NXT Takeover Dallas Thread ** Spoilers**

DEFTLEFTHAND

Nakamura's theme music is epic.

Palo Alto

Tag match nearly lived up to my expectations and I had it down as my fave match of the weekend in any fed going into it, such a joyous example of tag-wrestling, brings me back to my favourite tag era of early 90's WCW where Steiners were tearing it up, I've loved the Revival since they won the belts, phenomenally good at what they do (discounting the botch) and perfect foil for American Alpha, who are unstoppable megastars (although they've no one to feud with now bar a rematch, which is a bit worrying).

Corbin/Aries was pretty awful, and I quite like Corbin, thought Aries would have had a better match. Oh well.

Nakamura/Zayn, I was worried about this match that Naks would have to change his style, but I actually give most of the credit to Sami for this, for essentially allowing him to fight that way and kick his head in. I'm not sure how that'll translate to him being able to keep doing such a strike-heavy style going forward with concussion fears and all that, but for one night, he was certainly as good as he was in New Japan and that match was nearly as good as his with AJ from Wrestle Kingdom. Definitely one of the best matches I've seen this year.

Auska/Bayley - excellent too, and nce to see Bayley have to adapt to fighting a different style much less reliant on chain-wrestling than against Sasha, I felt the finish put over Asuka as a killer too. I think a rematch is guaranteed, Sasha worked NXT for a while after being called up, would have liked to see Asuka use more of her kicks, Bayley's capture-ankle lock was a thing of beauty.

Bálor/Joe - this was interesting. The headclash in the opening changed the match with the blood stoppages, but I liked it. It actually made it feel more like a legit shoot fight with the stoppages as that's what they'd do in between rounds in boxing/MMA and it let Joe be more explosive in the interim, I've not seen him hit his power moves half as devastatingly as in this match. The clean finish surprised me, but it's all related to booking going forward and who is getting called up so I understand.

I'd liked to have seen Guns & Gallows come in and take out both men at the end, with the focus on Finn, "you think you can leave us?" Bullet/Bálor club is for LIFE, and start a feud that way. But no one wants to hear my fantasy booking!

Overall, fantastic show, best Takeover I've seen, nudges past Brooklyn and makes up for London which I found disappointing.

Now just hope Gabe gets Evolve 58 up soon!

In relation to Ibushi, I'd be surprised if he signed a full WWE contract, he's a weird guy and with his new Wrestling institute or whatever it is, he seems to want to maintain his freedom to pursue his own avenues. He'll definitely be in Cruiserweight League but not sure after that, can never see him on main WWE roster.

Angron

Angron wrote: »

Don't think much of Nakamura's theme, but I frigging love that man.

I know opinions can't be wrong as theyre subjective but you're wrong.

lawlolawl

I'm going to preface my opinion of the event by saying I'm a recently returned lapsed fan and have only been watching WWE again for the past year and a bit. I'm not too familiar with many indie/Japanese guys so I'm taking them on face value as I see them wrestle in NXT.

The tag match was the best of the night. Jordan and Gable are both excellent workers and the Revival are brilliant heels. One of the best tag matches I've ever witnessed.

Corbin v Aries was fairly mediocre but Corbin is developing nicely as a heel and I have seen Aries put on much better matches so I'll just chalk it down to an off night.

I'm probably going to catch hell for it but I only really enjoyed the first few minutes of Zayn and Nakamura. Nakamura oozes charisma and I look forward to seeing more of him but I have always found Sami to be incredibly boring because he works the same match every time. The match started out good but once it degenerated into the two of them trading crap looking strikes and stumbling around exhausted I didn't care any more and just wanted the match to be over. There's a reason Zayn has been in NXT so long compared to the likes of Owens.

The Bayley match was fairly poor as well which was a shame because she had the two best matches of 2015. Asuka is another one I can't bring myself to care about and the ending of the match was a damp squib as shown by the crowds reaction. Asuka as champion is going to hurt the already faltering nxt womens division because she is boring and keeps injuring people.

I skipped to the end of the main event because I couldn't bring myself to watch another Joe v Balor match.

I actually think it was one of the weaker Takeovers if you are just watching as a casual fan.

DEFTLEFTHAND

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Nakamura's theme music is epic.

Agreed. That violin screech is so perfectly fitting for him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJjZM5zFGuA

Palo Alto

@lawlolawl

Angron

Omackeral wrote: »

I know opinions can't be wrong as theyre subjective but you're wrong.

Well I'm comparing it to his NJPW music. Maybe it'll grow on me, but I'm not wrong.

Angron obviously you're not wrong, I was just joking, everyone has differing tastes! I've heard his NJPW theme is class but have never given it a proper listen, so maybe I'm in the wrong actually!

Angron

A big part of me was hoping he'd come out to it, which is largely why I didn't take to the new one. I knew it wouldn't actually happen, but damn it a man can dream!

Lights On

I don't mind his new theme, absolutely loved his NJPW theme but I honestly think he could come out to any music and make it work for him. Once he starts strutting down the ramp throwing his hands it becomes secondary!

A Primal Nut

Great show that.

The opening tag match was amazing, as was Zayn-Nakamura. I don't know if the last two matches were as good as I hoped. The ending to the women's match was a bit sudden.

I'm not a fan of guys coming out with Chainsaws at all....if you are going to bring a weapon out you have to be prepared to use it. If everyone knows you aren't going to use it, it lessons the impact.

Rock Lesnar

Im watching wrestling for nearly 35 years and don't normally get to excited about a wrestling show lately but i have to say that was absolutely brilliant , and easily in my top 10 shows ever, The Tag match was incredible, Aries v Corbin was a bit of a let down but it picked up again with Nakamura and Zayn, the ladies match was very good and then we had the main event, an absolute belter, Iv'e been a big fan of Joe for years, and I bet he had vince going bananas backstage, when he pushed the ref away when he got cut, im really looking forward to when he gets to the main roster,

Best part about it all though, was my 8 year old son came in during the tag match, saw one of the moves, decided to watch a bit more and never left until it was over

Bounty Hunter

I liked the main event more than most it'd seem. Yeah there were a lot of stoppages (too many and it did drain the momentum) but in some ways it made it seem more legit and less like it was "entertainment".

Love me some Jordn & Gable (The Revival are quality too) and that was a great opener, a classic tag match and nice to start with a title change which seemed to almost bring Jordan to tears, it meaning so much to them makes us like em even more.

Aeries can do better but won against Corbin who has improved a good deal though still this was always going to be the slight lull on the card...actually surprised it didn't come later so the crowd could have a break between Main Events.

Ibushi & Bobby Roode in the NXT crowd hmmm so we already have replacements for Zayn plus 1. Speaking of Zayn, we all knew it would be but him vs Nakamura was just epic. Shinsuke is now a star stateside in the eyes of everyone who saw this.

Hard for the women to follow that but they did great and it was a very smart finish that had both ladies looking great. We have a new champ and maybe a new woman heading to the main roster but I think we will def be getting a rematch whether she is doing a Owens/Zayn style working both at once or delaying her call up for it.

Then the Main event... both Joe and Balor looked like bosses making their intros (MFN chainsaw for Finn) then Joe a bloody mess within seconds, this match delivered and as much as I love Finn Joe is the one who really looked great here and not just cos of the blood ("let Joe Bleed" chant ) he delivered a Brock Lesnar stye beating but Finn Balor rose from the dead Undertaker style for an unbelievable win (though partially unbelievable cos Joes shoulder was up unintentionally). Joe sold the shock at what the Demon achieved incredibly.


NXT message to the Main Roster: "Just try and top that!"

cian68

lawlolawl wrote: »

I skipped to the end of the main event because I couldn't bring myself to watch another Joe v Balor match.

Wasn't this only their second match? One was your limit?

DM_7

That was great.

A show booked to satisfy the people watching. What a weird concept.

Pentecost

Joe was brilliant. He's got incredible agility for his size and he's been a great addition to NXT. I like Balor a lot but he's in danger of getting a bit stale, he needs a move to the main roster or a heel run I think. Nakamura though, bloody hell, what a joy to watch. I liked his theme too, liked it more the second time. He's a huge deal straight away.

brianregan09

Why did they change the name of the finisher to Kinshasa knee sure thats a place in Africa O_O

J. Marston

brianregan09 wrote: »

Why did they change the name of the finisher to Kinshasa knee sure thats a place in Africa O_O

Someone on Reddit explained it...

During the match, commentary referred to the danger of Nakamura's knee strike finisher and called it the "Kinshasa" (as opposed to "Boma Ye" as it was previously called).

Now, if you google that, expecting it to be Japanese for "infinite swag", you'll be surprised to see instead that it's the name of the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire). Hmm...

If you know the origin of "Boma Ye", this is an easier reference to figure out.
In 1974, Muhammad Ali fought George Foreman in what was known as "The Rumble in the Jungle", an historic and heavily promoted boxing match.
Those local to the match were fond of chanting "Ali, boma ye!" during the match, which translates to "Ali, kill him!", so "Boma Ye", of course, means "Kill Him", which, of course, is badass.

However, it's also a little brutal for PG WWE, so they renamed it after the city that The Rumble In the Jungle was held in: Kinshasa.

https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/4d04dx/an_explanation_of_the_new_name_for_nakamuras/

Don't know if that's the real reason but it does sound legit.

DM_7

brianregan09 wrote: »

Why did they change the name of the finisher to Kinshasa knee sure thats a place in Africa O_O

https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/4d04dx/an_explanation_of_the_new_name_for_nakamuras/

PTH2009

with

Bobby Roode

possibly coming on board i say Dixie Carter and Tna are in bits.

never watched any of his matches, is it good and will he make a big impact on the main roster if he is ever to get that far ???

Mania 33 fatal 4 way wwe title match- Samoa Joe vs Aj Styles vs Bobby Roode vs Austin Aries :D:D:D

gerrybbadd

Only caught the show there now. No way anything on Mania will top Zayn vs Nakamura. MOTY for me. I love Shinsuke's new entrance theme. That Violin drop/shriek is epic.

Loved the tag match. It's great to see how important the titles are made to seem in NXT, and you could really see what it meant to AA to win those belts.

Vince was backstage. I hope he took notice.

Kankan14

Zayn v Nakamura was just outstanding.
I was never a massive fan of zayn (not that he was bad,just didnt take to him) but last night he changed my viewpoint.

5* for me.

Chagan

Wow, what an absolute joy to watch. I don't post an awful lot on this forum (work means I generally watch the shows later in the week so i'm always playing catch up on threads) but if there was any show that deserved comment, this was it. It was beautiful in it's simplicity, five matches that drew your attention purely through who was performing. No need for gimmicks or overly complicated storylines, just "watch these two wrestlers/teams compete and see who is better".

Small thing but I really liked Phillips and Graves introducing the show standing up with the ring in the background. Gave it a real old-school feel.

The tag match was a super opener, super match full stop. The majority of the match consisted of double team moves and tag related spots which I think got both the teams over rather than them just trading moves until the star gets the hot tag and wins. The botch threw them off for a minute but they recovered well. It may not have been the best match of the night (any other night it probably would have been), but I think it was my favourite. 8/10

I get the disappointment towards Aries/Corbin but I thought it was fine. Corbin looked like a proper bully and the finish made sense with Aries being the veteran catching out the young guy. AA will do much better stuff before his time in NXT ends. I don't see Corbin doing a whole lot on the main roster but he'll be a handy guy to have in the mid card. 5/10

I wish they would just acknowledge TNA at this stage. They don't need to go on at length about the company but if you're going to talk about Aries/Styles/Joe's history just give them the namecheck. It beats the awkward way they manouever around it at the moment.

I wasn't overly familiar with Nakamura before today, I knew the name and reputation but hadn't watched any of his matches. This will soon change. The pre-match promo package and the entrance made him look like an absolute star. He is just a ball of charisma, love him already. The match doesn't need praise and I don't have the words to justify it. Perfect way to close Zayn's time in NXT. This may be Wrestlemania weekend but next weekend will be all about Nakamura for me. 9/10

The women were in an unenviable position but they nailed it. I wasn't expecting it to be so submission based but it worked perfectly. Big fan of the finish, it looked very legitimate and the crowd's disappointed silence only added to it. Bayley has tapped into something special and hopefully she'll replicate it on the big stage. Can see her debuting on Monday and doing double duty for a while. Intrigued to see where Asuka goes from here. 7/10

The main event was probably the biggest disappointment. It was good, but it could have been so much better. The blood looked great on Joe but the stoppages just ruined the flow of the match. I did not like the finish at all, was too cheap for a main event title match. I could have stomached it if Joe had snapped and laid out Balor after the match. There were better ways to set up a third match if that was the plan. Despite that, it was a pleasure to see Samoa Joe back in his groove and the action between the medical treatment was strong. 7/10

One of the best shows I've seen in a very long time. You had four absolute belters that each worked a different style, nothing was repetitive and every person in the building just bought into it. We also got a Funaki cameo which is always welcome. Incredible show.

Turtyturd

PTH2009 wrote: »

with

Bobby Roode

possibly coming on board i say Dixie Carter and Tna are in bits.


Mania 33 fatal 4 way wwe title match- Samoa Joe vs Aj Styles vs Bobby Roode vs Austin Aries :D:D:D

Wonder who's behind the spoiler?

Just watched it and would agree with a lot of what has been said.

Nakamura v Zayn stole the show.

Joe v Balor was a let down. I don't think it was helped by the stoppages, or being on the same card as the previous match. Also if you're going to have someone come out with a fake chainsaw you're trying to pretend is real it's probably best not to focus on said fake chainsaw.

Loved the Bayley v Asuka ending. Goes against everything wrestling fans are conditioned to expect from an ending to a match, and super effective because of it.

Aries v Corben, always find these type of matches tell the story of the underdog scraping a win or the dominant wrestler comes off looking stupid, this was the latter for me.

Tag match was decent enough, think they overdid the near falls though.

gerrybbadd

Anybody spot Kane N Ite there at Takeover? He's on screen quite prominently at one point

LeeJM

Loughc

gerrybbadd wrote: »

Anybody spot Kane N Ite there at Takeover? He's on screen quite prominently at one point

Was he the lad wearing the balor club tshirt? He also got featured at WM30 when taker lost too.

Lord TSC

gerrybbadd wrote: »

Anybody spot Kane N Ite there at Takeover? He's on screen quite prominently at one point

Haha, yeap. Meant to say it.

gerrybbadd

Loughc wrote: »

Was he the lad wearing the balor club tshirt? He also got featured at WM30 when taker lost too.

Yup, he used to post quote a lot here. He goes to Wrestlemania every year

Loughc

gerrybbadd wrote: »

Yup, he used to post quote a lot here. He goes to Wrestlemania every year

I remembered his posts but never knew what he looked like haha