NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia

cian68

WIsh I got sucked in to wrestling matches more but usually I just sit there with a straight face thinking 'this is great' but THAT had me all in like it was real. One of my favourite matches ever.

brianregan09

That was ****ing awesome in fact it just makes me madder at the main roster because it proves they can book good shows and matches

PTH2009

awesome match

imagine Gargano vs Styles or Daniel Bryan

thank you triple h for creating NXT

skipper_G

I thought no way the main event could beat the last match. I was wrong, that was ridiculously good. I got completely hooked into it, gutted for Gargano

Mr. Guappa

Was totally invested in that match by the end. Fantastic stuff.

Jerichoholic

PTH2009 wrote: »

awesome match

imagine Gargano vs Styles or Daniel Bryan

thank you triple h for creating NXT

I'm pretty sure HHH didn't create NXT.

chatticusfinch

That was the best NXT main event I've ever seen, I think. Phenomenal stuff altogether.

sky88

chatticusfinch wrote: »

That was the best NXT main event I've ever seen, I think. Phenomenal stuff altogether.

It may be hyperbole cause i just watched it but thats up there with the greatest matches in wwe ever

mrkiscool2

sky88 wrote: »

It may be hyperbole cause i just watched it but thats up there with the greatest matches in wwe ever

Not hyperbole at all. That match was incredible. Everything about it was perfect, the slow build at the start, the false finishers, the story-telling, the sequences. Absolutely phenomenal match.

B.A._Baracus

From the looks of it I'm probably in the minority but I thought the whole show was meh.

Maybe the boring 25th anniversary raw just made things well...meh and it carried over

Jerichoholic

Last two matches were great, nothing else was.

J. Marston

Thought Black and Cole was a great hardcore match. The chair back spot actually made me wince.

The main event was something else. Really don't buy into the Meltzer worship but he should be giving that 5 stars.

Bounty Hunter

the matches as much as the segments on NXT develop the storylines that is something the main roster doesn't usually have. This card did not blow me away beforehand but I knew it would deliver in ring and guys like Black, Gargano or even Dream would get to tell a story that would grip us all. As someone said on the previous page if it was a WWE match you'd just think the matches were good but in NXT the story is developing in front of you and you are gripped by the action as a result. Your not waiting for the next spot to happen just engrossed when it does happen.

DM_7

Great show, exactly what I wanted to see. Last two bouts were what takeover is all about. Earlier bouts were all good in their own right and any match with AOP is anarchy.

Maybe Johnny not winning is a better story than him winning?

HandsomeBob

Johnny not winning probably is the right story for now, but this match will go a long way to getting him there. Incredible. Loved Candace finally getting involved and flooring Vega. Ciampa doesn't look quite ready yet but I assume he will be by the Mania takeover. Could see a great build to a match between him and Gargano for it, where Regal will have his hands tied and not allow Gargano to get physical with a man not cleared yet.

Was a great card as a whole. The opening tag was great and the thing that is so good about Fish and O'Reilly is that you could legitimately buy them as a serious threat to AOP. Genuinely thought they were going to tap Akam (I think it was Akam who was having his leg worked?) and had they gone with that finish, it wouldn't have hurt AOP one bit.

I'll give Baszler this; this is the first time I bought into Ember Moon. The former did a great job selling that armbar sequence and it was a nice swerve as 9.5 times out of 10, that finish is ending with a tap. Was so relieved to see her retain but there's an uncomfortable air of inevitability about the whole thing. Baszler looks to be on the cusp of a monster push which must be a pretty sh1t feeling for the likes of Nikki Cross who has put in the hard work and excelled. I'll give Baszler her due in that she seems like such a natural heel and Mauro did a great job selling her as such, but like most of what I've seen with Baszler, she's unable to have a match that isn't her slapping someone around the ring. Her semis in the MYC was good but given that was against her supposed mentor who basically led her through the match, I don't hold out much faith that she's going to be actually asked to get better. I don't see how giving her such a push, when she's not ready against women that are trying to develop themselves as is, is going to benefit anyone.

Lord TSC

Really, really enjoyed it.

The main event was incredible. I felt a bit deflated when Gargano lost, but I get why they did it, and the post match attack helped. He's an awesome character...but I fear he's too small to make it on the main roster.

Hardcore match started slow, cause of the hand injury (which was gushing!) but developed really, really strongly. Adam Cole is great.

Women's match was great thanks to the pace at which it ran; relatively short, explosive ending.

I also enjoyed the tag match. I didn't know much about Fish and O'Reilly before NXT but they are incredible. Props to AoP as well who have come so far in their NXT days. I'm glad they've not been called up yet, cause they have developed so massively by working with the guys in NXT.

montyrebel

decent show overall but Ohno really needs to be future endeavoured again

Pentecost

I enjoyed the whole thing but my god that last match was effing unbelievable. I love Johnny and it was the best and logical way of starting Candice’s NXT career. I get that he’s small for the main roster but he’s so good that they’d be mad not to book him like Bryan as the ultimate underdog. HHH loves him so that won’t do him any harm.

DM_7

montyrebel wrote: »

decent show overall but Ohno really needs to be future endeavoured again

Why does he need to be released?

J. Marston

Like a renaissance painting...

ERG89

That spot with the chairs by Cole is incredibly stupid. I remember seeing Necro Butcher take them for years & always imagined it was him doing something like that because of his limitations in ability.

HandsomeBob

montyrebel wrote: »

decent show overall but Ohno really needs to be future endeavoured again

I think there was a subtle double turn there last night which might rejuvenate Ohno. Crowd are so into Velveteen and they actually followed through with the knock out attempt within 30 seconds.

Ohno seemed to be really begging for a crowd reaction and the camera focused on him storming off dejected after the match, so I think all things considered we might see Ohno snapping and viciously pummelling an over Velveteen at the next taping.

LeeJM

Say it every single time but once again a magnificent show from the NXT crew. Tag Title match was great and AOP's best straight up tag match ever. KOR & Fish are one of the best teams in the world and last night proved as much. They are the perfect team to build the tag division around for the next 12-18 months.

Dream vs Ohno was fun. Loved Dream's entrance and treating it like a boxing match and the KO spot inside 25 seconds was fantastic. The match was sloppy but thats to be expected considering how young Dream is. Ohno is in the perfect spot as the guy to open the show and make somebody look good. Ohno vs Ricochet at WM weekend would be great.

Ember vs Shayna I did not like. Too long, disjointed, the armbar spot that lasted 15 minutes (it felt that way) and the quick pin I just didn't enjoy it at all. Shayna had been built as a killer and yet she couldn't finish off Ember who has failed in all but one of her big matches. My opinion probably isn't helped by the fact that I don't think Moon is in anyway sympathetic. I look forward to her being called up so Candice, Shayna, Dakota Kai, Nixon Newell, Bianca Belair and others can shine.

Black vs Cole was slow to get going but I was gripped by the second half of the match. Cole is really good with plunder matches and he has magnificent facials. Black is just a straight up bada$$. I keep saying it but he is a megastar waiting to happen. On any other show this could easily have been match of the night.

Almas vs Gargano MAGNIFICENT. FANTASTIC. UNBELIEVABLE. FIVE F*CKING STARS. The best NXT match ever. The story this match told was perfect. It was paced perfectly. I was standing in my living room jumping up and down watching this. Just unreal. Then the ending of the show with Ciampa hitting Gargano with his crutch was so simple and absolutely perfect. I am so invested in Gargano, Black, Ciampa and Almas and their stories. Fecking love NXT

cian68

ERG89 wrote: »

That spot with the chairs by Cole is incredibly stupid. I remember seeing Necro Butcher take them for years & always imagined it was him doing something like that because of his limitations in ability.

ding ding ding (I actually like Cole but yeah)

HandsomeBob

I think that spot was just pure unnecessary regardless of limitations. Cole is already over with the NXT crowd and it's not a spot that would fare any better on the main roster (assuming they even allowed it) so I just felt uncomfortable watching it being set up.

This is the kind of thing I was worried about occurring in NXT with so many call ups struggling on the main roster; an increase in risks with little return.

Mr. Guappa

Just on Mauro and the commentary in general. I thought it was very good and added to the matches. Mauro makes some silly mistakes with names, and trips over himself on occasion, plus he had a way too contrived analogy about Black Mass, but in general I felt he did a great job calling the matches, and selling the story to us. It's probably mainly down to instruction from the back (or lack thereof in NXT) but I felt the commentary, while not without fault, was a couple of steps above the weekly fare on the main roster.

HandsomeBob

Mauro earned his worth in weight alone with his calling of Baszlers assault of moon post match and Blacks black mass.

J. Marston

Well I thought the chair spot was awesome.

Something like that is incredibly rare in WWE these days so I don't get the hand-wringing over it. Not like they're doing it every night/week.

Itssoeasy

I've just finished watching it.

Johnny gargano draws you in. His facial expressions are unbelievable. I liked the event as a whole and I actually liked Percy Watson on commentary with it being a two man booth.

I thought they telegraphed the ending of the woman's match. The way ember moon was positioned I felt it was an obvious roll up. I liked they kept baszler strong by the attack post match.

HandsomeBob

The only problem with Johnny as someone else said is that he's even smaller than Bryan, and I'm not sure if he has Bryan's comedy chops that got him over.

Candice beside him could nullify all that though.