There’s not yet been a disappointing NXT TakeOver. On the enjoyability spectrum the shows have ranged from decent on the low end to spectacular at its best (it’s a three-way tie between R Evolution, Dallas, and Chicago). NXT’s third straight summer in Brooklyn matched in quality to the best TakeOvers of yore, as satisfying a two-and-a-half hour show as the WWE can put on. The show was a mix of great in-ring work, a healthy mix of match styles, a half dozen “wow” moments, surprise debuts, plus the welcomed return of Mauro Ranallo as play-by-play announcer. Why must the supposed developmental farm team consistently put on a better show than the main roster?
We will get to the ROH invasion of Adam Cole and reDRagon later, because this was the headline coming out of the show.
Highlights abound from start to finish, beginning with a hot opener between Johnny Gargano and Andrade Cien Almas. This was the perfect first match to prime the crowd: Great mat work, a hybrid of hard Japanese and lucha style, with lots of satisfying reversals. We knew Gargano would have his working boots on, but what was heartening was that this was Almas’ most convincing performance since he was La Sombra in CMLL. Figuring out his character, sans lucha mask, has been something of a struggle since Almas signed with WWE, and perhaps his newfound playboy persona and Zelina Vega has his valet will be the character development he needs to succeed in America. Late in the match, there was a tremendous sequence of a Gargano Escape reversing into a buckle bomb by Almas, followed by the double knee—one of many times the crowd leapt to their feet. Almas won when Vega tossed a D.I.Y. shirt in Gargano’s face, to which Almas hit a superkick and his hammerlock DDT for the win. I don’t think Gargano came off bad in losing this match.
The build to the tag team championship between Sanity and The Authors of Pain lacked an emotional build, namely, the absence of a clear-cut babyface/heel dynamic. But on paper this match is about 18-wheelers colliding, and this was all car crash, no subtlety. What bigger spectacle was there when Killian Dane crossbodied Nikki Cross and Akam through the table? By the end of the match, Sanity appeared to have been assigned the role as babyface—which made the reformation of reDragon, Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish, more dastardly when the former ROH stars laid out everyone post-match.
The weakest show of the match wasn’t even that bad at all: Hideo Itami vs. Aleister Black featured two dynamics that didn’t quite mesh. Black’s gimmick thus far has been his one-sided squashes, with his Black Mass spinning heel kick the piece de resistance. In this match, Black’s dominance has been set against Hideo Itami’s character, who has felt disrespected from fans and wrestlers alike (hence him screaming “show me respect!” and the announcers pointing this out every 30 seconds). I’m just not sure those two opposing forces created enough of a tension to tell a compelling story. For one, I don’t buy Itami playing the bad guy—it’s his size plus lack of aggression. So while this bout was well-wrestled, and the finish came out of nowhere (and earned a loud pop), it was nowhere as good as the first two matches.