WWE’s developmental brand set up shop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania tonight for the first installment of TakeOver in 2018. This is one promising card, with a main event that could set the bar incredibly high in the ‘Match of the Year’ race: Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas vs. Johnny Gargano. Folks….it’s time….LET’S GOOOOOOOO!
Main Show
NXT Tag Team Championship: Undisputed Era def. The Authors of Pain – Thought this was a strong showing for both teams. Kinda seems like now’s the time to call the Authors of Pain up to the main roster as they’ve done about all they can do in developmental. This was a clinic in tag team psychology by these two teams. Undisputed Era attempting to isolate each Author of Pain and “chop the tree down,” and ultimately, getting the win when O’Reilly capitalized on a mishap between Akam and Rezar. Just brilliant tag team stuff. Rating: 7.5/10.
Velveteen Dream def. Kassius Ohno – The best part of any Velveteen Dream entrance is when I get up and mimic it in the room. By the way, was that guy holding a cock ring on a pillow for Dream? Oh, you know what – that was a mouthpiece. My bad. Anyway, what a fun, entertaining match. If they do him right, Dream could be a mega star. Loved what Dream’s guarantee of a 30-second knockout did for the start of the match, and the Philly crowd played right into it. Little lag towards the end as it appeared Ohno had no idea how to wrestle for a minute. It looked like Dream carried him through the end of the match. But, Velveteen Dream gets the W after a big elbow drop. Rating: 6/10.
NXT Women’s Championship: Ember Moon def. Shayna Baszler – I’ll admit. I’m not in on Baszler yet. Didn’t think she really sold…like…anything well in this match. She gets kicked in the face and she just bumps. But, it’s clear to see that there’s immense potential here as a heel. Stomping on Moon’s twisted arm was SICK, and when she started working said arm, the crowd responded with a chorus of boos. She has a cocky presence and the pedigree to be a dominant champion.
She continued to work the arm, and Mauro Ranallo did an excellent job selling Moon’s grit and heart. Beautiful moment where Moon hits the Eclipse but is in too much pain to make the cover. Moon gets the shocking pin after turning Baszler’s arm bar into a pin fall. Baszler beats down Moon and chokes her out after the match to further her villain aura. Very well done. Rating: 7/10.
Extreme Rules Match: Aleister Black def. Adam Cole (bay bay) – The entrances of these two guys alone was enough to give me chills. Then, the bell rings and it’s an excellent display of mind games. Cole grabs a chair and shouts, “you should be afraid of me” at Black. But, Black apprehends the chair and tosses Cole out of the ring. Just subtle brilliance by two of the best in the world.
The timing on Black’s moonsault that ended with a kendo stick shot to the gut by Cole was impeccable. And, Cole followed that up by selling just how dangerous he is, yelling it into Black’s ears. Somewhere along the way, Cole was busted open somewhere…hand bloody as hell, blood on his legs, on his chest. We’re just gonna go with it, I guess.
Weird spot where Black throws Cole onto a ladder and he lands in the most implausible fashion, but holy shit was it awesome. Black takes a superkick with a chair, falls off the turnbuckle and through two tables on the outside, and folks…this is what an Extreme Rules match should look like.
O’Reilly and Fish get involved, Sanity makes the save – Cole is probably paralyzed, concussed, and bleeding at this point. Black double knees the motherfucker through an announce table and beats him with Black Mass. I have no idea how no one is dead, but here we are. Quite simply – that was phenomenal on all fronts. Rating: 9/10.
NXT Championship: Andrade “Cien” Almas def. Johnny Gargano – This is just elite skill on display. Give these two guys the spotlight in any arena on any given day and it will deliver. Just superb. I really just sat back and enjoyed it. Brilliant display of agility and athleticism…loaded with counters and near falls. No one should be surprised that this was an instant classic. I can’t write words to describe this match. Almas gets the win, and we watched the greatest match in NXT history. Rating: 10/10.
Overall: 8.5/10. The undercard was fun, but nothing like TakeOvers in the past. But, the last two matches, especially the main event, were outstanding. Closing the show with a returning Ciampa was excellent. All in all, one of the best wrestling shows in a long time.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
Buy our shirt. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Listen on SoundCloud. Watch on YouTube. Shop our store on Redbubble.
