Back Issue Diving isn't just a comic-based experience. It's also a dumping ground for the undead remnants of my other blogs! That means I'll be taking a detour through Slam City for a little wrestling review every now and again. Besides, wrestlers aren't all that different from comic book heroes. Just imagine that like, Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. wrote and drew all the stuff I'm about to tell you about. Today, I'm reviewing (as currently as possible) NXT Takeover: Philadelphia. I hear the bell, so let's get it on.
The Authors of Pain and the Undisputed Era's Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish kicked off the show with a tag title match that didn't skimp on the ring psychology. The "story" of the match saw Fish and O'Reilly work on the left leg of AoP member Akam after he botched a stomp early on. O'Reilly had ample opportunities to use his Daniel Bryan-esque grppling skills and Fish got to play the loud, vocal, cowardly heel. The match was won for Adam Cole's boys after an attempted Super-Collider dual powerbomb blew up in Akam's face thanks to his bum leg. The bad guys retain, and the Authors are left steaming with their manager, Paul Ellering. This was a great opening match and got the crowd really hyped up with dueling chants and big pops. I was also impressed with the huge reactions all four men were getting from pretty basic moves--that shows me that the audience was really invested. With this match, I also began to noticed a marked improvement by the Authors of Pain in terms of in-ring work. They've always been convinging "big man" types, but Akam and Razar got to show a little range and be vulnerable for a little bit here.
Velveteen Dream and Kassius Ohno had a tough act to follow, but they kept the momentum of the show up, for the most part. Dream is being allowed to look strong and a few more matches like this will catapult to him to the top of NXT as a surprise babyface. His character feels more complete now than it did in his firt few outings and the offense he's settled into is devastatingly effective. He and Ohno were sort of thrown together at the last minute here, and booking wise it's a good way to keep Dream strong after his absence and last Wednesday's loss to Gargano. The match had a few potential Botchamania moments, including a very sloppy looking burning hammer type move near the end. It wasn't enough to derail things, although I'd say the crowd wasn't as into this encounter as much as the opener. Dream almost made good on his pre-match promise to knock out the Knockout Artist in 30 seconds or less, which seemed to pop the crowd in favor of Dream. Ohno did a good job here making Dream's offense look effective. Good character work here, but not the strongest match.
The NXT Women's title match between MMA specialist Shayna Baszler and reigning champ Ember Moon attempted some of the same basic ring psychology stuff that the opening bout did. This time, it was Moon's left arm witht he glaring target placed upon it, and the ruthless Baszler stayed on top of her opponent for most of the match until Ember was able to reverse an armbar and roll Baszler up for a sneaky pin. Baszler flipped out post match and attacked the already-possibly injured Moon, choking her out on the ramp. The visuals that will be taken from this match and used in later video packages with be very effective, but the match itself seemed very limited. Moon still got to hit her main high spot, injured arm and all, and Baszler got to use her armbar 47 times, but this match was played pretty simple. Baszler has great presence though, and a big upside as long as she is allowed to bounce back and get some decisive victories after this. I'm still lukewarm on Ember as champ. She doesn't quite seem to have reached that next level that Charlotte and Asuka did in their time as NXT champs.
At some point on commentary, Mauro described the next bout as a "spectacle of chaos" and I'd call that a fitting descriptor for Aleister Black vs. Adam Cole. This match moved from high spot to high spot fairly quickly and after the initial "mind games" phase of the match by Cole, it was brisk and brutal. The crescendo saw both the Undisputed Era and Sanity get involved, reminding everyone that Eric Young and co. are still waiting in the wings. Cole got a little bloodied at one point, and I have to commend either the WWE's ring crew or my fourth beer of the evening for keeping all of the unsavory "ref cleans you up because you must look like an action figure at all times" stuff out of focus. The pay off to the twin tables at ringside got a huge pop and Cole taking two propped-up chairs to the spine made me wince. The Black Mass kick that won Black the match was sudden and impactful as well. The Philly crowd got a nice homage to the glory-gory days of ECW and responded with a chant that Vince McMahon himself used to revile. Good match overall, and not as sloppy as these affairs tend to be. Both men could be NXT champion right this second and it wouldn't feel out of place and Cole's indy cred will keep him aloft, even if he has to take a few L's on his way to mainstream stardom.
The main event between Johnny Gargano and Andrade Cien Almas seemed like part of a WWE/NXT tradition. Following NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom, the 'E likes to use their Takeover shows to manufacture a 5-star macth of their own and get the conversation back on them heading into Wrestlemania (and the next Takeover). Eh, it's just a running theory I have. Anyway, Andrade and Johnny Wrestling put on the "clinic" that had thus far been missing from the show. Zelina Vega and Johnny's family being at ringside helped amp up the drama and it doesn't hurt that these are two of the best workers WWE has on contract. The match shifted into phase two when Gargano missed a senton on the outside, allowing Almas to gain the upper hand and work on Johnny's back. The match then proceeds from nearfall to nearfall with plenty of pauses for coveted "Fight Forever!" chants and even some old-school, classy applause. Vega gets involved when her man gradually loses his edge over the challenger, causing NXT's newest female wrestler to make an impromptu debut and chase the meddlesome manager out of the arena. The last act of the match sees Andrade secure a victory with a hammerlock DDT following a knee bash to the ring post on the apron. This was a long match, but it never became boring and some of the nearfalls really worked on me and the live audience. Andrade is victorious and Johnny is left to be consoled by his wife and the fans. And in classic NXT fashion, with only a minute or so left on the broadcast, we get the NXT equivalent of a Marvel post credits stinger: Tamaso Ciampa is back! He blasts Johnny with the crutches he no longer needs to nurse his leg and leaves our hero lying low.
This was yet another fine Takeover. I wouldn't put it up there with the Sami/Neville/Owens era yet, but it didn't disappoint in the slightest. My only rub is that the NXT roster is so stacked right now, some names from past Takeovers have already fallen to the wayside. Add to that the additions of Ricochet, War Machine, and EC3, and I can see a few names moving up to Raw and Smackdown real quick. Where should they go from here? Aleister Black vs. Almas? He already has a previous victory over the current champ. What about Adam Cole and Eric Young? Should we expect a one on one encounter, or are the fearsome Canadian anarchists main roster bound?
Well, that was a hoot. Next is the Royal Rumble, which I'll be doing a write-up for as soon as I can. Oh, and comics. I'll get back to comics, I promise.
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