NXT TakeOver: Phoenix 1/26/19

War Raiders vs. Undisputed

ER: Soooooo....I think the War Raiders entrance was the baddest ass version of all of the HHH rape and pillage if-Mad-Max-were-a-Meat-Loaf-video entrances. Them rising up out of the fog in loincloths and helmets could have easily looked silly, but I think it genuinely looked cool. And this match feels like NXT doing late 90s FMW workrate tags, and it's some pretty tasty popcorn. This was a nice big spotfest that earned the This is Awesome chants and was worth cringing through the Fight Forever chants. I used to always be underwhelmed by Hanson on the indies and in New Japan, but thought he looked great when I saw him at an NXT house show in November, the tightest I had seen him look. And he continued making that impression here, having one of the most joyous hot tags of recent memory, crashing through Undisputed in several ways, hitting a high leaping crossbody, upending O'Reilly with a lariat, banzai drop, running Porky senton in the corner, a hell of a run. He's also just a real bump freak, and he takes one here that would rank respectably on the Hamrick Scale, going for a tope and finding everyone had gotten out of the pool, just a big thudding back splash. Roderick Strong was a really great Tully in this one, nasty when he needed to be, but also great at being sneaky and working to cut off the ring. We got big moments like Hanson being bodyslammed off the apron into Undisputed, big splashes off the top, Strong sticking some mean backbreakers, O'Reilly planting a great kneedrop off the top rope, and War Raiders hitting many big running lariats. This was a real fun spotfest that felt like it nicely spaced out the big moments, and I think this delivered in a way that made the titles feel like a big deal worth fighting for. Real fun start to the show.

PAS: That entrance, man alive, this match this had the feel of a internecine Unite the Right battle between Convington Catholic MAGA teens and Vargsmel Zorn 88 cosplayers. I kind of want to hate the Undisputed Era, that cornball fantasy booking name, combined with the Davey Richards residue still sticking to O'Reily, it is hard for me to admit that these guys are pretty great at this kind of car crash tag match. I thought this was a star making performance for Hanson. He timed all of his cartwheels really well, so they were an organic part of the match rather then just a taunt, his crash and burn to the floor was nuts, and he made both a good hot tag and face in peril. I really liked how Rowe kept hurling him at the opponents like a gigantic Spike Dudley.  O'Reiley and Strong are great at finding ways to pick away at bigger men, always running in to clip a knee or land a cheap shot. I thought the War Raiders both did nice bits of no-selling when they got hit head on, only to sell big when they didn't see it coming. I thought they had a kick out or two too many in the end run by Hanson, but they definitely kept the crowd on a string and the finisher combo was really impressive.

Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno

PAS: These guys had a really great series in EVOLVE and they brought that chemistry to this match. Ohno brought a bunch of fun new offense, including blocking a sunset bomb to the floor by putting Riddle's head in the ring skirt and stomping on it (shout out to Fit Finlay), they also steal the Yair Rodriguiez vs. Korean Zombie finish with the odd angle back elbow. Ohno is a maestro at leg slapping, maybe the only guy in wrestling who can pull that dumb stunt off, and he really looks like he is pummeling Riddle with big elbows and kicks, something that was helped with the visual of Riddles swollen and bloody lip which came after Ohno stomped right in his open mouth. Riddle threw some great stuff too, his slow motion Everest German looked great and the sleeper suplex dropped Ohno really nastily on his neck. I dug the finish with Riddle getting a tap out on strikes, although it really buries Ohno, they kept mentioning his 0-4 record at Takeover and he was basically crying after the match. They might be redoing the old Hero losing streak gimmick from early 2000s IWA-MS, or they may just be taking him off TV, but man was that finish convincing.

ER: Loved all of this, just a real great sprawling fight between two guys who I like a ton. It's wild how long Hero has remained one of my favorites, and I love the moveset he's settled into that still allows for surprises.  I was into this one, but I really got into it once they moved into a Finlay adjacent spot, with Ohno slipping Riddle's head into the ring skirt with his foot, like a jersey pulled over his head in a hockey fight, and then stomps on Riddle's head. Later we get slo mo footage of Ohno throwing a running boot right into Riddle's mouth, his face contorting in freakish ways. It reminded you of the first 90s All Japan Comm. tape you ordered, and you didn't quite get All Japan on first view but then you got to a slo mo shredding guitar music video of Misawa and Kawada hitting each other and sweat flying off Kawada's hair as he eats a huge elbow, and it all started to make more sense. I love all of Ohno's kicks, and love the knees he yanks Riddle into, and love the way a guy can go into a match 0-3 and still be shit talking. Riddle had some impressive as hell throws, hitting a cool Karelin gutwrench, and the always great slo mo German, and my god that sleeper suplex was just brutal; Ohno's head looked like it bounced diagonally off the mat. Just like the match before, these guys felt like they were pulling out all the stops, and this one managed to build all the action to a fever pitch before crushing Ohno down to 0-4. Genuinely curious where they go with this, would love to know Ohno will still get to be in matches like this. Because this stuff is among the best in wrestling.

Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet

ER: I really loved the long, Low-Ki/Red Jackie Chan throwback at the beginning, with modern turns to it, with this being the extended cut. There were long portions of this match where everything, all the sequences came off very rehearsed. BUT, they were executed so well and laid out cleverly enough that even the overly prepared presentation was still almost always fun to watch. Yes, long sections felt like bonus extended features on the Only the Strong dvd, but it brought us a ton of fun dodges and escapes, and it felt like that oddball stage fight from last year's Red/Low-Ki House of Glory main event. I appreciated that Gargano always stuck to the heel persona, didn't sucker people into an dumb faced Gargano sells, always looking for ways to cut corners but not always overly. There were plenty of moments I thought were eyerolly, some big kickouts and some mirror kind of stuff that didn't work as well as their best sequences, and of course we get a poison rana on the floor that doesn't actually lead to the finish.....but then something would happen like Gargano taking a nasty tumble to the floor and hitting the apron on the way, and I'd be snapped back into enjoying everything. The ways the match ramped up were cool, and the finish was mean as hell: Gargano drops Ricochet with a brainbuster on the floor, mats removed, Ricochet's body making a sick smack on the concrete. Back in the ring and Ricochet gets spiked with a DDT and Gargano's victory actually did feel like a big deal. Everyone is busting their asses to an absurd degree on this show, really feels like a cool environment where everybody wants to be noticed. Definitely a 3 for 3 show right now.

Bianca Belair vs. Shayna Baszler

PAS: This was a match which clearly owed a lot to Baszler's greatness and whoever lays out the women's matches at the performance center. Belair is clearly still a rookie and has a long way to go, but they put together a pretty good match with Baszler being a vicious asshole tearing at the bad shoulder, and Belair having a couple of huge moments. That hair whip is an all time great bit of shtick, I loved how Baszler used her hair against her, and how Belair opened up that cut when she used it as a whip. The power out of the rear naked choke was pretty awesome, and I loved how she almost did it a second time before collapsing. I didn't think they needed all the bells and whistles with the run ins, and Belair still isn't there in between her big moments. This was about as good as it could have been though, and Baszler is a star.

ER: I was really into big parts of this. The stuff that worked REALLY worked. Shayna yanking the braid to tug Belair into the ringpost was a great start to all the arm work, and Shayna's armwork is always guaranteed to be high end. I thought Belair did a fantastic job selling it, several cool spots revolved around her not being able to fully pull something off due to her bum wing, and she made it come off naturally. Her body movement on the missed flung right hands was really cool, and the build all the way up to that horrific whip crack braid shot across Baszler's stomach was insane. I can't believe Belair opened up a CUT on Shayna's body with her HAIR. Her hair is a marvel of course, so at this point it probably wouldn't take a lot to convince me that she could swing from it. I thought the run-ins were a bit too predictable and silly. Duke and Shafir looked like such boobs that it would have just been better to have them not out at all. They got dispatched immediately and then moments later Duke got easily kicked off he apron and pratfalled into Shafir, looked like Keystone Cops. The finish was dope as hell with Belair powering through a rear naked and slowly shifting Shayna's whole body to be able to do an awesome, hard suplex. The immediate missed 450 was a cool own petard finish, and I appreciate that they gave us a nice looooooooong tease that the clutch would actually finish or Belair would be able to power through again. The layout of this was awesome, Phil is right that whomever is helping agent the women's NXT matches is someone with a brain worth picking. The layout really felt like it turned Belair into a full babyface, totally nailed it, and both came off bigger. This is a great show so far.

Aleister Black vs. Tommaso Ciampa

ER: This was a big batch of sexy dance fighting, but it was really well done sexy dance fighting. To me sexy dance fighting feels like something that always feels within itself, like you're watching a pre-taped performance that wants live performance reactions; there's a disconnect that's always present, every step feels workshopped or overly organized, or like a great match as conceived by a computer simulation. When you're locked into the formula, performance and execution are key, and the execution was great here. It's exhausting and always impressive, but doesn't always engage because you get the sense early that they're locked into exactly what they're locked into, regardless of reaction. The pace is persistent and impressive, and they threw out a lot of sequencing I really liked. I liked how Black played the knee injury, shaking it a little after landing a tope con giro (though even that felt overly planned as Nigel jumped in and point it out a little too quickly) and leading to a few fun moments where his knee failed him. The best was during the very finishing stretch where Ciampa was rolling him through on multiple Fairy Tale Endings, and Black came up to his feet with a Black Mass that fell way short because of the knee, allowing Ciampa to hit another FTE for the win. But there was a LOT of that swing dance vibe happening through out, and it's hard for me to stay into a match that has a lot of that. You catch my leg, swing me one way, I come through with a kick from my other leg that bounces you off the ropes, your momentum off the ropes with a lariat sends me bouncing in another direction, etc. It all looks impressive when it's as well executed as these guys can do it, but it never really feels like pro wrestling to me. They're doing something seamless...while also showing too many other seams. And a lot of impact is lost when guys have to be in position for the next dance move, so you get awesome moments like Ciampa perfectly timing a missed Black Mass to catch Black with a nasty elbow in the back of the head, looked like a perfect nearfall shot...but because the dance must go on, twas merely a flesh wound to Black. I am both very impressed by this match, and left somewhat cold.

ER: Awesome show, even with the main event that wasn't always my thing, but had impressive action with an unmatched pace. We're landing three matches from this on our newly growing 2019 MOTY List, and this was a very fine way to spend 2.5 wrestling hours.