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NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver - 4/7-8/2021


Dolfan in NYC

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I'm a Bronson Reed fan, but damn did I hate the psychology in that match.  At some point, you have to realize you have enough power moves in your ground game to stop taking stupid risks off the top rope.  You outweigh Gargano by a considerable amount, keep working the powerbombs, suplexes, and drivers.  Fine match put together very poorly.

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Show pretty much played out like I expected with the first half being excellent and the second being mediocre.

Kushida/Dunne was a nice match that would've looked a lot better on Night 2. Great pace, full of smooth transitions and hurty looking moves, and a great finishing sequence. Their biggest problem was that Walter went out and put on a master-class of selling that made their lack of long-term selling look amateurish in retrospect.

The gauntlet thing was a pretty good showcase for everyone involved. Tough to balance a match like that when you need 5 of the 6 to look strong, but they managed. I liked Swerve getting a lot of spotlight here, since he's easily the most under-utilized person on the roster. Grimes is pretty teflon with his new gimmick, you can insert him anywhere. Lumis/Knight is a good feud to splinter off this match. Reed is meh, but fine as a one-off challenger.

Walter/Ciampa delivered as promised. Walter was absolutely masterful again. The little touches like the way he held Ciampa's left arm different in the greco-roman knuckle lock position, the different grips on his powerbombs, or only holding the rope with his left hand showed that long-term selling is not a lost art. Ciampa is always good as a hard-hitting underdog, but this was the Walter show. That finishing sequence of stomp to the throat, that old-school neck twist with the feet, double power bomb, sleeper suplex, then finally uncorking his right hand for coup-de-grace chop was perfect. I sincerely hope that Walter is the next generationally influential pro-wrestler.

The tag match was better than I expected.

Io/Raquel reminded me of Benoit/Orton from Summer Slam 04. Elite vet leads a promising, but "not quite ready to lead" talent to a credible main event match. New star looks like they belong, vet loses nothing even after being pinned clean.

The CW match was hurt by the unnecessary ladder stip which doesn't lend itself to either guy's strengths. It was still fine, but would've been better as a straight wrestling match. At least the right guy won and we got to see la flecha del infierno.

Women's tag was the worst match of the event. Indi is clunky as hell, and neither team has natural chemistry. Shame we got this while Dakota/Raquel dissolved and Kacy/Kayden are second tier. I'd take Xia Li mostly defending the belts by herself until Tian Sha hits the vape of death too.

Gargano/Reed was too long. Gargano's heel promos are great, but he's still Johnny Wrestling in the ring, when he should've changed up his style months ago. Reed is a guy who should be in a big-man tag team, not singles.

Balor/Kross was fine. I think they should've ended it with the flash KO on the elbows to back of the head when Balor went limp instead of dragging out the finish. It ended up too much like a poor man's version of Walter/Ciampa, when the sudden KO would've been a legit shock and better for both guys.

Cole/KoR was the HHH/Michaels-inspired "epic" I expected. There were some good spots, but about 20 minutes of unnecessary time-padding wankery and all the dramatic moments were super hammy and tried way too hard. NXT will be better off without Cole for sure. KoR has a lot more potential in straight matches without tons of forced drama. A rebound feud with Pete Dunne would do him good, I think.

 

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I said on the discord app, I'd like to know who the agents were for night 1 vs night 2.

I felt the wrong guy won in Reed-Gargano and Kross-Balor. I have no desire to watch Kross so I'll check out until he loses.

Cole-O'Reilly was what I expected. Cole always seems to go way too long with his matches.

Also, can we get a 1 year moratorium on ladder matches in all of wrestling?

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Two nights of really good action and I enjoyed both but the first night was definitely the better show. I was into WALTER/Ciampa and Io/Gonzalez more than anything on this show. Probably the gauntlet and tag title match as well.

Loved the finish to the ladder match. Great shot of Escobar standing atop the ladder looking down on the broken Devlin. The spot where LDF interfered and Devlin took a tumble to the outside was nuts too. Devlin did well to avoid injury. Cute post-match celebration with the other LDF members and his son too. Escobar is great but we all know he's toast as soon as he gets called up. I'll enjoy him while I can. 

Women's tag title match was fine. Most important thing is the champions retained. I feared they'd drop them here which wouldn't have done those belts any favours.

Thought Reed looked very impressive over the two nights. I don't know how often he attempts the moonsault but that felt like a special moment so hopefully it was. I think Theory should have been involved more in the finish. I was surprised at the ease with which Gargano was able to eventually put him away. I wonder if Theory will turn on Gargano and be the one to dethrone him?

Hell of a performance from Balor who I've done a complete 180 on over the last 18 months. This was the best I've seen Kross look as well. I was hoping Balor would somehow retain but it wasn't to be. Not particularly excited about a Kross title reign. Perhaps they'll do a rematch with Balor bringing back the demon "persona". 

Unsanctioned match was predictably way too long. I liked the security, pre-match lighting and referee's all black outfit. I didn't like the fact that KOR and Cole wore their regular wrestling gear and wrestled a pretty generic first 10-15 minutes. Things got better when the chain was introduced, although Kyle looked like an idiot when he threw the chain in and was easily countered. I will say that there was some stuff in this match that I loved. The spot through the ramp. The brainbuster on the steps was brutal. But there was a lot that I didn't like as well, which is usually the case with these 40 minute NXT "epics". 

Edited by Tuna Boss
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Flair and Funk's I Quit match was 18 minutes long.

Cole and KOR was double that. 

If there was one thing I would change about modern wrestling it would be to change main event times across the board to under 20 minutes. 

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3 hours ago, Spontaneous said:

I said on the discord app, I'd like to know who the agents were for night 1 vs night 2.

I felt the wrong guy won in Reed-Gargano and Kross-Balor. I have no desire to watch Kross so I'll check out until he loses.

Cole-O'Reilly was what I expected. Cole always seems to go way too long with his matches.

Also, can we get a 1 year moratorium on ladder matches in all of wrestling?

Does the board have a discord channel?

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10 minutes ago, Valcourt said:

Does the board have a discord channel?

Sent you a link. Come join us!

I'm hoping with NXT on Tuesdays they focus more on what made it feel special in 2014-2018. That forced epic between Cole and O'Reilly was tedious. I came away from this supposed blood feud hoping to never see either again. Cole should probably go away for a while to sell the match. 

I'd like O'Reilly to be the one to defeat Kross. I can't see Kross sitting in NXT for very long anyways. 

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1 hour ago, Valcourt said:

Does the board have a discord channel?

The board officially doesn't but I created one last year when the political mess sparked discussions in LoC.  So that's thankfully being talked about there and the wrestling section gets traffic for certain big shows.  Which reminds me while I should have added a room for Takeover I'll create one for WM if you're inclined to check it out.

As for Takeover I don't feel a need to see night two but liked the main stuff from night one.  The three-way tag was a fun clusterfuck and Io/Raquel was pretty good.  But that WALTER/Ciampa match ruled so hard and should be used or tape study for all eternity.  The selling of the hand's been talked about but rookie and established wrestlers alike really could stand to take notes.  I will admin to not see much of WALTER as NXT UK is tainted in my eyes.  But if he's been this damn good all this time time while over there then I may consider going back to watch them.  I think the selling of the hand made for a very unique match for him and I liked it a lot more than if he was just the big dude chopping little guys all the time.

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Just because I have a fairly slow day at work, here's how I rank the matches from the two nights:

1. Tie - Gonzalez vs. Io and Ciampa vs. WALTER

3. Devlin vs. Escobar

4. Dunne vs. KUSHIDA

5. GYV vs. LDF vs. MSK

6. Cole vs. O'Reilly

7. Balor vs. Kross

8. Gargano vs. Reed

9. Gauntlet Match

10. Breezango vs. Dain/Drake

11. Stark vs. Storm

12. Ember/Shotzi vs. the Way

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I think I'd go:

  1. Walter vs. Ciampa
  2. Shirai vs. Gonzalez
  3. Devlin vs. Escobar
  4. Tag Title 3-Way
  5. Gauntlet Eliminator
  6. Gargano vs. Reed
  7. Balor vs. Kross
  8. Cole vs. O'Reilly
  9. Dunne vs. Kushida
  10. Stark vs. Storm
  11. Ember/Shotzi vs. The Way
  12. Breezango vs. Dain & Drake
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2 hours ago, Infinit said:

I'm glad Kross won the title. Dude is a good guy and super passionate about the business.  Looking forward to seeing how he does as the top dog of NXT.

The guy is a really awesome dude.  I know @Tromatagonis friends with him and has had him on the MMM Show he's part of.  That worked out nicely for when I met Kross at Baltimore Comic Con we talked about him for a couple minutes and he was just so great to talk to.  I really do wish the best for him and Scarlett.

That said I do see why he might not be for everybody as his gimmick is maybe more suited for shows like Impact and LU.  But I'm hoping that now that he's gonna get a proper run with the title that he will have a chance to show more of himself that will be more well-regarded among many.

Edited by NikoBaltimore
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Just started Night two, and Vince wins after all, with Triple H giving us Poppy performing Stand and Deliver!

As far as night 1 went, Gonzalez did it and covincingly at that. Her rise to the top has been one of the most unexpected, welcome surprises in past couple of years.

I'll comment on other matches later, if something important comes up. Will refrain from reading this thread until then.

Yeah, both nights had their moments. I wonder who will step up to challenge Kross? O'Reilly?

I see Kai slowly turning on Raquel, but it's doubtful that she'll be the first challenger. She might be the first serious challenger, though.

I really thought Jordan Devlin was going to get the cruiser titles, so Escobar could move on without being pinned.

I wonder if GYV will get the tag titles at some point, but another big win for MSK. They have really been pushed right out of the gate.

Edited by Shartnado
Thoughts...
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Wow. Night 2 main event may have been one of the worst matches I have ever seen. 

Is it safe to assume Io, Finn and Cole are main roster bound?

Kross might be one of the least believable wrestlers I’ve ever seen. How tall is he supposed to be? He barely looked bigger than Finn, who’s tiny. 

How long til he and Scarlett get called up, how long before they split them up, and how long before he gets fired and they keep Scarlett?

but I really enjoyed night one.

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