Tag: NXT Takeover Brooklyn

Previewing NXT TakeOver New York: Gargano vs. Cole

Posted on by Mike DellaCamera

Hello again, friends. Allow me to be the first to welcome you and all your loved ones to WrestleMania week 2019. It was, as always, a long and torturous road to getting here, but Mama, we made it.

When the WWE lists ‘card subject to change’ on all their tickets, this TakeOver is an example of why. The disappointment of losing Tommaso Ciampa to a neck injury for god knows how long is very, very real. Capping off the biggest TakeOver over the year with the biggest match in NXT history would have been really special, but sometimes even the toughest necks need surgery, and I only hope we see that beautiful bald bastard in a WWE ring, of any form, sooner rather than later.

As always, this is an excellent card. I’m personally excited for Pete Dunne and WALTER to get introduced to a broader audience. NXT fans are the smartest fans in WWE, but there is still a large subset of them who might not be as familiar with those two. Lets face it: there is too much wrestling every week to watch everything. Even I, a professional wrestling writer, don’t have enough time to watch it all. But fret not because I always make time for NXT so I can crank out *checks word count* 2,700+ words before each TakeOver. It is a labor of love and one I take very seriously.

Since this is the unofficial season finale, I’m going to try out a new thing called ‘Where do we go from here’ in which I predict the future of the guys/girls involved in the matches. Since I was the genius who predicted Kenny Omega would stay in NJPW, these should be considered unimpeachable predictions and not just ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

For those keep track at home, the answer is yes, I do try to shoehorn the shrugging man into as many columns as possible.

So like we always do at this time, let us run through the card and try to figure out what’s going to happen this Friday in Brooklyn.

NXT Tag Team Champions The War Raiders vs. Ricochet/Aleister Black

Man. I am just having a real hard time caring about this match. I’ve said in multiple columns that the War Raiders don’t really do it for me, and they still don’t. Their match at the last TakeOver was really, really good, but I’m inclined to give more credit to The Undisputed Era guys than Rowe and Hanson. They just don’t connect with me. Maybe it’s because I don’t buy a lot of Hanson’s offense. Sure, it’s cool that a big dude can do a handspring and a (slow) cartwheel, but it would be a whole lot cooler if we didn’t see someone do them better. Jeff Cobb can do a standing shooting star press! I can’t do that on a trampoline! As I’m writing this, I realize that maybe it’s just Hanson that doesn’t do it for me, because I think Rowe could be a legit singles star if given the chance.

It’s always kind of hard to put words to digital paper when you feel this way about someone. I think of it like Radiohead. They are incredibly talented musicians and it’s clear how technically proficient they are, but they just don’t do it for me. I even like some of their songs and would probably see them in concert, but they aren’t a band I would wait in line to see. What I’m saying is Ray Rowe is Thom Yorke and Hanson is…the other dudes in Radiohead. I just really hope they don’t have a 20 minute entrance like they did last TakeOver.

Something else that’s not connecting with me (that’s what we in the biz call a transition) is the team of Ricochet and Your Pal Aleister Black. Never has a tag team felt more like ‘two dudes wrestling together’ than these guys. Individually, they are incredible performers. Together they are…incredible performers who don’t perform together. They don’t work as a cohesive unit. There is no teamwork, no tandem offense, nothing that makes tag team wrestling the best form of wrestling on the planet.

I understand the reason for this, and I understand that they might want to give these two a proper sendoff from NXT on the TakeOver stage. All of it makes sense, and I just can’t seem to make myself care about it. Giving them the titles makes less than zero sense. At this point, both of them are established main roster stars, and putting the belts on them would be a stroke of insanity.

WDWGFH (where do we go from here): This one is pretty obvious, really. Ricochet and Black are clearly main roster bound. Could the War Raiders join them? Sure, but the Magic 8-Ball that is my brain says ‘highly unlikely’. Someone has to anchor the tag division in NXT, and my personal bias aside, they will do a great job in that role. Besides, we all know they’re just keeping the belts warm until the Forgotten Sons get their title shot. Just kidding, those guys are the dirt worst. I’m convinced they are some kind of inside joke NXT has where they are convinced they can get absolutely anyone over.

NXT UK Champion Pete Dunne vs. WALTER

Woooooo brother, is this match going to slap. If it wasn’t for the next match in this column, this would be what I’m looking forward most the entire Mania week. Admittedly, I am not caught up on NXT UK, but I don’t think that matters and even if it does, I don’t care. Dunne, for all his considerable gifts and charisma, is not a physically imposing man. This really kind of hit home when he was in the Royal Rumble back in January; he’s just not that big of a dude!

You know what he is? An incredibly talented wrestler. Someone who just gets wrestling. It’s actually a bit scary how well he gets it considering he somehow is only 25 years old. He knows how to tell a story and how to structure a match. I can’t tell you one bad match I have seen him in and it might actually be impossible. His size isn’t a detriment for a couple reasons. The first, obviously, is that he’s just so damn good. The second is that pretty much everyone in NXT UK is Mike DellaCamera sized, which, for the record, is not large. You know who is large? WALTER. WALTER is large.

He feels like the final boss of Europe. On the rare occasions where he loses, it feels like a huge deal. Jordan Devlin beat him a little while ago in OTT and the reaction was as loud as I’ve ever heard at an indie show. Part of that was because it was Devlin’s hometown promotion, and part of it was because, well, WALTER lost. Part of me is actually surprised he is in WWE because of just the brutal style of matches he works, but I’m certainly not going to complain about it.

I don’t mean to keep waxing on about why and how WALTER is so incredible, but I’m absolutely going to continue doing just that. He’s big, he can move, and his chops sound like gunshots. His physical imposition is so striking and so unique that even people who haven’t seen wrestling before understand that they are seeing someone who is a big deal. I showed someone the clip of him chopping Zack Sabre Jr. recently and after they were done squirming, they asked “Is he alive?”

How many other people in wrestling elicit that kind of reaction? One? None? WALTER is a singuarly unique force in wrestling. This really seems like a good time to take the belt off of Pete. He’s had it for so long that it only makes sense to see what it’s like having him someone to chase after. He’s always felt more important than anyone one else on NXT UK…until now.

WDWGFH: Neither of these guys are going anywhere. These are the two dudes who are going to make NXT UK.

NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream vs. Matt Riddle

It is April 2019. The world has been around for a long time (and is also round) and never in its long and illustrious history has it ever produced something more perfect or more beautiful than this: a match for a secondary title between an MMA stoner Bro and, for lack of a better description, a Prince impersonator. This sounds like something that would be at one of the GCW shows running this weekend, not at one of the biggest WWE shows of the year.

To take it a step further, this is a match between someone who appears to not care about anything to someone who cares so much about everything.

Riddle dropped into pro wrestling as an almost fully formed character. It helps that he is essentially just himself on screen, but he is someone who is as close to a natural as there is. Even from his earliest matches, it was clear that his time on the independents was going to be short lived. Compare that to Dream’s path. He started out as Patrick Clark, a contestant on Tough Enough, a “competition” he didn’t even win. For him to achieve success meant he had to completely destroy Clark in order to become the Velveteen Dream. He has even disavowed him on television.

When he was asked about his past, he said, “The Dream has no recollection of this.” Patrick died so Dream could live. All of that has created this incredible juxtaposition of two characters, ene who has succeeded because of his own authentic self, and the other by creating a persona so unique and so powerful that it has become his true self.

The build to this match produced the greatest tweet in the history of the internet when Dream posted ‘UR Not A BRO UR A HO’. I need that tattooed on my back yesterday. The build to this match also produced the best moment in NXT history when Dream came out on a couch to watch Riddle’s match last week. Imagine not liking this. It would be like not liking bikes or pizza or something else that is just so clearly great. This will be, like all of Dream’s matches, an experience. Riddle has been incredibly protected in NXT, so would he really lose here?. Then again, would Dream really lose in his first TakeOver title defense? Something has to give and I think it’s everyone’s favorite Bro.

WDWGFH: This one is actually a bit tricky. If there really is a plan for Riddle to retire Brock (and please believe that is something very real and not just a social media gimmick), his time in NXT should be short. I don’t think now is the time for a call up, but it’s not that far off. Dream is an even weirder case in that he could get called up tomorrow, or stay in NXT forever. I truly think it would be a shame if he doesn’t get a title run at some point, and I think he’s down there for the foreseeable future.

NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler vs. Bianca Belair vs. Io Shirai vs. Kairi Sane

On one hand, it’s so great that there are four women wrestling on a TakeOver special. One the other hand, couldn’t there just have been, you know, two women’s matches on the card? I’m never going to complain about seeing 2/3 of the Black Lotus Triad wrestle Shayna Two Time and the EST of NXT, but it’s still fair to wonder.

There is just an incredible amount of female talent in this match. The greatness of Shirai and Sane is apparent, even to a novice fan. They just wrestle and move differently like it’s ingrained in their DNA. My thoughts on Bianca were exhaustively documented before the last TakeOver, but the TL;DR version of it is that I think she is incredible with a Charlotte Flair ceiling.

Everyone remembers the Four Horsewomen era of NXT as a transformative time for women’s wrestling, as they absolute should. I would argue that these four have just as much talent as the horsewomen did back in their day, not to mention better resumes at this point in their careers. With these four plus Candice LeRae, Deonna Purrazzo, Mia Yim, plus the rehabbing combo of Dakota Kai/Tegan Knox, the future of the NXT women’s division is the brightest one in the entire company.

This is the match that I’m having the hardest time wrapping my head around from an outcome perspective, because it can really go anywhere. It’s easy to write a story where Shayna keeps the belt and continues running through NXT. It’s just as easy to write when where she doesn’t get pinned, loses the title…and continues running through NXT. Selfishly, I never want her to drop the title. She is one of my favorite NXT talents of recent memory, but it’s time for her to do more. If there really is a large Ronda Rousey sized hole on the main roster, what better choice to fill it? Being on the older side means there are fewer opportunities to take advantage of Baszler’s substantial gifts. It makes sense to drop the title to either Io or Kairi, and I’m going to say Io because she hasn’t had the title and has the best nickname in wrestling.

WDWGFH: As much as it pains me to predict Shayna loses her title, it’s time for her to go. With the women’s division on the main roster in flux with the constant switching of brands, now is the perfect time to establish her as an immediate main event level threat. This allows Io/Kairi/Bianca to lead the next wave of women in NXT, and what a wave it is.

Vacant NXT Championship: Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano (2/3 falls match)

Apparently, they have been running a version of this match on the house show circuit and the results have been incredible. My super official sources (Twitter, the Internet) have provided nothing but glowing reviews which is kind of crazy because everyone on the Internet is miserable and hates everything.

I have no doubt that these two can live up to any and all expectations attached to this match. Both are proven, main event caliber wrestlers and talkers…but does that matter? Will anyone really care about a Gargano coronation if it comes against Cole? Will anyone really care about a Gargano coronation if it comes against anyone not named Tomasso Ciampa? This was supposed to be the last chapter of the best planned out story the WWE has told in years, and it’s so, so unfortunate that Ciampa’s neck isn’t allowing that, but this is as fine an alternative as we could rationally expect.

More than any other match on this card, this match is about the future. This maps out the next generation of NXT. Does Johnny get to stick around for another year waiting for Ciampa to come back or is this the time to send him off? They can’t really just re-run the underdog story scraping to the top again, can they? Is there really such a burning desire to see him finally win the NXT title? He has been in the main event scene for such a long time that the risk of burnout is absolutely real. There is actually a section of fans that doesn’t like the Gargano/Ciampa feud, and to that I say get over yourself. That mindset is the reason we don’t deserve nice things. People criticize the main roster endlessly for not telling coherent, cohesive stories. When NXT tells a story that has stretched on for years, is layered, well written, dynamic, and is as close to complete as can be, people want to complain about it. Complaining is fun, I get it. But come on, guys.

Adam Cole was born for this. He really has it all: the look, the music, the stable, the microphone skills, the wrestling ability, all of it. There is nothing he can’t do well in the world of pro wrestling. He has held major titles in every just about company he’s ever worked for, so why should NXT be different? He is a proven main event level heel that is more than ready to carry the post Gargano/Ciampa/Black/Ricochet version of NXT. Gargano has had more than enough time in NXT, and if his time there doesn’t end with a title reign, I don’t think it’s a bad thing.

It makes all the sense in the world to put the belt on Cole for a while and let someone like Dream come get it. So yeah, let’s go with that! Oh, and if you don’t do the ‘Boom’ point during Cole’s music, you are an actual coward.

WDWGFH: The era of Johnny Gargano in NXT ends (please don’t put him on 205 Live), and the reign of the Undisputed Era officially begins.

Aleister Black officially off NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, main event set

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Aleister Black officially won’t be wrestling at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV later this month.

WWE released a video this afternoon where William Regal confirmed that Black is off the show. Regal announced that NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa will now defend his title against Johnny Gargano in a last man standing match at TakeOver.

Black suffered a legitimate injury that required surgery after being crotched by Ciampa at an NXT house show in Las Vegas on July 28. Ciampa defending against Black and Gargano in a triple threat match was originally supposed to be the main event of TakeOver: Brooklyn. It was announced on last night’s episode of NXT, but WWE then wrote Black out of the match by shooting an angle where he was attacked in the parking lot at Full Sail University.

WWE hasn’t revealed who attacked Black in storyline. They put out a video with more footage from the angle today, teasing more wrestlers being in the area when the attack happened.

Ciampa defeated Gargano in a street fight at TakeOver: Chicago in June and won the NXT Championship from Black on a TV episode in July. At TakeOver: New Orleans in April, Gargano defeated Ciampa in an unsanctioned match.

TakeOver: Brooklyn will be held at the Barclays Center on August 18. Here’s the updated card:

  • NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa defending against Johnny Gargano in a last man standing match
  • NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler defending against Kairi Sane
  • NXT North American Champion Adam Cole defending against Ricochet
  • NXT Tag Team Champions Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong defending against Tyler Bate & Trent Seven
  • Velveteen Dream vs. EC3

Adam Cole debuts at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Image: WWE.com

Adam Cole made his NXT debut Saturday at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, attacking Drew McIntyre and aligning himself with Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly.

McIntyre had just won the NXT title by defeating Bobby Roode. The show was set to close when Fish and O’Reilly, who made their NXT debut as a team earlier on the show attacking SAniTy, appeared on the apron. This let Cole, who came in through the crowd, attack him from behind.

All three put the boots to McIntyre, signaling an alliance. Cole grabbed McIntyre’s title and held it high, indicating that he was coming for the title.

It had pretty much been known that Cole was making his way here following his departure from Ring of Honor in May. Cole had been with the promotion since 2009, where he initally teamed with O’Reilly as Future Shock. He ascended to the top of the roster, winning the ROH world title on three different occasions, a company record.

We’ll have more on this tonight on Wrestling Observer Radio.

NXT TakeOver Brooklyn III live results: Bobby Roode vs. Drew McIntyre

Posted on by Arya Witner

Preview by Joseph Currier

SummerSlam weekend officially kicks off at the Barclays Center tonight as NXT returns to Brooklyn for its annual summer TakeOver special. As always, all of NXT’s titles will be on the line, along with two more matches to complete the card.

In the NXT Championship match, Bobby Roode will defend against Drew McIntyre. It’s the biggest spot for McIntyre since he returned to WWE earlier this year. Asuka will also put her now-500+ day long NXT Women’s Championship reign on the line as she again faces off with Ember Moon.

To round out the card, SAnitY will challenge The Authors of Pain for their tag titles. Aleister Black will take on Hideo Itami, and Johnny Gargano gets his first singles match on a TakeOver special as he squares off with Andrade “Cien” Almas.

NXT alumni will be part of the pre-show, with WWE branding this TakeOver as a homecoming for the brand. Our live coverage of the main card starts at 8 p.m. ET

**********

The show began with Code Orange playing the NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn theme with NXT clips interspersed throughout.

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Andrade “Cien” Almas pinned Johnny Gargano

The finish saw Zelina Vega distract Gargano with a Tommaso Ciampa t-shirt, which allowed Almas to hit the Hammerlock DDT for the win.

These two work pretty well together and it made for an excellent opener. Almas got the heat by locking Gargano in his armbar in the ropes and worked the shoulder. Gargano came back with a series of clotheslines and his Spear from between the ropes. Almas did his spot where he lounges in the ropes, but Gargano hit a superkick, dropping Almas to the outside. Almas caught him on a second Spear and hit a Tornado Scorpion Death Drop, but Gargano kicked out of that.

Gargano blocked a superplex, but Almas flipped over on a sunset flip power bomb and hiptossed Gargano into the corner. After a series of reversals Gargano got on the Gargano Escape, but Almas rolled through and hit a deadlift power bomb into the turnbuckles. Almas took off from the opposite corner and hit his running double knees for the nearest of near falls.

Gargano hit two superkicks, a Lawn Dart into the corner and went for a running kick to finish things when the finish happened.

**********

Kurt Angle, Daniel Bryan, No Way Jose, Roderick Strong and The Iconic Duo were all hanging out in a skybox. Peyton Royce and Billie Kay were all over Bryan, who was laughing at the situation.

**********

Corey Graves joined the announce table for the next match.

**********

Alexander Wolfe & Eric Young of SAnitY defeated The Authors of Pain for the NXT Tag Team Championship

SAnitY ended the AOP’s undefeated streak and won the Tag Team Titles with a double team neckbreaker on Rezar.

This was another excellent match, but in a completely different way than the opener. Akam and Rezar stormed the ring for a 4-way brawl with Wolfe and Killian Dain before the match even began. They brawled to the outside and Eric Young pulled out a table, but it didn’t come into play until later as the brawl broke down into a tag team match.

SAnitY teased that it would be Wolfe and Killian Dain, as they were the two brawling with AOP early. However, Eric Young jumped onto the apron and since Killian Dain was never officially in the match, he tagged in to replace Dain as the official member in the match. AOP used an impressive move where Akam backdropped Young onto Rezar’s shoulder, who dropped EY with a Dominator.

Even though there were no official babyfaces, Young fought from underneath, which the crowd was into, but they didn’t seem to care as much for Wolfe’s hot tag. All four men looked good regardless. AOP has improved exponentially since debuting and Wolfe has never had much of a chance to show what he can do, but he was really good as well.

Young got tagged back in, which the crowd popped for. Akam went for an assisted power bomb/superplex to Young, but Nikki Cross held EY’s legs, so Rezar took a power bomb. That would have been the finish, but Akam just broke up the pinfall at the last second. Paul Ellering and Nikki Cross confronted each other, but Cross dove over the top rope onto Akam. However Akam caught her and was about to slam her down, but Killian Dain speared both of them through the table from earlier. Rezar was left with Wolfe and Young and that was it.

After the match Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly ran in through the crowd and assaulted everyone. They weren’t called reDRagon, but Mauro referenced their successes in ROH and New Japan. After laying out the other 4 men, they dropped Young with Chasing The Dragon (called by name). Fish and O’Reilly dropped the tag team titles on Young and left through the crowd.

**********

Neville was moodily sitting in the crowd by himself. Shinsuke Nakamura and Kalisto were sitting elsewhere.

**********

Jim Ross came out as the surprise guest commentator for the next match. Good to see he hasn’t retired since Cesaro & Sheamus had that confrontation with Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins at the WWE 2K event yesterday.

PLUS Code Orange came back to play Aleister Black to the ring for the next match.

**********

Aleister Black pinned Hideo Itami

The finish saw Black block the Go To Sleep and hit the Black Mass while Itami screamed for everyone to show him respect. A good match, but not quite as good as the first two bouts.

You know what you were in for when the match began with both men kicking each other in the face multiple times. Itami hit the first big move of the match as he dropped Black on the top rope and used a jumping knee to the head. He may have caught him in the nose, since Black sprung a leak and is wearing the crimson mustache.

Itami face washed a down Black and mocked him by sitting cross legged on the mat. Black started his comeback and hit the Quebrada, but actually kicked Itami on the top of the head. Itami took him back down with a diving clothesline and a Fisherman Suplex. Itami hit a Falcon Arrow from the middle rope, but Black kicked out and stared down Itami.

Near the finish we get a flurry of strikes from both men. Kicks, punches, chops, slaps, knees, everything you can do to hit another man was thrown in one 60 second burst.

**********

Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Bayley were shown at ringside before the next match.

**********

Asuka submitted Ember Moon to retain the NXT Women’s Championship

Asuka will live to see Day 506 as NXT Women’s Champion as she submitted Ember Moon to the Asuka Lock. (Mauro kept calling it 504 days, but today is Day 505)

This match got off to a quick start with Ember attacking at the bell. Asuka rolled to the outside, but Ember used a flip dive off the middle rope onto Asuka. The champ took over by sending Ember first into the ring steps and then suplexed her onto the ramp. Back in the ring Asuka focused her offense on Ember’s shoulder that was injured several months ago, locking in a Fujiwara Armbar. Ember got out of it and hit a step-up enziguri for a 2 count.

Asuka went for the Asuka Lock, but Ember reversed it into one of her own, but Asuka reversed that and locked it on good, but Ember was able to flip over and almost pin her there. Ember kicked out of a Running Hip Attack and blocked a second before hitting a tornado suplex. Asuka booted Ember right in the face, but Ember slammed her to the mat. Ember trapped her in the tree of woe and hit the double foot stomp.

Ember finally hit The Eclipse…but Asuka kicked out. The crowd exploded for both the move and the kick out. Ember looked on the verge of tears. She went for a second one, but Asuka cheated by holding the ref in front of her. Then Asuka rolled through on a flying crossbody and had a handful of trunks, but the referee caught her. Ember got another super close near fall with a superkick, but she got caught on the kickout.

**********

Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe were both sitting ringside.

**********

Triple H will be on Facebook Live with Cathy Kelly after the show ends.

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Drew McIntyre pinned Bobby Roode to win the NXT Championship

The NYPD Pipe and Drum Band did a brief performance accompanying McIntyre on his entrance. In Bobby Roode’s continuing quest to have the longest entrance in pro wrestling his walk to the ring tonight clocked in at an even four minutes.

McIntyre won the title with his second Klaymore kick. Roode had the match won with his second Glorious DDT, but insisted on going for a third and that was his downfall. That was then followed by the debut of Adam Cole, teaming with Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly to lay out the new champion. An excellent main event, followed by a great post-match angle to cap off a great show.

The two men were evenly matched early, but Roode almost hit the Glorious DDT two minutes into the match and mockingly told Drew how close he was. McIntyre came back and used his suplex throw. Outside the ring Roode went for a dive off the apron, but he got caught and eventually Drew gave him a tilt a whirl slam on the ring apron (which is the hardest part of the ring).

Roode finally took over with a neckbreaker on the middle rope as McIntyre tried to get back in the ring. Roode used a Buff Blockbuster on the mats outside the ring and a neckbreaker inside the ring. At some point Roode got a pretty noticeable bruise outside his left leg.

Roode went for a running crossbody, but he got caught and Drew dropped him with a Celtic Cross for a 2 count. Drew went for a top rope superplex, but Roode tripped him and due to his height, Drew’s head smacked off the mat with a thud. While Roode played to the crowd, Drew sat up and heaved him across the ring.

McIntyre set up for the Klaymore, but Roode feigned being unconscious. McIntyre picked him up and almost hit Future Shock, but Roode hit a Back Stabber. Drew finally hit the Future Shock, which was his old finisher, but Roode got out at 2. Roode then hit a Running Liger Bomb for a 2 count. McIntyre hit the Klaymore, but Roode got his foot on the ropes on the pinfall attempt.

Roode rolled outside and Drew tried to go after him, but the referee manhandled him to prevent him from doing so. Drew then ignored him and did a running tope over the top and partly to Roode (but mostly to the mats). Roode avoided a second Klaymore and hit a Spinebuster and a Glorious DDT, but somehow, someway, McIntyre kicked out.

The title lineage now reads Seth Rollins, Big E, Bo Dallas, Neville, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Roode and Drew McIntyre. The King is dead, long live the new King!

After the credits rolled, Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly appeared on the ring apron to play distraction as Adam Cole ran in through the crowd and attacked the new champion! The three former ROH stars put the boots to Drew McIntyre and ended the show standing tall.

Good luck to SummerSlam on following this one.

NXT Takeover Brooklyn III full card preview: Bobby Roode vs. Drew McIntyre

Posted on by Mike DellaCamera

NXT returns to Brooklyn for what Triple H said is their version of Wrestlemania. No pressure, guys.

WWE’s third brand prepares for its biggest show of the year with maybe the deepest, most talented roster they’ve ever had – one that is only getting deeper, Bay-Bay. The fact that established stars like Roderick Strong, Kassius Ohno, and Nikki Cross can’t even sniff getting on this card is a testament to just how stacked NXT is top to bottom.

There is an argument to be made, that in terms of pure star power, this is the best Brooklyn TakeOver card ever and one of the best TakeOver lineups, period. Top to bottom, there one dud on the card, and every title could conceivably change hands.

With so much uncertainty, and new talent possibly showing up, let’s run down the card match by match and see how many Adam Cole references I can make (one so far).

Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas

What I would love is for Cien Almas to go somewhere in any type of capacity. Pairing him with Zelina Vega (FKA Thea Trinidad) is a good start towards developing his character, but he’s been in NXT since early 2016. Did it really take 18 months for them to say ‘Hey, maybe give him a valet?” To this point, he’s kind of just been the handsome dude with great hair that loses almost every match.

In his four appearances on TakeOver shows, he has lost to Aleister Black, Roddy Strong, and Bobby Roode and he’s only beaten Tye Dillinger, back when Dillinger was the handsome dude that lost every match.

It’s great to see Johnny Gargano back in NXT, where he is probably their best pure babyface since Sami Zayn. His story is pretty easy to tell; he gets betrayed by his partner and best friend, starts a singles run, and when he finally gets to the top, his partner comes back to ruin it. The Gargano/Ciampa feud that’s going to happen in like a year is going to be like 178 fire emojis, just the absolute best.

If that’s the direction they go with Johnny ‘Sports Entertainment’ (shout out to everyone on Twitter I borrowed that from), then just have him lose here as people are still going to love him no matter what. They have a chance to make two guys in one match, especially if Almas doesn’t go over clean. I’m very into these two feuding for a couple months. But since the story is too easy, Gargano probably taps Almas in like eight minutes and I keep eating and enjoying my Triscuits and hummus.

Aleister Black vs. Hideo Itami

Hey, hi, hello NXT fans — are you ready for the best match on the show?

Just let these two cave each others’ chests in with kicks and send everyone home happy. Itami has had the worst luck I can ever remember for someone with all his talent. Each potential push has had to be stopped because of serious fluke injuries. It’s just a shame that Aleister Black is going to kick his head off.

I can’t believe how well Black’s character has gotten over considering he just knocks people’s heads off with a kick and then sits down criss-cross applesauce style. It’s a combination of his incredible look and style that makes everything he does feel like a big deal. Typically when someone gets the type of booking he has, one where he beats everyone, doesn’t talk, etc. It’s usually someone like Braun Strowman before he started talking and having the best lines ever, not someone ‘regular sized’ like Black is. It’s very cool to see. His entrance is very cool to see too, and might be even cooler if they do some kind of live performance to go with it.

These two seem to match up so well on paper and both excel in all out sprint type matches. If we get 10-13 minutes, it could steal the show on the level Pete Dunne/Tyler Bate from the last TakeOver.

NXT Tag Team Champions Authors of Pain vs. SAnitY

Who are the fans supposed to be rooting for in this match? Both are essentially heel teams but still get cheered either because of how good the matches are and/or how captivating their personas might be. Apparently in house show matches, SAnitY are coming off as the faces, so let’s go with that — the group that literally is about causing chaos and interferes in tons of matches as the good guys.

I think the Authors of Pain have had great matches with everyone on every stage and are more than ready to get called up to the main roster. That’s why I don’t mind putting the belts on SAnitY and letting AOP go up to Raw, which has exactly one heel tag team (Cesaro and Sheamus) worth any salt, so they certainly could use an infusion of talent.

SAnity is really in a good spot to carry NXT’s tag team division right now. Outside of them and AOP, they’re really isn’t a whole lot going on which means this is a perfect opportunity for them to have a long run as a dominant heel(-ish?) team. They would be a perfect feud for Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly should WWE decide to reform their old tag team reDragon. They would even be a better match with the stable of ex-Ring of Honor talents that is rumored to soon exist once the likes of Adam Cole and others debut.

NXT Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Ember Moon

Each time I write one of these previews, it’s usually something like ‘Asuka is the best’. So, Asuka is the best. There is a strong argument to be made that she is the best NXT signing, possibly ever. Completely dominant and tone-perfect in whatever role she plays, Asuka truly is the best performer on NXT, and maybe in the whole company period. She has the winning streak, she’s beaten everyone, and there is nothing left for her to do. There are arguments that the NXT women’s division needs her to anchor a thin division. But with Ember Moon, Nikki Cross, Ruby Riot, Peyton Royce, Billie Kay and the potential signings from the Mae Young Classic, the division will be just fine if she moves on.

So, what’s up with this match? Do we care? Kind of? I guess? I’m pretty into Moon not being a supernatural wolf/warrior/thing/whatever and just being a wrestler. Her in-ring talent is never in doubt, but the character and mic work is what is holding her back. She’s shown signs of improvement over the last few episodes of NXT when given time, but her work pales to even lower card acts like Royce/Kaye.

There has never been someone like Asuka in NXT. Usually, you can see the ‘next champion’ or the logical progression of someone up the card. But with someone like Asuka, who is the overpowered, fully leveled up superboss of an entire division, is it ever going to feel like someone can beat them? Nope. It will never feel that way, but she can’t stay in NXT forever…just like Monday Nights can’t have the same four women wrestling each other every week, right?

If they do decide to keep the belt on Asuka, they should absolutely let her go to Raw with it and use the Mae Young Classic to determine who gets to face Ember/Ruby Riot/Nikki Cross for the belt at the next TakeOver.

NXT Champion Bobby Roode vs. Drew McIntyre

As is often the case with Roode’s matches during his title reign, or his entire NXT tenure honestly, this is the match I’m least looking forward to. I think that all of his matches are fine, but they have a finite ceiling, kind of like a low-rent version of Randy Orton who wrestles exactly like peak-era HHH.

You know just about what you’re going to get out of a Roode match and it’s usually good, but I get excited for matches that could be great. That said, I wonder if someone like McIntyre is just the person to get that match out of him. Their styles seem to mesh well from every aspect, so hopefully they can put on something memorable. I would tend to think so considering this is McIntyre’s return to the company from a ‘Live Special’ capacity.

What I love the most about McIntyre, and what shows how comfortable he has gotten as a performer, is that he is doing a version of his gimmick from his time in EVOLVE, but doing it completely as a face. In EVOLVE, he was trying to ‘save’ it, to rebuild it in his image and now he is trying to take back ‘our NXT’ from Roode.

His promos have been great and his ring work is beyond impressive; he really is the guy to be the face of NXT, something that hasn’t existed since Finn Balor. Sure other guys have had the title, but it was Balor that was associated with the brand most heavily. It was Finn you thought about when you thought about NXT. Drew has the chance to be that guy.

The great thing about McIntyre’s current character is that it can flip between face and heel immediately depending on who the next challenger is. He just flips from our NXT to MY NXT and it’s an instant tone shift. If you couldn’t tell, I absolutely love what they are doing with him since his return.

Should he take the belt here? Probably not. My favorite thing about NXT is that no matter when you predict or project a result, you also have to think about where the characters go moving forward. Roode doesn’t need to be on the main roster, and losing the belt here would hurt him tremendously. Let him retain, but not cleanly and then let Drew win the belt and have him be the face that moves NXT into 2018.

Aleister Black vs. Hideo Itami added to NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn card

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Another match is official for NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.

It was announced today that Aleister Black would be facing Hideo Itami at the special. The match was set up on last night’s episode of NXT TV after Itami demanded respect and tried to take over the ring before Black’s match with Kyle O’Reilly, with Black then laying out Itami with Black Mass when he tried to attack him from behind.

WWE then uploaded video of a post-show angle where Black and Itami brawled in the parking lot after Itami tried to ambush him. Itami had been feuding with Kassius Ohno before the program with Black began.

Bobby Roode defending his NXT Championship against Drew McIntyre, Ember Moon challenging Asuka for the NXT Women’s Championship, and The Authors of Pain putting their tag titles on the line against SAnitY (Killian Dain & Alexander Wolfe) are also official for TakeOver: Brooklyn at the Barclays Center on August 19th.

Though it hasn’t been revealed on TV yet, Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas is set for TakeOver as well.

Brock, Nakamura, Conor: What match are we looking forward to most this weekend?

Posted on by Josh Nason

With so many big matches and fights happening this weekend between ROH, Evolve, WWE, NXT, and UFC, I asked some of our writers, podcast hosts, editors, and contributors a simple question: what match or fight are you looking forward to the most this weekend?

Here are their responses.

Joseph Currier, Online Editor — 

With two huge EVOLVE shows, a Ring of Honor pay-per-view, NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, the 2016 Super J-Cup finals, and SummerSlam, this weekend probably even surpasses WrestleMania week as my most anticipated few days of wrestling of the year. And that’s not even considering that it includes what is probably the UFC’s biggest fight of 2016.

But even with so many options, TakeOver’s main event with NXT Champion Samoa Joe defending against Shinsuke Nakamura stands out as the clear choice for what I’m looking forward to most. The hard-hitting styles of both men should mesh well and it has the potential to be a truly classic match.

Nakamura has seamlessly blended into NXT since debuting against Sami Zayn in Dallas over WrestleMania weekend. And the role has been the perfect fit for his style. He can get by on charisma and showmanship on television and house shows while saving his body for the few big matches a year he competes in. Though it’s often been frustrating, he’s always been someone that saves himself for the right moment.

That’s why I was excited when he noted that this is his first WWE PPV main event in an interview segment on Wednesday’s go-home episode of NXT TV. Even with the Zayn match being one of my favorites of the year, I’ll be disappointed if Saturday isn’t Nakamura’s most inspired performance since joining NXT.

And despite obviously being excited to see what Nakamura can do, I’m looking forward to seeing how Joe fares even more. Joe’s ROH world title run last decade firmly established him as my favorite wrestler in the world then, but I lost touch with much of his career as he spent such a big part of it in TNA. I didn’t know what to expect when Joe came to NXT, and though I’ve been encouraged by what I’ve seen of him as a character, he has yet to put on a classic match that really cements him as one of the best workers in the world again.

Some of his performances have been close. I thought he shined in a couple of the Balor matches despite the end product not being as good as I hoped. But, I think Saturday is the night where everything clicks and Joe reminds the wrestling world that he’s a hall of fame caliber worker.

Dan “PeachMachine” Velten, Online Editor —

AJ Styles vs. John Cena are my two favorites right now (other than the Ascension), and to me, this is a battle between the two biggest stars from the post Monday night wars era from the surviving companies. I love Cena because he’s the New York Yankees of wrestling. He represents “the man”. He’s always had the WWE machine behind him, along with big money and big pushes. On the flipside, AJ is like the Tampa Bay Rays: an expansion team (TNA) that doesn’t have the big money supporting them, but they signed Evan Longoria and all he does is hit, and come up big in the field.

So to me, it’s Evan “AJ” Longoria hitting against Mariano “Cena” Rivera at SummerSlam, and that’s an awesome matchup.

Jeremy Peeples, Lucha Underground recapper — 

I’m most excited to see Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins at SummerSlam. The personality profile hype videos they’ve done have been very good. While they haven’t done as good a job as possible introducing Balor to fans, they have at least made him seem like a main eventer right away. He’s positioned as a threat and they should pull the trigger on him. Seth is already made as a top guy, and Balor should be the guy they push for the second new era of the past second months on Raw. It’s a fresh match and one that feels like it could be a building block for the future.

Bryan Rose, NJPW & CWC recapper —

While there is a ton of great wrestling action this upcoming weekend, I got to say that the Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz rematch at UFC 202 really intrigues me. You would think that with a full camp and with size on his side, Diaz has no way of losing. But McGregor still has that aura about him of being different than others, even if a lot of it was diminished when he lost the first time. Plus, given that this has been the year of the underdog with so many surprise title switches and upsets, maybe Conor can actually pull it off. I’d love to see if he can!

James Cox, WWE Superstars recapper —

I’m most excited for Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. For me, Brock is what a big WWE event is all about as his presence and charisma are unrivaled in WWE. When he re-signed in 2012, there was a short list of who you knew could go with him. Here in 2016, that list is probably just as short but Orton is still right up at the top. Orton is such a smooth performer, and on his best day, he is easily one of the best in the US. Both have exquisite timing and so I really hope this delivers. My only fear is that Lesnar is losing.

Paul Fontaine, UFC writer —

One fight that isn’t getting a lot of talk but one I’m really excited for is the FS 1 featured prelim match for UFC 202: Cody Garbrandt vs Takeya Mizugaki. Garbrandt is expected to win and he’s managed to finish every one of his pro opponents so far. Mizugaki is a tough guy to put away and if Garbrandt does it, he’ll be in position to be the next challenger for Dominick Cruz’ bantamweight title. I really think Garbrandt has that “it” factor and could potentially be a breakout UFC star and this will be a huge stage for him.

Ryan Frederick, UFC writer —

This is a great weekend of all kinds of action, but being a big MMA guy, I’m definitely looking most forward to the rematch between Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor. It is an intriguing fight, maybe more intriguing than the first time they stepped inside the Octagon together in March. It is interesting to see what kinds of adjustments McGregor will have made. For all of the talk of how big he is, from watching the UFC Embedded series, I don’t get the sense that McGregor is much bigger, and that is probably for the best.

He is a fighter obsessed with perfection, and Diaz showed him he wasn’t perfect, so I expect a better McGregor in this fight. As for Diaz, he got what he wanted, and that was the money, and I’m not sure anything else motivates him these days. He clearly isn’t as obsessed with the rematch as McGregor is, and he’s getting paid more than he ever has. Where he goes from here remains to be seen, but I just don’t think he cares about the outcome as much as McGregor. There is much more less for him to lose. It is going to be an interesting night in Las Vegas. I will also add I’m very excited for the match between Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura.

Will Cooling, Columnist —

There are so many great matches this weekend that it’s almost hard to keep track. While I’m fascinated to see if Conor McGregor can correct the fatal flaws in his standup that Nate Diaz exploited and I always enjoy watching Brock Lesnar throwing somebody around, to me the big fight of the weekend is Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. That this is Nakamura’s first main event since he left New Japan is reason enough to be excited.

He’s always been a big match performer and so we should see him pull out all the stops on Saturday night. But more than that, he has the perfect opponent. To me, Joe vs. Nakamura is a genuine dream match, bringing together two strong style wrestlers who are equally adept at technical striking, intricate grappling exchanges and all-out brawling. This should be something special….and very, very stiff.

Kyle S. Johnson, Columnist —

One of the matches I am looking forward to the most is flying comfortably under the radar thanks to the stacked main event of each show, but it is every bit as likely to deliver a classic that people will be talking about on Monday. I fully expect that The Revival and Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano will go out on Saturday night with the goal of upstaging each and every blockbuster bout of the weekend; given the talent involved, it is not outside of the realm of possibility that they would.

Ciampa and Gargano have already had a pretty exceptional few weeks with their incredible match in the first round of the CWC, and with the birth of the #GloriousBomb, while Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder continue to prove themselves to be modern masters of tag team wrestling. Reports out of the house show circuit have indicated that these four men are having blow-away matches every time they lock up, and with the stakes being raised at the Barclays on Saturday, I fully expect a high-drama tag team championship match that could wind up on some match of the year shortlists.

Zach Dominello, Columnist —

Notwithstanding the fact that I 100% won’t have the time to watch any of the ridiculous amount of awesome wrestling coming up this weekend, let alone the time to finish this sentence (thanks newborn baby!), if I could watch one match, it would probably be the Samoan Joe Machine vs. The King of The Style Which Is Strong, aka Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. One of Nakamura’s reasons for coming to the US was because he’d pretty much done all there was to do and wrestled everyone worth wrestling in New Japan, so I’m excited as a Nakamura fan to see him in a big match with a big name star like Samoa Joe. It’s new, it’s different, and it’s exactly why Nakamura left Japan. Also, Dalton Castle vs. Kazuchika Okada Friday should be all kinds of great.

Chris Aiken, ROH recapper —

Seemingly overshadowed by a packed weekend of events is the Super J-Cup. Though this year’s tournament might not become as legendary as the inaugural event that debuted in 1994, this year still has a loaded card on paper with a lot of tremendous talent. The sleeper match on the card, and possibly the sleeper match of the weekend, is probably Will Ospreay vs. Matt Sydal. The two are excellent high flyers and Sydal is now better than ever with psychology. If given enough time, it has the makings of being a helluva match and a true work of art. The weekend has many great events, but wrestlers on the card in Tokyo are sure to remind everyone that the Super J-Cup cannot be overlooked.

Mike DellaCamera, Columnist —

In an absolutely stacked NXT card, the match I’m most looking forward to this weekend is The Revival vs Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. The Revival have been having absolutely great matches, and one could argue they work their characters as good as anyone in the company. “Johnny Wrestling” and “The Psycho Killer” stole the show during their one-on-one match in the Cruiserweight Classic, and with this being the first TakeOver for each of them, look for the two long time indie standouts to try to be the newcomers who come out and steal the show.

Gary Mehaffy, Interviewer —

Man, this is a tough one. There are a lot of good matches set for this weekend, and it’s a toss of a coin for me between Joe vs. Nakamura and Orton vs. Lesnar, both for different reasons. Will Joe lose and be brought up to the main roster? Will they have him win but lose it at the tapings next week? Will Vince wake up and decide that Brock needs to be taught a lesson? Will he stick with the program and keep Brock strong? I’m going with Orton vs. Lesnar. No, wait, change that: Joe vs. Nakamura.

Josh Nason, Sandwich Artist —

For me, this weekend is all about what’s next. Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, Nakamura, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, and Seth Rollins all have potentially interesting paths ahead depending on what happens in the next 48 hours with who wins and loses telling us a lot about WWE’s direction over the rest of the year. If Balor wins, will WWE really get behind him? How long is Nakamura staying in NXT anyway? Could a win actually revive Orton to the point we care about seeing him in top programs?

But there’s one match in which a company can’t dictate the outcome and that’s Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz II at UFC 202 Saturday night. When this fight was first made, I wasn’t that jazzed because of how the first fight went down. The past few months haven’t done much to fuel my interest, but there’s so much on the line for McGregor with a loss that I can’t help but be intrigued. The business could change a lot again Saturday night — either for the better or the worse.

As I said on my show this week, we need to be snapped out of our post-UFC 200 malaise and perhaps UFC 202 is the show to do it.

WWE NXT results: Samoa Joe fumes at Shinsuke Nakamura

Posted on by Arya Witner

The Big News: Samoa Joe continued to talk sense, telling Shinsuke Nakamura that he will beat respect into him at TakeOver.

The Medium News: Literally the second biggest piece of news on the show was still pictures of Bobby Roode’s early days in TNA (with no mention of TNA or the logo itself).

The Little Beaver Sized News: Nobody on this show was suspended 30 days for violating the WWE wellness policy.

*******

Hideo Itami defeated Mustafa Ali

The final show before TakeOver kicks off with the King of Kick, Hideo Itami, going one-on-one with Cruiserweight Classic competitor Mustafa Ali. Itami is just going through CWC participants, as his return match was against Sean Maluta.

The story of Itami’s matches since his return has been just to reintroduce him to the WWE Universe since he’s been gone for so long. Itami did a baseball slide, and when Ali landed outside the ring, he slammed his hand on the mat. Itami made his comeback after Ali slapped him. And Itami won with the running knee strike.

*******

Up next was a Bobby Roode video package. Ironically, they showed several TNA still pictures, specifically of him in Team Canada. It’s funny to see Scott D’Amore flying the Canadian flag on a hockey stick on WWE programming.

*******

We got an “exclusive preview” of Asuka vs. Bayley. This was a very good video package, showing the downswing of Bayley post-Dallas and how cocky Asuka has become in the same time.

*******

We got a music video to build up Bobby Roode vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas, The Revival vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa, and Austin Aries vs No Way Jose. It seemed they were more content to build up how special New York City is.

This episode is shaping up to be almost as useless as the one the week after Dallas where they showed highlights of all the TakeOver matches, then the dark match from Dallas.

*******

William Regal was talking to the camera about how great NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II will be when Billie Kay walked in and demanded a match. Mr. Regal put her in a match with Ember Moon at TakeOver. She seemed to approve of this.

*******

Carmella, Liv Morgan, & Nikki Glencross defeated Alexa Bliss, Mandy Rose, & Daria Berenato

Carmella submitted Mandy Rose with the legscissors in what wasn’t a very good match. Nikki Glencross is the former Nikki Storm, while Rose and Daria Berenato were on Tough Enough. I feel the need to point out Sara Lee, the winner, is not on NXT television yet.

Berenato came to the ring dressed like an MMA fighter, complete with gloves, but as soon as she tagged in she pulled them off and threw them outside the ring. They actually went to commercial with Berenato and Glencross threatening to lock up, then came back with Morgan holding Berenato in a chinlock.

Corey Graves did the over-the-top screaming about Rose that he usually reserves for Eva Marie.

Berenato and Morgan sat in a chinlock for a very long time. Watching Carmella and the heel team really made me appreciate the skills of Morgan, who did a more than adequate job of being a punching bag.

*******

Regal was in a room and told Samoa Joe he did not want the main event interview segment to break down into a brawl.

*******

This Saturday at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II:

  • NXT Champion Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura in a championship match
  • NXT Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Bayley in a championship match
  • NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa in a championship match
  • Bobby Roode vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas
  • Austin Aries vs. No Way Jose
  • Ember Moon vs. Billie Kay

*******

Another video package aired, this one for the debuting Ember Moon. The prophecy says she’s debuting Saturday night.

*******

We ended the show with an “exclusive” interview where Byron Saxton sat down with Joe and Nakamura.

Joe brought up Regal’s disrespect of him as champion. Joe was even the first person other than me to mention that when Bayley asked for a title shot, Regal went and asked Asuka if it was okay, even though he threatened to strip Joe of his belt.

Joe did most of the talking with Nakamura almost mocking everything Joe said. Finally, Joe flipped out and said he is going to beat respect into Nakamura as security pulled Joe away.

That does it for the show. It took them 45 minutes to do something that got me excited for Saturday, but they pulled it off in the last three minutes. So until Saturday, thank you for reading and remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers.

NXT TakeOver Conference Call: HHH on 50/50 booking, CWC, more

Posted on by Josh Nason

Per usual, Paul “Triple H” Levesque did a conference call prior to the latest NXT TakeOver event, set for Brooklyn, NY, this Saturday on WWE Network.

On the 35 minute call, HHH discussed a variety of topics including fielding a few questions from this site’s Dave Meltzer:

– He discussed the WWE Cruiserweight Classic at length and why the cruisers are headed to Raw instead of Smackdown.

– He discussed criticisms fans have when it comes to veterans being brought into NXT.

– He was asked if the Brooklyn events are like NXT’s Wrestlemania.

– He was asked about the progress of a few international signees like Alexander Wolfe.

– He was asked about the possibility of Kota Ibushi working in both Japan and WWE at the same time.

– He was asked about the new strength and conditioning coach with regard to avoiding rashes of injuries like the recent shoulder injury trend.

– He talked about NXT announcers and changes now that Corey Graves is in WWE.

– He did discuss 50/50 booking and — spoiler alert — used the chocolate/vanilla phrase.

Listen to all this and more now by clicking below:

Right click save

WWE NXT results: Shinsuke Nakamura taunts Samoa Joe

Posted on by Arya Witner

The Big News: Shinsuke Nakamura taunted Samoa Joe and faked taking the champion’s nose while Joe was angrily trying to go through a dozen security guards to get to Nakamura.

The Medium News: Bayley and Asuka put pen to paper to make their NXT Women’s Championship match at TakeOver official.

The Little Beaver Sized News: Bobby Roode’s in-ring debut, a tag team title match, and No Way Jose vs. Austin Aries were made official for TakeOver.

*********

Moments before the show began, Bobby Roode walked into William Regal’s office. They shook hands and went their separate ways before Roode rubbed his hands together and said this would be great.

*********

On the other side of the credits, Mr. Regal was standing mid-ring to oversee a contract signing between NXT Women’s Champion Asuka and Bayley. Asuka defeated Bayley for the title in Dallas, and the rematch will test if Bayley can climb that mountain one more time.

Bayley brought up that she has faced every woman that has walked in the door for the last three-plus years and she was always the underdog until last year when she won the title in Brooklyn. She said if Brooklyn was a dream, Dallas was a nightmare. 

She said she was not prepared for how tough Dallas would be, but she is prepared now. The Asuka mystique is gone for her, and she plans on beating Asuka in NXT’s return to Brooklyn for the belt.

Asuka said that she respects Bayley, but told her opponent she doesn’t have what it takes to win. Asuka extended her hand but Bayley would not shake it, instead telling her to sign the contract and be ready for the fight of her life.

After signing the contract, the two women went face-to-face, with Asuka holding the seven pounds of silver and purple aloft before walking away.

*********

The Authors of Pain defeated Nails & Ryzin

For those of us keeping count, The Authors of Pain go into this match with a 3-0 record in NXT, they’ve been on TV for 63 days, and still do not have names. At least this week their opponents have names, albeit last names only. Ryzin got pinned with the combination leg sweep/clothesline in less than a minute.

The Authors of Pain were about to beat up Nails some more when TM61 randomly ran in for the save before being killed to death in a confrontation that didn’t even last as long as the match.

*********

Shinsuke Nakamura told Cathy Kelley that he is not hard to find, but he’ll find Samoa Joe when he wants to.

*********

Andrade “Cien” Almas defeated Angelo Dawkins

Andrade Almas is back for his third match and the crowd is still completely indifferent to him. Angelo Dawkins hasn’t been around in a while and is most fondly remembered for always wearing two headbands.

Dawkins did a 360 degree turn while splashing Almas in the corner, and despite being the heel, the fans were ever so slightly more into Dawkins. Almas won with a hammerlock DDT.

GLORIOUS! The greatest theme in NXT history prefaced Bobby Roode’s entrance into the arena. Roode came out and applauded for Almas, congratulating him on having the honor of facing Roode at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II.

Roode then mocked Almas by talking slowly because Almas didn’t understand English. He told Almas that no one in the arena will be paying to see him, they are paying to see Bobby Roode.

*********

Austin Aries was talking about oranges in Regal’s office, before saying NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II is not special because The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived doesn’t have a match. Regal mockingly agreed with him and booked him in a match with No Way Jose at the show.

*********

Billie Kay defeated Liv Morgan

Billie Kay is making a career off the time she did a three-minute job against Dana Brooke on SmackDown. Liv Morgan is back for the first time in a couple months, causing Corey Graves to flip out about New Jersey.

Both women looked good here but have a long way to go. Morgan is very enthusiastic, which can be good. Kay won her second match in a row with a big boot.

*********

Rich Swann, Noam Dar, and Jack Gallagher (the greatest wrestler ever) were shown at ringside. Graves and Tom Phillips talked about how the first round was still going on before they showed highlights of Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa, which was actually the last first round match.

This led to Gargano and Ciampa meeting with Regal. He put over their match last week before informing them they are challenging The Revival for the NXT Tag Team Championship at TakeOver.

Gargano and Ciampa vowed to become champions in Brooklyn.

*********

Ember Moon is debuting at TakeOver.

*********

Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa defeated Tucker Knight & Patrick Clark

One year ago, Gargano and Ciampa debuted in NXT during the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament. And one year ago, Patrick Clark was on Tough Enough.

This was more competitive than most squash matches. Tucker Knight is a fast man for being close to 300 pounds and has potential. The number one contenders picked up the win with the double kick to Knight.

*********

Mojo Rawley was hyping himself up for the main event, saying he’s bringing the fight right to Samoa Joe.

*********

NXT Champion Samoa Joe defeated Mojo Rawley

Mojo Rawley is angry about being laid out by Samoa Joe last week, so he charged at Joe to start the match. They exchanged headbutts on the floor and both men no-sold it. For the first minute, this was the most intense (in a good way) I have ever seen Rawley.

Unfortunately for Rawley, the match went longer than one minute. Joe beat him down hard. Rawley hit a full nelson slam, but he was mostly at Joe’s mercy here. Joe screamed Nakamura’s name as he slapped on the Coquina Clutch for the submission win.

After the match, Joe put the clutch back on and screamed for Nakamura until his music played. Nakamura walked down the ramp, but a dozen security guards got between them to hold Joe back. Nakamura was content with taunting Joe while he tried to fight through security to get to the King of Strong Style.

Nakamura faked taking Joe’s nose and then slapped him in the head as the show went off the air.

We are just one week away from TakeOver, and until next week’s go-home show, thank you for reading and remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!