NXT: Takeover: Orlando

NXT Takeover: Orlando

Orlando, FL - April 2017

SAniTY vs. Tye Dillinger, Ruby Riot, Roderick Strong, and Kassius Ohno was the night's opening contest. In January I wrote about how I'm confused by the SAniTY - are they cyberpunks? An updated version of the old Oddities stable? What's their purpose? Eric Young is a good hand and a reliable shapeshifter in that he can play just about any role and do it well, but I wish Creative had come up with something more, y'know, creative. No Way Jose was supposed to be in this match but was taken out so they could put Kassius Ohno in. Ohno got a handful of nice moments to shine, but this certainly wasn't any sort of spotlight match for him. If anything, Killian Dain stood out the most (as someone with his size probably should). This was what an 8-man opener should be - fast-paced, lots of action going on all over the place, no one getting exposed or hung out to dry - I had few complaints with it. Tye Dillinger's overness continues to befuddle me (as did Kassius' Sacramento Kings get-up). (3/5)

Next up - Aleister Black vs. Andres Almas. This is my first time seeing Black in action and while I was impressed by his martial arts-inspired work, I didn't love the gimmick (how many devil worshipper/tattoo freak/pure evil gimmicks do we really need in one promotion?). Almas, meanwhile, is so much better working as a heel that its a real shame he didn't get pushed that way out of the gate as he stole this match to me. While I thought all the in-ring work was really solid, I'm not sure this accomplished what I think it could've considering the potential in Aleister Black as a unique anti-hero in a company that is, right now at least, starving for more "big" personalities (as good as Roderick Strong is, for example, he's equally vanilla). Black should've crushed somebody and Almas, who has finally turned the corner and become a guy that can do great things for NXT, wasn't that opponent for Black's debut. Still, a really solid, arguably above-average (but I wouldn't argue it) match. (2.5/5)

The brand new NXT Tag Team Championships were on the line in the next bout - Authors of Pain defending against #DIY and The Revival. Last year, Gargano, Ciampa, and The Revival put on some of the best matches of the year, so I came into this expecting a strong match. What I got, however, was arguably the best triple threat tag match I've ever seen, one that deserves bonus points for not relying on more than a single table spot. I absolutely loved the psychology and story of this match as longtime rivals #DIY and The Revival put their hatred aside to try to take down the monsters. In most matches, this through line is tossed away as the match goes on, but here, they kept coming back to it and wisely milking it for increasingly clever spots, sequences that not only made great sense in the context of this match but called back to #DIY and The Revival's classics from 2016. There were at least a dozen great moments in this - The Revival avoiding a tag-in early and then #DIY mirroring it minutes later, Gargano somersault bombing an Author on the outside while Ciampa hit a big knee on another in the ring, an Author of Pain using a lifeless Gargano to cut off a Caimpa dive and then hurling him into the Revival for good measure, Gargano and Dawson hitting #DIY's finisher, Dash and Ciampa hitting The Revival's finisher, I could go on and on - this match just absolutely ruled. The two falls were easily the weakest minutes of the match, but only because this was a "Fight Forever" chant-worthy match. I'm not sure where the NXT tag division goes from here and I can certainly understand fans' disappointment in the outcome, but in the grand scheme of things, two out of three of these teams are destined for main roster greatness and the third just took a big step in that same direction. The finish made sense even if it wasn't what most or any fans wanted to see. An easy Match of the Year contender. (4.5/5)

Asuka vs. Ember Moon had the unenviable task of having to follow an outstanding match and didn't do too bad of a job at it. We've seen Asuka take on a number of different talents over the past year, but this was the first time I've seen her go up against a character that equals her own in the bizareness category. Asuka is known for her stiff strkes, but Ember gave as good as she took. Cool spots included Ember springboarding from the second rope over the ring post for crossbody to the floor and some nasty suplexes from both women. To me, the finish came a bit out of nowhere (though, I've since learned that it actually made perfect sense based on Ember's "nuclear option" finisher) but I would've liked to see this one go a bit longer and for Moon to come out of it a bit stronger. The finish wasn't dirty enough to make Asuka's victory feel as tainted as it should've if you wanted fans (especially those like me who are unfamiliar with Moon) to believe the babyface had her number. A few more minutes might've gotten it there, though, because the action we did get was very good. (3.5/5)

Drew McIntyre is in the crowd. Welcome back, Drew. I'm not entirely sure if the WWE will utilize him any better or differently than they did the first time around, but a run in NXT could give them the answer.

Main event time - Shinsuke Nakamura challenging Bobby Roode for his NXT Championship. As usual, some pretty nifty entrances set the stage for the night's biggest showdown. After some fun shenanigans early, Roode took control and Nakamura went into selling mode. Nakamura's control stretch later was full of stiff kicks and swift knee strikes. The crowd was relatively split, cheering both guys at times. Nakamura started calling for the Kinchasa, but ended up getting his knee clipped, a callback to the match these two fought in January. This was probably the most animated I've seen Roode get since debuting in NXT, a much-needed improvement for a guy whose methodical style can get a bit boring. After nearly taking the champ out with a Triangle Choke, Nakamura's frustration was apparent, the King of Strong Style taking his aggression out with a front kick straight to the face followed by a series of them to Roode's side minutes later. As both men lay in the ring, gasping for breath, the crowd broke into a well-earned applause. Roode attempted a Glorious DDT but Nak countered with a knee to the skull and then set him up for the Kinchasa for the second time, which Roode wisely escaped by rolling out of the ring. As the match entered its final stages, a single Glorious DDT wasn't enough to put down the challenger, motivating the champ to grab the bell. The ref would have none of it, though, ripping it away from the champ and distracting him long enough for Nakamura to connect with a kick to the head and a big suplex. It seemed like the Kinchasa would finally come, but Roode blocked it with a huge spinebuster for two. From here, Nakamura tried his best to escape Roode's grasp, but ultimately ended up eating the mat from a second Glorious DDT (this one with tremendous height). Very strong match and easily my favorite performance from Roode in his NXT run. (4/5)


I came into tonight's NXT show with low expectations - Nakamura/Roode: Part 1 didn't set the world afire and while I'm a massive fan of #DIY, The Revival, and Asuka, there was no one else on the crowd I was super excited to see. Overall (and I'm not the only one writing it), NXT being the WWE's "must watch" brand is just no longer the case due to all the hits the roster has taken over the past 18 months - hits that were not only necessary to rescue the main brand's rosters, but welcomed by most fans. This show may not have proved that NXT is still as great as it ever was, but it showed that favorable match order (and a runtime that doesn't overstay its welcome), a hot crowd, and, most of all, hard working athletes can still add up to create a very good and fun wrestling show. The night's respectable 3.5-out-of-5 score proves it.

FINAL RATING - Watch It