What we learned from NXT TakeOver: Respect

Wednesday’s live WWE Network special, NXT TakeOver: Respect, provided yet another phenomenal showcase for WWE’s developmental promotion.

It was also a night of historic firsts. The first-ever Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament crowned an inaugural champion and the first-ever women’s iron person match was the first-ever main event on a WWE show. While reigning champion Bayley and challenger Sasha Banks didn’t quite manage to top their Match of the Year candidate from NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in August, they still showed that they were the deserving main event match, providing yet another memorable chapter in their already-legendary rivalry.

When all was said and done, the event was a no-doubt-about-it instant classic from NXT. Here’s everything that happened and everything we learned on Wednesday night.

After Dash and Dawson worked over Bálor’s knee for a good long while, the good guys were able to get the win with a combination Muscle Buster and Coup de Grace.

What we learned: Of course, more stuff with Bálor & Joe shook out later in the evening, but this was the highest-profile match to date for Dash & Dawson, who looked like terrific old-school heels. They would have been helped more with a win here, but that wasn’t the story NXT was telling on Wednesday night.

After a breakneck closing sequence, Baron Corbin finally caught Chad Gable alone and planted him with End of Days to pick up the pinfall victory.

What we learned: You can chant Gable’s last name to Kurt Angle’s old theme music! Credit the Full Sail audience for another clever chant that will likely stick for some time.

Gable and Jordan looked spectacular here and very clearly have big things ahead of them. All four men tore the house down here and the closing stretch of this match was as good as any tag match you’ll ever see.

In her NXT debut, Asuka made Dana Brooke look like a million bucks before putting on her submission finisher, the Asuka Lock, for the win.

What we learned: ASUKA IS A GOD DANG FORCE OF NATURE AND WILL DESTROY ALL THAT STAND BEFORE HER.

Tyler Breeze tried his best, taking Crews to the limit after working over his back, but his aggression got the better of him and Crews was able to hit a variation of a Blue Thunder Bomb for the win.

What we learned: Breeze has come up just short in one too many matches. This likely signals the beginning of the next evolution of Tyler Breeze. Crews, meanwhile, will continue his march to title contention.

The story of the match was whether Bálor’s injured knee would hold up. After an intense, grueling match, Joe and Bálor once again hit the Muscle Buster/Coup de Grace combo to win the tournament and the coveted trophy.

After an emotional speech from Cody Rhodes, the whole Rhodes family presented the trophy to the winners, then Dusty’s WWF theme song played. A great moment to end the tournament created for “The American Dream.”

What we learned: Pretty much everyone (myself included) expected the Bálor/Joe team to be leading up to betrayal and dissolution during the tournament, but NXT opted not to tell that story ... at least, not yet. Joe is likely to demand an NXT title shot soon, but during the Dusty Classic, it ended up being all about the wrestling, not the storylines.

Sasha blocked the referee so she could rake Bayley’s eyes and pick up a pin for the early lead. 10 minutes in, Bayley hit the Bayley-to-Belly to even things up. But Sasha still couldn’t play fair, tossing Bayley into a video board on the ramp to get a count-out fall. A few minutes later, Bayley reversed a Boston Crab attempt into a Davey Boy Smith-Bret Hart-style rollup to tie it up, 2-2.

Sasha had the Banks Statement locked in with time winding down, but Bayley refused to submit. Sasha hit a double knee backbreaker and tried for another Banks Statement, but Bayley reversed into a hammerlock armbar and got Banks to verbally submit with seconds left for the 3-2 victory.

Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, William Regal and the entire NXT roster came out on the ramp to give both women a standing ovation when it was all over, a fitting end to a very emotional evening.

What we learned: Bayley has proven herself and cemented her spot. The NXT women continue to redefine what women’s wrestling is all about in North America. And the paradigm is now set: the main event in NXT and WWE is no longer defined by gender.