NXT TAKEOVER 31 HONEST REVIEW

 This past weekend NXT celebrated its thirty-first Takeover event and with a dark horse in Kyle O’Reilly featured in the NXT Championship match as well as a must-see for the women’s division and Damien Priest biggest title defence to date there was no chance I was missing out on this show! In today’s blog post we are going to be looking back on last night’s action and reviewing each match on the card as I give you my honest thoughts.

 

Damien Priest vs Johnny Gargano

As the worlds biggest Damien Priest fan, I was extremely excited and of course, nervous for this opening contest against Johnny Gargano. This match was without a doubt set to be Priest’s biggest challenge to date since becoming champion and so this was sure an interesting one to watch. In the early stages we saw Priest take control using his speed and agility to his advantage but once Gargano saw an opening he changed the pace of the action, slowing things down at times and using his smaller frame and strikes to keep that control. Gargano also targeted the leg of Priest and threw in a few sneaky shots along the way coming close to becoming a two-time North American champion however, Damien walked into this contest with a game plan. We witnessed smart tactics from the champ and going up against Gargano of all people allowed him to showcase more of his move set and style impressing us all with his speed, athleticism and perfectly executed kicks walking out of Takeover 31 still champion.

 

Clash of the Former Lucha Underground Stars

The underdog match of this card was without a doubt the Cruiserweight championship collision between Isaiah Swerve Scott and Santos Escobar. The two former Lucha Underground stars are without a doubt incredible in-ring performers but its also clear that both men continue to go underrated however, last night these two Cruiserweight stars put on one heck of a match that went down as one of the highlights of the evening. This match had been the contest fans were least excited for but they took the time they had and put on an incredible contest that had storytelling, passion and unbelievably exciting wrestling. We got to see what the cruiserweight division is capable of when given time and while there was no title change there were so many moments where I genuinely through Swerve would be walking out as champion and I went from minimal interest to being absolutely hooked!

 

A Must See and the Ultimate NXT Return!

One of my favourite matches of the entire evening has got to be Io Shirai vs Candice LeRae. Now we have seen these two women share the ring before and know all too well what they are capable of but during NXT Takeover 31 these two women raised the bar and took part in what will surely be considered one of the best matches of 2020. Both women are in different positions within their career compared to the last time they went one on one at a Takeover event and it was so exciting to see. We have two incredible wrestlers here delivering an absolutely phenomenal match that highlighted the strengths of both superstars. There was also excellent basic storytelling that was effective and added layers to the match from the promo beforehand touching on their history to Gargano’s role within the match. The athleticism and experience of women was on clear display but with Io focusing on agility and Candice pure wrestling the collision was a total must-see!

Now, we did see the title remain on the shoulders of Io Shirai however, fans were treated to a huge post-match surprise when former NXT Women’s champion Ember Moon made her return and set her sights on the title. This for me was one of the best moments of the evening, it was something fans were truly hoping for and I’m honestly so happy and excited to see Moon back in action and even more so, back in NXT!

 

The Underdog Takes Centre Stage

Since arriving in the WWE and joining NXT Kyle O’Reilly has focused solely on his work within the tag team division but there is no denying that he is one of the best all-round pro wrestling in the industry today and while we have seen incredible tag team performances from him there is a feeling he has been held back in ways and so when for former tag cham was given the opportunity to main event NXT Takeover 31 against Finn Balor for the NXT Championship myself and so many others were very excited indeed! A true dream match, the expectations were high here with many believing a bout against Balor would bring out the best in O’Reilly and there was most certainly the case. Fans saw the intensity, the experience, the grappling and the pure wrestling talents of Kyle and t was a clear glimpse of what he offers as a singles star. Turning heads, O’Reilly stood out massively while he didn’t walk out with the win this was the opportunity so many fans had been waiting and desperately wanting to see from O’Reilly and this made for an awesome main event. The NXT universe really did see these two men out each other through hell in an outstanding wrestling match perfectly fitting to close the show

 

And that was NXT Takeover 31! Now, I want to address the fact I did not touch on Kushida and Velveteen Dream’s one on one. Considering the situation involving Dream I have decided to not mention him on my social media or cover any of his work here on my blog. Now, Takeover 31 really was an incredible show. Every single match delivered to an unbelievable standard and what was clear was how each contest just got better and better throughout the night. The evening was kept short but massively entertaining thanks to the storytelling and quality of matches. The new set up looked brilliant and gave the night another little edge and NXT its own unique feel. We saw an epic return and a show-stealing main event and I have barely any complaints about the evening! With that being said, I would love to know what you guys thought so feel free to leave a comment below or tweet me over at @TezangiVictoria.