NXT Takeover: The Beginning

And it’s quite a way to start.

NXT: Takeover
Date: May 29, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Attendance: 400
Commentators: Tom Phillips, William Regal, Byron Saxton

It’s time for another special as NXT is now on a flat out roll and knows what it wants to be as a show. The main event here is NXT Champion Adrian Neville defending against main roster member Tyson Kidd, who came down to NXT for a career rebirth. The card is fairly stacked as we’re also guaranteed a new Women’s Champion. Let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on the history of the WWE and how things have been forced to evolve over the years to avoid extinction. Maybe the latest time to change is right now in a hostile takeover.

We start outside with Adam Rose leading the party inside the arena for the best entrance NXT has had to date. It’s so strange to see a single camera shot like that on the heavily produced WWE programming.

Adam Rose vs. Camacho

The PARTY POOPER chants start early as Rose prances around the ring. Rose dances his way out of a full nelson and jumps into Camacho’s arms for quite the odd visual. Unfortunately it also earn him a good right hand to the face, followed by a butterfly suplex for two. A cross arm choke slows Adam down but he actually Hulks Up, only to eat a big boot to the face. Well that’s one thing no one ever tried on Hogan.

It’s already back to the chinlock so the fans go back and forth with PARTY TIME/ALL THE TIME chants. Camacho does an Eddie Guerrero shimmy and hits a high legdrop for two. Rose fights up and snaps off some left jabs before planting Camacho with a spinebuster. A CHOO CHOO Bronco Buster sets up the Party Foul (formerly the Party Stopper) for the pin on Camacho at 5:07.

Rating: D+. No the match wasn’t much but that would miss the point. As you probably guessed, this was all about Rose’s entrance being used to fire up the crowd and that’s exactly what it did. Rose is the kind of guy who should be able to open house shows for years to come as he has such a perfect character to kickstart a wrestling show. It really should be all that simple.

The party circles the ring and carries Rose out.

Video on Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze, which mainly focuses on Zayn vs. Cesaro at Arrival. The match got a lot of eyes on Sami but the loss left him empty. He hasn’t been the best son or brother in the world because he’s spent his life living out of a suitcase but it’s all been to chase a dream. Now he has Tyler Breeze and they’re just different people. They’re not alike at all but they both want the NXT Championship.

Tyler Breeze has entered the building! Regal: “My night is made! Tyler Breeze has entered the building and I’m sure he’s looking fabulous!”

Tag Team Titles: Ascension vs. Kalisto/El Local

Ascension is defending and jump the challengers at the bell. Matching hurricanranas put Viktor and Konor on the floor but they’re ready for the suicide dives with a double uppercut. We settle down to Viktor stomping on Kalisto, followed by a hard elbow from Konor for two. Kalisto gets tied in the Tree of Woe for a beating before Konor chokeslams him against the ropes. Viktor lets Kalisto get away though and the hot tag brings in Local to clean house. A middle rope moonsault gets two but an STO plants Local cold. The Fall of Man to Local retains the titles at 6:18.

Rating: D+. Yeah fine. I’m not sure what you were expecting here as Kalisto and Local are as thrown together of a team as you can have and they were given the title match after a single win, making it rather hard to believe that they could take the titles off someone as dominant as the Ascension. The match was fine, albeit a glorified squash.

Video on Tyler Breeze, who is indeed gorgeous. Why should he be worried about facing a perpetual loser like Sami Zayn? Winning is what he does and that’s all that matters.

Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze

Sami is debuting his OLE theme tonight and Breeze has his own self sung theme as well. They fight over the wristlock to start with Sami getting him down to the mat for early control. Some very fast armdrags send Breeze down and it’s off to the armbar. Sami goes up top but takes too much time, allowing Breeze to swing his leg around and send him crashing down to the floor.

Back in and we hit the choking, followed by a front facelock to keep Sami in trouble. Sami slowly backs up though and Breeze is low bridged to the floor to set up a huge springboard moonsault to drop Breeze on the back of his head onto the ramp. Back in again and the high cross body gets two for Zayn, followed by one heck of a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. That thing needs to get a win someday.

Breeze comes right back with a spinning inverted DDT for two of his own as the fans are really starting to get into this one. A sitout powerbomb gets the same and Breeze looks stunned at the kickout. Breeze picks him up but you don’t do that to Sami in front of a corner, earning Breeze an exploder suplex. They’re just beat the tar out of each other here with hard move after hard move. Sami wins a slugout but has to avoid hitting the referee. After some standing switches, Breeze cuts him off with a great looking superkick for two.

Back up and Sami slaps him in the face so Breeze beats him down, only to get caught in…..something that was botched. They grapple around a bit until Sami gets a vertical suplex into a powerbomb for a VERY close two. The threat of a Helluva Kick sends Breeze outside and that means the flip dive to take him down again. Back in and Breeze ducks another Helluva Kick but hits Sami low on the counter, setting up a quick Beauty Shot to make Breeze #1 contender at 15:55.

Rating: A-. Take two guys who want to prove themselves and let them have about fifteen minutes to show off everything they have. Breeze really has gone from a glorified comedy goon to one of the better workers on the roster. When you give him someone like Sami to work with, there’s almost no way that it isn’t going to wind up awesome. Great match here as Sami continues to steal the show every time the spotlight is on bright.

Here’s Lana to introduce Rusev, who is now on the main roster as well. Lana talks about how awesome Rusev is, making him just like Vladimir Putin. This brings out Mojo Rawley with an American flag to say it’s time to stand up for the USA. Rawley hits the ring and Rusev’s foot hits his jaw which kick starts a beating capped off by the Accolade in the ring and then on the stage.

We recap the NXT Women’s Title tournament which has seemed like the road towards Charlotte’s inevitable title reign. Natalya has also made the final and we’re going to have Ric Flair and Bret Hart in the respective corners. That’s about all there is here and hopefully it’s more about the women than the legends.

Actor Kris Kristofferson is here.

Before the Women’s Title match, here’s Divas Champion Paige for a chat. Paige is glad to be back home where she belongs and lets us know that she wouldn’t be the champion without all of the fans. Speaking of titles, whoever holds the title after tonight is going to open doors, including one to this title on her shoulder right now.

Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Natalya

The title is vacant coming in and Ric Flair and Bret Hart are in the respective corners. The fans chant for the Hart Foundation, much to Bret’s happiness. Natalya takes her down into an armbar, only to be countered into a headscissors. They fight over a wristlock until Natalya gets her onto the mat and works on the leg. Charlotte gets back to her feet but Natalya takes it right back down to the mat for another leg lock.

Back up and Charlotte still can’t get anything going as Natalya rides her to the mat again. A victory roll gets two for Natalya and she slaps on a bodyscissors. Regal is almost giddy over this technical exhibition. The threat of a cross armbreaker sends Charlotte bailing over to the ropes, meaning it’s time to slap it out.

Charlotte finally gets in some knee lifts and drops Natalya to her knees with a chop. A quick backpack stunner gets two for Charlotte and she starts slamming Natalya’s face into the mat. We hit the figure four neck lock for a bit before Charlotte puts on an abdominal stretch. Natalya reverses into one of her own though and even picks Charlotte’s foot up off the mat for extra leverage. A butterfly suplex sends Charlotte flying again and the stepover into the basement dropkick gets two more.

Charlotte Flair Flips onto the apron and then out to the floor, only to have her send Natalya into the apron to take over again. A great looking moonsault misses though and Natalya grabs the Sharpshooter but Charlotte spins out and turns it into a Figure Four in a sweet sequence. With Natalya not tapping, Charlotte rolls over to the ropes and hangs over the apron with the hold still on. It might not last long but it does even more damage to Natalya’s leg for a smart move.

Charlotte sends her knee first into the steps and grabs her own Sharpshooter (that’s kind of a requirement at this point). Natalya reverses that as well (likely because it was a horrible rendition) but gets kicked away, setting up Bow Down to the Queen to give Charlotte the title at 16:49.

Rating: A-. This is a match where the context makes things a lot more impressive. People are used to Charlotte being amazing in the ring after watching her for years but this match came out of nowhere and showcased her as someone who could actually be a major player in the division. The match blew people’s minds at the time and it more than holds up today with Charlotte going move for move with the veteran Natalya and taking her out with a move that Natalya couldn’t counter.

When you have this match after months of the Bellas and various other models having their mostly horrible matches in WWE, this was a huge breath of fresh air and proof that there was something to women’s wrestling. Finally, it was about the women instead of the legends eating up all the TV time. Outstanding stuff here as we begin the tradition of the women stealing the shows at these specials.

Everyone shakes hands post match.

We look back at Neville winning the title at Arrival and his reign ever since. Neville talks about Brodus Clay being a fight so Tyson Kidd is going to be completely different. Kidd might be fast but Neville is faster, making him the most dangerous challenger to date.

Christian and Cesaro are here.

NXT Title: Tyson Kidd vs. Adrian Neville

Neville is defending and we’re ready to go after some big match intros. They stare at each other early on before fighting over a lockup. That goes nowhere so they shake hands and go to the mat with Kidd holding a headlock. Kidd takes him down again and pats Neville on the head to start the mind games. Fans: “YOU GOT SERVED!” Tyson grabs a top wristlock on the mat but the champ comes back with an armdrag into an armbar. They’re definitely taking their time here which could set up something big down the line.

Kidd drops him with a shoulder but Neville lands on his feet to counter a monkey flip, only to have Tyson do a flip of his own for a standoff. Now the fans have something to appreciate so Kidd blasts him in the face to become the match’s heel and take over. Kidd starts kicking at the back in the Tree of Woe, followed by a running delayed dropkick. We hit another chinlock as Kidd is trying to out wrestle Neville here.

Another comeback attempt is cut off by a hot shot to send Neville outside for a big flip dive. This has been roughly 90% Kidd so far. Back in and they both try cross bodies for a crash. Neville finally gets in some offense with some forearms and kicks before getting some payback by tying Kidd in the Tree of Woe. An AJ Styles springboard forearm gets two for the champ but he charges into a kick to the head.

Kidd goes up to but Neville is right there to try a superplex. Tyson blocks that to try a sunset bomb, only to have Neville backflip onto his feet. Kidd is STUNNED but his face is brought back to life as he charges into a powerbomb for a very close two. Now that was an awesome sequence. Neville is up first and runs to the ropes for a springboard, only to have Kidd right there with him for a middle rope Russian legsweep.

Tyson goes up top for a dive so Neville raises his knees, only to have Kidd land on his feet to try the Sharpshooter. Neville escapes that as well and tries a suplex over the ropes but crashes down next to Kidd, putting them both down on the floor. This time it’s Kidd in control and grabbing the Dungeon Lock of all things (starts out as a Sharpshooter but Kidd leans forward instead of turning it over and grabs a triangle choke).

Neville is in trouble before he looks up to realize that he’s a foot from the ropes for the break. Kidd ties him in the ropes for a Harlem Hangover, only to nearly lose his mind when Neville kicks out again. With nothing else working, Kidd goes up for the Blockbuster but Neville runs the corner and hurricanranas him down, setting up the Red Arrow to retain the title at 20:55.

Rating: A. Sweet goodness what a match. This was all about a chess match with Kidd being several steps ahead of Neville to start before the champ kicking out over and over again frustrated him so Neville could pull off the miracle at the end. It’s an excellent match with an outstanding story and a clean ending. There’s no screwy finish or anything like that. Just two guys doing awesome moves for hot near falls until one guy won. That’s what wrestling in this form is all about and it worked like a charm here.

Regal LOVES the match but doesn’t care for Kidd walking away without a handshake. Neville celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. Now that’s how you do a big show. Instead of showing what NXT could do at Arrival, this was all about a great night of wrestling matches with three classics in a row to take us out. What more could you ever possibly ask for in a wrestling show than that? Above all else though, this showed that NXT could be something more than just a flash in the pan. It showed that there was something real here and maybe a future in this place as more than just a filler show which might add some names to the main roster. In other words, it showed the future, which is exactly what the name suggests.

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