NXT TAKEOVER: In Your House (June 7, 2020)

[Craig H]

Man, I thought this was maybe the worst Takeover in a long time. I loved Lee vs Gargano and parts of the main event. And Scarlett. That's it.

It's so freaking weird that they slapped the NXT World title match in the middle of the card. Like...what? I'm fine with the women going last. At least do the backlot brawl before the women's match. And the lighting for it was garbage. As was the incessant commentary. Dream also really sucks. Even with bad lighting and a ton of smoke and mirrors he looked bad.

Kross is such a dork. Just a complete dork. The most edge lordy gimmick ever. "I know! I'll make a bunch CRRRRAAAZY facial expressions and steal 99% of Taz's moveset!" Dude comes across like a derpy CAW. To add to that, he looks like a derpy CAW with crowd noises that sound like they're straight out of WWE2K games. I laughed when it was like 3 people chanting "fall and pray" very weakly before just completely trailing off. It sounded so silly. Scarlett is the money part of that pairing.

As for the main event, any happiness I have for Io is dashed by the piss poor booking of Charlotte coming to NXT. I'll just echo what was already said that Charlotte going back to NXT was garbage. They've completely killed Rhea for whatever fucking reason by not only having Charlotte beat her on the biggest stage, but then they don't even have Charlotte put Io over. The only point in having Charlotte win the NXT title was to try and beat AEW in the ratings. So that didn't happen and in the process they hurt probably the one thing that could have rivaled Becky in popularity. It's just ridiculous. Charlotte is likely done with NXT so just have her lose to Io! This shit ain't hard. And I know I should just turn my brain off and ignore the booking, but sometimes when it's shit like this, it's really hard to ignore. At the same time, Io is finally on top. I just want there to be crowds again and see that entrance of hers in a stadium setting. Still the dopest entrance in all of WWE.

[Craig H]

Something else really gnawed at me. I normally really like Mauro. I think without an actual crowd though, even a Full Sail crowd, he made listening to the show a chore. Just very over the top, loud, and extremely enthusiastic without a crowd to match Mauro's hype. I think Mauro needs that live audience bad. Tonight he gave me Brick Tamlin vibes. All I kept thinking of was "LOUD NOISES!"

[Craig H]

2 hours ago, L_W_P said:

Rewatching this with my kids:

What is Gargano's finisher? Does he still use that crossface? It can't be the superkick any more surely?

I think the Gargano Escape is his main finisher followed by the One Final Beat.

[Godfrey]

14 hours ago, Godfrey said:

My gut says Charlotte retains here and holds it until next Wrestlemania when Rhea beats her after winning the Rumble. 

I have to stop mixing up what I think is a good idea and what I think WWE will do, I might have to change my name to Godfrey’s Shadow at the rate I guess wrong. Huge props to Io, she’s fantastic and earned every second of her reign.

[NikoBaltimore]

I skimmed through the show and was delighted to see Todd on there.  I always did like him no matter how goofy he would be.  Though it was jarring seeing his intro then it jumps right into Code Orange.  I would have held off on their performance as it just didn't feel right for this particular show.  For the other shows sure.  I also loved the other retro elements of the show.

As for matches I only saw the backlot brawl and Ciampa/Kross.  The brawl felt off to me but they tried.  And while I'm happy to see Karrion win his match I really wish the crowd would have shut up during the entrance.  Once they started with a weak-ass "Fall and Pray" chant I immediately hated it.  But I did kind of like when it went faster and they were tapping the plexiglass.  I think if you're going to chant that right now going quasi-Thunderdome style can work if done right.  The match itself I liked and while I get why people don't see him being a star considering past companies I think he's got a pretty good chance here.

[RIPPA]

14 hours ago, Raziel said:

One day a Horsewoman is going to put over someone that's not another one of them.

Today is not that day.

I am being pedantic here but Bayley put over Asuka twice

[Dewar]

14 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

I am being pedantic here but Bayley put over Asuka twice

And Bayley and Becky both put over Alexa.

[Eivion]

22 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

I am being pedantic here but Bayley put over Asuka twice

 

7 minutes ago, Dewar said:

And Bayley and Becky both put over Alexa.

All of the NXT Horsewomen have lost to Asuka at least once (no idea why they tried to pretend otherwise with Charlotte a couple of weeks back). Sasha has lost to Alexa and Nia multiple times. You could probably do a deep dive and find examples of them losing a decent amount of times to opponents. The issue is less the fact that the Horsewomen don't lose and more that they don't seem to ever lose key matches save to each other. At least that is what it feels like sometimes to people. I an see the argument though I don't fully agree with it. More to the point I think its held against them, especially Charlotte Flair, way too much seeing that none of them exactly have the veto power of a Hogan, Bret, Austin, Ric, etc. Its the booking/writing that seems to miss that just because they are the WWE female equivalent to the 3 Musketeers & 4 Pillars doesn't mean they can't or shouldn't lose any big matches to people who aren't them. This is an attitude that seems to have sadly gotten stronger the last year or two.

[Eivion]

 

[Phantom Lord]

I thought it was an all right show but it really suffered from not having an NXT crowd. A few points during the show the "crowd" did some chants, but you know there were producers on the side saying "OK NOW CHANT THIS IS AWESOME".

Lee vs. Gargano was probably my favorite match of the night. It was hard hitting and Gargano really is a sneaky little shit as a heel. I was waiting for someone to go through the plexiglass so I'm happy Lee was the one to throw someone through it. 

I honestly don't get the appeal of Karion Kross. I didn't get his whole thing when he was in TNA. I still don't get it now. Pretty cool entrance though.

I think the backlot brawl would have been better if it were an actual backlot brawl. Having a ring out there just seemed dumb. I don't know if it's strictly because of that potential sex scandal involving him, but this has to be like the third time they haven't pulled the trigger on Dream.  I honestly believe he's reached his height and I don't see him going any higher in the company. Maybe he goes to RAW and gets US Title run but that's it.

The triple thread women's match was pretty good. Charlotte and Rhea were going at it like they really don't like each other. I honestly thought Io was the odd woman out in this match but was pleasantly surprised to see her win. I hope they keep Charlotte on NXT because there's still a few good matches to be had with her there.

[Dolfan in NYC]

Gotta love a friendly(?) rivalry. 

[Craig H]

Regarding Kross' entrance, I think it may have been EVA or someone else who said it the first time he had his entrance and they said that it would get old pretty fast if it continues being that theatrical with Scarlet vamping every time out. I have to agree. I thought it was cool at first, but aside from Scarlet's look, which aside from Io is probably one of the coolest and most unique looks in WWE, the whole entrance has worn thin. It's like Balor's entrances turned up to 11.

Ultimately, that very theatrical style may work in their favor since WWE errs on the side of theatrical more often than not and that may be one reason Kross hasn't worked out as well everywhere else.

[Guest Edwin]

44 minutes ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

Gotta love a friendly(?) rivalry. 

 

Given Ciampa's done everything in NXT and he just got pretty much run over by Kross, I could see him moving to either RAW or SD to feud with Orton.

[RIPPA]

Plus - Meltzer keeps bringing up that all social media sniping now has to be approved by the front office first

[Matt D]

Him breaking up the best match ever would be a mercy.

[Just Dave]

Can Scarlett Bordeaux work? I honestly have no idea. I don't watch Impact. But someone said it earlier; Karrion Kross is a geek and Scarlett is the money there, unless Karrion pulls a Buddy Murphy and becomes an otherworldly worker after his significant other got the call-up.

[Ziggy]

 I watched everything but the Kross Match and the Dream vs Cole backlot brawl, everything I watched really enjoyed. The 6 Women was a good opener, I  was really impressed by Priest. I haven't been watching the tv but these past few Takeovers he's been really good but this match with Balor he really brought it. Gargano vs Lee was good playing off the injuries. The main event was really good, I watched it after it happened so I knew Shirai won but I wouldn't have saw it coming if I was watching live. This Takeover didn't seem to have the same energy as far as feedback like usual but I  thought it was up to par with other Takeovers maybe because it's the first show I've watched with an audience. I might watch the Back lot brawl  I hear it wasn't bad but I dont feel it was cant miss like all of Dreams other Takeovers

 

[Ramo2653]

I'm pretty sure Dream isn't right after coming back from his injury, something is off about him in the ring and it wasn't like he was the smoothest worker before. I'm kinda salty because I might be only one of the few fans left here on the board. Who's even left for Cole now? Guess we'll have to see someone get built up.

Felt like Mauro didn't have his similes memorized this time and kept pausing at the end. His shtick is too goofy as is. 

So we'll get the Io/Charlotte one on one at some point.

Everything else was fine.

[The Man Known as Dan]

3 hours ago, Ramo2653 said:

I'm pretty sure Dream isn't right after coming back from his injury, something is off about him in the ring and it wasn't like he was the smoothest worker before. I'm kinda salty because I might be only one of the few fans left here on the board. Who's even left for Cole now? Guess we'll have to see someone get built up.

The guy who should have taken the belt off him 6 months ago, Keith Lee.

 

Seriously, NXT's total waste of Keith Lee pinning Rollins and taking Reigns to the limit just infuriates me. He is so clearly the guy in NXT who can actually break out, not the Ciampa/Gargano/Cole trio.

[Eivion]

6 hours ago, Ramo2653 said:

I'm pretty sure Dream isn't right after coming back from his injury, something is off about him in the ring and it wasn't like he was the smoothest worker before. I'm kinda salty because I might be only one of the few fans left here on the board.

I'm still a fan, but I agree that he has been off since returning.

2 hours ago, The Man Known as Dan said:

The guy who should have taken the belt off him 6 months ago, Keith Lee.

 

Seriously, NXT's total waste of Keith Lee pinning Rollins and taking Reigns to the limit just infuriates me. He is so clearly the guy in NXT who can actually break out, not the Ciampa/Gargano/Cole trio.

I agree and disagree with this. I think Balor should have dethroned Cole last year. Would have been a good use Balor and made sense of him coming back to NXT instead of treading water like he has been for months now. I think Lee should have then been built up to dethrone Balor in April. It was mentioned here in the past but Lee as NA and NXT double champ for a year should have been the plan.

[Craig H]

NXT is stuck is this weird position where they're supposedly a third brand, they're trying to operate as a third brand, but they're also still the developmental brand and wrestlers are still called up from that brand. So instead of operating like Raw or SD, they're trying to avoid the stigma of whenever you lose the world title it usually means you're getting called up. The way they've done that is to...just keep the title on Adam Cole for more than a year? 

Because yes, at some point Balor or Lee should have beaten Cole for the title. It never made much sense to me that Lee would go after Roddy and the NA title instead of the world title especially after having his profile raised following Survivor Series. It also never made much sense to me that they'd bring in Balor and just have him fiddle around in the mid card. Obviously the pandemic messed up some of their plans because I'm sure they probably intended to run with Balor vs Walter on the main roster.

Then again, this is also the same company that had a white hot Rhea Ripley and cooled her off by having Charlotte beat her at WM, then taking her off of TV for whatever reason, and then Rhea is back on TV and ultimately gets pinned by Io to crown Io the champion.

[JonnyLaw]

17 hours ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

Gotta love a friendly(?) rivalry. 

I’m not sure bragging to Randall Keith Orton that you busted your ass is going to have the impact Ciampa intended.

[The Natural]

On 6/9/2020 at 4:39 AM, Ramo2653 said:

I'm pretty sure Dream isn't right after coming back from his injury, something is off about him in the ring and it wasn't like he was the smoothest worker before. I'm kinda salty because I might be only one of the few fans left here on the board. Who's even left for Cole now? Guess we'll have to see someone get built up.

I'd have gone with Keith Lee or Matt Riddle.

[The Natural]

 

 

Edited June 10, 2020 by The Natural

[Ramo2653]

I'm not even thinking about Keith Lee since he seems firmly planted in the NA title picture and I'm sure the feud with Gargano is going to extend for at least a month. Also, I generally like him, but his selling seems off to me sometimes.

Looking at the roster, Finn has to be up next for a shot, right? Or maybe you build up Kushida? Actually a little Drake Maverick feud would be fun.

Also, I can't wait until they get to Lorcan/Burch vs. Aichner/Barthel.