Honestly you guys I thought this was a really amazing weekend to be a wrestling fan. As i’ve seen on social media not all of you will agree, BUT, personally I thought it was all pretty great.
I was going to put the Takeover and Rumble reviews together but i realized how long and annoying that would be so after i get this one done, the Royal Rumble review will be right behind it!
First of all, congratulations to the NXT year end award winners. Basically all my personal winner won so that was super exciting.
Billie and Peyton- Breakout Star of the year.
DIY vs Revivial- Match of the year.
Revival- Tag Team of the year
Nakamura- Male and Overall competitor of the year
Asuka- Female Competitor of the year.
Who doesn’t have a picture because Billie and Peyton stole her award. 😉
So sad to hear that Corey won’t be doing NXT with Phillips anymore! Their duo is definitely my favorite BUT it’s also really exciting to see Corey have all these opportunities because he really is great at all the projects they have him do.
Now onto reviewing the Takeover Matches!
- Dillinger vs Young.
- Between Dillinger’s beautiful top rope belly to belly, to having to fight off other Sanity members, to Youngs constant vicious fight back, that opening match for Takeover was fantastic. Of course I wanted Dillinger to come out on top, BUT, sometimes it doesn’t matter who wins when the match is as good as that one was. definitely a 10/10 for me.
2. Almas vs Strong
- Going into Takeover this was the match that while I knew it would be good it wasn’t the one I was really looking forward too. Quickly after it started I realized I absolutely should have been looking forward to this match. Almas dual arm submission?! my gosh. The kidney first drop on the top rope by Strong… Damn. I totally underestimated this match and because of that I was completely blown away by it. Both of theses guys bring something incredible to NXT and they’re both just getting started here in WWE and that’s amazing. Another 10/10
3. DIY vs Authors of Pain – NXT Tag Team Championship
- This match started out a little slow and i was a little worried. While DIY is one of my favorite tag teams ever… the AOP had yet to catch my attention. By mid match they certainly had my attention. I was more impressed with AOP by the end of this match than I ever was with any match they had on NXT TV or in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Ciampas german suplexes to both members of AOP… absolutely incredible. The double submissions for DIY and Tag Team finisher from AOP were great. The strength of AOP was absolutely showcased here and it was really important for guys them then to not only look powerful but to BE powerful. Although DIY lost and my heart was sad, I’m glad AOP got the chance to impress… they definitely impressed me. another 10/10
4. Asuka vs Billie vs Peyton vs Nikki Cross- NXT Womens Championship
- There has been so much talk about how high NXT was with the four horsewomen and how hard it is going to be to compete with that. While that is definitely true, this match tonight proved that those girls down in NXT down are up for the challenge. Nikkis willingness to fly off the top was impressive, Peyton and Billies suplex off the announce table to neutralize Cross was genius and so beautifully done. Asukas double suplex to both Peyton and Billie showed her dominance. Seeing Peytons Widows peak almost get the pin on Asuka was amazing. I was afraid that Asukas retaining would hurt the womens division more than help it but I think the other girls proved me wrong. They showed how hungry they are. Between Peyton, Billie, Nikki Cross, Liv Morgan, Ember Moon, even Mandy Rose and Daria, the NXT womens division is full of hungry women ready for the challenge. another 10/10
5. Nakamura vs Roode- NXT Championship
- From Nakamuras technical style to Roodes power the match was absolutely everything that everyone was hoping for. Nakamuras show of will to continue after the apparent injury to his knee showed true heart of a champion and although he lost, he put everything into the match he had to win. Bobby Roode has a character that will bring something totally different to the NXT Championship and i’m really excited to see how it all plays out! another 10/10
6. Seth Rollins hijacks the show to call out HHH.
- This was SO DAMN SMART, i’m almost angry i didn’t think of it myself. Seth has been trying to find HHH for weeks. He isn’t at Raw, Rollins isn’t invited to the wrestlemania announcement because HHH is there… and then finally Seth realizes what better way to get to HHH then to hijacks his baby. Everyone knows NXT is HHH baby. Such a Genius move.
Miss Raee 