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QUESTION OF THE DAY: What was your favorite match from NXT Brooklyn? NXT Takeover: Brooklyn Review Nearly 25 years ago, I saw Jushin Liger wrestle for the first time. Hard to believe that I actually sat and watched him on this NXT special at all, much less watched him perform at a really high level given his advancing age. I was admittedly distracted by the visible "DOC L.O.P." sign held up over the right ring post, but after I refocused on the match itself, I was pretty impressed. Tyler Breeze is a good wrestler who owns his character, but I've yet to see him knock a match out of the park (**1/2). Nia Jax...love seeing vignettes for female wrestlers... The NXT Tag Team Championships changing hands was a nice surprise. As a non-regular viewer, at least on a weekly basis, I thought that the VaudeVillains were a curious choice for this match, but Gotch and English - much like Breeze - do a great job with their gimmick; and so it works for them. The match was great. Blake and Murphy are like a couple of Jerry Lynns. Their high octane style clicked with the challengers, the four of them demonstrating a chemistry clearly born from wrestling each numerous times (if I'm wrong on that then it's even more impressive). The Tag Team scene in WWE is improving across the board as the modus operandi is "push the limit with pace" and get in a few convincing false finishes (***1/4). Apollo Crews had a nice debut, albeit short and somewhat limiting. I've studied up on him and there's no limit to what he can do athletically. We got a small taste of that tonight. That's fine. What he did looked great. That was the first time, by the way, that I had seen Tye Dillinger perform and thought his gimmick was a riot. Looking forward to seeing what the future holds for the former Uhaa Nation. Back in the mid-2000s, I was a supporter of TNA Wrestling and one of my favorites was Samoa Joe. I had not seen him wrestle since 2007 before tonight. He still looks like a dangerous combination of speed and skill wrapped into an unusual package. I was not expecting him to win. This was Baron Corbin's biggest match to date and it seemed logical to me that he would win; that Joe would be used to put Corbin over. Alas, I was wrong and I'm now curious to see what's next for Joe. I will say this about Corbin - he's better as a heel. He seems right at home in the role of former football player that hardcore fans believe will be gifted everything on a silver platter because of his background. Perhaps Corbin's best performance to date (which isn't saying much yet, but it's progress) (**1/2). Bayley vs. Sasha Banks was undoubtedly the match I was looking forward to most, tied with the Ladder match for the NXT Title. I have become a huge fan of Sasha Banks and relish each chance to see her in big match scenarios. Bayley has a persona that I think will get over nicely on the main roster. Her entrance is over the top, but on the fine line to walk between silly (see Emma's past)and endearing, Bayley stays on the side that could make her a star. Here's the thing about the Divas Revolution, though: they can't miss an opportunity to impress. Night's like tonight are what will feed the revolution and make it more than just a tagline. It sure helps the perception of the females when the NXT Women's Champion comes out in an Escalade with a security team. And good Lord does it help the perception of women's wrestling when two of your top females can have a classic match! That was the best women's match I've ever seen. I said two months ago that Becky Lynch vs. Sasha gave Trish vs. Mickie James at Mania 22 a run for its money despite it not having the intangibles. Bayley vs. Sasha takes the cake; that's my kneejerk reaction anyway. As my buddy Tony rightly put it, "This is legit wrestling." Some of those spots were amazing, folks. It's so easy to get swept up in these matches even if you don't watch NXT regularly because the crowd is so invested; it permeates through the internet to my Network stream and captures my imagination. It's fantastic to watch. Upon further review, I bumped it to the elusive 5-star status. That's the most psychologically stimulating, emotive, perfectly executed match of 2015. Diamonds are forever; and so are the Four Horsewomen (*****) !! NXT Taking Over London! Good for you guys in the UK. 'Bout time they got something more than just RAW. The Ladder match had a heck of an act to follow. The story was there. KO's promo last week was spot on and sold the match to the audience that follows this product closely - sort of a Reality Era diatribe that engages fans using, to borrow Samuel 'Plan's term, "neo kayfabe" to bring backstage news into on-screen drama. Oh, and another thing working against the match was the devisive Ladder match between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose 2 months ago. I'd say it delivered in spades. It followed the HBK-Razor formula of having a match that used a ladder instead of a match about a ladder. The future is bright, ladies and gentlemen. With wrestlers like them at the healm, expect to see fresh takes on gimmicks that integrate innovation with psychology. Owens and Balor put their bodies on the line, but they weaved their spots into the presentation as intelligently as one could expect. The climax that saw Owens attempt to Fisherman's Suplex Balor onto a ladder propped between the bottom rungs of the standing ladder and the bottom turnbuckle was very emotive. I honestly thought they might be crazy enough to do that. Luckily, they were smart enough to simply tease it. Great work to end a great night! (****1/4). That double main-event was spectacular.
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