WWE has announced a few new additions the lineup for tonight’s TakeOver: In Your House fallout edition of NXT.
Io Shirai will “address the NXT Universe” on tonight’s episode. There will also be a Million Dollar Championship Coronation segment where Ted DiBiase will present LA Knight with the Million Dollar title.
Two tag matches have also been added to tonight’s show. NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai will face Kayden Carter & Kacy Catanzaro, while Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) will take on Breezango (Tyler Breeze & Fandango).
Shirai made her return to NXT TV last week. After musician Poppy was called out by Candice LeRae, Poppy brought out Shirai to beat down LeRae.
Last week was just the second time that Shirai has appeared on NXT since losing the NXT Women’s Championship to Gonzalez at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver this April. Shirai took part in a sit-down interview on the April 20 episode of the show and said that she was going to take some time to rest before getting her rematch against Gonzalez when the time is right. Shirai’s interview was interrupted by Franky Monet.
Gonzalez retained her NXT Women’s Championship against Ember Moon at TakeOver: In Your House.
Knight defeated Cameron Grimes in a ladder match at TakeOver: In Your House to win the Million Dollar Championship.
On NXT three weeks ago, a video aired where WALTER ordered Barthel & Aichner to right the wrong of them losing the NXT Tag Team titles to Breezango last year.
Here’s the updated card for tonight’s NXT:
NXT general manager William Regal addresses the future of NXT
Tornado tag match: Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida issues an open challenge
Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai vs. Kayden Carter & Kacy Catanzaro
Imperium vs. Breezango
Io Shirai addresses the NXT Universe
LA Knight’s Million Dollar Championship Coronation
Following the ending of TakeOver: In Your House, William Regal will speak on NXT this Tuesday night.
WWE has announced that Regal will “address the future of NXT” on this Tuesday’s NXT episode. Sunday night’s TakeOver: In Your House event ended with Regal saying that he thinks it’s “time for a change.”
Before TakeOver: In Your House went off the air, interviewer McKenzie Mitchell asked Regal what his thoughts were on all that had transpired during the night. Regal said he’s been NXT general manager for seven years and has never seen this much bedlam. Regal said it’s complete madness and he thinks it’s time for a change.
Leading into TakeOver, NXT Champion Karrion Kross said Regal has lost control of NXT. Adam Cole had inserted himself into the NXT Championship picture by attacking Kyle O’Reilly, Pete Dunne, and Johnny Gargano during a triple threat number one contender’s match. Multiple brawls also broke out during the day of TakeOver.
Kross retained his NXT Championship by defeating O’Reilly, Dunne, Gargano, and Cole in a fatal five-way match at TakeOver.
Dave Meltzer reported after TakeOver that Samoa Joe is back in NXT and could take a Regal-like role on-screen.
Here’s the updated lineup for this Tuesday’s NXT:
NXT general manager William Regal addresses the future of NXT
Tornado tag match: Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake)
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida issues an open challenge
Coming out of TakeOver: In Your House, the date and location for NXT’s next TakeOver event look to be set.
Dave Meltzer stated on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that it appears that NXT’s next TakeOver event will take place on Sunday, August 22. Meltzer added that the show is scheduled to be held at the Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, Florida.
August 22 is the day after this year’s SummerSlam pay-per-view. SummerSlam is being held at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
When asked about the potential August 22 TakeOver date by Spectrum News 13’s Jon Alba on his pre-TakeOver: In Your House media call last week, Paul “Triple H” Levesque said it was a little bit of a “work in progress” as far as where the SummerSlam weekend TakeOver would land. Levesque said it’s a unique time with WWE getting back on the road and there’s a little bit of an ebb and flow in terms of where things exactly will land.
Before NXT’s next TakeOver, a special Great American Bash episode of NXT television will air live on Tuesday, July 6.
NXT GM William Regal’s teary admission at the end of Sunday’s TakeOver that “it’s time for change” may be foreshadowing for a former NXT Champion to take his role.
On Sunday’s post-TakeOver Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that Samoa Joe has taken a behind-the-scenes job with NXT that also could include becoming the on-screen NXT GM.
“I was told (Sunday) Samoa Joe was in a Regal-like role and all of a sudden, he’s stepping down,” Meltzer said, adding that if the 53-year-old Regal is indeed done with the role, the 42-year-old Joe is the favorite to replace him.
Joe was released from WWE in April due to budget cuts, raising speculation about his next move and whether returning to the ring could be part of that equation. Meltzer said Joe is in NXT in a non-wrestling role, which he believes is because he isn’t cleared. He said it’s not impossible for him to return given other wrestlers in similar situations, but that apparently isn’t in the plans for now.
Joe spent the first two years of his WWE tenure in NXT, winning their main title twice before being called up to the main roster.
William Regal closed tonight’s NXT TakeOver: In Your House by saying that it was time for a change.
At the end of the show, McKenzie Mitchell walked up to Regal and asked him what he thought about the events of tonight’s show. Regal said he had been General Manager for seven years, and he had never seen such bedlam. He closed the show by saying that “I think it’s time for a change.”
The last few weeks have seen a number of brawls, most of which have aired first on WWE’s social media accounts. Kyle O’Reilly and Johnny Gargano brawled before the start of tonight’s show, while a brawl between Pete Dunne and Karrion Kross took place prior to the main event. Shotzi Blackheart was also held back while attempting to attack Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai.
Regal has been General Manager of NXT since July of 2014. Other General Managers of NXT in the past have included John Bradshaw Layfield and Dusty Rhodes.
An open challenge for the NXT Cruiserweight title will take place Tuesday on NXT.
It was announced on tonight’s NXT TakeOver: In Your House that Kushida will defend the NXT Cruiserweight title in an open challenge match. Kushida has issued these open challenges since winning the title, defeating the likes of Oney Lorcan and Carmelo Hayes, who Kushida defeated two weeks ago on NXT.
Kushida won the Cruiserweight title after accepting an open challenge, defeating then champion Santos Escobar back on April 13. Kushida defeated Escobar in a rematch on the May 11th edition of NXT, winning a two out of three falls match.
Also announced for Tuesday is a tag team tornado match, where the team of Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher will take on Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson). The two teams have feuded in recent weeks, with the match being announced on last week’s episode of NXT.
For the second straight year, the Great American Bash is making its return as a special edition of NXT.
During NXT TakeOver: In Your House tonight, it was announced that NXT Great American Bash 2021 will take place on Tuesday, July 6. The show will air live on the USA Network starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
Last year’s NXT Great American Bash was the first time WWE had used the Great American Bash name for a show since an episode of SmackDown that took place in 2012. NXT Great American Bash 2020 was held over two weeks. Night one was headlined by Io Shirai defeating Sasha Banks. In the main event of night two, Keith Lee defeated Adam Cole in a title vs. title match where the NXT Championship and NXT North American Championship were both on the line.
Great American Bash was originally an NWA/WCW event. WWE later used the show’s name for an annual pay-per-view between 2004-2008. A WWE PPV named “The Bash” also took place in 2009.
At NXT TakeOver: In Your House tonight, WWE crowned the first Million Dollar Champion in more than 10 years.
LA Knight became the new Million Dollar Champion when he defeated Cameron Grimes in a ladder match at tonight’s TakeOver event. As Grimes appeared to be on the verge of winning the match, Knight pushed over the golden ladder that Grimes was on. Grimes went crashing through a ladder that was bridged above the ramp. Knight then set the golden ladder back up, climbed it, and retrieved the case that the Million Dollar Championship was in.
Ted DiBiase watched the ladder match from ringside and then presented the Million Dollar Championship to Knight after he won.
Leading into TakeOver, Knight and Grimes had each been vying for DiBiase to choose them as the wrestler to carry on his Million Dollar legacy. DiBiase announced the return of the Million Dollar Championship on last week’s NXT.
The Million Dollar Championship was first introduced by DiBiase as an unofficial title in 1989. The title has previously been held by DiBiase, Virgil, The Ringmaster (Steve Austin), and Ted DiBiase Jr.
Knight (formerly known as Eli Drake) arrived in NXT when he made his debut during the pre-show for TakeOver: Vengeance Day this February.
In Your House returns for the second straight year as NXT TakeOver takes place tonight.
The show will be headlined by Karrion Kross defending his NXT Championship against Kyle O’Reilly, Pete Dunne, Johnny Gargano, and Adam Cole in a fatal five-way match. A match between O’Reilly, Dunne, and Gargano was originally supposed to determine Kross’ challenger, but Cole made his return to NXT TV and put a stop to the match. Kross later declared that he wanted to face all four challengers.
Three other title matches are also set for TakeOver: In Your House. Ember Moon will challenge for Raquel Gonzalez’s NXT Women’s Championship, the revived Million Dollar Championship will be on the line in a ladder match between Cameron Grimes and LA Knight, and there will be a winner-take-all six-man tag match with NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed & NXT Tag Team Champions MSK facing Legado del Fantasma.
Mercedes Martinez vs. Xia Li rounds out the TakeOver card. Li is looking to avenge her loss from the 2017 Mae Young Classic.
Todd Pettengill will return as the host of TakeOver: In Your House. The event will begin at 8 p.m. Eastern time, with there also being a pre-show starting at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
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Show Report —
The pre-show featured the typical mix of talking head analysis and promo packages. There was an “earlier today” segment involving participants in the five-way main event.
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Naomi Fox performed a song to open the show.
Former WWE backstage interviewer Todd Pettengill is the host of the show. He announced the largest gathering of fans yet in the Capitol Wrestling Center.
Winner Take All match for the NXT North American Championship and NXT Tag Team Championships: Bronson Reed (c) & MSK (Wes Lee & Nash Carter) (c) defeated Legado Del Fantasma (Santos Escobar, Raul Mendoza, & Joaquin Wilde) (13:41)
This was good, solid six-man tag action.
Lee and Mendoza started with a rapid-fire exchange. Carter and Wilde were next, with Wilde hitting a nice springboard arm drag. He showboated, however, and received a kick for his trouble. Escobar tagged in and faced off with Carter, but Carter tagged in Reed. Escobar retreated and tagged in Mendoza.
Mendoza used some high flying, but Reed shrugged off a series of clotheslines before leveling Mendoza with one of his own. Reed hit his sit-down splash, but Escobar had blind tagged in and hit a soccer kick. Reed took him down with a crossbody before planting Wilde with a press slam.
MSK hit frequent tags, with a somersault senton from Lee getting two. Reed hit an assisted senton for two more. The champs continued to dominate Wilde until Escobar finally made a tag. Carter hit an Orihara moonsault out on the floor, but Wilde took Carter out with a dive. Lee and Mendoza hit dives of their own, building to the big man Reed taking everyone out with a tope.
Back in the ring, MSK tried to hit a double team, but Legado del Fantasma pulled Carter out of the ring, allowing Escobar to take Lee out. A top-rope hurricanrana from Escobar got two, as did an assisted 450 from Wilde. Lee finally escaped to Reed for a tag.
Reed ran wild on all of Legado del Fantasma, including a double Samoan drop on Wilde and Mendoza. Reed wanted Escobar to tag in, but Wilde took him out from behind. Escobar tagged in and hit a Michinoku Driver, but Carter broke up the pin. Wilde and Mendoza hit a high low on Carter, but Wes Lee dove in to break up the pin.
Escobar grabbed the belt at ringside but was blindsided with a running splash from Reed, sending him through the barricade at ringside. A Mendoza dive was cut off with a superkick, then MSK hit an assisted blockbuster. Reed pulled the straps down and hit the Tsunami splash to win and retain.
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Kyle O’Reilly was interviewed earlier today, saying “it’s a good day for a fight.” Johnny Gargano and The Way arrived at the same time, goading O’Reilly into a fight and forcing officials and William Regal to break it up.
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A comedy segment aired where Pettengill was trying to cut to a video using a VHS tape. The video recapped Mercedes Martinez defeating Xia Li in the Mae Young Classic four years ago.
Xia Li (w/ Boa) defeated Mercedes Martinez (7:39)
This was maybe the least spectacular match in TakeOver history. It was short, very little happened, and the finish came completely out of nowhere.
Li took the fight to Martinez right away, but Martinez took her down with a backdrop and a fallaway slam. Li dragged Martinez to the floor and pushed her shoulder-first into the ring post. She continued to target Martinez’s shoulder, including with a running dropkick that sent Martinez to the floor.
They traded strikes in the ring, with Li maintaining control with kicks and knees. Martinez came back with a butterfly suplex, but Li regained control with an exploder. Martinez avoided a corner attack and hit a Cliffhanger for two. She followed it up with repeated knees.
Boa pulled Li out of the ring, preventing further attack. Martinez pushed him aside and countered a running attack with a back body drop on the floor. Back in the ring, a cyclone kick from Li surprised Martinez for the win.
– After the match, Boa threw Li a chair, but when she was about to use it, Martinez kicked her legs out from under her. Martinez grabbed the chair and hit both Boa and Li with it.
Li’s entrance effects showed up and Mei Ying appeared in her throne on the ramp. She and Martinez stared each other down until Ying grabbed Martinez by the neck and tossed her off the ramp into the barricade.
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Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher cut a promo. They said that in 48 hours, they’d show everyone how dangerous they are.
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Before the match, Ted DiBiase discussed the history and legacy of the Million Dollar Championship. He made an entrance and watched the match from ringside.
Million Dollar Championship ladder match: LA Knight defeated Cameron Grimes (19:33)
This was the worst ladder match in TakeOver history.
After a strong lockup, Knight took down Grimes with a shoulder block. Grimes popped up and taunted before outwrestling Knight for a couple sequences. Knight rolled ot the floor and tossed in a ladder before sending Grimes to the floor. He tried to throw the ladder at Grimes, but Grimes avoided it before falling victim to a clothesline.
Knight set a ladder up in the ring and both men climbed it, but Knight sent Grimes to the floor. They fought over a ladder before Knight grabbed another. They had a ladder fight until Grimes booted Knight to the floor. They fought over a ladder yet again, with Grimes getting the advantage by pushing the Knight and the ladder into the barricade. He followed it up with a soccer kick.
Grimes opted to take the fight to Knight on the floor, but Knight sent Grimes into the barricade and smashed him with the ladder. Knight continued to send Grimes into ringside objects until Grimes turned it around. Knight popped up and took Grimes down yet again. I know this report sounds redundant and repetitive, but there was no ebb or flow to the match early on, just unfocused brawling.
Back in the ring, Knight hit a slingshot shoulder block. Grimes countered with a German suplex into a ladder. He tried to follow it up with a ladder attack, but Knight moved out of the way and hit a neckbraker onto a propped-up ladder. That looked terrible.
Grimes tried to make a comeback with right hands, but Knight sent him into a ladder. Knight leaned a ladder against the ropes before propping another one up on the top turnbuckle. Grimes reversed a whip and sent Knight face-first into the latter ladder. He laid in kicks, but Knight pulled Grimes’ hair, sending him hard to the mat. Grimes countered a running attack with a back body drop onto a ladder.
Knight was sent over the top rope onto a ladder bridge. Grimes went after a gold ladder on the stage and brought it to the ring. He climbed it and made it to the belt, but Knight met him at the top. Knight fell off, but was able to push the ladder over, sending Grimes crashing to the mat.
After a long double down, Knight set up more ladders to create a bridge over the ropes. Grimes surprised him with a thrust kick, but Knight hid behind DiBiase’s security, allowing him to take Grimes out. Knight whipped Grimes into a ladder, but Grimes climbed it and then grabbed onto some staging when Knight pushed the ladder away. Grimes then leapt off the staging with a crossbody.
Grimes climbed the gold ladder in the ring. Knight tried to powerbomb him out of the ring, but Grimes turned it into a hurricanrana. Grimes shouted “to the moon!” and nearly reached the championship, but Knight pushed the ladder over, sending Grimes onto the bridge from before. Knight then unhooked the belt to win the championship.
– Knight celebrated with the Million Dollar Man afterwards.
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Pettengill tried to advertise the WWE Shop, but was interrupted by Hit Row. They plugged their new song, “Now You Know.”
This was a very good match and a nice showcase for Moon, who is one of the more underrated talents on the roster.
Moon came out firing with strikes, but Gonzalez planted her to the mat on a crossbody attempt. Moon countered the one-armed powerbomb with a hurricanrana, sending Gonzalez into the turnbuckle, but Gonzalez sent Moon into the barricade on a shoulder block. Out on the floor, Gonzalez continued to dominate.
Back in the ring, Gonzalez maintained control until Moon kicked her way out of a corner attack. She went for a diving codebreaker, but Gonzalez caught it and planted Moon with a sidewalk slam. A twisting Vader bomb followed for two. Moon tried to fight back with strikes before a thrust kick caught Gonzalez under the jaw. Another series of kicks staggered Gonzalez before a forearm finally took the champion down.
Moon hit a Code Red for two. She locked on a modified deathlock until Kai assisted Gonzalez by helping her reach the ropes. Gonzalez and Kai regrouped on the floor, so Moon took the champion out with a tope suicida. Back in the ring, a flatliner from Moon got two.
Kai distracted Moon while the latter climbed the ropes, allowing Gonzalez to take control with a superplex. Gonzalez went for her one-armed powerbomb, but Moon cradled her for two. Gonzalez came back with a big boot for a near fall of her own. She went for an inverted suplex, but Moon turned it into a modified Eclipse.
Moon gained some separation with a jawbreaker and followed it up with a diving Codebreaker. The Eclipse followed, but Kai put Gonzalez’s foot on the ropes. Shotzi Blackheart appeared to chase off Kai, sending her into the staging and bringing her backstage.
Gonzalez fled to the apron, where Moon climbed the ropes and hit a tornado DDT on the ramp. Moon rolled Gonzalez into the ring, where Gonzalez kicked out at two. She went for another Eclipse, but Gonzalez caught her and hit Snake Eyes in the corner. The one-armed powerbomb followed for the win.
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Another Pettengill comedy segment aired. He was about to play Karate Fighters, and his opponent was Dexter Lumis. Pettengill asked how the women were treating Lumis these days, so Lumis broke the game and smashed Pettengill’s piece in his hand.
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The NXT: Great American Bash TV special was announced for Tuesday, July 6 on USA.
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This week’s NXT lineup:
Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher vs. Grizzled Young Veterans in a Tornado Tag Team Match
KUSHIDA’s Cruiserweight Championship Open Challenge
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NXT Championship Fatal 5-Way: Karrion Kross (c) (w/ Scarlett) defeated Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Pete Dunne (26:25)
This was an insane spotfest from start to finish, with tons of great action. The crowd wasn’t super invested at the start but eventually got into it; however, they’re definitely not into Kross as champion.
While O’Reilly and Cole brawled on the floor, Kross and Dunne faced off in the ring. Dunne peppered him with leg kicks and went for a guillotine, but Kross caught him and hit a Northern Lights suplex. O’Reilly entered the fray and traded with Kross until a high kick gave Kross an opening. O’Reilly countered into a heel hook, which Kross fought out of, hitting a German.
Gargano was next for Kross. He went for the Garga-No Escape before chopping down Kross’s leg and taking him down with a hurricanrana. Kross caught a corner attack and hit an exploder suplex. Cole immediately took advantage by kicking out Kross’s knee and hitting an enziguiri. Dunne pulled Cole out of the ring and trapped him between the apron and the skirt, allowing the entire field to beat him down.
Kross continued to dispatch all four opponents. He hit a double Northern Lights suplex on Dunne and Gargano before a lariat on O’Reilly got two. O’Reilly fought out of a powerbomb and landed muay thai strikes, finally taking Kross down. He laid in knees on Cole before mounting him and going for an armbar. Dunne locked on an armbar on O’Reilly before Gargano tried to get involved. Dunne attacked the fingers of both O’Reilly and Gargano before Kross powerbombed him onto both men.
Cole retreated to the ramp, where Kross wanted a fight. Dunne and Gargano got involved, sending him through the door of the In Your House stage. In the ring, a leg lariat from Cole took down O’Reilly, followed by the ushigoroshi for two. Gargano hit an enziguiri on O’Reilly before propping Cole in the tree of woe over O’Reilly in the corner. Dunne surprised Gargano with a roll-up, but Gargano turned the Bitter End into a DDT before throwing Dunne into the corner with a lawn dart through Cole and O’Reilly for two.
Gargano went for his end of #DIY, but a parade of strikes from Cole, Gargano, Dunne, and O’Reilly led to a quadruple down. O’Reilly caught a Cole thrust kick and applied an ankle lock, but Cole kicked out of it, sending O’Reilly into Kross. Kross sent both O’Reilly and Cole over the barricade before a double-hand powerbomb sent Gargano into the ring apron. He tossed Dunne onto the pile on the outside.
It was just Kross and Gargano in the ring. Kross hit an F-5 for two. Gargano made a comeback with a tornado DDT, using Cole as an assist, before taking out O’Reilly with a tope suicida. He followed it up with a spear on Kross and a diving DDT on Dunne but was met with a superkick from Cole. Gargano avoided the Last Shot and locked on the Garga-No Escape, but Cole fought out and countered a slingshot spear with a thrust kick. Gargano countered the Panama Sunrise into belly-to-back driver for two.
O’Reilly was taken out with stereo kicks from Gargano and Dunne, then Cole and Gargano took out Dunne, then O’Reilly and Gargano took out Cole as O’Reilly covered for two. Kross entered the ring and hit corner clotheslines on all four opponents before eating lariats from everyone. O’Reilly briefly got the upper hand on everyone until Kross took him out with a lariat.
Kross hit German suplexes on everyone. Dunne flipped out of one, allowing everyone to hit kicks to Kross’s head. Cole and O’Reilly paused their rivalry to try to powerbomb Kross through the announce desk, which didn’t break. The four challengers faced off in the ring. Gargano and Dunne hit stereo superkicks, then Dunne and O’Reilly both applied submissions. They dropped their victims and traded strikes, with O’Reilly dropping Dunne with a forearm. Dunne transitioned into a standing kimura before a triangle hold, with Gargano taking them down with a slingshot spear. A ushigoroshi from Cole on O’Reilly got two.
Cole and Dunne exchanged forearms in the ring. Dunne went for his corner backflip, which Cole and Gargano countered with superkicks. Gargano locked both Cole and Dunne in the Garga-No Escape, but O’Reilly broke it up. He and Gargano had a strike exchange, with O’Reilly finishing it with a brainbuster. He climebed to the top but was sent to the floor by Cole, who hit the Panama Sunrise on Gargano, but Dunne pulled him out of the ring and killed him with a brainbuster on the floor.
Kross popped up from the announce desk as Dunne invited him in for a fight. Dunne unleashed on Kross, forcing him to cover up, but Kross hit a German. Dunne hit one of his own, followed by the Bitter End, but Kross kicked out for a great near fall. Dunne immediately locked on a triangle, but the other three broke up the hold.
Dunne dispatched his opponents with kicks before catching a low blow and going for the finger-break spot. Kross broke it up with a double Doomsday Saito. The Kross Jacket followed, but Dunne snapped Kross’s fingers to break out of the hold. Gargano hit One Final Beat on Dunne, but Kross locked on the Kross Jacket on Gargano. Gargano jackknifed over for a cradle for two, but Kross maintained the hold. Cole hit the Last Shot on Kross but was subsequently chopped down by O’Reilly, who hit the diving knee on Kross. Cole broke up the cover with a superkick.
O’Reilly avoided the Last Shot and locked on the heel hook. After a long fight, Kross locked the Kross Jacket on O’Reilly, with the hold still locked on Cole. O’Reilly faded, relinquished the heel hook, and passed out for the referee stoppage as Kross retained.
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An interviewer caught up to William Regal to ask about the events of In Your House. He said he’d been GM for seven years, and he’s never seen so much bedlam. “I think it’s time for a change.”
Editor’s Note: The following is an opinion-based preview and reflects that of the writer.
Have you ever wondered what a main roster pay-per-view would look like in NXT? Wonder no longer.
NXT is back on our TV sets and in our homes Sunday with TakeOver: In Your House with a lineup that looks, well, not great. It’s taking a considerable amount of willpower not to just shrug at this entire card and watch just about anything else. Where is the intrigue? Where are the captivating storylines that made NXT so great for so long?
Nothing here is required viewing and it’s barely DVR worthy. I have been on this NXT preview beat since 2016 (shoutout to me) and this is the first TakeOver card I can remember that feels skippable.
For me, the biggest issue is the overwhelming lack of anything interesting. The absence of that commanding presence at the top of the card is noticeable now more than ever. There is no Finn Balor. There is no Io Shirai (who mercifully returned this Tuesday). Heck, there’s not even a Bo Dallas. The two top champions are either kind of boring (Karrion Kross) or still figuring out how to be on top (Raquel Gonzalez). If it wasn’t for me writing about this, there’s nothing that really compels me to give up two hours of my Tuesday evenings.
When I say this is a main roster PPV, I mean it. Just look at what we have here:
A hastily thrown together multi-person scramble for a championship
A match for a made-up title
A match with spooky markings and smoke monsters
Throw in a “Can they coexist?!?!?” storyline and you have next week’s episode of Raw, minus Lilly.
The most glaring Raw-ness in all of this is, unfortunately, Kyle O’Reilly. What in the world is going on here? In his first appearance after his match with Adam Cole, KOR came out and dropped both Austin Powers and Dumb and Dumber references in one promo. It wasn’t funny, wasn’t clever or even tongue in cheek. It was just flat-out bad. You know how if Vince McMahon finds out someone is funny, he then makes them do the WWE’s version of funny? That’s exactly what happened here, but just replace ‘funny’ with ‘hipster.’ Watching the segment filled me with actual, physical, pain. Come back, actually Kool Kyle. We miss you and we need you.
Since this isn’t a standard TakeOver, I’m going to deviate from my standard format. For each match I’ll look at how we got here, does it matter (spoiler alert: nothing matters because life is just a slow march to the sea.) and where we go next.
LA Knight vs. Cameron Grimes in a ladder match for the Million Dollar Championship
How we got here
Grimes made a bunch of money off meme coins and Reddit stocks and is now a rich boy. Ted DiBiase kept one upping him and laughing, so they had a “confrontation”. I’m not exactly sure why Knight got involved, but he’s certainly here now. Both are now vying for Teddy’s affection and for the honor of becoming his large adult son.
Does it matter?
Despite Cameron Grimes doing the lord’s work, nope. Not even a little.
Where we’re going
Who the heck knows. Are they really going to bring back the Million Dollar belt? Gimmick belts mean less than nothing. Brian Cage has the FTW title in AEW and, truly, who cares. He loses all the time and looks like a chump carrying that thing around. I am very thankful this became a ladder match, because even the worst ladder matches are usually still fun. Even though Grimes is significantly better, Knight’s gimmick might have more legs at least in the short term. It’s LA’s night and wow, I’m so sorry.
Xia Li (with Boa and Mei Ying) vs. Mercedes Martinez
How we got here
Martinez did her cool entrance, won a match, and then had a spooky ‘X’ on her hand. Li got big mad about losing to Martinez in the Mae Young Classic years ago and then attacked Mercedes on the way to the ring. That’s it. That’s the build.
Does it matter?
Not really. This matters in the sense that it gives Xia Li a real opportunity against a real opponent on a TakeOver card. She’s been with the company since 2017 and hasn’t had even more than a sniff of forward momentum until this current iteration of her character. It matters less to Martinez, who is an indie wrestling legend with the aura that comes with that. She’ll be fine no matter what happens.
Where we’re going
I truly don’t know. Martinez has been in some high-profile matches during her time in NXT but doesn’t have a signature win yet. Li hasn’t even had a real chance until now. If they are really invested in the Mei Ying/Tian Sha storyline going somewhere, Li has to win. It’s a bit worrying that after the initial rollout and excellent intro video package, there hasn’t been much from this group on TV. I’ll say that changes with a Li victory Sunday.
NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed and NXT Tag Team Champions MSK vs. Legado del Fantasma (Santos Escobar, Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde) in a winner takes all match
How we got here
Reed put his belly on Santos Escobar to make sure MSK retained the tag titles over the rest of Legado del Fantasma. No one was really happy about that which led to this. The winner take all stipulation adds some much needed intrigue as if this was just a regular old six-man tag, it wouldn’t have nearly the appeal even if the outcome isn’t really in doubt.
Does it matter?
As much as a Reed match can matter, I guess. He seems like a legitimately great dude and appears to have a much more progressive view of the world compared to most of his colleagues, but his gimmick is really that he’s big. The whole size gimmick has a finite shelf life because there is almost always someone bigger and better that comes along. I wish they let him develop a personality that’s more than a big splash off the top rope. Being a big boy got him here, but it won’t get him any further.
Where we’re going
Escobar remains the complete package. He and Reed are as opposite as it gets. One has the aforementioned lack of character, while Escobar has it in spades. The slick looks, smooth words, and superb in-ring work are all there for him. This is him firmly moving on from the cruiserweight ranks and on to, literally, bigger things. If all the belts weren’t on the line, I would say Escobar and his boys would win, but MSK is too hot to drop the tag belts now.
Oh, and where are we really going? We are really going towards a Swerve Scott run with the North American title because Hit Row is one of the few really, really good things on NXT. It’s excellent and Scott’s a full-on star. His first title reign is happening sooner rather than later.
NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez (w/ Dakota Kai) vs. Ember Moon (w/ Shotzi Blackheart)
How we got here
These two have been feuding with their tag team partners for a while now. Moon got very upset when Gonzalez beat down Blackheart after a match a few weeks ago, called the champion out, and she obliged. So, now it’s time to fight!
Does it matter?
Actually, it does! There’s plenty of history between these two. Moon and Blackheart won the tag titles from Gonzalez and Kai the very first night they had them. I, too, would be angry if that happened to me. Then again, if it were me, I would simply never wrestle because it seems like it hurts a lot.
Where we’re going
We are barely into the second month of Gonzalez’ reign as women’s champ. NXT typically stays away from the transitional championship reign and one does not dethrone Io by god Shirai only to lose the title a few months later. Apologies to Moon, the Moon family, and the actual moon, but Sunday is not her day. Gonzalez retains, but what’s next? Shirai is back and due for a rematch. Franky Monet will probably get heated up, and they clearly see big things in Zoey Stark. The NXT’s women’s division keeps on keeping on.
NXT Champion Karrion Kross (w/ Scarlett) vs. Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Pete Dunne (w/ Oney Lorcan) vs. Johnny Gargano five-way title match
How we got here
*Takes deep breath* O’Reilly, Dunne and Gargano had a triple threat match to see who the no. 1 contender would be. Cole came out during the match and beat the bag out of everyone. Later that night, Cole and Kross had a face-off in the ring and a good one at that. Cole’s line about how if NXT wants to make him feel special, they just ring the bell was particularly excellent. Then, big King Regal came out, Kross demanded to fight everyone, and off we went.
Does it matter?
For all intents and purposes, sure. It’s for the NXT title, so I guess it does. This feels like they had no real idea of how to build the next major title program, so they just threw absolutely everything at the wall and hoped something stuck. Maybe something will, but this was disjointed from the start. Even the no. 1 contender’s triple threat didn’t have a cohesive build to it as Gargano was kind of just thrown into that. NXT title matches will always matter, but I’d be hard pressed to find one that matters less than this.
Where we’re going
Cole continues to bend NXT to his will; he is still the biggest male star on the brand and that includes the current champ. His gravity is just too strong. My affections for Dunne and O’Reilly are vast and endless, but let’s be clear: Cole is in a different league as a performer. I thought Cole would be done with NXT after the last TakeOver and I’m not coming off that prediction. With all the releases, there are some spots on the main roster that NXT can fill and I think Cole is one of them. Kross is really the better choice to fill that spot, but he just beat Finn Balor twice, so he’s probably sticking around. Kross retains, but Cole doesn’t take the pin.
The show opened with a brief recap of Ilja Dragunov injecting himself in the ongoing series between Rampage Brown and Joe Coffey before focusing on tonight’s main event rematch between UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray vs. Meiko Satomura.
WALTER in-ring segment
The NXT UK Champion talked about defending his title twice on two continents within one week against both Tommaso Ciampa and Rampage Brown. He talked about his mission of restoring the honor of this great sport and said he is, and would forever be, the NXT UK champion.
— Jordan Devlin entered his personal dressing room.
— A Subculture promo ran where they announced that Dani Luna & Flash Morgan Webster would face Jinny & Joseph Conners next week.
Jordan Devlin defeated Saxon Huxley (6:28)
Devlin used his speed to evade Huxley early, but quickly got beaten down once the bigger man got hold of him. They ended up at ringside where Huxley threw Devlin over and onto the barricades before entering the ring at nine. Huxley hit a Thesz Press and repeatedly slammed Devlin’s head into the mat. Devlin raked his eyes and hit a rope-assisted cutter. He went for Devlinside, but Huxley held on to the ropes and hit a Liger Bomb for a near fall. Devlin escaped a fireman’s carry, hit a headbutt to Huxley’s spine, and then Devlinside for the pin.
— Pretty Deadly walked out as they were on commentary for the next match.
— Mark Coffey and Wolfgang were in Sid Scala’s office, arguing about who was the better athlete. Scala said he would give them a chance to prove themselves in singles competition. Sam Gradwell walked in and Wolfgang said he would face him, but Scala said he would see what he could do.
Symbiosis (T-Bone & Primate) defeated Andy Wild & Dan Moloney (6:08)
Primate and Moloney started out and Primate dominated. Moloney picked him up for a suplex and got Wild to tag himself in. T-Bone tagged in as well and the two proceeded to have a hoss fight. Symbiosis showed off some good tag team moves as they worked over Moloney. Moloney finally made the hot tag and Wild briefly held both members of Symbiosis at bay. He quickly fell victim to their superior tactics though and found himself of the receiving end of a powerslam by T-Bone and a flying headbutt by Primate who picked up the win.
— Teoman was at a dinner table. He called out Oliver Carter and told him he could send him to the hospital and his family wouldn’t be happy about it. He questioned if Ashton Smith would even visit him since he is his tag team partner and not family. He said the eye sees everything and he knows Carter’s weakness.
Meiko Satomura defeated Kay Lee Ray to win the NXT UK Women’s title (18:24)
Satomura started off with kicks and strikes, methodically picking KLR apart. The champ rolled to ringside but Satomura followed and continued the attack. KLR came back with a superkick and got a two count back in the ring. KLR was in control and hit a knee drop on Satomura, locked in a chin lock. Satomura tried a springboard move off the turnbuckles, but got punched out of mid-air.
KLR hit a death valley bomb and Satomura came back with a gory bomb, but both were too exhausted to go for a pin. KLR hit a superkick, but Satomura just laughed in her face. They traded hard forearms and Satomura hit a cartwheel kneedrop onto KLR’s head. KLR hit a tornado DDT for a near fall, followed by two superkicks as Satomura kept getting up. A third one leveled her as she was on her knees.
Seconds later, Satomura came back with a german suplex and another death valley bomb for another close near fall.
Satomura went for Scorpio Rising, but KLR hit another superkick, a gory bomb and a senton bomb from the top, but Satomura narrowly kicked out once more. KLR rolled to ringside and grabbed her title and went to clock Satomura with it. But, she moved out of the way and hit a death valley bomb on the outside.
Satomura rolled her back into the ring, but KLR immediately rolled out again, pulled Satomura down by the head and hit a gory bomb onto the apron, leading to another near fall back in the ring.
They ended up on the top and Satomura hit a sunset bomb, but KLR once more kicked out at two. Satomura locked in a sleeper, but KLR made the ropes. Satomura hit a Pelé kick, but KLR locked in a triangle-esque submission off a pinfall attempt. Satomura hit one more death valley bomb, followed by Scorpio Rising to win the match and the championship.
This was fantastic and one of the best matches in NXT UK history. Red and yellow streamers showered the ring as Satomura celebrated her victory.
Final Thoughts:
This was basically a one match show, but that one match was incredible.
It built slowly and like most great NJPW matches, it went from good to awesome at one point with tons of false finishes and dramatic spots. I hope that this means that Kay Lee Ray can graduate to NXT or one of the main brands as she certainly is good enough to hang with the top women in WWE. Satomura as champion should lead to a lot of interesting new matches and I still have a feeling that it will lead to a big Satomura vs. Emilia McKenzie match down the line.
The WALTER promo was somewhat lackluster as he basically said nothing of note and it didn’t tease or build up a new challenger. Jordan Devlin being on immediately after may be a minor clue, but while he won his match against Saxon Huxley, he only looked strong there in the end. Ilja Dragunov prevailing in a three-way feud with Joe Coffey and Rampage Brown to become the next challenger (or even champion) also works, but might be somewhat too parallel to Satomura’s story with KLR they just told where the beaten challenger eventually prevails.
But hey, give me another WALTER vs. Dragunov match any day of the week and I’ll be more than happy.
Next week:
Dani Luna & Flash Morgan Webster vs. Jinny & Joseph Conners
After holding the title for more than 600 days, Kay Lee Ray’s NXT UK Women’s Championship reign has come to an end.
In the main event of this week’s NXT UK, Meiko Satomura defeated KLR to win the NXT UK Women’s Championship. The final moments of the match saw Satomura hit a Death Valley Driver and then connect with her Scorpio Rising kick to win the title.
Streamers filled the ring as Satomura celebrated and posed with the NXT UK Women’s Championship belt before the show went off the air.
KLR had held the NXT UK Women’s Championship since winning the title from Toni Storm at NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff in August 2019.
Satomura is the fourth wrestler to hold the NXT UK Women’s Championship since the title was introduced in 2018. Rhea Ripley, Storm, and KLR are the former champions.
This was the second time that Satomura challenged KLR for the NXT UK Women’s Championship. Satomura lost their first match this March, but she again became the number one contender to the NXT UK Women’s Championship by winning a gauntlet match on NXT UK last month.
It was announced this January that the legendary Satomura had signed with WWE and would be joining NXT UK. Satomura also took part in WWE’s Mae Young Classic in 2018.
After going back and forth between Japan and the UK since arriving in NXT UK, Satomura told Tokyo Sports last month that she would be moving to the United Kingdom.
Paul “Triple H” Levesque spoke to the media Thursday afternoon prior to Sunday’s NXT TakeOver and gave some rarely aired frustrations regarding how people view pro wrestling these days.
The full audio is available for free down below.
While answering a question about frustrations regarding talents being misused when they get called up to the main roster, Levesque said the following:
“It’s so funny to me sometimes how in our business, everyone is so worried about where someone is going to go or land or how is this going to play out long-term in the future. How about watch it? Do you like it or do you not like it? Do you have to say ‘I like it, but I like this other thing more.” Just watch it or don’t.”
“And stop trying to figure out where everything goes. Fans ruin their own stuff half the time trying to figure out where everything goes and why it’s going there and how, and then trying to pick up their phone and search for the thing to find out what it is can ruin it for them so they aren’t surprised when it happens. I don’t understand that.”
He was also asked about whether they will send talent to the NWA all-women’s PPV headed up by Mickie James or do their own show again. Levesque said they have already done that and to him, equality is equality. If he did an all-men’s show, he would get criticised for that.
He then questioned James’ line about wanting the best regardless of contractual status without mentioning her by name. “From a businessperson’s standpoint, why do we have contractual status? It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
“If you want to wrestle the best women in the world, come to WWE,” Levesque said.
For the rest of the call, including an update on the SummerSlam weekend TakeOver and the Million Dollar Title, click below.
Last night’s NXT ended with Adam Cole standing tall heading into TakeOver: In Your House.
A face-off segment with NXT Champion Karrion Kross and his TakeOver challengers headlined last night’s go-home show. It broke down into a brawl that Kross at first got the better of, but Cole — who had only appeared via video for the segment up until this point — blindsided Kross with a superkick. Cole then laid out Kross with the Last Shot and posed with Kross’ NXT Championship to close the show.
Kross is defending his title against Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Pete Dunne, and Johnny Gargano in a fatal five-way match at TakeOver.
Ember Moon also got the better of NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez leading into their title match at Sunday’s TakeOver event. Gonzalez had attacked Moon and caused her match against Dakota Kai to end in a disqualification, but Moon was able to reverse out of Gonzalez’s one-armed powerbomb and lay her out with the Eclipse.
Two announcements regarding TakeOver: In Your House were made last night. Ted DiBiase revealed that the Million Dollar Championship is returning and will be on the line when Cameron Grimes and LA Knight face off in a ladder match on Sunday. A winner-take-all six-man tag match with NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed & NXT Tag Team Champions MSK defending against Legado del Fantasma was also added to the TakeOver card.
Plus, Xia Li tried to attack Mercedes Martinez ahead of their match on Sunday. Martinez was able to fight off the attack and then quickly defeat an unidentified opponent.
A tornado tag match is set to take place on next week’s episode of NXT.
Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher will face off with The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) in a tornado tag match on NXT next Tuesday. The match was announced after a challenge that was issued by The Grizzled Young Veterans on tonight’s NXT.
The Grizzled Young Veterans were in action on NXT tonight, facing August Grey & Ikemen Jiro. During the match, Ciampa and Thatcher came out to ringside and watched on from steel chairs. The Grizzled Young Veterans were momentarily distracted but still got the win.
After the match, The Grizzled Young Veterans reiterated that they’re done with Ciampa & Thatcher and are focused on MSK’s NXT Tag Team titles. Ciampa said The Grizzled Young Veterans won’t be getting a title shot unless they go through Ciampa & Thatcher first. Ciampa and Thatcher threw their chairs toward Gibson & Drake.
The Grizzled Young Veterans then challenged Ciampa & Thatcher to a tornado tag match for next week. Ciampa & Thatcher accepted the challenge and went to go after The Grizzled Young Veterans, but Gibson and Drake bailed out of the ring.
Ciampa & Thatcher defeated The Grizzled Young Veterans when they faced off on NXT last month. Two weeks later, interference by The Grizzled Young Veterans led to Ciampa & Thatcher losing a match against Legado del Fantasma’s Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde.
Next Tuesday’s NXT will be the post-TakeOver: In Your House edition of the show. TakeOver: In Your House is taking place this Sunday.
