NXT Takeover New Orleans April 7, 2018 Results and Review

Shayna Baszler NXT Takeover 2018 - source WWE 

I’m excited that I will be seeing NXT in Chicago later this year. I am excited to see the product in person, and if it is anything like this one, I’m going to be in for a great treat for sure. As for all of that, let’s start with our take on this past weekend’s big event. We will be talking about NXT Takeover New Orleans.

NXT Takeover New Orleans April 7, 2018 Results and Review

Adam Cole defeated EC3, Killian Dain, Lars Sullivan, Ricochet, and Velveteen Dream in a Ladder Match for the NXT North American Championship

This was a stellar 30 minute match that had everything you’d want from a ladder match, with the sole exception of blood. That’s just a small nitpick, but other than that, you’re going to find that there was a lot of greatness, that featured these guys killing themselves for a title. There’s so much to explore in this match that I can’t list everything I liked, it’s just one of the best ladder matches that I’ve seen in a long time. Ricochet here, holy crap, Velvet Teen Dream, holy crap, and you know what, amazing.

Shayna Baszler defeated Ember Moon for the NXT Women’s Championship

I disagree with nearly every podcast that I heard talking about NXT Takeover. I loved this match, and loved Shayna Baszler’s improvement from the past match that she had with Ember Moon. Shayna has improved so much that I saw shades of Zack Sabre Jr. and he’s my favorite wrestler right now. Shayna Baszler improved so much that she was able to counter some of Ember Moon’s offense and eventually get her to pass out in her finisher. I was so glad to see the change that I may pick up a Shayna Baszler shirt, even if I’m the only one wearing one.

The Undisputed Era defeated Authors of Pain, and Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong for the NXT Championship and Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Trophy

This was a stellar match with a lot of upside. I loved the process that was going on in this three way dance for the title and trophy. It was going well until Roderick Strong turned on Pete Dunne and caused this match to go down hill. The match dropped a heel turn for Strong, and he joined The Undisputed Era and is now part of the championship category of NXT. Dunne, however, was laid out as a result. Good match, and I appreciated the turn.

Aleister Black defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas for the NXT Championship

Aleister Black put on a show against Almas, and Almas stuck with him every single turn. I loved it. I appreciated the work the two put into this match, and the counters that worked through the various stages of this incredible match for the title. I was going for Almas, so when he lost in a sequence that was quite good, I was impressed. Aleister Black was able to get the Black Mass strapped on with ease and won the match. A good one.

Johnny Gargano defeated Tommaso Ciampa in an Unsanctioned Match

Holy hell, perhaps the best match I’ve seen this year. I thought Okada versus Zack Sabre Jr. was good, but it goes second now. Gargano and Ciampa put the boots to each other and left it all out in the ring. Ciampa and Gargano’s finish was great, both sitting in the middle of the ring, and then the Gargano lock with Ciamapa’s knee brace across his own face was great to see. This 37 match was stellar above all else, and was absolutely the best thing I’ve seen all weekend, now that I take it all in.

NXT Takeover New Orleans is what the WWE should be all the time, and yet it is not. This is one hell of a show and something that you need to really see, as there were some great moments here, and it’s just a great overall rundown of programming that you will love as a wrestling fan, simple as that.

NXT Takeover: Philadelphia 2018 Results and Review

Ember Moon Insane Kick - SRC WWE dot com

This past week there was a ton of wrestling to watch if you’re a fan of the WWE. I was unable to write reviews for everything due to work, school, and other commitments, but don’t you worry FAM, I’ve got you here to talk about the incredible and not so incredible happenings in professional wrestling, well, at least for WWE that is.

WWE NXT Takeover: Philadelphia 2017 Results and Review

Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly defeated The Authors of Pain

The opening match was for the NXT tag team championships, and it wasn’t half bad. The smaller guys here, you can guess who they are, focused on the limbs of the Authors of Pain. They fought a good fight, but not without having to get a huge beat down within the 15 minutes of action. Eventually, the smaller guys outsmarted the bigger guys and got a nice roll up victory, and the crowd went insane. I like the new guys here, they are small, but they are focused on the type of technical wrestling that you’d expect from Bret Hart and the likes.

The Velveteen Dream defeated Kassius Ohno

Another great match occurred here, this time with Kassius Ohno and Dream exchanging some hard hits. Dream said that he would knock out Kassius in 30 seconds, and it seemed to have gone down that way at first, and the crowd was incredibly behind Dream. Ohno recovered and the two went back and forth with some amazing moves, and athleticism that you’d not expect from these big guys. Dream would hit his finishing elbow half way across the ring, and I’m sure Macho Man was very proud.

Ember Moon defeated Shayna Baszler

This was an incredible women’s match, and it was for the NXT women’s title. Shayna Baszler is a machine, and she had this thing won, working over Moon’s shoulder and arm for the entirety of the match. She would’ve won if Moon didn’t roll her up and Baszler would’ve let go of the armbar that she had on her. This was the smartest finish for a women’s match I’ve seen in a long time, and Baszler showed off an incredible skill set, while Moon defended her title like a real champion. I loved it. Go back and watch this one, and be impressed by how far women’s wrestling has come in the United States in a long time.

Aleister Black defeated Adam Cole in an Extreme Rules Match

In 22 minutes, the WWE received one hell of a match of extreme proportions. Black wasn’t just dominant here, as Cole was able to throw down a lot of offense and even take some of the most brutal shots. Black was taken to the limit here, and Cole didn’t let up, BAYBAY, eventually he’d get the Black Mass and lose. But this was an all out war, and one of the best Extreme Rules matches I’ve ever seen. This is second only to the Submission Match between Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin, it was that good.

Andrade Cien Almas defeated Johnny Gargano

The Tuna Meltzer gave this match a 5 star review, and if you saw it, then you agreed. Gargano put on a show here and Almas was just as good. I was surprised by the chemistry that the two had, and the reversals, offense, and intricate technical styles that the two blended together to make this happen. Even Bret Hart would’ve been impressed with just how good this match was. I was completely blown away by how the two were able to work through a 32 minute bout and make you believe that it was a title change about to occur. Gargano would eventually lose, but not without giving Almas the fight of his life.

After the matches, out came Tomaso Ciampa and he knocked out Gargano with a crutch, and the crowd went insane. I loved it.

NXT Takeover Philadelphia showcased an incredible amount of good wrestling, and didn’t take 3 hours to do it. My favorite match was the extreme rules match, but the whole card was great. I wish I could’ve gone to see it in person, that’s how good this was, and am kicking myself that I didn’t get on a plane.

WWE NXT Takeover War Games 2017 Results and Review

WWE Nxt Takeover War Games - SOURCE WWE DOT COM

Last night the WWE NXT brand put on one hell of a show. They threw down the gauntlet, and put together a showcase of the immortals that will no doubt live on in a lot of people’s minds. This is an event that is no doubt going to give you a lot of joy to watch, as it didn’t disappoint if you ask me. Let’s talk about this one, before Survivors Series goes on the air.

Lars Sullivan defeated Kassius Ohno

Well, Sullivan looks like a MUSCLE figure from your youth. He’s good, really good, and he put the boots to Ohno. He reminds me of Rusev, when he first came out, but better. Ohno did well here, but he was no match for Sullivan’s hard style, and incredible power moves. He’s crisp, and I hope they don’t ruin him if he goes to the main roster. Ohno loses again, and well that’s the end of that.

Aleister Black defeated Velveteen Dream

Holy crap was this a good match. If you haven’t seen these two perform, wow, you don’t even know. Dream is one hell of a wrestler, and his timing and athleticism is unmatched. He carries his weight like Rick Rude, and his tights had Black’s face on them! He pulled out a lot of Rick Rude era moves, and was amazing in ring. This is a guy that can go far, as he has a lot of elements that made the Ravishing One so good. Black, athletic as ever, matched Dream’s offense at times, and flew through a lot of hard hitting elements before hitting Black Mass and pinning dream. This was a stellar, near perfect match in my book. I was heavily impressed by these two.

Ember Moon won a Fatal 4-Way Match for the NXT Women’s Championship

This was a hard hitting affair, and way better than anything I’ve seen on the main roster. It was simply one of the best matches of the night, with Ember Moon getting the big win with her finisher from the top rope. Every person in this match was fun to watch, but it was Ember Moon’s night. At the end of the match, Asuka came in and handed her the title, which was surreal. This was a hell of a match, with Moon going through the ropes, off the top rope, and flying throughout the match. Kairi Sane was also great, and so were the rest of the women. This was a fine showing, no doubt.

Andrade Cien Almas defeated Drew McIntyre for the NXT Championship

Cien Almas put on a show for this one, and Drew was right there with him. Drew was putting the boots to Cien at every turn, and the two were great together. There was a lot of counters, and no matter what Almas did, Drew seemed to counter, and Almas would eventually get frustrated. Drew also threw down some great back and forth, only to end up with what looked like a bicep tear, but Almas would get the win with a sick looking DDT combination. He is the new champion, and McIntyre may be injured for a while.

Undisputed Era defeated Sanity, and The Authors of Pain with Roderick Strong

This was one hell of a War Games Match. It wasn’t the same as it was in WCW, but it had a lot of fight. When the Sanity guys came into the match, they brought in tables, trash cans, kendo sticks, chairs, and more. They would use them to their advantage, but one of them would catch a table breaking across the back of the head, causing a lot of blood to pour out. Other than that, the guys were throwing everything at each other, including dives from the top of the cage, triple move sets, and so much more. The match was violent, chaotic, and fun to watch. Eventually Undisputed won with some incredible tag team moves, and that was the end. This was a fun match, but alas, it wasn’t as good as the 1992 War Games match from WCW. A good try though, and a nice way to cap the night of NXT professional wrestling.

NXT Takeover Brooklyn III Results and Review The GOAT of WWE Shows Up

Black vs Itami - SRC wwe.com

The WWE is a massive company, and their mainstream offerings on a weekly basis are not exactly always good. I don’t keep up with NXT nearly as much as I will be doing in the future, but I did manage to take a break from my writing to see this show this morning, and well, I’m blown away by a lot of things. The WWE got something right, and it’s interesting to see it, but there are some imperfections here and there.

WWE NXT Takeover Brooklyn III Results and Review

Andrade “CIen” Almas defeated Johnny Gargano

Did someone tell Almas that his job was on the line? He not only seemed a bit more fit, he was taking on Gargano in a serious fashion. The back and forth between the two was accelerating, and quite fascinating to see. However, the quick “no selling” by both men kind of took me for a loop. Some call it “indie”, I call it poor selling. I’m sure that it is warranted now and then, but even Ric Flair’s flurries would end with him falling on his face in fatigue after attacking his opponents sometimes. Almas here got the better of Gargano, but not without cheating, and that is perhaps telling. Gargano gets a DIY shirt thrown at him, and boom, Almas capitalizes. Almas is a great wrestler, if the WWE would let him just explode like he did in Mexico. This was as close as you’re going to see to his original charismatic self, but it took Gargano putting on a clinic for him to reveal it.

Sanity defeated The Authors of Pain for the Tag Team Championships

I love Nikki Cross. She is one hell of a performer, and a beautiful lady if you ask me. But this is about the match, and the Authors of Pain putting on a show with Sanity. Sanity brought out all of their tools, and the two brawled until we started to see the wheels come off. Sanity played the numbers game, and Nikki Cross with Dame’s interference was amazing. The logic of this match was great with that finish. Cross jumps off the top rope on the outside and gets caught by one of the Authors of Pain, then Dame runs straight for them both, tackling them into a table! That leaves one guy open against 2, and that ended the match, before the “indie” darlings showed up. I’m not impressed by those guys yet, but it should be interesting to see what goes down moving forward. Great match, with some solid concepts, and a great finish, and again I love Nikki Cross.

Aleister Black defeated Hideo Itami

Black and Itami put on a strong style showcase and I enjoyed it greatly. Black was not backing down and Itami wasn’t either, breaking Black’s nose at one point. Jim Ross doing commentary was great, but the match itself was hard hitting, and showed the future of WWE in some sense. The counters the two put on, quick thinking, and smart psychology ruled in this match. There was even spots that didn’t take away from one wrestler’s fatigue, but was desperation, like Bret Hart’s reversals sometimes. I loved the way they blended together, and how Itami mocked Black at one point. I don’t like Black’s finisher, but hey, it is what it is. This match was hard hitting, but not with a lot of slow down, though it did appear. Black is great here, but WWE will surely screw him up like they did with Corbin.

Asuka defeated Ember Moon

Ember Moon put on a major show against Asuka. While I did not like this match as much as the Nikki Cross vs Asuka Last Woman Standing match, I did appreciate this for what it was. Moon not being able to put away Asuka. However, the natural conclusion of this match should have been when Moon hit her finisher, dead center of the ring. I don’t know where you go from there. Asuka won after trying to cheat, and eventually made Moon tapped out. I would’ve like Asuka to win by cheating, and develop that side of her character, leading to a match where she couldn’t cheat, but nope. Moon loses, and Asuka’s title reign continues.

Drew McIntyre defeated Bobby Roode for the NXT Championship

This match was hard hitting, and perhaps one of the best I’ve seen from Roode. Roode took on McIntyre’s best here. The bagpipe players from the NYPD were amazing for Drew, and he looked poised to get the big win here. He did it, but not without taking on Roode at every possible configuration of moves. That included the outside, off the top rope, and several DDTs. While there were moments of slow down, it wasn’t so bad that I wanted to stop watching. The two really did well together, and Roode may be poised for other things. Roode seemed to have suffered a nice big bruise on his quad, which looked nasty.

Post-match Adam Cole, Fish, and O’Reilly came out to beat up McIntyre. They are indie darlings from what I hear, and well, I didn’t care, I had already seen 6 or so hours of Summerslam and didn’t want to watch any more.

NXT Takeover Brooklyin III was certainly a great show. After seeing Summerslam, I can say that this was a better showcase of the WWE talent roster. I did not like Summerslam nearly as much. While the lack of fireworks was lame, the live performances were great, and the future looks bright for WWE, assuming they don’t homogenize these guys on the main roster like they have with Corbin, and Nakamura.

WWE NXT Takeover April 2, 2017 Results and Review Greatest Tag Match Ever

This morning I woke up at 3 am. I don’t get more than 5 hours of sleep a day. I have a hard time sleeping, and it’s wearing on me. I did get to watch NXT Takeover, and it made me wish I went to Orlando. Maybe next year, I will be able to do that. Whatever the case is, here is how this all went down.

WWE NXT Takeover April 2, 2017 Results

Sanity defeated Tye Dillinger, Kassius Ohno, Ruby Riot, and Roderick Strong
Aleister Black defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas
NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain defeted DIY and The Revival
NXT Women’s Champion Asuka defeated Ember Moon
NXT Champion Bobby Roode defeated Shinsuke Nakamura

WWE NXT Takeover April 2, 2017 Review

The first thing that I noticed is that there were 14,000 some odd people at the Amway center. Like I said, I really felt jealous for not going. I am not usually a jealous person, but this show really made me envious of everyone there.

Sanity defeated Tye Dillinger, Kassius Ohno, Ruby Riot, and Roderick Strong

This was a very cool option. Sanity is really fun to watch. Ohno, Dillinger, Riot, and Strong threw out a lot of action. This is a great match with a lot of action. Sanity is like Bray Wyatt’s group, only more interesting to me. They put the boots to the good guys, and at the end, Killian Dame got the pin. This was awesome, just a really good match. Kassius Ohno replaced No Way Jose, and he was great, he put on a show in this one, but Sanity got the win.

Aleister Black defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas

Aleister Black reminds me of Dharma Punx, a book about Zen. It gave me an idea about writing a new book about Zen Buddhism and skateboarding. Black is cool, Almas looks like he is miserable, but he’s doing his job. Black won with a kick called the Black Mass, and that’s it. I like Black’s style, but this isn’t that grand, just yet.

NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain defeated DIY and The Revival

I wasn’t expecting much out of this match, and then things started to pick up. Holy crap this is a 5 star classic if you ask me. The tag team champions took on 4 guys basically, because they teamed up at times. There was so much to this, so many spots, so many great moments. The Authors of Pain looked strong as they won this match. They were able to eliminate DIY and The Revival, but not without taking some serious damage, going through a table, and so much more. This was amazing, just amazing, wow. Favorite spot was the superplex off the top rope into 4 of the team members. Just wow.

NXT Women’s Champion Asuka defeated Ember Moon

This started with a frenetic pace. Ember Moon can hang with Asuka. Asuka was able to throw down a lot, don’t get me wrong, she was putting the boots to Moon, but Moon was able to throw out so many pieces of offense, it was amazing. I loved it. I loved how well she worked, but alas, she did not win. Asuka won, but only after one hell of a battle. This was a great match.

NXT Champion Bobby Roode defeated Shinsuke Nakamura

What a boring match. Shinsuke Nakamura is not a good match for Roode. Roode was boring. He won this match and it was fun. Nakamura lost this one, and he threw out some of the same old push. I didn’t like this match, and that was that.

WWE NXT Takeover San Antonio January 28, 2017 The WWE Indie Product

Independent style WWE Work 

If the WWE was aiming to make their development product seem like a good independent product, they certainly accomplished it with their latest Takeover event. This event took place at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas. I wanted to venture that way, but decided to save my 1,000 dollars and stick to seeing it on the network. Plus, one of my cats had an aggression problem and I had to stay awake all night defending it from the other cat, and well it was a big to do.

WWE NXT Takeover San Antonio 2017 Results

Eric Young defeated Tye Dillinger
Roderick Strong defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas
The Authors of Pain defeated DIY
Asuka defeated Nikki Cross, Billie Kay, and Peyton Royce
Bobby Roode defeated Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT Championship

WWE NXT Takeover San Antonio 2017 Review

Eric Young defeated Tye Dillinger

They call Dillinger the perfect 10, and people scream out 10 during his matches. I think he’s a good wrestler, but he is wasted here by losing. Eric Young put on a show, and I personally was impressed. Dillinger and Young put on a good overall wrestling match with only 11 minutes of time, and it was spot on in most cases. Young is definitely better here than he was in TNA, and Dillinger needs to be on the main roster, perhaps on Smackdown.

Roderick Strong defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas

Strong is an independent darling, and well, it looks like it. He’s got no charisma in my view, and this match was like watching Dean Malenko’s first matches. But he won me over as the match went on. Andrade is awesome, and he can really go. I liked the overall match, but didn’t like Strong’s casual selling towards the end, including no-selling Cien Almas’ finisher. Oh well.

The Authors of Pain defeated DIY

I’m not a fan of the Authors of Pain. They are green, but they are tough, and they really put a beating on DIY. This had a lot of great psychology, and really put through some great overall fighting back and forth. DIY just couldn’t get the job done as the bigger guys did what big guys do, beat up little guys. DIY should be on the main roster.

Asuka defeated Nikki Cross, Billie Kay, and Peyton Royce

A throwaway match if you ask me. Asuka is light years away from her peers at this point. However, I feel that her English-speaking skills are going to hold her back. I’m a fan of Japanese wrestlers, but like Great Muta said, you have to know English very well. As far as this match, it was interesting to see Peyton and Billie team up to get rid of Cross, then beat up Asuka. Asuka narrowly escaped this 10 minute match, and really did put on a good show, for the most part.

Bobby Roode defeated Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT Championship

Bobby ROOOOOO here put on a good showing against Nakamura. Nakamura has great charisma, but his English skills hold him back. Triple H even said he wasn’t ready for the main roster, and I can see why. This match was not crisp, and it showed a lot of frustration on the part of Nakamura. Watching it again, you’ll see how frustrated he gets when Roode is not in tune with the next step. Roode sold so much here, and really paced the match’s overall moves, in what I can only say was Glorious fashion. Good match, nearly 30 minutes, and a great way to end the show. Nakamura, in my opinion, is in dire need of better English, and a push that is better than Yoshi Tatsu or Kenzi Sazuki. Here’s hoping to him getting a fair shot in WWE.