NXT Takeover Brooklyn III Review and Reactions
Andrade Cien Almas makes a Huge Statement
Kick starting things off last night was a match that honestly I wasn't originally looking forward too. After the break up of DIY I was honestly expecting to see Johnny Gargano VS Ciampa take place at NXT Takeover Brooklyn III but instead another opponent was put in front of Gargano and last nights opening match saw the former NXT Tag team champion take on Andrade Cien Almas. I'll admit that I wasn't super excited for this match but I knew from the moment it was made official that this had every bit of potential to be an amazing match up. Gargano is one of the best wrestlers in the world, for years he's been working top matches and has been apart of some of the standout tag team bouts in both NXT and WWE history. Andrade on the other hand is someone that has always had clear potential. He's an experienced, brilliant in ring worker who just hasn't truly been given the opportunity to standout and the WWE have clearly struggled to find the right thing that works for him. In recent weeks we have seen Andrade Zelina Vega. Their paring has resulted in a massive change up for Andrade who has been building momentum and and picking up all these victories that have allowed him to find a balance and show signs that things may just be finally improving for him. During the show last night Almas continued to build momentum and make an impact as he not only competed in the best match of his NXT career so far but picked up a huge win over Gargano. I think we can all agree that this was the moment Andrade had been waiting for. After being apart of the NXT roster for quite some time he really has struggled to find his way, work on his character, connect with fans and deliver top performances despite the good matches here and there. His performance last night was by far the best we have seen from him. Almas and Gargano worked perfectly together with their styles mixing to create an epic opening match that raised the bar fro the rest of the show. It was an exciting match that had me on the edge of my seat, yelling at the screen and completely hooked. Like many of the matches on the card last night there weren't a big story behind their match but there didn't need to be. The wrestling skill both these men possess was enough and together they created wrestling magic. It was a huge turning point for Andrade Cien Almas and he walked of Brooklyn with more respect from the fans and way way more over than he was when his music first hit at the start of the show. Zelina did play a role, throwing in a DIY shirt caused the distraction and played some mind games perfectly but I loved it. The ending didn't make Gargano look weak in the slightest and the match itself made it impossible to see either one as a real "loser". It kept the impending rivalry between Gargano and Ciampa alive and gave Andrade exactly what he needed meaning that hopefully things stay on track for him and he keeps this momentum going.
New champions and New Arrivals send the NXT universe Crazy
Up next we have tag team action and what another brilliant night it was for the divison! If there is one thing NXT continue to get right, build on and showcase perfectly its the tag team divison. This year has seen the split of many tag teams including American Alpha, Owens and Jericho (I'm counting them), Enzo and Cass and of course DIY. NXT took two huge knocks with DIY splitting up and the Revival going up to the main roster joining Monday night RAW. I remember being very concerned about the future of the divison down in NXT and with the bar being raised so high because of those past teams I wondered if future teams will be able to live up to that and perform to the same standard. However, I really did have nothing to be worried about. AOP have continued to work as dominant champions and the arrival of new teams to the divison has kept everything looking bright and hopeful. During the show last night we saw the Authors of Pain defend their NXT Tag Team Championships against Sanity in a match I was really really looking forward to. From day one I have sat here and commented on just how much I love Sanity. From the idea to the line up to the work we see from them, I love everything Sanity bring to the table. They're something new and exciting and the potential for these guys to grow to become something huge is crazy. Last nights show saw the crazed foursome deliver their best performance to date and while the match was a typical tag team match every single member of Sanity played a role and made their presence known. Of course we all assumed that the match would see Killian Dane and Alexander Wolf take on the champs but in a little surprise twist it was Eric Young who randomly changed things up and threw himself into the match joining Wolf. Now, I wasn't too sure about this. I don't understand at all how not having Killian Dane in this mach benefited Sanity. I get exactly why Eric Young was put into this match. The reaction said it all and it was important for Sanity to have some kind of Advantage and Young being faster helped them out massively but why Dane was not swapped for Wolf I have no idea. The match itself was far better than I was expecting. I knew this was going to have some brilliant spots and boy did it but I wasn't expecting the entire match to be just as strong as it was. Again, it was an exciting match up that had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. We had some great spots as expected including the moment that saw Nikki Cross jump onto a member of AOP followed up by Killian Dane launching himself into them sending all three through a table. It looked so damn good, said a lot about Cross and her character and got an amazing reaction from the crowd and everyone at home. The end result did see Sanity walk out as the new NXT Tag Team Champions, a result I was really hoping to see and I was left a very very happy girl.... but then there was a little surprise. Out of nowhere Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Riley would appear attacking both the new champs and Authors of Pain. Honestly, I did not see that coming at all but again I freaking loved it. Timed perfectly and done so well the spot got a big reaction from fans and it kick started something huge that would close the show later on.Match of the night?
Aliester Black VS Hideo Itami was the match I honestly had the biggest expectations of. Two brilliant superstars full of amazing wrestling talent being thrown into a big time match at a big time show had me very excited and honestly I really did believe this was going to be the match of the night. Okay, so lets kick start things off by making it clear I was a big fan of this match. I loved it. I thought it showed a new interesting side to Hideo and Black was able to show even more of his ring skills and talent. However, this wasn't the match of the night. It was one of the best and if I was ranking them all I probably would have listed this as the second best. I'm not taking anything away from these two superstars and the match but I just wanted to make it clear that I didn't feel as though this was the best match of the night. The match was of course brilliant. The two men worked amazingly well together and I loved the vibe of the match. You really did get the feeling that these two hated each other and Hideo in particular was out there to prove a point. The wrestling we saw was fantastic and Black was busted open within minuets of the match even starting and from that point onward there was such a strong feeling throughout this match. Again, there was no big story heading into this match, things were kept very simple and basic but it worked. This was just about the wrestling and proving a point of who was the better man and together they both raised the bar and put on a brilliant performance. While it was Aliester Black who picked up the win Hideo looked far from weak. He had a fantastic performance and nothing was taken away from him despite the loss.Who can Stop Asuka?
As I just mentioned, I predicted Aliester Black VS Hideo Itami to be the match of the night. However, while we had some amazing one on one action there it didn't quite make the match of the night title and instead that went straight to the women. With Asuka defending her NXT Women's championship against Ember Moon once again this was a match I and the rest of the world had their eyes on. The night was full of unpredictable and exciting matches and this ranked right at the top. It was one of those matches that really could have gone either way. While I was hoping to see Asuka's reign continue I also half expected Ember Moon to defeat the streak and the reign and walk out of Brooklyn the new NXT Women's champion, however, despite her efforts it just wasn't enough and Asuka once again was able to walk away with the victory. I of course had no problem with Asuka retaining. It would have been nice to have seen something different of course but Asuka is one phenomenal athlete and her reign as champion is far from over and while Ember would have made for a fantastic champion she just wasn't the right women for the job. The match however, was brilliant. I loved it. Hands down the women's match of the year so far. I have known from day one that these two women would one day kill it and put on a match that could so easily headline a live special like takeover. The match left me with the exact same feeling I had two years ago during the Bayley vs Sasha Banks match at the first takeover Brooklyn show. Both Ember and Asuka had what was probably the best match of their NXT career so far and what they really did was go out there and once again prove a point. This was women's wrestling at it's finest and it made me proud of both women and proud to be a fan. There are so many questions walking out of this match however. Ember was given a well deserved standing ovation and led us to believe the next move for her could be a call up to either RAW or Smackdown LIVE which I'm totally expecting and of course we all have to wonder who can really stop Asuka?New Champions and New Arrivals Part Two
And finally its time to discuss the main event. A match we all saw coming it came as no surprise when just a couple of weeks ago it was announced that Bobby Roode would be defending his NXT Championship against Drew McIntyre. Upon his return to the WWE during Wrestlemania weekend a few months back we all knew that it was only a matter of time before he was NXT champion and last night he finally got that one on one championship match he had been waiting for and he did not lip a huge opportunity slip through his fingers. Instead he was able to put on a strong main event match up and walk out of Brooklyn the new NXT Champion. I'll admit that the match wasn't as good as I was expecting it to be but thats not me taking anything away from what we did see. There really was a brilliant story being told here and the two superstars and their characters collided perfectly and it
Overall I freaking loved the show. NXT Takeover never ever fails and this was one hands down one of the best shows of the year. Every single match was strong, the booking was perfect, we had new champions, surprise debuts and new arrivals and I was left very very satisfied come the end of the night. The NXT roster once again raised the bar and the guys and girls of RAW and Smackdown LIVE have a tough job ahead of them trying to top that. I am of course gong to be live tweeting throughout SummerSlam tonight and my highlights posts of that show will be uploaded tomorrow evening also! As always, any recent blog post will be linked bellow and you can let me know what you thought of last nights show and if SummerSlam will top it tonight by leaving a comment bellow or by dropping me a tweet over at @TezangiVictoria.
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