[2014-12-11-WWE-NXT Takeover: R Evolution] Charlotte vs Sasha Banks

[Superstar Sleeze]

NXT Women's Champion Charlotte vs Sasha Banks -NXT Takeover REvolution 12/11/14

It was love at first sight for me and The Boss. I could just tell from her mannerisms that she would be a Sleeze Favorite, then she called Charlotte, "generically basic" and I knew she could do no wrong. However, this Lady (She ain't ratchet!) from Titletown, USA (Home of Winners such as the New England Patriots, John Cena, and Myself, the First Ever Winner of the First Ever Pro Wrestling Trivia Internet Podcast, Brainbuster), is no slouch in the ring and most importantly is not afraid to heel it up. Whether it was getting into Charlotte's face like who ya think ya are or taunting Charlotte with Woos making me laugh like heidy heidy ha, Sasha Banks was wrestling this match like a Flair. Hell, she even had the Flair transition of using the outside and corner to your advantage. Ric Flair is perhaps the greatest corner wrestler of the time. It was in the ropes that Flair was at his most dangerous because that is a break in the steady-sate action of wrestling and he was used these transients to get one-up on his opponents. Here, we see Sasha bait Charlotte to the outside, yank hair from the corner (never turned you back on an opponent, Charlotte, love how Sasha made her pay for the lapse in focus), or the the drop toehold in the corner. The announcers were on point noting these elements of Sasha's game plans, kudos. What they missed and this where Bobby Heenan really would have shined is that Sasha Banks was not just taunting Charlotte by using the chop and the figure-4 headlock, she taught Charlotte those moves! That was one of the cruxes of the video package. Heenan would have been right on top of that and BANG! We would have gotten the will you stop from Gorilla. One last thing, I dug from Banks early on, when Charlotte looked to regain the advantage, we saw Sasha tackle her into the corner and deliver double knees in the corner. it showed a desperation and violence mixed together. It was a wrestler that knew their grasp was tenuous at best. I liked Charlotte using her natural strength to overcome Sasha. Charlotte is an interesting case. I don't if she would be better suited as a heel or face. I liked her as a heel in the Bayley match a lot, but I feel like her natural gifts and moveset would make her a babyface. I think starting off as a heel and maturing into the face is always the safest route, but I could see her going either way. Towards the match got all move trade-y and athletic and stuff. I have seen it all folks, a strike exchange in a WWE-sponsored women's match. That damn fucking sequence is going to follow me to my grave. I thought I was safe, but they went and pulled it out. Admittedly, I liked Charlotte shortening the ring up on the tackle to end the exchange. Charlotte's moonsault into a somersault senton was very, very impressive. There were a couple other spots, but I was disappointed they abandoned a great narrative to hit MOVEZ~! Certain people would say that would be the most Flair thing to do. That being said it does play into the fact that in an athletic match Charlotte would smoke Sasha so once Charlotte could set her pace and implement her gameplan it was over for The Boss, but constant move trading took away from any sort of hot crescendo. Anyways, first half of this match Sasha Banks wrestled this match Like A Boss and the best pure heel performance in a WWE ring since Stephanie McMahon at Summerslam. The second half is not bad, but it is forgettable, but the story hook is eschewed for moves. ***1/2

[dawho5]

I didn't think the announcers ever got quite to the place they should have while talking up Sasha's performance. She was essentially channeling the spirit of Ric Flair in the heat. Against Flair's daughter. As for the end I think they had another idea in mind besides finishing the story of the match. Look everyone, the girls can do fun spotfests just as well as the guys can! I just wish they had done that in a different setting because Sasha's heel work was again excellent. Instead of a blistering Charlotte comeback we get the forced "NXT women's division has arrived!" finish. What needed to happen if Charlotte was going to win is Sasha escaping a few predicaments during Char's comeback and using the outside escape/corner tactics again to get the upper hand before losing.

 

Edit:

 

I got this now. Charlotte puts on the Figure 4 after a big comeback to defend the family honor against Sasha. Sasha makes the ropes and manages a cheap shot as they untangle. A few big nearfalls later she throws the same tantrum and gives Charlotte time to recover. Charlotte reverses the next thing Sasha tries and gets a big nearfall before finishing her off. Sasha still out-Flairs Charlotte in the end despite losing, which keeps her heat.

[supersonic]

Another quality showing for this division. Banks, who up to this point had been playing the coward, caught Charlotte off-guard by changing up the psychology and going toe-to-toe, doing her best effort to challenge Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins for the distinct honor of being WWE's best troll. In particular, she used the head-scissors and then turned Charlotte over to deliver a brief Skull Fuck. But Charlotte held her own, using her athleticism and work ethic to escape much of the offense of Banks. Despite a star-making performance from Banks though, she just couldn't measure up to Charlotte quite yet, going down to the reverse Buff Blockbuster. ***1/2

[RingoPlaysDrums]

Good match that I recall being a breakout performance for Sasha. She really goes for it. She pulls off some notable spots (like the double knees in the corner and the back cracker into a painful looking submission) that got people to sit up and take notice. She takes a big bump on a tope to the outside as well. Ultimately Charlotte gets the better of her and the finisher is memorable too - a top rope Natural Selection. There's a couple of awkward moments that don't quite come off but I think it's a good first singles match in their rivalry - they would have better on NXT television and the main roster.