Did “NXT Takeover: Fatal 4 Way” Live Up to the “Hype”?

NXT Takeover was live on the WWE Network last night; if you did not take advantage of this and take 2 hours out of your day to glue yourselves to your TV, IPhone or whatever device you used, then you sure as hell missed out.  NXT is the best thing going in WWE today, and whether you agree or not, watch Takeover and you will completely understand what exactly I mean and where I am going.

Last night, top to the bottom the card was STRONG, WWE heavily promoted it in the correct way with matches on Raw/Main Event and overall it just felt BIG. I was legitimately excited for this as if it was ‘Mania (that is saying something), especially since the past 2 NXT Specials have been spectacular.

The card had 5 matches advertised, with one impromptu match added on the day. Things started big with the defending NXT Tag Champs, the Ascension putting their titles on the line against Sin Cara and Kalisto. This match flew by for me, it felt like 5 minutes but maybe that was because I was enjoying it too much. Overall, it was an exciting match to start the show with; you would NEVER put these two teams together, there is such a big clash of styles and well, that’s what makes it must-see and exciting. Shockingly, The Ascension were defeated after nearly 1 year of their dominating reign. As much as I wanted The Ascension to lose (so they they can be called up to the main roster), I was not expecting it, hence, it was a nice surprise. They NEED to be called up now (check out my previous post for why I believe they are the ones that need to be called up next).

Next, we had the impromptu match of CJ Parker Vs. a debuting Baron Corbin (he has previously been on NXT TV, yet, only briefly). All I can say is, holy crap, Corbin is impressive. I was not expecting to see him be so dominant and pick up the win within 20 or so seconds. His finisher is devastating and after yesterday, all I want is to see more of him.  From his look, to his presence, he is clearly one to watch out for and has one hell of a future imo.

Hair Vs. Hair match got me good as well! I 100% thought Enzo Amore (w/Colin Cassidy) would be getting his head shaved after losing to Sylvester Lefort (w/Marcus Louis), and once again I was wrong! Enzo won with the roll up, resulting in a big shuffle, Sylvester running off and Marcus getting the bucket of shaving foam dumped over his head. Overall, I was happy with this. Enzo Amore has REALLY grown on me and made me a massive fan; he entertains me in every aspect every time he is on my screen, he possesses great presence and the pairing of him alongside Colin Cassidy has just emphasised this.

Bull Dempsey defeated Mojo Rawley next in a fairly quick bout; this match was the one that I was least anticipating and in all honesty actually forgot about but it still entertained me throughout the 2 minutes or so.

Next was the time for the ladies to shine and prove themselves to the world that women STILL have it, women can wrestle and to all in all, outshine the main roster of females. They did exactly that. This was the only prediction of mine that was correct; Charlotte defeated Bayley in a match that went about 10 minutes (I’m glad they were presented with this much time). They both went out there and put on a very physical match and made me as a female, proud to be represented by them. Bayley has grown on me so much over the past few months and well, Charlotte’s in-ring skills speak for themselves; although, she did mess up the moonsault a bit and the finish of the match felt flat, I was glad that they had their time to shine (as women are allowed to do on NXT shows). I see there being some sort of triple-threat between Charlotte/Bayley/Sasha Banks down the road but I do also see Charlotte being called up very, very soon.

The Fatal 4 Way main event was finally up; there are just not enough good things I can say about this match. All 4 men delivered and had their moment to shine in this match. I believe it went about 25 minutes and top to bottom it was fantastic. Tyson Kidd has been shining in NXT more than he ever has on the main roster/Tyler Breeze has grown on me/Adrian Neville, all I can say about him is wow… when the guy is on your screen, you watch and Sami Zayn, well he is simply my favourite; he is an all round incredible wrestler and watching him wrestle/perform just makes me happy (as weird as that may sound). I genuinely thought Breeze had it…but Neville retained, amongst the spectacular athleticism and story-telling. There were so many spots in this match where your mouth was just wide open; every guy had his moment. Neville pulling the ref out of the ring when Zayn was about to get the win makes for a very interesting situation. I now see these two going at it in a 1-1 match; that is going to be must see. Ultimately, you NEED to watch this for yourself to understand what I mean; just the perfect match.

Besides the matches, I could not wait for Kenta’s debut. His English was pretty good and he went on to inform everyone of his name-change, from Kenta to Hideo Itami. Now, I completely understand why WWE changed his name but man, it sure is going to take a while to get used to that and I know for a lot of other fans as well but I’m sure, in time, it will feel right. The Ascension confronting him had me thinking that Steen or Devitt would make the save but we just have to wait and see where this goes and also have some patience! I just have a whole lot of respect for Kenta/Hideo and cannot wait to see him perform; his actual in ring-debut will be next Thursday, watch out for that.

To put it simply, did NXT Takeover live up to the hype? It 100% did.

All the guys and girls down in NXT are hungry; they want to be the best on that roster in order to move up to the main roster and dominate on shows there, and in turn are making NXT shows 10x better than the main roster. One thing I am really looking forward to, is when they get called up one by one and are having matches against guys such as Cesaro, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Luke Harper etc.

If you are a WWE fan or a wrestling fan in general and haven’t jumped on the NXT “hype” yet, what are you doing?! It is an example of the WWE doing things RIGHT, or you could say Triple H doing things right. The man knows what he is doing and has provided us with a glimpse of the future. I would recommend everyone to simply spend 2 hours watching this show; once you view this, you’ll realise that although Raw/SmackDown can be awful, you always have NXT to turn to who are constantly putting on fresh and exciting shows.

Greatest Selfie of All Time.

The future is indeed bright and I cannot wait for them to take it over.  

- Zara

Who Should Be Called Up To The Main Roster From NXT Next?

With “NXT Takeover: Fatal 4 Way” looming, there is a lot of talk revolving around the topic of who should be called up to the main roster from WWE’s developmental system, NXT next.

The guy that has really caught my attention is Sami Zayn. He is an incredible all round, talent who should have been on the main roster a long, long time ago. He is a natural likeable guy who fans can relate to and on top of that can back all the support up with his in-ring abilities. Look at his matches with Cesaro on NXT, specifically the 2/3 Falls Match, or if you want to go further back in his history, then his ladder match with Kevin Steen in ROH will leave your jaw wide open (he was known as El Generico back then, hence all of the “Ole” chants he gets, although I think most people chant it because everyone else is, not necessarily because they are familiar with his past). He should ideally be on the main roster having 5* matches against Cesaro, Seth Rollins alongside many others but is NOW the right time for him to be called up? In all honesty, I do not think so. Does he deserve it? Hell yeah he does, he has travelled the world and has worked incredibly hard, the main roster has his name written all over it. But with the benefit of hindsight and analysing the call ups of previous NXT stars such as Adam Rose and Bo Dallas who arguably have not really made that much of an impact, I would not want the same to happen to him. The Shield/Wyatt Family have proved that the developmental system is indeed very effective but recently, NXT talent haven’t made that big of an impression since they moved up to the main roster, note the names I referenced earlier. Adam Rose is barley on WWE TV now and although Bo Dallas has so much potential in being a massive heel, I am not sure with which direction they are exactly going with him. Also, under what circumstances would Zayn debut? For me personally, being such a big fan of his, I want it to be impactful but I don’t see that happening yet, looking at the way certain guys are treated on the main roster. Yes, he can debut now but I don’t see it going down the route I would like. The right time has to present itself. I would love to see him confront Seth Rollins or something along the lines of that and becoming a major babyface but realistically, will that happen? Adrian Neville is another guy that I would make the same argument for.

Fans have made it clear who they want.

The NXT Women’s Champion, Charlotte has been spoken about a whole lot when it comes to main roster call-ups lately. Being the daughter of Ric Flair, it would give him a permanent role on TV as well (if WWE wanted to go down that route). I would love to see a feud between her and Paige or AJ or even Natalya again. It would add something new to the Divas Division, which is needed right now. She will be going up against Bayley at Takeover but even if she retains, she can still debut soon; Paige was the NXT Women’s Champ whilst she debuted and won the WWE Divas Championship back in April.

For me however, the call-ups that needs to happen, are the NXT Tag Team Champions; The Ascension. The WWE tag-team division is completely stale right now and well, arguably non-existent. The Usos have been the tag champs for a while now and although I believe that Harper/Rowan should have captured the titles, the fact that there is The Ascension down in NXT, that is what is keeping me slightly interested. Who else is there for The Usos to go up against? They have beaten Harper/Rowan way too many times than I would have liked and despite Goldust/Stardust adding more personality and a different dimension to them with the heel turn, I am still bored with the entire tag-team situation as a whole. They NEED The Ascension right now. Having them debut against The Usos and confronting them would be perfect for me; two established teams that people can clearly differentiate between, would finally add some fire and freshness to the division that it so desperately is in need of. They have a distinct dark look and a gimmick that fans can catch onto straight away, they do not seem randomly put together e.g. Rybaxel. Their domination needs to transcend on to WWE TV for them to succeed.

Who do you guys think should be called up next from NXT next? Let me know at @WrestlingMenu on Twitter.

NXT Takeover will be live on the WWE Network on Thursday 11^th September, make sure to tune in, it will be incredible as the past two NXT live specials have proved. I’m glad that WWE have promoted it the right way by having matches with NXT stars on their flagship show, Raw and Main Event to provide us with a glimpse and to show what they are capable of. If you are not an NXT fan or have never seen what happens down there, spend 2 hours of your time watching this special and I guarantee you, you will be converted.

- Zara