NXT Takeover: Orlando

[rzombie1988]

The Triple threat was great. AOP are my favorite guys in wrestling right now and that was just amazing booking. That's how you book a 3 way.

 

Excited for AOP vs Heavy Machinery

[Johnny Sorrow]

I love Sanity. I'm a sucker for a mid card level heel group full of weirdos and misfits who feud with a mid card crowd favorite and his loose confederation of pals.

[Cox]

Drew McIntyre no-showing WWN's main event so he could be seen ringside at Takeover is why you don't run head to head with Paul's baby, even if you think you have a working relationship with WWE.

[...TG]

Drew McIntyre no-showing WWN's main event so he could be seen ringside at Takeover is why you don't run head to head with Paul's baby, even if you think you have a working relationship with WWE.

 

He didn't no-show. He did a promo to open the show and got beat up by Keith Lee.

[Johnny Sorrow]

So is Black their CM Punk replacement? 😄

[Johnny Sorrow]

That tag title match was fucking dope.

And I'm loving how slow this Asuka heel turn has been. They've been slowly turning her for a long fucking time. This was the first big part of it.

[stro]

That tag title match was fucking dope.

And I'm loving how slow this Asuka heel turn has been. They've been slowly turning her for a long fucking time. This was the first big part of it.

She's been basically a dickhead heel who fans like since she beat Bayley a year ago. This was the first match she's actually cheated, but that's only because it's the first time she's been pushed to the point of needing to. It's certainly not the first time she's been an abject disrespectful asshole who takes cheap shots and plays around when she feels like it.

 

Triple threat tag was great. Not a surprise that DIY and Revival stole the show again. You'd basically need 1985 LOD mixed with 1992 Steiners to beat AOP at this point.

 

Asuka/Ember was good, but definitely didn't hit a level I thought it was going to. I don't want to say it was disappointing, but it was the only match with hype coming into the show and it didn't live up to it. Weird pacing and I will always hate the shitty RVD/Lynn respect standoff spots to show equality in opponents, and this felt like the first 5 minutes were nothing but those.

 

Roode/Nak 2 was just as dull and unimpressive as 1, as they have absolutely zero chemistry and it's a terrible clash of styles that doesn't work at all. Modern NJPW main event style against late 80s American style just doesn't work together.

 

La Sombra continues to just not have it at all. Tommy End's entrance was pretty cool (if a bit long), but Sombra seems hopeless at this point. A few flashes of Naito once in awhile can't cover up that he just doesn't work in the WWE system at all. Surprised that the crowd wasn't very into End, since NXT crowds are always popping for whatever indie guy comes in. They sounded pretty quiet for him.

 

Fuck Sanity.

 

 

Overall, a better show than expected, but the show has ZERO hype heading into it, so one great match was really enough to push it to the better than expected side of the fence.

[Johnny Sorrow]

Roode vs Nak fucking ruled.

Stop saying "Tommy End" and "Sombra" . Those aren't their names now. That's like watching Casablanca and calling Bogart " Sam Spade" cause you loved The Maltese Falcon.

Speaking of that, Almas has been awesome since the heel turn and he totally carried that match with the annoying tattooed white guy who kicks a lot.

[stro]

I'll call them whatever I want to call them. That's who they still are to me so that's what I'm going to call them until I change my mind. I'm still going to say Chris Hero, too. Kindly go Grind yourself.

[SteveJRogers]

I'll call them whatever I want to call them. That's who they still are to me so that's what I'm going to call them until I change my mind. I'm still going to say Chris Hero, too. Kindly go Grind yourself.

I get slipping up on live media platforms as a mistake, including recorded podcasts, where it will be like calling the LA Chargers "San Diego." But writing it does make you seem like a hispter smark that's is trying too hard to impress everyone.

[stro]

I don't really give a shit what it looks like. They called him Tommy End on the fucking pre show for fucks sake. Chris Hero was Chris Hero up until a few weeks ago. Sorry that Andrade "Cien" Almas isn't the first thing that comes to mind when I see him. When they grow into their new names and do things that make me think of them under their new names, I'll start thinking of them under the new names first.

 

If I want to call Sami Zayn "Generico" a few times while doing a write up, I'm going to do it. If that makes me a hipster then who gives a shit. You don't get any points for calling them by their current name. God forbid someone calls Meng by Haku when talking about him in WCW.

[FMKK]

Much edge, much lordship

[Loss]

1. Stro, I don't think anyone is coming at you quite like you are responding. It's okay.

 

2. PWI was notorious for doing this. It was one of my favorite wacky things about them. Stuff like calling Sunny "Tammy Fytch" during her entire WWF run.

[goc]

Sanity has to be the god damn worst stable WWE has ever had.

After seeing how Sanity looked last night, I feel like this is about the best take on them anyone could possibly have:

 

[stro]

Lol. Even worse: They look like a gang Batman beats up in the cold opening of a video game. DLC. On Xbox 360.

[Jimmy Redman]

DREWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

 

DREW IS BACK DREW IS BACK!

 

This DOES mean he's back right? They don't show people in the crowd unless they're singing up, right? Right? Drew Drew Drew. This is making all of my 2011 dreams come true that I didn't even know I had because NXT wasn't a thing in 2011 but if you had told my 2011 self "What if Superstars matches were a promotion with old school booking?" that's basically what NXT is and the one dude I would want in that biatch is Drew fucking Mac.

 

When the tag match began I was distracted by some unrelated homophobic thing that just happened and could barely pay attention. By the time DIY were eliminated I was jumping and screaming and crying in abject horror and amazement and wonder, begging and pleading for them to not go out like that. This match was so fucking great it was actually the worst thing ever because AOP winning in the end was depressing as hell. I'm still upset. But fuck, the first fall of that match was completely fucking out of this world. It felt like the peak and the swansong of this tag team run all at once. I could write a thousand words on the genius of the DOY/Revival interplay here.

 

Asuka. What a prick. First of all that interview she did in that dress sitting by the pool was the greatest heel shit ever. Anyway here Ember is totally up for it and matching her at every turn, and at first she laughs it off the way she does, then she gets more and more serious the more Ember steps to her, and when everything else doesn't work and she's in danger of being hit with the death finisher to end all death finishers, she just cheats like a motherfucker, kicks her head off, and then laughs and laughs and dances along to her music like nothing happened. Total fucking prick, it was glorious. Match ruled and I can't wait for Asuka vs Ember II: What Happens When She Actually Hits The Eclipse.

[El-P]

Well, I did watch it.

 

And now I'm gonna give my two cents.

 

I don't know some of these guys name because I don't watch the TV. So, be offended if you will.

 

Hey, Trip fellating himself in the intro. Nice. Doesn't need Steph anymore.

 

Sanity. Hey, I like freaks, so these guys are okay with me. The robotic intro are ridiculous though, especially when you're supposed to be some crazy weirdos. Fun, as I'm deep into TNA 2006 these days, and Roderick Strong looks exactly as he did back then. Eric Young, not so much. Fun opener. I like the fat bearded hairy guy. The one dressed like Mo, I dunno. The girls are kinda cool, especially the punkette with tatoos, but from what they do here, no way to know if they are any good. Young still bumps like a freak, nice to know. Hey, who's that fat guy in the shirt ? So yes, that's my very first look at Chris Hero/Cassius Ohno. And yes, he's fat. He's got a Barry Windham 93 kinda look, with a beard, because every guy has to have a beard. It's like the tribal tatoo of the 2010's. Hey, I loved Barry Windham, so it's all ok for me. The announcers, one of which sounds eerily like Michael Cole, say that he's "deceptively agile". He's not implying that Cassius Ohno is fat, is he ? Well he is. And that's cool, I love agile fat workers. His last name's only purpose seems to do awful puns though. Well, this was fun.

 

I hate to quote Johnny but :

 

So is Black their CM Punk replacement?

 

 

Glad I'm not the only one. Except he's kinda like a lame CM Punk replacement. The intro is so forced. Is he supposed to be a satanist ? I mean, the kabalistic symbols, Aleister... Just say it, he's a satanist follower of Aleister Crowley. Of course they won't because Bray Wyatt is in the house, so he's just *dark*. With *tatoos that symbolizes his beliefs and life experiences*. Fuck, he's totally a satanist version of CM Punk. Not impressed though. He looks like every hipster tatoo parlor employee from the 11th arrondissement in Paris. Who practice yoga. I'm not afraid. The kind of guy you order a vegan burger from. Anyway, he kicks a whole lot. La Som... Almas does a Naito big up. Cool. Match was kinda there. Almas is just not working. Jury's out on Crowley, he looks to have some potential, but nothing special. Might as well give him some Deefheaven track for his intro though.

 

Three-way dance is already overrated as fuck in this thread. It was good. Not great. Way too long. Too much cutesy spots which come with the 3-way style (and are why I don't usually care for this gimmick). Whenever the AOP are in control, the match drags a whole lot as they just aren't very good. The samoan guy especially looks lost at points. The other four look great, so I longed for those great, classic matches they delivered the previous year. AOP aren't bad, but they are like the worst Head Hunters ever. Or the best Master Blasters ever. Ellering is useless. Anticlimatic finish.

 

Hey, I'd totally have a drink with Asuka at the swimming pool and talk shit. This girl seems like the coolest. Okay, so this is the best match on the show thus far. Like Ember Moon quite a bit from what I see here. The look, the work, the attitude. Too bad she gets your typical generic bad WWE music. She needs to come to Princess Nokia's "Kitana". Not sure those "I don't give a fuck" and "you can suck my dick" would sit well with the PG bullshit, but it would be so bad-ass and fitting. Anyway, this felt like two girls beating the shit out of each other. Kinda rough in spots, but at least this didn't look like a dance or manufactured "epic" (see later). Got better as it went, with a nice escalation in the violence and bitchiness. Hell, Asuka cheated to win ! That was cool ! I'm totally there for a rematch, this was very good/excellent.

 

Nakamura is nothing special anymore. His entrance is verging on self-parody, because he's always the exact same. The less said the better about Roode's, which is forced as all hell. The Glorious bit is awful and doesn't even get boos from these idiots in the crowd. Pandering-to-smart-audience theme song to get a sing-along reaction is the worst. And I don't buy Roode's Rude/Orndorff cosplay for one minute. He's just not a main event player. Never has been, even in TNA. Super solid undercard worker, but not a top guy. He's so Triple H/Jeff Jarrett in 2000. This is dull. And long. Nak is soooo cruising. Oh man, the worst NJ elbow exchange ever now... Ends in a very obvious "look at us having an epic" mode... I fear the exact same stuff for every big Mania match.

 

Mixed bag. Opener was fine. Tag match was pretty good but too long and cutesy. Women's match was really good. Main event was boring.

[WingedEagle]

Loved the 8 man opener. I've heard good things about Ruby Riot / Heidi Lovelace but she looked a little rough in a couple spots. Not enough to bring the match down at all, but Nikki Cross is dying for a breakout performance and they had a few opportunities to shine here that didn't seem to come through. That aside, this was an incredibly fun, balls to the wall opener with a great pace and quick flow between segments that gave basically everyone an opportunity to look impressive. Really couldn't ask for more out of this. ***3/4

 

Black/Almas was okay. Not bad, certainly nothing special. At points they seemed to want to showcase the new guy as a big deal, as he had some impressive spots, but these looked like two guys going through motions and following a script without ever jumping off the page. Almas is better as a heel but he's still never looked as impressive as he did as Sombra. That may never happen given certain limitations here. Thought they could've done a better job building to a finish rather as it seemed like they ran through a collection of spots and randomly picked one to wrap it up with. They were often impressive spots, but not much more. **3/4

 

Tag title threeway was terrific. Absolutely loved how DIY & Revival worked together against AOP throughout the match and all of the creative spots they wove into that story throughout the match. Surprised DIY went out first as I expected Revival to disappear en route to a promotion, but we'll see how that plays out. It wasn't quite as great after the elimination, but this was so great . Hopefully they can find another team to weave into this mix. ****1/4

 

Asuka vs. Ember Moon -- still not seeing Asuka as any kind of elite talent, but there was a lot of good here between the transitions and some really big offense from both. Best part was undoubtedly the (presumably?) heel turn for Asuka at the finish. She's really played the part of a tweener at best outside of playing to the crowd during her entrance, but stamping here as a heel has potential. Not sure what babyfaces they'd build for her after the Moon rematch, but perhaps that's what the women's tourney is for. ***1/2

 

Nak vs. Roode was way too long. Great entrances. This was very much "there" with little reason to care almost the entire way. They had a large number of minutes to fill and weren't checking out until the whistle, but weren't exactly going hard on both ends. The crowd was surprisingly with it much of the way despite this and they put together a hot finish with a couple decent near falls that ensured it didn't quite end on a sour note, but outside of Roode's entrance this is a title scene that needs fresh figures. **3/4

[El-P]

Ruby Riot / Heidi Lovelace but she looked a little rough in a couple spots. Not enough to bring the match down at all, but Nikki Cross is dying for a breakout performance and they had a few opportunities to shine here that didn't seem to come through.

 

I was thinking how Nikki Cross sounded kinda like a porn actress name, and now you're telling me Ruby Riot's indy name was Lovelace ? Damn.

 

I do agree one short exchange looked like they were quite cool workers and then they went AWOL from most of the match, so, no idea how good they actually are from watching this. I do like they have different looks at least.

[Jimmy Redman]

Also, that one time that Eric Young flew out of the ring may have been the nuttiest bump I've ever seen him take, and I once saw him do a Flair Flop straight to the floor.

[Blehschmidt]

If it helps justify the look and gimmick to you at all El-P, Tommy End/Aleister Black is actually a practicing satanist and grew up in a cult. He talked about it on Cabana's podcast a couple years ago.

[El-P]

Also, that one time that Eric Young flew out of the ring may have been the nuttiest bump I've ever seen him take, and I once saw him do a Flair Flop straight to the floor.

 

Destination X 2006. I just watched that two days ago.

 

 

If it helps justify the look and gimmick to you at all El-P, Tommy End/Aleister Black is actually a practicing satanist and grew up in a cult. He talked about it on Cabana's podcast a couple years ago.

 

 

I see. But they're not gonna say he's a *satanist*. Because then people would think he's sacrificing goats or something. And Bray Wyatt's gimmick would be dead. Well, a satanist CM Punk I can live with. Especially if he's got a dutch accent.

[stro]

If you really need them to outright say he's a satanist after changing his name to Aleister and coming out of a coffin like Dracula, maybe wrestling is too high brow for you.

[El-P]

On the contrary. I'm absolutely amused by the fact they'll say shit like "darkside" and "somber life experience" and maybe even "cult", although that would be Wyatt gimmick infrigement, but will probably never outright say "satanist". Not everybody knows who the fuck Aleister Crowley is BTW.

 

But it's like, you take CM Punk, you switch "straight edge" with "satanist" in all of his promos, and you get quite the funny reboot character.

[stro]

You don't really need to know who Crowley is. If you couldn't gather just from his entrance that he's a Satany kind of guy, I don't know what to tell you. Why do they NEED to say satanist? Just like there's no NEED to say Shinsuke Nakamura is a wacky coke head who also takes ecstasy. You get their characters without having to have everything spelled out. And if you don't get it, then you're watching the wrong form of entertainment since WWE is about the least subtle company there is.