Hello, hello everyone, we are one week away from NXT Takeover:Respect and we got some loose ends to wrap up before the big show. Without further hair do, lets do it.
Show Opening
Kyle Edwards runs down the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Jason Jordan who wants to be called JJ and Chad Gable advance to the semi finals.
Realest Guys in the Room vs. Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
Enzo does his sweet dance that I still mimic at times. The Realest Guys say “If you don’t give it all you got in honor of Dusty Rhodes, then we got ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOU…. S-A-W-F-T SAAAWWWFFTTT”
Finn comes out with an updated entrance song that Corey Graves picks up on. The old one was brooding, this one has more of a build up until the beat drops and heavier drums which adds alot of gravitas to his already entrancing entrance.
Joe and Cass start the match off, they do some moves to show they have matching power, they brawl to the outside but not before Cass tags in Enzo. Enzo reverses Finn and then dives to the outside to take Samoa Joe out. Not to be outdone, Finn does a flip splash onto Cass.
I like Enzo’s offense. All his big moves seem like they come from a source of desperation. Enzo adds something to any match he is in that is hard to define, but he is the only one I know of that brings it.
Enzo and Cass dominate early on and mid way into the match. Cass goes for his patented sidewalk slam and Joe has to legit jump and spin himself to help Cass do the move. After that The Realest Guys go for an Air Enzo but Joe kicks out. Samoa Joe turns that into a Muscle Buster and Finn Balor hits the Coup De Grais for the win.
And I’m Like… That was a fun match. I’m kind of surprised that The Realest Guys lost but at the same time it makes the most sense. If the Takeover special is dedicated to the tag tournament and Ironman match. Then that means we don’t have time for an NXT Title match. The best excuse on why not to have the match, would be because the champion is already wrestling in a match that night. This is a super team too, that also helps Enzo and Cass because it does not diminish their credibility.
Gargano and Ciampa Interview-
Johnny says they “went from the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows” which is a basic line, but the delivery was tremendous. It was very subtle but it was so good, when he said highest of highs he raised his hand up and his eyes widened and he looked genuinely excited. He then said lowest of lows and as his hand dropped, so did his emotions. It had all the feeling in such a little part of the promo.
Ciampa says “our expectations for ourselves is threw the roof, they won’t focus on the past cause the future is now. This is only the beginning.” Good use of the NXT “the future is now” slogan to associate themselves with the new crop of NXT:Indy talent.
Gargano is asked about his opponent being Apollo Crews tonight and his response is that he is happy to go against a friend in Apollo Crews. That brings out Tyler Breeze because he has a match with Crews at Takeover:Respect. Breeze says a friend of Apollo’s is an enemy of his. Tyler says he will ask Regal for a shot at Ciampa tonight.
And I’m Like… That was great. Breeze is establishing himself as someone who can get what he wants out of Regal, Ciampa and Gargano have a character trait of the new guys on the block and developed a gimmick of “we are NXT” in a way. I haven’t seen something off putting or dislikeable out of these two yet.
We get an Asuka video package that shows off her intense striking ability. It really shows her unfuckwithableness.
Johhny Gargano vs. Apollo Crews
Johnny comes out to “Johnny Wrestling” chants. Gargano was struggling for offense until he hit this sweet rope submission and a diving spear.
Really making his mark in this match, I would like to dub Johnny “Mr. Maximize Your Minutes” because damn this dude knows how to leave his imprint. Whether in promos or in the ring, he established his signature moves after only three matches, is very innovative and makes the matches seem urgent and intense.
Crews takes control of the match by overpowering Johnny. Crews does the John Cena thing where its get beat up then 5 moves of doom and lol he wins.
And I’m Like… I am still not sold on Crews, he just seems very athletic and physically talented, but character wise is run of the mill. I hope to see more of Gargano though.
Regal is wanting us to see this announcement, he brings Dana Brooke and Emma in. He says they were disrespectful last week at Asuka’s contract signing. He makes Asuka vs. Dana Brooke at Takeover:Resect. The girls seem fine with it until Regal shows them a video of Asuka…
Another Nia Jax promo, she has become Dr. Dre’s Detox the wrestler .
Ms. Egg Muffin Emma and Dana Brooke vs. Billy Kay and Peyton Royce
Classic non-entrance for the Aussies, which means its a showcase match. Royce and Kay do some good tag team wrestling, Billy Kay shows off her strength by an outStanding Suplex.
The bad girls cut off the ring and dominate the match. They do good at demeaning the Aussies and working on the same body parts like the Minnesota Wrecking Crew. This is just a well worked match. When Billy goes for a tag, Emma just kicks her hand away.
Peyton Royce tags in and does damage to Dana Brooke, she hits her signature kicks and then misses a crossbody. She must have slipped or something. They save the spot with Dana going for a pin and a smooth transition back to the planned match. Dana catches Peyton in her finisher after Emma holds Royces leg for the distraction.
And I’m Like… That wasn’t needed, but we should see Dana wrestle and win one more time before she gets DESTROYED.
Jason Jordan (JJ) and Chad Gable Interview
Jason is introduced by Devin Taylor but he says she should call him JJ from now on. She asked them how they will defy the odds of Corbin and Rhyno. Gable said it’s not odds, he asks Devin if she knows he has wrestled in the Olympics. She says yes. “Then don’t act like you don’t know when you do Devin.” JJ said they aren’t overcoming anything, Corbin and Rhyno can’t get along for one second let alone three. Gable said “It’s gonna be so sick, I’ve won alot of tournaments.” Devin tries to ask about Dash and Dawson, JJ says “It’s not likely they will advance.”
Dash and Dawson show up and say “Not likely? the last tie we saw you two jamokes in the ring we were the winners in the 8-man tag.” I just want to say I LOVE JAMOKE usage.
Dash really killed it there, this whole thing felt very organic.
And I’m Like… Bravo to both teams
Tomasso Ciampa vs. Tyler Breeze
They start with a catch as catch can pin dealy do, that ends with Breeze riding Ciampa like
Whiplash and a Dog
. Ciampa then lays out some frozen chops.
Tomasso hit a beautiful running knee without a kneepad. This match makes it seem like they are very similar and on even kilt. The announcers put over how Breeze is losing momentum from not achieving his goals and Ciampa is hitting high impact innovative offense.
The crowd is not reacting to nearfalls either. He hits a bunch more kicks and knees, then they believed the nearfall. Breeze hits a huge counter dropkick when Ciampa goes for a top rope move. That gets a two count and an applause from the crowd. Breeze shows alot of aggression and wins not with a Beauty Shot but an
Unprettier
.
And I’m Like… Gargano and Ciampa were fodder for Breeze and Crews. I really want Breeze to win next week, cause damn, NXT is lining up pins for the bowling ball of Apollo Crews to knock them down.
Rhyno and Corbin said as far as they are concerned the tourney is over and they won.
Video Package for Ironman match
I don’t really have words for this. This will be amazing, I won’t know how to handle myself for 30 minutes. I don’t care who wins, I just care so much about the moment, about what is happening. Who cares that this is the main event, I mean yeah it means alot, but we knew these girls were main event status months ago, if not a year ago. This is just two amazing wrestlers tearing the house down. I love wrestling.
And the RESPECT logo looks like a Hershey bar.
Like and share and tweet and pin. It boosts my ego a bit, and helps out with the whole spreading the word. Wrestling should be appreciated by all. Writing, sharing and talking about it makes it happen if your not actively participating in it.
You all have a good one
-Jake
