NXT Takeover Phoenix: What We Learnt and Biggest Takeaways
Last night fans witnessed the first NXT Takeover event of the year as the roster headed to Phoenix as part of Royal Rumble weekend! As usual, the card was jam-packed full of must-see matches includes first-ever collisions, Takeover debuts and title changes and in today’s blog post we are going to be reliving some of the action as I look at the lessons, we learned following NXT Takeover: Phoenix.
War Raiders Had one of the Best Entrances in Takeover History
I know I don’t usually talk about entrances here on my blog but the moment the War Raiders made their epic arrival to NXT Takeover last night I just knew I was going to have to bend some rules and touch on it in today's piece! With an entrance that fitted their characters amazingly well, gave fans chills, and hyped up an already electric crowd the pair made one heck of an impact in this awesome entrance and made me realise just how much I would love to see more like this in the future for other talents. In terms of entrances, the War Raiders have raised the bar, and this will most certainly go down as one of the best in takeover and possibly WWE history.
The Tag Team Division is About to Change
Keeping on the theme of War Raiders the pair, of course, were apart of the opening contest seeing them collide with the Undisputed era for the tag team titles and come the end new champs were crowned with Hanson and Rowe finally getting their hands-on gold. The match itself, in all honesty, could have been a lot stronger than it was but none the less this was an excellent tag team contest full of exciting spots and action that left fans hooked and buzzing! The end result in which we saw War Raiders walk out as the new champs have left a feeling of change in the air. While Kyle and Roderick made for excellent champs, Hanson and Rowe are bringing something completely different to the table and if the WWE allow them to do more of what they did prior to their arrival with the company (introducing the War Machine rules) then there could be a major shift in what we see from the division and some very new, unique, and exciting action could await the NXT tag division. If you have no idea what I’m talking about make sure to check out some of Hanson and Rowe's matches prior to the WWE.
It’s Time to Worry about Ohno
In all honesty, I was never as excited for the Riddle vs Ohno match as I would have liked. Despite the two being incredibly talented I just haven’t been sold on their rivalry. The match this past Saturday was as hard-hitting and brutal as could have been expected and I’m glad the pair were given plenty more time this weekend than they have done in previous matches; however, with Ohno taking yet another loss I do believe now could be the time to worry. Kassius is such a talented, experienced superstar with so much to offer but it does appear we are seeing history repeat itself and I do worry for what the future holds for Ohno. Could he be looking at departing from the company this year if his booking remains at this level?
February Will be the Month of the Dream
While he wasn’t booked to compete at this weekends Takeover event it didn’t stop Velveteen Dream from making an appearance during the show last night. A little bit of backstage footage showing his arrival had the crowd very loud and with the announcers reminding fans he will be one of fifteen superstars competing in the Worlds Collide tournament not to mention the dreams intense recent tweets there is no doubt in my mind he has a huge month ahead of him. Keep your eyes on the Velveteen Dream in February!
A potential Match of the Year Candidate Took Place
There was no doubt in anyone’s mind the Johnny Gargano and Ricochet were going to tear the house down and take part in one truly epic contest this weekend and the pair did not disappoint. The action was fast-paced, modern, and with the pair one-upping each other and spending an equal amount of time in control fans were given every reason to pay total attention. You did not want to move your eyes from the action going on in the ring during this match up; in what was a perfect display of modern day wrestling it was almost impossible to predict exactly who was going to be walking out champion and it was clear this time of action can be so rare in the WWE today. With Gargano eventually taking the win it became clear that this was yet another match of the year style contest from Gargano and this has become one of the major matches to top in twenty nineteen.
Bianca Belair Will Get a Second Chance
The NXT Women’s championship match between Bianca Belair and Shayna Baszler was in face a lot stronger than I thought it was going to be. I may not have liked the ending being so behind Belair this weekend, however, the story that was told, the character work we saw from both these women and the intense action made this a very strong match and one of the best overall performances we have seen from the champion. Belair’s fight and the fact she did technically pin Baszler while the ref down did indicate that a second title shot may be on the line for Belair and with the NXT Universe so behind her and the story there, it would be a huge shame for the WWE to not book a second bout between the two women. Bianca massively proved herself last night and was highlighted as one of if not the biggest challenge for Baszler; this is a woman who must become champion this year!
Tommaso Ciampa is the real deal
Moving over to the main event and wow! What a showing from both Ciampa and Black. Lengthy, intense, full of story and character and fantastic wrestling these two superstars showed the world the standard of wrestling they can expect from the future of the WWE but in this post its Ciampa I want to focus on. After scoring a clean win over Black the former DIY member finally proved to any doubters that he is the real deal and there is no doubt he will go on to become a major star on the main roster one day. The WWE has booked him like a top talent, he is performing like a top talent, and his character and wrestling work and ability to perform at such a high standard and match a contender like Black so well has cemented Ciampa as one of the biggest and best stars in the WWE today.
Major Changes are Coming to NXT
Last nights NXT Takeover event truly was the start of a new era. We saw the fall of the Undisputed Era, the rise of new tag team champions who will bring something very new to the division, a new North American Champion, and indication a shift is on the horizon. Following what we witnessed last night its safe to assume Aleister Black is edging closer to a main roster debut with nothing else truly left for him in the black and yellow brand; we also saw Riddle gain more momentum and with the feud with Ohno done we can expect him to find himself in the championship picture whether that be the North American or NXT championship. There is also an indication that Ricochet has some major storyline’s coming up and whether he will now focus on regaining his title or focusing on Ciampa and the NXT Championship. Regardless, a new era has begun in the black and yellow brand and there is a lot of fresh and exciting energy in the air.
NXT is DIY
With Johnny Gargano becoming the new North American Champion and Tommaso Ciampa keeping hold of his NXT title and the pair rejoicing their triumphant night at the end of the show one thing became clear: NXT is DIY. Whether or not we will see the pair work together as a tag team again is something, we cannot predict just yet but these are two men who have climbed to the very top of one of the hottest wrestling rosters on the scene today. They have gone from Cruiserweight Classic competitors to two of the biggest names in the WWE and they are about to completely take over! Is there any stopping DIY? Is a full reunion on the cards? And what exactly is coming for the NXT roster with these two stars sitting at the very top?
And that was NXT Takeover Phoenix! Sorry for the very long review but we just had so much to discuss! I personally really enjoyed the show. I did feel as though some of the bookings was a touch risky and the coming months are very important for certain superstars but overall this was a very exciting night and an excellent way to kick start Rumble weekend!
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