NXT Takeover Roundtable Reviews
December 11, 2014

Sean Radican, PWTorch columnist (9.0)

Was this really a show produced by WWE? Fresh matches, storylines focused on in-ring issues, promos from the two main event talents sprinkled throughout the show to let viewers know the NXT Championship is important, and to top it all off the Steen-Generico lives on in WWE, which I never would have believed would happen in a million years. This show was fantastic.

Kevin Owens had a great debut outside of getting his nose broken with a stiff palm strike, but it was fitting to see Steen bleeding and kicking ass in the ring. If Vince McMahon sees Owens's debut and WWE doesn't get what they have in him than there's not much hope left for the future of professional wrestling. I know, I know, but spare me the it's sports entertainment spiel.

Finn Balor's entrance was something straight out of the Tokyo Dome, but somehow WWE managed to pull it off in a tiny arena at Full Sail University. Balor came off like such a star in this match and I was enthralled just watching him perform. He overshadowed everyone on the show in terms of star power.

Charlotte and Sasha Banks had a better match than anything you will get from WWE's main programs on TV and PPV. Charlotte is a fantastic performer and Banks was really good as well. It was refreshing to see two women go out there on a big stage and just wrestle.

The main event between Zayn and Neville was one of the better matches I've seen all year. It was a five star story and I was enthralled down the stretch. The ref bump didn't look great to me, but the story they told after the ref went down was incredible. Zayn battled his emotions and went back and forth between whether or not he should use the NXT Championship as a weapon or not with the ref down. In an era in WWE where "good" guys do bad things all the time, it was great to see Zayn decide to do the right thing and win the match because he did the right thing.

Owens turning on Zayn after the match blew my mind because I never expected WWE to continue a storyline from the independents. I think it's great that they are going all-in with a Zayn-Owens program right away.

I'm not a big fan of the weekly NXT program, but the live specials have been fantastic and this was a great two-hour show that left me satisfied as a wrestling fan when it was over. NXT felt fresh, vibrant, and full of exciting possibilities unlike Raw, Smackdown, and recent WWE PPV offerings. Do yourself a favor as a fan and watch this show.

Greg Parks, PWTorch columnist (8.5)

Once again, NXT has set the bar for WWE's main roster denizens at their upcoming PPV. And this time, I don't see that bar being met. NXT blew away most other WWE shows here with their latest special event on the Network. Takeover had drama, quality matches, and a satisfying payoff that also set things up for down the road. Plus, it was a newsworthy production that had people talking about multiple aspects of the show. Whatever heat Triple H had accumulated from the C.M. Punk interview is quickly wearing off in some circles of fans because of this show.

Kevin Owens's debut was memorable not only for the blood, but for the high-impact offense he brought to the table. His energy was infectious. Lucha Dragons vs. The Vaudevillains wasn't bad, but the Dragons aren't really connecting with the audience and that's something the NXT writers need to examine. Both teams are entertaining in their own ways. This match wisely didn't overstay its welcome.

Baron Corbin's squash continues to enhance his mystique. They're taking the slow burn tact with him and Bull Dempsey, which is fine with me. WWE could learn something about building drama from this and other NXT storylines. If this were WWE, they would've had their first match against each other on this show, likely with a tacked-on stipulation. Finn Balor's entrance was magnificent, WrestleMania-like even. The Ascension isn't a team that can necessarily highlight the strengths of Balor and Hideo Itami, but the babyfaces taking down a heel team that has been the kind of force The Ascension has been gives them credibility.

Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks was another fantastic women's match, something these shows have become known for. Charlotte has been the talk of developmental for the past few months, but let's not overlook Banks here; it's not like Charlotte was wrestling a broomstick. Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville is a late Match of the Year candidate. Zayn finally winning the title, and the celebration that followed, was a worthy culmination to his NXT journey. I almost would've liked to have seen Zayn get to stay on top to end the show and start the Owens feud later, but I don't think it was "wrong" to have Owens make this kind of statement on this show, either.

Justin James, NXT TV reporter

This was an incredible Takeover for a number of reasons. First, we had the explosive debut of Kevin Owens (Kevin Steen). His match with C.J. Parker made him an instant star and the blood from the cut nose set the tone for the night. The Tag Title match was pretty routine fare, but felt weak in comparison to the rest of the stellar card. The Corbin squash effectively built the simmering feud with Bull Dempsey. The Itami/Balor vs. Ascension match was very, very well done, though it’s interesting that all of the buzz around the match focused on Balor’s entrance and paint more than anything else. The women’s championship match was excellent, with Sasha Banks really stepping up to the plate and more than delivering on her end of the bargain. Charlotte continues to prove that she is one of the top wrestlers in WWE right now.

Overall, Corey Graves did a good job on commentary; he had a couple of missed cues, but this was his first night in the booth, too. I look forward to hearing him grow more comfortable in that role. I think that taking the heel Alex Riley out of that booth and replacing him with the experienced babyface Renee Young would have been the perfect mix.

The real story tonight was the Zayn vs. Neville match. These two delivered an absolutely emotionally loaded, athletically superior match. This match wrapped up Neville’s two-year climb to the top story, ending with his only defeat in 2014 (which wasn’t mentioned enough in the build). Zayn ended a two-year climb to the top story as well. Neville played this weird almost-tweener role in the last few months, being a babyface who was just willing to do a touch more than the pure babyface Zayn to keep his title. Zayn is as sympathetic as it gets. To see Zayn come to the brink of cracking, culminating in him deciding to throw the title belt to the side rather than lose his self-respect, was a moment that will stick with me for a long time. John Cena would get booed out of that building, but Zayn is loved and that says something. The end with Kevin Owens destroying Zayn and William Regal playing his role perfectly was a true surprise and so well-handled.

Four star show.

"Instant Reaction" Ben Tucker, PWTorch TV specialist (9.0)

The NXT brand once again delivered a fantastic two-hour special that reminded everyone watching why the Thursday night program is the best that WWE has to offer. Three months of consistent, slow-burn storytelling paid off in spades tonight with a well-paced and captivating card that is already looking towards the next special in (presumably) three months. It may not be considered the "A" show, but NXT delivers everything that we clamor for Raw to do; simple stories, effective payoffs, characters we can relate to and a lack of "sports entertainment" hokiness and filler.

The best example of NXT at its best tonight was the main event, featuring Sami Zayn finally capturing the NXT Championship. What was the story about? Two friends/enemies, one of which who had to prove to himself that he could actually win the big one. No authority figures, no evil general manager laptops or belts being treated like props; what was presented was a simple story that makes the NXT Championship seem like the most important belt on the planet. Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville were given plenty of time and direction to present a match that referred back to other portions of their rivalry, effectively engrossing the viewer in the story. This match emphasized the impact of "telling the story in the ring," while also proving that shenanigans such as referee bumps do have their place in wrestling if used right. The pacing was excellent, the spots were timed well, and the viewer was actually rewarded for following Zayn on his journey (unlike viewers of the main roster program, who had to sit through nine months of the Authority having the WWE Championship with no end in site). The amount of intricacies woven into the main event of Takeover are innumerable. While not quite my Match of the Year (that honor has to go to Cesaro-Zayn III from NXT Arrival), Zayn vs. Neville served as an incredible testament to the entertainment provided by NXT.

The rest of the show held up well, most notably the NXT Divas Championship match. Charlotte has developed in the ring and on the mic faster than any wrestler I have seen since Kurt Angle. Even comparing her work now to the prior Takeover event against Bailey reveals a world of difference in her in-ring performance. That does not mean that anything should be taken away from Sasha Banks, though; she was just as good as Charlotte in the ring, maintaining credibility in the ring despite being dwarfed in size. Many of the same comments made about the main event can be made here, particularly in terms of telling a story in the ring.

The first half of the program, while not as strong, had memorable moments. Finn Balor had a strong showing against the Ascension, slightly upstaging Hideo Itami with his engaging body paint entrance. The match with The Ascension was one of the brutish tag team's best, with multiple convincing nearfalls that kept the losers looking strong. Kevin Owens's debut match was similarly strong, establishing his move set and bad-ass attitude in an arguably more effective manner than either Itami or Balor were able to do in their debut matches.

The Tag Team Title match and Baron Corbin's squash, while not unpleasant, were the clear weak points of the show. Corbin did nothing new, and the championship match was only a notch above the standard NXT contest. Kalisto continues to serve as the brightest spark in the tag team division, which sadly continues to feel somewhat malnourished. That said, NXT Takeover has to be considered a huge success. The matches were nice, the pacing was excellent and the storytelling was off the charts. It's time to stop begging for Raw to somehow improve. Just turn to NXT for your fix; it's three times better, and only one-third as long! Any questions or comments? Message me on Twitter @BTuckertorch.

George Chiverton, NXT Scouting Reporter

So, wow. What a gosh darn special that is.

NXT has been my baby here at PWTorch ever since the dark days of NXT Season 2 where the likes of Kaval and Johnny Curtis went head-to-head in thrilling promo battles while the audience sat generally unamused by proceedings. Nowadays, NXT is arguably WWE's most popular product among the so called 'intelligent fans' and with nights like tonight, it's really not hard to see why.

I will be diving headfirst into the minutia of everything in my upcoming column later on this week, but for now some headline thoughts coming out of the show. Firstly, WWE now has four or five mega-stars at NXT. Sami Zayn had the opportunity to pay off almost a year of build and the second he and Neville started locking up you knew that this was not going to be an opportunity missed. These guys have wrestled house shows, indies, and in several countries across the world and they brought their absolute A-Game tonight. The moment of Sami winning was sensational, and confirmed both him and Neville to be two of the best in the business today.

However, I'd argue that the big story coming out of Takeover are that new stars are here, are hungry and are coming for the WWE. Sasha Banks raised her game and rightfully got more attention than she's ever got, while Finn Balor seems to be knocking it out of the park with every single opportunity. However the big one, and yes I've been dancing around this, is Kevin Owens. I have waxed lyrical on the love I had for Kevin Steen and WWE seems to have said to him: hey wanna be the best? Prove it.

THEN HE DID! Seeing Owens and Zayn hugging after Zayn's match was such a moment for me, and having seen C.J. Parker do his best to put his hand through Owen's face I thought the festivities were surely over. The swerve then happened and I was left crippled on the floor by having too much excitement and an inability to express myself (I wasn't hugged much as a child). For me, this turn was a wrestling moment that immediately goes up with those intangible perfect wrestling moments like Rock returning in 2011, Stone Cold's music hitting at Mania this year, or Punk's shoot promo on Raw. Zayn and Owens were a part of the greatest rivalry in recent ROH history in a long-lasting, high-arching storyline that was completely perfect in every way (ignoring that it probably took five years off both men's careers).

And yet to see it all over again in NXT is going to be amazing. For one, Zayn is de-Generico-ed and we can now look forward to promo exchanges between two dudes with amazing chemistry and years of stories and experience to pull from. Zayn is champion, Owens is a monster, and Neville is still out and about to add a third element if needs be.

So the question is now, how hard and fast do they push Owens? You see the moon up there WWE? Push him there. Heck, I want to see him debut on Raw and do this to Cena. Joking aside WWE gave Owens everything he needed to be a star on Thursday, and he ran with it. He's clearly lost weight, which would suggest he is getting on with everyone in terms of fitness regimes (looking at you Chris Hero) and now he will push on to be the most amazing thing to happen in ages. ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN.

Overall, WWE needs to do this sort of thing more. Takeover was chuffing amazing. The only sad note is the retiring of Corey Graves from in-ring competition. Graves was awesome in the ring and brought an incredible look with a unique technical striking style. He could have been a player, but concerns over concussions should be taken seriously and I'm glad we live in an age that concussions are recognised and caught early. Best of luck to his new career in commentary.

I'll leave it there, but if you want to read my full thoughts, keep an eye out for a bumper article this week. If you prefer the audio medium I was also a part of an episode of The Hero is Wrestling Podcast straight after Takeover which can be found on Facebook. This is a non-PWTorch affiliated podcast, so obviously read everything PWTorch puts out first, but if you want to get a sense of my immediate reaction (which can largely be reduced to a series of guttural grunts and moans), then check it out. Just as a warning, we are a bit sweary because we got very excited. My apologies.

James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor (9.0

This was all about the culmination of a hero's journey to the top of the mountain and turning down the shortcut when he's been cut off time and time again. It was a classic, refreshing, great babyface story for Sami Zayn, complete with one heck of a main event between Zayn and Adrian Neville. For WWE fans in the John Cena Era, it must have been odd to hear a main event where the crowd is 100 percent behind the babyface instead of divided into "Let's Go Cena / Cena Sucks" chants. The slow build, Zayn as a likable figure, and Zayn being outright great in the ring really endeared him to the Full Sail audience, which was ready to explode when the three count registered. NXT is on a much smaller scale than main WWE television, but the same basic booking principles can still be applied to main TV. This, not a niche Adam Rose act, translates to the masses.

Elsewhere, Kevin Owens brought all the intensity and then underhandedness at the most inopportune time you would expect from a guy who has played a maniac or tortured soul character for a long time. Flashing back to earlier in the show, you could almost see this coming when Zayn was sitting down in his locker room preparing for the biggest match of his career, Owens sat down near him in the locker room after his heavily-anticipated debut match, and Zayn never acknowledged him because he was too focused on the match. It plays in perfectly to Steen's sense of being over-looked, and then taking the spotlight from Zayn to make sure he's not over-looked anymore. Subtle, effective, smart use of a backstage segment.

And, then there's Charlotte. She will definitely dominate the Divas division in 2015, but how far can she go on the main roster? A Big Four match at WrestleMania? Seriously. She would obviously need another big-time female opponent, but what about wrestling for the WWE World Title? Seriously. She's that good and she can still grow as a wrestler this early in her career. Plus, she has more presence and height than half of the main roster - two big traits in Vince McMahon's Book of What a WWE Main Event Star Looks Like. WWE will never admit it, but you have to think they're paying attention to the growth of UFC's women's division. McMahon would want to top what UFC is doing, and the right person for that in a few years appears to be Charlotte.

Overall, this special captured how NXT's writing is all about consistency, the little things, and using the tools in the toolbox effectively. It helps having a hungry, up-and-coming roster and writing staff placed in an environment to succeed with WWE's budget. Even if the ulterior motive is to create the world's largest independent promotion where WWE embraces - instead of runs away from - the independent/international wrestling stars who have the biggest underground following. By the time the guys are ready for the main roster, they've already been "endorsed by WWE" and won't be the rebellious C.M. Punks and Daniel Bryans who go against the mold of a "WWE Superstar" and weren't supposed to get over, making the company look silly when the audience rebels against the product, like this year's Royal Rumble when the audience wanted Bryan, but WWE told them they wanted Batista. But, Punk and Bryan did get over, not because of WWE's booking, but on their own. Now, WWE is working with the next wave of talent to get credit for "making the stars" who are too small (Zayn), don't talk right (Neville), or are too big (Owens), and endorsing them before they hit the main roster to quell any future crowd rebellions. Even if the stars are good enough to get over on their own, despite "not fitting the part," as evidenced by the quality of wrestling in the main event of Zayn vs. Neville, which WWE brought over from an ROH/DGUSA ring to WWE Network. Now, they're bringing over the Zayn vs. Owens/Steen feud that set ROH on fire five years ago. Regardless of the game being played, for viewers, it's a great time to watch a wrestling-based product flourish and be taken seriously on a big stage.

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