NXT TakeOver Unstoppable... Live as it happens

[Ricky Jackson]

Party like it's 2005

[WingedEagle]

No issues with Banks selling the arm, but Lynch used it to prop herself up on the ropes, ran with it like there was nothing wrong, and braced her fall on the dropkick with it as well.

 

But more importantly.

 

JOE!

[goodhelmet]

Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

- I love they treated this as a fight

- Man, that early powerbomb tease was awesome.

- Oh man, after the DDT counter into an armbreaker, I thought Owens was going to destroy the arm. I like that he didn’t and missed the corner cannonball.

- Man, what a lame way to finish the Special. There has been far sicker stuff that warranted a stoppage than one powerbomb.

- Regal trying to break it up was great.

- OK , Samoa Joe coming out made it all ok.

[Johnny Sorrow]

YES YES YES YES WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

[pol]

I thought Banks/Becky was structurally excellent, but the occasional awkwardness and the way you can see the cogs turning on some of the choreographed sequences really hurts pretty much all NXT women's matches for me. Does nobody else see that stuff or does it just not bother you as much?

[Dylan Waco]

I saw a bit of it at the beginning, but none after that point. I thought it was a tremendous match to be honest.

[Johnny Sorrow]

Fuck, they already have that Samoa Joe shirt available on WWE Shopzone.

[...TG]

Great show. I liked the tag titles match more than most, including the finish, though it would have worked better on a regular weekly show than a special. I do worry about some of those bumps Owens was taking - that half-and-half suplex right on his shoulder in particular.

[Ricky Jackson]

Fitting that Joe debuts on a day when people are talking about TNA being in a death spiral

[Matt D]

I thought Banks/Becky was structurally excellent, but the occasional awkwardness and the way you can see the cogs turning on some of the choreographed sequences really hurts pretty much all NXT women's matches for me. Does nobody else see that stuff or does it just not bother you as much?

 

Like I said, 10-15% at the beginning, but by the end, I really didn't care. I cared enough to mention it but with the caveat that the match overcame it.

[jcmmnx]

Sasha Banks > everyone else

[Ricky Jackson]

I agree. She's one of the best wrestlers around today

[topropepodcast]

Fuck, they already have that Samoa Joe shirt available on WWE Shopzone.

 

If there was any way I could have gotten it before Elimination Chamber, I would buy it tonight. Instead, I'll wait until they're like 2 for 1 or something, and probably just try to pick up a KO at the show.

 

Liked the show a fair amount, although it really kind of felt like a two match show. i don't think Breeze-Balor really went anywhere besides the bigger spots. Lynch-Banks was tremendous, and although the story wasn't much different from their first NXT match, Owens-Zayn was a lot of fun while it lasted.

[Sean Liska]

Man, watching the way Sasha was working that arm last night like a grizzled vet from the 80's - she's become one of my favorite wrestlers in the world, up there with Negro and Joe and Bryan. Unbelievable stuff.

[goodhelmet]

Dick Murdoch worthy stuff.

[BillThompson]

I've been in on Sasha for a while now, she's a special talent; the sort that only comes along in wrestling every so often. You could see the pieces present in her early work, she just hadn't found a way to bring them together. Now she has and it's really fun to watch her shine in the ring and continue to improve. I have no qualms saying she's one of the best in the world, male or female.

[Parties]

Balor-Breeze: Balor’s paint looks ridiculous the moment you turn the lights back on. Aside from Balor’s dive, match didn’t work for me at all - weak offense from both guys. Breeze’s kicks in particular rarely look good, and they’re the majority of what he does.

 

Bayley/Charlotte-Emma/Brooke: Surprised that management is high on Brooke’s fitness model physique, as she looks a lot like Nattie, whose look (it’s been said) has held her back. Emma was entertaining as sarcastic heel. Would not have thought that’d be a good use for her, but it works. Bayley is superb, and perhaps even underrated as a total package. She’s not perfection, but she’s got a real understanding of her character and how to work babyface. I like Charlotte and root for her as Flair’s surprise heir post-Reid. She’s a capable athlete, such that I often forget how little she’s wrestled. She's got some awkward coordination and mistiming to overcome, but there’s a lot to like.

 

Corbijn-Rhyno: Loud “Corbijn Sucks” chants tell the story. He’s not awful, but one wonders why he’s being pushed so hard. He’s tall, but he doesn’t even have a good physique and looked downright out of shape here. Only reason I see is that he has HHH’s preferred Motorhead-Germanic S&M dungeon look, but we’ve seen how far that took the Ascension. I could see his finisher working: it’s a variation on one that dozens of other guys are doing right now, but at least it looks like it could KO an opponent. I just don't see him as a Reigns situation, as Reigns has so many pluses that Corbijn lacks. Dull match. Could have been three minutes of titanic power moves. I guess they want Corbijn to improve by working longer matches, but this wasn’t good. Rhyno’s selling/comebacks (spinebuster, lariat) were the highlights. Would not have expected Rhyno to be the fiery babyface working from underneath here, but he was good at it.

 

Blake/Murphy-Enzo/Cass: Solid feud utilizing WWE’s formula for midcard tag teams. Blake and Murphy are inoffensive, and the babyfaces’ gimmick works. I liked the Rocket Launcher finish for comedic purposes.

 

Banks-Lynch: Excellent match. One of the best of the year, and better than anything in WWE since Brock-Reigns, including New Day-Cesaro/Kidd. Banks stole the show and was the MVP of the night. If she’s jobbing to the Bellas in six months, it’ll be a waste. She should be booked as the Kobe/Wade/Garnett of the division who everyone loathes but still recognizes as the most cutthroat and talented. Unlike most matches with (relative) newcomers, they got more aggressive and violent as the match went on, building the drama. A Divas match built around such vicious looking submissions was unlike anything they’ve done with women in the past. There was a lot of Sara Del Ray in there.

 

Owens-Zayn: Not as big a fan of these guys as some, but Owens’ mic work has been great/unique to typical WWE. I liked Graves’ analogy comparing Zayn to Pacquiao. I found this lacking as a match, as I often do with Owens’ work. Better character than he is as a worker. I’m torn about the booking. Second match in a row in which they successfully got Owens over as a dastardly heel. On the other hand, most of the crowd still loves him, it was a half-baked rehash of their previous match, and Owens’ heeling is so effective that I don’t even enjoy watching him work. It’s a strange deal, in that from a kayfabe perspective, he’s doing everything right. Maybe I just don’t like Zayn enough to view him as the conquering hero? They’ve done one too many injury angles with Sami. He’s too often the victim who’ll “get ‘em next time”, and the real life injuries are being milked poorly, much like Bryan. It risks the audience giving up on him. Liked the setup for Joe as the next rival to the throne. At his best Joe can be the guy who you want to defeat Owens, moreso than Balor.

[Exposer]

Got a chance to watch Sasha-Becky and Joe's debut. Sasha-Becky is a great match. I will pretty much echo what most everyone says. The dueling arm work is awesome and both sell really well throughout. I want to point out that Sasha is a really good bumper. She doesn't take wild bumps or anything but she puts a lot of impact into them such as the suplex or flying dropkick in this match. The finish in this is great too. I didn't have time to watch Owens-Zayn so I skipped to the post-match which is great. Joe's debut is pretty cool.

[GOTNW]

Lynch/Banks ruled and I expected it to. Becky is the best female wrestler currently employed by the WWE that actively competes, in my humble estimation. Zayn threw some really good punches in the main event, if they give him a Piledriver he's a lock for a top ten finish if the GWE project is redone in 2026.

[JonnyBart]

Sasha and Becky was really great. I'd probably put it a tad higher than the Sasha/Charlotte match from last Thursday.

[Jimmy Redman]

I have a full review of the show up on my blog.

 

Suffice it to say, Sasha vs Becky. Holy shit.

[El-P]

Banks vs Lynch easily takes the MOTN. Sasha Banks I love.

Damn, that entrance by Enzo & Cass ! Are these guys the new NAO ? It's cute, but I'm pretty sure it actually gets annoying pretty quickly since they have to say the exact same thing everytime. Like the NOA. And they have that goofy sing-along spot. Like the W.O.R.M. Ok, I'm not sure I could handle this for very long. But since it was the first time, it was funny in a total WTF way.

The entrance of Tyler Breeze on the other hand. Brillant, and so totally current. I'm already bored with Balor's overlong entrance to be honest. I dunno, he reminds me of the Boogyman. The match was really fun and perfect for an opener.

Enjoyed Owens vs Zayn a lot, although the ending was kinda weak. Regal's intervention was nice and Samoa Joe debuting was a bit surreal, in that he's actually called Samoa Joe, and was treated as a star despite being really a TNA guy (ok, a ROH guy too, but still).

Yeah, really good show overall. (just put Regal in the announcing both)

[C.S.]

I loved the show.

 

- I'm kind of sick of Balor's entrance too, but I like the painted look and I hope he keeps evolving it and eventually changes it up outright for different occasions (like Rey with the themed costumes).

 

- I like Balor and Breeze, but it took a while for their match to really "click" with me.

 

- Not sure I like the "look" of heel Emma, who now comes across as someone who just got dumped by their boyfriend. Just cold and unpleasant. Maybe that's the point, but it doesn't work for me. Dana Brooks is hot, and I hope she can develop into a solid worker.

 

- A shame if Rhyno was only brought in to be used as fodder for the devoid of personality Baron Corbin.

 

- Enzo and Cass got screwed, but I agree with the NAO comparison - both good and bad. They need to add some new material to their act, which NAO never did and they suffered for it.

 

- I don't know what the hell Blake and Murphy are trying to be, but it rings completely false in every way - like two in-over-their-heads indy kids playing dress-up. Just awful. I don't buy their "characters" for a second.

 

- Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch was, far and away, the match of the night. Sasha has been on fire forever, but Becky Lynch has really come into her own. Just a fantastic match.

 

- Getting kind of sick of the gimmicky train wreck brawls that every Owens vs. Zayn match devolves into, but I guess they had no other choice tonight with Zayn's injury. Just feels like it doesn't really showcase what either of them can do.

 

- SAMOA JOE! Amazing that he got to debut as that.

 

Overall, even though I had some nitpicks, NXT once again delivered one of the best shows of the year.

[Jimmy Redman]

You know what, I was just thinking about something like Owens vs Joe for the next Takeover show...and it made me sad.

 

Sad. Because right now it feels like they shouldn't wait another moment to have a women's match headline a Takeover special. Sasha vs Lynch II or Sasha vs Bayley would do it. But on the other hand, if they really kept Owens/Joe until then, nothing is going to follow that. If Sami comes back for a final blow off with Owens, nothing is going to follow that. So hmm.

 

With Joe it depends what kind of deal he's on and what their plans are for him. If he's just jumping in for a while as a much bigger Kendrick or Rhyno, then they may just use him for the next couple tapings and complete his title shot arc on TV. But it seems impossible that they'd not want to have him full-time after they see the reactions he gets and how fast his shirt is going to fly off the shelves.

 

It's probably a sign of a great show that I'm already trying to book the next one three months in advance.

[Coffey]

MOTYC from Lynch/Banks. Good stuff. Felt like the whole show was built around letting them show what they could do.

 

From a wrestling standpoint, that was pretty much the only thing on this show too. Cool to see Joe. Good entrances from Breeze/Balor. Great ovation in the crowd for Uhaa. Also, no idea why he was there but I marked out for The Mountain.