Takeover: Chicago I Review: The British Are Awesome, The British Are Awesome!

Takeover: Chicago
Date: May 20, 2017
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tom Phillips, Percy Watson

Now, a lot of the time the Full Sail University crowd can take over a show and make it that much more fun. This….is going to be different. Chicago is one of the rowdiest, most insane crowds you’ll ever see in wrestling and there’s a good chance that these people are going to be completely insane. If the card can live up to the hype, this could be amazing. Let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on Chicago, which Bobby Roode says focuses on winners like him. The city also praises underdogs, which Roode says don’t exist in his NXT. With Roode out of the way, the rest of the card gets some attention as well.

Roderick Strong vs. Eric Young

Young has Sanity minus Nikki Cross in his corner. Strong gets smart this time by coming in through the crowd and dropping Dain from behind, followed by a backbreaker to send Wolfe back first into the barricade. The fight starts fast with Strong backdropping Young and a great looking dropkick keeps Young in trouble. A belly to back suplex gets him right back out of said trouble though and the pace slows a lot.

We hit the nerve hold for a bit until a string of forearms get Strong out of trouble but he goes underneath the ropes to trip Young, allowing Dain to crush him with a crossbody. Back in and Young hits a middle rope ax handle to the back of the neck for two as Strong is in trouble this time around. Wolfe makes things worse with a kick to the head and my goodness how are we supposed to believe that the referee didn’t see that? We hit the neck crank for a bit before Young goes up, only to get dropkicked out of the air to give Strong a real breather.

There’s the backbreaker and you can feel the momentum start up in a hurry. Young bails to the floor though and Strong follows, only to get caught in the wheelbarrow neckbreaker. That’s only good for two back inside and one heck of a top rope elbow gets the same. Strong has learned from his pain though and reverses another wheelbarrow neckbreaker into a rollup for two.

The Angle Slam is broken up with a poke to the eye, earning Young a stern lecture. Not just a lecture, but a STERN lecture. Young is sat up top and Strong changes things up with a jumping knee to knock him onto the other members of Sanity. Back in and a suplex into a backbreaker puts Young away at 13:44.

Rating: B+. That had more energy than almost any match in the last two Takeovers so I’m already having some more hope for this show. Roderick getting to run through the seemingly unbeatable Sanity makes him seem like a bit deal, which has been a struggle for a long time now. This made him into a star that he’s needed to be since he debuted and they had a rocking match to get there. Very strong (pun intended) opener.

We recap the United Kingdom Title match with Tyler Bate defending against Pete Dunne. This is a rematch from about four months ago when Bate won the title in a big surprise. The idea is that Dunne took the very young Bate too lightly but is out for the kill here. Both guys get to promise to disappoint the other tonight. By the way, the total age of these two? 43 years old with Dunne at 23 and Bate at an even more ridiculous 20.

United Kingdom Title: Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne

Bate is defending and Jim Ross comes out for commentary. Dunne takes it to the mat to start and slaps on a headscissors as the fans aren’t sure who to cheer for. Bate dances his way free and it’s an early standoff. This time it’s Bate sending him to the floor and striking a pose with the mustache. Dunne tries to stomp the hand on the steps but Bate smacks him in the face and scores with a running elbow off the steps.

That’s fine with Dunne, who grabs an X Plex to drop Bate onto the apron. Back in and now it’s time to crank on Bate’s fingers as the fans are getting more behind Dunne. Some kicks to the head just get on Bate’s nerves though and it’s a delayed exploder suplex to put Dunne down. A dead lift belly to back suplex (with Dunne looking terrified) gives Bate two but his running shooting star is countered into a triangle choke. That’s broken up with raw power via a powerbomb and the fans are right back with Bate.

Back up again and Bate grabs the fastest airplane spin I’ve ever seen and falls on top for two. Dunne forearms him out of the air for two and flips the champ into a heck of a sitout powerbomb for two with a standing ovation on the kickout. They slug it out with Bate getting the better of it using Bop and Bang (his named fists) and one heck of a rebound lariat drops Dunne for a delayed two.

The Tyler Driver 97 is broken up but Bate reverses a Bitter End into a DDT to put Dunne on the floor. Bate isn’t done and moonsaults down onto Dunne, who is thrown back inside for two off a Spiral Tap (corkscrew Swanton). A big dive to the floor is sidestepped and Bate gets sent face first into the floor. Back in and the Bitter End gives Dunne the pin and the title at 15:26.

Rating: A+. My goodness what a fight. This was one big move after another but what mattered the most here was the feel. These two (again, the older one is TWENTY THREE) made the second match on the minor league show feel like the biggest fight of the year. Some wrestlers can go for years and not pull something like that off but they did it right here.

This was incredible stuff and I got sucked into it all over again. They even tied it back into the first match with Dunne realizing that Bate was going to leave it all in the ring and being ready for one of those big moves, which he had scouted and used to get the title. Go out of your way to see this one as it’s one of the best things NXT has ever done.

It’s still my Match of the Year.

Pete Dunne brutalizes Tyler Bate with a ruthless attack - WWE UK Title Match: NXT Takeover: Chicago

We recap Asuka vs. Ruby Riot vs. Nikki Cross. This is another case of Asuka needing a challenger and, with Ember Moon injured, she needed something special. Riot has hit the ground running and Cross is so insane that she might be dangerous enough to take the title. That’s a good build and they’ve set it up well. Asuka is leaning heel now but she’s not all the way there yet.

Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Nikki Cross vs. Ruby Riot

Asuka is defending. Cross wastes no time in going after Asuka but a hip attack takes her down as Riot is knocked to the floor. Riot and Cross switch places and trade screaming shoulders. It’s Riot getting the better of it and sending Asuka outside, only to have Cross run back in to break up a dive. We see Moon watching from a sky box as Riot is sent head first into the buckle.

Asuka comes back in with a missile dropkick on Riot but Cross makes the save. Cross low bridges Asuka out to the floor so Riot tells Cross to bring it on. Riot is back in with a middle rope hurricanrana and the running double knees to Cross in the corner. A suicide dive takes out Asuka and Riot hits a top rope backsplash for two, only to have Asuka come back in with a German suplex. Asuka gives Cross one as well, with Riott adding a superkick for good measure.

Riot tries another dive off the top but gets caught in the Asuka Lock out of nowhere. Cross breaks that up with a splash and gives Riot a reverse DDT onto the apron. Asuka goes after Nikki but gets caught in the ring skirt for a heck of a beating. Back in and a swinging fisherman’s neckbreaker drops Asuka but Riot and Cross collide for a triple knockdown. They all get up at the same time with Asuka getting clotheslined out to the floor. The Riot kick drops Cross but Asuka comes back in with a sliding knee for the save (with Riot having to come off of Cross due to Asuka being late) and the pin on both at 12:28.

Rating: B-. The ending didn’t look great but the important thing here was Asuka being tested. You can only do so much with Asuka dominating and that’s been the case for over a year now. People like Riot and Cross are good for challengers like this. I’m not sure how much of a challenge Moon is going to be in a rematch but at the moment, save for a singles match with Cross, it’s all they have.

Velveteen Dream is here this week.

We recap Hideo Itami vs. Bobby Roode. After dispatching NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, Roode needed a fresh challenger. Last month Roode was running his mouth when Itami returned and laid Roode out with the GTS. This is Itami’s big match as he was seemingly ready to get the run Finn Balor received but dislocated his shoulder, putting him on the shelf for sixteen months. Now Itami is healthy and back for what he should have received earlier.

NXT Title: Hideo Itami vs. Bobby Roode

Roode is defending and this time there’s a digital piano on the stage to play him in. They start slowly with Roode trying the GLORIOUS pose, causing Itami to go for the GTS. Roode is IMMEDIATELY on the floor and shaking his head as he takes a break. Back in and Hideo grabs a headlock with some strikes to the chest for good measure. As usual though, Itami isn’t the best at playing to the crowd and it shows badly again here.

Itami loads up a GLORIOUS pose of his own and cuts off a charging Roode with a knee to the ribs. A tornado DDT is broken up though and Roode scores with a Blockbuster for two. The champ takes over and gets two more off another neckbreaker. One heck of a clothesline drops Itami and the crowd cheers for Roode even more. Roode makes the mistake of shoving Itami though and they trade loud slaps.

You don’t get in a strike off with Itami though and a hard shot to the head takes Roode down. Itami hits his traditional string of clotheslines and the tornado DDT neck snap sets up the top rope clothesline for two. The GTS is broken up but Roode is sent shoulder first into the post. That sets up a Fujiwara armbar with Roode quickly making the ropes so Itami goes with a Falcon Arrow instead. Roode is right back with a spinebuster but the arm gives out on the Glorious DDT attempt.

The GTS doesn’t work either but a whip into the steps bangs up Roode’s shoulder even more. Itami dropkicks the steps by mistake though and the ankle is banged up. It’s fine enough to kick the head out of Roode but not good enough for the GTS. The Glorious DDT connects for a close two and Roode is stunned at the kickout. Itami pops up though and grabs a GTS, sending Roode outside off the impact. That’s still only good for two so Itami slaps him so hard that Roode falls on his face. Another GTS attempt is countered into back to back Glorious DDT’s to retain Roode’s title at 17:44.

Rating: B. Good match but it’s only house show main event good instead of classic good. Itami didn’t feel like a threat to win the title for the most part but that’s kind of the pot here. I like the idea of having them do a one off challenger instead of some big time match when they’re not ready to do something like that. The match was completely fine and entertaining but it wasn’t getting much better than that.

It really does live up to the name.

NXT Champion Bobby Roode's entrance continues to amaze: NXT TakeOver: Chicago (WWE Network)

Kevin Owens and Milwaukee Brewer Eric Thames is here.

Sami Zayn, Pat Patterson and Kassius Ohno are here.

We recap DIY vs. the Authors of Pain. DIY finally got the magic going and won the Tag Team Titles in the fall but lost them to the Authors in January. With the Revival on the main roster, DIY is the only team left to try and stop these monsters. Tonight, it’s a ladder match. Of note though: Ciampa injured his knee at a house show a few days before this match and it wasn’t clear if he could wrestle or not. He’s gutting it out but the knee is in bad shape.

Tag Team Titles: Authors of Pain vs. DIY

The Authors are defending in a ladder match. They waste no time in starting the brawling with the Authors taking early control. That means it’s time to speed it up with DIY knocking the Authors to the floor, leaving DIY alone in the ring….with no ladders. Ciampa pulls out some ladders but Rezar runs him over. A drop toehold sends Rezar face first into the steps though and Gargano flip dives onto him for good measure.

DIY is already doing a good job of using everything around them instead of foolishly going toe to toe with the monsters. It’s already time to get the big ladder from the stage but first, Gargano has to do a heck of a dangerous dive through the ladder to take both Authors out. Everyone gets back in but Rezar slams Gargano onto Ciampa. Rezar slowly goes up but the size issue allows Ciampa to get up for a save. The toss of a ladder takes Rezar down so Akam hits them both with another ladder.

Both Authors climb at once and that’s just not a good idea as DIY makes the save. They’re both shoved off the top as well and Ciampa comes up holding his knee (that’s a BIG uh oh). The Authors are nice enough to work on his ribs instead by sending a ladder into them over and over. One heck of a ladder shot puts DIY down and it’s time for a bigger ladder to be brought in. That’s not enough though as they bridge two ladders from the ring to the barricade.

Hoping to avoid a bad case of death, DIY slips out and superkicks the Authors onto the bridged ladders, setting up double dives off a ladder in the middle for a massive pair of crashes. Ciampa is back up first but somehow Akam is right there with him. Gargano puts up another ladder next to them and it’s time for the big brawl up top. Ciampa and Akam go down and it’s Gargano on his own, only to have Ellering come in for a save.

That means a superkick to Ellering but the Authors are back up with ladder shots of their own. Ciampa is prone but Gargano shoves him out of the way and takes a HUGE ladder shot to the face to knock him silly. Rezar goes up but this time it’s Ciampa with a big old German suplex off the ladder and through another one, which nearly explodes on impact. Somehow Gargano is still alive and grabs Akam’s leg, earning himself a big kick to the face.

DIY gets in some strikes though and Akam gets knocked to his knees with the ladder wrapped around his head. That means a Meet in the Middle to the ladder around Akam’s head but Johnny is done. The injured Ciampa is the only one left and goes up with Gargano following. The Authors kick the ladder away though and grab the Super Collider, allowing them to go up and pull down the titles to retain at 20:09.

Rating: A. Now that’s more like it with a great story being told throughout as DIY was hanging in as long as they could with whatever they could but not being able to overcome the monsters. It’s going to take something special to stop the Authors and while DIY was special, it’s acceptable to have them lose here as it’s a good conclusion to their run, especially if they’re ready to go to the main roster.

The Authors leave and DIY gets the big standing ovation in what might be their sendoff to the main roster. After another replay, they head to the stage and pose as the copyright notice comes up….and Ciampa rams Gargano into the set to knock Gargano cold! A running knee to the head makes things even worse and, with the fans yelling everything they can think of at Ciampa, he hits something like White Noise off the table through part of the stage to destroy Johnny. Medics look at Johnny and Ciampa looks down at him to end the show.

That man is evil.

Tommaso Ciampa stuns Chicago with heartless betrayal of Johnny Gargano: NXT TakeOver: Chicago

Overall Rating: A+. After a few less than incredible shows, Takeover roars back to life with another masterpiece as the worst match would be a show stealer on almost any other card. Throw in an instant classic ladder match and an even better UK Title match and this show was one of the best in Takeover’s history. Two outstanding matches plus three very good ones (what slackers) make for another classic Takeover, which is back where this show belongs.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 27 wrestling books. His latest book is the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume III: From Dallas To New Orleans.

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