NXT TakeOver: Rival

[Dagger Dias]

NXT TakeOver: Rival was a special NXT event that took place on February 11, 2015. It was the 5th special NXT event and the 4th under the TakeOver name. As I have stated with each of these shows, if you have not seen it yet then you need to. You missed out. Yet another great showcase of the future of the federation. Here are the matches that took place:


1. Hideo Itami VS Tyler Breeze in a singles match (8:13)

2. Baron Corbin VS Bull Dempsey in a No Disqualification match (4:15)

3. Blake and Murphy (c) VS The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) in a Tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championship (8:10)

4. Adrian Neville VS Finn Bálor in a singles match to determine the #1 Contender for the NXT Championship (13:45)

5. Bayley VS Becky Lynch VS Charlotte (c) VS Sasha Banks in a Fatal 4-Way match for the NXT Women's Championship (12:28)

6. Kevin Owens VS Sami Zayn (c) in a singles match for the NXT Championship (23:27)


The two best matches for me were the Neville VS Balor match and the NXT Championship match. Both of them exceeded my expectations, which were already high going into the show! The Fatal Fourway was also very good. With the exception of Paige and Natalya, these girls are lightyears ahead of any diva currently on the main roster. They need to be watching the NXT divas and taking notes. I'll spoiler tag my final thoughts on some match results, even though it has aired I do not want to ruin said results for those who have not watched the event yet.

Spoiler

I have ZERO problems with Owens being the NXT Champion. He's awesome and will be great as a heel focal point of the show. What I did have a problem with was how the match ended. Why did he just get awarded the title like that? Had he pinned Sami or made him submit, that would have been perfectly fine. Lastly, I know for a fact I will be in the minority here, but I'm not looking forward to Sasha as Womens Champion. I can see why they made her win the match as Bayley had her chance and Becky might not be ready yet.... Speaking of Becky, she needs to turn face immediately and feud with Sasha next. Charlotte's probably on her way up to the main roster.

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!

 

[ECW Sandman]

Owens Vs Zayn was an awesome match It through me off when they stopped the match and awarded the NXT belt to Owens it reminded me of a UFC fight or a Boxing match when that happened . and Balor Vs Neville was awesome as well I really hope all four guys have a great career when they get called up to the main roster .

 

[GeminiGarlord]

Itami vs Breeze
Good match, I was actually a bit annoyed about Itami going over because I love Breeze (and especially in this match he did a couple of super cool spots)

Corbin vs Bull
Yawn. I actually don't mind Bull Dempsey all that much, but I still don't buy Corbin (though his finisher is quite nice).

Blarphy VS Lucha Dragons
Ok match. Blake and Murphy are good but I'm still a bit iffy on how they've been booked. Hope that now that they are champion they'll sold me on them with a good reign.

Neville vs Balor
Neville is in dire need of a better gimmick than "slightly british guy". The match was nonetheless great, amazing in ring work, and Balor is charismatic as hell without the need to talk.

I so marked out at Balor kicking out of the Red Arrow.

Bayley VS Lynch VS Charlotte VS Banks
Woman that can actually wrestle? Is this some bizzarro alternate dimension WWE? (this joke comes back every NXT special. At this point I should be used to it, but the divas matches of RAW/SD lobotomize the concept of good woman wrestling from my head quite quickly)
Anyhow: I'm quite happy that they turned Becky Lynch heel. While I would have loved Bayley to win, this is good booking, she need a long feud with a good heel to win the championship and have a genuinely great moment. Charlotte is greatgreatgreat as always, I'm actually a tiny bit sad she's not the champion anymore. The finish was a bit weird but worked well. Great match.

Owens vs Zayn
KILL STEEN KILL! KILL STEEN KILL! KILL STEEN KILL! (yeah it was great. I actually loved the ending, highlights Owens as an absolute powerhouse monster -and for once they have a guy with a realistic build in that position-)

 

[Nate DaMac]

I don't get the confusion over the ending of the main event. He could no longer continue, therefore he forfeits the match. It's no different than someone passing out in a submission hold. Great finish.

Itami/Breeze was okay. Corbin/Bull was dogshit. The Tag match was weak. Balor/Neville rocked as did the women's 4-Way. Owens/Zayn was brilliant.

Overall, I'd give it an A-.

 

[LODemolition]

I loved the way they chose to end the Zayn/Owens match. Let's not just have Owens win the title by pin or submission, but let's have him beat Zayn down to the point where the ref stops the match. The women's title match was excellent as well.

NXT is the best wrestling promotion there is right now.

 

[TJ Matics]

I watched the first Take Over and wasn't all that impressed, at least enough to watch on a regular basis, but this one was great!

All the main matches delivered, and there are some very interesting characters that have me interested in watching regularly (namely Balor, Banks, Owen, and Charlotte).

I would have liked to have seen the main event end with the referee dropping Zayn's hand 3x, or is that a different result as far as the title changing than the referee stopping the match himself?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Like the other NXT live specials, this was a strong card. The only match that didn't really do much for me as Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey as both guys just seem really limited, especially Corbin at this point.

The opening with Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze I thought was a solid, 2.75 star match. It wasn't nearly as good as the one they had in the #1 contender's tournament a few weeks back, but it was still a solid outing.

Blake & Murphy vs. The Lucha Dragons was a bit sloppy in a few spots but, all in all, all four guys worked hard to deliver a good match. I thought it was also about 2.75 stars, probably would've been better had it been longer but, all in all, no complaints as they made the most of the time they had.

Adrian Neville vs. Finn Balor was a great physical match. Both men worked really hard and there were several very believable near falls scattered through it. I thought it was a 3.75 star outing, it was one of the matches expected to deliver and it did.

The women of NXT continue to flat out impress. They worked hard in a match that told a compelling story and all four know what they're doing in the ring. Sasha Banks is a star in my opinion, probably the most well rounded gal in NXT. She's probably not as strong in the ring as some of the others, but she's come a very long way, she's comfortable on the mic and she has a standout character. Bayley has also come a long way in that she's not just some goody goody babyface act, she's caught on with a lot of fans and she's also strong in the ring. Becky Lynch reminds me if Lita for some reason, she strikes me as having something of a "hot chick with a tomboy streak" thing going on and Charlotte continues to impress. I'm glad that they're not trying to have her imitate her father as I don't think it'd work all that well and while she might be a bit limited in terms of personality, she's able to make up for it. This was another 3.75 star bout for me.

Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens may not have had as much spectacular action as some of the matches we've seen Zayn featured in on these specials, but the storytelling more than made up for it. Zayn is essentially NXT's version of Daniel Bryan in that he's this passionate, fearless, never-say-die babyface and fans are very much behind him. Owens looks like an opportunistic predator to me, which is a refreshing change. He comes off as a ruthless brute that's out for himself, but one that's even more dangerous because he's a brute with a cunning devious streak. I thought the ending further established the positives of both men's characters in that Zayn just had too much heart to stop while Owens seemed truly predatory in that he kept going after Zayn like a shark that smelled blood in the water. I thought this was a 4, maybe 4.25 star bout.

All in all, another excellent special that featured a solid undercard while the matches that fans were counting on to deliver did exactly that.

 

[laodaron]

I've watched it twice now, and while the NXT standouts (Itami, Breeze, Balor, Neville, Zayn, Owens) were their usually decent quality, the rest of the card seemed extremely lacking, especially for all of this talk about the NXT Women's division. I don't see it. Sure, they're better than the current WWE Divas, but the current WWE Divas are maybe the worst women in wrestling since 1990.

Corbin v. Bull was atrocious, and on a card like NXT: Rivals, it doesn't fit. The tag match was nothing special, and honestly, (and this is my main gripe with all of NXT) I have no idea why anything's happening. NXT reminds my of early 1990s Raw when Superstar A was fighting Person B to basically fill time.

The crowd face popping for Owens really sucks, I'd like to see a ruthless heel be treated like a heel for once. I like Sami Zayn alot, though. I almost don't want him on the WWE main roster, because I'm sure he'll get fucked over into some stupid gimmick. Between Zayn and Finn, those are the two guys that I especially appreciate on the NXT roster.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I've watched it twice now, and while the NXT standouts (Itami, Breeze, Balor, Neville, Zayn, Owens) were their usually decent quality, the rest of the card seemed extremely lacking, especially for all of this talk about the NXT Women's division. I don't see it. Sure, they're better than the current WWE Divas, but the current WWE Divas are maybe the worst women in wrestling since 1990.

Really? That women's match was one of the best I have seen in a long time. All 4 of the women have their own characters which they play really well, and some of the moves in the match were spectacular. I thought it was a really good match, and all 4 of the girls deserve to be on the main roster.

Corbin v. Bull was atrocious, and on a card like NXT: Rivals, it doesn't fit. The tag match was nothing special, and honestly, (and this is my main gripe with all of NXT) I have no idea why anything's happening. NXT reminds my of early 1990s Raw when Superstar A was fighting Person B to basically fill time.

Agreed, it was a very poor match. Wasn't it a No Holds Barred match? There wasn't anything violent about it, and both guys were boring as hell. The sad thing is Baron Corbin will likely get a call to the main roster before alot of the NXT stand outs, even though he sucks.

The crowd face popping for Owens really sucks, I'd like to see a ruthless heel be treated like a heel for once. I like Sami Zayn alot, though. I almost don't want him on the WWE main roster, because I'm sure he'll get fucked over into some stupid gimmick. Between Zayn and Finn, those are the two guys that I especially appreciate on the NXT roster.

The fans have huge respect for Owens and know all his indie exploits, so that's why they cheered but I agree, it would be nice if he got serious heel heat for his actions. I haven't got any interest in Sami Zayn for some reason, never have. I much prefer watching Owens, Neville and especially Balor. But the main event here was very enjoyable with a cool, unexpected ending and overall I thought it was a pretty good show.

And how fucking awesome is Kevin Owen's entrance theme? BAD ASS

 

[Kris Benwa]

I liked the fatal fourway and main event the most. I love how after every NXT special you get the feel you just ended one chapter of a book but read the first sentence of the next then bookmarked and closed it until next Wednesday when you see what happens next. I hope I'm not the only one that does that. I feel like Zayn vs Owens will end up being what could have happened with Bryan had he not gotten hurt vs Lesnar. Take Zayn off TV for a while and during the mean time KO runs rough shod then Zayn can return eventually and serve him a cold dish of revenge for the awesome come back story.

I might need to rewatch but I honestly didn't think Neville vs Balor was all that. Am I the only person who had a problem with Neville kicking out of a double foot stomp to the back of the head with immediate cover but not kicking out of a double foot stomp to the chest?

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

If this show were on a main show, you'd shit on it. That said, I like it.

Tag match was a botchfest. Corbin/Bull was boring. Itami/Breeze was solid, Divas match was solid, and of course the number 1 contender and title match were great.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I liked the fatal fourway and main event the most. I love how after every NXT special you get the feel you just ended one chapter of a book but read the first sentence of the next then bookmarked and closed it until next Wednesday when you see what happens next. I hope I'm not the only one that does that. I feel like Zayn vs Owens will end up being what could have happened with Bryan had he not gotten hurt vs Lesnar. Take Zayn off TV for a while and during the mean time KO runs rough shod then Zayn can return eventually and serve him a cold dish of revenge for the awesome come back story.

I might need to rewatch but I honestly didn't think Neville vs Balor was all that. Am I the only person who had a problem with Neville kicking out of a double foot stomp to the back of the head with immediate cover but not kicking out of a double foot stomp to the chest?

Explain your logic. Because in boxing, you get punched in the face a lot, and the last one beats you. No one goes "wait a minute, the first 70 times he got punched in the face it didn't beat him". It wore him down.