|
Welcome back to the EXCELLENCE IN COLUMN WRITING exclusively here at LordsofPain.net / WrestlingHeadlines.com. Today, the NXT Takeover: The End (of the Beginning) Pay Per View review from the WWE Network. I'm feeling kind of bummed because this NXT Pay Per View could be a legitimate end of an era and I wonder if part of Takeover's name is alluding to it. There is a good chance that after this Takeover event, the NXT roster is going to get raided by the WWE Main Roster in order to satisfy the RAW/Smackdown brand extension part deux. What a shame... Triple H, William Regal, Albert, and other trainers have built a legitimate brand without having a hyped draft on Cable networks. NXT took the developmental talent that was built from the bottom up (lost the Shield during late 2012 and later Wyatts, Rusev, etc.) and added various Independent talents to mix things up perfectly. Better yet, NXT made Women's wrestling under a WWE banner become a drawing entity with those Bayley vs. Sasha Banks battles and adding Asuka while the Tag Team division has quickly become a sight to behold. To me, the midcard of NXT is every bit as entertaining, if not more, than the Main Event scene. Other internet fans like Finn Balor more than I do, but he's turned in good matches to enjoy along with Samoa Joe. In other words, NXT has presented something everyone and it puts the emphasis on FEUDS and TITLES... You know, something that WWE's main roster forgets about. But now, the FOOLISH attempt by the WWE to split up a thin WWE Main Roster will cause NXT to get raided. This completely ignores how NXT has become a legitimate draw for the WWE Network and they've actually drawn well on the road. Considering their exposure is to, at most, 1,000,000 WWE Network subscribers, the fact that they can pack arenas is quite astounding. However, the WWE is willing to throw that away for McMahon feud #103040405 and trying to make a secondary show, Smackdown, relevant again. IDIOTIC and even with NXT's talent call-ups, the WWE Main Roster will STILL be too thin to fill 5 freakin' hours of live television. And then, we'll get a thin and inexperienced NXT roster after the talent raid. Thanks WWE. It was great while it lasted, folks... Funny how the WWE already had a brand extension in place and they will have taken it for granted once the RAW/Smackdown split occurs. Mr. Tito's PHAT NXT Takeover: The End of the Beginning Review First match was Tye Dillinger ("Perfect 10") versus Andrade "Cien" Almas... Never saw Cien (if that's what he'll go by), so I'm curious to see him for the first time. I have seen Dillinger lose many, many times now... Dillinger has stepped up his game this time around, though, as he appears far more aggressive towards Cien than his other enhancement matches. Good to see... Despite that effort, Cien hit a beautiful move that converted into a bulldog and then destroyed Dillinger in the corner with a double knee. But in a comment that would make Ryback proud, Tye Dillinger did great work to make the newcomer look good in his debut. Actually, I was more impressed with Dillinger in this match... [ **1/2 ] Second, we have American Alpha vs. the Revival. American Alpha dominates to start and we get an amazing spot where the Revival were both flipped into Anklelocks. That was an amazing spot. Can't help but noticed how awesome both teams look in matching tights. Little details like that is how NXT gets it right. The chemistry between these teams is perfect... They know when to sell and both teams operate in unison on many double team moves. Both teams are WWE main roster ready now, although I wish they'd stay forever... Gable plays the "face in peril" and he's selling many double team moves like a champ. Just seeing Gable sell the urgency to get a tag is how it's done, folks, and the heels are doing everything to keep Gable away. Hot tag and Jordan destroys everybody with many suplexes. I like the touch of pulling down the straps... I know that it's ripping off Kurt Angle, but you can see the Kurt Angle influence on Jordan... So it's a valid tribute. Revival always responds well with perfectly executed heel double team moves... Many, many near falls but eventually, the Revivals double team efforts fend off American Alpha's finisher (Gable was pushed out of the ring hard!) and Revival hits their finisher to win the match. That was DAMN GOOD and without flaws. BEST tag team match of the year, folks. [ ****1/2 ] OK - We're 1-1 in this series... Come on, WWE... Give us BEST 2-out-of-3 FALLS or for the first time ever, an Ironman match... OH WAIT, scratch that... 2 big hoss like wrestlers come down and obliterate American Alpha. I was about to rip this segment but then "Precious" Paul Ellering, former manager of the Legion of Doom/Road Warriors, appears. OK, I'll save my criticisms for later... Ellering is here and I'll give some benefit of the doubt provided how good of a manager he was (except for that puppet). But damn it, I want MORE Revival vs. American Alpha!!!! Backstage, Asuka is training and an injured Bayley stops by to shake her hand... Austin Aries vs. Shinsuke Nakamura is up next... Can I say what needs to be said? I'm just not impressed with the TNA acquisitions into NXT. If I wanted to watch those guys wrestle, wouldn't I have tuned into TNA Impact weekly? Goes to show you why Vince avoided TNA guys for years. Now, Nakamura, I didn't see before he joined NXT and he impressed me with ONE match. He's unique... And that's why I want to watch more of him compared to these TNA imports. LOVE the fans signing along with the theme. NXT fans agree with me, as the "Nakamura" chants are just crushing the "Austin Aries" ones. Early on, this match is proving how GOOD Sami Zayn is based on the lack of energy in this match that Zayn/Nakamura had at Takeover Dallas. Just no energy or flow in this match match, but oddly enough, it's mostly Nakamura spending much of the match selling offense for Aries. Nice spot, though, with Aries diving through the ropes and into Nakamura hanging on the railing. Railing seems closer to the ring, no? Good moves are getting hit, don't get me wrong... Just no rhythm or any links between each move. Aries tried to dive into the railing again on the outside but missed... Nakamura unloads with offense and knees his way to defeat Aries. Overall, as I said, some nice moves hit but the flow was off. Just moves being hit without any links to prior moves or psychology of working on a specific body part or weakness. Then again, I could just be so damn spoiled by the Zayn match that everything else is disappointing. [ *** 3/4 ] Asuka vs. Nia Jax for the NXT Women's Title is our next bout... Based on Bayley's injury, I feel that this match-up was a bit rushed. They could have kept going with Asuka/Bayley and then have Jax bulldoze over whomever wins that feud. Jax is still a newer superstar although she does have some good heat early into her career. Both of these ladies, along with Bayley, are what the WWE Main Roster needs... Unique characters with great looks that can draw. For this match, though, we're seeing a repeat of Aries/Nakamura. The babyface is just selling non-stop instead of what it should be: even back and forth between 2 wrestlers. However, to Jax's credit, she's using her size advantage to punish Asuka with better psychology. It works better because Asuka uses strikes and weardown/power moves correctly counter that. However, the payoff becomes when Asuka is finally free, she can unload kicks... Took a lot to take the giant down and Nia even absorbed a few before the final blow knocked her out. I really liked the psychology of this match and I thought Nia Jax had a great outing. Good job, as I'd love to see a rematch to top this match. [ *** 1/2 ] Bobby Roode wants to meet with William Regal just before the Main Event starts. I guess Regal was unavailable for the rest of the week or other NXT shows... The MAIN EVENT was Finn Balor versus Samoa Joe. I'll just save my ranting on how Finn Balor's bodypaint reminds me of Jeff Hardy for another time. I'll just enjoy the match. Happy to see that NXT treats their champions right by having them come out 2nd every time. It's called details and respect, folks. The Cage looks badass, by the way... Well done on that. I guess we have the "Escape the Cage" type bout. What I like about this being a cage match is that both are forced to work in the ring and we're not getting the usual spots on the outside. Forces both to become more creative inside the ring and also when climbing the cage. Oh, so this is a hybrid "Escape the Cage/Win by Pinfall or Submission" match? One thing that is easily notices is how Samoa Joe has no problem throwing Balor around. Hate to it, but Balor is a taller Cruiserweight wrestler. Vince McMahon will NOT use him well on the main WWE roster. To win it, Samoa Joe DESTROYED Finn Balor with the Muscle Buster from the TOP ROPE! Damn! [ *** 1/2 ] SHOW THOUGHTS: If this is truly an "end of an era" before this NXT roster is raided to fill RAW/Smackdown, it was a damn great way to go out. Top to bottom, strong Pay Per View as most Takeover events are. This is the kind of wrestling show that makes owning the WWE Network well worth your $9.99 in addition to main roster WWE stuff you'll also receive. Seriously. [ A+ ] Thank you to the NXT roster for the past 12 months who have entertained me with your weekly shows and Takeover events. It was a complete honor if this is truly an "end of an era". ========================================================================== THOUGHTS ON BROCK LESNAR / UFC 200 First and foremost, let me get this out of the way... Brock Lesnar has PEAKED as a WWE Superstar and is on the downslide of his WWE career as an entertainer. The "heat" that he once had as an unstoppable WWE character is long gone. When did that happen? I have a specific date for you. It was the RAW following Wrestlemania 31 on March 31st, 2015. If you'll recall, Brock Lesnar was upset for losing his WWE Title to a Money-in-the-Bank briefcase cashing in Seth Rollins. Lesnar wanted to use his rematch clause but Rollins refused to wrestle him on RAW. The result? Brock Lesnar went CRAZY and attacked everyone at ringside including lifting up the announcer's table and tossing it to injure Michael Cole, Booker T, and JBL. This pushed RAW to the rare 5,000,000 viewers in this PG Era and made everyone talk about RAW... Then, Stephanie McMahon came out and said that Brock Lesnar was "suspended indefinitely". Instead of responding like a RAGING BULL, Lesnar disappeared for more than 2 months to become the Authority's #1 contender for the WWE Title. Huh? Stephanie was outraged and suspended Lesnar for his 3/31/15 RAW actions but brings him back for a WWE Title shot? HEAT was gone... Sure, he had a pair of nice Undertaker matches, but who doesn't draw against the Undertaker? It was riding on the fumes of beating the Wrestlemania "streak" anyway. All Lesnar appearances since the Undertaker SummerSlam feud have had little or no impact on RAW's viewership. Lesnar didn't add much impact to the Royal Rumble 2016 nor did he add much hype to Wrestlemania 32. When the WWE needs to bring in Shane McMahon to "draw" for Wrestlemania 32, you're a bit past your prime. Therefore - I have no problem with Brock Lesnar going to UFC and I don't care if he loses... That being said, if this UFC deal is being done only to have a returning Brock Lesnar LOSE to Roman Reigns at SummerSlam 2016, I'm done as a WWE viewer. Done... WWE Network subscription cut, not a mention of the WWE again i my columns (if I'm still writing), etc. Finished. For the past 2 years, the WWE has done everything short of jobbing Lesnar to get Reigns over as a Main Eventer. It is FAILING. It is a FACT that since Roman Reigns began headlining RAW shows since November 2015, RAW went from averaging just above 3.5 million viewers to now averaging just above 3.1 million viewers. I have also proven that DVR viewership for RAW is also on the decline along with regular viewership... Recently, Houseshows with Roman Reigns headlining have been at or below 2,500 paid (thank you @Solomonster for pointing that out). Just terrible. Reigns has no charisma, no personality, no communication abilities, relies heavily on WWE scripts to put together words, wrestles with 2 flat and left feet, out of breath often during matches, has no psychology, appears unmotivated in the ring until his 2-3 trademark moves, and only exists in the WWE because Vince McMahon likes his look. In other words - HE SUCKS. Now that I have that out of the way... Let's talk about this WWE/UFC deal with Brock Lesnar. This deal has both WWE CEO/President Vince McMahon and UFC President Dana White both getting what they want... They are using each other benefit themselves and their brands and in the end, it's good business. As I said above, the WWE really doesn't have much to lose because they've made their money on Brock Lesnar and they don't have much else for him to do. UFC, however, could use some starpower for UFC 200 and to build up hype surrounding UFC's rumored sales tag. Here's how Dana White benefits: (1) Big star added to his UFC 200 show. Fact is that Brock Lesnar pushed UFC events above the 1,000,000 mark several times on Pay Per View. (2) Gains casual WWE viewers who would be curious to see Lesnar in the UFC. (3) Makes Brock Lesnar, at the very least, think about returning to the UFC. Gives him a taste... And here's how Vince McMahon benefits: (1) Brock is STILL under WWE contract until 2018. If Lesnar does rejoin UFC, it would require a contract buyout of some sort. (2) Deal done to secure an appearance by Ronda Rousey at a future WWE event, possibly that Rock/Rousey vs. Stephanie/Triple H match hyped at Wrestlemania 31? (3) Sticks it to CM Punk. The WWE heat is now gone because Lesnar returns to the WWE before CM Punk can even debut. (4) If Brock Lesnar wins, it's just more credibility added to his WWE character. If he loses, well, he was still a former UFC Heavyweight champion. How many of those have existed? As much as people rip Vince McMahon for his Creative abilities, you cannot deny his smarts as a businessman. See, that's what people underestimate about Vince McMahon. Sure, he has an undying love for Roman Reigns which is becoming disgusting, but he made a $9 million investment in Brock Lesnar over 3 years that might open the door to more things UFC incorporated into WWE programming. Vince's eyes is on what he can add to a Wrestlemania event as a draw to pack a 50,000+ arena/stadium and to get more WWE Network subscribers. If he's able to score Rock/Rousey vs. Triple H/Stephanie out of this UFC 200 deal, then it's a big business proposition for Vince. All for just lending Brock Lesnar to UFC for ONE NIGHT. But, Vince McMahon is a FOOL if this UFC 200 scheme for Brock Lesnar is just to prime him for putting over Roman Reigns at SummerSlam 2016. SO JUST CHILL... 'TIL THE NEXT EPISODE! Comments and feedback are welcome. Follow and Tweet me @titowrestling or login in below to post comments. © Mr. Tito and LordsofPain.net/WrestlingHeadlines.com - 1998-2016
|
