NXT Take Over Live Blog

Going to give this another shot. I really liked the last show, although I haven't watched any NXT since, then. Looking forward to checking this out. Check back after every match.

Hideo Itami v. Tyler Breeze

Fun match. Itami's kicks look 80% good, 20% bad, it is clear he is still getting used to how stiff he is allowed to work. Liked all of Breeze's legwork, although Itami's selling was Japanese junior style spotty. Love how nuts the crowd goes every time he sets up the G2S they are going to go bananas when he finally hits it.

Baron Corbin v. Bull Dempsey

I like Corbin, he has really nice looking offense, and apparently will take some bumps. Really nice spinebuster and I am impressed he hit his finish on such a big dude. Dempsey was fine for a guy who looks like he should be working ICW ticket sellers matches with black Dynamite kid and Wayne the Convenience Store Guy.

Blake and Murphy v. Lucha Dragons

I didn't care for this. Blake and Murphy have some cool moves, but they scream goofus indy guys from 2002. This felt like a poor mans SAT's v. Quiet Storm/Chris Devine match, a bunch of spots, some good some awkward. I kind of like Kalisto and Sin Cara, but this brought out the worst in them.

Finn Balor v. Adrian Neville

Well this is very much not my thing, but for a PWGish match it did what they wanted it to do. I still think Balor's Jazz Singer make up is pretty dumb. These are a pair of guys with really good execution, but I am not sure there is anything behind that execution. I know I am going to be an outlier on this, but, I am going a thumbs down.

Sasha Banks v. Bailey v. Charlotte v. Becky Lynch

Parts of this were really bad, lots of ideas poorly executed. I did think they built nicely to the finish. Bailey's top rope belly to belly was a really nice nearfall, and all of the work around the crossface was pretty cool, Charlotte's flexibility made that look really nasty, and I liked the roll up when she couldn't get the submission. I like Sasha Banks, feels like the best of the Divas.

Kevin Owens v. Sami Zayn

Liked this a bunch, really well done first match of their series. Worked like a juniors version of Cena v. Brock, with Owens overwhelming Zayn and really kicking the shit out of him. When Owens was in the indies he had a tendency to shtick it up but he is better as an vicious guy who will do whatever it takes. Zayn did some relatively subtle selling, which isn't how I would describe El Generico. I thought the finish was pretty great, although naturally that kind of finish won't have the drama of the previous Zayn match. Really sets up a great second act

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MLJ: 2010: Invasores Interlude 5: Hijo del Fantasma vs Psicosis II

Taped 2010-05-10 @ Arena Puebla
Hijo del Fantasma vs Psicosis

8:33 in

http://youtu.be/8XXtosjafm8

http://youtu.be/6NMKWEWsWb0

http://youtu.be/1ZlkLUxL7Mc

This was the first Invasores singles match and it was extremely functional. It was meant to accomplish a few specific tasks and it did. I'm not sure I'd call it an excellent match by any means, but I'm certainly not going to complain about a functional one, especially at this point in the feud. Interesting, it tried to accomplish quite a bit that the Arena Mexico Porky match shot for. It just managed them in a way that was positive instead of a negative.

So, what do I think they were they going for here? First and foremost, it was a way for Fantasma to get some of his heat back after losing in trios a couple of weeks in a row. It was important that the CMLL defenders looked strong. Equally so, it's important that the Invasores looked strong, and this was the first showcase match for Psicosis who was presented as one of the top entities for the stable. It's wrestling 101. The stronger you make your opponent look, the better you look when you get a truly earned advantage over him. The finish was meant to show the gang mentality of the Invasores and that they could strike at any point. Fantasma was to gain some sort of decisive end advantage so that the Capos could run in and cause the DQ. Therefore, it was ideal that Psicosis took most of the match, got heat on Fantasma, and then sold big for the comeback.

That's exactly what happened, so the match gets points for that. Some of the execution wasn't quite there. It did, however, feel a lot more like an extended heat than an extended lucha beatdown. There were comeback spots and cut offs. In fact, when Fantasma took the segunda, it was on a hope spot roll up out of nowhere and he immediately went back to working from underneath. That's a use of the 2/3 format that I always thought worked really well.

The actual work wasn't bad by any means. Fantasma had a nice inverted leglock to start the primera and had an advantage until Psicosis hit a back elbow out of nowhere. It was still back and forth until Psicosis launched Fantasma to the mat with a pretty brutal top rope  michinoku driver after a nice little shot to the thigh to open him up. (brutal enough to bring in the doctor and rationalize the amount of selling Fantasma would do for the next caida and a half). Most of the rest of the match was Psicosis working over Fantasma, all over too. There wasn't a huge focus, body part wise, and from a kayfabe standpoint, maybe that's why Fantasma was able to come back.

Probably more troubling were some of the execution issues. The michinoku driver, while ambitious, didn't look all that great. Then, during his real comeback, Fantasma went for an inside springboard rana off the second ropes, barely got hold of Psicosis, and both of them fell down in a really awkward power bomb. Again, A for effort, but moments like that broke up the rhythm of the match. Ultimately, Fantasma went for three chained suplexes and the Capos ran in to cause the DQ. The tecnicos from the next match charged the ring, but not before they stole Fantasma's mask.

In general, when watching these in context, I'll take a pretty good functional match over a great ill-conceived one. This was pretty good and functional.

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