[2017-08-19-WWE-NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III] Asuka vs Ember Moon

[ShittyLittleBoots]

This was absolutely phenomenal. Both women killed it - Asuka showed great cocky character work & Ember showed great fire & intensity. Asuka's arm work to that previously injured arm of Ember's was amazing, absolutely brutal & focused. Ember's selling was great & her comebacks were super great - those 2 big nearfalls w/ the Eclipse & the Superkick were outstanding. The finish was perfect w/ Asuka getting frustrated & desperate as Ember was overwhelming her & her cheating attempts didn't go through - but then Ember makes one mistake & she gets to lock that Asuka Lock. Fantastic stuff. ****1/2

[SmartMark15]

Asuka's first great Takeover match if you ask me. She was insanely charismatic in this one and she really pushed this whole idea of her as a cocky heel champ sitting at the top of the roost. Ember Moon got some good shine early on especially with her bump to the outside. Asuka's arm work was very good but you can tell the crowd weren't quite buying into it. I do like that Moon was really consistent with selling that arm through the whole match though. Really went up another level once Asuka kicked out of the Eclipse. At that point, every single nearfall held a lot of tension and the crowd bought into everything.

 

****1/4

[Cap]

This was pretty easily my favorite match of Takeover and probably my second favorite match of the weekend. It was smart wrestling with a red hot home stretch. However, I actually think the early stuff they were doing, putting money in the bank for later, was quite good too. This is pretty easily my favorite women's match since Sasha and Bailey left. They worked with more urgency and crispness. ****1/2

[KawadaSmile]

This match, my God.

 

From the early moments where Ember Moon was getting the best out of Asuka, being as confident as possible, making us think she would finally dethrone the invincible champion, to her desperation after FINALLY hitting the Eclipse only for it to be kicked out of, it was fucking great.

 

When she first appeared, I wasn't into Ember Moon. She was technically very good, but she had no real character, or anything that I could relate to. After this match, she's way more engaging. Match of the night, my 2nd favorite of the weekend. 5*

[donsem43]

I was worried that if Ember lost this match that she would be toast career wise but this match managed to do the exact opposite. She looked great here and came off as well as anyone could in defeat. Her selling of the shoulder throughout was fantastic and was key to story of the whole match. Asuka kept going after it repeatedly, including an awesome STO armbreaker. The finish was unbelievable as they mixed it up between finishers and rollups, even playing off of the finish of the previous match. Tremendous match. ****1/2

[Microstatistics]

Probably the best WWE match of the year at this point. Great armwork from Asuka, great and really consistent arm selling by Moon. As mentioned, I liked how Asuka went from cocky at the beginning to desperate at the end as the challenge mounted. Excellent, clever finish. ****

[Kadaveri]

Best NXT match this year. I can't help but find it a shame that the crowd was so heavily pro-Asuka as that didn't fit with the story they were telling and hindered it slightly. Wow that kickout, I totally bought that eclipse as the finish and the way the match swung at that moment to Asuka fighting desperately to hold back the torrent of offense from Ember was awesome. ****1/4