My Review of Takeover (slight spoilers)
Apr 1, 2016 23:39:56 GMT -5
SickWaves Blackamura and John Rabid like this
Post by K. L. Henson on Apr 1, 2016 23:39:56 GMT -5
There was something about this Takeover that felt a little different than the others. Through out the night there seemed to be a focus on "combat". It is no secret that NXT has had a little bit of MMA influence in their style. But there was an effect through out the night that is sure to remind people that wrestling is more real than we think.
Matches:
The Revival vs. American Alpha: This match was amazing and the pacing was crazy! There was on bad botch but they recovered really quick and finished strong! The style of both groups were really defined! Technical amateur vs. Old School Rough Neck. Both team were strong and Gable and Jordan winning does my namesake proud! 9/10
Corbin vs. Austin Aries: Probably the weakest match of the night, but with that said, it wasn't bad. It was more a story and introduction to Austin than anything else. Corbin is showing he is finding his niche of being a cocky douche who slows down the match. He still has a lot of work to do. We didn't get to see what we really wanted from Austin but we have plenty of time to see what we expect of him and what we did see was very innovative in spots. But mostly it was a start into the combat/'real' fight feel I mentioned. There was a lot more striking in this trying to set up the kind of night we were entering into. And with Corbin being a boxer, it is a better fit. 7/10
Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: This match was tops! It made the Strong Style prevalent which is awesome because honestly that is a style WWE crowd is not familiar with and it can be difficult for them to see "what the big deal is". The pacing was masterful, the talent was amazing, the moments were HUGE! Easily the best match of the night! Shinsuke has a bright future here in WWE and I am happy that WWE has embraced the Japanese world of wrestling! The fight was almost real as you could feel the exhaustion with not only the wrestlers but even the fans! The chants themselves were starting to get sluggish after a while from pure hype exhaustion. Amazing 10/10
Asuka vs. Bayley: Now on first glance this match might not have been great but I would suggest going back and watching it again. It is hard to follow Zayn and Shinsuke and the crowd themselves were drained, reserving themselves to clap and sing Biz Markie. It was obvious there was a small style struggle but the story in it was amazing as they continued with the American struggle against Japanese Strong style. Bayley was mainly offensive in this one which was a change from her usual style but I feel this was needed to show that she wasn't going to fool around against Asuka. She did her homework and wanted to show she could be legit and not just the hugger. Asuka and Bayley had some very well timed spots. This had the hard position in the card that it couldn't have fulfilled but on its own it was very strong! hard 8/soft 9 out of 10.
Joe vs. Balor: Obviously there was something up about this match. Early on Joe got cut. This caused a couple of pauses that I think added to the match as they then threw themselves at each other, coming close to challenging Zayn's match for best match of the night. The only thing was that it had a very sudden ending. Most likely from the cut as it was a medical risk (not a PG issue as the fans thought...though the chanting was hilarious!) I wanted to see it go longer but I can see what happened and I wasn't disappointed. 9/10
Best chant of the night: "Fight Forever" This was hilarious but perfect during the Zayn Nakamura match!
Overall: 9/10 very close to 10/10 if the Corbin match was a little better and if the Main event wasn't ended so suddenly.
But Again I feel like this was a Takeover that successfully helped WWE take their story telling to the next level in such ways that would have been lost on the major crowd before. Being the Takeover before Mania, this was a strong show that continued the NXT's definition into the WWE family. What were your thoughts on the show?
Matches:
The Revival vs. American Alpha: This match was amazing and the pacing was crazy! There was on bad botch but they recovered really quick and finished strong! The style of both groups were really defined! Technical amateur vs. Old School Rough Neck. Both team were strong and Gable and Jordan winning does my namesake proud! 9/10
Corbin vs. Austin Aries: Probably the weakest match of the night, but with that said, it wasn't bad. It was more a story and introduction to Austin than anything else. Corbin is showing he is finding his niche of being a cocky douche who slows down the match. He still has a lot of work to do. We didn't get to see what we really wanted from Austin but we have plenty of time to see what we expect of him and what we did see was very innovative in spots. But mostly it was a start into the combat/'real' fight feel I mentioned. There was a lot more striking in this trying to set up the kind of night we were entering into. And with Corbin being a boxer, it is a better fit. 7/10
Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: This match was tops! It made the Strong Style prevalent which is awesome because honestly that is a style WWE crowd is not familiar with and it can be difficult for them to see "what the big deal is". The pacing was masterful, the talent was amazing, the moments were HUGE! Easily the best match of the night! Shinsuke has a bright future here in WWE and I am happy that WWE has embraced the Japanese world of wrestling! The fight was almost real as you could feel the exhaustion with not only the wrestlers but even the fans! The chants themselves were starting to get sluggish after a while from pure hype exhaustion. Amazing 10/10
Asuka vs. Bayley: Now on first glance this match might not have been great but I would suggest going back and watching it again. It is hard to follow Zayn and Shinsuke and the crowd themselves were drained, reserving themselves to clap and sing Biz Markie. It was obvious there was a small style struggle but the story in it was amazing as they continued with the American struggle against Japanese Strong style. Bayley was mainly offensive in this one which was a change from her usual style but I feel this was needed to show that she wasn't going to fool around against Asuka. She did her homework and wanted to show she could be legit and not just the hugger. Asuka and Bayley had some very well timed spots. This had the hard position in the card that it couldn't have fulfilled but on its own it was very strong! hard 8/soft 9 out of 10.
Joe vs. Balor: Obviously there was something up about this match. Early on Joe got cut. This caused a couple of pauses that I think added to the match as they then threw themselves at each other, coming close to challenging Zayn's match for best match of the night. The only thing was that it had a very sudden ending. Most likely from the cut as it was a medical risk (not a PG issue as the fans thought...though the chanting was hilarious!) I wanted to see it go longer but I can see what happened and I wasn't disappointed. 9/10
Best chant of the night: "Fight Forever" This was hilarious but perfect during the Zayn Nakamura match!
Overall: 9/10 very close to 10/10 if the Corbin match was a little better and if the Main event wasn't ended so suddenly.
But Again I feel like this was a Takeover that successfully helped WWE take their story telling to the next level in such ways that would have been lost on the major crowd before. Being the Takeover before Mania, this was a strong show that continued the NXT's definition into the WWE family. What were your thoughts on the show?