Geektified's NXT Takeover III: Brooklyn Review 8.20.17

Geektified's NXT Takeover III: Brooklyn Review 8.20.17

By Anton Ware

Official Results

-NXT Takeover is LIVE from Brooklyn, New York.

-Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, and Mauro Ranallo are your hosts for this evening.

-Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade "Cien" Almas: A match where both competitors have experienced recent changes in their professional careers. Gargano has recently returned following a vicious attack from former tag partner Tommaso Ciampa and is now looking to make waves as a solo star. Meanwhile, Almas has enlisted the services of valet Zelina Vega (the former Thea Trinidad) to help propel his career to new heights and get some gold around his waist. Both men are needing a win to climb the ranks of NXT. Solid outing to kick off the show. The match started off with some mat wrestling with Almas working over Gargano’s left arm for the majority of the contest. Gargano would eventually get back into the swing of things with his patented move set of the suicide dive to the outside, apron spear to the inside, and devastating kicks to the head. It wasn’t enough to put Almas away as the deciding factor of the match was the number of counters Almas had for Gargano. Almas not only had been scouting and studying Gargano for the match, he even had a trick up his sleeve for his superkick finisher. As Gargano looked to be victorious with a superkick, Zelina Vega would throw a DIY t-shirt at Gargano for the distraction when lead to Almas hitting a running dropkick and modified DDT for the pin and win! Almas gets the much needed victory.

-Raw and Smackdown GMs Kurt Angle and Daniel Bryan are in attendance in the skybox. Roderick Strong, No Way Jose, Billie Kay and Peyton Royce are all joining the two in hopes of potentially getting signed.

- NXT Tag Title Match: Authors of Pain vs. SaNiTY: Akem and Rezar of AOP have demolished every team put in front of team. They’ve proclaimed themselves to be the most dominate force in NXT today. One group disagreed and decided to put the Tag Team Champs on notice. During an episode of NXT, SaNiTY (minus the absent Eric Young) engaged in a brawl with AOP to send the message that they were next in line for the gold. Young would return and help Dane and Wolfe with a sneak attack on AOP which led to an official match on this show. Former NXT announcer Corey Graves joined commentary for this match.  A nice mix of brawling, basic tag-wrestling and crash-tv chaos made for a good match between two of NXT’s most feared factions. Both teams brawled before the bell rang and during the chaos, Eric Young set up a table on the outside. When the match finally began, AOP would take control over Alexander Wolfe. When Wolfe got out no man's land against AOP, Eric Young replaced Killian Dane (who never tagged in the match) and ignited another outside brawl only to get grounded by AOP for a lengthy duration. Young eventually got Wolfe back in the match as he came dropped AOP with suplexes and strikes. The two teams traded big time maneuvers against each other which led to Young and Wolfe hitting dives on AOP to gain the upper hand. This inspired Nikki Cross to get involved as she dived onto Akam while the referee was distracted by Paul Ellering. Cross gets caught, but Dane gets involved by spearing both of them through the table Young set up earlier in the contest. With Akam taken out, Wolfe and Young hit a backdrop/neckbreaker combo on Rezar for the pin and win!! NEW CHAMPS!!

-After the match, Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly come through the crowd and attack both teams with strikes and double team moves. They make it known they want the NXT Tag Titles.

-Aleister Black vs. Hideo Itami: After losing his NXT Title opportunity against Bobby Roode, Hideo Itami showed frustration and disdain over his string of bad luck in NXT. From back- to-back shoulder and neck injuries to watching other stars pass him by for greener pastures, Itami finally snapped and took his rage out on long-time friend, Kassius Ohno. Following the attack, Itami demanded respect from the NXT Universe and would beat it out of anyone that got in his way which lead to Black answering his threat by knocking him out with a kick. The match was then set and here we are. WWE Hall-of-Famer Jim Ross joined commentary for this bout to play into the NXT Homecoming theme. As you’d expect, this was a hard-hitting affair with PLENTY of kick strikes. Itami would get the better of Black in the beginning with his variety of kick strikes. He would bust Black’s face open and even taunted him with his signature Indian-style pose. It would seem like every time Black would come back into the match, Itami would shut him down with brutal offense. Itami even got an impressive top-rope falcon arrow for a two-count. All this punishment from Itami only enraged Black as he would connect with a DEVASTATING roundhouse kick for the win! Black remains undefeated.

-Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch of the Four Horsewomen are in attendance tonight.

-NXT Women’s Title Match: Asuka vs. Ember Moon: This is the rematch from Takeover: Orlando. During that match, Ember Moon looked to be on the brink of dethroning Asuka for the Women’s Title, but in a desperate move, Asuka used the referee to block Moon’s Eclipse finisher and scored the victory with a kick to the head. To add insult to (literal) injury, Asuka would take out Ember Moon during an episode of NXT by throwing her out of the ring to injure her shoulder, thus leaving her out of Takeover: Chicago. Now healthy and wanting revenge, Ember has been granted a rematch for Asuka’s title and it may be her last shot at the gold. This was just as good (maybe even better) than their first outing during WrestleMania weekend.  These two ladies have great chemistry. Ember’s speed and flashy offense works well with Asuka’s striking and mat wrestling. The match starts off fast and furious with Ember attacking Asuka right out the gate with stiff kicks and a cannonball dive. Asuka one-ups Ember by ramming her left arm into the steel steps, then suplexing that same arm on the steel ramp by the entrance way. Asuka worked over Ember’s arm and tried to put her in the Asuka Lock only for Moon to counter each time. Moon’s resilience would show as she would come back to deliver strikes and show off her eye-catching aerial ability. This would lead to Moon hitting her finisher for a two count! While Asuka was down, she lured Moon into her trap and once again got her into the Asuka Lock. Moon would fight diligently to get out, but the pain was too much and she was forced to tap out. Asuka wins the match and remains undefeated. After the contest, the Brooklyn crowd gives Moon a standing ovation for her efforts.

-NXT Title Match: Bobby Roode vs. Drew McIntyre: This is the match of ultimate redemption for McIntyre, as he was a former Intercontinental Champion on the main roster, only to be released. McIntyre went to the independents to re-invent himself and earned another shot with WWE by coming to NXT. To prove to the NXT Universe and himself that he can hang with the new generation of WWE stars, he challenged Bobby Roode for the NXT Championship. Solid main event to close the show. Highlights include Roode hitting a Blockbuster off the apron to the outside and a wicked backstabber on McIntyre and McIntyre himself hitting a dive to the outside on Roode and nailing him with the Futureshock DDT for a near fall. It would all come down to signature finishers as Roode hit McIntyre with two Glorious DDT’s for a two-count. When he would attempt a third one, McIntyre countered with the Claymore Kick (running boot) for the pin and win! NEW CHAMPION!!!

-The celebration wouldn't last long as Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly would return to ringside looking to ruin another championship victory as the debuting Adam Cole would come from the crowd and jump McIntyre. All three men would then attack the new champion, with Cole delivering a superkick to McIntyre. Cole grabbed and posed with the NXT Title which signified that he wanted to be inserted into the title picture. All three men stood over McIntyre as the show went off the air.

-END SCENE

-So what did you guys think of the show? Hit or miss? Let me know in the comments section. Thanks for reading.

-Anton