Spoiler alert: there weren’t any misses at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II, which was solid top to bottom.
HIT: Shinsuke Nakamura wins the NXT title
Nakamura, the “King of Strong Style,” took the NXT title from Samoa Joe in the main event with a pair of kinshasas, the first of which appeared to damage Joe’s jaw.
Solid match, from the live violin to Nakamura’s haunting ring entrance music to the MMA feel to the flow of the match.
Too much these days, wrestling feels, you know, fake – either just plain gimmicky, too high-spotty. Nakamura and Joe looked about as real as any pro wrestling match I’ve ever seen.
HIT: The Revival retains
The Revival – Dash and Dawson – may never star on Raw or Smackdown, but they’re a damn good NXT tag team. The NXT tag team title match with Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa was a great showcase for both teams, but particularly Dash and Dawson, who looked tonight like a 2016 version of Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard.
Great pacing to the match, nice psychology with The Revival working over Ciampa for an uncomfortably long stretch, before an exciting series of near-falls preceding the submission finish.
The booking was 1980s NWA at its best.
HIT: Glorious debut for Bobby Roode
Bobby Roode got the win, as expected, in his TV debut for NXT over Andrade “Cien” Almas, who was booed as the heel though he was booked as the face.
Roode was not only given face treatment by the fans, but they were chanting “This is glorious!” at the start of the match.
That’s called over, folks. Bobby Roode, in his first TV match in NXT, is already over with NXT fans.
HIT: Ember Moon, Asuka get big wins
The future of the women’s division looks pretty good. NXT champ Asuka retained with a ground and pound victory over Bayley, who we can assume with her defeat is finally headed to the main roster.
Ember Moon is the logical next top contender, when her buildup is played out and the timing is right.
Her finisher – a leap off the top rope into an RKO – is innovative. Her look – thick, muscular, athletic – has star written all over it.
Review by Chris Graham
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