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NXT Takeover: WarGames


Ricky Jackson

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I thought this was another awesome Takeover and WWE really has the formula nailed down to make these fantastic NXT events. NXT has probably rolled over the roster 3 times-ish since it got hot and I think it's really impressive how well they have done. Takeovers are fun, a good length at 5-6 matches in 2.5 hours, good work, awesome entrances, hot crowds, big moments, and really good matches, and they feel way more special than the uninteresting bloated main roster shows.

 

The more I think about last nights show the more I liked it. No MOTYC like some Takeovers but it is just really fun big match mainstream wrestling. NXT Takeovers are what I wish they would do with the main roster wrestlers but they never do.

 

Aleister Black vs Velveteen Dream was great. They told a great story and did the best job of getting the crowd into the actual match all night. Dream has tons of charisma. They fit in unique spots tied to their characters and had a great finish.

 

Women's 4 way was good, probably too short but a good spotfest.

 

Almas vs McIntyre was really strong. I'm glad they've figured out Almas and his character works now, I was scared that La Sombra would end up like KENTA/Itami in NXT where it has never clicked. Almas is so smooth and has great spots. Crowd is always a little out of sorts for NXT title matches for whatever reason but they got them into it. Good finish again, looking forward to Almas' reign and hopefully he gets multiple matches and settles the title for a bit.

 

War Games was fun. Maybe not good or great in terms of a match, especially a War Games match (ROH vs CZW is still the best War Games ever), but it was exactly what Mauro called it at one point - "a human demolition derby". The problem was the rules structure kind of hurt the match, for example the first 10 minutes were disjointed because they were just waiting for the real action to start while a back and forth traditional War Games structure creates interest throughout. Lots of crazy spots though. Best moments were Killian Dain's Van Terminator and EY's splash on Kyle O'reilly's arm bar. On the whole a great spotfest and Adam Cole will be a big star.

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Haven't had a chance to catch the WarGames match itself yet, but I *did* watch up to the NXT Championship match. And yeah. That was fucking aces. Felt like a star-making performance for Almas in front of that audience. Just a really heightened, extraordinary atmosphere from bell to bell. The story itself was streamlined and simple, but the action was very much up to speed with everything a modern fan might want as well. It really did cover all the bases and come together as a fully formed, seriously satisfying main event style match. So much to love there.

 

I don't follow NXT week to week, but this was definitely the best I've seen from Almas since he dropped the mask. I remember REALLY digging the opener he had with Roddy Strong a few Takeovers ago, but that's about it. Are there any gems I've missed in the meantime that are worth checking out?

I'll get around to the WarGames match sometime this week. Probably later than I'd like, due to work & whatnot - but definitely putting it as a priority over anything on the Survivor Series card.

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Mauro has always sucked. He sucked when he was on the main roster too. I think quite a bit of internet fans rallied behind him due to his getting bullied by JBL, whom a lot of people seem to detest. And maybe some of those people might have overlooked his play-by-play because of it, I don't know. But I have never understood people trying to champion that dude. He's awful.

Mauro's better suited for MMA than pro-wrestling.

 

His commentary for PRIDE and Strikeforce was fantastic.

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Managed to catch a bit more downtime between the gym and work today than I'd planned, so I was actually able to sit down and watch the WarGames match itself. I've seen some of the criticisms & critiques going in, but I absolutely enjoyed the hell out of it through & through. None of the little tweaks or changes bothered me at all, to be perfectly honest.

 

Sometimes, you're just in a really good mood when you watch a particular match or card. And maybe that's what some of this is, with the holidays coming up and all that. But I don't know. I had a blast watching this show, and I'm definitely left with the impression that I'd love to see more WarGames done in NXT in the future. I'm kind of crossing my fingers that it becomes an annual thing for NXT at their Survivor Series Takeover.

 

As far as Mauro goes? Yeah. He's almost embarrassingly awful at times. And it's a shame, because he actually packs a sense of energy & enthusiasm to his approach. It's something that makes me *want* to enjoy his stuff. But it's really just too much, man.

 

Forget "belts" and pronouns, pal. At this point, I'm practically praying for a Vince edict to come down and ban the words, "MAMA MIA!" from his vocabulary. I swear I had to hear that shit about six dozen times on this show alone.

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Really loved Takeover, thought it was legitimately one of the best shows of the year. Lars vs. Ohno was fun, hard-hitting, and exactly what it needed to be. Dream vs. Black had fantastic character work and a fire finishing stretch. Dream is an absolute star. Fatal Four-Way was solid and even though I thought Peyton should have won, a really cool finish. Almas vs. Drew was great and had the right person go over. And while WarGames may not have been the same as what it used to be, I thought it was an awesome No DQ match.

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I don't follow NXT week to week, but this was definitely the best I've seen from Almas since he dropped the mask. I remember REALLY digging the opener he had with Roddy Strong a few Takeovers ago, but that's about it. Are there any gems I've missed in the meantime that are worth checking out?

 

I'd check out the Gargano matches. One from Takeover and the other is from tv.

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I don't follow NXT week to week, but this was definitely the best I've seen from Almas since he dropped the mask. I remember REALLY digging the opener he had with Roddy Strong a few Takeovers ago, but that's about it. Are there any gems I've missed in the meantime that are worth checking out?

 

I'd check out the Gargano matches. One from Takeover and the other is from tv.
Yeah, both are great. I watched the TV one the other day and posted in the match thread here that they should run with Almas. He’s just terrific and Vega makes it a top notch act. I loved Drew in that match, too. I just enjoy him going so hard. It was the same when he had that TV match vs Roddy. He’s not one of my favorites but he leaves it all out there.
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