Geektified's NXT Takeover: San Antonio Review 1.29.17

Geektified's NXT Takeover: San Antonio Review 1.29.17

By Anton Ware

Official Results

-NXT Takeover is LIVE from San Antonio, Texas.

-Corey Graves, Percy Watson, and Tom Phillips are your hosts for this evening.

-Tye Dillinger vs. Eric Young: After coming up short in a Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match to determine the #1 contender for the NXT Title, Tye Dillinger was having second thoughts about continuing his future in NXT. Eric Young had other plans for the Perfect 10 as he offered Dillinger a spot in SAinTY. Dillinger refused by opposing Young and company and a match was set. This match was about Dillinger trying to score his 1st Takeover win and overcoming the odds of Young’s henchmen (Killian Dane and Alexander Wolfe). Before the match started, Young gave Dillinger one more chance to join the group but Dillinger refused. Dillinger controlled the match early on, but an outside cross body block from Dane (the big, hairy one) would give Young the unfair advantage. Dillinger swung the momentum back in his favor with a series of counter dropkicks and strikes. He was about to finish Young off with the Perfect 10 (fireman's carry into a knee neckbreaker), but Dane and Wolfe once again got involved and distracted Dillinger. They both received punishment for their interference, but they gave Young enough time to hit the wheelbarrow neckbreaker for the win. Dillinger is now 0-5 at Takeover shows. Good opener. The crowd loved Dillinger. He may end up being the feel good story of 2017 if this keeps up.

-Roderick Strong vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas: Both men fell short in the 4-Way #1 Contender's Match for the NXT Title. A match was made between the two as a way for both competitors to climb up the ranks of NXT Title contention. A competitive back and forth contest with a weird crowd. This was about Strong’s strikes vs. Almas’ athleticism and ground game. Strong would go for multiple attempts of a back breaker and Almas would attempt his patented hammerlock DDT finisher to put away The Messiah of the Backbreaker. Almas also locked in a modified Rings of Saturn, but it was to no avail. Spot of the match came when both men were on the top rope and Strong gave Almas a sidewalk slam on the top turnbuckle. Ouch! Strong would finish Almas with a devastating running boot for the win.

Random Thought: It was awkward seeing the crowd so split during a good match. Half the crowd started a “This Is Awesome” chant while others didn’t seem to care for the competitors involved.

-NXT Tag Title Match: DIY(c) vs. The Authors of Pain (with Paul Ellering): After defeating The Revival for the NXT Tag Titles, The Revival invoked their rematch clause and battled DIY again, but they failed to recapture the gold. After the match, The Authors of Pain attacked DIY to make a statement that they wanted a shot at the titles. AOP won the second annual Dusty Rhodes Classic and remain undefeated, so they have a fair claim at a tag title opportunity. Decent match here that picked up towards the end. AOP controlled the match early with their strength, but DIY eventually got back on track with strikes which complemented their high flying offense. DIY’s upper hand wouldn’t last long as Akam and Rezar gained control by grounding Johnny Gargano. Gargano eventually made the hot tag to Tommaso Ciampa who delivered wicked strikes and two impressive German Suplexes to both members of AOP. Ciampa’s offense wasn’t enough to keep the big men down, so Gargano regrouped and both men hit Gargano’s rope assisted Spear for the two count. Still not enough, DIY put AOP in stereo submissions (same scenario that won them the titles at the last Takeover show), but Rezar would power out of Gargano’s submission and slam Gargano onto Ciampa to break up the submission. Both teams traded punches with DIY winning the battle to set up the stereo knee strike knockout, but AOP countered with the Super Collider (stereo powerbombs) and hit The Last Chapter for the win and tag titles. Another good match. I’m interested to see who’ll dethrone the Authors of Pain.

-As the commentary hypes up the rest of card, Seth Rollins comes out of nowhere, grabs the mic, and DEMANDS a fight against HHH. HHH eventually comes out only to bring out security. Rollins fights the first round of guards off, but the odds catch up to him and he is escorted out of the building. Wow!

-NXT Women's Title Match: Asuka(c) vs. Nikki Cross vs. Billie Kay vs. Peyton Royce: With the recent call-ups of Bayley, Nia Jax, and Alexa Bliss, the NXT Women’s Division was in need of fresh faces to step up and challenge Asuka for her title. Enter the Australian duo of Billie Kay and Peyton Royce as they made their mark on the division by attacking and insulting fellow NXT women superstars in recent weeks. They would finally go after the Women’s Champion by attacking her in the parking lot. They didn’t keep Asuka down for long as all three ladies brawled later in the show. Nikki Cross of SAinTY would then come out to attack all three ladies to show her interest in the Women’s Title as well. Asuka demanded that NXT General Manager William Regal make the title match a Fatal 4-Way. This was a disappointment. Just as the match was getting hot, it ends anti-climatically. Most notable moments were Asuka delivering a double German Suplex to Royce and Kay, the Aussies putting Nikki Cross through a table (similar to the WrestleMania 20 main event table spot) and Royce and Kay keeping their pact to ground Asuka. The team dominance wouldn’t last long as Asuka overcame both women by nailing a vicious kick to Peyton Royce’s head for the win! Asuka remains undefeated.

Random Thought: I’ve only seen Nikki Cross twice and I already like her. She really comes off as the craziest woman alive.

-NXT Title Match: Shinsuke Nakamura(c) vs. Bobby Roode: Bobby Roode would win a Fatal 4-way Match to become the #1 contender for the NXT Title. Nakamura and Roode would have a contract signing to make it official and the match was set. Fun fact: If Roode wins the NXT title, he would become the oldest NXT Champion in the brand’s history at 39. We got super main event entrances as Roode wins this round with eight women accompanying him to the ring. Roode does his GLORIOUS taunts in the beginning of the match. Back and forth control struggle in the early goings between the two, but it's Roode who takes over by flipping Nakamura over the top turnbuckle onto the outside. Roode would taunt Nakamura by using Nakamura’s signature corner foot choke. Nakamura gained control with knee strikes to set up the Kinshasa, but Roode played possum and rolled up Nakamura for a 2 count. Nakamura connected with an outside Kinshasa on Roode, but he injured his knee in the process. Nakamura regrouped and nailed Roode with another Kinshasa only to hurt his knee even more. WWE’s medical staff came out to check on Nakamura, but he insisted that he could continue. He does and Roode immediately takes advantage by hitting the Glorious DDT for a two count! Roode goes for a single leg Boston Crab (to which Nakamura powers out) and then hits another Glorious DDT for the win and title! Solid main event.

Final Thoughts: This was the weakest NXT Takeover show by far. Not a bad show, but nothing was really must see. Actually, the only must see thing came from two people who aren’t even on the NXT roster (Rollins and HHH). This show was clear that NXT is still in its recovery stages with losing a lot of their top stars in 2016. Plus with the injuries of Hideo Itami, Austin Aries, and TM - 61, there’s not a whole lot of depth to each division right now. Hopefully by the end of the year the brand can get back on track, but NXT must get more faces in the mix.

-So what did you guys think about the show? Hit or miss? Thumbs up or thumbs down? Let me know in the comment section. Thanks for reading!

-Anton