying gets up for the staredown. Martinez gets caught in a Tongan Death Grip and, after shrugging off some chair shots, throws Martinez into a cage wall to leave her laying.

Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher are REALLY fired up to fight the Grizzled Young Veterans on Tuesday.

Ted DiBiase narrates a video on the history and value of the Million Dollar Title. It matters the most because it costs the most and now it is time to find someone to carry on its legacy. That will be either Cameron Grimes or LA Knight, who can fight for it in a ladder match.

Million Dollar Title: LA Knight vs. Cameron Grimes

Ladder match for the vacant title, which Ted DiBiase and some lackeys bring to the ring in a case. They shove each other to start and the fans are behind Grimes. Some chops have Knight staggered and a clothesline puts him down. Grimes knocks him to the floor and grabs the ladder but Knight gets in a cheap shot. The ladder is thrown at Grimes but only hits the floor, meaning Knight settles for a hard clothesline instead.

They pull each other off the ladder until Knight uses it to knock him outside. Grimes sends him outside, where Knight grabs his own ladder to begin the ladder jousting. Knight gets knocked outside in a heap with the ladder being driven into his ribs. For some reason Grimes goes after him and gets laddered down as well. Knight strikes the pose on the steps and sends Grimes into the barricade (Knight to the fans: “YOU WANT TO MEET HIM???”).

Back inside and Knight hits a slingshot shoulder but Grimes sends him into the corner. A crotching with the ladder misses though and Knight neckbreakers him onto the ladder. The big ladder is set up with Grimes being sent face first. Grimes is right back with a whip to send Knight face first into the ladder in the corner and it’s time to kick at Knight’s chest. Knight gets tossed over the top and onto a bridged ladder, so Grimes wants THAT GOLD! He means the gold ladder and gets his hand on the title but has to shove Knight off the ladder.

That’s fine with Knight, who shoves the ladder over for the big crash. A double knockdown leaves them both on the mat before Knight sends him onto the ramp. They fight to the floor, with Grimes being sent into a ladder, which he climbs in a hurry. Grimes climbs onto the set to dive down onto Knight for another knockdown. Knight makes a save but gets knocked down and hurricanranaed out to the floor. That lets Grimes climb but Knight knocks him over with the big crash onto a ladder on the ramp. Knight pulls down the title for the win at 19:25.

Rating: B. It checked all of the ladder match boxes but that’s about all I can give this one. Ladder matches are just so completely played out in WWE and NXT these days and it’s hard to get excited about another one. This had dives, drama and crashes, but almost nothing that you haven’t seen in a more memorable version elsewhere. Knight winning makes sense, though I’m hoping Grimes wins something sooner rather than later.

DiBiase presents Knight with the title.

Hit Row interrupts Todd Pettengill’s merchandise shilling and plugs their new song.

We recap Ember Moon challenging Raquel Gonzalez for the Women’s Title. Moon has been back for a little while now and wants the title back. Gonzalez is ready to destroy her to continue her legacy, but the Eclipse is a dangerous weapon.

Women’s Title: Raquel Gonzalez vs. Ember Moon

Gonzalez is defending and has Dakota Kai in her corner. Moon starts fast by hammering away in the corner but has to counter the lifting powerbomb. Gonzalez sends her outside and hard into the barricade for two back inside. A sunset flip doesn’t work for Moon and Gonzalez tosses her into the corner again. There’s a side slam to set up a twisting Vader Bomb for two more on Moon, followed by the Canadian backbreaker.

Moon gets out and fires off some kicks, including a superkick into a Code Red for two. Kai has to save Gonzalez from the modified STF so Moon is back up with a suicide dive to knock Gonzalez over the announcers’ table. Back in and a running Downward Spiral gives Moon two but Kai offers another distraction to break up the Eclipse. Gonzalez is right back up with a superplex but the lifting powerbomb is countered into a rollup for (another rather slow) two.

A big boot gives Gonzalez two so she loads up a suplex, which is countered into a spinning Stunner. The Eclipse connects but Kai puts the foot on the rope. Cue Shotzi Blackheart to chase Kai off as Moon tornado DDTs Gonzalez onto the ramp. That gets a rather delayed two so Moon tries a headscissors, only to get caught in Snake Eyes. The lifting powerbomb retains the title at 12:07.

Rating: B. I was getting into this one a good bit and the time helped it. What mattered here was Moon felt like someone who might have had a chance to win the title, which is hard to do against a monster like Gonzalez. Beating Moon means something for her too, so it was a good way to go for both of them, as Gonzalez gets a nice title defense and Moon looks like a player again.

Todd Pettengill plays Karate Fighters (now that feels like it belongs on this show) with Dexter Lumis but makes the mistake of asking him about his love life. Lumis stops the game and crushes one of the fighters, with Todd declaring him the winner.

We recap the NXT Title match with Karrion Kross defending against most of the main event scene. Kross wants to fight everyone at once and it has been near chaos as everyone wants to go after each other.

Johnny Gargano is on his way to the ring and sees Shotzi Blackheart having to be held back from Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez. William Regal continues to lose control.

NXT Title: Karrion Kross vs. Pete Dunne vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Kross is defending and it is one fall to a finish. It’s a big brawl to start (of course) with Kross tossing people around. O’Reilly goes for a kneebar to slow Kross down but he powers out without much trouble. Gargano is back in to strike away at Kross, setting up a running hurricanrana. Dunne pulls Gargano down and ties him into the ring skirt to hammer away but Kross is back up to suplex both of them at once.

It’s O’Reilly getting back up to strike away at everyone, including some shots to Cole’s face. The cross armbreaker goes on but Dunne grabs one on O’Reilly to break it up. Gargano gets in on the parade of holds until Kross breaks it up. Kross wants Cole, who bails up the ramp. That nearly earns him a powerbomb on the ramp but Cole rakes the eyes to save himself. Gargano and Dunne shove Kross through the house door in the set.

Back in and Cole hits the fireman’s carry neckbreaker for two on O’Reilly but Gargano comes back to put Cole in the Tree of Woe. Dunne is back too but the Bitter End is countered into a DDT to give Gargano two. We get an accidental Undisputed Era reunion as some double teaming puts Dunne down but everyone gets dropped. Cole is smart enough to cover Gargano for two and it’s time to get back up for the next Cole vs. O’Reilly slugout. O’Reilly gets kicked into the ropes, where Kross is back up to pull him to the floor.

That means Kross can wreck everyone until he is left alone with Gargano. A huge release F5 sends Gargano flying for two but Dunne makes the save. Gargano knocks Dunne outside for a suicide dive, earning himself a superkick from Cole. The slingshot spear is countered but so is the Panama Sunrise, with hitting a sunset driver for two. Everyone pulls themselves back up so it’s time for a string of oddball double teamings until Gargano has to break up O’Reilly’s fisherman’s belly to back suplex on Cole.

Kross is back in to hit a bunch of running corner clotheslines but everyone gets together to take him down again. Another series of strikes gives us another five way knockdown for a breather. It’s Kross up first again with a German suplex on Cole, setting up some posing. Cole and O’Reilly get together one more time to powerbomb Kross onto the announcers’ table, leaving everyone but Kross to slug it out inside. Dunne and O’Reilly grab holds but opt to slug it out instead.

O’Reilly gets the better of it until Cole comes back in for the brainbuster onto the knee for two. Dunne’s enziguri hits Gargano (though he was aiming for Cole) so Gargano and Cole double superkick his moonsault out of the air. Gargano is back in with One Final Beat to Cole for two and it’s a double Gargano Escape. O’Reilly breaks that up but gets shoved off the top. Cole hits the Panama Sunrise on Gargano but walks all the way around to cover so Dunne can pull him out at two (that looks so dumb).

Kross is back up to slug it out with Dunne, who grabs the Bitter End for two of his own. A triangle choke has Kross out but everyone else makes the save. It’s time for Dunne to start hurting fingers but Kross Doomsday Saitos Dunne and Cole at the same time. The Krossjacket Choke is countered with a snapped finger and there’s the One Final Beat to drop Dunne.

Kross is back up with the Krossjacket Choke to Gargano but that’s broken up as well. O’Reilly hits the top rope knee to Kross with Cole making the save. Cole gets pulled into O’Reilly’s heel hook but Kross grabs the Krossjacket Choke to knock O’Reilly out and retain at 26:15.

Rating: B+. This was all action and fun, but I never could shake the feeling that it was all a big exercise until Kross retained the title. They did a good job of giving everyone a moment, even if it was finding ways to slow Kross down. The interesting thing now is who faces Kross next, as it isn’t like anyone is going to be seen as a serious threat to him one on one. I’m not sure how many of these guys are going to be sticking around NXT with the return to the road coming soon for WWE, but more than one of them seem ready for the call up.

Kross and Scarlett pose with the title.

We cut to William Regal leaving, but first he says that he has never seen such bedlam in his time in NXT. Maybe it’s time for a change. Regal walks off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. That’s going to put it on the lower end of Takeovers, though it was certainly a good show. The problem here is there was no must see match, with a bunch of above average though not exactly blow away stuff. The main event was the best part of the show, but it didn’t quite feel like anything significant happened (save for the end, which is going to get some more attention on Tuesday). Overall, it’s another more than fine Takeover, but they need some kind of a big story to energize things around here.

Results

Bronson Reed/MSK b. Legado del Fantasma – Tsunami to Wilde

Xia Li b. Mercedes Martinez – Spinning kick to the face

LA Knight b. Cameron Grimes – Knight pulled the title down

Raquel Gonzalez b. Ember Moon – Lifting powerbomb

Karrion Kross b. Pete Dunne, Kyle O’Reilly, Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano – Krossjacket Choke to O’Reilly

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

It’s that time again as NXT is taking over….well Peacock again, but that might work out just as well. This time feels different though, as I have forgotten that the show is taking place more than once now. This has not felt like the kind of build you get for a Takeover and that is a shame, as the show has earned its amazing reputation. There are matches on the card that look good though so let’s get to it.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Xia Li

We’ll start with the only non-title match on the show because NXT has become a promotion that is awash with titles, just like almost every other. Martinez is mostly a monster and Li is running through the entire division. You need to run over some people on the way there though and Li has marked Martinez as her next target. That might be easier said than done.

Or maybe not as I’ll take LI to win here. There is little reason to think that Martinez is going to win as, simply put, she doesn’t win matches around here. I’m not sure how long Martinez is going to stick around NXT, but at least she is getting some high profile matches. This should be a heck of a fight as Li has gotten that much better, and odds are she is going to win here.

North American Title/Tag Team Titles: Bronson Reed/MSK(c) vs. Legado del Fantasma

This is one of those things that can work out rather well, as you have all of the titles on the line in a winner take all match. That is something I could go with seeing, as it combined a pair of matches into one but it also opens up a bit more drama, which is not something you might be able to get out of a single match. It means you could see a surprise, and it would be two at a time.

As tempting as a pair of title changes would be here, I think the champs retain, as Reed winning the North American Title felt like a big deal. I could see MSK dropping the belts to Legado sooner rather than later, but I don’t think it happens here. There is an idea here though and that is a good thing, but actually pulling the trigger on the changes is a bit hard to imagine.

Million Dollar Title: Cameron Grimes vs. LA Knight

Hey look, a ladder match. As in another ladder match, just like they had at the last Takeover. This time around it is for the revived Million Dollar Title, which has oddly turned into an interesting feud. Granted that might have something to do with how great Grimes has been on the mic in the build to the match. Knight is one of my favorite talkers today though and I could go for seeing the match.

That means I have to pick a winner though and egads I’m not sure where this is going. I’ll take Grimes just because the story has been built up so long, but I’ll say that with a grand total of no confidence. This could go either way and that is a great way to build up some drama. Knight needs the win, but it isn’t like losing a ladder match would hurt him at all. Granted the same thing could be said of Grimes, and that is why the whole thing should work well.

Women’s Title: Raquel Gonzalez(c) vs. Ember Moon

Moon has come back a very long way and that is quite the relief. She has been back in NXT for a good while now and nothing has really come together for her just yet. That has finally started getting better and Moon is starting to feel a little bit more like a star who could pull something like this off. I’m not sure if she will, but it is something I could believe and that is a good thing to see.

With that being said, I can’t imagine Moon winning the title back here so we’ll go with Gonzalez retaining. Gonzalez is someone who could be champion for a very long time to come and a win over Moon is going to be a good start. Moon has the bigger weapon with the Eclipse and that is something you have to account for, but ultimately Gonzalez is going to retain, likely with the lifting powerbomb.

NXT Title: Karrion Kross(c) vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Pete Dunne

Then we have this, which is the majority of the main event scene thrown together into one huge main event. This is the kind of thing you don’t see very often in NXT and that might be a good idea in this case. What we are likely to get here is one big mess with everyone going nuts for twenty plus minutes with a bunch of near falls after another. You can get a lot of entertainment out of that if the match is structured right, which is where NXT shines.

As for a winner….egads where are they going here? I think I’ll go with my usual train of thought here and pick Kross to retain. I’m not sure I can imagine him having two pretty short title reigns, but there is always the chance that he is getting hotshotted up to the main roster. I would not be stunned to see him lose the title, but I’ll go with Kross retaining here in a prediction likely to be wrong.

Overall Thoughts

The more I think about this show, the more hope I have for it. There are a lot of good pieces to the card and just a few should be enough to carry a five match card. NXT knows how to do these big shows as well as anyone else and if they can pull this one off, they might be even more impressive than I thought. The potential is there, even if the interest might not be, and that could be enough to get it across the goal line.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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NXT
Date: June 8, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s the go home show for In Your House and there is not exactly a lot of hype around this one. It isn’t a good sign when they have a main event of five people in the title match, which feels about as un-NXT as you can get. Hopefully they have something to build up the show tonight, because it needs the help. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of the NXT Title match, plus a look at some of the rest of Takeover.

Austin Theory vs. Oney Lorcan

This is “my friend is better than your friend” and Theory dropkicks him into the corner to start. Lorcan is back up with a headlock takeover to put Theory down for a bit. They get up and exchange forearms with Theory getting the better of things. Lorcan is knocked down for a slingshot stomp into a suplex, which has commentary a bit too impressed. Back up and Lorcan hits a heck of a chop to knock some skin off of Theory and a knee life puts him on the floor.

A suplex puts Theory down again outside and here is Pete Dunne to watch as we take a break. Back with Johnny Gargano at ringside too and Theory sending Lorcan into the barricade a few times. They get back in for a fall away slam to send Lorcan down again. Lorcan is sat up top for a running springboard Spanish Fly and another near fall. Another trip to the floor sees a double clothesline, sending Gargano and Dunne into a brawl. As the two of them are ejected, Lorcan hits a half nelson slam for the pin at 12:35.

Rating: C+. They hit each other pretty hard here and it was nice to see Theory getting to do something nice in the ring instead of having everything be all wacky comedy. Lorcan is the same as he can get in there and have a good match with anyone. All in all, this was a fine match, though I’m not sure how much it did to build towards Takeover’s title match.

We go to LA Knight’s house to show his Million Dollar Legacy. This involves having some women join him in the hot tub with some champagne so he can talk about how he’ll take out Cameron Grimes on Sunday. Then he gets in a rather expensive looking car (with one of the women closing the door) and drives off. This is the kind of vignette that we need to see more of because they are a great way to build someone up in a hurry.

Here’s your weird flashback of the week as Dok Hendrix joins us for an In Your House Slam Jam.

Here is Legado del Fantasma to call out Bronson Reed. Cue Reed to look at him running over Santos Escobar last week so the brawl is teased. Cue MSK to chase them off, so Escobar throws out the challenge for a six man tag with all titles on the line. Deal, but first we see Escobar getting squashed again last week. Hold on though as here is Hit Row to stare down the champs.

Isaiah Scott vs. Killian Dain

The rest of Hit Row and Drake Maverick are here too. Dain works on the wrist to start and Scott can’t get around him to start. Scott gets sent outside but it’s too early for the big dive. The distraction lets Scott sneak in from behind for some cheap shots but Dain runs him over again. Another distraction lets Scott get in a cheap shot, setting up the running kick from the apron.

Back in and a kick to the face rocks Dain but he unloads in the corner to stagger him again. One heck of a shot to the head drops Scott again, setting up a running crossbody for two. Scott rolls away from another clothesline and the rolling Downward Spiral gives Scott two of his own. Dain is back with a splash in the corner as the brawl breaks out on the floor. Top Dolla catches Maverick with an AA on the apron so Scott kicks the distracted Dain off the ropes. A running kick to the head finishes for Scott at 6:40.

Rating: B-. There is something so cool about the way Scott moves as he looks so smooth out there. This was a rather fun match and the two of them both looked good the whole time. Hit Row has hit the ground running as they are already feel like one of the bigger deals around here. I would be surprised if they don’t have some titles by the end of the summer and that is a good thing.

Candice LeRae is annoyed at Poppy being here tonight but Indi Hartwell runs off to find Dexter Lumis. Candice: “Why does this keep happening? They were never even a thing.”

And now, Cameron Grimes’ Million Dollar Legacy. We start with Cameron hitting a cannonball into a pool and coming back up to talk to the camera while looking between a woman’s legs. Grimes fires up a Cuban cigar with a $100 bill but chokes on the smoke. Some liquor makes him cringe as well so it’s time for a massage. Then Grimes gives the woman a massage and seems to have a better time. Then he jumps in a less expensive looking car and drives off.

Mercedes Martinez comes out for a match but Xia Li jumps her from behind and the big beatdown is on. Martinez fights back and sends Li over the barricade. Back in and ring the bell.

Mercedes Martinez b. ???

Air Raid Crash finishes in 16 seconds.

Breezango talks about Imperium coming after them and doesn’t like the propaganda videos that they have been seeing. Maybe Imperium is a little scared because Breezango beat them once before.

HHH and William Regal are in the back with Poppy, who has put together an NXT soundtrack. HHH asks when the album drops so Poppy pulls out her phone and hits a button. Poppy: “Right now.” The album is plugged and here’s Dexter Lumis with a drawing for Poppy. She hugs him and here’s Indi Hartwell to scream.

Cameron Grimes and LA Knight arrive at the same time and a guard comes in to say that Ted DiBiase is waiting in the ring for them. After Knight can’t tip the guy and Grimes won’t, we cut to DiBiase in the ring asking them to join him. Cue Grimes and Knight so DiBiase can say that they need to climb the ladder to success. A solid gold ladder comes down from the ceiling and Knight seems cool with all of this. He promises to run over the hillbilly to get here but Grimes doesn’t like the name.

Instead Grimes talks about how he can do everything in between these ropes, he cannot be beaten. You can take his clothes and his legacy but he is taking the Million Dollar Legacy to the moon! Grimes starts climbing the ladder and asks what is he reaching for. DiBiase is glad he asks and tells the guys to bring it in. Two goons bring in a case containing….the Million Dollar Title. Well that was kind of obvious and I really don’t need to see a ladder match, but it does make sense in this case. DiBiase’s laugh makes up for a lot of it though and Grimes’ promo was fire.

Kyle O’Reilly and Karrion Kross have to be held apart in the back when a ticked off Regal comes in to say cool it.

Ever-Rise is going to host the Takeover Pre-Pre Show!

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. August Grey/Ikemen Jiro

Grey/Jiro are a regular team on 205 Live. Gibson takes Grey down by the arm but Grey is back up with a running hurricanrana. Jiro, who wrestles in a jacket, hits a forearm to the head but gets sent to the apron. That’s fine with Jiro, who slingshots in with an anklescissors. Gibson is fed up with this and goes after Jiro but makes the mistake of touching the jacket.

Everything breaks down and Drake comes in to clean house, including Gibson kicking Jiro in the face. A shot to Jiro’s leg puts him down and a slam sends him legs first into the ropes. Cue Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa to watch the match and the distraction lets Grey come in off the hot tag. House is cleaned, including a spinning high crossbody. So Much Prettier (Unprettier running up the corner) is broken up and it’s the Ticket To Mayhem to finish Grey at 5:00.

Rating: C. This is where 205 Live can be a bit of a benefit to NXT, as Grey and Jiro have won a few matches in a row on the show. Now that wasn’t exactly focused on here, but at least the Veterans won clean in the end despite the distraction. It wasn’t exactly a great match but they did it fast enough that it didn’t hurt anything.

Post match the Veterans shout at Ciampa and Thatcher about wanting the titles, but Ciampa says the title shot goes through them. That’s cool with Gibson, who issues the challenge for a tornado tag match next week. Ciampa says they love tornadoes and they don’t need tags, so let’s do it right now. The Veterans run from the right.

We look back at Pete Dunne and Oney Lorcan injuring Bobby Fish’s arm.

Fish is training in the back and says he isn’t done with Lorcan.

Here is a ticked off Candice LeRae to talk about how annoyed she is with Poppy. Indi Hartwell ran off crying because of Poppy so now it is time for Poppy to learn. So either come out here right now or be introduced to the parking lot. Cue Poppy, who doesn’t seem interested in fighting, but here is the returning Io Shirai who is glad to do it.

Dok Hendrix gives us the Slam Jam for In Your House, still as the best promo on the show.

During the break, Poppy and Xia Li ran into Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai.

Dakota Kai vs. Ember Moon

Raquel Gonzalez is here with Kai but there is no Shotzi Blackheart. They both kick the other in the arm to start so they take turns driving the other into the corner. Kai knocks her down for two and a whip into the corner sets up a running kick to the face for the same. Back up and Moon hits a running kick to the face into a basement Downward Spiral for two of her own. Kai gets sent to the apron but manages a forearm to the back and sends Moon into the post as we take a break.

Back with Moon hitting the middle rope Codebreaker, followed by a superkick. A flipping Stunner gives Moon two and she grabs something like a dragon sleeper of all things. That’s reversed into a spinning faceplant to give Kai two and a running kick in the corner gets the same. Moon is back up to reverse a victory roll into a powerbomb for two and Kai needs a breather on the floor. Gonzalez’s cheap shot doesn’t work so Moon hits a suicide dive to take them both out. That’s enough for Gonzalez, who comes in for the DQ at 12:34.

Rating: C. Moon has improved a good bit in recent weeks and is now starting to feel more like the version that made her a star in the first place. I’m not sure why you wouldn’t have her get the pin over Kai here but it could have been worse. Still though, not a bad match and Moon busted out some new stuff here so she feels like a bit more of a threat to the title on Sunday.

Post match the beatdown is on but Moon counters the lifting powerbomb into a Stunner. The Eclipse leaves Gonzalez laying and Moon holds up the title.

Karrion Kross says the four challenges have been given the opportunity to face him tonight. They don’t have to wait until Sunday to feel what it is like to be flatlined though and now is their chance to find out what it is like. Tick tock.

William Regal is in the ring with Karrion Kross and Scarlett. Regal rants about how he is the GM around here and Kross isn’t taking over the show. Kross says this place has been out of control for a long time now so he wants the four challengers out here right now. Cue Kyle O’Reilly to say that Kross has the thinnest skin he has ever seen and it is a matter of time before he snaps.

Cue Johnny Gargano to stand on the announcers’ table and talk about how Kross shouldn’t let a guy in a jean jacket talk about him that way. Kross isn’t Johnny Takeover but he should go choke O’Reilly out right now. Kross calls Gargano a mark and offers him a beating of his own. Cue Pete Dunne to say he is tired of waiting and promises to win the title on Sunday.

Adam Cole pops up on the video screen to say he beat the unbeatable Kross (verbally) last week. Kross is scared to face Adam Cole bay bay because Cole can beat any of the rest of them (again) to become NXT Champion (again). He’ll see you on Sunday and goes away. O’Reilly: “Clearly Adam Cole is too much of a b**** to be here tonight.” He gets in Kross’ face and the beatdown is on with security getting beaten up as well.

Security winds up holding Kross so the other three can score on him a bit. Kross is back up to run O’Reilly over though and stands tall….until Cole runs in for a superkick to the back of the head and the Last Shot. Cole stands tall to end the show, again looking like the biggest star on the show by a mile. This segment was effective enough, but egads it felt tacked on, much like the entire title match. I could see this not headlining if there was anything else worthwhile to put in the top spot, but that just isn’t the case this time.

Overall Rating: B-. This show did a good job of building up Takeover but at the same time, the show isn’t exactly jumping off the page. Nothing on it feels must see and it comes off more like a Takeover that is happening because it has to, not because they have the material to have one. The wrestling tonight was good enough and they added a match/adjusted another, though I’m still not sure how much I need to see the show. That being said, Takeover has a reputation like no other and if anyone can pull it off, it’s NXT.

Results

Oney Lorcan b. Austin Theory – Half nelson slam

Isaiah Scott b. Killian Dain – Running kick to the head

Mercedes Martinez b. ??? – Air Raid Crash

Grizzled Young Veterans b. Ikemen Jiro/August Grey – Ticket To Mayhem to Grey

Ember Moon b. Dakota Kai via DQ when Raquel Gonzalez interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

NXT
Date: June 1, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

We have less than two weeks to go before Takeover and that means it is time to start setting up the card. One of the most important matches will be made tonight as we have a triple threat match between Kyle O’Reilly, Pete Dunne and Johnny Gargano to find out Karrion Kross’ next challenger. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening video looks at the triple threat match, with all three participants getting to say why they can win.

Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Johnny Gargano

The winner gets the title shot against Karrion Kross at Takeover. They start fast with Gargano being sent outside, leaving Dunne to work on O’Reilly’s arm. Gargano comes back in to tie up O’Reilly’s leg at the same time, which is broken up in a hurry. The rather sore O’Reilly rolls outside, leaving Gargano to miss an armdrag on Dunne, who ties up the legs. O’Reilly comes back in to kick Dunne to the floor so O’Reilly can work on Gargano’s arm.

That’s fine with Dunne, who comes back in to crank on one of their arms at the same time. Dunne gets sent to the floor and Gargano drops O’Reilly for two as we take a break. Back with O’Reilly kicking away and throwing some suplexes. O’Reilly hits a running knee off the apron to drop Dunne but Gargano hits a suicide dive each. The slingshot spear gets two on O’Reilly but Dunne is back in for the X Plex for two on Gargano.

Dunne grabs an armbar on O’Reilly with Gargano making the save. Gargano sends Dunne to the floor and O’Reilly grabs a kneebar, leaving Dunne to come back in for the save. The Lawn Dart gives Gargano two on Dunne but O’Reilly gets back in, leaving everyone to knock each other down for a breather. O’Reilly chokes Gargano so Dunne chokes O’Reilly, who drops Gargano as a result.

Gargano breaks that up with the Gargano Escape on Dunne as O’Reilly is sent outside. Dunne manages to snap the fingers for the escape and hits the Bitter End, only to have O’Reilly make the save with the top rope knee. O’Reilly follows Dunne outside for a double clothesline….and here’s Adam Cole to chair both of them down. A livid William Regal comes out with security to get rid of him, though Cole throws in another low superkick to Cole as he leaves in a great move. We’ll say it’s a no contest at about 18:00.

Rating: B. This was all action and that’s what it needed to be, though the Cole ending is a little surprising. O’Reilly seemed to be the perfect choice to get the title shot at Kross here and I’m hoping that they don’t just do a rematch later on. A four way isn’t out of the question, though I’m not sure where that leaves Cole. Odds are we get something by the end of the show, but this was kind of a weird way to go.

Post break Regal ejects Cole from the building, with security dragging him out.

Ember Moon is in the ring and demands Raquel Gonzalez get out here right now. Cue Gonzalez and Moon superkicks her straight back out to the floor. Regal and security hold them apart but Dakota Kai runs in to take out Moon from behind. Regal checks on a downed Moon.

Santos Escobar gives Legado del Fantasma a pep talk before their Tag Team Title shot tonight. It’s going to be their coronation, because that is what they do.

Earlier today, Hit Row interrupted Drake Maverick and Ever Rise, the former of whom is called a clown. Killian Dain came in and a tag match seems to be set up.

LA Knight vs. Jake Atlas

The camera follows Knight from the back, with Knight talking about how he is going to drop Atlas and prove that he is the one worthy of the Million Dollar legacy. Atlas armdrags Knight down to start and grabs a springboard armdrag for two. The armbar keeps Knight down but he fights back up and nails a hot shot. Cue Ted DiBiase to watch as Atlas grabs a springboard sunset flip for two. Knight slams him down though and hits a fist to the face, followed by a slingshot shoulder.

We take a break (ok then) and come back with Atlas hitting a crossbody for two but getting sent over the top. Knight hammers away back inside but Atlas punches him out of the air (with Knight doing the front flip bump that DiBiase would do back in the day). Atlas strikes away as Cameron Grimes is out to say he deserves the Million Dollar legacy. Something like a Death Valley Driver into a standing moonsault gets two on Knight so Atlas goes back up. Knight runs the corner but Grimes offers a distraction, allowing Atlas to knock him back down. The cartwheel DDT finishes Knight at 12:35.

Rating: C-. This was a good bit longer than it needed to be, but the worse part was they gave away the ending with the break. There was little reason to have the match go longer other than some kind of a screwy finish. Atlas winning via interference isn’t some death knell for Knight, but this didn’t need to go that long for this kind of a finish.

Post match, DiBiase shakes his head at Knight and leaves.

Oney Lorcan chases the camera out of the trainer’s room. Lorcan says Adam Cole just cost Pete Dunne the title shot but here is Austin Theory to say that it’s Gargano’s shot. Shoving ensues.

Ted DiBiase talks about how important it is to have brains and brawn…..and Adam Cole walks by so let’s follow him to a break. You don’t get that kind of spontaneous stuff and it’s a nice feeling.

Post break Cole is in the ring to rant about how he just took out three main event stars in one night. That means he wants the NXT Title back because Karrion Kross is just some big musclehead. It’s no coincidence that Cole was NXT Champion for 403 days….and here are Karrion Kross and Scarlett to interrupt. Kross says Cole stopped being special as soon as he signed here, but entertain him anyway. Cole: “All right Mr. Overrated.”

Cole talks about how NXT has done everything they can to make Kross feel special but all they have to do with Cole is ring the bell. Kross isn’t special because he’s just a guy who has Cole’s property. Cue William Regal to say Cole’s plan isn’t going to work but Kross cuts him off. Kross wants…….EVERYONE in the match at once, including this kind of weasel. Regal: “Done. Done.” Cole gets on the announcers’ table to shout at Kross, who mocks him for just talking. With that not working, Cole throws a bottle of water at the two of them and leaves. It’s an interesting match, but I’m not big on making the triple threat a waste of time.

Candice LeRae is annoyed that Poppy is going to be back next week but even more annoyed that Indi Hartwell is listening to 80s power ballads on her headphones.

Video on Carmelo Hayes, formerly known as Christian Casanova. He is ready to prove himself tonight against Kushida. You’ll see a UFO before you see someone as good as him.

Tian Sha is watching Mercedes Martinez and seems to have a new target.

Dexter Lumis picks up Indi Hartwell’s headphones and seems to like what he hears.

Cruiserweight Title: Kushida vs. Carmelo Hayes

Hayes is challenging and gets a pretty big entrance. Feeling out process to start until Hayes snaps off some armdrags into a dropkick. Hayes kicks him in the back of the head for two and ties Kushida in the ropes. That means a springboard legdrop (with Hayes going backwards instead of forwards) for two on Kushida as we take a break.

Back with Kushida knocking Hayes off the apron and hard into the barricade. Hayes comes back in with a springboard….I guess we’ll say clothesline, as even commentary isn’t sure what to call it. Something close to La Mistica plants Kushida for two so Hayes tries it again, only to get taken down for a basement dropkick. The Hoverboard Lock is countered but Kushida punches Hayes out of the air. Now the Hoverboard Lock can retain the title at 10:58.

Rating: B-. Hayes lost but he looked like a star here as it is clear NXT wants to push him as something serious. He has a good look and the athleticism, but more importantly he has the presence to make something of himself. This was a heck of a surprise and they put on a good one, so well done on throwing this in.

Post match Kushida shakes Hayes’ hand and tells the fans to give him some applause. Hayes shakes the hand and gets a nice ovation.

MSK is ready to retain the Tag Team Titles.

Frankie Monet is rather pleased with the reviews of her debut. She is just getting started.

Zayda Ramier/Zoey Stark vs. The Way

Non-title. Hartwell slams Ramier down to start and it’s off to LeRae to take it into the corner. The neck crank/chinlock have Ramier in trouble and Hartwell kicks Ramier from a tag attempt. LeRae elbows Stark off the apron but the tag brings her in just a few seconds later. Stark comes in and drops LeRae in a hurry for two before wheelbarrow slamming Ramier onto her for the same. Everything breaks down and start gets sent over the top, with her face landing hard on the apron. Back in and the Wicked Stepsister sets up Pretty Savage (springboard elbow) to finish Ramier at 3:37.

Rating: C-. They did something interesting with Stark here as she was treated as someone to be feared. That’s a good way to help make someone feel like a big deal and it was an effective move. The match itself wasn’t anything great, but the Way does feel like a team instead of two women who have been thrown together. In other words, they’re ahead of most of the teams on the main roster.

Mercedes Martinez isn’t worried about being marked as Tian Sha because she has been a marked woman for her whole career. At Takeover, she’s running through her, assuming that is official.

Cameron Grimes vs. LA Knight is confirmed for Takeover.

The Diamond Mine is opening soon.

Ember Moon is tired of Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez. That’s why it’s Kai next week and Gonzalez at Takeover, where Moon is becoming a two time Women’s Champion.

Tag Team Titles: MSK vs. Legado del Fantasma

Legado, with Santos Escobar, is challenging. Wes Lee and Joaquin Wilde trade armdrags to start as Escobar has a seat at ringside. Wilde slams Lee down and runs Nash Carter over as well to put the champs in early trouble. Raul Mendoza comes in to drop Wilde onto Carter for two but Carter fights back up. Cue the Grizzled Young Veterans but Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa come out to fight them to the back. The champs hit a pair of moonsaults to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Mendoza getting two on Lee and handing it off to Wilde for an armbar. A hard elbow to the jaw sets up a slingshot splash into a Lionsault for two on Lee. Back up and Lee finally gets in a DDT, allowing for the hot tag to Carter. House is cleaned in a hurry and the push moonsault gets two on Wilde. It’s already back to Lee but Mendoza makes a blind tag behind Lee’s back. That lets him come in with a springboard missile dropkick and a swinging suplex gets two.

Carter gets knocked off the apron and some running clotheslines in the corner have Lee in more trouble. A super hurricanrana into a powerbomb gets two with Lee being tossed outside. Escobar sends Lee into the steps, setting up the running boot/Russian legsweep combination. Carter makes the save and Bronson Reed runs in to crush Escobar against the barricade (that came out of nowhere). The Blockbuster Hart Attack retains the title at 15:26.

Rating: B-. MSK continues to get to showcase their crazy athleticism and there was enough stuff going on here to make it that much more interesting. I wasn’t sure who was leaving with the titles here and that is always a nice feeling to have. Thatcher and Ciampa cutting off the Veterans helped and Reed crushing Escobar looked good. It’s a good main event and MSK could hold the titles for a pretty long time.

Reed and MSK have the staredown with Legado and pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The main thing I liked about this show, or at least the first half of it, was that it felt spontaneous. So many times a wrestling show feels far too structured and rigid, with segments going from one point to another. This felt like things were happening on the fly, with things like DiBiase’s promo just being cut off because something else happened. The action was good as well, making this a rather fun use of two hours.

Results
Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Johnny Gargano went to a no contest when Adam Cole interfered
Jake Atlas b. LA Knight – Cartwheel DDT
Kushida b. Carmelo Hayes – Hoverboard Lock
The Way b. Zayda Ramier/Zoey Stark – Pretty Savage to Ramier
MSK b. Legado del Fantasma – Blockbuster Hart Attack to Wilde

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

NXT
Date: May 11, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, Beth Phoenix

It’s another double title night as we have two titles on the line. As a bonus, one of the matches, in this case Kushida defending the Cruiserweight Title against Santos Escobar, will be two out of three falls. That’s nice enough, but will it be nicer than Raquel Gonzalez defending the Women’s Title against Mercedes Martinez? Well yeah it probably will but that’s beside the point. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening recap/preview.

Karrion Kross vs. Austin Theory

Non-title and Scarlett/Johnny Gargano are here. Theory is rather worried to come in but Gargano talks him into it, meaning the stalking can start fast. A clothesline doesn’t do much to Kross but his clothesline takes Theory’s head off. Kross looks annoyed at Theory and tosses him with a Doomsday Saito. Gargano offers a distraction though and Theory rakes the eyes to take things outside.

A DDT on the floor drops Kross but Theory breaks the count at nine for some reason. Kross gets posted and Theory hits a rolling clothesline as we hear the Bronson Reed gets a North American Title shot against Gargano next week. Kross comes right back with another Doomsday Saito and Theory is out, even as Kross hammers away at the back of the head. The Krossjacket choke finishes Theory at 6:03 as Kross stares at Gargano.

Rating: C. I would have bet on total destruction here but Kross got in enough offense to make it work. Theory is someone who could be a star if he was given the right kind of presentation as the talent is certainly there. That being said, there was no reason for Kross to break a serious sweat here and that did not take place, so they did it the right way.

Post match Finn Balor pops up behind Karrion Kross to say he doesn’t wait in lone. The match is on at some point in the future.

Earlier today, Leon Ruff asked William Regal for a match tonight but was turned down because of the beating he took last week. Ruff wrecked Regal’s desk but Angry Daddy Regal got serious and told him to get out.

Breezango vs. MSK

Non-title. Lee and Breeze start things off with Breeze taking him down and strutting a bit. Back up and Lee drops him with a shoulder before flipping over Breeze to show off as well. Their stereo superkicks connect with each other’s feet and we get the wincing standoff. Lee comes in and takes Breeze down, setting up some dancing. Fandango comes in and runs the ropes to go over both of them before colliding with Breeze.

Back up and Breeze runs the ropes as well, with the referee dropping down and then leapfrogging over him, allowing Carter to hit a dropkick. Back from a break with Fandango dragging Lee over to the corner, where Breeze slingshots him….into Fandango. That’s enough for the hot tag to Carter and the push moonsault gets two.

Fandango makes the save and it’s time for the four way slugout. Breezango gets the better of things but Carter catches Fandango on top. A running knee puts Fandango on the floor and Carter hits a middle rope moonsault to take out both of them. Back in and a running dropkick in the corner sets up the spinebuster/Blockbuster combination to finish Breeze at 10:49.

Rating: C+. The match was pretty good but e pluribus gads Breezango is one of the least interesting things NXT has had in a long time. The interest goes away as soon as they are shown doing almost anything and that has been the case for a long time. MSK is very good at what they do, but my goodness they are not an interesting team to watch. I’m not sure how to fix that, but being a bit more serious would be a good start.

Post match Breezango teases turning on MSK but shake hands in peace.

Johnny Gargano goes into William Regal’s office and wants to know why he made the match against Bronson Reed. Of course Regal doesn’t hate him, because Gargano is the North American Champion and has his own headband! Gargano doesn’t seem convinced and storms off.

Commentary talks about Takeover: In Your House II when Ever-Rise pops up behind them. Those guys have grown on me so much.

Here is Pete Dunne, with Oney Lorcan, to talk about Finn Balor getting the next shot at Karrion Kross. Dunne can’t blame him because Kross knows how tough Dunne really is. The open challenge is on and here is Leon Ruff to jump Dunne from behind.

Pete Dunne vs. Leon Ruff

Oney Lorcan is here with Dunne. Ruff starts fast and hammers away but Dunne counters a jump out of the corner. Dunne starts working on the hand but Ruff snaps off a hurricanrana. One heck of a clothesline cuts Ruff off though and it’s right back to the hand cranking. A big stomp on the arm makes Ruff scream and it’s time to bend the arm around the rope.

Ruff manages an enziguri out of the corner and a missile dropkick to put Dunne down. Dunne pops back up with a dropkick and then knocks the middle rope twisting cutter out of the air. A Figure Four necklock with some elbows to the head have Ruff knocked silly and the referee stops it at 3:03.

Rating: C+. I continue to marvel at how much Ruff has gotten out of this run and jobbing to Dunne after getting in a few shots is not a bad role to have. That being said, Dunne looks primed to become the next big thing around here and is starting to feel more like his NXT UK version. That is a great thing for everyone around, because that Dunne is one of the best in the world.

Post match, Dunne breaks the fingers for a bonus.

Legado del Fantasma promises to get the Cruiserweight Title back tonight.

Frankie Monet debuts in two weeks.

Also in two weeks: Kross vs. Balor II for the title.

Women’s Title: Mercedes Martinez vs. Raquel Gonzalez

Gonzalez, with Dakota Kai, is defending and gets knocked down to the floor to start. Martinez scares Kai over the barricade and dives off the apron to take Gonzalez down. We take a break and come back with Gonzalez hitting a heck of a clothesline for two. The chinlock goes on but Martinez punches her in the face for the break. Well that works. Something like ground and pound has Gonzalez in trouble and it’s off to a sleeper.

Gonzalez rams her into the corner for the break but gets forearmed hard in the face. The hanging DDT (or maybe a fisherman’s buster) out of the corner gives Martinez two and they head to the apron, with Martinez hitting a spear. Back in and Gonzalez flips her throat first onto the top, which puts Martinez on the floor again.

This time Gonzalez posts her but Martinez comes back in with some forearms to the face. A clothesline cuts Martinez down for two and a backbreaker is good for the same. The lifting powerbomb is countered though and Martinez hits a running knee to the face. There’s the fisherman’s buster for two on Gonzalez, followed by some knees to the face. Gonzalez is right back with a big boot (because knees to the face can be shrugged off) into the lifting powerbomb to retain at 11:58.

Rating: B. This was about two strong, hard hitting women hitting each other in the face over and over again and that’s what they did. I’m not sure if there was any real drama over a possible title change here, but Gonzalez getting a nice win and making the powerbomb look good in the process is smart. Good stuff here, limited selling of shots to the face aside.

The Way seems to have attacked Bronson Reed.

Here is Isaiah Scott, who introduces his new group, which seems to be called Hit Roh (pronounced Row), featuring AJ Francis, Ashante Adonis and Briana Brandy. The three of them put a chair in the ring for Scott, who talks about the mistakes he has made in NXT. He has been thinking that he is a dangerous man, and now it is time to have some people who think like him.

First up is Francis, now known as Top Dollar. He is the top in everything and raps a bit about how great he is. Brandy dubs herself B Fab and talks about how she is the mind of the team. She put money on Leon Ruff’s head so Dollar dropped him. Scott dubs the team as NXT’s new problem. If it gives Scott something to do, that is some awesome news.

We go to an auction for a house, with Cameron Grimes showing up and bidding eight million dollars. Ted DiBiase pops up and bids TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS, sending Grimes into hysterics all over again. These things continue to be gold.

Zoey Stark used to be a fan of Toni Storm but then she went all nuts. Storm doesn’t like her because Stark lives in the gym and works hard to be here.

Oney Lorcan vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Pete Dunne is here with Lorcan. This is fallout from earlier when Lorcan said O’Reilly couldn’t beat anyone, which had O’Reilly thinking Lorcan had been in the sun too long. Kyle dives for the leg to start but gets caught in a front facelock. O’Reilly escapes a headscissors so Lorcan takes his head off with a clothesline. The triangle choke over the rope has Lorcan in trouble until O’Reilly has to go after Dunne. Lorcan gets in a cheap shot from behind and we take a break.

Back with Lorcan hammering away, including some shots in the corner. O’Reilly hits a running knee to the knee though and some more knees to the chest have Lorcan in trouble. A belly to back suplex sets up a quickly broken kneebar, so O’Reilly hits the brainbuster. The top rope knee to the back finishes Lorcan at 8:58.

Rating: B-. Lorcan is one of those guys who can go out there and have a fine match with anyone, meaning it felt like O’Reilly had to do something to win here. That’s what you need in a match like this, as you can pencil in O’Reilly vs. Dunne for Takeover. Good match, with that top rope knee getting turned into a pretty serious finisher.

Post match Pete Dunne comes in for the big beatdown but Bobby Fish returns for the save. O’Reilly is glad to see him but they agree to go their own ways because they have their own things going on. That’s good, as there is absolutely nothing left for them to accomplish as a team.

We get a superhero movie trailer style vignette for the Way.

Bronson Reed is sick of the Way so next week, the title match against Johnny Gargano is inside a cage.

Cruiserweight Title: Santos Escobar vs. Kushida

Escobar is challenging and this is 2/3 falls. The brawl starts in a hurry and Kushida is sent outside, where Legado del Fantasma tries to jump him. Cue MSK immediately to take them out though and all four are ejected. Kushida hits a big flip dive from the top to drop Escobar and we take an early break.

Back with Escobar working on a half crab before putting Kushida on top. A fireman’s carry drop puts Kushida ribs first into the turnbuckle and we hit most of a Boston crab on the steps, with Kushida’s throat going into the post. Back in and the surfboard has Kushida in trouble, followed by a reverse chinlock to work on the back even more. Escobar stomps in the corner but a superplex is countered into a sunset flip for two. Back up and Escobar grabs the Phantom Driver for the pin and the first fall at 10:57. Commentary says we’re going to a break but hang on as Kushida grabs a cross armbreaker to even things up at 11:23.

Now we take the break and come back with Escobar snapping Kushida’s arm across the top and hitting his signature suicide dive tot he floor. Back in and Kushida counters the double underhook gutbuster and takes Escobar down for a breather. Kushida kicks him to the floor and takes Escobar down by the arm, only to miss the running kick to the arm back inside. Escobar rolls him up for two and counters the Hoverboard Lock into a small package for two more.

They go into the pinfall reversal sequence, with Kushida’s cradle (that he used to win the title in the first place) getting two. A double clothesline puts them both down though and we need a breather. Back up and Escobar takes him to the top, only to get pulled into the Hoverboard Lock. Kushida rolls it into the middle of the ring but Escobar makes the rope anyway. A suplex sends Escobar into the corner and a bridging northern lights suplex retains the title at 22:14.

Rating: B+. These guys work very well together and it is nice to see Kushida get a win after a big match like this. That being said, the ending was rather abrupt and I was almost expecting some kind of shenanigans. I’ll take Kushida retaining the title clean though, as it makes his title reign feel that much more established. I’m not sure what is next for Escobar, but having the goons with him should keep him fine for a long time. Good wrestling match here, and sometimes that is what you need, especially if it makes the Cruiserweight Title look important for a change.

Overall Rating: A-. This was almost Takeover-esque with some of the matches working very well. Granted this show did start off a little bit slowly, but once it got on a roll, it was on a roll in a big way. I liked this one a lot and they made me care about things I likely wouldn’t care about otherwise. Very good show here, and a nice example of what NXT can do when they are focusing well, including setting up stuff for the next few weeks. That’s quite a use of two hours.

Results

Karrion Kross b. Austin Theory – Krossjacket choke

MSK b. Breezango – Spinebuster/Blockbuster combination to Breeze

Pete Dunne b. Leon Ruff via referee stoppage

Raquel Gonzalez b. Mercedes Martinez – Lifting powerbomb

Kyle O’Reilly b. Oney Lorcan – Top rope knee to the back

Kushida b. Santos Escobar 2-1

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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NXT
Date: May 4, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

The big story this week is the return of Finn Balor for the first time since he lost the NXT Title to Karrion Kross back at Takeover: Stand & Deliver. That alone should be interesting as we get to see what is next for him. In addition, the Women’s Tag Team Titles are on the line as Ember Moon/Shotzi Blackheart defend against the Way. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening recap sets up tonight’s Women’s Tag Team Title match, plus Isaiah Scott vs. Leon Ruff.

Isaiah Scott vs. Leon Ruff

Falls count anywhere. Ruff charges into an elbow to the face to start but he’s right back up with a failed crucifix bomb attempt. Instead Scott knocks him down but the JML Driver is countered with Scott being knocked to the floor. The suicide dive is blocked as well and Scott slams him back first into the apron. Scott sends him into the barricade and hits a heck of a delayed top rope superplex for two (Ruff being small can make for some great crashes).

Ruff is sent outside where he counters a kick from the apron to tie Scott’s legs in the ropes. That means a running dropkick to knock Scott to the floor as well, but Scott is fine enough to chop Ruff out of the air. Scott whips out a toolbox and we take a break. Back with Ruff hitting a flip dive off the stage to take Scott down again. They go back into the ring with Scott reversing another superplex into the super crucifix bomb for two.

To get even scarier, Ruff busts out a poisonrana off the apron to the floor. Scott catches him against the barricade though and hits the Confidence Boost on the floor for two. Ruff comes back with a toolbox shot to the knee and puts on a kneebar with I believer a wrench to crank on the leg even more. That’s broken up so Ruff hits the great looking spinning cutter out of the corner. Scott it sent outside again and another diving cutter connects but Ruff climbs up onto the set. The big dive lands on…..AJ Francis, who catches Ruff and throws him down rather hard. Back in and the JML Driver finishes Ruff at 15:24.

Rating: B. This got some time and had the right result, with Ruff getting in everything that he could for a long time. Ruff is someone who has made the absolute most out of his TV time as he has gone from a guy who was just there to a former North American Champion who can put on some rather good matches. I had fun with this and Ruff got to showcase himself again before the right person won.

Post match, Ruff celebrates with his entourage, including Francis and an unnamed man and a woman.

The Way comes in to see William Regal, but he’s busy talking to Scarlett. Austin Theory looks at her and says those are the biggest he’s ever seen and knows they have to be real. Her nails of course.

Asher Hale vs. Cameron Grimes

Hale is Anthony Henry of Evolve fame. Grimes runs him over to start and goes to the hard strikes in the corner. Hale’s kick to the leg earns him an uppercut back down but a dragon screw legwhip slows Grimes down. A missile dropkick gives Hale two but Grimes knees him down. The swinging sitout Side Effect sets up the Cave In to finish Hale at 3:04.

Rating: D+. Not quite a squash here but what matters here is Grimes getting more TV time and capitalizing on his momentum from the Ted DiBiase stuff. I’m not sure what is coming next from the two of them but at least Grimes is getting to do something great. I love NXT making something for him and turning it into something interesting, which you don’t get to see very often.

Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro aren’t worried about Tian Sha because they want the Tag Team Titles. Frankie Monet comes in and thinks they’re so adorable.

Cameron Grimes celebrates with Ever-Rise. They aren’t thrilled when he goes to the VIP room. NXT has a VIP room?

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Timothy Thatcher/Tommaso Ciampa

Before the match, the Veterans rants about how much they don’t like Thatcher or the shoes off deal. Thatcher and Ciampa interrupt the catchphrase though and we’re ready to go. Ciampa and Drake lock up to start with Ciampa taking him down for a headscissors. Thatcher comes in to send Drake into the corner for the tag off to Gibson, who comes in to lock up for a bit.

That means Thatcher can take him to the mat and start working on the shoulder before switching to a chinlock. Drake’s save is cut off and Ciampa takes him down, meaning the rapid fire forearms to the chest put the Veterans on the floor. We take a break and come back with Drake pulling on Thatcher’s ear and handing it off to Gibson for a cravate. That’s broken up and it’s back to Ciampa for the chops in the corner (with Thatcher holding the tag rope in the air and standing on the apron like a statue).

Ciampa hits a running knee to Drake’s head for two, steps on and bites his finger, and hands it back to Thatcher. Everything breaks down again with Drake and Thatcher crashing out to the floor. Thatcher wins a strike off with Gibson but can’t get the Fujiwara armbar. Instead, Gibson plants Thatcher with a DDT for two but someone steals Barrett’s shoe somewhere in there and throws it inside. Ciampa offers a distraction and Thatcher hits Gibson in the head, setting up the Fujiwara armbar for the tap at 14:27.

Rating: C+. Good fast enough paced match here with both teams looking good, even if the shoe thing was a bit of an eye roll inducer. I could go for Thatcher/Ciampa as a high level team as it isn’t like they can’t hang in the ring. There are enough teams out there to make things interesting and hopefully both of these teams get some more TV time in the near future.

Joseph to Barrett: “Your shoe’s off! YOU HATE GIBSON!”

The Way yells at William Regal about the upcoming North American Title defense against Bronson Reed. It’s still on, as is Austin Theory vs. Karrion Kross next week.

Isaiah Scott and company brag about his win and leave the building.

Video on Sarray and Zayda Ramier.

Here are Karrion Kross and Scarlett for a chat. Kross says he isn’t going to be afraid of anyone and wants to give the people what they want. Let’s give them a fight so we’ll start next week against Austin Theory. Cue Kyle O’Reilly to say Kross is the NXT Champion and that is the match O’Reilly wants. He thinks Kross wants it too….but here is Pete Dunne to interrupt. Dunne asks if they are having a laugh and starts to throw his hat in the ring but here is Finn Balor to cut him off as well.

Balor goes after Kross and gets knocked down so Dunne goes after Kross as well. Kross sends him outside and kicks O’Reilly into the corner. Balor shotgun dropkicks Kross into O’Reilly in the corner as security comes in. A Kross clothesline drops Balor and a security guard gets suplexed. Kross is left alone but here is the Way to jump him from behind. Theory gets suplexed but some superkicks put Kross down for a few seconds. Gargano adds a belt shot to finally leave Kross laying. This did a rather nice job of making Kross look like a monster and lining up the challengers.

During the break, Gargano and Theory (favoring his shoulder) left, despite Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae having a match later.

Zayda Ramier vs. Sarray

They trade headlocks to start with Sarray knocking her down off a running dropkick. Back up and Sarray gets pulled into an STF to put her in some trouble. That’s broken up and Sarray pulls her into something like a Muta Lock. Since that can’t last long, Sarray hits a running dropkick against the ropes and a missile dropkick puts Ramier down again. Sarray snaps off a hard t-bone suplex for the pin at 4:39.

Rating: C. This was a much more impressive match from Sarray, who didn’t exactly impress me last week. They had more of a squash this time around with Ramier only getting in a little offense before getting crushed in the end. What matters is Sarray looked better, though there is still a long way to go with making her a star around here.

Walter yells at Imperium via video in German. Alexander Wolfe isn’t happy and walks off.

The Diamond Mine is still coming.

Sarray checks on Zayda Ramier when Toni Storm and Zoey Stark get in a staredown. Storm storms off and Stark checks on Ramier as well.

Jake Atlas vs. LA Knight

Knight says the fans just saying his catchphrase doesn’t make them cool. As for Atlas, Knight is going to hit him so hard that Atlas is going to need an atlas to tell him where he is. Knight gets taken down into an armbar to start but sends Atlas into the corner for some stomping. Atlas nails a running dropkick to send Knight outside but the suicide dive is cut off with a forearm. A slingshot shoulder drops Atlas but he is back with a German suplex for two. Atlas kicks away but Knight ducks a big one and hits the bulldog driver for the pin at 3:05.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one but Atlas got in some offense before Knight won, as he should have. Knight has all of the charisma that you could need and he is backing it up well enough in the ring. All they need to do is having him talking and doing well enough with the wrestling, which is what we got here. In addition: NXT is smart enough to put people on shows like this and keep them in fans’ minds until they have something to do. That can be rather important long term and it doesn’t happen enough today.

Indi Hartwell is panicking over not getting Dexter Lumis back but Candice LeRae hides a drawing he has left her. She also closes the blinds because Dexter is looking in (into the women’s locker room that is).

Toni Storm talks about how Zoey Stark is the flavor of the month but she is rapidly losing that flavor. Storm bought her into this business and now she is going to take her out. I miss these “talk to the camera” promos as they don’t happen enough these days.

Here is Legado del Fantasma for a chat. Santos Escobar talks about tradition and says last week was part of a premonition. He is going to regain his Cruiserweight Title and he’s doing it soon. Joaquin Wilde says MSK won the Tag Team Titles but they didn’t beat Legado del Fantasma. Raul Mendoza issues the title challenge but here is Kushida on screen to issue a challenge to Escobar for a Cruiserweight Title match next week. Escobar says he’s on. It’s great seeing Kushida finally getting to do something.

We get a sitdown, split screen interview between Raquel Gonzalez and Mercedes Martinez. Raquel says the title means she is the baddest woman in this division and she has pure power. Martinez talks about how she has been around for a long time but Gonzalez isn’t intimidating her (Gonzalez: “Not yet.”).

They promise to beat each other up next week and Martinez says she paved the roads that Gonzalez has come down. Gonzalez: “Am I not gritty?” Martinez calls her cookie cutter but Gonzalez says she has accomplished in a year than Martinez ever did. Gonzalez says Martinez is the next challenger, but she won’t be the last. That was a good closing line and Gonzalez sounded a lot more natural than Martinez here.

Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon find Frankie Monet’s dog in their tank. The dog is sent on but the tank is now unusable due to, uh, various things now in it.

Cameron Grimes is going to the VIP room but he isn’t on the list. The entire room has been rented out, and here’s a long white limo. Ted DiBiase gets out and says he has bought the whole club. DiBiase hits the catchphrase and laughs before going inside. Grimes: “THAT WASN’T EVEN FUNNY!” It was a little funny.

Next week: Kushida vs. Santos Escobar for the Cruiserweight Title in a 2/3 falls match, plus Raquel Gonzalez defends the Women’s Title against Mercedes Martinez.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: The Way vs. Ember Moon/Shotzi Blackheart

The Way is challenging in a street fight so they start fast, with Barrett saying where we’re going with this one, we don’t need rules. They go straight for the weapons, with LeRae pulling out a bunch of chairs but Moon (in street clothes for some reason) kicks her down. Some trashcans are thrown in and Indi is double teamed in the corner. A basement dropkick sets up Blackheart’s running backsplash and Moon puts a trashcan over a seated Indi.

That sets up the stereo basement dropkicks for two with LeRae making the save. Candice gets dropped with a double trashcan lid shot and it’s time for another table. Hartwell breaks that up and drops Blackheart onto the apron before setting up four chairs at ringside. Moon puts her face first into the chairs and Hartwell is set in a chair on the four chairs. Blackheart’s dive is cut off with a blast from a fire extinguisher though (as it could have been rather nasty otherwise) and we take a break.

Back with Moon dropkicking LeRae down and sending her shoulder first into the post. The Dominator/sliding neckbreaker combination gets two on Hartwell and LeRae is laid onto a ladder bridged between the ring and apron. Blackheart’s top rope backsplash drives her through, leaving Moon to drive Hartwell through a table in the corner for two. Back up and Hartwell kicks a ladder into both champs and then holds up a ladder with Blackheart laid across.

That lets Candice hit a Lionsault onto Blackheart onto the ladder but Moon is back up to kick away. A spinebuster onto the ladder plants Moon for two but Blackheart is back up to send Hartwell into the barricade. Hartwell is put onto the announcers’ table for the BIG splash off of the tower and they’re both done. LeRae plants Moon back inside and Hartwell is somehow back up to put Moon through a table on the floor. That leaves LeRae to hit Blackheart with brass knuckles. The Wicked Stepsister onto a chair finishes Blackheart for the pin and the titles at 15:38.

Rating: B. This was a wild fight and that’s what they needed to do here. The women’s tag team division isn’t a strong one in the first place so going with the title change here was the right move. Moon and Blackheart were thrown together for the tournament so there was no need to keep them together long term. The Way at least feels like a regular team (they even have a name) so let them get a bit more established to build up the titles somewhat. Also, well done on not having Dexter Lumis involved here. He and Hartwell are kind of interesting, but this wasn’t about that story.

Overall Rating: B. The opener and main event were both very good, stuff was announced for later, and the two not so great matches were about three minutes long each. This is where NXT tends to shine: building up a lot of different stuff, almost like a buffet, rather than one big main course and hoping that’s enough. Nothing stands out above the rest, but it makes for a better show with a solid average throughout rather than being so up or down. Rather effective effort here, as they used the tried and true NXT formula.

Results

Isaiah Scott b. Leon Ruff – JML Driver

Cameron Grimes b. Asher Hale – Cave In

Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher b. Grizzled Young Veterans – Fujiwara armbar to Gibson

Sarray b. Zayda Ramier – T-bone suplex

LA Knight b. Jake Atlas – Bulldog driver

The Way b. Ember Moon/Shotzi Blackheart – Wicked Stepsister onto a chair to Blackheart

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

NXT
Date: April 27, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

The Tuesday escapades continues with the return of Adam Cole for the first time since his loss at Takeover. That could be interesting, though if nothing else it is kind of a relief that he is not heading up to the main roster. Other than that, we have a pretty big six man tag to fill out the wrestling side of things. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Dakota Kai vs. Mercedes Martinez

Raquel Gonzalez is here with Kai. Martinez gets taken to the mat to start but bounces out of a headscissors and slaps her in the face. Back up and Martinez hits a spinning spinebuster (it seems like we get three of those per show these days) for two but Kai grabs a Rock Bottom backbreaker for the same. The running boot in the corner misses though and Martinez hammers away.

Something like a Razor’s Edge Dominator out of the corner gets two but Martinez gets drop toeholded into the corner. The running boot sends Martinez outside and we take a break. Back with Kai sending her outside again and hitting a kick to the ribs on the way back in. A Codebreaker through the ropes drops Martinez again but she is back up with a running shot in the corner.

Martinez takes her down with a delayed butterfly suplex and cranks Kai down by the arm. Kai rolls outside so Martinez throws her back in, where Kai grabs the referee’s leg. That lets Gonzalez take a swing but Martinez knocks her down instead. Back in and Martinez puts Kai in a fireman’s carry but Gonzalez comes in for the DQ at 12:28.

Rating: C+. This was a fine way to set up Gonzalez vs. Martinez down the line as Martinez beat up Gonzalez’s friend. That should make for a fine big time TV match as Martinez can have a good enough match with anyone. She certainly did here too as the power was a good way to keep Kai from running around with all of her kicks. The wrestling was fine but the storytelling was more important, and better.

Post match the beatdown is on with Martinez being laid out.

Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon have to worry about the Robert Stone Brand tonight and then they can deal with the Way. Hold on though as here is a delivery woman with some flowers for both of them. Frankie Monet comes up and introduces herself before reading the card, which says they’re from Dexter Lumis. Moon and Blackheart try to give each other the flowers.

Earlier today, Cameron Grimes went to look at a ring (as in jewelry) for a special someone (Grimes: “ME!”). The jeweler says he has something special for him….and we’ll see it later.

Here are the Grizzled Young Veterans for a chat. They accuse MSK of ducking them in a regular tag match because the Veterans need the titles. Cue Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa to interrupt, with Ciampa says they’re grizzled and veterans. After dubbing himself Toothless Timmy, Thatcher mocks the IF YOU HATE GIBSON SHOES OFF chant and the fight is on, with the Veterans being cleared out.

Drake Maverick and Killian Dain are ready for their match tonight against Imperium, but Maverick is convinced that Dain is turning on him to join Imperium. Dain says you gotta have faith, and Maverick is stunned at the George Michael reference.

Quick Tian Sha vignette.

Shane Strickland says if Leon Ruff wants to play this game, they can play it for his life.

Toni Storm vs. Zayda Ramier

Before the match, Toni talks about how Zoey Stark is going to be a footnote in her legendary career. Tonight, every time she slaps this rookie, she is going to imagine that it’s Stark. Storm throws her around by the hair to start and Ramier is in early trouble. There’s a backbreaker with Ramier being bent over the knee, followed by a German suplex to make it even worse.

Cue Stark for a distraction though, allowing Ramier to get in a quick knockdown. A shooting star press (which lands perfectly despite Storm being in the middle of the ring, to the point where I though Ramier was going to leave it two feet short) finishes Storm for the huge upset at 3:27.

Rating: C-. This was a squash until Storm slipped on a banana peel at the end. Storm isn’t going to be hurt by a dirty loss and the angry promos on Stark should be good. It isn’t likely to lead to Ramier becoming a bigger star, though stranger things have happened in NXT. I’m not sure if she should try the shooting star from that distance again, but it worked out in the end.

Bronson Reed runs into Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae on the way to the ring. Austin Theory pops up and asks why they’re standing in the dark.

LA Knight saw a twinkle in the eye of Indi Hartwell and knows that means she had a twinkle in her loins. He has references and after Dexter Lumis lets her down, come talk to him, because that is just a fact of life. Knight leaves and Ever-Rise comes up to ask if the interviewer has a question about their social media event. She doesn’t.

Austin Theory vs. Bronson Reed

If Reed wins, he gets another North American Title shot. The rest of the Way is here and Indi Hartwell is completely not in this. Barrett: “Don’t go around breaking young girls’ hearts.” As commentary is astounded at the Billie Jean reference, Theory gets knocked to the floor with straight power. Back in and Theory’s jumping shoulder is swatted out of the air, followed by another shoulder to leave Theory hanging from the bottom rope by his feet.

Theory crashes to the floor as Reed goes after Johnny Gargano, allowing Theory to come back with a dropkick inside. Reed is knocked outside this time so Theory fakes an injury, leaving Gargano to add a superkick. One heck of a dive takes Reed down and a missed charge sends him into the steps.

We take a break and come back with Reed caught in a chinlock. That’s broken up in a hurry and Reed tosses him around again, setting up the splash in the corner. Theory is back with a neckbreaker for two as commentary points out Hartwell not being interested in the match. For some reason Theory tries a Samoan drop, which goes as well as you would expect. Reed’s version gets two but Theory manages a TKO for two of his own.

They’re both down so here is Dexter Lumis, with Hartwell walking away (because of the flowers to Blackheart and Moon). Lumis ges on the apron with Hartwell saying he talks too much. Lumis shoves Hartwell out of the way of a charge and takes the shot himself. Reed knocks Theory over and hits the Tsunami for the pin and the title shot at 12:24.

Rating: C. There was a lot going on here but what matters the most is Reed getting another shot. I was surprised when he lost the first time so giving him the title in the rematch could make up for things. That Tsunami looks great (and Barrett’s call makes it even better) and it should be enough to carry him to the title as it isn’t like Gargano needs the thing anymore. As much as I’d love to see Theory get a push of his own, he works well as the clueless moron who happens to be crazy athletic.

Johnny Gargano is nervous.

MSK thanks Kushida for his help and tonight they’re taking out Legado del Fantasma.

The Way blames Dexter Lumis, Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon for the loss. Indi Hartwell gets rather annoyed and storms off, with the team thinking she is going to deal with this.

Finn Balor is back next week after recharging in Mexico.

Imperium vs. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick

Alexander Wolfe is here with the team. Drake refuses to walk in front of Dain out of the possibility of pain and agony. Dain starts fast with a clothesline to send Barthel outside. Back in and Maverick hits some dropkicks to Barthel’s leg but Maverick gets sent into the wrong corner. With Dain being held out of the corner, some double teaming puts Maverick down and we take a break.

Back with Maverick still in trouble as Barthel sneers down at him. Maverick kicks him in the leg but Aichner comes in to swing him around by the jeans. A shot into the corner gives Maverick a chance but Barthel pulls Dain off the apron, meaning there is no one for the tag. Maverick looks crushed and a kick to the back of the head makes it even worse. Dain comes in and starts wrecking things but gets knocked outside….where Wolfe won’t hit him with a chair.

Barthel doesn’t like the indecision but here’s Maverick to hit a dive. Dain throws Maverick at Aichner but Wolfe won’t let Dain send Barthel into the post. Instead Dain gets sent into the steps as Maverick hits a high crossbody on Aichner….who rolls through, setting up the European Bomb for the pin at 12:16.

Rating: C. Imperium as a whole is a great concept and something that works well. Imperium without Walter is a team that is good at everything they do but the interest and spark aren’t there. It has shown badly every time they are out there without him, including here as it just wasn’t that engaging of a match. They are more than fine with everything else, but it was hard to care at all about what they were doing.

Pete Dunne says no one is talking about him because he has everyone shaken. Kushida stepped to him and got taken out. If he wanted to be Cruiserweight Champion, it wouldn’t take long. Or maybe he gets on a plane and goes back to the UK to take his title back from Walter. The North American Title could be interesting too, and then there is Karrion Kross. Dunne isn’t scared of Kross because he doesn’t need smoke and mirrors to get the job done. Everyone should fear him. Rather awesome promo here, as Dunne can bring the intensity.

Back at the jewelry store, Cameron Grimes buys a watch, but it isn’t ticking (Grimes: “Karrion Kross would hate this!”). He’ll take it anyway, but here is someone with the same watch. That would be…..TED DIBIASE, who laughs at Grimes and leaves, causing Grimes to scream a lot. Yep that was great.

Jessi Kamea/Aliyah vs. Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon

Non-title and non-match as we get some more flowers and Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Takeover: Stand & Deliver Night Two
Date: April 8, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett

We’re back here after a heck of a first night and the card here might look even better. The main event is the showdown over the NXT Title as Finn Balor defends against Karrion Kross, who never lost the title in the first place. Other than that, we have multiple title matches and an unsanctioned match between Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole. Let’s get to it.

Here are last night’s results if you need a recap.

Kickoff Show: Breezango vs. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick

The winners get a future Tag Team Title shot against MSK. Breeze grabs Dain’s wrist to start and brings in Fandango, who is knocked away without much effort. Dain isn’t having any of this and runs Fandango over before handing it off to Maverick for…we’ll call it dancing I guess. Fandango manages a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two on Maverick and it’s back to Breeze for the same off a suplex.

Maverick is driven into the corner and Breeze knocks him down with a right hand. A legdrop gets two on Maverick and we hit the chinlock. Maverick fights up and slips over for the tag to Dain, meaning house can be cleaned. A fall away slam/Samoan drop plants Breezango for two as everything starts to break down. Dain is finally sent outside but Maverick catches Fandango up top for a super hurricanrana. That lets Dain come back in and powerbomb Maverick onto Fandango for the pin at 8:37.

Rating: C. Pretty standard match here and while Maverick and Dain aren’t likely to win the titles, I’ll take them over the rather middle of the road Breezango. There is no reason to give them another shot at the moment, as the team hasn’t done much of anything since losing the titles. Maverick and Dain are at least fresh, and MSK surviving the monster is a good way to get their reign started.

Poppy sings a song to open things up.

Cruiserweight Title: Jordan Devlin vs. Santos Escobar

Ladder match to unify the two titles. They go straight to the slugout at the bell but Devlin can’t hit the early Devlin Slide attempt. Devlin sticks the landing on a tilt-a-whirl attempt so Escobar elbows him in the back. That’s fine with Devlin, who knocks him down to set up a standing moonsault. Escobar is knocked outside and that sets up an Asai moonsault to drop him again. It’s time for the first ladder and thankfully Devlin is ready for the attempted baseball slide.

Devlin knocks Escobar down with the ladder instead and goes for the belts but Escobar is back in for a hard ram into the ladder instead. A whip into the corner into the ladder has Devlin crashing out to the floor. Escobar hits some running knees against the barricade and the cockiness is ramping up. It’s time for another ladder, with Escobar leaning it up against the barricade. Back in and Devlin tries to stop Escobar from getting the titles but Escobar is ready for him with a ladder shot.

A running dropkick sends the ladder into Devlin’s ribs in the corner and let’s get another ladder. This one is sat on the top rope but Escobar spends too much time talking trash and slapping Devlin in the face, meaning it’s Escobar being sent into the ladder instead. A dropkick to the banged up ribs puts Devlin down again though as the fans are behind Escobar. For some reason Escobar catapults Devlin at the ladder and he manages to get his hand on the titles, allowing him to dive down with a DDT to lay Escobar out again.

Devlin is sent outside though and Escobar’s suicide dive sends him into the standing ladder. Back in and Escobar’s double underhook is countered into a backdrop onto the ladder and they’re both down again. The Devlin Slide is countered into a jumping knee to the face but Devlin is right back with the Spanish Fly. The slingshot cutter drops Escobar again and a ladder is set up in the corner. For some reason Devlin climbs there and, after knocking Escobar down, hits a great looking moonsault from the very top of the ladder.

That’s enough for Devlin to go up but here is Legado del Fantasma to turn the ladder over (with Devlin falling to the floor in a hurry, which looked rather scary). After the beatdown, Escobar sends Legado to the back and goes up, but Devlin throws a ladder at him for the save. The super Spanish Fly off the ladder leaves them both laying again. They both go up and slug it out on top of the ladder until Escobar knocks him off and through the ladder in the corner. That’s enough for Escobar to pull down the titles and win at 18:07.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the fire out of each other and that’s what you want out of a ladder match. You could feel the energy here and they were going with the classic formula of a lot of flips and dives off of the ladder. Sure a lot of it didn’t make sense (such as where Devlin put the ladder in the first place) but egads it was a fun spectacle, which is what you’re going for in a match like this. The ladder exploding at the end was a great visual too and it capped off a heck of a fun match.

Post match Escobar celebrates with Legado and his son in a nice moment.

MSK is proud to win the Tag Team Titles but don’t agree on who wins between Finn Balor and Karrion Kross.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: The Way vs. Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon

Blackheart and Moon are defending and come out in their tank because that’s what they do. It’s a brawl to start until LeRae starts hammering on Blackheart. Some pulling of the hair lets LeRae take her down and we hit the armbar. Hartwell comes in for some shots of her own but it’s quickly back to LeRae for a few more stomps. Shotzi manages to kick her down though and the hot tag brings in Moon to clean house. She throws in a SUCK IT (for Road Dogg) and nails a running splash in the corner to LeRae.

Hartwell’s distraction breaks up the Eclipse though but Blackheart comes in to turn it into a Tower of Doom. We settle back down to Hartwell spinebustering Moon for two but Shotzi comes back in for a suicide dive onto the Way, which does not exactly land very well. Moon dives onto LeRae and it’s a Dominator/sliding cutter combination to give Blackheart two back inside. LeRae knocks Moon off the apron and it’s a flapjack/Downward Spiral combination for two on Blackheart. Moon tags herself back in though and it’s a double Eclipse to set up Trip to the Ball Pit to retain the titles at 10:23.

Rating: C. These titles still don’t feel important, but it was absolutely the right call to have the champs retain. You need to establish the titles a bit before you have another title change and Moon/Blackheart are fine enough for the current champs. This was fine for a pretty big TV match, but it’s not like the titles have any kind of history or importance so far. That can come later, but it makes for some pretty uninteresting early title matches.

We recap Bronson Reed winning the Gauntlet Eliminator to become #1 contender to the North American Title.

Gable Stevenson (with Stephanie McMahon), an NCAA Heavyweight Champion in wrestling and an Olympian, is here.

North American Title: Bronson Reed vs. Johnny Gargano

Gargano is defending and has Austin Theory with him. Reed cartwheels away from him to start and Gargano seems a bit stunned. A fall away slam sends Gargano flying but he manages to get in a shot to the head. The slingshot spear….bounces off of Reed, who chops Gargano down with ease. Back up and Gargano gets smart by going for the knee to knock Reed outside.

The baseball slide takes Reed down but he pulls the slingshot dive out of the air. Gargano sends him ribs first into the announcers’ table (which is moved by the impact) and it’s time to head back inside for the left hands in the corner. A middle rope splash crushes Reed again and Gargano grabs a cobra clutch. Gargano goes up again but dives into a powerslam to give Reed a breather. A chokeslam plants Gargano and Reed muscles him up for a suplex into a Death Valley Driver.

Reed takes him to the corner for a superplex but Gargano reverses into a Backstabber for two. A missed backsplash lets Gargano grab a crucifix for two more but Reed gets him into an electric chair. That’s countered into a poisonrana, sending Reed out to the apron. One Final Beat onto the ramp is countered into a Razor’s Edge over the top and back inside for the big crash. The Tsunami only hits mat though and Gargano nails a low superkick for a close two. Reed blasts him with a clothesline so Theory gets up to block another Tsunami attempt.

Gargano tries a super hurricanrana but Reed jumps down instead (that seemed like a botch but Reed saved it in time) and plants Gargano with a powerbomb. Theory puts Gargano’s foot on the ropes and Gargano heads to the floor, allowing Reed to CRUSH Theory with a suicide dive. Back in and an Air Raid Crash gets two on Gargano so Reed goes up again. Reed debuts and misses a moonsault though, allowing Gargano to hit One Final Beat….and one more Final Beat to retain at 16:12.

Rating: B. Who knew Reed had this in him? This was a cool idea where the face was the monster and trying everything he could to overcome the odds. The problem is that Gargano is awesome at Takeover and that makes it rather hard to actually beat him. Gargano is in a weird place where there is little for him left to do in NXT but it would seem to be a career crushing promotion. Hopefully he drops the title in a big moment, as he probably will, but I’m not sure how it goes after that.

We recap Karrion Kross vs. Finn Balor for the NXT Title. Kross was forced to vacate the title due to an injury and Balor won it, meaning it’s time for a showdown.

Oney Lorcan, Pete Dunne and Danny Burch are here.

NXT Title: Karrion Kross vs. Finn Balor

Kross is challenging and has Scarlett with him. They stare each other down to start and Kross shoves him around with ease. Balor goes after the arm and gets kneed in the ribs for his efforts. A headlock works a bit better for Balor but Kross shoves him around with straight power….so Balor slaps him in the face. Balor gets driven into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs but Kross misses a charge. That lets Balor pull the arm around the top rope and the armbar goes on.

Kross powers up again and ties Balor in the Tree of Woe for a running knee to the ribs. Balor is back with another armbar but the powerbomb counter is countered into a DDT to the arm. A hammerlock has Kross’ arm in more trouble and Balor takes him into the corner. Balor hits a spinning kick to the ribs and Kross crumples to the mat. That’s fine with Balor, who hammers away at the ribs until Kross kicks him in the ribs. Kross loads up an Oklahoma Stampede but Balor reverses into a Nightmare on Helm Street to put both guys down.

Kross is back up to hit a powerbomb for two more and can’t believe the kickout. Balor is right back on the ribs and shoulder with the abdominal stretch, followed by the Sling Blade to drop Kross again. Back up and Kross runs him over again but charges into the Pele kick. The shotgun dropkick sends Kross into the corner and the Coup de Grace connects….but the cover is reversed into a choke.

Balor rolls out and hits the jumping double stomp, setting up something like an abdominal stretch on the mat. Kross reverses that and unloads with forearms to the back of the head. A German suplex drops Balor again, followed by the Doomsday Saito. The running forearm to the back of the head gives Kross the pin and the title back at 17:09.

Rating: B+. This took some time to get going but by the end they had the right idea with Kross just being able to be violent enough to put Balor away. It was a clean win as it should have been with Balor giving it everything he had but not being able to put Kross away. I’m glad to see Kross win the title back because he never lost it, and hopefully this is enough to send Balor back up to the main roster, assuming he wants to go.

Franky Monet’s dog finds her again.

Santos Escobar is proud of his win and is ready to expand his legacy.

We recap Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly. Cole turned on the Undisputed Era and broke up the team by attacking O’Reilly. This did not exactly sit well and O’Reilly is ready to beat him up as revenge for everything that Cole has caused him to do since the team began. The match is unsanctioned, meaning anything goes.

Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Anything goes and they both have new music. They stare each other down to start and O’Reilly slugs away to start as we’re off in a hurry. A running big boot in the corner hits Cole and they’re on the floor in a hurry. O’Reilly sends him into various things on the floor and they head back inside, only to have Cole knock him off the top and back to the floor in a crash. Cole gets in a whip to the barricade and loads up a bunch of chairs.

Some of the chairs are sent inside and another one, with the Undisputed Era logo on the back, is cracked down onto O’Reilly’s back. They head inside again with Cole hitting a neckbreaker onto a chair and glaring down at O’Reilly. The neck crank goes on before Cole plants him again and tells O’Reilly to get up. That’s fine with O’Reilly, who hits a jumping knee.

Cole pump kicks him in the face but O’Reilly is right back with the Muay Thai knees. O’Reilly knocks him to the floor and sits him in a chair for the running knees from the apron. Back in and O’Reilly busts out a chain but gets caught in a hanging neckbreaker onto said chain. They grab the chain and slug it out with O’Reilly getting the better of things and loading the chain around his leg. The Figure Four, with the chain around the leg, has Cole in even more trouble until he turns it over. O’Reilly turns it right back over and the chain is tied to the top rope.

Back up and O’Reilly gets a running start but Cole uses the chain to clothesline him down. A German suplex drops O’Reilly and he lands in a chair, allowing Cole to hit a Shining Wizard for two more. They head outside again with Cole trying the brainbuster onto the steps but O’Reilly reverses into a guillotine. With Cole out on his feet, O’Reilly knees him in the chest but takes too long loading up his own brainbuster. Cole drives him into the barricade, only to get knocked down again.

O’Reilly loads up the announcers’ table and they slug it out on top until O’Reilly hits a brainbuster (THUD) onto the table. Cole staggers beyond the barricade and grabs a TV monitor to blast O’Reilly in the face. It’s back inside with Cole busting out a toolbox, including a wrench. That’s blocked as well so O’Reilly hits a rebound lariat. O’Reilly ties the chain around Cole’s arm and tries a cross armbreaker, followed by a triangle choke.

Cole breaks that up and they sit in some chairs and slug it out, including trash talk for a bonus. A low blow cuts O’Reilly down and Cole superkicks him for two. With nothing else working, Cole wraps the chair around O’Reilly’s neck and shoves there referee down for daring to break it up. The Panama Sunrise connects but there is no referee. They go up the ramp with Cole throwing a chair at O’Reilly’s head for a nasty crash. Cole drives him into the barricade but O’Reilly is back with a guillotine choke….and they go crashing through the ramp.

Cole is up first and kicks a hole in the side of the ramp to pull O’Reilly back out. O’Reilly gets in the ring and falls right back out, allowing Cole to hit the brainbuster onto the steps. That gets two back inside as this is full on ridiculous Cole Takeover match. The Last Shot misses though and O’Reilly pulls him into a heel hook. Cole is in trouble but wraps the chain around his hand to knock O’Reilly cold.

Another Panama Sunrise is countered and O’Reilly hits his own fireman’s carry neckbreaker. The knee pad comes down and a Last Shot to Cole….gets two. Oh come on already. O’Reilly loads up a Pillmanization on the ankle but Cole gets up and catches him with a chair on top. A chair is turned upside down but O’Reilly gets in his own low blow. O’Reilly wraps the chain around his leg and drops a knee to Cole’s neck to drive it into the chair for the pin at 40:18.

Rating: B. Yeah it was a good brawl and they beat each other up but GOOD GRIEF STOP LETTING COLE GO ON FOREVER LIKE THIS. There is a place for a long match but you could have probably cut out nearly twenty minutes of this thing and had just about the same match. This just kept going and I was getting annoyed at it for going on so long. It felt like they had a long checklist of things that they had come up with and needed to get through instead of doing what made sense for the match. I really didn’t have fun with this one and it was ALL because of the length.

Cole gets taken away on the stretcher and O’Reilly just stares at him to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. That main event sucked the life out of this show for me and that is not a feeling I’m used to around here. This show probably should have been done fifteen minutes earlier and that is a much bigger problem when you are on your second two plus hour show in a row. It’s still very good and I liked it a lot, but enough with the long main events. Everything else made sense and went the right way with some awesome matches though, and it’s another awesome Takeover to go with what we had last night. I don’t need another two night Takeover, but for a one off, it went very well.

Results

Santos Escobar b. Jordan Devlin – Escobar pulled down the titles

Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon b. The Way – Trip to the Ball Pit to Hartwell

Johnny Gargano b. Bronson Reed – One Final Beat

Karrion Kross b. Finn Balor – Running forearm to the back of the head

Kyle O’Reilly b. Adam Cole – Middle rope knee with a chain

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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This is a different kind of Takeover as the whole thing is spread over two nights. That has caused a few issues with the build to the show as it is a little bit difficult to focus on two shows at once. Throw in the fact that this means we have twice as many matches as usual for a Takeover and I’m not sure how something like this is going to go. Then again, you don’t bet against Takeover so let’s get to it.

Night One

Kickoff Show: Toni Storm vs. Zoey Stark

Stark continues to be one of the more interesting cases in NXT at the moment as it is clear that they see something in her (because it’s there) but she keeps losing to one big name after another. At some point that is going to stop working out for her and the stock is going to drop, meaning she needs to win something. I’m just not sure if she is going to get that win here.

I think I’ll go with Storm to win here, as she has been kind of floating since the feud with Io Shirai, meaning she is going to need something to get her back on track. Beating Stark is not exactly the kind of thing that is going to be the big saving grace for her, but it is going to help her out a bit. Stark is going to get a win of her own someday, though I’m really not sure when that is going to be the case.

Tag Team Titles: MSK vs. Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Legado del Fantasma

This is for the vacant titles thanks to Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch being injured. We’re starting off with a confusing one here too as I have no idea who is winning the titles. You really could go with all three as possible winners and that is a great thing to see. MSK would seem to be the likely winners here as they were guaranteed a title shot thanks to winning the Dusty Classic….but things have changed since then.

As much as I want to pick Legado as the team who could pick up the titles because the other two seem like the likely winners, I’ll go with MSK winning the titles here for a nice feel good moment. I’m not sure if that is the best idea though as the Veterans need to win something after coming up short time after time, but MSK seems popular enough that a win would be a nice energy boost to the show.

Gauntlet Eliminator: Leon Ruff vs. Isaiah Scott vs. Bronson Reed vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Dexter Lumis vs. LA Knight

This is something similar to a Royal Rumble, but you are eliminated by pinfall or submission and the winner gets a North American Title shot against Johnny Gargano on night two. In theory that eliminates the heels from getting their shot, but stranger things have happened around here. I would assume that we only have three potential contenders, and only two of them are interesting.

Unfortunately I think we’re getting Lumis here, as he has been tied up with Gargano and the Way for a few weeks now. Reed is the most interesting choice and Ruff has a history with Gargano, but Lumis makes the most sense here. Grimes is on a roll and could feud with a few people in the match. Scott is already feuding with Ruff and Knight….well I’m not sure you can call his stuff with Reed a feud just yet. Lumis goes over here and moves on to the title shot on night two.

Pete Dunne vs. Kushida

Yes please. I think I might need a bit more than that, but this one feels like possibly the most intriguing match on the entire card. Kushida is someone who is capable of busting out a great match at the drop of a hat and Dunne is Dunne, so how can this one be bad? These two have been having issues for weeks now and that sounds like a good enough reason for the two of them to spend fifteen minutes trying to break the other’s arm off.

While Kushida needs a win to get some footing underneath him, Dunne is a far bigger star and is going to win here. He is someone who could become a top star around here in the blink of an eye and it makes sense to have him go over here. This very well could steal the show and the entire Takeover, but it is more about getting us to the inevitable, which is Dunne getting the win.

United Kingdom Title: Walter(c) vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Speaking of matches that could steal all of Takeover, we have these two who are more than capable of doing just that. This time around it is for Walter’s title, as his seemingly never ending reign continues. Now the problem with this one is they have announced Walter’s next title defense, but that isn’t exactly the point here. What matters is Walter is back in the ring and that is a great thing for everyone.

Of course Walter wins here, because they aren’t going to end the epic title reign on a different continent in a match that feels a bit thrown together. Walter is someone who can have a classic with anyone he faces and if we get the old Ciampa here, these two could do something incredible. I know Ciampa isn’t as great as he has been before, but even a mostly there Ciampa is a sight to behold.

Women’s Title: Io Shirai(c) vs. Rhea Gonzalez

This is an interesting one as the champ issued the challenge for a change. You might not realize it but Shirai has been champion for about ten months now and has all but cleared out the division. Thankfully NXT is good at bringing in fresh talent and that is exactly what they are doing with people like Gonzalez (among others). This was the main focal point of last week’s NXT and it feels like a main event.

I’ve been betting that Shirai will lose the title for the better part of ever now and I’ll do that again here, as there just aren’t many people left to take it from here (save for maybe Xia Li, but I’m not sure how much someone with her current gimmick needs the title). They need to pull the trigger on someone eventually (though Shirai is doing fine in this role) and Gonzalez makes more sense than probably anyone else. Gonzalez wins here and ends a sneakily epic reign from Shirai.

Night Two

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon(c) vs. The Way

These titles are still brand new and one of the best ways to make them mean something is to have them on the line. Granted there still are not very many established teams to go after them, but at least the Way has a name. Blackheart and Moon don’t feel like long term champs, but losing in one of your first defenses seems like a quick drop (pun intended), even at a show like this.

Now the question is will they drop them here and I’ll go with not yet. I think the Way does get the belts eventually, but it isn’t happening so soon. It is just a little too early for the titles to change hands twice and NXT would be smart to have the titles sink in with Blackheart and Moon for a bit. The Way isn’t a team that needs to have multiple titles, so hopefully the titles don’t change here, because they really don’t need to yet.

North American Title: Johnny Gargano(c) vs. Gauntlet Eliminator Winner

This is a follow up from the previous night as the winner of the Gauntlet Eliminator (Lumis, assuming my completely accurate picks are right) gets a shot at Gargano. I’m not sure how much I like this idea as it can make for a hard match to set up in advance, but at least they have something going here between Gargano and Lumis. That sets up a rather scary possibility of even more of a focus on Lumis, though they have pulled back a bit in recent weeks.

I think I’ll go with Lumis winning here, as it has been teased long enough that it probably needs to just happen already. Gargano is fine in his role as champion, but it feels like he has held the title for the better part of ever at the moment. The title probably needs some fresh blood and while Lumis isn’t the most exciting or interesting blood, he certainly would be fresh. Now just get it over with already.

Cruiserweight Title: Jordan Devlin(c) vs. Santos Escobar(c)

It’s a special situation as both are champions, meaning there are two titles. Since Shawn Michaels is helping to run NXT and it has been at least a month since the last one, it is time to put the belts above the ring and have a ladder match. That makes things both a little more interesting and less interesting at the same time, as I wasn’t sure who was going to actually take the fall here. Throw in the ladder though and things are a little bit different. Someone has to stick around though and I think I know what that means.

I’ll go with Escobar to win here, as not being able to pull down a title from above the ring is not going to crush his momentum. Devlin still seems to be the guy who is going to go after Walter (and likely take the title from him) so getting him away from the Cruiserweight Title is a necessary step. I’m also not sure I can imagine him sticking around in America and NXT UK doesn’t need a Cruiserweight Title so let Escobar have it for good.

Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly

This is unsanctioned and I believe the words “oh boy” are appropriate. These two have some great chemistry together and it should be awesome to see them beat the living fire out of each other. I know the working theory is that it should be time to see Cole go to the main roster and while I’m not sure I believe that is the case, getting beaten by O’Reilly in a big blowoff feud would be a great way to go.

So yeah give me O’Reilly here, mainly for the reason that Cole absolutely does not need to win this match. O’Reilly has yet to have the big singles win and Cole has won everything he needs to win in all of NXT. I wouldn’t mind seeing Cole show up on the main roster as a post WrestleMania surprise, but I’m hoping that we see him go down to O’Reilly after one heck of a fight.

NXT Title: Finn Balor(c) vs. Karrion Kross

We’ll wrap it up with another match that could go either way. In theory the loser here should be on their way to the main roster, as Balor has already been a main roster star and Kross was pretty much ready for the main roster the day he debuted. I don’t know how well the gimmick would work there, but at least it would make sense to have Kross and Scarlett up there. Someone has to lose though and that makes it hard to figure out.

I actually think I’ll take Balor to win here, as NXT is going to want to keep some star power down there because the show moving over to another night. Hopefully the match is the hard hitting struggle that it should be, but I have no idea who goes after the title once Balor retains. Granted he probably doesn’t win here because it is a complete coin flip, but yeah we’ll go with Balor here.

Overall Thoughts

I’m not completely sold on the idea here as it feels like a pair of shows put together rather than one great Takeover. That could mean a bit of a downgrade, but if there is one thing that I have learned about Takeover over the years, it is that NXT knows how to figure out a way around anything. There is enough good stuff on the card to believe that they could pull it off and hopefully that is the case here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.