10 Thoughts on NXT Takeover: The End of the Beginning!

10 Thoughts, Reviews, Top Story

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1. It’s time for the End of the Beginning, and we’re kicking off with Tye Dillinger in an awesome new Ming the Merciless style vest. He is facing the debuting Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas, who has a fancy white hat. The man formerly known as La Sombra puts on a good performance, as does the ever reliable enhancement talent Dillinger. One minor criticism – they need to get the right angle for Cien’s running double knee finisher, because it looked a lot like Tye Dillinger just got beaten with a wang to the face.

2. Next up Jordan & Gable are taking on The Revival, and we kick off with a nice video package recapping their rivalry. Typical hard hitting match between these two talented teams, with some solid chain wrestling, lots of near falls and a clean win for The Revival, clearing the way for Jordan & Gable to make the leap to the big leagues.

3. After the match American Alpha are attacked by two massive dudes in black singlets. They decimate the former champs until their manager comes on stage – it’s Paul Ellering! I am sorry but do not know who that is.

4. Video package for The Greatest Man That Ever Lived vs the King of Strong Style, and these packages are excellent as ever. Aries has his ribs taped for the match, but the commentators think it might be a ruse…

5. Nakamura is over as hell, and seems incapable of putting on a bad match, particularly against someone the calibre of Aries. Hugely entertaining match with some brutal strikes and both Nakamura and Aries working their asses off, and Aries looking like a genuine contender before Nakamura picked up a hard fought victory.

6. Now it’s time for Nia Jax to take on Asuka, and Jax uses her power early to take control. Eventually Asuka starts working on submission holds, kicking the crap out of Jax when that doesn’t work. After a solid but not really outstanding match Asuka picks up the win with the running kick.

7. Hey, there is a new Breaking Ground special on later tonight, and that show is one of the reasons I subscribe to the WWE network – that, the impending Cruiserweight Classic and Takeover, of course. Regal talks about his excitement for the first ever NXT steel cage match, but is called away by a production minion. Could there be shenanigans afoot?

8. It’s time for the main event, Samoa Joe vs Finn Balor in a steel cage, and this is the time my WWE Network decides to freeze. F’n fantastic… After some percussive maintenance things start working again, and Joe and Balor are in the ring. Finn’s asymmetrical body paint looks particularly badass tonight, but I still don’t think he’s going to be waking away with the title.

9. No time is wasted as both men bust out some high impact moves early, and Joe starts to wear Finn down by tossing him repeatedly into the cage. Balor takes a nasty fall from a top rope spot but shakes it off and sends Joe crashing into the steel, then traps him between the ropes and the cage. The momentum keeps shifting back and forth as each man attempts to escape over the top, allowing Balor hits a sick sling blade off the top rope. After kicking out of each other’s finishers and Balor escapes the Kokina clutch, Joe hits a super muscle buster off the second rope for the pin and the championship. Great match.

10. Another excellent Takeover event from NXT, with at least two four star matches, a compelling main event and a solid debut for Cien Almas. I wonder how many of these people are we are going to be seeing on Raw or Smackdown over the next few weeks…

JT is a hot air balloonist, writer and tattoo aficionado. He writes about movies, science, music, video games, action figures and professional wrestling.