NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II

UPDATED RATING LEVELS: 

Curt Hennig Level – A “GOAT” Show

Watch It – A consistently strong show worth watching in its entirety

Watch It…With Remote in Hand – Imperfect, but fun, with at least a handful of great matches

High Risk Maneuver – Mostly filler, salvaged by 1-2 awesome matches, for die-hards only

DUDleyville – Zero redeeming qualities, a chore to watch

NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II

Brooklyn, NY - August 2016

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, Samoa Joe is the reigning NXT Champion, Asuka holds the NXT Womens' Championship, and the NXT Tag Team Titles are held by The Revival, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder.

COMMENTARY: Corey Graves and Tom Phillips

No Way Jose vs. Austin Aries kicks off the second annual NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. The crowd is fully behind Aries, typical of a “smart” city. Jose doesn’t let it bother him, though, taking the fight to Aries and eventually winning over a portion of the audience who start chanting “Si Se Puede” (my understanding is that this is essentially a “Yes” chant). Aries was able to ground Jose, though, cutting him off with back elbows and a snug headlock.  The crowd got distracted for a moment by the arrival of Ric Flair in the front row (not the first time this would happen, by the way), but got jolted back into the match by a sick Aries submission. Jose hit a nice-looking TKO and the match was back to being anyone’s game. Jose tried to lock in his finish but got run out of the ring, eating an Aries dive through the ropes and then a Rude Awakening in the ropes. The closing few minutes were tremendous, both guys dishing out punishing offense and selling damage, while teasing the expected finish. With a story-furthering post-match and a much-desired return and, one match in, I’m nearly ready to call this a Show of the Year-caliber event. Really strong start to the show. (3.5/5)

Billie Kay makes her way out to the ring for her match against the debuting Ember Moon. The crowd was respectful for this imperfect bout, supporting Moon and popping for her more impressive feats of agility. Kay was solid as well, but without a fully entrenched character, she wasn’t really drawing any heat. If this match had occurred 5 years ago, it would’ve been a big deal, but the women of the WWE (and NXT especially) have raised the bar so high that this one wasn’t much better than average. Bonus half-point for Ember Moon’s remarkable finisher, a springboard twisting neckbreaker. (2.5/5)

Glorious! Bobby Roode vs. Andrade Almas was next, Roode getting a hero’s welcome and one of the best entrances in recent memory, almost like what Ric Flair would’ve used had he debuted in 2012 and not 1972. From the start, Almas doesn’t let the lack of crowd support or Roode’s gloating get to him, hitting the more impressive offense of the two throughout the contest. Almas was penciled in for a big push according to some, but his uneven work didn’t seem to be helping. This, however, might have been his best showing yet, doing a nice job of serving as the smiling foil to Roode’s straightforward, intense, methodical heel. Unfortunately, Roode’s finisher was a total dud, leaving a bad taste after an otherwise solid outing. Not as strong as the opening contest, with certain sequences looking a bit disconnected. (2.5/5)

A video package for Sanity airs next. I haven’t heard or seen anything about what this act is going to be, but I’m intrigued.

The NXT Tag Team Championships were on the line next – Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa challenging The Revival. I’m a Gargano mark based on him being a Cleveland guy, so I almost got teary when he was featured so prominently in the pre-show video. That being said, this match was still undeniably terrific, a textbook tag team wrestling match in the best sense of those words. An extended face-in-peril stretch that built to a proper hot tag with a staggering variety of clever and interesting cut-offs, referee distractions, and heels doing dastardly thngs to get heat. Simple but effective storytelling with near falls that were dramatic and believable. The two teams involved are now significantly more over than when they went in. Gargano and Ciampa, in particular, came in without much of a gimmick or character, and left as scrappy fan favorites. The Revival, already an established act, look like the best tag team in the world, not just NXT. Some poorly telegraphed DDTs hurt this one just a touch for me, as did the finish (which should’ve happened in the center of the ring, not as close to the ropes as it did, but I’m not going to hesitate to call this the Match of the Night and probably the best WWE-produced tag team match of the year. If I believed in quarter stars, this one would likely get one. I look forward to seeing this match end up on many people’s Top Ten lists in December. (4/5)

Bayley challenged Asuka for her NXT Womens’ Championship in the next bout. Last year, Bayley and Sasha Banks stole the show and I’m not sure Bayley didn’t repeat that feat with her heartstring-tugging efforts here. Asuka is an unbeatable beast with nasty offense, but Bayley’s toughness is what stood out, taking at least a half dozen stiff kicks into the chest and head but still begging for more. Is there a better babyface, male or female, working than Bayley? Call it outright theft from Japan and its storied “fighting spirit” matches, but her determination and stubborn refusal to stay down came through perfectly, to the point that it was impossible not to get emotionally invested in her cause (which was made even more apparent by Banks and Becky Lynch, in the front row, marking out for the false finishes). The post-match hugs, tears, and “Thank You” chant may be an overused trope these days, but that doesn’t mean it can’t still raise goosebumps. I could see the argument that this was a better match than the Tag Team Championship one. (4/5)

Main event time and the goosebumps just won’t go down – Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Samoa Joe for Joe’s NXT Championship. Talk about “big time fight” feel – Nakamura got a tremendous entrance, but Joe’s arrival wasn’t shabby either, the Samoan Submission Machine proving with his recent appearances how a champion can show dominance and confidence with simple facial expressions and minimal verbiage. After some “feeling out” time, the brutality began, Joe dishing out some harsh strikes and then applying a tight choke and a knee to the back submission, essentially trying to torture the challenger. We then saw him apply his patented powerbomb-into-a-crab, segueing it into an STF and then finally a crossface, his transitions being the thing that made me fall in love with him way back when I saw him watched a DVD of him taking on CM Punk in Ring of Honor. I criticized Nakamura’s inconsistent selling in his match against Finn Balor and, to be honest, I thought his match with Austin Aries some months back was a little flat - but Nakamura’s desperation and suffering came across in every fatigued strike on this night, the King of Strong Style having his best performance yet inside a WWE ring. While there were a handful of spots that almost seemed sloppy, in a match where both guys are delivering so many stiff shots, and where the submissions and grappling are properly executed to look like they’re taking energy out of both men, it added realism to me. This one felt like a genuine fight.. Another must-see main event out of NXT. (4/5)

With an average match rating of 3.42-out-of-5, NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II may not have been the best show the brand’s ever produced (I rated the Dallas special above it), but it might be the best template for what the upcoming Smackdown and RAW stand-alone shows should be aiming for. Even without a single stipulation match, a nice bit of a variety was offered, the NXT Championship match providing physicality while the opener and Bobby Roode’s debut tended to focus a bit more on clashing styles and character work. The Womens’ Championship match was fantastic, hitting all the notes it needed to in cementing Asuka as an unbeatable monster while sending off Bayley to the main roster without her seeming like she’ll have to start from the bottom again. As for the NXT Tag Team Championship match, it was a breath of fresh air to see two teams have a serious battle without any of the bells or whistles that the New Day or even Enzo and Cass decorate their matches and entrances with. It will be very difficult, but not necessarily impossible, for SummerSlam to top this.

FINAL RATING – Watch It