NXT TAKEOVER XXV
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| Source: wwe.com |
The company made sure to call themselves the "true alternative in sports entertainment", a shot at the upstart All Elite Wrestling, no doubt.
While the excitement of true competition in the professional wrestling industry is growing; AEW is yet to fully exist. So, that leaves NXT as the ONLY alternative in sports entertainment.
Of course, you can argue that it's not much of an alternative if the same company operates it, but that's not why we're here. We're here to review NXT TAKEOVER XXV as its own entity. So let's get right into it!
RODERICK STRONG vs MATT RIDDLE
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| Source: wwe.com |
Tom is 100% correct if we are to use this match as evidence. Strong and Matt Riddle managed to tell a great story in this match, and I'm sure we can safely assume that Strong led this match, being the more-experienced performer, by a mile.
Matt Riddle is a star waiting to shine on the big stage. His performance in this match was excellent. Riddle can sell like Dolph Ziggler, which will help him tremendously. He made Roderick Strong, a man seemingly half his size, look like his toughest battle to date.
I don't often give this award out, but without question, I would put this match on my "Watch That Again" list.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
4 out of 5 stars!
NXT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP LADDER MATCH
The Street Profits vs Burch & Lorcan vs The Forgotten Sons vs Fish & O'Reilly
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| Source: wwe.com |
Having tag teams involved in ladder matches like this makes for so many fun and innovative spots that wouldn't seem believable otherwise.
My favorite spot of this match was the double German-suplex to Steve Cutler & Wesley Blake of The Forgotten Sons by Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan, while they had the ladder resting on their neck and shoulders. As much as I'm sure they practiced this spot a hundred times, it looked like Kyle O'Reilly didn't get out of the way in time, and nearly took the hardest hit from that spot as the ladder barely missed hitting him in the skull!
O'Reilly managed to avoid that particular shot, but he for sure gets the award for "Toughest MF'er of the Night", as that dude put his body on the line in this match, more times than I can count.
Also, every single performer in this match did well. This was perhaps the most entertaining match of the night, though having 8 participants probably makes it easier to earn that distinction. (Technically 9 performers as they sent out Jaxson Ryker to both dish and receive punishment. This was another fun spot, when everyone ganged up to neutralize him.)
The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) will finally have a run as the champs, and that excites me. This is one of my favorite teams in all of wrestling. Their energy is contagious, and I feel like Ford is in for an insanely bright future in this industry.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
4 out of 5 stars!
NXT NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Velveteen Dream vs Tyler Breeze
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| Source: wwe.com |
The NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream is one of my favorite characters right now. It's subtle enough to not be pigeonholed into specific types of storylines, but still had more than enough substance to be full of detail.
This was an interesting storyline, going into the match, given the similarities in the attitude and presentation of both characters. It also had a THEN vs NOW feel to it.
As much as I like the character of Velveteen Dream, it's safe to say his in-ring performances are his weakest attribute, though he's still completely serviceable in the ring.
Tyler Breeze put in a good match, don't get me wrong. I did, however, feel that it drug on a little in spots. Ultimately that may be due to the placement on the match card. The previous two matches were so good, they may have soaked up all the available energy.
The shared selfie at the end of the night was a nice touch, and a contemporary update to the post-match handshake that fit the characters and the storyline very well.
⭐⭐⭐
3 out of 5 stars!
NXT WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Shayna Baszler vs Io Shirai
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| Source: wwe.com |
This match gave me the same feeling I get when I watch ANY Shayna Baszler match; which is, that Baszler is one of the best heels in the business right now. She has a demeanor about her that makes you want to root against her.
I kept telling myself that they need to move her to the main roster, but now I realize that would leave the entire NXT Women's Division full of performers that do not move the needle at all for me. At least not yet. If they have plans to build some babyfaces from that roster, then there would be no heel that could better get those people over. So, Shayna almost HAS to stick around NXT for a while.
The champ and Io Shirai put on a decent match, I guess. I just never really found myself getting into it much, even though I honestly felt like the outcome could go either way. I just didn't really seem to care.
I really wanted to give this match a higher rating. Perhaps if they wouldn't have saved the best spot for AFTER the match.
⭐⭐
2 out of 5 stars!
2 out of 5 stars!
NXT CHAMPIONSHIP
Johnny Gargano vs Adam Cole
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| Source: wwe.com |
If you aren't aware of how good these two performers are, there's probably nothing I'm going to say here that would clue you in any better; you should just watch the match.
Once again, The Undisputed Era holds the power associated with the NXT Championship. Where will this take us during NXT television? Will Johnny get a rematch? Will the Undisputed Era's personal troubles continue? I'm excited to find out!
⭐⭐⭐⭐
4 out of 5 stars!
As per usual, NXT did not fail to deliver a damn good show with some great matches.
Are they the "true" alternative in sports entertainment?
Let us know you your thoughts by using #TweetTheTable on Twitter! We may read some of the best on the next episode of The Spanish Announce Table podcast!
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