Saturday, August 22nd, 2015
Barclays Center
Brooklyn, New York
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Triple H is in the ring and without a mic, talking only to the camera. He says that they told us that NXT was the future until the fans told him that the future is now. As he says that, he brings on the house lights to show the sold out crowd for the biggest TakeOver ever.
Tyler Breeze vs. Jushin Liger
Breeze gets a big entrance with a bunch of models dressed up in New York themed outfits including the Statue of Liberty. It's kind of random that the last two shows I have watched (Nitro and this), both have Liger in them. Liger is 50 years old here and Breeze is 26. Liger puts Breeze in the surfboard and then mocks Breeze with his selfie stick. Breeze hits the Supermodel Kick for a 2 count. Breeze also hits a variation of the Back Cracker for another 2 count. Liger makes a comeback with a rolling kick, but then Breeze gets his knees up on the top rope splash attempt. Liger comes back with a somersault dive off the apron to the floor. Back in the ring, Liger hits the Liger Bomb and picks up the victory. These matches are always tough to book. I'm sure Breeze was all about putting him over, but he really could have used the win in kayfabe. The match was solid enough for what it was.
Match Rating: **3/4
They show Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and X-Pac in the crowd.
Bayley is getting ready in her Dusty Rhodes themed gear. Charlotte comes in and gives her a hug and Becky Lynch shakes her hand.
We get a Nia Jax promo. Great.
NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Vaudevillains vs. Blake & Murphy
Alexa Bliss gets on the mic before the match and makes fun of the Vaudevillains for not being anybody being able to help them. The crowd wants Blue Pants and considering that they are wearing blue gear, I think it's pretty apparent what we're getting here. I have no recollection of this at all. Although I watched this live, I never watched the weekly program, so this meant nothing to me. I will also say as I have watched all of the weekly programming now, I still don't really get it. I guess you had to be there. We get pretty standard tag action here. We get an almost tower of doom spot with Blake and Murphy getting slammed down and then Aidan English hitting the senton for a 2 count. Bliss gets on the apron, but Blue Pants is there to pull her off. She chases her and hits her with a slap in the ring. They start brawling and that distraction allows for a roll up, but Simon Gotch kicks out. The Vaudevillains hit the Whirling Dervish and pick up the win and get a really big pop for the win. The tag division is really weak right now, so I'm not surprised they did something just to shake it up. The match was solid and nothing more.
Match Rating: ***
They show Adrian Neville and Cesaro saying hello to Finn Balor earlier tonight.
Rick Ruvin is in attendance tonight.
Tye Dillinger vs. Apollo Crews
This is Crews' debut match after some vignettes and he is over with the live crowd. It is kind of crazy that he never really made it to where we thought he would. I actually liked his heel character and thought that was his best run. I probably like Dillinger better than most. In the couple of months I watched AEW, he was one of my favorite characters and I have to think I was in the minority. This is exactly what you would expect. Apollo gets the flashy start, Dillinger slows it down and then Crews gets the big finish. He hits a press slam and then a standing moonsault for the quick victory.
Match Rating: *1/2
William Regal is backstage thanking us for watching TakeOver tonight. He is announcing a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and will start in 2 weeks. The final is going to be on the next TakeOver in November.
They show the finalists from Tough Enough in the crowd and they get booed.
Baron Corbin vs. Samoa Joe
We get a hype video for this one. Corbin hits the first big move when Joe tries to hit a dive to the outside, but Corbin hits him with a forearm first. Joe is able to trip Corbin on the apron and throws him into the barricade. Back in the ring, Corbin is able to put on a heel hook to some boos. They start trading heavy blows and ending with Corbin hitting a boot. Corbin hits a suplex for a 2 count. Corbin hits a double chokeslam for another 2 count and then Joe turns that into a Coquina Clutch. Corbin tries to fight out of it, but eventually it's too much and Joe picks up the win. This was about as good of a match as you're going to get out of Baron Corbin.
Match Rating: **
They show Ric Flair, Sgt. Slaughter, "Kanna", Tamina and Naomi in the crowd. Kanna is Asuka for the record.
Out comes Stephanie McMahon to the ring. She tells us that the Divas revolution started right here in NXT and that the women are the main event. This leads to a good video package that honestly makes the build feel a lot better than it was.
NXT Women's Championship
Bayley vs. Sasha Banks
This is the match that sold me on NXT and probably the match after 2009 that I have watched the most. Bayley puts Sasha in the tree of woe and hits a running springboard elbow, which is a nice move that is actually believable as a kickout at 2. Bayley hits a running dropkick under the bottom rope and through to the other side before throwing Sasha back in the ring. Sasha regains control for a moment, but misses with the double knees. They battle on the ropes and Bayley blocks the superplex. Sasha kicks out the knees of Bayley and she falls to the ground. Sasha works to the corner again and this time sets Bayley up on the top and hits her with the double knees. Sasha starts taunting Bayley and she sparks a mini comeback by Bayley. Sasha slows her down and starts ripping off Bayley's hand brace. She stomps on the injured hand and then smashes it between the ring and steps. While the referee is checking on Bayley, Sasha does a somersault dive over the referee and the top rope to the floor. Back in the ring, they trade blows until Bayley hits a trio of double ax handles. The pace quickens and it leads to a Bank Statement in the middle of the ring. She almost gets to the ropes, but then Sasha kicks off to the ropes into the middle of the ring. Bayley is able to counter and put it on, but Sasha gets to the ropes. Bayley hits the Bayley To Belly, but Sasha kicks out at 2. Bayley goes for a hurricanrana off the top rope, but Sasha shoves her in midair and Bayley lands awkwardly. Sasha hits a double knees off the second rope, but Bayley kicks out. Sasha puts Bayley back on the top rope. Bayley fights Sasha off and then hits a reverse hurricanrana. She hits the Bayley To Belly and we get a total goosebump moment as Bayley captures the NXT Women's Championship in a tremendous match. This one is worthy of all the praise it got and still holds up. Fantastic, fantastic match.
Match Rating: ****3/4
After the match, Charlotte and Becky Lynch are in the ring to celebrate with Bayley. Sasha then comes in an ends up giving her a hug. They all hug as the crowd chants "Bayley". They are the four women that changed the WWE forever.
Seth Rollins is in attendance as well.
The announcers talk about Triple H's announcement that will take NXT to London in December.
Ladder Match For The NXT Championship
Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor
Naturally, Balor is in the demon paint tonight. We get a little bit of a slower start than I expected with this being a big feud. They fight on the outside over the ladder, with Owens able to drive Balor into the ring. Owens goes for a powerbomb outside the ring, but Balor is able to counter into a back body drop. Owens comes back and throws Balor into the barricade and then hits him with the top piece of the announce table. Balor leaps off the table and hits Owens with a dropkick into the ladder he was holding. Balor then hits a dive over the top rope to the floor. We get our first climb of the night, but Owens gets there and throws Balor into the ladder. Owens lays out Balor on top of the ladder and follows that up with a senton. Balor is able to avoid a cannonball into a ladder and hits Owens with the running dropkick. Balor goes up top and hits a Coup de Grace. Balor gets close to the title belt until Owens pulls him off and right into a powerbomb. They battle outside the ring again and do a back and forth sequence that ends with Owens hitting a powerbomb into the ring apron. Owens goes for the big move from on top of the ladder into the ladder propped in the corner, but Balor knocks him down onto the horizontal ladder. Balor tries to reach the belt, but the ladder is a little off center. Owens starts to climb, but Balor kicks him off and decides to hit a Coup de Grace from the top of the ladder instead. Balor climbs the ladder and grabs the title for the victory. A very physical match that lacked a little bit of drama to put it over the top. This was a good main event, but the ladies deserved to be in that spot tonight.
Match Rating: ***3/4
The overall card was a little up and down, but it featured the best NXT match to date and probably the best moment to go along with that match. The crowd was into just about everything they had to offer, which always is a bonus as well. This is a most definite thumbs up.
Overall Rating: 83%
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