NXT Takeover XXXI took place in the Capitol Wrestling Center, a "hybrid" arena of virtual fans and real ones named after the regional wrestling promotion that gave way to the WWWF, which became the WWF and ultimately the WWE.
Kicking things off was NXT North American Champion, Damian Priest, defending the title against Johnny Gargano. Priest had the clear size advantage so Gargano had to use his speed to try to get his shots in. Minutes in, after attempting to powerbomb Priest off the apron, Gargano ended up sliding beneath him, grabbing Priest's leg, and flipping him into the air and back-first onto the floor. He followed it up with a dive that sent Priest into the cage barricade and then sent him into the stairs. Gargano tied up Priest in the ropes and hit him with a dropkick to the chest and then a somersault splash onto his back, in full control of the action. I really liked the dynamic of Priest's comeback, though - his size and strength advantage able to help him regain control with a single shot or big power move. To Priest's credit, though, he didn't go to no-selling as he sold damage to his knee even as he too over the match. After countering a Razor's Edge, Gargano got a 2.9 kickout. Gargano and Priest started trading shots, Priest eventually using his power to put Gargano on the mat. Priest went for a spinning kick, but Gargano dodged it and shoved him shoulder-first into the post. Gargano went for a dive but Priest caught him. Priest went for a chokeslam, but Gargano bounced onto the apron and attempted a superkick only for Priest to hit him with a spin-kick to the knees. Priest then hit him with a Razor's Edge onto the edge of the apron for 2! Priest went for a spinning forearm in the corner but Gargano chop-blocked him. The back-and-forth continued from there, Gargano getting a near-fall after a Sliced Bread and a forearm right to the back of the skull. Johnny Wrestling called for a superkick, but Priest caught him by the neck again. Gargano countered that into yet another nearfall attempt, Priest showing a real knack for dramatic kickouts. Gargano attempted a sunset flip from the outside of the ring, but Priest caught him and eventually hit the chokeslam he'd been aiming for all night. I kinda wish that had been the finish because so much of the bout had been teasing it, but Gargano kicked out at 2. Priest then went to the top rope, only for Gargano to roll away. In an insane spot, Priest leaped over the top of the corner post and hit a somersault splash on two security guards! Gargano then hit Priest with a lowblow and superkick and made the cover - only to get 2! Gargano then locked in the Gargano Escape, but after kicking out of a lowblow and superkick, I couldn't buy into Gargano getting a tap out victory. Eyeing the steps situated outside of the ring, Gargano looked to knock Priest back-first into them (a bump he had taken on a few Takeovers prior), but Gargano could not knock him loose. Instead, we got an exchange of blows and then Priest got the clean victory with a spinning neckbreaker off the ropes. Not a bad match at all, but I find it very hard to believe in Gargano winning these days, which made the result predictable. (3/5)
Velveteen Dream vs. Kushida was next. Dream has returned to his heel roots these days and is a bit of a real life one too after the allegations that were made against him this summer. Kushida drumped him from the bell and Dream was forced to retreat and grab a chair, tossing it into the ring. When the bell finally rang, this match returned to a wrestling-based contest, Kushida tying up Dream early. Speaking of Kushida, his gear is heavily inspired by Marty McFly's outfit in Back to the Future, so Dream was styled up like Doc Brown (wild grey hair, white pants, nuclear yellow gloves). Like with Matt Riddle on SmackDown, its hard for me to get invested in Velveteen these days, his out-of-ring actions really making him hard to watch. Kushida hit some dizzying offense at times and I'm not gonna say seeing Dream bump and sell wasn't entertaining at times, but there's a stench around everything Dream does now for me. If you can separate the "art" from the artist, Dream's over-the-top selling and agonized screams were as attention-grabbing as ever and the back-and-forth action was good, but I was just hoping for the finish to come after minute 5 or so. It doesn't necessarily help that Dream, like Gargano, has become an NXT gatekeeper more than a legit NXT "top guy" the way he once seemed poised to become. The post-match was interesting as it played as a "double turn," but I have no sympathy for Velveteen Dream and this just made Kushida look like more of a serious bad-ass, which is exactly what he needs to be if he's going to ever graduate to the next level of even just the NXT ladder. (2/5)
The Cruiserweight Championship was on the line next - Isiah "Swerve" Scott challenging Santos Escobar of the stable Legado De Fantasma for the purple strap. On commentary, someone noted that this is the first time the title has been defended on a Takeover show, which just goes to show how prestigious this championship is. I'm unfamiliar with both guys because I don't watch the NXT TV show, but I came in expecting good things out of them. Scott controlled early, applying a series of very painful submission holds targeting Escobar's arm. I liked Scott's aggression and the psychology here, but Escobar was no slouch either, delivering a nasty suicide dive that sent Scott into the cage wall and running knees in the corner at full speed. Escobar hit a Frankensteiner off the top rope but only got 2 from it, following it up with some vicious stomps. Scott rallied, though, eventually hitting a wild spinning clothesline that looked brutal and then a series of big boots off the apron. I'm not necessarily sure what made this a "cruiser" match considering both guys look bigger than Gargano and Cole, but hopefully getting a showcase match on a Takeover show is the first step towards both men getting a chance to mix it up with the "heavyweights." The execution and energy of this match made it above average, though I was also bothered by the clearly phony crowd noise that they pumped up and a few noticeable moments of "cooperation" among the competitors. There was an excellent nearfall after Scott leapt off the top rope and got caught with a ridiculous superkick to the jaw and then a Phantom Driver. The commentators noted that no one has ever kicked out of that move, which seems like a waste considering how unestablished these two guys are. Escobar hit a Tres Amigos in a nod to Eddie Guerrero and then attempted a frog splash. He missed it, though, and Scott rallied with some ridiculous offense including an excellent jumping side kick to Escobar's skull and a 450 splash that only got 2. As Scott tried to apply a submission, Escobar went to the ropes and both guys spilled to the outside. On the apron they showed some great struggle, Scott eventually taking a tumble into the exposed steel of the ring post that looked a little off. Escobar hit a double-underhook front-face drop into a knee to get the W in what was the clear match of the night up to this point. If I had had more of a recent to care, more knowledge of the workers, and more of a reason to view the Cruiserweight Championship as an important title, this may have been a Match of the Year candidate. Unfortunately, this was an excellent match with a poor context. (3.5/5)
The show continued with the NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai defending against Candice LeRae. This might've been the match I was looking forward to the most as Shirai is almost always money and LeRae has been worthy of a spotlight match for awhile now. Shirai and LeRae have comparable size and skill sets and they showed that in the early going, trading wrestling holds and countering each other's efforts to take control. Shirai attempted a sunset flip powerbomb to the floor but LeRae resisted it and hit a splash on her instead. Shirai fought back and delivered an Asai Moonsault moments later. Shirai maintained control for a few minutes, but LeRae took it back with a nasty backstabber in the corner. LeRae's heat stretch was good, the Poison Pixie using the turnbuckles and corners to her advantage to go after Shirai's back. After dodging a splash in the corner, Shirai took over and hit a flurry of offense to regain control (including a 619 as a nod to her hero Rey Mysterio). LeRae woudn't keep control for long, though, Shirai delivering a double-underhook backbreaker and then double-knees in the corner soon after. The back-and-forth exchange that followed was excellent, both women hitting some big moves to try to get the W but no one able to keep their opponent down for a full count. After exchanging submissions, we got a cartoonish-but-clever series of ref bumps, LeRae eventually getting the visual pin after hitting her finish. Gargano ran down the aisle in a ref shirt to make the count but was a second to late. I loved Barrett's line on commentary that simply putting on a ref shirt does not make one a referee - but, then again, isn't that how multiple matches have actually ended this year? Gargano grabbed the NXT Women's Title from the ringside table and slipped it LeRae as he distracted the referee. LeRae struck Shirai with the gold behind the ref's back, but Shirai kicked out! Dang. I would've liked that finish as a weapon shot should usually get the job done. Up to the top rope they went and Shirai hit a Spanish Fly and then a moonsault to get the clean win. That was a good match, but the ending felt a bit overbooked. (3.5/5)
After having her hand raised, Toni Storm appeared on the video wall and announced that she will be back on the NXT roster. After Storm's video ended, though, yet another instant NXT Women's Champion contender arrived - Ember Moon. Moon was revealed as the mysterious figure behind some videos that had been airing since the last Takeover special, but I felt like the big moment was spoiled a little bit by having Storm make her return just seconds earlier. Either way, the NXT Women's Division just got a whole ton more interesting and it definitely needed a bit of a shot-in-the arm.
Backstage, Ashante Adonis cut a promo explaining his actions against Legado. Adonis is a super newcomer and didn't even have much experience prior to coming to NXT so a potential team-up with Swerve will be his first chance to shine.
Main event time - Kyle O'Reilly challenging Finn Balor. O'Reilly is known as a tag specialist, so he came into this match as an underdog. Balor, meanwhile, only won the title after Karrion Kross suffered an injury at the last Takeover show, making it even more hard to believe that O'Reilly would get the win and end Balor's reign. This was also somewhat of a heel/heel match, though Balor has been a bit more of a "tweener" as of late, not dissimilar to Triple H in 2005 or so when he came to be more of an "elder statesman" rather than being an outright villain. Before the bell rang, some idiot started chanting "This Is Awesome," which was cringe-inducing. Balor and O'Reilly started out a bit slow, the Prince locking in a headlock and refusing to let go even after O'Reilly hit him with a back suplex. From there, these two really stuck to the minute, really focusing on the grappling part of the game. The first big strike came when Balor hit a dropkick right to O'Reilly's face, the Prince getting 2 off it. Balor added some insult to injury soon after by applying an arm bar and strumming Kyle's appendage like a guitar (a nod to O'Reilly's signature taunt). Balor's control segment was worked relatively heelishly (is that a word?), which made O'Reilly's comeback feel a little bit heroic - but really, without a crowd to work off of, at this point in the match this was just a clash of two guys who were fighting tooth-and-nail for a championship. Balor regained control and just destroyed O'Reilly with a kick to the gut and then a series of additional kicks (and a hard whip to the corner). O'Reilly's selling has been criticized as over-the-top by some, but I kinda like it and, in a World Championship match, it absolutely belongs. At some point, O'Reilly's mouth got busted open and, as usual, the blood added more drama and intensity to the match. Balor went on the attack, but O'Reilly rallied after a bounce-back lariat and just went insane with one big offensive move after another. It really was a thing of beauty to see him tie together a brainbuster and knee strikes and a guillotine and make it all look natural and desperate at the same time. Purists may have hated this, but unlike the Gargano/Cole matches, the selling was there, the targeted attacks were there, and the physicality felt legitimate and not rehearsed and choreographed. I didn't like Balor rolling out of a knee to the jaw (that looked like it legitimately caused him to bite through his tongue) followed by a german suplex, but at least the stomp and Coup De Gras that followed was the finish. In front of a live crowd, this feels like it would've been a star-making match for O'Reilly but the right man won. This was an easy Match of the Year contender for me. (4/5)
I'm not sure what to think about the post-match ending as we saw Ridge Holland toss Adam Cole over the barricde. On one hand, it established Ridge Holland as a bit of a badass. On the other hand, Kyle O'Reilly's "moment" (even in a loss) felt a bit overshadowed.
With a Kwang Score of 3.2-out-of-5, NXT Takeover XXXI was the best Takeover show in awhile and maybe the best one of the year (even if the score fell below Takeover: Portland's impressive 3.58). Much of that credit goes to the freshness of the show's final three matches. Aside from Balor and Shirai (to a much lesser degree), the performers featured on this show had never been spotlighted on a major show before and the freshness came through. While the Cruiserweight Championship match would've been better off not being built around the title and wholly irrelevant 205 division, Scott and Escobar (especially) won me over with their effort. In front of a live crowd, O'Reilly would've come off like the next great singles star (and potentially a babyface one). Io Shirai's win helped cement her status and while the post-match returns of Toni Storm and Ember Moon worked against each other, it does feel like NXT's women's division was revived overnight. This felt like the NXT shows of yesteryear, when much of the fun came from "discovering" talents that you may have only heard of or seen very little of before. What hurt this show, then, was the involvement of the guys that seem stuck in place (specifically Johnny Gargano, Velveteen Dream, and Adam Cole). They've become a bit like the high school grad who didn't go to college and still hangs out with mostly 16 year-olds. Here's hoping that NXT continues to evolve because watching that evolution is what makes NXT captivating.
FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand
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