Official NXT Takeover: Dallas Thread

[Droford]

Lol the crowd counting 1 ahead

[Poit]

Finn is demoning up!

[Droford]

Aww..boo

[road doggy dogg]

oh shit

[Droford]

Jobber Joe

[road doggy dogg]

did not see that coming

[Poit]

Now Joe is just gonna go get that chainsaw...

[Emperor Smeat]

Wow surprised Finn actually won.

[Evil Vito]

Fucking incredible Takeover as per usual.

[Frank Drebin]

wonder if they cut some time off the match due to the cut

[Triple A]

Good stuff!!!

[Frank Drebin]

Unreal show. Just so great. Fuck Sunday. Who cares?

[VSG]

Very surprised at the finish myself given all the rumors. Then again an NXT champion has been on Raw before (Big E, Kevin Owens).

[Emperor Smeat]

Event itself was great. Doubt anything at Mania is going to come close to topping Nak-Zayn.


wonder if they cut some time off the match due to the cut

Wouldn't be surprised since how abrupt it felt and probably also from the event itself going on longer than usual for Takeovers.

[Shadrick]

dude this was amazing

[Simple Fan]

Great wrestling show. Zayn/Nakamura was awesome and I think he'll do great in WWE. Surprised by the NXT title match, thought Joe had that one.

[Frank Drebin]

Floored with how great that show was. Sucks they have to go back to full sail now, lol.

[Purgatory]

Incredible show. I love how incredible their matches always wind up being. Even the ones you have doubts about. Nakamura/Zayn was as incredible as I expected, while Bayley/Asuka turned out alot better than i thought it was gonna be. Why cant the main roster diva matches be that good? Joe/Balor ended differently than i thought, and i guess thats ok. Sadly, I found it the worst match.

[Innovator]

Apparently Izzy had a complete meltdown, hysterically crying on the floor, had to leave

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">❤️⭐️⭐️⭐️ <a href="https://twitter.com/RealKrisTravis">@RealKrisTravis</a> love you <a href="https://t.co/mamXCaIAWQ">pic.twitter.com/mamXCaIAWQ</a></p>&mdash; Finn Bálor (@wwebalor) <a href="https://twitter.com/wwebalor/status/716111802229108736">April 2, 2016</a></blockquote>
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:lol: at the replies

[Fignuts]

Incredible show. I love how incredible their matches always wind up being. Even the ones you have doubts about. Nakamura/Zayn was as incredible as I expected, while Bayley/Asuka turned out alot better than i thought it was gonna be. Why cant the main roster diva matches be that good? Joe/Balor ended differently than i thought, and i guess thats ok. Sadly, I found it the worst match.

I would say it was better than Aries vs Corbin.

Though giving any match on this show the title "worst" seems wrong.

I'll just say that Corbin vs Aries was "least awesome".

[KIRA]

Okay that whole show was fucking incredible I've got nothing but praise.

[slik]

ran into STD after the show

slik/slicky moment

[Mercenary]

Apparently Izzy had a complete meltdown, hysterically crying on the floor, had to leave


Good that brat was getting way more attention then she deserved. We get it you like Bayley so do a bunch of other 5 year olds. It's Asuka time now!!!!!!

[Mercenary]

ran into STD after the show

slik/slicky moment



Was there butt sex? :P

[slik]

"Let Joe Bleed" isn't a great sounding chant'

a guy sitting next to me tried to start a hepatitis chant to balance it but it did not catch on

[Mercenary]

'

a guy sitting next to me tried to start a hepatitis chant to balance it but it did not catch on



Shane Douglas?

[slik]

Was there butt sex? :P


no, we discussed several things

a) what heisenberg was probably doing at that very moment

b) how the show was 'really great'

c) what hotels we were staying at


then we wished one another well and said goodbye

[Mercenary]

Awwwwwwww

[Blonde Moment]

no, we discussed several things



c) what hotels we were staying at



I think Anal still might be on the table

[Frank Drebin]

Slik and sliky? Sounds like too much lube. You gotta have friction. You gotta.

[Frank Drebin]

You'd think that Izzy should "get it" by now especially after Sasha apologized and gave her her flowers after her heel antics in the iron woman match.

[slik]

slik's in-person thoughts on show:

A) crowd was super intense/passionate/into it

B) American Alpha are really good

C) Austin Aries is pretty good

D) I kind of emotionally peaked during Nakamura/Zayn. That was a MOTY candidate.

E) It took me a bit to get into Asuka/Bailey but it was good too.

F) Guy in front of me starting 'crying' in real life because Bailey lost and he thought the crowd was chanting 'FUCK THESE WOMEN' when they were chanting 'BOTH THESE WOMEN'. He also wore an alien mask most of the show for some reason. He took it off to cry in public though.

G) Main-event was good, even despite the constant stoppage of Joe bleeding. Spider Finn was great and I hope he does not go to RAW because he will booked really bad.

H) I want to see Nakamura vs Spider Finn

[slik]

Did Crews-Drifter get suddenly dropped?

It was a dark match. There was one other dark match too but I didn't catch the names. This guy in white pants beat this other guy.

[Frank Drebin]

Who one the crews/drifter match?

[Blonde Moment]

If it was a dark match most likely the network viewers

[slik]

Who one the crews/drifter match?

the crews guy, crowd chanted lots of obscene things at his opponent...remember them yelling "you're not a wrestler" at one point.

[slik]

btw, STD seemed like a really nice guy IMO

I think I scared him at first b/c I recognized him before he recognized me and I pointed at him and yelled "STD! STD!"

[slik]

oh yeah, we also talked about:

A) the differences between uber and lyft. I have been using Lyft and he said he has been using uber and I asked which one he preferred and he said he was using both and didn't have a preference

B) He mentioned the line to get in was much longer than NXT TAKEOVER: BROOKLYN so I asked which show he thought was better and he said comparing NXT to NXT is like apples to oranges (or something like that) and we talked about how there were empty seats even though it was sold out probably because stubhub bought them and couldn't sell them because they charged too much.

C) We discussed our phone chargers briefly as well.

If there is anything else I am forgetting he can add it in later.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Jesus Christ what a fucking show. Just brilliant top to bottom. Surprised Joe didn't win but that was the best he's been since signing up. Nakamura v Zayn is easy match of the year. Great women's match. Corbin continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

Good luck, Mania. You're gonna be HHH v Orton to NXT's Undertaker v HBK.

[Dark One]

Match of the night goes to Nakamura's entrance. Easily six stars.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

nak v zayn was probably one of the crazier matches I've seen, at least for a long time.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Fuck me, only made it to the Nakamura/Zayn match, but holy fucking shit. I don't think that will ever be topped in NXT.

Love that Sami set the tone of the Takeovers with his first match against Cesaro and his last match (for this run at least) is one that may never be topped.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CfAaYH3UAAAAUJW.jpg

"Hey guys, did I miss the green mist spot yet?"

[#1-norm-fan]

Still on a high from that Nakamura vs Zayn match. I miss matches where it seems like they're really just beating the living shit out of each other. I'm hoping we get a Nakamura vs Joe match before one of them leaves NXT but I have a feeling Nakamura is gonna go heel immediately so that probably won't be happening.

[The Destroyer]

Just got done watching it, loved it. Even Aries vs Corbin was decent.

Nakamura's debut is possibly the most excited I've ever been for anything in wrestling ever and it didn't let me down. Absolutely nailed his theme too.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

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[#1-norm-fan]

F) Guy in front of me starting 'crying' in real life because Bailey lost and he thought the crowd was chanting 'FUCK THESE WOMEN' when they were chanting 'BOTH THESE WOMEN'. He also wore an alien mask most of the show for some reason. He took it off to cry in public though.

Picturing this right now and laughing quietly to myself.

[Evil Vito]

Marge Simpson while watching Nakamura's debut:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ce8giCsXEAA8Fk2.jpg:large

[Mercenary]

btw, STD seemed like a really nice guy IMO

I think I scared him at first b/c I recognized him before he recognized me and I pointed at him and yelled "STD! STD!"

I bet you scared more then him yelling that

[Corndad]

The entire show was amazing. Nakamura-Zayn won't be topped for a while. Incredible. Shocked Bayley lost but may lead to her going to Main Roster , most likely after a rematch at the next Takeover. Her swan song like Sami got tonight.

Alpha American is the best team going anywhere at this point Main Roster included. Such a fun tag match to watch. Lol at the Botchamania chant

Corbin Aries was probably the lowest part of the show but even still was a pretty good match.

Main Event I believe was made better by Joe just being a flat out monster. I was one who didn't think he would win going in but half way though I was convinced for sure he was beating Balor. That's good story telling .

Mania is gonna have a tough time beating what was thrown out there last night both wrestling and entertainment wise.

[#1-norm-fan]

Jason Jordan seems like he could be a star. Haven't heard him cut a promo but he seems to have all the tools elsewhere.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Jordan has a million bucks written all over him.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

So has the shine worn off of Apollo Crews? Went from prominently featured to getting bumped.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Didn't look like Shinsuke hit the finish that well, but it was just the camera angle. He hit it sweet.

http://i.imgur.com/E0ErFAc.gif

[Sepholio]

Epic show was epic.

[BigCrippyZ]

This was amazing. First time I've watched a whole NXT show (or a whole WWE show for that matter) in one sitting from start to finish where I didn't skip around/fast forward, etc.

Nakamura v. Zayn was incredible. Hell, every match on the card was great, with superb storytelling, emotion and drama before, during and after the match. Commentary was better than anything I've heard on Raw, SD or a PPV in the last 10+ years, as they actually focused on the story going on at the moment throughout the whole show. The writing, production and presentation of the show was better than anything I've seen on the main roster shows in 5+ years, as everything felt fresh, organic and not scripted, watered down or over produced to kill any drama or emotion from it.

[#1-norm-fan]

Oh yeah. The commentary. Tom Phillips was pretty excellent last night.

[owenbrown]

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xat1/v/t1.0-9/12439469_1318650478149124_7978280509905198852_n.jpg?oh=d506ba9d5019ffca344b46e79ccdce96&oe=578A98D5

[Simple Fan]

Interested to see where they go with Balor now. Not sure who goes after the title now, maybe Aries or Nakamura. Not sure where Joe goes from here either but could see Joe and Balor having one more match.

[#1-norm-fan]

I would say Nakamura vs Balor is a lock for the SummerSlam Takeover show but Balor is likely to be called up by then. Not really any more heel challengers for him. Joe was it.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

I would say Nakamura vs Balor is a lock for the SummerSlam Takeover show but Balor is likely to be called up by then. Not really any more heel challengers for him. Joe was it.

Baron Corbin. The promo he did was great. He really carried himself well.

Slik interaction was good. I hadn't slept since like 10am on Thursday. Got to the hotel room and was out.

Show was so Fucking good. Arena was a little bit strange as there was a tna section of empty chairs in the floor. No video screen. I think they just wanted at the same place as Axxcess and made do with whatever that meant. No doors to block out the light from the hallways and no video screen playing at the same time.

Brooklyn was about proving NXT was it's on thing and can sell out a big arena. This one was about being a part of WrestleMania.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Corbin should get pushed into the title picture and win.

[Simple Fan]

Corbin will be NXT champion eventually. Don't see it happening while Joe and Valor on the roster, if they get called up then it's Corbins time to shine. Needs a big win to elevate him though.

[Asmo]

Perhaps the most invested i've been in a Balor match since his title reign began, and that's largely due to him dialing up the 'Demon' gimmick up a notch. But the star of the match was clearly Joe. What a fucking monster. The blood just added to his viciousness. Excellent, excellent performance.

Joe's the star of the night for me.

[#1-norm-fan]

Corbin does not seem like a world title contender. Like.. I can see him getting a shot just as a filler opponent for Balor before Nakamura between specials. He seems pretty firmly entrenched as the guy who is there to make the faces look good at this point though. Like Tyler Breeze was for the last few months of his NXT run.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Linda was ringside and you can see her when Joe throws Balor over the barricade. Jason Solomon is saying in his podcast how Linda and Steph didn't look happy when Joe was bleeding like a pig, and when the 'Fuck PG' chants broke out, Shane's kids were chanting along and Linda was smirking.

[#1-norm-fan]

Perhaps the most invested i've been in a Balor match since his title reign began, and that's largely due to him dialing up the 'Demon' gimmick up a notch. But the star of the match was clearly Joe. What a fucking monster. The blood just added to his viciousness. Excellent, excellent performance.

Joe's the star of the night for me.

Assuming Taker's done tomorrow night, I really wanna see Joe vs Cena at WrestleMania next year after a good, long, drawn out build.

[#1-norm-fan]

Or SummerSlam. Though Joe attacking Cena and putting him out of action for a bit and not giving Cena a match until WrestleMania because he wants his WrestleMania moment at Cena's expense would be ideal.

[BigCrippyZ]

Linda was ringside and you can see her when Joe throws Balor over the barricade. Jason Solomon is saying in his podcast how Linda and Steph didn't look happy when Joe was bleeding like a pig, and when the 'Fuck PG' chants broke out, Shane's kids were chanting along and Linda was smirking.

:lol: Fuck Stephanie and Linda.

[erickman]

Bobby Roode huh

TNA invasion man

that would be better then the wcw-ecw invasion ey roode aj styles Austin joe all they need is abyss

[Dark One]

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[XL]

What. A. Show.

Top to the bottom that was a great show. Tag Teams that people are really digging, pleased to see AA win the belts (though it seems Enzo & Cass keep getting overtaken in the tag ranks).

Corbin and Aries both looked good coming out of that match with AA catching a "cheeky" win. Wouldn't mind seeing that programme continue.

Women's Match was excellent by any standard other than comparing to other matches on this card. Surprised by the title switch.

Joe-Balor was another fantastic match. The bleed didn't hinder the drama of the match; in fact it added an element where neither guy could get on top for too long due to the meds getting involved. Joe seemed more aggressive following the cut, and having to "reset" the match over and over made it really interesting.

Nakamura had a fantastic showing in his first outing, really impressed. Has he worked with Sami before?

And now, the worst thing...

This show was awesome with the likes of Balor, Joe, Bayley, and Zayn acting as the spine of the brand, one/some/all of those guys are likely to be called up pretty soon, history shows they're likely to struggle with the transition. Hate to see these guys/girls go to waste on Raw.

[Disturbed316]

An incredible show, definitely peaked at Nakamura/Zayn. Felt the ending of the women's match was somewhat confusing, didn't feel Bailey had been out long enough for the ref to notice.

[hb2k]

Well bloody hell. Nakamura was always going to have an easy time in front of the Mania weekend audience, but that was amazing. Great aura, great match, something very special. Great show overall, but no doubt to me in three years what people will remember this show for.

I almost dread to think what they'd do with him on the main roster, but he damn well should be there.

On the heel side thinness, Balor going heel with Nakamura replacing him as top face seems logical if Shinsuke is staying.

[Tom Guycott]

Jesus. H. Christ.

That. Fucking. Match.

That is something that has been missing from WWE for a long, long time.

I don't necessarily mean the stiffing. Or the blood on Shinskue. I mean the conviction. It wasn't a "let me get all my shit in" spotfest. It wasn't a showcase of the next manufactured potential champion/movie star main roster call-up. They were in there like it was a legit goddamn fight... and with nothing on the line except pride.

I agree with a previous post about this not topping Zayn/Cesaro, but this was up there for a completely different reason. Watching this, I ended up being so divorced from internet smarkiness. I was 8 again. I *believed*. I was watching a wrestling match from a wrestling show. Point blank.

Moreover, Nakamura didn't have to adopt some dumbass persona; just go out there and do his thing, and Zayn is a godsend as an asset, and I hope he doesn't get jobbed out on Superstars or kept around in "good hand hell". He can work with anyone, and look good- and make the other guy look good- doing it. But again, that was post-match analysis. During? I didn't care. I was invested too much.

[Frank Drebin]

It wasn't a "let me get all my shit in" spotfest. It wasn't a showcase of the next manufactured potential champion/movie star main roster call-up. They were in there like it was a legit goddamn fight... and with nothing on the line except pride.


This

[Frank Drebin]

I've watched his entrance a 100 times. I want to watch it 100 more....and I've seen his entrance from other matches before. Why do I love it so??

[Blonde Moment]

I've watched his entrance a 100 times. I want to watch it 100 more....and I've seen his entrance from other matches before. Why do I love it so??

Because it's his debut with a company we never thought he would be working for and it worked

[Crimson]

Guarantee Nakamura gets a gay gimmick whenever he gets called up

[Maluco]

Never watched NXT before and that was seriously quality.

Think I love Asuka.

Was thinking when Nakamura came out, who does this guy think he is...and then I saw him in action. Don't remember anyone with that much natural charisma for a long time.

Simple feuds with heart in them, leading to great matches.

It seems so easy after watching that.

[Dark One]

I've watched his entrance a 100 times. I want to watch it 100 more....and I've seen his entrance from other matches before. Why do I love it so??

Because it was the greatest maneuver in wrestling history.

If Nakamura entered the arena for four hours straight tomorrow, we'd have the best Wrestlemania of all time.

[Dark One]

NAKAMANIA

[drave]

I am rather speechless at this. THIS is how wrestling SHOULD be. Shinsuke Fucking Nakamura is STILL doing what he does and it is the best.


On the women's finish...... since when did they stop doing the "raise the hand and let it fall for a 3 count" thing? I was 100% expecting that and even said something out loud to my wife because I haven't seen that done in a long time.

Crazy good event. Good luck trying to follow any of that @ Mania.

[Frank Drebin]

I'm pretty glad with the match selection they moved to the pre-show. Ryback/Kalisto and the 64-divas match are ripe for a huge "NXT NXT" chant from the smarky crowd. They'll probably be alot easier on the pre show than they would for the main show.

[Frank Drebin]

I would like to know what our resident bookers/historians/Japanese marks Noid/Gertner/Seth/CSL thought about this show.

[Frank Drebin]

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to watch Nakamura's entrance 10 more times with the same smile on my face Zayn had during it.

[Frank Drebin]

A great Asuka/Bayley match with title change predictably lost in the shuffle of this amazing show. Hope Izzy isn't scarred for life.

[Maluco]

Remember someone posted a while ago of the need for a dominant woman to come in and run through everyone and set themselves up for a new hero to take down.

Surely Asuka is that woman, everything she does looks great and she has so much edge and personality.

Last night could have been the seed planted for the highlight videos before Bailey finally topples her at Mania next year...

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Still running high on this event. Rewatched Zayn v Nakamura. Can't remember the last time I was so enamored with a match.

[Dark One]

NAKAMANIA

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

I think Vince needs to accept the hipster smarks are a lucrative market, and pushing someone as magnetic and alternative to be a big coo if done right. 18-35 would eat his shit up.

[#1-norm-fan]

And fuck "main event". Have that match be part of the IC title scene while the bigger guys fight for the world title and you're golden. That was the point I made back during the Daniel Bryan thing. Put guys like Zayn and Nakamura in compelling storylines in the upper-midcard scene while the bigger "larger than life" guys are in compelling stories in the main event scene and you're golden. You're pleasing everyone. The smarks and hardcore fans would be more than content just watching matches like that that mean SOMETHING. As long as you don't fuck with them by teasing those guys as potential main eventers and then not following through with it.

[Tom Guycott]

A great Asuka/Bayley match with title change predictably lost in the shuffle of this amazing show. Hope Izzy isn't scarred for life.

The funny thing is, pretty much all the matches were main event caliber. Makes sense, given it is a "PPV", but realistically, how often does this happen anymore?

All of these matches could have closed a show, just Zayn/Nakamura happened to be a special moment.

[Tom Guycott]

I think Vince needs to accept the hipster smarks are a lucrative market, and pushing someone as magnetic and alternative to be a big coo if done right. 18-35 would eat his shit up.

Is it really "hipster smarks" if the wrestling fans are into :gasp: the spectacle of wrestling in and of itself, and less interested in the machine trying to transform the talent into a multimedia factory of "looking the shit" and catchphrases and spin-offs? Where what they do- that is, be wrestlers- seems to be completely incidental to that in Vince's eyes?

[Tom Guycott]

And fuck "main event". Have that match be part of the IC title scene while the bigger guys fight for the world title and you're golden. That was the point I made back during the Daniel Bryan thing. Put guys like Zayn and Nakamura in compelling storylines in the upper-midcard scene while the bigger "larger than life" guys are in compelling stories in the main event scene and you're golden. You're pleasing everyone. The smarks and hardcore fans would be more than content just watching matches like that that mean SOMETHING. As long as you don't fuck with them by teasing those guys as potential main eventers and then not following through with it.

It also has strings in place for the future. I said before that WWE is so laser focused on finding the next Hulk Hogan, that they're willing to overlook all the Pipers, Hennings* Jake Roberts', and Rick Rudes to get there. They let people with spark fuck off to oblivion instead of letting the fans have a shot at giving a shit about them over time. If you don't "outpop DX" every night, you aren't worth the TV time, noob... and they focus on the same 4-5 talents the writers can be assed to deal with.

And every five years or so, they find themselves in a "panic" position, because of injuries, suspensions, film shoots, bad PR... etc., and then they go "HOW COME NOBODY IS OVER?! "

[Vastardikai]

It also has strings in place for the future. I said before that WWE is so laser focused on finding the next Hulk Hogan, that they're willing to overlook all the Pipers, Hennings* Jake Roberts', and Rick Rudes to get there. They let people with spark fuck off to oblivion instead of letting the fans have a shot at giving a shit about them over time. If you don't "outpop DX" every night, you aren't worth the TV time, noob... and they focus on the same 4-5 talents the writers can be assed to deal with.

And every five years or so, they find themselves in a "panic" position, because of injuries, suspensions, film shoots, bad PR... etc., and then they go "HOW COME NOBODY IS OVER?! "

You can't give reputation to the same post twice.

God Damnit!

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

And fuck "main event". Have that match be part of the IC title scene while the bigger guys fight for the world title and you're golden. That was the point I made back during the Daniel Bryan thing. Put guys like Zayn and Nakamura in compelling storylines in the upper-midcard scene while the bigger "larger than life" guys are in compelling stories in the main event scene and you're golden. You're pleasing everyone. The smarks and hardcore fans would be more than content just watching matches like that that mean SOMETHING. As long as you don't fuck with them by teasing those guys as potential main eventers and then not following through with it.

There should be no ceiling on them. But I see what you're saying. IC title feuds should be heavily featured akin to Warrior vs Rude, Bret vs Bulldog, Razor vs Shawn etc.

However, if the guy is the best/most over guy in the company and the fans eat his shit up and they WANT him to be the big champ,then why the hell not. Because if you place that ceiling on them, guys like Shawn Michaels would have only ever been IC champ and that's kind of dumb.

[Outsider]

I can't believe NXT is at Download Festival. It was tempting before that, but goddammit.

Anyone lend me several hundred pounds? I am not above sexual favours.

But yeah, that show was utterly fantastic. It's just incredible the atmosphere they've managed to create at those shows which just adds to the spectacle so much. Hopefully they can learn from some of what is working with NXT and improve the main shows (I doubt it).

[#1-norm-fan]

There should be no ceiling on them. But I see what you're saying. IC title feuds should be heavily featured akin to Warrior vs Rude, Bret vs Bulldog, Razor vs Shawn etc.

However, if the guy is the best/most over guy in the company and the fans eat his shit up and they WANT him to be the big champ,then why the hell not. Because if you place that ceiling on them, guys like Shawn Michaels would have only ever been IC champ and that's kind of dumb.

Yeah, my point wasn't so much that there should be a ceiling as it was that they can work things in a way so that they guy they want to represent the company and the guy the more hardcore fans love can both thrive in whatever spot the company wants them to be in without the fans caring about the totem pole. When you tease a Daniel Bryan type repeatedly though without intending on him being the guy, that hardcore fanbase is suddenly gonna WANT it. And now your hands are kinda tied. Shawn Michaels was more than IC champ because he happened to be the guy they chose. That's the way it should be. The company successfully leading the fans to enjoy what they give them as opposed to a vocal and potentially very disruptive fanbase twisting their arm.

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

Exactly. There's no reason "THE" guy shouldn't be over while "The fan's" guy is also over. If there is that much of a disconnect that speaks volumes to the company's inability to keep fresh and in touch.

[Jari]

Right guys I'm going to try and keep this brief because I want watch Zayn/Nakamura again before Wrestlemania comes on.

1) American Alpha vs the Revival - Jordan and Gable have star power written all over them. It's crazy to think that Chad Gable has only been involved in professional wrestling for two years because he is so good. Jason Jordan equally could be a star and it's nice to see how organic his rise has been from bland enhancement talent to major player in NXT. It was also great to see the way they made the tag titles seem like such a big deal. If you haven't seen it already, Jordan and Gable were interviewed after the match and for my money, it's one of the best babyface promos I've seen in a long time because of the emotion they convey.

Props also have to be given to the Revival for their part. I said in the underrated thread that these two guys are the most underrated talents in the WWE. I fear that because of their look they might get lost in the shuffle along with Blake and Murphy now but hopefully the cream will rise to the top because they are both excellent wrestlers.

2) Austin Aries vs Corbin - it would appear to me that Corbin is on his way out of NXT and is doing the favours in putting over new talent. I've said that it wouldn't surprise me if Sin Cara or Zack Ryder get taken out before the ladder match and are replaced by said attacker. If I were booking such a scenario then it would be Samoa Joe to be the attacker but equally it could work with Corbin.

The match was fine but I don't think Corbin was the best opponent in terms of giving Aries the opportunity to shine. In the future with guys like Balor, Joe, Itami, Nakamura, etc I think we'll get to see the real Aries.

3) Zayn vs Nakamura - Wow! Wrestling might very well have peaked here. From the reaction to Zayn to the reaction when Nakamura did that hanging from the ropes spot, this built and built and built and man did they knock it out of the park. Bryan Alvarez said it best when he tweeted something like "In 0 seconds, Nakamura became the most charismatic performer in the entire company". Having only watched a couple of matches and hearing reports about how beat up he is, I wasn't completely sure what to expect. Zayn has also been a little lacklustre since returning but he brought his best here.

That couple of minutes where they were just punching each other reminded me of an excerpt from Foley's book when he was training and he couldn't understand how guys made it look like they were punching each other as hard as they could. Turns out it was because they were punching each other as hard as they could. Tremendous match: I cannot see anything on Wrestlemania topping it.

4) Bayley vs Asuka - Not the way I would have gone with this match and I hope this doesn't lead to Bayley joining the main roster right away. I would have kept the belt on Bayley and let this feud run till the next Takeover when you can maybe give Asuka the title. My concern is that if Bayley, as well as Emma, are joining the main roster then NXT's Women's division suddenly looks very light. They're coming to the end of a golden generation of Women's wrestler in NXT and it's going to take a long time to find the best of the new batch and for them to create characters that people can become invested in. This is the problem of trying to replicate something special that happend naturally.

As for the match, it was as good as I expected (despite what I've said in the last paragraph there is no doubt that Asuka is the better talent and entirely deserving of the title - I just think NXT needs both her and Bayley at the moment) and if there's a rematch I expect it to main event the next Takeover.

5) Samoa Joe vs Finn Balor - I spied a thread from a very long time ago where I listed Samoa Joe as a talent I did not get and someone I would have no interest in watching. I am a jabroni for saying so because he has been awesome since he signed with the WWE full time. He's like Vader as a monster heel but with chops and enziguris! I loved the way he was busted and I actually thought the whole thing of the medical team trying to clean him up but he's shoving them away and looking pissed off added to the spectale and the image of him as this badass.

Finn Balor did a good job once again but he was overshadowed by Joe on this occasion. Where they both go from here I'm not sure but I'd like to see this Joe on the main roster. My suspicion will be that Balor will go on to face Nakamura at some point for the NXT Title but to be honest, Nakamura has money written all over him and has a flamboyance that has to be embraced on the main roster.

Incredible wrestling show and that's why I'm going to watch it again.

[Lock Jaw]

Watched this show today before I watched Wrestlemania.

The best match I saw today was Sami Zayn vs. Nakamura.....

[BigCrippyZ]

Watched this show today before I watched Wrestlemania.

The best match I saw today was Sami Zayn vs. Nakamura.....

No doubt.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Good luck, Mania. You're gonna be HHH v Orton to NXT's Undertaker v HBK.

Now that mania is over, I'm just gonna leave this here.

[Fignuts]

5) Samoa Joe vs Finn Balor - I spied a thread from a very long time ago where I listed Samoa Joe as a talent I did not get and someone I would have no interest in watching. I am a jabroni for saying so because he has been awesome since he signed with the WWE full time. He's like Vader as a monster heel but with chops and enziguris! I loved the way he was busted and I actually thought the whole thing of the medical team trying to clean him up but he's shoving them away and looking pissed off added to the spectale and the image of him as this badass.



Yeah, when I watched it the first time, I was so preoccupied, worrying that the interference wou ld ruin the pacing of the match, that I didn't just sit back and enjoy it. Watching it a second time, I think it actually adds another dynamic to the story, with Joe unable to capitalize on his early dominance due to the medical team's interference.