NXT Takeover XXV

NXT Takeover: 25

Bridgeport, CT - June 2019

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, the NXT Champion is Johnny Gargano, the NXT North American Champion is Velveteen Dream, and the NXT Women's Champion is Shayna Baszler. The NXT Tag Team Championships were vacant.

COMMENTATORS: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuiness, and Beth Pheonix


NXT Takeover XXV began with Roderick Strong facing Matt Riddle in a straight-up 1-on-1 match. The "look" of this show was tremendous in its simplicity - blacked out arena, brightly lit ring, no frills. When they went to the outside, it almost looked too dark at times, but it also gave the show a "back to basics"/house show feel that made it stand out from the main roster PPVs (and even most of the recent Takeovers). Anyway, the match itself was good; Strong is the "Messiah of the Backbreaker" and he delivered quite a few here, setting the pace and controlling a good portion of the bout. Riddle's comeback came a bit too far out of nowhere for me. At one point Riddle hit a GTS-into-a-German Suplex that popped the crowd, but at other times, he just seemed to be lackadaisically going through some of his offense, lazily throwing a series of kicks into Strong's chest. Comparatively, Strong's late-match rally was outstanding and spirited, Strong's rapid series of forearms bringing a huge "NXT" chant out of the crowd. Not to be outdone, Riddle hit a ripcord-knee, then a powerbomb, then another knee at point-black range, nearly costing himself the match when he attempted a high flying move to put away Riddle. After another string of offensive maneuvers, Strong applied a brutal Boston Crab, only for Riddle to escape via a series of big kicks to the face. Riddle then locked Strong in a submission, the two eventually getting to their feet where Riddle was able to defeat him with a Cradle Tombstone Slam (not exactly a piledriver). A strong match (no pun intended), but not an all-time classic. (3.5/5)

Backstage, Johnny Gargano stretched in preparation for his title defense.

We then cut to ringside where Shawn Michaels and the Road Dogg were standing around.

The 4-way for the NXT Tag Team Championship Ladder Match was next, pitting The Undisputed Era, The Street Profits, The Forgotten Sons, and Burch and Lorcan. The Profits came out first to a surprising amount of fanfare - the last I saw these guys they didn't look all that great, but the crowd has taken to them. Next out were Blake and Cutler, the Forgotten Sons. The somewhat colorless Lorcan and Burch were out third before the Undisputed Era arrived, O'Reilly and Fish coming in as the most established stars in the match. The UE controlled early and tried to bring in the first ladder, but were stopped by a ridiculous suicide dive from Wesley Blake. Blake tried to drag two ladders in but was thwarted by Lorcan and Burch. All the while, the Street Profits seemed to be playing possum until Dawkins came off the top with a big splash. Once the ladders did make their way into the ring, the nasty bumps began - first with O'Reilly taking a nasty back bump onto the leg of a ladder and then Blake eating a bunch of a ladder-based offense from the Profits. O'Reilly and Fish broke up the Profits' dominance but nearly costed themselves the match in the process as O'Reilly came off the ropes with a dropkick and landed back-first on the edge of the ladder (slicing himself up pretty good in the process). Fish then hit a ridiculous german suplex on the ladder onto Montez Ford, popping the crowd huge. As Fish made his way up the ladder moments later, Cutler came back into the ring and powerbombed O'Reilly into the ladder (causing Fish to land on his partner) in a great spot. As Cutler tried to get up the ladder, O'Reilly grapevined his leg but got tossed out of the ring. Cutler and Blake then hit a cool double-team maneuver that saw one guy lock Fish in a reverse DDT while the other came off the ladder with a stomp on the chest. The Profits got the next big offense in, hitting a double-team blockbuster. As O'Reilly tried to make his way up the ladder, Ryker showed up and brought him down with a powerbomb into a ladder in the corner. Ryker then took out Burch, Ford, Fish, Dawins, and Lorcan, the crowd erupting in a "We Forgot You" chant as he set up the ladder for his brethren. Eventually the UE led a beatdown on Ryker, 3-out-of-4 teams working together (briefly) to take Ryker out, with Montez Ford hitting him with the coup de gras (a ridiculous front somersault splash to the outside). In the ring, Burch and Lorcan took control of the match, taking out UE with some brutal suplexes and throws. Burch and Lorcan nearly grabbed the titles, but the UE showed up with another ladder, all four eventually climbing to the top of the two ladders. As expected, the Forgotten Sons spoiled their chances by knocking over the ladders and sending the "favorites" to the arena floor. As the Sons climbed, Dawkins hit a spear on Blake (I think? and Ford came off the top rope and landed on the ladder in a Kofi-esque move, tossing the remaining Forgotten Son off the ladder and grabbing the belts for the win. I'm not sure this was quite a "must see" match, but it was certainly fun. (3.5/5)

The North American Championship was on the line next - Tyler Breeze challenging The Velveteen Dream in his big NXT return match. The build-up for this match was all about how The Dream is basically an "upgrade" of Breeze. I wasn't super excited about this as my memories of Tyler Breeze in NXT originally was as a jobber-to-the-stars and, aside from the Fashion Police, the guy's been a non-entity on the main roster. You run this same program with Nakamura or even Bobby Roode coming back to put Dream in his place and you might have me, but Breeze? Meh. The match itself was good-not-great, with a strong finishing stretch but some ups-and-downs to get there. Dream, ostensibly the babyface, seemed to dip his toe dangerously close to outright heelishness when he tried to embarrass Breeze by taking a selfie of himself dominating him on the outside, a moment that felt way more earned when genuine capital-S Superstars The Rock and Austin did it years ago. I also wasn't a huge fan of the multiple false finishes as, again, to "buy in" on these meant one had to believe that Breeze had a legit shot of becoming the North American Champion, a scenario that nobody saw as likely (kinda like when Breeze took on Jushin Liger in his sole WWE appearance). The final third of the match featured some cool exchanges and the finish was strong, but I'm not sure they really needed a full 20 minutes (though, to be fair, the live crowd was heavily into this). While I wouldn't rank this as one of Dream's best matches, it might have been the biggest spotlight Breeze has ever had and he certainly proved that he's worthy of a second look on the main roster. (3/5)

The NXT Women's Championship was on the line next as Shayna Baszler defended her title against Io Shirai. The pre-match hype video made Shirai out to be a huge deal, but, almost inexplicably, this match gave most of the spotlight to the reigning champion. This felt like a 70-30 match with Baszler taking the 70 and looking about as dominant as she ever has. As someone who doesn't watch NXT weekly and having never seen Shirai's work in Japan, I was impressed by her technical skills, but not necessarily her presentation as a definable character or personality. Kairi Sane's Pirate gimmick is out there, but at least its there. Asuka's face-painted Psycho Warrior Killer thing is brilliant when she's allowed to live up to it. Bianca Belair was a tremendous opponent for Baszler far more because of her character and spirit than because of her wrestling skill (though her athletic skills can't be ignored either). Shirai may be the most proficient of any of Baszler's challengers, but she's certainly not the most colorful or excitement-inducing. Still, its hard to get exciting about any of Baszler's challengers these days when her title reign has become the exact thing that should never happen in a developmental league: repetitive, stale, boring. At one point, Baszler seemed like the Next Big Call-Up, a surefire difference-maker that could've helped fill the hole left by Ronda Rousey. But now? I'm not sure what purpose she serves in NXT and the main roster's women's division is no longer a hotbed of activity and innovation. Her addition to it, in 2019, seems a bit like acting lukewarm water to more lukewarm water and hoping the temperature rises. Sorry, it just don't work like that. Despite all this negativity, there were still great moments in this match - Baszler's arm-attacks continue to make me grimace, Shirai's 619, the speed and execution of nearly every sequence. I wasn't a huge fan of the fnish which saw Baszler's henchmen come out only to be taken out by Candice LeRae before they could cost Shirai the match (only for these events to distract Shirai long enough for Baszler to apply her choke submission and tap out her opponent in convincing fashion). I may be forgetting a detail or two, but Baszler's victory was about as clean as they get. The post-match beatdown that Shirai inflicted helped her get her heat back...but was also a bit odd to me and seemed to (at least initially) confuse part of the audience too. Eventually, Shirai's graphic beatdown (which involved a number of kendo stick shots and a chair-assisted moonsault) got a "You Deserve It" chant, but it still rubs me the wrong way that the fan favorite would throw a post-match temper tantrum when, again, the match's result wasn't super screwy. I'm not sure what the plan is for Baszler going forward but a rematch seems likely. Here's hoping that they develop a more interesting, character-driven story for the next outing because this was a noticeable step down from Baszler's previous defenses and not the "coming out party" that Shirai needed. (2.5/5)

Main event time - Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole for Gargano's NXT Championship. This match started out with some good back and forth, but really picked up around when the action spilled to the outside and we saw one of the nastiest double-stomps ever (a double-stomp onto Cole's left arm as he tried to support himself on the ring apron). Back in the ring, Cole targeted Gargano's knee and had this match stuck to this simple story and really, really milked it (instead of erratically bringing that thread in and out of the match), I would've been a much bigger fan. Instead of being anchored by two guys having to fight through mirrored injuries, we saw an un-tethered cacophany of counters and breathtaking offense. One could argue there were too many moments in this match - Ushigoroshis, backstabbers, bicycle kicks, discuss clotheslines, topes and spears. Gargano and Cole went "lights out" and should be applauded for their efforts...but as they dazzled the crowd with one impeccably-executed superkick after another, it all blurred together a bit to me, like a medley of tweaked variations on the same ol ' Sweet Chin Music. The live crowd didn't necessarily help things either. Though they reacted with massive pops and counted along to every nearfall (many of which were outstanding), they simultaneously refused to play the simple role of supporting the hero and booing the villain. Instead, they cheered everything and only slightly booed when Adam Cole stripped Gargano of his knee pad. Aside from his highly questionable use of reverse hurricanranas and two dozen superkicks (when damage to his knee was the crux of his selling) and my personal distate for the Cirque De Soleil-ness of Adam Cole's Panama Sunrise (a slightly-altered Canadian Destroyer that's alteration makes it even more apparent that the opponent is doing most of the work), the match's low point was the unnecessary ref bump that led to Gargano - a guy who should know something about screwy finishes and just focusing on winning after his series with Ciampa - foolishly opting to go for a pinfall when he knew the referee was knocked out! The "visual pin" is a classic wrestling trope dating at least back to the 70s (and maybe even earlier), but this match already had so much excess that its purpose - to make the hero look like he could've and should've won - was lost in the maelstrom of false finishes, Last Shots, and kicks to the face. I liked the finish, but because we had seen these guys bust out so much, the fact that it was the sole Last Shot that Adam Cole actually connected on (I think?) was completely lost. I'd still rank this as the match of the night and a "must see" clash simply because how else could one describe a match with such undeniably awesome execution, timing, and action (including some innovative spots that will likely and sadly be forgotten in the embarrassment of riches this match offered), but I don't think I'll go as far as saying I truly "loved" this match to the same degree as others (including Dave Meltzer). (4/5)


With a Kwang Score of 3.30-out-of-5, a remarkable score that indicates that this show featured significantly above-average wrestling throughout, NXT Takeover: 25 was another great show from the WWE's most consistently entertaining brand. Its worth noting, however, that this score actually marks a bit of a dip from the 3.4-3.5 range that these shows generally score. It is rare to call a show featuring 3 matches with scores of 3.5 or higher inessential viewing, but for the first time in a long time, that's what this particular NXT offering felt like. The tag team ladder match was fun - but not necessarily as strong as the recent Men's Money in the Bank Ladder match we saw a few weeks prior. The main event will likely make tons of Year End Lists, but it will certainly not top mine; "workrate porn" sequences are becoming as tiresome and predictable as any other overused trope no matter how well-executed. Compared to your average WWE show, this was more entertaining and watchable - but for the first time in forever, the NXT product felt like it was in a bit of a holding pattern rather than providing viewers with something new and exciting.

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand