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NXT TAKEOVER: RESPECT


RIPPA

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I've never seen Asuka wrestle before tonight, but HOLY SHIT. She reminds me a lot of Tajiri, with the presence and sheer physical charisma she has.

And props to Dana, who was pretty great tonight, too. She gets it. She's gonna be really good someday.

 

Just wait until Asuka gets her revenge on Tajiri at Takeover: Yokohama

 

tajiri-qliao-troll_1.gif

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I've never seen Asuka wrestle before tonight, but HOLY SHIT. She reminds me a lot of Tajiri, with the presence and sheer physical charisma she has.

And props to Dana, who was pretty great tonight, too. She gets it. She's gonna be really good someday.

She was in a promotion with Tajiri for several years which is likely where she picked some of that personality up as she was more serious and kicked focused beforehand.

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I've never seen Asuka wrestle before tonight, but HOLY SHIT. She reminds me a lot of Tajiri, with the presence and sheer physical charisma she has.

And props to Dana, who was pretty great tonight, too. She gets it. She's gonna be really good someday.

Just wait until Asuka gets her revenge on Tajiri at Takeover: Yokohama

tajiri-qliao-troll_1.gif

Everything i want to post about that gif i fear could get a ban.

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I realized I should have posted this here.

 

I want to say I think the WWE has something with Chad Gable. I found myself rooting for him by the end of the match. Sure, I can see what they would like in his partner (taller & better build), but hot damn Gable could be something for them in a couple of years. That rolling deadlift German was pretty damn amazing. Also I do see something with Baron Corbin as well. I still think they could get away with some loose story telling that Corbin is related to The Undertaker and Kane. They're gonna need lineage for Taker/Kane soon. Corbin sort of fits the mold. I'm sure they could pull something like that off in NXT. On the main show..ehhh.

 

Glad to see Joe/Finn win the Dusty throphy. I was kinda hoping they each would get a cowboy boot. Joe/Finn vs. Gable/Jason would have been a much better final but it was fun none the less in it's Crockett cup fun. Hell of a speech by Cody after. I know he loves being Stardust and apparently that was the only thing that kept him in wrestling after Dusty died (that and his wife I should say according to a blog he posted). But I want to see Cody Rhodes with a run for the title someday. We never got Dustin Rhodes world champion. I really don't want to say the same thing about Cody in 15-20 years.

 

I know I got a little teary hearing "American Dream" come on one more time. Still can't believe he is gone.

 

Okay now for Bayley/Sasha. That was probably the best women's match we will ever see in the WWE. Yeah it was a little sloppy at times, but the overall story made up for any misscues they had. But man when Sasha heeled it up on Izzy...just hand her the Wrestler of the Year awards now. It would have been great to see Owens do something like that to one of Cena's fans. But Sasha made it work so much better.

 

I loved how Bayley went insane towards the end and started trying to hurt Sasha. At one point I typed in a FB group BREAK HER FUCKING FINGERS. Thank God that one isn't public. People wouldn't understand context. The final 90 seconds was just amazing storytelling. And the ending was so amazing with the flowers and all. Sasha Banks could legit main event a Wrestlemania some day. She is that good.

 

Oh yeah, Asuka is a pyschopath who takes joy in the pain of her victims. I swear those smiles she was shooting. I've seen those in some Japanese horror movies...usually right before and after someone got gutted. I can't wait till we eventually get her vs. Bayley.

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I want to say I think the WWE has something with Chad Gable. I found myself rooting for him by the end of the match. Sure, I can see what they would like in his partner (taller & better build),

 

I want them to stay a team forever and ever.

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Asuka's debut was absolutely perfect. Had high hopes and she nailed everything. She is such a dynamic performer, totally captivating. Excited to see her next matches already. The "you fucked up" chant was so great in that context. And yeah Dana Brooke was excellent in her role I thought. Balor and Joe both looked good, nice to see them win and I dug the finals. the Corbin/Gable finish was slick. Main event was another classic. Obviously Sasha wasn't going to win but some of the near falls towards the end were very well done. Dug the call back to last time's amazing finish. I think the first one had the better finish, didn't care a whole lot for this ending but good stuff all around. Sasha is just indeed the best.

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I'm alittle behind on NXT, so maybe this isn't new to you guys, but I really like their entrance stage now.

Samoa Joe's music has their weird pause in it after the initial horns and before the meat of the song. Kinda kills the momentum. Edit that shit out.

Glad to see most of the Finn Bálor hatred around here has subsided.

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Still no R-Evolution, but this was an excellent show.

 

The first two tag tournament matches were really good. I loved the Finn/Joe vs. Mechanics match a lot. That was how you do two singles superstars vs. a lower ranked full-time team. Dash and Dawson's swarming offense was on point (they didn't look out of place at all here despite hardly ever being on tv), Joe was a perfect foil, and Finn was doing some smart stuff (like dodging the second attempt at knocking him off the apron before his nice hot tag sequence) and some good selling. I liked the reluctant use of the double finisher at the end.

 

I'm disappointed Jordan and Gable didn't win, but that was a sleek End of Days.

 

I did love Asuka's debut, though I'd hesitate to say "best NXT debut." Kevin Owens still has that distinction as far as I'm concerned, but this was very enjoyable. They really made Asuka look like a world-beater, and Dana held up her end very well. As great as Asuka looks in the ring, this was no carry job. The way Asuka completely punked Emma after the match was beautiful as well. If they keep booking her like that much of a badass, people aren't gonna miss the 4 horsewomen for long.

 

Breeze/Crews was nice little match that allowed Crews to do more than just run through his spots. I loved that moonsault sequence that forced him to debut a new finisher. Hopefully Crews can find a character trait or catchphrase that connects with the crowd, because he looks effortlessly good in the ring.

 

The tag final was the only blah part of the show. It was just a worse version of the first Finn/Joe match. I will say that I applaud them for playing it completely straight, though. They teased the finish not working, but it did, and they resisted the temptation to do any kind of post-match swerve in lieu of a tasteful tribute. You have to have these kind of things go off without a hitch enough times to make the swerves mean something.

 

The main was another strong outing from Bayley and Sasha. I think the time factor hampered it relative to the Brooklyn match, but only in the sense that you knew exactly when it would end. There were lots of great sequences here and it flowed nicely. I wasn't all in on Bayley up until the Brooklyn match, but her performance there and here has sold me on her 100%. There were a lot of nice counter spots and stuff that played off the last match. The finishing run was elite stuff with the modified bank statement due to the hand work, and that nasty reversal/new sub finisher that drew the verbal "I Quit" to end it and make Bayley look like the absolute best. I know it'll never happen, but I wanna see heel Bayley at some point after seeing how brutal her offense was down the stretch. Again, I applaud the restraint of not doing any post-match swerves and letting these two enjoy their much-deserved moment.

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The crowd chanting Gable's NXT Kurt Angle theme.

 

Gable was pretty much fantastic, he sells like he's been in the business for years and his in ring charisma is amazing. The crowd was especially fantastic and made the match that much better.

 

The Ironwomen match was great if not a lil sloppy in spots. Sasha really shined throughout (and I blame the rough spots to not having Drake as the ref :P ).

 

There were a lot of notable peeps in the after match crowd, but the most memorable one was Marcus Louis being normal and smiling.

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I was thinking about Asuka vs Dana.  I really, really enjoyed it for a couple of reasons.  A)Dana looked like she belonged in there with Asuka, and 2) it's the first time I can remember in years where a WWE match felt like an actual clash of styles.  It felt like joshi vs American diva style, and it worked great.

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I understand that the women's match being the headliner/main event was a big deal and all, but I kind of felt like the flowers and the whole locker room being out at the end to applaud them and that whole thing was kind of patronizing to them and a bit over the top.

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Hey, I haven't watched the show in it's entirety yet BUT...

 

A couple of months ago I said Sasha Banks was one of the top 5 workers in the world.

 

Someone here argued with me.

 

I was right then. I'm still right.

 

Suck it.

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