Rate NXT TakeOver: The End

[Solidus]

Results!

Andrade Cien Almas defeated Tye Dillinger

The Revival defeated American Alpha

Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Austin Aries

Asuka defeated Nia Jax

Samoa Joe defeated Finn Balor

Full analysis

 

[Solidus]

This is my 2nd NXT PPV, and I'm giving it an 8.
Balor/Joe and Aries/Nakamura both contend for match of the night.
It was a great show overall, but I enjoyed TakeOver: Dallas just a little more.

 

[DK JAMES]

Gave it a 8/10. Very solid show. Would really give it like an 8.5, closer to 9, but settled with 8.

-Tye Dillinger is the fuckin man. One of my favorites in NXT for sure. The new dude Almas is pretty cool. Kind of a weak debut but I'm interested in him. The superkick from Tye was fucking incredible. Overall good match.

-American Alpha deserves a main roster spot no doubt, I was sayin that even before this match. The match itself was incredible, 10/10 tag team action, it don't get much better than that. One of my favorite tag matches in recent memory. Highlight of the night for me.

-Have no idea who those super beefy dudes are but it was a strong debut no doubt. I don't know a whole lot about Ellering, I know some of his accomplishments but I haven't actually seen any of his work but it has intrigued me for sure. Curious to see where this goes.

-Nakamura 10/10 entrance as always. The match was amazing as expected. Not much else to say with that, just really good stuff but everyone knew it would be. No complaints whatsoever.

-Women's match was okay. Not a huge fan of Nia but she wasn't horrible. Solidus said it perfectly before, Asuka matches are better when she's the dominating factor. Was weird seeing it the other way around, idk. Not a bad match but forgettable to me.

-BOBBY FUCKIN ROODE! Yes x10.

-Finn's entrance was incredible. Very nice touch. Match itself was very good for a Steel Cage match. The ending was fucking great and looked painful as hell and I'm quite pleased with the result. Finn winning the title back woulda chained him to NXT for even longer. Really hoping they call him up ASAP, they have no reason not to, he's done everything he can in NXT.

Overall very, very enjoyable show. Not many complaints at all, the future of WWE is bright and I'm so glad to see amazing shows like these more frequently. I'm pleased for sure.

 

[Wacokid27]

I, too, gave the overall show an 8. It's amazing what you can do with 2 hours when you only have five matches to put on. There wasn't much filler, nor was there a need for much. The recap/hype videos were all well-done (per the usual) and all five matches felt important (even the opener, which...well...really wasn't).

All-around excellent show.

​

Andrade Cien Almas defeated Tye Dillinger

1) I'm just glad that Spears has finally gotten over. He's worked his ass off for 15 years and has never really been appreciated anywhere he's been. The reception he got was great to hear. He'll probably never be WWE World Heavyweight Champion, but at least he's being recognized. 2) Great debut match for Cien. I can't stand the gear he wore to the ring as I thought it made him look like an idiot, but his ring work is second-to-none, as anybody who's ever seen him wrestle already knew.

The Revival defeated American Alpha

Interesting match from a storytelling and psychology perspective. NXT already has a strong tag division and the introduction of the new Road Warr.....those two guys who stormed the ring and beat up Jordan and Gable who had Paul Ellering with them look like the type of guys who will add to the division. We'll have to see. As for the match itself, it wasn't a spectacular affair, but it did do what it needed to do.

Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Austin Aries

Quick question: Aries vs. Nakamura: who wins? Answer: the fans (this actually got a chuckle from my wife)

This match worried me. Too often, I've seen matches that should be amazing but fall short. Add that to both Aries' and Nakamura's debuts in Dallas and this match seemed like it could be ripe for a let-down.

But it wasn't.

Aries and Nakamura put on the match we knew they could. Was it as spectacular as Zayn-Nakamura in terms of amazing action and workrate? No. Was it an extremely-well-put-together match with hot action and excellent psychology that told a classic story? Absolutely. Although a later match would compete with it for Match of the Night honors, this one won for me, hands-down. These two are workhorses that shine like thoroughbreds in the ring.

Asuka defeated Nia Jax

One of the oldest stories in pro wrestling is the contest of "big man vs. little man". This one was done with women, so that added just enough of a touch of difference (important, due to the fact that the NXT Championship match that followed told basically the same story) from the standard fare. Nia Jax is going to have a big career (assuming she becomes another Awesome Kong rather than the next Tamina Snuka) and Asuka is one of the top female workers on the planet. Asuka carried the load in this one as far as storytelling and "in-ring generalship" (although Nia's last defiant scream before Asuka finished her off with a kick to the head was terrific), but that's okay since she was walking away at the end of the night with the strap.

NOTE:
Bobby Roode is in the building!!!!!!!!

Samoa Joe defeated Finn Balor

The long-awaited decision about which one of these guys goes first to become a top face on Smackdown in July was answered and, as I suspected, it will be Finn Balor. This was a tremendously-entertaining match, even though it wasn't their best. Still, it was time for Joe to get a big duke on a Takeover show to keep the title. Balor and Joe are amazing and they have excellent chemistry. I only hope we get to see their feud rehashed on the main roster for a WWE world title in a couple of years.

wk

 

[Swift]

Nakamura v Aries sounds so good.

 

[Rogue]

Bobby Roode/10

I'll give it a 9, every match on the card was good at worst. Nak vs Aries wasn't exactly the MOTN, but if Nak isn't the next challenger for the title I don't know who is.

AA vs Revival was too damn good. Hopefully with AA losing they'll be called up, once the brands split again.

 

[Roadster]

So any explanation on the name "The End". Triple H said the meaning would be revealed at the event.

EDIT: Probably "The End" means the end of the Joe v. Balor feud that's been brewing since the Dusty Rhodes Classic Tournament.

 

[Jacob Fox]

8/10 for me. It wasn't as good as Dallas, but it was the NXT best thing (yuk yuk).

Anyhow:

Andrade Cien Almas v Tye Dillinger *** A solid opening match. I think both guys were great and I really enjoyed it. Almas' finisher, though, looked more like he was shoving his crotch in Dillinger's face rather than double knee.

The Revival v American Alpha **** This was my match of the night, which is weird as I am not a huge fan of tag wrestling. But I really got into this, really enjoyed it and was surprised AA lost. The guys who attacked afterwards were freaking huge and it was fun to see the return of Paul Ellering. I look forward to seeing what he will do, but it likely will be what he has always done He doesn't have a lot of range.

Austin Aries vs Shinsuke Nakamura **** a Great match but I liked it slightly less than the tag match. Nakamura, even though I have been watching him for YEARS, has never lost any of his ability to command my attention. This was a much improved match compared to AA's last match and I enjoyed it.

Nia Jax vs Asuka *** A solid woman's match but not the way I would have gone about it. I know the story was the Jax kept beating on Asuka but Asuka just couldn't be beat up. I would have like to have seen Asuka's early offense have more of an effect on Jax. I don't care how big you are, a well placed martial arts kick is going to hurt. Jax no selling it was kinda weak. But Asuka really came through and Jax's frustrated yell at the end was great.

Samoa Joe v Finn Balor *** Another solid match. I don't think it was as good as their previous ones, but it was pretty enjoyable and there were some really good moves in it. Some of the hits, including that top rope muscle buster were amazing.

A great show altogether and I look forward to seeing what happens next.

 

[Prince Bálor]

A very good show. I enjoyed it. 8/10

- Andrade "Cien" Almas vs Tye Dillinger was a good show opener. ***
I'm a fan of both guys and they got to showcase a fraction of their stuff in a good way in a little bit over 5 minutes. The crowd being invested made this even better. Tye's Superkick in the corner was SICK! However, Andrade won a good back-and-forth match with a running dick to the face double knees in the corner. Yeah, not a fan of that finisher. Still, a good and enjoyable bout given the time constraint.

- The Revival vs American Alpha was great. ****
This was on par with their TakeOver: Dallas bout, and even though I liked that match just a little bit better, this one was great, nonetheless! I was a bit surprised the AA lost, but I guess it could be an indication that they'll be moving up to the main roster soon, or the management feels like they're better off chasing the titles. I'll reserve judgement on the post-match stuff until we learn more.

- Shinsuke Nakamura vs Austin Aries was great, I enjoyed it! ****
Even though it didn't top Nakamura vs Zayn, it was definitely enjoyable. I loved the last couple of minutes, they were spectacular, especially when Naka was on the receiving end of a Death Valley Driver on the apron and A Double crashing his skull into the barricade while doing a Suicide Dive. That was sick! Ultimately, the King of Strong Style prevailed with a killer combo: Kinshasa from the second rope, followed by a Reverse Exploder and another Kinshasa to end the match.

- BOBBY ROOOO!

- Asuka vs Nia Jax was good. ***
This was good for what it was, loved the finish where Asuka just KILT Nia with those kicks. The right woman won and all's cool.

- Samoa Joe vs Finn Bálor was a good ME. ***¼
It was another good, but not a great match between the two bitter rivals. I'm not a fan of cage matches in general, as they need to be revamped, so, minus one star right off the bat because the match contains ESCAPE rules. Fuck that. The focus shouldn't have been put on escaping, since the feud was billed as two guys who really don't like each other and this was supposed to be a big blow-off. Keep the action inside, prove who's the more dominant competitor, no need to do shitty escapes. I mean, the match was far from bad, but it was definitely their weakest. It had a spectacular finish, though. Muscle Buster from the top rope was dope. It's the end of the feud and I guess we'll see Finn Bálor on the main roster soon.

 

[Prince Bálor]

 

[Jacob Fox]

I don't think I've ever seen such a consensus for one show. All votes but 1 are 8

 

[Prince Bálor]

By the way, those two big guys that destroyed AA post-match are Gzim Selmani and Sunny Dhinsa. They'll probably be called The Authors of Pain since this is written on both men's Twitter: "The Authors Of Pain! Most brutal and barbaric tagteam! @WWE/NXT"

 

[Stopspot]

Aries vs Nakamura: Disappointing. Both guys went in lazy as expected

 

[Rogue]

At least two points of my rating goes to the Roode cameo, honestly. Was begging for it after every match, didn't expect it though. He's looking great as well, already lost that late TNA gut.

 

[Solidus]

Aries vs Nakamura: Disappointing. Both guys went in lazy as expected

Serious?

 

[Roadster]

The opening video package is worth a 10, by itself. Marked for "The End is Here" being used.