Results, Recap, Review of NXT Takeover: 25
For the last five years, NXT has been the centerpiece of the WWE Network and none of those pieces have shined more than the Takeover events. Before tonight, there have been twenty four Takeover events and there hasn’t been a bad one yet. Going into tonight I had a feeling the expectations were going to be high and the NXT stars were going to raise the bar. With the recent struggles of the main roster and the rise of AEW, the NXT brand was looking to prove that they are the top wrestling in the world. Before I begin with my thoughts, here are the results of Takeover 25:
-Matt Riddle defeated Roderick Strong
-Street Profits defeated The Forgotten Sons, Undisputed Era, and Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch to become the new NXT Tag Team Champions
-The Velveteen Dream defeated Tyler Breeze to retain the NXT North American Championship
-Shayna Baszler defeated Io Sharai to retain the NXT Women’s Championship
-Adam Cole defeated Johnny Gargano to become the new NXT Championship
The opening match was between Matt Riddle and Roderick Strong, which was the first of three matches involving the Undisputed Era, These two have such a contrast styles but they are both physical as you can get. I will be honest about Roderick Strong by saying he’s really never needed to be in Undisputed Era because of his worth ethic in the ring. Unfortunately, not a lot of people got into him as a singles competitor. Matt Riddle is just a unique animal who definitely has a bright future ahead of him. Following this hard hitting contest, they went into the tag team ladder match featuring The Forgotten Sons, Street Profits, Undisputed Era, and the team of Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch. This match ranked right up there with some of the greatest tag team ladder matches that I can ever remember seeing. All eight men literally put their lives on the line to prove that they should be considered some of the best tag teams in the world. I was personally happy to see the Street Profits finally get the gold, but the real story is how much of a monster they made Jaxon Ryker out to be. I think somewhere down the road he will be a force to reckon with in the singles division.
The Velveteen Dream and Tyler Breeze had to follow the Ladder Match and I thought that was going to be a tall order which it turned out that it wasn’t. There was so much charisma and flamboyancy in this match that I don’t think you could get much more. These have such unique personalities that it made such a good match. Before people complain about Breeze losing, all I am going to say is that is the best match he’s had in a very long time. He proved a lot of people that he is one of the best in-ring competitors that’s under the entire WWE umbrella. I am not sure where Breeze goes from here, but he’s back in NXT full time and has some great potential matches a head of him. Shayna Baszler has reigned supreme over the Women’s Division for quite a while now. Tonight was no different as she defeated Io Sharai. After the match, Io Sharai snapped and put a beat down on Baszler. It will be interesting to see where this goes consider Shafir, Duke and Lerae all got involved for their respective sides.
The Main Event was between Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole for the NXT Championship. These two had an incredible match at the last Takeover and tonight was no different. These two are great in-ring competitors, great storytellers and they leave nothing in the ring after every match. They traded finishers, hit some sick moves and it was a match that really could have gone either way. At the end of the night, Adam Cole stood tall and became the new NXT Champion. With Cole winning the championship and the rest of Undisputed Era not winning, it makes me wonder what the direction of the group is headed. Gargano and Cole have each won a match, which leads me to believe that a third match will take place at Takeover in Toronto. Takeover 25 was another incredible NXT event. I am going to give it a 9 out of 10. The only thing I was a little disappointed in, is that there were no surprises or new superstars being introduced. For 25, I think something bigger could have happen. With that being, NXT proves that their still the number one wrestling promotion in America in terms of in-ring action and leaving you wanting mote. I want more, but we will have to until Summerslam weekend when they take over Tortono.
