NXT Takeover The End: Review and Reactions
A couple of weeks back the WWE began showing a mini video witch would reveal that a new WWE Superstar with a Lucha Libre background would soon be debuting for NXT, that debut would take place during last nights NXT Takeover event in the opening match up. The Superstar being the one and only Andrade "Cien" Almas. Now, I don't know how many of you will be familiar with his work or would have seen any of his stuff before he came to the WWE but he's a man that has been working extremely hard throughout his career working strongly in the Japanese scene. Personally, I know a little bit about him and I've seen a thew of his matches but I don't know all that much. The moment I learnt that he had signed with the WWE I was super super excited and happy for him. I love lucha style competitors and I'm glad the WWE are bringing more in. Over the past couple of weeks while the WWE have been hyping his debut I have been left growing with excitement by the time Takeover rolled around I was beyond excited to see Andrade Cien Almas debut for NXT. Now, superstars that debut at NXT Takeover events really have gone on to do great things, just take Kevin Owens for example and so I was very interested in seeing how the WWE would kick start this young mans career. Of course it was Tye Dillinger would be booked as his first opponent. I mentioned on twitter during the show that I do hate to see Tye as the one always used to put over new stars considering how amazingly talented and over he is but saying that he has proven to be one that the company can trust and he does do a brilliant job. Last night really was no different. The crowd last night was electric and both men picked up a huge reaction both for their entrances and throughout the match with Dillinger slightly more over at the start. I think the problem was how unfamiliar people were with Andrade. So many people seem to forget this is developmental and if your not this big indie start that we have seen a millions times before your not going to get as big of a reaction witch is a sham. But throughout the match he did start to win the fans over more and more with his skill and faced paced action. This really was the perfect way to start the night. A strong, entertaining, fast paced match opening the show got everyone in the mood and excited for the rest of the show and both these superstars did a great job. Dillinger showed off more of his own capabilities proving why he really is one of the best. He put over Almas well while also making sure to stand out on his own. As for Almas himself, brilliant. He moved around the ring with such ease and everything he did looked amazing and so well timed. I do really believe that he is going to be brining something completely different to the table and I can't wait.
Now, there were truly brilliant matches that took place last night. Not a single one felt weak and I honestly enjoyed every single one. But if I had to choose a favourite of the night, it one hundred and ten percent had to be American Alpha VS The Revival. This truly was tag team wrestling at it's best. I couldn't fault it if I tried. I mentioned in last weeks NXT Review and Reactions (witch will be linked bellow) that I believed this was going to be nothing short of fantastic and they did not disappoint what so ever exceeding expectations by a mile. There was such a good background and build up to this match and the story making it such a must see in itself. Both these superstars throughout the match showed their passion so strongly but both looked to be driven by something completely different. It was so easy to see the strong difference in characters and watching as they worked together to deliver what honestly was a phenomenal tag team match was amazing. They both put everything on the line, pulling out all the stops. The close calls has me on the edge of my seat screaming at my TV at a time where I certainly should have been more quiet than I was. It was a match that clearly did have rehearsed moves. Moments that they clearly had gone over in the past before the match had started but it was so well done and so well put together that it didn't feel rehearsed at all. This was without a doubt my favourite tag team match of the year and topping it really will be close to impossible. The spots throughout this match were performed perfectly and they of course were so well received. Now, the ending to this match was so so interesting. I don't know about you but I was watching this match one hundred and ten percent confident that American Alpha would be retaining their tag team championships. Its how NXT works and anyone and everyone was expecting the exact same end result, but in a complete shock twist the revival out of nowhere were able to pin Jason Jordan to be able to become the first ever tag team to become two time NXT Tag team champions. Honestly, I jumped out of my seat in complete shock. I thought it was some kind of dream and I was imagining the whole thing. I won't lie, I did really want to see American Alpha have a longer championship reign. They deserved it and they could have brought a lot more so that was a disappointment. However, saying that I can see why the decision was made a hundred percent. What was even more shocking was that we didn't even really get enough time to feel sad for American Alpha because out of nowhere two new huge superstars burst out attacking the now former NXT Tag Team Champions with the whole segment ending with Paul freaking Ellering standing at the top. I am going to be doing a full blog post on this and Paul so keep an eye out for that but wow...this really was an amazing amazing moment.
Another match I was so super excited for was Austin Aries VS Shinsuke Nakamura. A simple build up but a match that would easily generate a huge audience. Two big big name superstars battling it out live on NXT TV, Who wouldn't be excited? I am a big fan of both these superstars. I've been following their careers for a long long time and so seeing them both in NXT competing against one another really was great for me. I was hopeing that this as going to be the turn around match for Austin Aries. He has had a couple of solid matches since arriving in NXT but we have been waiting for that one big performance that finally makes him stand out and show everyone why he is such a big deal. An opponent like Shinsuke really was perfect for Aries. They both are so experienced and so skilled that they would be able to push each other so so well and that is exactly what we saw go down last night. I was surprised at just how one sided the match first came across. Aries dominated a great deal of the action really taking it to Nakamura but it worked so so well and the match was just outstanding. Such a brilliant pure wrestling match that had you on the edge of your seat throughout an one that honestly got better and better as it went on. This as the performance we had all been waiting for for Aries since his arrival in NXT and the match exceeded expectations. Aries all round performance was truly fantastic. He played his role perfectly making sure to take things to the next level and bringing so much character to the match. He There is no doubt in my mind that this will be one we look back on when talking about potential match of the year candidates.
After last night there really is no denying my love Nia Jax. I honestly think I have officially declared myself the biggest Nia Jax fan on the planet! For the past month she really has been the dominate force in the women's division. Over the past three weeks we have seen Nia close NXT as the last women standing looking stronger than ever and last night all her hard work was about to pay off as she was set to take on Asuka for the NXT Women's Championship. I mentioned on twitter last night that I was very interested in how this match was going to play out. These are two very dominate women who have made such a big big impact since arriving on the scene and while they have many similarities their tactics in the ring are very different and so seeing how they were going to fair against one another really was interesting for me and I couldn't wait to see what was going to go down between them. Now, I do have to say that I wanted this match to be a tad longer. To be fair the length was enough for both women to make an impact and put on a solid match but I do really believe that we could have gotten more out of both superstars (Nia in particular) if the match was say ten minuets longer. However, I do have to mention that this was by far the best performance we have seen from both these women since their arrival in NXT. They both were such a strong challenge for one another with neither of these women facing one like the other. It was an interesting match that showed both women's strength. They both had equal control of the match and Asuka very easily showed that she was capable of delivering a fantastic match against someone like Nia and that really was a showcase of her experience. We have seen women in the past really struggle to deliver when facing Nia but Asuka was fantastic last night. She used her speed and agility perfectly and in a way that we haven't seen any other women do when taking on Jax. And then we have Nia who without a doubt had her best performance to date. She moved with ease and looked so strong and dominate. She fited in a couple of very aggressive, dominate moves that Asuka sold really well. I said it last night and I will say it again, this was the perfect match in showing just how far Nia Jax has come since her last championship match and while she may not have left as champion both these women did so so
Last night Finn Balor and Samoa Joe made NXT history when they competed in the first ever Steel cage match in NXT competing for the top prize, the NXT Championship. This is a feud that really has actually been written for around a year and processed more and more throughout the past twelve months. There is such a great back story between these two superstars and their NXT careers and last night really did cement the end of their bitter rivalry and what a way to end it, inside a steel cage. The bar had already been set so high not only because of their past matches but because of the standard of the night. The expectorations were so high also because we really have seen some phenomenal bouts between these two. Topping what we have already seen in the past was going to be difficult. I have to say that this wasn't the best match of their feud but it was a freaking amazing bout. These two went to town on each other and I seriously enjoyed every single second. There was such a great feel to this match. Balor walked into this with a completely different attitude. It actually did feel as though I was watching a new Finn Balor. He was so driven, so focused and do desperate to get that championship back. Throughout the match you could see how much that title meant to both these superstars and you could also tell a lot from Balor that he wanted to punish Samoa Joe and really put and end to this feud. Despite being rather tired I was completely hooked when it came to this match. The action was great, the story telling was strong, the commentary was so well done and some of the spots in this match were just phenomenal. Those closing moments has me in complete shock and awe. This was how you end a brilliant show and a fantastic feud.
Personally, I really really enjoyed NXT Takeover: The End. The whole show really did have that feel of a new beginning. They showed that things are changing in NXT and the brand is developing to the next stage. We had new stars arrive on the scene including Bobby Roode during a backstage segment and old stars make shock appearance. The show yet again lived up to the hype and expectations and I honestly do not have a bad word to say about the show. Of course I would love to know what you guys think so feel free to leave a comment bellow or tweet me at @TezangiVictoria telling me what you thought of the show.
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