- It’s the final episode before Takeover Dallas and NXT is red hot! We’re kicking off with American Alpha vs Hollis and Skylar, a couple of jobbers I don’t think I’ve seen before.
- Standard squash match from Jordan & Gable, with the Revival watching on a monitor backstage. It’s slightly refreshing that they don’t attack the challengers as they leave the ring, proving once again that NXT isn’t as entirely predictable as Raw.
- Next up we’ve got Baron Corbin (getting boos from the outset) vs another jobber. Corbin wins in two minutes without even hitting the End of Days, then hits it after the pin to prove how badass he is. Yawn.
- Nice video package for Shinsuke Nakamura, and I can’t wait for his match against Sami Zayn in Dallas.
- Back from the break we’ve got The Revival vs Stave Cutler and Tucker Knight. Good march from Dash & Dawson while still making Knight look like a monster. The match is followed by a Bull Dempsey interview, which is surprisingly entertaining, then Alex Riley vs Apollo Crews, which is not.
- Riley is jacked and Crews is athletic, but neither of them are particularly interesting. Don’t get me wrong, I’d prefer to see Crews in the ring over Corbin, Dempsey or Elias Sampson… but he still has a lot of work to do. And now The Drifter is walking to the ring singing, which is about as good as you would expect. Seriously, f**k this gimmick.
- Baron Corbin cuts a promo which lacks personality or passion (as you would expect), and takes a shot a Virgil, which seems like punching down to me. Dude’s gotta make a living…
- Another great video package for the Bayley / Asuka match at Takeover, which is up against Zayn/Nakamura for potential match of the night.
- Samoa Joe vs Bull Dempsey was fun, with Joe letting Bull get in some token offense before beating the crap out of him and choking him out. After the bell Joe continues to choke out Dempsey which eventually brings out Finn Balor for the obligatory brawl. Despite the passion shown here they’re going to have to work hard to make the top three matches of Takeover Dallas.
- Great setup episode for Takeover, with a stacked card making this the most interesting event of Wrestemania weekend.
