NXT presented its first-ever overseas live special on Wednesday. The second big-arena WWE Network special (after NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn) combined with a rabid crowd helped make NXT TakeOver: London feel like a huge deal.
What we learned from NXT TakeOver: London
WWE’s developmental promotion delivered another big event that wrestling fans shouldn’t miss. Some questions have been answered, while others still loom large.
Bill Hanstock is a writer, author and Emmy Award-winning producer. He began writing for SB Nation in 2011.
The white-hot Wembley Arena crowd spurred on the NXT Superstars, who gave it everything they had to continue the streak of must-watch TakeOver events. Perhaps most promising of all, the show was structured perfectly, as the action ramped up and up throughout the entire two-plus hours, peaking at the end of the final match -- just as it should be.
If you haven’t seen the show yet, stop what you’re doing and go check it out. When you’re done, let’s recap the action and find out where NXT goes from here.
Asuka def. Emma
We expected a hard-hitting match between these two. What we didn’t expect was just how thoroughly Emma and Asuka would blow our minds. Emma and her cohort Dana Brooke tried to cheat to win -- several times -- but Asuka finally managed to land a spinning kick to the face to get the pin.
What we learned: Wow. Wow wow wow. Asuka once again reinforced that she’s one of the best wrestlers and performers in the world, while Emma reminded everyone that she’s the real deal, also.
Asuka has now thoroughly vanquished both Emma and Dana, so it’s on to other pursuits for all three. And after Wednesday’s performance, the sky seems to be the limit for both Asuka and Emma.
NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Dash & Dawson (c) def. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady
Enzo and Big Cass had 100 percent of the London crowd behind them, but ultimately Colin Cassady’s injured knee and Dash and Dawson’s chicanery proved too much to overcome. Enzo got caught with a combo flapjack/lungblower from the top rope and took the pin as Dash and Dawson retained their titles by the skin of their teeth.
What we learned: Enzo and Cass are probably the two people on the NXT roster who don’t need titles and probably never will. They came up short yet again, but they’ll remain just as beloved as before.
As for Dash and Dawson, this was arguably the best the understated and underrated team has looked to date. Unfortunately, they’re standing on the tracks that the Jason Jordan/Chad Gable freight train is running on. It’s all just a matter of time.
But that’s just fine with every NXT fan.
Baron Corbin def. Apollo Crews
Baron Corbin survived Apollo Crews’ standing moonsault finisher and stayed alive long enough to hit End of Days for the pinfall victory.
What we learned: “The Lone Wolf” Baron Corbin just keeps getting better and better. This was perhaps his best singles match to date and he proved that NXT’s resident superhero, Crews, is mortal. This feud will likely continue, but this is a huge win for Corbin and will only serve to make him cockier.
NXT Women’s Championship Match: Bayley (c) def. Nia Jax
It certainly looked like Bayley was done for, but she managed to hang on through sheer determination and finally got Jax to tap out to a guillotine choke.
What we learned: Jax dominated Bayley for nearly the entire match and looked to have the match won several times, but may have failed to win the title because of her cockiness. Bayley survived Jax once, but may not survive her a second time.
In a pre-match interview backstage, Jax said she would run through any woman who stands in her path. That set up a staredown with Asuka, so it looks like NXT’s unstoppable force may collide with its immovable object sooner rather than later.
NXT Championship Match: Finn Bálor (c) def. Samoa Joe
In the second straight title match that featured the champion fighting from underneath (although managed to be incredible in different ways), Bálor survived by the skin of his teeth and survived the Samoa Joe onslaught, pinning his challenger after hitting the Coup de Grace.
What we learned: If Samoa Joe at the height of his powers can’t end Finn Bálor’s title reign, who in the world can? Joe’s been spending the past few months proving he’s motivated and rejuvenated. He’s just as good as he’s ever been, especially in title matches. It’s kind of a shame he didn’t win on Wednesday, because there isn’t a whole lot more that Bálor can still do as NXT Champion.
The biggest question coming out of TakeOver is who’s going to challenge Bálor next. Perhaps next week’s NXT episode will shed some more light on where the title picture is going. Perhaps the returning Sami Zayn will have something to say about that.
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