April 1, 2017
(aired live)
#NXTTakeOver
City: Orlando, FL
Venue: Amway Center
Commentary: Tom Phillips, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
Attendance: 14,975
Theme Song: “Loud” by Motionless in White
Ring Area
Triple H’s voice welcomes the world to NXT’s home.
Video
Clips of the history of NXT’s home in Florida, and of tonight’s show participants.
Video
Earlier today at Axxess, SAnitY attacked and injured No Way Jose. He won’t be competing tonight, so if SAnitY’s opponents can’t find a partner, the eight-person match will be a handicap match.
Match 1
Eight Person Mixed Tag Team Match
SAnitY (Eric Young & Nikki Cross & Killian Dain & Alexander Wolfe) vs Tye Dillinger & Ruby Riot & Roderick Strong & Kassius Ohno
(referee: Drake Wuertz)
Result: Killian Dain pins Tye Dillinger after an Ulster Plantation
Time: 12:21
Match Thoughts
This was a good match and a fine way to start the show. This match had all sorts of different types of wrestlers, so pretty much all the matchups were odd and interesting. It was also had a ton of energy and was extremely chaotic, like everyone was so pumped up for the show that they couldn’t slow down. I think the chaos worked since SAnitY was involved in the match, but I think taking a little more time to allow the match to breathe could have helped. This was a fight more than a match, and I guess that was really the whole point, so it all worked.
Backstage
Bobby Roode looks at his title belt.
Ring Area
Edge and Beth Phoenix are in the crowd.
Match 2
Andrade “Cien” Almas vs Aleister Black
(referee: Eddie Orengo)
Result: Aleister Black wins via pinfall after a Black Mass kick
Time: 9:35
Match Thoughts
A pretty good match. I thought Almas actually looked better than Black, and I was pulling for Almas to win. It wasn’t a particularly fast-paced match, but it wasn’t slow either. Almas dominated the majority of the match, but Black did have some nice moves here and there. It seems like the approach was to show how tough Black is by having him get beat up a lot but still manage to survive, but to me it came across like Almas was just the better fighter on this night. Still, I’m interested to see where Black goes from here.
Backstage
Ember Moon gets ready for her match.
Video
Buildup for the tag title match.
Ring Area
Prior to the tag title match, William Regal reveals the new NXT Tag Title belts.
Match 3
Triple Threat Elimination NXT Tag Team Title Match
The Revival vs DIY vs Authors of Pain (NXT Tag Champs) w/ Paul Ellering
(referee: Danilo Anfibio)
Result: Authors of Pain win and retain the NXT Tag Titles
Fall 1: Akam pins Tommaso Ciampa after the Last Chapter
Fall 2: Akam pins Scott Dawson after a Super Collider
Time: 23:41
Match Thoughts
A great match, though there’s a very clear point in the match where the greatness that was building stops. The first part of the match was fine, but slowly it build up to a really fantastic bout. After some questionable tactics early, The Revival and DIY started teaming up to take out the AoP. It was crazy (and exciting) to see DIY and The Revival teaming up. There were huge moves and huge moments, and they were all made even better by the months and months of story built between the two teams.
Then, something happened and the excitement quickly started draining from the arena. The last segment of the match felt inevitable and disappointing. Even the crew seemed let down because they kept missing shots of moves during the final couple of minutes. Hopefully there’s a rematch at some point with a different outcome, but it seems like a missed opportunity for Wrestlemania weekend.
Video
Chronicling the path to the Women’s Title match.
Ring Area
William Regal reveals the new NXT Women’s Title belt.
Match 4
NXT Women’s Title Match
Ember Moon vs Asuka (NXT Women’s Champ)
(referee: Eddie Orengo)
Result: Asuka wins via pinfall after a kick to the head
Time: 12:12
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Asuka was extremely confident from the start, almost taking Moon too lightly. Even so, the fight was fairly even with both women hitting some big, powerful moves. It built up nicely to a convincing finish, though there’s plenty of room for this feud to continue.
Ring Area
Drew McIntyre is in the crowd!
Backstage
Shinsuke Nakamura gets ready for his match.
Video
Buildup for the NXT Title match.
Ring Area
William Regal reveals the new NXT Title belt.
Match 5
NXT Title Match
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Bobby Roode (NXT Champ)
(referee: Drake Wuertz)
Result: Bobby Roode wins via pinfall after a Glorious DDT
Time: 28:05
Match Thoughts
Very good match. The match was paced well, starting slow and gradually building to some exciting moments. There were a few moments late in the match that felt a little predictable, but overall this was very well done. I liked the injury psychology that Bobby used by repeatedly targeting Nakamura’s knee. It helped elevate the match. And Nakamura’s submissions were probably some of the most tense moments. I think I enjoy the matches Nakamura had with Samoa Joe better, but this is still very good.
Show Impressions
Without going back and watching it again, I think I enjoyed last year’s Wrestlemania-weekend Takeover better, but this was still a good show. I like the new title belts, though I was a little surprised with some of the title match outcomes. Overall they kind of gave this show a feeling of being part of a longer ongoing story rather than a culmination of stories building up to this weekend. And that’s fine, it just surprised me a little.
Match of the Night
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Bobby Roode
Again, this was very good. The Women’s Title match was very good too, but I think the extra time and some of the injury elements in the match made the NXT Title bout a little better. The tag title match would have easily won match of the night if the final segment hadn’t been such a letdown.