Paid Members BomberPat Posted June 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 15, 2021 I didn't think much of Takeover - even by NXT standards, it was "good wrestling" for the sake of "good wrestling". The six-man was fun- I'm a fan of everyone in it, and they worked well together, but the result was never really in doubt. Match of the night for me, but gave me very little to actually care about. I'm not as down on Xia Li vs. Mercedes Martinez as some people have been - I love Mercedes, and while it's a shame that she's mostly used as a bit of a stepping stone, that's probably the right move at this stage in her career. I liked Xia Li in the Mae Young Classic, and this is my first time seeing the new heel gimmick. I like her spooky mate - my girlfriend assumed she was going to pull the mask down and spit poison mist when she was fighting with Mercedes, and I'm disappointed it didn't happen. Boa's a big useless mug, isn't he? This at least felt like it had some story behind it. I wasn't a fan of LA Knight vs. Cameron Grimes at all. Knight might be one of the blandest wrestlers to come along in a long, long time, and I don't understand why they're positioning him as a future star when he's pushing 40 with a decade of TV experience elsewhere, but that's NXT for you. The match was completely at odds with the story leading up to - a mostly comedic storyline being paid off with big ladder bumps and high spots doesn't work for me. Nor does the result - why would you not put the Million Dollar belt on the guy who was actually the catalyst for the storyline, and is working the millionaire gimmick? It was ridiculous hearing the commentators put over the Million Dollar Championship as something prestigious, and the video package being about how it's a symbol of a fighting champion who'll outwork everyone else and take on all-comers - just a complete wilful ignorance of their own history; the Million Dollar Championship was, obviously, a vanity belt and the exact opposite of everything they were saying it was. It would be fine if it was just Ted putting it over like that, but the announce team were too. Terrible stuff. Again, it would be more befitting the angle if only the people fighting for it treated it as a prize worth winning and everyone else pointed out that it's a daft vanity belt. Raquel Gonzalez vs. Ember Moon was pretty good - Raquel's getting better, and Ember's still brilliant, and deserves so much better than she gets. I noticed in the build up to it, though, the commentators using the clearly fed line that it's a match in "the greatest women's division in the world". A fundamentally gotten to promotion. Even late stage WCW wasn't working with such an obvious chip on its shoulder inferiority complex as modern day NXT. Speaking of fed lines, how many times were we told that the main event was the "most star-studded in NXT history"? Jeez. I zoned out for almost all of it. Karrion Kross does absolutely nothing for me, Kyle O'Reilly's stock has fallen through the floor since they decided that the best move after a babyface turn and brutal Last Man Standing Match with his former ally turned hated rival was to dress him up as someone you'd give a wide berth at Reading Festival. Gargano and Cole are just done to death, and it's as tired a main event scene as you can get.  The teaser with William Regal at the end just didn't feel remotely earned by this show. The whole "I've never seen such bedlam" thing and him being unable to control NXT surely would have made more sense at the end of a more chaotic show than this one? Nothing about this show fell out of control or unusual in any way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted June 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 15, 2021 2 hours ago, BomberPat said: The teaser with William Regal at the end just didn't feel remotely earned by this show. The whole "I've never seen such bedlam" thing and him being unable to control NXT surely would have made more sense at the end of a more chaotic show than this one? Nothing about this show fell out of control or unusual in any way. Is it like that time the Raw roster were all living in fear of the dastardly duo of R-Truth and The Miz? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted June 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 15, 2021 Just now, tiger_rick said: Is it like that time the Raw roster were all living in fear of the dastardly duo of R-Truth and The Miz? That was hilarious. All these tough guy babyfaces walking out because they were scared of Miz and Truth attacking them with lead pipes. Textbook example of bad WWE storytelling. They come up with a story then tell the audience the story in the most blatant "tell, not show" way possible even if it makes no sense or isn't reflecting what happening on screen. Like when they decided to go with the "worst year of Cenas career" story before his rematch with The Rock, despite winning almost all his matches in the previous 12 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Cod Eye Posted June 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 15, 2021 3 hours ago, BomberPat said: I didn't think much of Takeover - even by NXT standards, it was "good wrestling" for the sake of "good wrestling". The six-man was fun- I'm a fan of everyone in it, and they worked well together, but the result was never really in doubt. Match of the night for me, but gave me very little to actually care about. I'm not as down on Xia Li vs. Mercedes Martinez as some people have been - I love Mercedes, and while it's a shame that she's mostly used as a bit of a stepping stone, that's probably the right move at this stage in her career. I liked Xia Li in the Mae Young Classic, and this is my first time seeing the new heel gimmick. I like her spooky mate - my girlfriend assumed she was going to pull the mask down and spit poison mist when she was fighting with Mercedes, and I'm disappointed it didn't happen. Boa's a big useless mug, isn't he? This at least felt like it had some story behind it. I wasn't a fan of LA Knight vs. Cameron Grimes at all. Knight might be one of the blandest wrestlers to come along in a long, long time, and I don't understand why they're positioning him as a future star when he's pushing 40 with a decade of TV experience elsewhere, but that's NXT for you. The match was completely at odds with the story leading up to - a mostly comedic storyline being paid off with big ladder bumps and high spots doesn't work for me. Nor does the result - why would you not put the Million Dollar belt on the guy who was actually the catalyst for the storyline, and is working the millionaire gimmick? It was ridiculous hearing the commentators put over the Million Dollar Championship as something prestigious, and the video package being about how it's a symbol of a fighting champion who'll outwork everyone else and take on all-comers - just a complete wilful ignorance of their own history; the Million Dollar Championship was, obviously, a vanity belt and the exact opposite of everything they were saying it was. It would be fine if it was just Ted putting it over like that, but the announce team were too. Terrible stuff. Again, it would be more befitting the angle if only the people fighting for it treated it as a prize worth winning and everyone else pointed out that it's a daft vanity belt. Raquel Gonzalez vs. Ember Moon was pretty good - Raquel's getting better, and Ember's still brilliant, and deserves so much better than she gets. I noticed in the build up to it, though, the commentators using the clearly fed line that it's a match in "the greatest women's division in the world". A fundamentally gotten to promotion. Even late stage WCW wasn't working with such an obvious chip on its shoulder inferiority complex as modern day NXT. Speaking of fed lines, how many times were we told that the main event was the "most star-studded in NXT history"? Jeez. I zoned out for almost all of it. Karrion Kross does absolutely nothing for me, Kyle O'Reilly's stock has fallen through the floor since they decided that the best move after a babyface turn and brutal Last Man Standing Match with his former ally turned hated rival was to dress him up as someone you'd give a wide berth at Reading Festival. Gargano and Cole are just done to death, and it's as tired a main event scene as you can get.  The teaser with William Regal at the end just didn't feel remotely earned by this show. The whole "I've never seen such bedlam" thing and him being unable to control NXT surely would have made more sense at the end of a more chaotic show than this one? Nothing about this show fell out of control or unusual in any way. I've not watched NXT for a long time, so this may be totally wide out of the question, but is there any chance he is coming out of retirement for a little run to "clean" the place up? Or is it simply a tease about changing the on-screen authority? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Statto Posted June 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 15, 2021 Echo @BomberPat's thoughts on the Million Dollar Belt, I actually laughed out loud at the "outwork every other person in that locker room" line in the video package. You can see what they were trying to get at with it - whoever wrote that voiceover for Ted was clearly writing about Ted DiBiase the top quality in-ring performer as opposed to the Million Dollar Man character, and I suppose you  could argue that the Million Dollar Belt represents that legacy to the "smart" fan, but it's far from what it has historically meant in kayfabe, including in this specific angle. It smacked a bit of when TNA did their own rehash of it with Booker T & the Legends Championship, when everyone in the company immediately accepted it as a legitimate, prestigious title rather than the fake trinket belt Booker had bought with his WWE fortune because he wasn't good enough to win the actual TNA title. I assume they have put the Million Dollar Belt on Stunning Steve rip-off LA Drake in the hope they can shave his head in 6 months and make him the biggest star in the business within two years. Outside of that, the 6-man opener was my favourite Takeover match in several years. Not sure what that says really, but it was a hell of a lot of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted June 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 15, 2021 27 minutes ago, Statto said: I assume they have put the Million Dollar Belt on Stunning Steve rip-off LA Drake in the hope they can shave his head in 6 months and make him the biggest star in the business within two years. Just a note that, far from being the second coming of Steve Austin, L.A. Knight is actually only three years younger than Ted DiBiase was when The Ringmaster debuted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted June 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 15, 2021 (edited) Takeover will definitely go down in history as a show that happened. Easily the most pointless, forgettable Takeover ever. Samoa Joe as the GM will probably work because it’s Samoa Joe, who can make any old shit work. I won’t be able to get over Joe having to sell Kross as the scary, badass tough guy though. It’d be like The Rock being the GM to LA Knight or Mick Foley being the GM to Jimmy Havoc. Nothing speaks more to what NXT has become the last few years than Johnny Gargano cosplaying as HBK. Edited June 15, 2021 by Supremo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Nick James Posted June 16, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 16, 2021 Samoa Joe looking hard as fuck and throwing the mini's around is everything NXT needed. The way he handled O'Reilly and Cole like he was a teacher breaking up a scrap between two year 7's was hilarious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Jazzy G Posted June 16, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 16, 2021 Shame they didn't let him do that on the main roster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted June 16, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 16, 2021 On 6/14/2021 at 1:31 PM, BomberPat said: That rumour seems to be pretty unfounded, it was basically "NXT would like to have Samoa Joe back". No shit, really? Â On 6/14/2021 at 1:56 PM, Magnum Milano said: Yeah, it came across as "click bait" to me, something which that Sapp guy seems to do a fair bit of. Â Nothing substantiated or concrete, just surmising and throwing something out there. Â On 6/14/2021 at 1:55 PM, Merzbow said: Unless Vince has gone completely senile and forgotton who he is is he just going to rehire him to work NXT? Has the "we're an indie, honest" brainwashing not stopped? Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted June 16, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 16, 2021 (edited) I'll be interested to see the quarterly ratings for this show. After a really good opening segment, Regal crying and Samoa Joe turning up to make Kross look like someone had ordered a Samoa Joe from Wish.com, a genuine spark of excitement, they did that typical WWE thing of following it up with one of the least appealing segments of all time. Fucking Brezango vs. Imperium?! The antithesis of capitalising on momentum. I switched it off and I suspect I'm far from the only one. Also, Kross in a suit made me laugh. Put someone like Wardlow in a suit and he looks a million dollars. Karrion Kross though? Court date. Probably football hooliganism. Edited June 16, 2021 by Supremo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members I Bent My Wookie Posted June 16, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 16, 2021 Kross looked like a substitute teacher who owned one suit getting into an argument with the Head of Science because he had some stupid views on teachers pensions. Joe looked and acted fantastic all evening. Was an alright show I felt. The matches were all pretty good, I enjoyed the former Blake Christian (I've already forgot his new name) against Kushida and I don't mind the match up with Kyle next week either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted June 16, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 16, 2021 I’m fascinated by the whole Joe thing. Originally, everything suggested he was on a performers contract but couldn’t get cleared, then took less money to come back in as a non-wrestler. But to see him being super physical already? What can the end game be if it isn’t some matches? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted June 16, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 16, 2021 1 hour ago, Supremo said: Â they did that typical WWE thing of following it up with one of the least appealing segments of all time. Fucking Brezango vs. Imperium?! The antithesis of capitalising on momentum. I switched it off and I suspect I'm far from the only one. Â You're not. I said the same thing to my mate this morning. It was the first NXT I've watched in months, and the first match is the same as the ones I was seeing almost every week before I stopped watching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Statto Posted June 16, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted June 16, 2021 1 minute ago, Supremo said: What can the end game be if it isn’t some matches? TBH, I'd probably never stop marking out for him just playing the 911 role forever. Coming out to that awesome theme 3 or 4 times a week and choking someone out, then leaving. Hell, combine it with having him on commentary. "Back in a sec, Vic..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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