It is hard to believe that NXT has another of their signature TakeOver events coming up this weekend. These events start feeling a little less special as time goes on. And this event, for some reason, has me less excited than the previous few TakeOvers. So, will this "go-home" episode of NXT insert the excitement for a TakeOver back into the heart of this fan? Let's find out!
NXT Thoughts
- The first person out to greet the NXT audience is the Velveteen Dream! (Velveteen Dream currently has nothing going on for NXT TakeOver.) Velveteen has a sparkle of gold in his eye: the sparkle of North American Championship gold. Adam Cole comes out to interrupt. Adam Cole swears that the Undisputed Era will capture all the gold this year. Bobby Fish shames Dream for getting the fans' hopes up. 2019 will continue to be the Undisputed Era's year. Cole and Fish charge Dream, but he disposes of both men to the floor. He runs out of the ring and backs up the ramp.
(Nice segment with three talents that are not scheduled for any matches during this Saturday's NXT TakeOver. I personally want to see Adam Cole win the NXT Championship before he leaves for the main roster. Bobby Fish, likewise, would make a good NXT North American Champion. Velveteen Dream is another prime candidate for either belt. I would like to see the Undisputed Era complete their promise. But Velveteen Dream should take either of the male singles NXT championships.)
- A video is shown to promote the NXT Women's Championship match.
- Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch take on Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel in the first match on this show. (During the entrance for Aichner and Barthel, Mauro announces that we're getting Velveteen Dream vs. Bobby Fish later tonight. Nice...)
Aichner nails a Tilt-A-Whirl Backbreaker early on. Barthel tags in and starts working on Lorcan. Lorcan escapes a double team attempt and tags in Burch who fires off at both opponents. Barthel breaks up the finisher of Lorcan and Burch. Lorcan gets turned inside out by a big lariat by Aichner. Aichner and Barthel hit some impressive maneuvers (Manuever... who the hell am I? Vince McMahon, pal?! I wish...) on their opponents, including a Lawn Dart into a Brainbuster. Then, while Barthel dives through the ropes into Burch, AICHNER NAILS A DOUBLE SPRINGBOARD TOP ROPE MOONSAULT ONTO LORCAN! AND LORCAN STILL KICKS OUT! (If that's not a finish to a match, I don't know what is.) A double team attempt fails for Barthel and Aichner as Lorcan gets a Half Crab on Aichner. Massive chaos breaks out as Lorcan goes insane. Multiple shots to Aichner followed by a dive to the floor. Aichner, not to be outdone, runs up the corner and does a CROSSBODY OFF THE TOP TO THE FLOOR! And, of all things to end the match, a roll-up by Lorcan gets the pin for his team.
(A very good match here on NXT that could have been on an NXT TakeOver easily. Aichner and Barthel should have just secured their spots on the NXT roster with that performance. Meanwhile, while I hate Lorcan and Burch's theme, their tag team work is up there among the elite in NXT history at this point. So many great performances. Vince may not see it or ever will, but great tag team wrestling can be just as entertaining as any other division in "sports entertainment." )
- A highlight package is shown for the NXT Championship Match.
- Io Shirai and Kairi Sane team up to face the enhancement talents of Tanea Brooks and Amber Nova. Shirai and Sane daze and confuse their opponents in the opening moments. Nova almost succumbs to the Pirate Elbow, but her partner distracts Sane. Brooks gets tagged in, but she doesn't really get much offense in. Io gets the tag and starts attacking her opponents easily. A Double Springboard Dropkick knocks down her opponents. Assisted Elbow Drop and Moonsault ends the match for Sane and Shirai.
(This wasn't much of a match. Still, I'm never going to complain about seeing Io Shirai or Kairi Sane on TV doing their work. If I didn't know better, I would suspect that this was an audition to be in the WWE Women's Tag Team Division once it starts up next month.)
- After the break, The Horsewomen interrupt Shirai and Sane's celebration backstage.
- The main event is next with Velveteen Dream taking on Bobby Fish (w/ Adam Cole). Velveteen Dream comes out dressed like a flamboyant cowboy. (Wasn't that Shawn Michael's 2000s gimmick?!) Dream has to tend to both Cole and Fish in the early going. In one awkward moment, it looked like the referee almost got in the way of Fish and Dream using the ropes. He had to bolt to make it out of the way in time. Dream causes Fish to bail to the floor. And Fish takes a springboard dropkick on the apron and a flying dive off the top rope to the floor as well. Dream is dominating this match up to this point as he continues to work on Fish in the ring. Cole distracts Dream long enough for Fish to clip the leg and throw Dream into the barricade on the outside of the ring.
Back in the ring, Fish continues to work on the leg of Velveteen Dream. Single-Leg Boston Crab on Dream now by Fish. Dream gets out and hits some great knee lifts on Fish. Dream takes Fish down to the mat, but a kick from Fish to the knee of Dream ends that. Spinebuster by Velveteen Dream. Purple Rainmaker by Dream is met with a Kneebar by Fish. Dream almost taps, and Adam Cole pulls the ropes to make Dream work for it more. But the ref argues with Cole. Dream fights back and throws Fish into Cole. Dream hits the Purple Rainmaker Elbow Drop for the win.
(Good TV main event with a logical story being told. All three men played their roles perfectly, and Velveteen Dream gets a nice win over a great talent like Bobby Fish. The thing to keep in mind about Dream is that he's only 23. He's already among the best performers on the NXT roster, and HE'S ONLY 23!!!)
- Ricochet's music plays. We're getting the Ricochet confrontation with Johnny Gargano to close the show. Ricochet goes on a rant about Johnny Gargano showing his true colors in the last year. Ricochet is going to show himself to be something else that Johnny Gargano is not: a champion. Johnny Gargano comes out and cuts a mini-promo. They start going at it immediately when Gargano gets into the ring. Ciampa comes out and beats down on Ricochet! Gargano and Ciampa lock eyes for a moment. Gargano then takes advantage of the situation and attacks Ricochet. Aleister Black comes out and attack Ciampa in the ring. Gargano looks on perplexed as to what he should do.
HE BEATS DOWN ON BLACK AND SUPERKICKS HIM DOWN! Ciampa looks at Gargano. Both men start beating down their TakeOver opponents. They are both sitting down in the ring looking at the damage they've done. They both cross paths outside of the ring and walk back to the locker room in an awkward manner. Both seem to be uneasy about the situation. Ciampa EXTENDS THE HAND! Johnny's wife, Candice LaRae stops Gargano from shaking hands with the devil to end the show.
(Great ending to the show here that teases some major happenings possibly coming out of these two matches. Will Gargano FINALLY win a title in NXT? Will Aleister Black be able to get revenge for what was done to him? And/Or Will DIY reunite to wreak havoc on top of NXT? That's some good booking there. Nice move to bring back LaRae into this storyline and be "the voice of reason" for Gargano.)
Overall, this was an excellent edition of NXT. Some very good matches on this show. The Men's Tag Team Match proves that tag team wrestling is far from a dead concept, which should be evident to management at all levels of WWE. While the last segment build to Saturday, the rest of the show built to the future of the brand itself. And that's never a bad thing especially when you've already laid the groundwork for well-developed stories on the card.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness.
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