NXT Rankings & Evaluation
By George Chiverton, PWTorch NXT specialist

The latest Network Era NXT Rankings will be in the next article. But, R-Evolution needs its own evaluation...

So here we are for NXT Takeover R-Evolution. If you haven’t seen this show (1) please reconsider everything you hold important and (2) go watch it now. I will do my best to put across just how ruddy awesome this show was as it left a very serious impression on this wrestling fan. What I will certainly be covering are big spots, moments of importance, and those all-important tempo swings, before then giving you the good stuff with my delicious take on proceedings. It’s also only right that both the ladies and the lads in two main events get some proper coverage from me so expect my full take on both Charlotte vs. Banks and Zayn vs. Neville. It’s Christmas after all and I love you guys. Especially you, Steve, you’re great.

NXT Takeover Evolution (12/11/2014) Analysis

- On the pre-show, we got the news that due to complications from concussions Corey Graves is retiring from in-ring competition. This was hugely sad, as Corey was a fantastic wrestler with bags of that intangible x-factor that makes a star. His style was technical, athletic, and vicious and he would have been an in-ring asset to WWE for years to come. Although it is wretched luck for Graves, let’s look at the positives. Firstly, Corey Graves never wrestling again is for the best of his health and that is ultimately the most important thing here. Secondly, instead of kicking him to the curb, which let’s not forget would have been the easier option for WWE, they have chosen to give him a chance on commentary. Judging by tonight, that’s a very good thing for us and it is of course a great thing for Graves.

- The show kicked off with a video package highlighting that tonight everyone was looking to Takeover. It had a heavy focus on Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville, and debutant to be Kevin Ovens. It closed on Owens saying ‘Tonight, I take over.’ How ominous.

- We then plunged into Full Sail and the crowd was absolutely electric. The first match was be my most anticipated moment of the night: the debut of Kevin Owens in WWE. Although his theme sounded generic at first, as soon as Kevin made his way on the stage the crowd erupted. Owens, looking thinned down from his final indie appearance (showing unlike Chris Hero he will not be kicked out for not staying in shape), seemed calm and focused. He also looked hungry for some hurting. I hope there are no hippies that need destroying in the back.

Hey, it’s C.J. Parker! I genuinely ‘lolled’ when Parker made his way out when watching live. I’m not a Parker fan by any stretch of the imagination but his colourful character is an enjoyable and well-judged first opponent for Owens. I promised I wouldn’t mention it any more but it was pretty awesome to see that Drake Wuertz (formerly Drake Younger) would be refereeing his mate Kevin’s first match. These two have had brutal encounters in the past and the irony of Drake being in charge of the rules in a Kevin Owens match was not lost on me.

Match on. Kevin came out absolutely swinging with clotheslines and a cannonball. Graves labelled these the most intense first ten seconds of a WWE career ever. Owens then ripped up Parker’s sign before coming right over the top with a plancha onto Parker on the ramp. Now that’s how to debut what you are all about in 20 seconds. WOW.

Parker came back off a distraction from the ref hitting his reverse spinning kick to take control. I prefer Rowan’s but sure. His time in control included hitting a ridiculous nose breaking palm strike which was described by a friend as ‘an overly-enthusiastic nazi salute.' Owens began bleeding in a big way from his nose, but managed to stay in the match with a clothesline. He then hoisted up Parker and hit his signature pumphandle neckbreaker thingy. Owens posed to camera, blood streaming, before hitting a pop-up powerbomb for the win. It’s a good finisher, although I do wonder if we will see the package piledriver. I understand if we don’t, but it is a sick move if they do allow it. Drake did his best to stem the bleeding after the match as Owens posed in the ring.

Well, I told you so. I love saying that. The blood was a stupid mistake by Parker, but that’s not to say it was a bad thing. A little colour gave Owens another element to feed off and he came out this match looking like a top star in the making already. 10/10 what a ruddy start. I will also add that having him against Parker in a contested match rather than against a jobber in a squash made this win and performance way more valuable for Owens. They nailed it.

- The announcers talked about the match and Graves joining the team before going backstage to Neville warming up. They then put up a section of Neville's interview with Michael Cole where he said he would not be responsible for Sami Zayn retiring if he won.

- The NXT Tag team championship match was up next following a video package on the Lucha Dragons. They were wearing gold for the big event. The Vaudevillains, without a video package, then made their entrance. The announcers discussed whether The Vaudevillians were justified in their recent actions. Graves was in favour, while Rich Brennan, who had one of his best nights on commentary, played the face to say they’d been mugs or words to that effect. All of the commentators highlighted that all these wrestlers are really good. That is something that WWE does not do enough.

The crowd were fully on the side of The Vaudevillains with chants throughout the match like ‘Simon’s manly,’ ‘This is chivalry,’ and ‘You’re a gentleman.' Full Sail is so awesome. The luchas had the better of the early proceedings before some dastardly tag work saw the beginning of a long period of heel control from The Vaudevillains. Their offence, while slow, was entertaining; although rather than coming across as ‘bad guys,’ they came across as cheeky fellas. Think Eddie Guerrero if he was born in an American circus in the 1920s.

Cara flipped his way to a hot tag and Kalisto went lucha crazy including doing his amazing no hand handspring rebound off the ropes thing, which makes me think physics and gravity are lies. Gotch and English were sent to the outside and here came the Lucha Dragons over the top. At the last second, English bravely pushed his partner aside to save him, and took a tag team to the body for his troubles. Gotch stared on wide-eyed, stunned by his partner’s noble sacrifice. Who are the heels again?

Gotch tried to take advantage of his opening, bringing Kalisto into the ring, but Kalisto was playing possum! Solita Del Sol sealed the win for the Dragons. I really thought once English made the save that The Vaudevillains were going to take the win, but the finish was still good.

Although this was a good match, when compared to the rest of the card you’d have to say these guys perhaps didn’t raise their game as much as they could have. It’s unlucky for them in comparative terms that they were on the best show of the year (as standing out would always be a struggle on this card) but at the same time the match just didn’t seem to get to top gear. Kevin Owens doing a big diving spot in the opening match certainly harmed them too, as it took away from the matches conclusion, but hey, Kevin Owens is awesome so who cares.

I’m hopeful this is the first in a series of matches and that The Vaudevillians can now push on and finally get away from the heel rubbish they’ve been given over the last couple of months. There is a lot of possibility in them as faces and wrestling bears in silent films. Let’s get there as soon as possible.

As for the Luchas they continue to be the Usos of NXT: fun-to-watch high-flyers that are a little void of personality. They could do with some mic time and some direction post-Takeover.

- Sasha Banks was being made up by Becky Lynch backstage ahead of her match tonight before a general ad for NXT ran. Both of these are good ideas for sure, both putting importance on the women’s match (which NXT always does very well) and bringing in people who may have been watching NXT for the first time. Smart.

- Tye Dillinger made an entrance to the surprise of everyone. What is he doing here? Oh, here comes Baron Corbin. So, they had a match, and Tye lasted longer than anyone so far. Unfortunately for Tye this equated to about 40 seconds. Bull Dempsey was ringside and he exchanged a look with Baron on the way out. It wasn’t so much a look of aggression instead being one of mutual respect and sportsmanship. They both nodded perhaps suggesting they could be heading for a tag team storyline which would be a fun way to start these two feuding. We’ll see.

- An ad for TLC aired. Man, that PPV sucked in comparison to this.

- Backstage was a focused although slightly-conflicted-looking Sami Zayn, who was comforted by the likes of Colin Cassidy and Enzo Amore as his interview with Cole rolled in a separate window. The camera on Zayn rolled around to reveal Owens giving him a look. Seeing these two friends in the same camera shot on WWE television was surreal.

- It was time for The Ascension vs. Finn Balor & Hideo Itami. A video package took us all the way back to Fatal 4 Way. It’s almost like they booked this match months in advanced to ensure the storyline made sense. Weird that from WWE. Hideo has faced some big road bumps (and just plain old bumps) since debuting, but Finn on the other hand has seemingly gone from strength to strength. The Ascension on the other hand are ready for TV and WWE seem to agree. The video package closed on Finn’s promise to bring something The Ascension have never seen before.

The Ascension entered first. Their music/Titantron combo may be my favourite in WWE right now. It’s so intense. Hideo, wearing a robe, was out next and received a bow from a chubby dude in the front row. More power to you, chubby dude. Then the lights went out and Full Sail went hyped. Out of smoke and dramatic lighting on stage came a demon monster thing which at first to me looked like the predator. It turned out to be a face painted up Finn Balor who looked effing terrifying. A ‘Holy S---’ chant rather summed things up. I wrote when his signing was first announced that this was a big element to his presentation and saving the face paint for this big occasion was a smart move. Man, what an impact. His dramatic music and lighting was rad, as Finn crawled to the ring looking truly demonic. The Ascension looked baffled ringside with Viktor’s face in particular being hilarious.

The bell didn’t even ring, but soon Finn and Hideo were kicking the bejeezus out of The Ascension. Stereo dropkicks into the corner caused the Ascension to roll to the outside to have a regroup. The match then got going with a huge kick from Hideo for a close two on Viktor. Finn came in, as Corey Graves talked about the dark alley in Finn’s mind where this creation came from. So rad and Corey Graves is going to be super.

Viktor managed to get his boots up to a charging Finn allowing him to tag out escape any more punishment. Konnor had a moment of control, but was soon getting dropkicked out of dominance by Finn. Hideo tagged in as these two teams continued to go back and forth. A flapjack from Konnor let Viktor in as Byron talked about The Ascension weathering the early emotional storm brought on by Finn’s entrance to get back to business. Even more really solid announcing work. Why cheers NXT. The Ascension settled into working over Itami as the pace slowed down. The crowd were down with this, getting right behind Itami who attempted to fire back with forearms. The Ascension stayed in control, though, with Graves pointing out the weight advantage having a big role in this.

The Ascension continued to dominate as the announcers talked up the tag team’s assets which had seen them be so successful. Finn, looking pained on the apron almost got a tag, before Viktor muscled Hideo away. After two successful shoulder charges in the corner, Viktor missed with the third giving Hideo an opening. Itami then dodged a charging attack from Konnor, but as he dived for the tag, Konnor swept Finn’s legs from beneath him. The ref (who was once again Drake Wuertz) wasn’t happy, but it didn’t matter: The Ascension had control. Boos rang out as Konnor tagged in confidently. This was short-lived, though, as he was swiftly punted in the face by Itami when going for a back body drop. Itami then followed up with a forearm on Viktor and finally it seemed he may have an opening. Viktor jumped into the ring to try to cut him off, but the ref had had enough, blocking off Viktor before giving him marching orders to the apron. Yeah, Drake! You blooming face!

Tag made! And stuff went mental. Finn hit a dropkick off the back of Viktor to Konnor on the outside. Soon both members of the Ascension were on the ramp and it was time for somersault plancha number four of the evening. That’s something NXT needs to keep an eye on, as the law of diminishing returns dictates with this many planchas it may get old quickly. Having said that, don’t get me wrong, this was a ruddy awesome move from Finn. In the ring, Viktor managed an uppercut followed by an STO for a close two which was broken up by Itami. Itami, the cheeky sod, then lifted Viktor into a fireman’s carry teasing his old finisher of the Go 2 Sleep. Oh man would I have gone mental. Full Sail certainly did, but Konnor was swiftly in to make the save much to everyone’s disappointment. Itami was sent to the outside as Konnor and Viktor set up in opposite turnbuckles for the fall of man. From the outside, though, Hideo grabbed Konnor’s ankle and pulled him to the outside, allowing Finn to duck under a clothesline and hit a Pele Kick on Viktor. Konnor was then rolled in by Hideo and took a big running knee, flooring the big man. With both members of The Ascension down, Hideo and Finn both went to the top and hit stereo diving foot stomps for the win. Man, what a bloody match. I want to use rude words to express how good this was.

Breaking this match down is like writing a how to on tag wrestling. The entrances were great and they cashed in on the energy created by Finn, by getting all four to tangle before the bell. Then, following some exciting work from the faces, the heels settled into a pattern of control, working up to the hot tag. When that hot tag was made they still teased a possible win for the heels before Finn and Hideo finally finished them off. That’s a superb formula. It was great storytelling and perfect pacing and everything I wanted from this match. To back that up the announcing was noticeably fantastic, calling the match like a sport and making it that much easier to immerse and indulge in the match. That is when wrestling is at its best.

To pick out one bloke would often be unfair, but in this case Finn Balor absolutely came out this match looking the biggest star. From the point the lights went for his entrance to the time he went up the ramp he owned the room. This was not just due to his amazing face paint (which I won’t lie, was ruddy fantastic and a big part of his appeal), but also because he wowed when he hit the ring with his unique hard hitting moveset and innovative movement. Now, it’s equally true that coming into this match Balor has been booked to be very strong and the fact he took the hot tag, rather than being worked over, also assisted his star power, BUT so what? He has been given the ball and he’s flown with it. Well done to everyone involved and watch this space with Finn.

- Roman Reigns was backstage maxing and relaxing with Renee Young. It was standard scripted Roman, putting over the whole event but especially Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville’s upcoming match before saying he would be WWE World Heavyweight champ.

- Backstage was Charlotte with Ric Flair. He, erm, he is not young. In other news, grass is green.

- It was time for a video package on Charlotte vs. Banks highlighting Charlotte as a beast and Banks as a nasty piece of work who is also a threat to the title. Nice stuff as per from the video package lads of Full Sail, especially considering NXT accidentally built Banks vs. Bayley over the last few months.

- Banks made her entrance to boos before Charlotte came in looking ready to go. It must be said the audience, while not quiet, weren’t quite as loud as they had been. The ladies will have to do some work here. Charles Robinson was the ref for this one in a twist no one saw coming. JoJo, after not losing her mojo (10 Points to anyone getting that reference), handled formal introductions.It’s worth noting Charlotte wore Banks’s merch to the ring in a cheeky last-minute, heat-seeking dig. Charles Robinson holding up the title made this suddenly important and real and the crowd fired up actually getting behind Sasha. There was one part of the video package where she pointed out that being from a non-Hall of Fame family meant she had to work to get to the WWE. Perhaps Full Sail cottoned onto this or maybe they just wanted to see someone new hold the title. The only thing I can confirm is that (A) I was very excited for this and (B) if there were any conceivable problems with heat on either lady it’s due to the writing leading up to this match having bad focus.

Sasha threw her shirt in Charlotte’s face to start, firing up the champ. Charlotte and Banks started going back and forth with slaps and strikes before Charlotte’s chops saw her take advantage. That was until Banks rolled to the outside and used the distraction to whip Charlotte into the ring steps. Back in the ring this was the first two count of the match. The announcers once again explored the intricacies of the storyline, as Banks hit her trademark double knees off the second turnbuckle in the corner. The champ eventually managed to back Banks into the corner once she got to her feet, but as she attempted to make some space, Banks grabbed the back of Charlotte’s hair and slammed her to the mat. She then locked in a figure-four headlock a la Charlotte, running her mouth the entire time. Corey posed the interesting question pf the daughter of the dirtiest player of the game should be falling for these antics.

Sasha repeatedly tried to slam poor Charlotte’s face in the floor until eventually Charlotte hulked up and got to her feet, Banks on her shoulders the entire time. She then fell into an electric chair drop to draw warm applause from Full Sail for the entire spot. Charles Robinson began a count and got to eight before Banks got to her feet. It was then Charlotte in control, though, hitting a nasty neckbreaker out of a suplex attempt.

They started trading bombs in the center of the ring. Charlotte then hit a spear which turned Banks inside out. That was rad. She tried to charge Banks in the corner, but took a kick for her troubles, followed by a drop toehold. More stuff happened (the pace of this match is ridiculous) and Charlotte was doing her best to lock in a figure-four, but Banks pulled her over into a small package. Although again it was only a two, Banks followed up with a hangman's neckbreaker. Three covers and three two counts later Sasha was screaming in frustration, which allowed Charlotte the time to recover slightly before hitting a t-bone suplex. The crowd chanted ‘This is Wrestling’ clearly trying to send the message to WWE that women’s wrestling is a real, credible aspect of wrestling that if respected and given the right amount of time and creative energy can be an asset to any card. You know what, they’re blooming right. WWE this match is a message to you. Pull your socks up and respect yo ladies.

Charlotte ascended the ropes and tried for a moonsault, but Banks moved. Charlotte, ever the artist, landed on her feet before flipping forward into a vicious senton leg drop thing that crushed poor little Sasha. It looked a potential three, but Banks got a foot on the bottom rope. Charlotte tried for a Razor's Edge into the corner, but Sasha dropped out the back and shoved Charlotte into the turnbuckle. She then drove Charlotte into the turnbuckle with her feet before setting up Charlotte on the top seemingly for a superplex. Charlotte, though, hit a perfect gordbuster before managing a Natural Selection from the top to a standing Banks. Wow! What a ruddy match!

Charlotte brought the A-Game we’ve seen in the past while Banks brought an A-Game I didn’t even know existed. She sold, she taunted, and she was utterly fantastic. In a night of big stars I was expecting Sasha to maybe fall into the background, but I couldn’t be more wrong. This was a break-out for both Banks and women’s wrestling in WWE in general and certainly my pick for women’s match of the year. Superb superb superb. That’s all there is to say.

- Main event time with 40 minutes left on the clock. If you’re still with me I’m glad to have you on-board chum. Match of the Year contender incoming!

The video package of the night got things going covering all the bases it needed to. I will say I think they should have gone back even further than they did, as these two have had a rivalry which stretches back almost a year. Still, that would have taken time which could be spent on the match, and I like wrestling when these two are involved so I’m fine with that being skipped.

Sami Zayn made his entrance with Full Sail full of signs and dancing fans. Revelling in the sheer joy of this moment was very lovely. Sami is not just over; he’s a friend to the entire NXT Universe and a friend who has been cheated out of the title by a sneaky Geordie hobbit. Said sneaky Hobbit made his entrance to beautiful boos as Sami sat in the corner looking unimpressed and focused on the task at hand. As Neville’s music died down, the Ole’s reigned supreme, ringing as loud as you could expect this many to manage. JoJo handled formal ring introductions as the crowd went mental over Sami. Ding ding ding. THE EXCITEMENT IS REAL. I mean I’ve already seen it but I’m immediately hyped. That’s how good this is. It’s comparable to The Rock’s return in 2012 where you can still watch back with the excitement of a little girl thanks to the electricity of the crowd. It’s on a smaller scale, but watching back the start of this match, you get those chills, you feel that power and you get one of those moments that reminds you why you love wrestling.

Sami soaked up the moment to the frustration of Neville before they began to tangle with some chain wrestling. Graves name-dropped the Tyne Weir derby, a football (yes football, I’m in the majority here) match between local rivals Sunderland and Newcastle as a metaphor for Neville’s thinking. There’s a man who has done his research. Gold star and an apple for you boy!

They were totally even to start as Neville encouraged Zayn to bring it. The sparring and skirmishing continued as both men tried to find an advantage. The second Sami was grounded the crowd would rally, while the commentators did another fantastic job at breaking down both competitors, their weaknesses, and what they will need to do to win the match. MMMMMM.

Neville who had the smallest of advantages used his speed and agility to stay safe. That was until a big tilt-a-whirl backbreaker sent Neville rolling to the outside. Zayn made his way onto the apron, flashed a kick onto Neville’s chin before hitting a huge Arabian press moonsault flooring Adrian. Neville got to his feet, looking frustrated and took the full eight count to get into the ring. The announcers pointed out he could have chosen to simply walk away and retain perhaps putting him in a slightly more positive light. Zayn hit a reverse heel kick for a close two and then continued to give Adrian issues with a backslide.

Neville fought back with an uppercut, followed by a dropkick to the back of the head, before settling into a chinlock. Sami rolled Neville off only to get smashed with an uppercut for a two. Neville continued to take things slow as Zayn fed off of an Ole chant to get to his feet. He was met by Adrian’s boots coming off the second rope with a missile dropkick. Adrian got cocky and started mocking Zayn, only for Zayn to fire up and hit a big clothesline. Adrian popped him up off the ropes, only to be hit with a dropkick that sent Neville reeling to the outside. As Zayn went sprinting into the ropes for plancha number five, Neville darted back in and hit a powerful headscissor takedown to cut off Sami. So often with a lucha move it looks like both parties are participating rather than one guy is trying to out-wrestle the other. The same cannot be said for this. It was tremendous.

Here came Neville ready to dive to the outside, but this time is was Zayn who bounded in and pressed him over the top rope. Oh are you ready? Have a drink guys! Plancha number six! I’m definitely making a game out of this. Sami powered up, going to the top rope, before hitting a big cross-body on Neville in the center of the ring. A two count later, Sami was collecting himself, selling the effects of the match so far. That’s important folks.

Reversal reversal reversal, and Sami had Neville on his shoulders somehow. He transitioned into a beautiful Blue Thunder Bomb for another two. Full Sail, still just as invested as at the start started up a ‘This is awesome’ chant, followed by a chant for Zayn. The two men wearily got to their feet and Neville started hitting a series of forearm smashes. Sami stood and took them, each time refusing to go down. He then fired up, pressing his forehead to Neville’s willing him to take another shot. They then started exchanging forearm after forearm before a clothesline from Zayn seemingly had him on top. When he went for a corner attack, though, Neville got his boot up once again, catching Sami right under the chin. Sami fell back seemingly in perfect position for the Red Arrow as Full Sail began a ‘No!’ chant. He went up, and came flying down but no! Sami got his knees up. Koji Clutch for Zayn! Neville managed to desperately slide his body back just far enough to get his toe on the rope. That’s how you sell getting to the ropes to escape a painful submission: the second he got close enough his foot was on that rope, but he stayed out of range for long enough to sell the potential submission. It’s the little details like these which turn a wrestler from good to great.

Zayn, fired up and focused eventually went for an exploder into the turnbuckle. Neville, looking worried, managed to glory roll through into a close two count. In kicking out Neville’s head cracked the ref’s. Sami looked conflicted before checking on the ref. Full Sail screamed at him to stay on Neville and go for the kill, but instead, heartbreakingly, he turned into a massive superkick from Neville who then hit a disgusting reverse-rana. That seemed enough as Neville went for the cover, but no! What a kick-out! What a nearfall! Full Sail exploded into Oles as a replay of the rana showed how rough of a bump that was for Sami.

Neville picked up Sami to his feet and they started firing back and forth with forearms, struggling to stay on their feet. Sami ducked a forearm and hit a German Suplex, and another, before hitting a final signature chimera suplex, with a half nelson on one arm and a chicken wing on the other (thank you, Mah Dry Bread for the name of that one!). Neville wisely rolled to the outside, but Zayn hit his incredible torpedo DDT through the second and bottom turnbuckle to make send everyone bonkers. Neville sold like a champ as everyone was losing their mind sensing it may finally be Zayn’s time.

Neville was swiftly rolled into the ring, foolishly perhaps propping himself up in the corner. As Zayn came charging in for the helluva kick, Neville sort of grabbed the ref and pulled him across to take the brunt of the kick. Although this wasn’t that clean it was the only slight botch of the match and Sami made enough contact to justify the ref selling. Graves then did the leg work protecting the spot pointing out Neville had pulled the ref in the way. Full Sail started a ‘this ref sucks’ chant as Sami tried to get some life into the ref. On the other side of ring, Neville was sliding into the ring under the bottom rope, title in hand. Once spotted, every finger in Full Sail was pointing at Neville desperately trying to get Zayn’s attention on Neville. Zayn responded swinging around with a big boot to catch Neville and causing him to drop the title in front of Zayn.

Title in play, ref down, Sami had a choice. He picked up the belt, had a little swear (which was caught by the editing team who swiftly silenced the feed), and readied himself to use the belt and finally seal himself as champion. Full Sail willed him to fight on like a proper sportsman, begging him to drop the title and win the match clean. Sami, afflicted , looked down trying to find it in himself to seal the deal and finish off Neville once and for all. The audio cut out again as Zayn clearly said, ‘No, no, f--- that’ before going to toss the title aside. Neville sprung up and went for a schoolboy! ‘Not again!’ screamed Rich Brennan. But no! Kick out from Zayn!

We were into the final straight and Neville tried to charge Zayn in the corner. Big mistake! A huge capture suplex from Zayn into the turnbuckle had him set to win. He charged across the ring to the other turnbuckle and turned to face a groggy Neville in the corner. The camera cut to a close up of Zayn, who seemed totally focused, almost expressionless. He used his hand to wipe his face, stared at Neville momentarily and charged in. BOOM! Thunderous helluva kick saw Neville stumble forward and collapse. Cover. One...two...three. He did it! Full Sail was ecstatic with people jumping and hugging and crying, just absolutely overcome by the moment which has been months in the build. The sound cut out again as Zayn screamed ‘I’M THE F*CKING MAN!’ That you are Sami.

This is what five stars looks like people. And not like, my five stars, I’m talking those legit James Caldwell PWTorch confirmed stars. It was perfect storytelling supported by perfect wrestling. I’ve said enough about the storyline leading up to this but on the night, they managed even more. Firstly in terms of wrestling what these two do better than anyone else I’ve seen is they are constantly trying to win the match, while still doing all the theatrics that makes wrestling fun. The way Neville got to the ropes, the way that before every big move we had five or six reversals to lead into it and the way that every pin was deep and an attempt to keep the opponent’s shoulders on the mat made this all feel like sports and hence suspending disbelief was easy as pie. And then on the other end of the wresting spectrum we had the ref bumps which were well-thought-out and certainly added brilliantly to the match. The drama and emotion of Sami’s affliction over using the belt was a powerful moment and one that eventually completed his characters arc.

Zayn probably got a slap on the wrist backstage for the swearing, but apart from that this was a perfect athletic and dramatic performance. Neville also played his part perfectly, selling big when he had to while keeping his heel persona alive even with his flashy offence. Never again will someone get booed for doing a 360 shooting star press. It literally won’t happen until Neville turns heel again. Add in a fantastic announcing job, a hot as lava crowd and the amazing moment where Sami won the title to complete his journey and this was perfect. Just perfect.

I’ve watched this match five times now and although nothing will replicate my first experience, it’s still special to see two total geniuses at the height of their game go at it with the backing of a great crowd and a great story. I’d say that’s about the best way I can sum this up. Well done to both of them.

- After the match, a well-deserved ‘Thank you, Neville’ chant broke out for the now former champion. The locker room poured out with Kevin Owens breaking through the pack to embrace his best friend. This was all so awesome, and seeing these two hug? Well, I felt like I was in the middle. Pat Patterson was in the mix, too, as was Sami Callihan (now Solomon Crowe) and questionably Tyler Breeze. Angelo Dawkins and Buddy Murphy carried Zayn around the ring as everyone bathed in the amazing moment.

The Superstars began to fall back revealing Neville who had made his way to his feet. Neville stared down Zayn, who placed his title to one side and offered a hand. Neville looked at it and kicked it away; drawing boos, only to then wrap up Zayn for in warm embrace. Full Sail was elated and so was I. Man that’s so awesome and real, and in many ways brings Neville’s character arc full circle, too.

The long celebrations continued as Full Sail stayed on their feet to celebrate with Zayn, who was now alone in the ring. Giving Zayn’s title win a chance to breathe like this really cashes in full on all the work NXT had done to get to this point. He left the ring and sat on the apron, light bouncing off the title onto his face taking everything in. Once again Kevin Owens came into shot to embrace his friend in a moment which felt just as special as their first hug. As the logo for R-Evolution came up the announcers signed off letting Zayn’s music play out the show as the two buds made their way up the ramp......

Then, What?! What? No, they can't. NXT, you are so dirty. As they walked up to the entrance Owens grabbed Zayn by the throat and slammed him hard onto the ramp leaving Full Sail absolutely baffled and incensed. After a slight stutter, Owens then scooped up Zayn, and hit a monstrous powerbomb onto the ring apron. Owens stood there, looking down at his work, still bleeding from the cut over the bridge of his nose from the opening match. He then made his way up the ramp without saying a word. William Regal spilled out the back pushing Owens as if to say, ‘What are you doing?’ Owens walked straight past him, as the cameras caught a fantastic furious expression on the face of Regal who stared daggers into the back of Owens’s head. So much goodness. Mmm. Regal then rushed to Sami’s aid screaming for some medics. This felt very real and the crowd quickly became hushed in concern of Sami’s health. Sami sold a concussion as the show closed.

So, here is what happened. WWE gave a contract to my favourite wrestler and then put him in a feud with his best opponent from the indies. That’s actually really happened. I didn’t make it up, this isn’t my fantasy booking, it’s actually happened. Allow me a moment to change my trousers.

In all seriousness, NXT just made an immediate star out of Owens. They built his promos around the idea that everyone around him was called up first, but this was now his chance. How better do you do pay off that concept than to have him destroy his former best friend and the new NXT champion Sami Zayn? There isn’t a better way. It’s totally perfect and a slice of genius. I love it. And now, we can sit back and enjoy a feud between these two which, although we have in some ways seen before, is effectively totally fresh as Sami can actually use a mic and his facial expressions now. This isn’t Generico vs. Steen, this is Zayn vs. Owens and I am ruddy stoked for this.

So, what is there left to say? NXT Takeover R-Evolution was better than any wrestling event I saw in 2014. It had everything you could want: a great tag match, a really great women’s match, a perfect main event singles match followed by an earth-shattering angle which did to the wrestling world what Kim Kardashian attempted to do to the internet with her posterior. I love wrestling thanks to nights like this and I want to extend a genuine thank you to everyone who did anything to make this happen.

I also want to say thank you to you lovely reader as that’ll about do it for me. I am ruddy exhausted, I won’t lie, but it’s equally been great fun to pull apart this amazing show like a great big Christmas turkey. However, I have now run out of words so I really hope you join me for a review of the follow-up show, which is sure to be good (I’ve used all the superlatives in the thesaurus so good’ll have to do) as well as some new rankings featuring Balor, Hideo, and movement all over the shop. What a ruddy hook! In the interim thank you for your time and if you have anything you want to tweet at me go for it @GeorgeChiverton, but otherwise I look forward to your company next week. Love you bye.

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