An air of
uncertainty hung over the Barclay’s Center as WWE’s Summerslam weekend
approached. The build had been mediocre at best, and while there were several
marquee matches to look forward to, fans anticipated a long and potentially
tiresome four nights of wrestling. As usual, it was up to NXT to kick off the festivities
with a bang, and as always, they did exactly that. Saturday night the men and
women of NXT set the Barclay’s Center ablaze, putting forth not only one of the
best cards of the year, but one of the best Takeover’s we have ever seen.
A full calendar year removed from their last
venture to Brooklyn, the landscape of NXT had changed significantly. Superstars
like Bayley, Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura had moved on to the main roster,
now fighting for more prestigious championships. Names like Bobby Roode and
Ember Moon, who debuted at NXT Brooklyn II, were now firmly entrenched in the
main event scene. A tag team division once fueled by the craftiness and
teamwork of the Revival and DIY, was now dominated by the behemoths known as
the Authors of Pain. The only familiarity was Asuka, although it seemed her
undefeated streak was finally destined to come to an end.
Here is a breakdown of each of the night’s matches, their outcomes, and what it all means.
Johnny Gargano vs Andrade “Cien” Almas
Gargano entered
this match as one of the most over wrestlers in the company, and that includes
the main roster. The two wrestlers exchanged holds early in the match, with
Almas taking the early advantage. Gargano, as he tends to do, stormed back into
the match, riling up the Brooklyn crowd in the process. Almas narrowly escaped
a submission late in the match, opening the door for his manager Selina Vega to
distract Gargano by throwing an old DIY shirt into the ring. Almas seized the
moment, laying out Gargano with a new DDT finisher for the win.
The booking for
this match couldn’t have been better. A high octane offering was the perfect
bout to kick off the show and get the crowd invested. While it was surprising
to see Gargano lose, he is so over with the NXT audience that it shouldn’t
really matter. The win will do huge things for Almas who has finally hit a
stride and could develop into a top heel. Look for Gargano to become to new
Sami Zayn of NXT, the underdog with the never say die attitude on his road to
redemption. For Gargano, that redemption will come in the form of Tommaso
Ciampa, who unfortunately is sidelined with a knee injury until March.
Authors of Pain (C ) vs Sanity
NXT Tag Team Championship
Originally
scheduled to be Killian Dain and Alexander Wolfe of Sanity, the challengers
instead elected to send leader Eric Young into the match instead of Dain. The
replacement came as somewhat of a surprise, as Dain comes off as the team’s
strongest member. Surprisingly, it was Alexander Wolfe who stepped up the most,
deliver big flurries of offense and suplexes. Following back to back suicide
dives from Young and Wolfe, Nikki Cross joined the fray, squaring off with Paul
Ellering, before leaping from the top turnbuckle out of the ring, only to be
caught in mid-air by Akam. What followed was the spot of the match, as a
charging Killian Dain speared the pair through a table at ringside. With Akam
disposed, Wolfe and Young executed a tandem back suplex-neckbreaker on Rezar
for the pinfall to become new NXT Tag Team Champions. Following the bout, Bobby
Fish and Kyle O’Reilly stormed the ring, laying waste to all members of Sanity
and AoP.
Multiple things
were achieved in a matter of minutes here. After having dominated the likes of
the Revival and DIY, the Authors had nothing left to prove, and passed the
torch to Sanity, who picked up an impressive, clean win. Expect to see the
Authors making waves on the main roster sooner rather than later. With the
titles now in their grasp, Sanity has become the dominant heel stable in NXT. The
post match run-in by Fish and O’Reilly sets up the new champions with immediate
opposition, assuming the Authors are going to the main roster. Very
entertaining match with several storyline aspects.
Aleister Black vs Hideo Itami
Special Guest Commentator: Good Ol’ Jim Ross
Black entered to a
live performance of his theme. In a match which many expected to steal the
weekend, both competitors delivered strong performances. Stiff strikes and good
back and forth action led to a compelling bout, but the match was hurt by the
fact that the finish was never in question. Everyone knew Black was going to
win this match, and it’s unfortunate that Itami’s stock has fallen so much due
to the injuries he’s suffered. Black picked up the win with Black Mass.
There are two
important takeaways here: the match itself, and the entrance. While the match
was no five star classic, it was very solid. Black is a top notch performer,
and with a couple new moves and tweaks, he will slide nicely into the main
event picture. The fact that Black was given the entrance he had, there is no
doubt he is a big priority in management’s eyes. An inside source noted that
you don’t receive a big entrance unless you’re a big deal, so expect big things
from Black in the future. As for Itami, another high profile loss is sure to
lead to frustration, which will hopefully lead to a more unhinged version of
Itami. Unless he does something drastic to increase his stock, we may not see
too much more of Hideo Itami in NXT.
Asuka (C ) vs Ember Moon
NXT Women’s Championship
Almost 18 months
had passed since Asuka won the NXT Women’s Championship from Bayley at NXT
Takeover Dallas, and not once over that span did it ever seem like the Empress
of Tomorrow would lose. Even Ember Moon, an undefeated contender, fell short at
Takeover Orlando on Wrestlemania weekend. But with one attempt under her belt,
it seemed that Ember Moon’s time had come to dethrone Asuka. The two women went
to war in their rematch, Asuka utilizing locks and submissions while Ember
unleashed a plethora of high power offense. Moon would eventually hit her
Eclipse finisher, securing herself the women’s championship, only for Asuka to
kick out at 2. Following a few more near falls, Moon would fall victim to the
Asuka lock, submitting to the champion.
Asuka and Ember
put on one of the best women’s matches we’ve seen in NXT since Bayley and Sasha
graced the ring in Brooklyn. These women are head and shoulders above
their fellow competitors, and it showed
in their efforts. The interesting story is where to go from here. Asuka has
established such a level of dominance that she can’t lose now. There just isn’t
anyone out there that could believably defeat her. If she were to move up to
the main roster, the only option would be for her to forfeit the title, similar
to what Paige did. But considering the language barrier, and how crowded the
women’s divisions currently are on the main roster, Asuka may very well be
better served staying in NXT. Having come up short twice, we will have to wait and
see whether Moon continues to pursue Asuka’s gold, or whether a move to the
main roster is imminent.
Bobby Roode (C ) vs Drew McIntyre
NXT Championship
Upon winning the
NXT championship, Bobby Roode promised to bring NXT to the next level, and he
did just that. From his glorious entrance to his scathing promos, Bobby Roode’s
NXT was a sight to behold, and a fun one at that. Following a brief stint in
WWE several years ago, McIntyre built his brand on the Indy’s as Drew Galloway,
before returning to the WWE in search of gold. McIntyre utilized a heavy
offense in attempts to overwhelm his smaller foe. A series of locks and
reversals allowed Roode to keep the upper hand. McIntyre dropped Roode with a
Claymore late, only for Roode to hang his foot on the bottom rope. Shortly
after, Roode would plant McIntyre with a Glorious DDT, only for the challenger
to kick out. Roode went for a double Glorious DDT, only to be reversed midway.
McIntyre connected with a big headbutt and a second Claymore to secure the
victory and the NXT Championship. Following the match, Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly
again stormed the ring, distracting McIntyre long enough for Adam Cole to enter
and sneak attack the new champion. Cole held the title up as the new stable
stood dominant over the fallen McIntyre.
A very solid match
was capped off by another piece of great booking. In similar fashion to the tag
title match, this match served to move several storylines ahead. Uncle Bobby's run as NXT champion was a lot of fun, and it will be great seeing him bring his
“Glorious” persona to the main roster. At the same time, the win here did a lot
to put McIntyre over. Many fans may still remember McIntyre from his 3MB days
on the main roster; a big win over Roode here will have fans quickly forgetting
those days. Lastly, the run in from Cole, along with Fish and O’Reilly, injects
an immediate challenger into the main event scene, and a top tier stable to
keep an eye.
All in all, a phenomenal night of wrestling. Not only did each match
deliver in terms of entertainment, but each match did wonders as far as moving
storylines forward. One of the trickiest aspects of NXT is replenishing talent
while efficiently moving top level talent to the main roster. Takeover Brooklyn
III executed this flawlessly, having established champions pass the torch to
rising contenders while introducing the next batch of superstars to keep an eye
on. From top to bottom, there’s not much more you can ask for from a
professional wrestling show. Well done NXT, well done.
