I really enjoyed NXT Takeover last night. Quality show from top to bottom, there wasn't a match on the card I didn't like.
TYLER BREEZE VS JUSHIN "THUNDER" LIGER
Right away, the impact of having NXT play in a bigger arena was felt. Tyler's bigger entrance, and the hot crowd, everything just had a big show feel. And this was a fun opener. Liger can still go despite being in his 50s now, and Breeze looked really convincing against him. I may have been inclined to have Breeze win, but I can totally get why they'd want Liger to go over with this possible one-time-only appearance. A great way to open the show on the right note.
THE VAUDEVILLAINS VS BLAKE & MURPHY
I wasn't particularly looking forward to this match, as I haven't found Blake & Murphy particularly compelling as champions. Alexa Bliss is easily the best thing about that unit, and I wouldn't be surprised to see her transition to a more promising tag team with more upside down the line. But I ended up liking this match a whole lot more than I was expecting to. I had a big grin from the amazing reaction Blue Pants got. And both teams had a strong showcase here. The Vaudevillains in particular looked strong, and I'm happy to see them get the win, as they seem like the kind of novelty act that might occasionally get a title shot but you never expect to actually become champions: a pleasant surprise.
SAMOA JOE VS BARON CORBIN
This was the match I probably felt most conflicted about. Intellectually, I was pretty convinced Corbin would win, as it made more sense from a booking perspective. They are trying to build Corbin up as the anti-indy guy, like a spectre from the mid-2000s era of bringing in green rookies with NFL credentials and pushing them to the moon, and he's become very effectively hateable with all his "I can crush all your indy darlings" talk. I can see real potential in that kinda persona, like a Kevin Owens who fans actually HATE rather than sneakily admiring. But to really get that over you have to have him actually start BEATING indy darlings, and I thought that's the role Joe would serve here. But, emotionally speaking, I really wanted Joe to win, as he's one of my favourite wrestlers and I don't particularly like Corbin. So, though objectively it might not make the most sense, I was personally very glad to see Joe go over. The two had a solid, hard-hitting match, with the best part being the extended back-and-forth duelling strikes sequence. I found myself wishing to see a sequence like that in a Samoa Joe VS Brock Lesnar dream match.
APOLLO CREWS VS TYE DILLINGER
This match was too short to be left with much of an impression of anything beyond Apollo Crews as a performer, and as a showcase for him it really won me over. I've never seen him before, and based on his build I thought he was gonna be another green bodybuilder type that Vince loves. But my hopes perked up when the commentators talked about his worldwide wrestling history, and I was wowed by his athleticism in the ring. Crews shows a lot of promise, I'd be excited to see what he has going against some of the upper tier of the NXT roster.
SASHA BANKS VS BAYLEY
Match of the night for me. This was the match I was most hotly anticipating out of the whole Summerslam weekend, and my hype was amped even more after the amazing video package beforehand. I also loved Sasha's specialised entrance, which I hope carries over into WWE PPVs in future. That, and Bayley's big wriggly dancing man things, are the kinda things we need more of in the Divas division. Little things like entrances that pop the crowd and seem distinctive, the way WWE would do to set apart male performers. Even before first lock-up, you could feel the emotion in the air. I was getting goosebumps at that white-hot crowd and the "Let's go Sasha"/"Let's go Bayley" chants and the main event feel, for a Woman's Title match. And after all that build and excitement, the match itself didn't disappoint. It seems both competitors deliberately had a slower match than the Sasha/Becky encounter, telling more of a WWE main event style story, building up slow and leading to the kicking out of finishers. And while the result may have been less wall-to-wall excitement, the upside was more drama and gravitas, with each wrestler selling their character and bringing their history perfectly. It was high drama and they had the crowd in the palm of their hands. Yes, there are little niggles - a couple of blown spots, and I feel that extending out the late-middle sequence with the working on Bayley's hand rather than abruptly dropping it to enter the end phase could have elevated this beyond "amazing" into the realm of "all-time classic" - but this was a brilliant encounter, which is a front-runner for Match of the Year for me, and likely tops Sasha/Becky from last Takeover as the best woman's match I've seen.
Not related to the match itself, but I'm not sure if I was a big fan of the Four Horsewoman curtain call. I mean, I get it, it was a great emotional moment, and in terms of NXT history I couldn't help but be moved by seeing these four who have worked so hard celebrate their success together before most of them move up to the WWE main roster. But I wasn't sure if I was comfortable with Sasha breaking character to go all buddy-buddy and say "Look we did really well." Yes, at this stage, it's important to recognise the amazing trails these women are blazing for American women's wrestling. But the next stage in adding to their credibility is to stop throwing a parade every time they tear the house down like we should be amazed by it: it should become the standard. When Kevin Owens beat John Cena you didn't have Finn Balor and Sami Zayn run in to hug him and have them all start crying. Same should apply for the women.
FINN BALOR VS KEVIN OWENS
It says something about how amazing Sasha Banks VS Bayley was that you have a FREAKING LADDER MATCH between KEVIN FREAKING OWENS and FINN FREAKING BALOR, and for the opening sequence it felt like the crowd was blown out and they had to work to get them hot again. The result that the opening felt a little sluggish. But once this got going, it really got going. I liked how it wasn't just relentless spots. Much of the storytelling here revolved around the various creative ways they DIDN'T use the ladders. And they steadily built up to the big spots. This was a lot better than their encounter in Japan, a match I also liked a good deal, and both looked like main eventers here. Also, did anyone notice Owens hugging a woman and child in the front row - his wife and son in attendance, perhaps?
Overall, stunning show. Certainly the best of 2015 for me. I imagine Summerslam itself will have a really hard time topping it.
