NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way

[Dagger Dias]

NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way was a special WWE NXT event that took place on September 11, 2014. This was the 3rd special NXT event and the 2nd under the Takeover name. If you have not seen it (or the previous 2 NXT special events) then you should. What we saw was yet another great showcase of talent who could become future stars of the company. Here are the matches from the show:


1. The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) (c) VS The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) in a Tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championship (7:48)

2. Baron Corbin VS CJ Parker in a singles match (0:30)

3. Enzo Amore (with Colin Cassady) VS Sylvester Lefort (with Marcus Louis) in a Hair VS Hair match (5:38)

4. Bull Dempsey VS Mojo Rawley in a singles match (1:10)

5. Bayley VS Charlotte (c) in a singles match for the NXT Women's Championship (10:44)

6. Adrian Neville (c) VS Sami Zayn VS Tyler Breeze VS Tyson Kidd in a Fatal 4-Way match for the NXT Championship (24:07)


I personally did not like the two short matches. A lot more effort could have been put into at least one of those matches. Other than that, it was an enjoyable show. The Fatal Fourway was excellent, easily the best of the night. I never saw the ending coming, good job on WWE's part, it will keep everyone interested in seeing what happens next. The NXT Womens Championship match was also very good.


What are your thoughts on this show, did you like it? Why or why not?

Which match was your favorite and why? What about your least favorite match, why did you like it the least?


Discuss!

 

[Radical]

What are your thoughts on this show, did you like it? Why or why not?

Great overall show. Only match I didn't really care about at all was Dempsey vs Rawley. Those guys don't interest me at all.

The other matches were entertaining.

The Ascension vs Lucha Dragons was good. People complain all the time about 'small guys' beating big guys but you better just stop watching wrestling all together and just go watch UFC if you only want to see similar weight classes face each other because this is Pro Wrestling and smaller guys beating big guys is a fact and reality and part of the excitement that draws attention to the show. So, that said, I really enjoyed the match. Both teams are great. Ascension are ready to go to the main roster anyway, so they had to lose the titles pretty soon.

Enzo (w Big Cass) vs Lefort (w Louis) Hair vs Hair was hilarious. Good entertainment. Enzo is a highly entertaining character and he makes feuds interesting. The stipulation was funny and a funny twist on who actually lost their hair.

Baron Corbin vs CJ Parker. Was fun to see Parker get squashed and Corbin has a great look and I think he has a ton of potential. Can't wait to see more form him.

Women's title match was also very good.

And last but not least, the Fatal 4 Way for the NXT Championship. From a pure wrestling stand point? A great match. Lots of cool spots and great action. From a storyline stand point? Disappointed Zayn didn't. But looking at the past and the NXT tapings ahead it looks like Zayn's 'story' is going to be 'always coming up short.' I just hope that doesn't stay with him too long or people WILL start not caring about him. Right now, it's okay because he's in NXT but just like Daniel Bryan in WWE. If he had kept coming up short and never actually winning the big one then I doubt people would be as big of fans of his as they are. So WWE have to be careful with Zayn in the same regard.


Which match was your favorite and why? What about your least favorite match, why did you like it the least?

So my favorite match was the Tag Team match because I liked the wrestling and the outcome. Lucha Dragons is a great name for the team and both wrestlers are great characters.

Least favorite match? Well the one I didn't care about was Dempsey vs Rawley but the match outcome I liked least was the Fatal 4 Way.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Definitely a strong show all round.

The shorter matches seemed throwaway but served dual purposes, one to show that guys like Corbin and Dempsey are probably going to be pushed first, then fed to Steen/KENTA (hate the new name) and Devitt when the time comes. They also served to, as in any card "cleanse the palette" before the wrestling heavy matches.

A lot has been made of guys coming up to the main roster, Breeze is seemngly gonna join with Miz and I can see them being a strong team along with MizDow. Personally though I felt this show was certainly a B+ level one and showed that with the new signings and a couple more guys "dropping down" rather than moving up then NXT has the potential to not be "the feeder system" within one year.

I'm calling it now, within a year NXT will be considered "The Show" and replacing Smackdown in it's slot. Guys like Neville will flourish there while some move on to the WWE side of things.

Neville showed some good stuff in the match despite the repetitive "out of ring shots" he was taking. The story of the match was he didn't have to lose and he played that well. Zayn looked the best he has looked and Kidd was albeit futilely shopping his wares back to the main roster as well as he ever has. Breeze was the only one who looked a little lost in the match but his character is such that it's not an issue or a problem, he can move straight into his new stable on the main roster.

KENTA looks the business, his kicks looked stiff as hell and the sitting on the chair was great TV. I can see this leading to Neville becoming his partner against the big men and the team imloding when KENTA wants his shot. For the record I refuse to use the WWE name, they can say it's to honor whoever they want, it's awful and will be dropped quickly...the fans wanted KENTA...

The Dragons were impressive but they're only gonna be a short term thing, they're gonna be promoted to the main roster as soon as possible to replace Rey so don't expect a long reign... indeed if it lasts past the next set of tapings I'll be shocked... For some reason I can see Dempsey and Corbin teaming up...

Charlotte looked good and I was really impressed with Bayley in a Molly Holly way, the "mama bear/lioness" part where Charlotte went back to defend her from Sascha was a good forshadowing of her future character I think. Not sure what else Charlotte can really do on the NXT show however, she is perhaps the next to head up after Bayley takes the belt.

Wasn't too keen on the Hair v Hair outcome but can see why they kept Lefort's locks intact... he'd be vanilla without them.

The guys I can't get into are Enzo and Cas... they whole "How you doin'", SAWFT thing is grating rather than fun... not sure if it's the loony moves while doing it or what but they need to turn it down to a 10... 11 is too much.

In all the future is very bright as people keep saying but it can go awry very quickly. Neville is ready for the main roster but is better as NXT champ for the full year before dropping to KENTA, hell even do it at Mania for full effect. That way you can easily transition Adrian into the main roster at a high level, even in a loss than him losing the strap on NXT and simply "heading up".

Sami Z probably NEEDS the change more than Tyler Breeze so could see him joining on a more permanent basis.

But they need to keep as many as they have for as long as possible on NXT and prominent. It's no good assuming Devitt, Steen and the like are all going to immediately take off the way KENTA seemingly is... asset stripping NXT would only lead to more congestion on the main roster. It's telling (SPOILER) Titus is booked through the next month down there seemingly in Kidd's place...

 

[Uncle Sam]

Takeover was NXT's third best, and therefore worst, two hour live special so far - the original Takeover and Arrival being about on par. It was also one of the best wrestling shows of the year. That's the standard that NXT has set.

One can only assume that every one of NXT's live events will be called Takeover (or TakeOver if, like me, you're pedantic about that sort of trivia) and that's alright. Saves the writing team the pressure of choosing a different abstract noun every few months. NXT Collision, NXT Rotation, NXT Flippity Floppity, etc. There'll be probably be a different subtitle for each, akin to "Fatal 4-Way," though - e.g. NXT TakeOver III: We Promise, Sami Zayn Will Actually Win His Match This Time.

The story of the show was undoubtedly Sami Zayn coming breathtakingly - painfully - close to winning the championship and Neville pulling the referee out of the ring at the last moment. And that came at the end of the match of the night.

Charlotte versus Bayley completed a trilogy of excellent women's title matches at NXT live events. Paige versus Emma was tremendous, Charlotte versus Natalya (though I took time to warm to it) was arguably better and this-- well, this was definitely the worst of the three. But, to pull the rug from under your feet once again, that isn't to say it wasn't bad. Bayley's possibly the best babyface NXT has and watching her come up short was rough. The match would have been even better if Charlotte was less athletic - she landed more on her feet than on Bayley from her moonsault.

The only match which did end with a title change was the tag match, and The Lucha Dragons didn't seem the team to dethrone The Ascension but, at the end of the day, who was? Nobody else was really on the horizon. The Vaudevillains are impressive but tonally completely at odds with The Ascension. Going forward, this was probably the right call.

Having Hideo Itami then fight both members of The Ascension - who look more vulnerable than they did before but are still badass and still two guys - was an intelligent move.

However, Enzo and Big Cass were the highlight of the show. They were all over it, the crowd was all over them, and they just oozed showmanship.

 

[JamJam]

What are your thoughts on this show, did you like it? Why or why not? Yes, I did like the show. It was hyped really well during the main shows and it delivered on all facets.

The tag match was highly entertaining despite how short it was. I thought there would've been something big to go down since The Ascension are a big deal. But it was a clean win for the Lucha Dragons. I would've liked to have seen something else but I'm fine with the result. Kalisto will be big once he reaches the main show, mark my words.

For the short matches, I didn't really have knowledge of those guys so I won't comment too much on them. Baron Corbin looked like a beast though. I'm interested to see where they go with him.

I'm not a regular NXT viewer but after this PPV, I probably will be. The Enzo/Lefort stuff was pretty entertaining. As soon as I saw that it was a Hair vs. Hair match, I knew that Lefort wouldn't lose. And if he did, he wouldn't be the one who had his hair shaved. Both guys have a good look to them. I was surprisingly entertained by Enzo and Big Cass's act. Diggin' the whole SAWFT movement.

I watched the first NXT Takeover and the divas match was really good. So here, I was a little underwhelmed by it. That's no offense to Bayley and Charlotte though, they delivered a very good match. I guess I was just expecting more after I saw the Natalya/Charlotte match. Charlotte has been very impressive and will be on the main roster sooner rather than later. Bayley is a very likeable character and she can really go in the ring. I think they made her seem a little limited in the ring but if they let her loose, I think she can definitely do more.

The Fatal-4-Way main event delivered for sure. I was pulling for Sami Zayn to win as well but I just knew that WWE wouldn't let him win this one. Like so many others, Zayn's chase towards the title might be a little more entertaining than his reign as champion. Kidd looked really good in this match and I actually wanted him to win if Zayn didn't win. The one-on-one matches him and Neville would've had would've been so good imo. Breeze can easily do something else and a top heel can feud with Zayn for a bit. But back to the match, it was really good and chaotic, which is what a fatal-4-way match should be. Breeze's burst of offense was fun to watch and the storytelling between Zayn and Neville was good as well. There's really nothing to complain about this match other than the result like so many have said. But that only applies for certain people. I'm perfectly fine with Neville retaining the belt.

Overall, the show was really good. It was well-paced and the flow was great. Tom Philips is awesome as the play-by-play announcer and I think Byron and Renee help him out a ton. I think Renee is better suited as an interviewer and pre-show panel host, but she's not too bad on the commentary team. Byron is a good heel announcer to combat Tom and Renee too. NXT Takeover II was a success and I can't wait to see Takeover III.

Also, I caught some of the fallout show and it looked like it covered about 4 episodes worth of storyline. I might be exaggerating a little but even the fallout of Takeover was good!

Which match was your favorite and why? What about your least favorite match, why did you like it the least? You can say that the show really only featured three normal-length matches so I'll choose from those. My least favorite would be the divas match but that doesn't mean it was bad at all. It was very good but if I had to choose between the three matches, this would be the so called "worst match." For my favorite match, I'll go with the Fatal-4-Way main event. I almost said the tag team match was my favorite match but I think a clean win for the Lucha Dragons seems a bit off. There should've been something to go down to keep The Ascension looking strong since they're the longest reigning NXT Tag Champs.

 

[laodaron]

What are your thoughts on this show, did you like it? Why or why not?

I thought that NXT, like it frequently has, has the appeal of a medium/large Indy show with the production budget of the WWE. HHH is brilliant in the way that he works the audiences.

KENTA's debut as Hideo Itami was very well done, and chewing up The Ascension was well done.

As a small note, a moonsault isn't very believable if you land on your feet, Adrian Neville and Charlotte.

Match 1:

I hate Luchador chain wrestling and spotfests. I'm just not interested in watching a guy do backflips and side flips and four hundred and thiry-eight hurricanranas. I'm also not a fan of the Ascension. I mean, I get the angle, I just don't like it. They definitely aren't ready for the main roster. I don't know much about Kalisto, but I'm not interested in Hunico as Sin Cara, which only exists for the WWE to market merch in Mexico.

I watched this a few days ago, so I can't really rate the match, I just remember thinking, "This isn't very good."

Match 2:

Baron Corbin. I'm sorry, but I can't get behind a squash match in NXT. Maybe it's because Kayfabe is so ruined by the Performance Center and what NXT is, and Full Sail University, etc., but I feel like there would have been such a better way to bring in this guy that they want to market as a monster. Thrashing some disgusting unwashed hippy gimmick isn't the way. What's also very weird is that Baron Corbin did NOT get an entrance, but CJ "I should shower" Parker DID get an entrance, but then Corbin went on the squash him. Oh well.

Match 3:

This match had the highest amount of "This is a low rate Indy show" feel for the night. Enzo Amore is a glorified Indy guy that can't quite get to the ROH level of good. I don't know how he's in NXT. Everything is SO forced and SO contrived. Big Cass, I feel the same way. Just a big guy, no real charisma, everything is severely forced.

Hair matches are historically pretty stupid, but if you're going to use soapy water and pretend like it's hair removal product, you can't pour it in someone's face. The match itself was severely average, neither one being a very good worker.

Match 4:

Didn't even watch it. By this point, I was getting pretty bored with the product. To be honest, I did expect tons more by this point.

Match 5:

I thought, nice. A Divas match that might be pretty decent. And it was. But only decent. Charlotte is borderline too muscular, she's still ok, but too much more mass and she'll be more of a freak show than an appreciated wrestler.

The outcome was predictable, and the match was probably the best match of the night until now, and it ends up being the second best match of the night for me.

Match 6:

The Fatal 4-Way. I gotta say, it all looked pretty great, except for one point: Adrian Neville is massively overrated.

Tyson Kidd v. Sami Zayn would be a feud I'd pay great amounts of money to watch. Those guys know what to do in and out of a ring. Man, watching Tyson Kidd captain that match the entire time was brilliant, and I have to give that guy credit for taking the helm on it.

Adrian Neville was protected, he spent 75% of the match laying on the ground. Every single thing he does is heel behavior, except for his spots. He's 5'5, about 215 lbs of top heavy muscle, or whatever his stats are. There's no WAY that he EVER gets to a prominent spot on the main roster. But as a permanent NXT Champion contender? Sure.

Tyler Breeze is just another typical blond, long haired, cocky, nice looking heel. He's as common as it comes in pro-wrestling. He's not half bad, but again, looking at him is like looking at dozens of other heels that never quite made it.

The superstars in NXT right now are Tyson Kidd and Sami Zayn. Good God, watching them is like watching a real WWE PPV. Those two and how they controlled their match and how they dictated the pace is exactly why I would recommend watching NXT Takeover 2.

Which match was your favorite and why? What about your least favorite match, why did you like it the least?

The Fatal Four-Way was easily the match of the night, and the reasons for it are Tyson Kidd and Sami Zayn. Adrian Neville will never hack it on the main roster, but the other two will. It's just scary to think about Tyson and Sami being stuck on the NXT roster forever in order to make sure the product stays good.

 

[GeminiGarlord]

1. The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) (c) VS The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) in a Tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championship (7:48)

Liked it. The Lucha Dragon are decently entertaining and The Ascension sells their dominance amazingly. Not exceptional but good.

2. Baron Corbin VS CJ Parker in a singles match (0:30)

Didn't expect a squash and I got a squash. The goal was to make Baron Corbin look super-duper-strong and it succeded.

3. Enzo Amore (with Colin Cassady) VS Sylvester Lefort (with Marcus Louis) in a Hair VS Hair match (5:38)

I was iffy on Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady because their gimmick didn't feel as a good face one at first, but I'm pleasantly surprised, they make it work really well and have tons of carisma. Two thumbs up.

4. Bull Dempsey VS Mojo Rawley in a singles match (1:10)

I was distracted for a bit and when I came back the match was finished, don't care much for any of them so I didn't cared.

5. Bayley VS Charlotte (c) in a singles match for the NXT Women's Championship (10:44)

What? Woman that can actually wrestle? Is this wwe or it is just fantasy?
Good match, I was actually a bit sad that Bayley won (altought she should start toning down a bit her character, I like the concept but sometimes she spills a bit into Eugene)

6. Adrian Neville (c) VS Sami Zayn VS Tyler Breeze VS Tyson Kidd in a Fatal 4-Way match for the NXT Championship (24:07)

Tons tons tons of fun, bit disappointed of Neville winning though, honestly he is good in the ring but has the least charisma of the bunch..

Also Kenta debut was brilliant. It got me excited as hell to se how they develop him.

NXT confirms itself the superior product in wwe.

 

[Trill Co$by]

If we're doing a rating system, I'd give it a 8 out of 10 which is really good. Because that's what it was to me, really good. But it wasn't something that was too jaw dropping, nor was it the best it could be. So it loses points.

The opener, in my opinion stole the show but it could just be because I've been waiting for Sin Cara (Hunico) to get some love, and Kalisto is really good. Like what I see there. The two of them work really well together, and of course, the documented talent of The Ascension can not be ignored. They're ready for a call up, it's just a matter of the right time to call it.

The two filler matches were fine for me because they served a purpose. I liked Corbin, he had a nice character going and continued building it on last night's show. I also happen to be a big fan of Mojo... probably one of the few. I don't mind that he lost, nor that it was short. These were time killers, nothing more and I'm okay with that.

The hair versus hair match was... new. Mainly because I've never seen the Enzo character. I don't watch NXT as often as I'd like, so seeing this Enzo guy was kind of an experience. Very hilarious.

Bayley vs. Charlotte was a nice match too. I've got a FB group where people claim it to be the best women's match all year. I'm not too sure. Nattie vs. Charlotte at TakeOver 1 as well as Paige vs. Naomi at Payback (I think) were really good as well. But I did love the storytelling here. I also love how natural Charlotte seems to be in the ring. It must be because she's the daughter of Ric Flair...

And finally, the main event. I loved it... my second favorite match of the night. This is what high fliers around the world need to watch if they want to learn how to be entertaining. Doing flips and stuff is cool, but put some psychology into it. I loved how Kidd displayed his technical superiority as well as his ring awareness. Tyler Breeze (best song ever) made a great showing for the cocky yet sneaky heel. And I loved the chemistry between Neville & Zayn. All four are definitely big time players in the future if WWE can find spots for them.