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WWE NXT TakeOver: XXV Preview/Predictions
Photo courtesy of Deviantart.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
All Elite Wrestling grasped the wrestling world after their first Pay-Per-View last week, topped off with a Five-Star Rhodes Brothers match, Awesome Kong, a tag team classic between The Young Bucks and Fenix/Pentagon Jr. and of course, Jon Moxley (the former Dean Ambrose of WWE fame) at the end.
Anybody who looked to WWE for an answer was left hopeless on Raw and SmackDown, side for a surprise mention by Sami Zayn on Raw.
The only true competitor with WWE’s name is its NXT brand, spearheaded creatively by Triple H. The 25th TakeOver event celebrates all that has happened before while also giving us another five-match standout card to feast on.
The essence of TakeOver is the heart of NXT itself – it’s where the up-and-comers showcase their true potential. Who knows where we would be if we didn’t get Zayn-Shinsuke Nakamura, Bayley-Sasha Banks, Johnny Gargano-Adam Cole and The Revival-#DIY, amongst other countless memorable bouts? It’s matches like those that have elevated NXT to the bar that has been set for wrestling expectations in 2019.
TakeOver has become more than a live event. It’s a movement. Beyond that, it has happened in America, United Kingdom, Canada and other places. It has brought NXT to the conversation of actual world domination.
Triple H’s formula to build stars, sign big names, focus on wrestling and characterization is one for success. It’s hard to believe there have been 25 TakeOvers, but we don’t think anybody will disagree that NXT can make 25,000 more TakeOvers for all we care.
Notes In Observance – WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament – Part 1
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 1/14/17)
WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament – Part 1
– The opening video showcased WWE’s longtime relationship with England that brought us classic moments such as Bret Hart-British Bulldog from Wembley Stadium at SummerSlam 1992 among others. In recent years, WWE NXT “took over” London and that turned out well. Pushed with mid-tempo hype in the last couple of weeks, we learned how it all went down when it was announced that there’d be an official WWE United Kingdom Championship and subsequent tournament to crown the inaugural Champion. With 16 competitors announced, this would essentially be a British version of the Cruiserweight Classic. Safe to say, we were curious what the end result would be.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 5/18/16: Not Like Most Girls
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 5/18/16)
Not Like Most Girls
– The opening video highlighted the Nia Jax-Bayley main event that was somewhat polished up to appear better than it actually is. With Bayley on the road to her rematch with NXT Women’s Champion Asuka, it’d be nice to see how she fared against Jax, who she boasted a winning record against thus far.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 3/23/16: The Empress Strikes Back
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 3/23/16)
The Empress Strikes Back
– Nothing will kill a crowd like “The Drifter” Elias Samson, especially to open the show, albeit against Johnny Gargano. We were severely hoping that Gargano wouldn’t be the latest Samson squash victim. The action didn’t last long and we were actually shocked to see that Gargano would pull out a surprise roll-up pin to win, meaning that Samson’s unspectacular undefeated streak also ended. The post-match angle gave Samson some decent heat before Apollo Crews came to save the day. Who knew the one thing that we needed Samson to do was actually lose? Crews-Samson doesn’t exactly have us jumping out of our seats, but maybe Crews can pull out a good match from him.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 1/13/16: Fabulously Over-The-Top
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 1/13/16)
Fabulously Over-The-Top
– 2015 was the year where NXT officially broke into mainstream as wrestling’s hottest promotion/brand and it has been a “back-to-basics” style of booking mixed with Triple H’s resilient ways of scouting the indies and bringing in popular talent that has done the job. 2015 saw plenty of this and it’s paying off in 2016.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 10/21/15: Sorry About Your Damn Luck
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 10/21/15)
Sorry About Your Damn Luck
– The opening video highlighted last week’s NXT Championship Number-One Contender Battle Royale where Apollo Crews emerged victorious, also showing us how Baron Corbin eliminated his former Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament partner Rhyno, and when Tyler Breeze eliminated the guy who eliminated him, Samoa Joe. As we saw on this episode, Crews, Corbin, Rhyno, Joe and Breeze played crucial roles.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 10/14/15: Here To Be A Champion
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 10/14/15)
Here To Be A Champion
– The opening video was your classic “slow-mo highlight reel” of NXT TakeOver: Respect, showcasing NXT Champion Finn Balor/Samoa Joe winning the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament and the impeccable 30-minute Iron Man match between Sasha Banks and NXT Women’s Champion Bayley. If you haven’t seen this show yet, do yourself a favor: watch it.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 9/16/15: Birth Of The Iron Woman
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 9/16/15)
Birth Of The Iron Woman
– The Tyler Breeze-Adam Rose-Bull Dempsey segment was originally set up as a Breeze-Rose match, having the backstory of Breeze beating down Dempsey after a miscommunication led to their loss to Johnny Gargano/Tommaso Ciampa in the first round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament. Rose came out debuting a new “party pooper” gimmick, looking like a disgruntled English hipster with glasses and a vest. It was okay for what it was, perhaps a step above where he was before gimmick-wise. Hey, they’re trying. The Dempsey-Breeze promo exchange was entertaining in furthering their rivalry, with Dempsey looking to get revenge, while Breeze didn’t see him in his league. It kind of tells itself as a story. At the same time, Rose didn’t exactly get lost in the shuffle, wanting to exact his own revenge on both guys for the past and slapped Dempsey pretty hard. Even though he ended up being taken down, he still gained something here. Breeze narrowly escaping trouble was the prefect way to book it, keeping the physicality to a minimum and likely leading to a match next week, from what we saw there. Good segment that actually made everybody looking okay out of it, perhaps even more relevant.
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