The next chapter of NXT’s Takerover took us overseas to London. Triple H said it best in his introduction – “You (London) wanted it, you got it!” From start to finish the crowd proved that they were deserving of the special event and the competitors put on a show worth their wait!
Here’s something you don’t hear on a WWE show – this show started with women’s match. Asuka and Emma were tasked with the responsibility to get the London crowd properly pumped up for the event – and they delivered. The initial hype for Asuka is still high and keep in mind that Emma was on her way to a Paige level position on Raw if it weren’t for her deciding to not drop $39 at WalMart last year. The match was great and did its job in term of fan excitement goes with Asuka coming out on top.
Later in the night we got our first tease of a possible Asuka-Nia Jax feud. This could easily be the most anticipated post-4 Horsewomen feud in NXT and could go a long way in keeping the strong momentum that womens wrestling currently has in NXT.
Next up is the tag title match with Enzo Amore and Big Cass challenging the champs Dash and Dawson. The match was solid but the star of this one was the crowd. The musical chants were based on British classics were phenomenal. I can see Paul McCartney throwing out a “How You Doin’” on stage. My favorite though was the “Are you Dawson? Are you Dash?” chant – mainly because it’s true! Unfortunately it took away from a good match where Dash and Dawson held on to the belts.
It seems like there has been a stretch of the Takeover shows that has had a one on one match on the undercard that could very well be a title match in the near future. Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews filled that role tonight. The two went back and forth in a solid contest that, somewhat surprisingly; Corbin hit the End of Days to get the win. I really think we could see Corbin on the main roster sooner rather than later.
With the aforementioned backstage confrontation between Nia Jax and Asuka, I got a bit of a feeling that Jax was about to beat Bayley for the title and start a championship feud with Asuka and send Bayley to the main roster where she belongs.
WELP!
Bayley, motivated by another fantastic musical chant from the London crowd, was not only able to defeat the monstrous Jax, but made her tap out! Bayley with a definite statement in this match. But what is next? You can’t go from making Nia Jax tap out to Eva Marie. Possibly a defense against Dana Brooke? Onlly time will tell.
Which brings us to our main event – well, two main events. The actual main event of Finn Balor defending the NXT Title against Samoa Joe and before that, another main event with the entrance of The Demon! It has really become an attraction in itself. Balor did not disappointed with this Jack the Ripper themed entrance. The initial reaction is that The Demon would look odd in the hat and jacket, but I must say, it worked!
Balor then showed that he is much more than a creative entrance as him and Samoa Joe put on yet another epic NXT Championship match. We had several occasions in which it seemed like Joe would be able to pull off the upset and hit the Muscle Buster for the win but Balor was always able to squirm away finally hitting the Coup de Grace for the win.
Overall it was another great show put on by NXT. The crowd was more than into it throughout the night – not a “down” moment in the entire two-hour special. With the impending return of Sami Zayn, we should be in for more of the same great programming from NXT.
What did you think of the show? What do you think is next for champions Dash and Dawson, Bayley and Finn Balor? Follow us on Twitter @From_TheTopRope and let us know what you think!
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