If you haven’t been watching NXT regularly then shame on you as it’s certainly giving Raw a run for it’s money with consistently entertaining shows week in week out. It’s a one hour show that packs everything in with fun gimmicks & meaningful title scenes. Takeover 2 (as the name suggests) is the second PPV in NXT’s history in which all 3 titles would be defended along with the much anticipated debut of Kenta & more, neatly packed into a 2 hour slot.
The PPV went straight in with the final match of the ongoing tag tournament for The Ascension’s NXT Tag Titles. The Ascension had been champions for 344 days going in and had been dominating the tag division since day one. Their opponents were the Lucha Dragons Kalisto & Sin Cara who had been on a roll (and a few flips) lately with a win over The Vaudevillians (*cries*) to earn their title shot. A spectacular high-flying performance saw them do the impossible as Kalisto hit Viktor with the Salida Del Sol for the pin. This was a brilliant way to kick off the show with the commentators doing a great job to put over the importance of the titles. It was also the first Ascension match in a while that wasn’t just a 3 minute squash & the Lucha Dragons’ high-flying style went well with their powerhouse offence. I look forward to seeing these two compete again when The Ascension get their rematch although with their recent Main Event performance, could a main roster call-up be on the cards?
In the second of three title matches on the night, fan-favourite Bayley finally got her title match against the champion Charlotte. It’s insane how much better the NXT women’s division is at the moment compared to Raw, while the bad-acting Bella’s unconvincingly scream at each other every Monday night, the women of NXT have been putting on quality matches with weekly character development. Both competitors in this match have come a long way since starting and put on one of the best WWE women’s match I’ve seen in a very long time. Bayley showed a more aggressive side and Charlotte gained a new-found respect for her as an opponent however it was the latter who retained her championship with a pinfall after Natural Selection. Sasha Banks came out after the match to attack the defeated Bayley although Charlotte made the surprise save (but not before staring Bayley down), with these three women currently carrying the division it only seems a matter of time before a triple threat match happens. It’s the most excited I’ve been in a WWE women’s title scene since the days of Trish Stratus and Lita and it’s great to see NXT actually putting time and effort into the division, if only I could say the same for the Raw.
The main event was of course the fatal-four-way match between the champion Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze & Tyson Kidd, the four of them had a tag match on Raw earlier in the week and I really hope this caused more people to tune into the PPV because what a match it was, probably one of the best of the year so far. The crowd was hot throughout, particularly for the faces and were clearly dying to see Zayn win the belt. The heels Kidd & Breeze spent the majority of the match teaming up to take down Zayn & Neville including a double suplex on the steel entrance ramp. Zayn looked certain to be the victor, in one sequence of moves leaping out the ring to take out Neville, then diving through the ropes to DDT Tyler Breeze on the ramp before nailing Tyson Kidd with a Heluva kick in the corner. As the referee was about to count to two however, Adrian Neville pulled the ref out the ring, superkicked Zayn and hit Kidd with the Red Arrow for the 3 count to retain his title. Fatal-four-ways can be very pretty hit & miss but this one definitely delivered as everyone in the match looked great with all four of them getting in a decent amount of offence to showcase their talent. Tyson Kidd also put on arguably the best match of his career and has really come on a long way since moving to NXT, I’ve always know he had it in him and it’s a shame he never really got to show it much on Raw. It’s almost certain Zayn will win the title in the not-too-distant future but until then I suggest you just enjoy the ride because it’s going to be a good one.
Along with the three title matches, general manager William Regal brought out Kenta for his official unveiling who announced he would now be going by the name Hideo Itami & told the crowd it was “Dream come true” to have joined WWE. The promo was short-lived however as the now-former NXT Tag champions The Ascension came out to greet him…and then get their arses kicked by him. It’s clear they’re planning on sending Itama straight to the top, single-handedly taking out such a dominant tag-team and I can’t wait to see him get his first proper match (which will hopefully be next week). With the quality of the current NXT main-eventers there is serious potential for some amazing matches in the coming months I’m sure they’re all dying to get in the ring with him too.
We also saw another debut in the form of Baron Corbin who defeated CJ Parker in a quick squash match with a modified facebuster-type move. It’s difficult to form much of an opinion on Corbin following such a short match but at 6”8 and Vince’s love of big guys I’m sure he’ll be destroying jobbers on Raw in no time.
Badda bing badda boom, realest guy in the room Enzo Emore defeated Sylvester Lefort in a hair vs hair match via roll-up although after fleeing out the back it was his partner Marcus Louis who ended up B-A-W-L-D BAAAAAAAAWWWWLD! Not the greatest match but the crowd still gave huge pops to Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady who never fail to entertain, their promos especially always a highlight, and I really can’t see anywhere this feud could go that they won’t make hilarious.
Bull Dempsey also defeated Mojo Rawley with a flying headbutt but this match felt more like filler than anything and could easily have taken place on the weekly show.
Overall it was an excellent PPV, really showing off all the talent NXT has to offer with three quality title matches. Night Of Champions is next week yet I’m more excited to watch the post-Takeover NXT, the future is certainly looking bright for the future stars of WWE.
Final Grade: A+
Final Thoughts:
- Tyson Kidd & Sin Cara have been amazing on NXT since moving from Raw, Titus O’Neil take note!
- Whoever is behind NXT right now, take a bow. Dempsey v Rawley aside, every moment of the PPV was great with the fatal-four-way a definite match of the year candidate.
- A Vaudevillains appearance would’ve been nice though.
- Please win the title soon, Bayley…
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