Matt Riddle vs Roddy Strong
Incredibly strong(pun intended) start to the show. There was a brisk back and forth pace so the match didn’t outstay its welcome. Loved the competitiveness that the match had with both men being able to shine - Roddy w/ his excellent back work and Riddle w/ his explosive comebacks. But I do think that Riddle could’ve sold his back far better than he did, especially when making his comebacks because he kinda blew it off. But it wasn’t all bad as he did sell fairly well besides that. Some of the sequences like Roddy’s running elbows were awesome. Riddle added some of his usual great strikes too. More of this please. ***1/2
NXT Tag Team Championship Ladder Match - Street Profits vs Forgotten Sons vs Undisputed Era vs Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch
These matches go over my head nowadays but this was actually pretty fun. They went all out with some nutty spots with the ladders early one and took some amazing bumps. Mostly at Kyle’s expense. There were a few illogical moments with the Era not doing for the belts at one point but whatever. The ending was pretty wild too. Get rid of the bad half of Gunner & Murphy and we’re all good. ***1/2
NXT North American Championship - Velveteen Dream (c) vs Tyler Breeze
This started off great. Loved the character work by Dream. He does it so well, he is unlike any other in WWE. Breeze had some nifty transitions into his leg holds. All good so far but then the match kinda fell off a cliff when the two started to exchange moves. There wasn’t much progression and felt very aimless. There were a few more cool moments like the Dream Selfie mid-match but that’s really it. If only they kept with what they were going for at the start, this could’ve been better. **3/4
NXT Women's Championship - Io Shirai vs Shayna Baszler
This was awesome. The winner was the wrong one, in my opinion. BUT this still was pretty good. Not a patch of their 2017 match, but a good addition to what clearly is going to be an extended feud. Loved Shayna’s arm work which, to the surprise of no one, was so great. The little extra twists and cranks that she does add a lot. Io’s selling was good, not great though. I do like how she switched arm for everything (her strikes and which arm she used to fend off submissions). Another good match under the belt of Shayna. ***1/2
NXT Championship - Johnny Gargano (c) vs Adam Cole
Ways this was better than their last match. Didn’t seem never ending although it felt long. And a better match layout. But that’s really all. There was some uninspiring leg work by Cole which is inevitably no sold for much longer than it is sold only to come back in the finish for no real reason. Some more awful 50/50 move for move/no sells that don’t add anything and looked bad. Too many false finishes involving moves that are supposed to be killer moves later in the finish like the Panama surprise on the floor. If they wanted to kill the move, they did that but they clearly didn’t. You know, mostly everything that happened in New York. Just better than that match though. Not a compliment. I would compliment the crowd for being super hot but I found them obnoxious like they usually are in the main events. 1/4*
Really good show, like Takeovers usually are. Everything from start to Baszler/Io was either very good or at least fun in its own way. The show had good pacing, had the matches in the correct spots and didn’t feel like a total drag to watch. The crowd was loud in a good way for the most part too. Nothing I’d consider great on this show which is the only downside for the show overall but make no mistake, watch most of these matches. Best To Worst: Matt Riddle vs Roddy Strong - [***1/2]. Io Shirai vs Shayna Baszler - [***1/2]. Street Profits vs Forgotten Sons vs Undisputed Era vs Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch - [***1/2]. Velveteen Dream vs Tyler Breeze - [**3/4]. Johnny Gargano vs Adam Cole - [1/4*]
Incredibly strong(pun intended) start to the show. There was a brisk back and forth pace so the match didn’t outstay its welcome. Loved the competitiveness that the match had with both men being able to shine - Roddy w/ his excellent back work and Riddle w/ his explosive comebacks. But I do think that Riddle could’ve sold his back far better than he did, especially when making his comebacks because he kinda blew it off. But it wasn’t all bad as he did sell fairly well besides that. Some of the sequences like Roddy’s running elbows were awesome. Riddle added some of his usual great strikes too. More of this please. ***1/2
NXT Tag Team Championship Ladder Match - Street Profits vs Forgotten Sons vs Undisputed Era vs Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch
These matches go over my head nowadays but this was actually pretty fun. They went all out with some nutty spots with the ladders early one and took some amazing bumps. Mostly at Kyle’s expense. There were a few illogical moments with the Era not doing for the belts at one point but whatever. The ending was pretty wild too. Get rid of the bad half of Gunner & Murphy and we’re all good. ***1/2
NXT North American Championship - Velveteen Dream (c) vs Tyler Breeze
This started off great. Loved the character work by Dream. He does it so well, he is unlike any other in WWE. Breeze had some nifty transitions into his leg holds. All good so far but then the match kinda fell off a cliff when the two started to exchange moves. There wasn’t much progression and felt very aimless. There were a few more cool moments like the Dream Selfie mid-match but that’s really it. If only they kept with what they were going for at the start, this could’ve been better. **3/4
NXT Women's Championship - Io Shirai vs Shayna Baszler
This was awesome. The winner was the wrong one, in my opinion. BUT this still was pretty good. Not a patch of their 2017 match, but a good addition to what clearly is going to be an extended feud. Loved Shayna’s arm work which, to the surprise of no one, was so great. The little extra twists and cranks that she does add a lot. Io’s selling was good, not great though. I do like how she switched arm for everything (her strikes and which arm she used to fend off submissions). Another good match under the belt of Shayna. ***1/2
NXT Championship - Johnny Gargano (c) vs Adam Cole
Ways this was better than their last match. Didn’t seem never ending although it felt long. And a better match layout. But that’s really all. There was some uninspiring leg work by Cole which is inevitably no sold for much longer than it is sold only to come back in the finish for no real reason. Some more awful 50/50 move for move/no sells that don’t add anything and looked bad. Too many false finishes involving moves that are supposed to be killer moves later in the finish like the Panama surprise on the floor. If they wanted to kill the move, they did that but they clearly didn’t. You know, mostly everything that happened in New York. Just better than that match though. Not a compliment. I would compliment the crowd for being super hot but I found them obnoxious like they usually are in the main events. 1/4*
Really good show, like Takeovers usually are. Everything from start to Baszler/Io was either very good or at least fun in its own way. The show had good pacing, had the matches in the correct spots and didn’t feel like a total drag to watch. The crowd was loud in a good way for the most part too. Nothing I’d consider great on this show which is the only downside for the show overall but make no mistake, watch most of these matches. Best To Worst: Matt Riddle vs Roddy Strong - [***1/2]. Io Shirai vs Shayna Baszler - [***1/2]. Street Profits vs Forgotten Sons vs Undisputed Era vs Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch - [***1/2]. Velveteen Dream vs Tyler Breeze - [**3/4]. Johnny Gargano vs Adam Cole - [1/4*]
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