NXT Takeover Brooklyn: Which was the better of the two?

[Dagger Dias]

On August 20th 2016, WWE held the second Takeover event in Brooklyn. After the tremendous success last year's event was it was cool to see them go back again a year later. Between exciting new talent, great title matches, and more, the show from this year was highly entertaining in its own right.... But the real question here is.... Which of the two NXT Takeover Brooklyn events was the better of the two? Let's take a look at each card.


NXT Takeover Brooklyn (8/22/2015)

• Jushin Thunder Liger VS Tyler Breeze
• Blake and Murphy (with Alexa Bliss) VS The Vaudevillains (with Blue Pants) [NXT Tag Team Championship]
• Apollo Crews VS Tye Dillinger
• Baron Corbin VS Samoa Joe
• Bayley VS Sasha Banks (NXT Women's Championship)
• Finn Bálor VS Kevin Owens (Ladder Match for the NXT Championship)

NXT Takeover Brooklyn II (8/20/2016)

• Austin Aries VS No Way Jose
• Billie Kay VS Ember Moon
• Andrade Almas VS Bobby Roode
• Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa VS The Revival [NXT Tag Team Championship]
• Asuka VS Bayley [NXT Women's Championship]
• Samoa Joe VS Shinsuke Nakamura [NXT Championship]

Here are the discussion questions. Please keep the forum rules in mind when responding and do not spam.


Which one of these two shows did you like more and why?

Is there anything about either of these two shows that you would have changed? Why or why not?


Discuss!

 

[MizMark11]

The second, for sure. Don't get me wrong: the first was really great for Bayley vs Sasha and Balor vs Owens, but beyond that, I barely remember the card. Liger vs Breeze was fun too, but it wasn't the most memorable.

On the other hand, I feel like all of this year's matches did something. NWJ vs Aries showed that the latter is here to play and the former can actually work a good match and has amazing potential. The first women's match showed that Billie has improved leaps and bounds, and that NXT has a legit star in Ember Moon (with an even better finisher). The tag match was probably match of the night and would be match of the weekend if it wasn't for Styles/Cena. Almas and Roode put on a good showing, letting the world know that Almas has potential as a charismatic Latino superstar (especially if they ditched his entrance attire) and that Roode is a fucking star. Asuka vs. Bayley was fun too and the main event itself captivated the audience from start to finish, telling a great story.

Will I feel the same the next time Takeover hits Brooklyn? No clue, but for now I believe the second > the first.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

I really enjoyed both shows but I voted for the original Brooklyn show. Last year I skipped out on Brooklyn and just went to SummerSlam but this year I did the exact opposite. While the goosebumps I had for both Nakamura's entrance and victory were truly special I can really only imagine what it would've felt like to see Bayley's dream culminated at the original Brooklyn show. I agree with MizMark11's assertion that B2B had the better undercard (Bobby Roode is too glorious) but the combination of Bayley's fairytale story ending and a Ladder Match main event gives the 2015 edition the nod.

I also agree with MizMark11's opinion of the tag team match at B2B - it was easily the match of the night and it was during that match that I lost my voice. I dont know, maybe I'm overhyping Bayley/Sasha but I truly believe that that was one of the most special contests I have ever seen, and by far the best female title match I've ever seen. There was no match on this year's card that told a story as well as that match, despite having superior in-ring talent and arguably more hype. I don't think anything really needs to change from either edition, but I probably would've given Asuka/Bayley more time. It came off to me more as a squash than a passing of the torch.

 

[Hyorinmaru]

like others I loved them both but that's where the similarity ends because my favorite was the fist one. Bayley vs Sasha with Bayley finally winning the big one after so many chances. my first time seeing Jushin Liger as well. As a big fan of the Vaudevillians seeing them win the tag titles was an awesome moment and of course Balor vs Owens was beyond fantastic.


This year I loved Bobby Roode's debut and Shinsuke winning the big one by beating Samoa Joe was awesome but thi year didn't have as many wow moments like last years did.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I had to go with the first TakeOver in Brooklyn with Sasha Banks vs. Bayley being the deciding factor. It was just a fantastic match that had everything going for it: great action, great storytelling, fans were hanging on everything they were doing from bell to bell, a strong build up, a babyface that fans genuinely like and want to cheer for as a babyface and just the sort of natural chemistry that few wrestlers have with each other.

TakeOver: Brooklyn II had more overall star power in terms of Austin Aries, Bobby Roode and Shinsuke Nakamura being on the card and all had strong matches, but none of the matches at Brooklyn II had the magic of Banks vs. Bayley a year ago, so that gives it the edge.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I took some time to think about it, and the first one is the better of the two for me. The first set the standard for every Takeover that has followed and with the exception of Dallas, none have surpassed it yet for card quality from top to bottom. You had the awesome NXT Championship Ladder match, Liger's appearance was cool, and of course the great NXT Women's Championship match with the moment afterwards that the Four Horsewomen shared. All this in front of a massive crowd. Both shows are excellent and no fan should miss out on watching either one.... but the second could not top the first.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

personally, i actually loved the first one way better mostly because of the way it was structure. The way the card was structure, it didn't give the chance for the fans to react differently then how they wanted them to react and it made for a better show overall.