What we learned from NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn

SummerSlam takes place on Sunday and is the WWE’s second-biggest show of the year, but they may have already been upstaged by their own “minor league” promotion, NXT. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn put on a spectacular three-hour-plus live show on Saturday night in front of over 15,000 rabid fans at the Barclays Center. It’s safe to say that TakeOver exceeded even the lofty expectations placed upon it by diehard NXT fans.

The first hour of the event was a taping for next week’s episode of NXT’s weekly show, while the last two-plus hours were streamed live on the WWE Network. Let’s get right to the results of the matches that appeared on that special and break down where we go from here.

If you haven’t already, please go out of your way to watch NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn. It’s a prime example of professional wrestling at its very best.

30-year veteran and legitimate Japanese legend Jushin Liger wrestled his first match ever for the WWE on Saturday, looking just as spry as ever in his match against Breeze, the true unsung hero of NXT, getting the victory after the Liger Bomb. I forget who that move is named after. Probably Nova.

What we learned: Breeze continues to be the most incredible wrestler that absolutely no one gives credit to for being terrific. (Except us NXT fans, of course. We liked liking Breeze BEFORE it was cool.) He helped make Liger look great and like a big deal (which he is) and his expressions stole the show. Oh ... and his New York-themed runway show entrance was PERFECT.

Breeze’s frustrations after this loss may begin to build. We might start seeing an even more motivated Tyler Breeze after this. Which means the sky is the limit for him.

The Vaudevillains of Simon Gotch and Aiden English had threatened to neutralize Blake and Murphy’s cohort, Alexa Bliss. That neutralization took the form of NXT crowd favorite Blue Pants, who did indeed help run interference and eventually mixed it up with Bliss. The Vaudevillains took advantage of rampant confusion to hit the Whirling Dervish to score the pin and win the tag team titles.

What we learned: New champions! Bliss and Blue Pants will likely now feud and the Vaudevillains will need to fend off all challengers, including a likely rematch from Blake and Murphy first.

As an aside, the Blue Pants story is sort of a long one, but I imagine if any first-time NXT viewers tuned in and got to the reveal of Blue Pants, that likely made no sense at all.

This was the debut of Apollo Crews (formerly indie star Uhaa Nation) and he got to look like a big deal here, busting out his flashy offense in a competitive match and getting the pinfall after a standing moonsault on Dillinger.

What we learned: Crews is likely destined for stardom, as he uses a stunning hybrid of strength and agility that most wrestling fans haven’t seen before. This match was almost equally as important for Dillinger, as it is only the second televised appearance of his “Perfect 10” gimmick. He looked really great here and showed a ton of charisma. It’s only a matter of time before he’s the new Tyler Breeze.

This was the potential clunker of the night, but it really delivered. After a lengthy, hard-hitting match, Joe reversed a pinfall attempt into a rear naked choke and put Corbin to sleep.

What we learned: In Corbin’s longest match to date, he got to look like a real bruiser in a way that squashing people in 20 seconds never could. He went toe-to-toe with Joe and just got caught for the loss. All the while, he really played to the crowd well and is finding his footing as a heel.

As for Joe, a motivated Samoa Joe is certainly a good thing and it’s great to see him on a big stage once again. I wouldn’t be surprised if he began challenging for the NXT title in short order.

Stephanie McMahon introduced this match, stating that it was one of two main events. We suspected that this match would steal the show and perhaps the weekend, but I don’t think even we were expecting what we got: the greatest WWE women’s match in history and perhaps the match of the year. Bayley picked up the win by hitting a devastating top-rope reverse hurracanrana followed by a Bayley-to-Belly.

What we learned: The era of NXT’s “Four Horsewomen” has come to an end. Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha are moving to the WWE main roster full-time and leaving Bayley as the champion of the old guard that started the Divas Revolution and put WWE women’s wrestling on the map.

Bayley has finally proved herself to her peers, her naysayers and to the world. She now gets to be a fighting champion and gatekeeper for the NXT women’s division. I, for one, am eagerly looking forward to finding out who her first challenger will be.

I feel bad for Bálor and Owens for having to follow the women’s title match, but both men were very up to the task. A brutal and fantastic match that would have been match of the night on literally any other night. Bálor couldn’t resist hitting a Coup de Grace off of a ladder onto Owens before climbing the ladder once again and snatching the title belt to retain.

What we learned: We almost certainly won’t be seeing much more of Owens in NXT after this. This was a fitting send-off, as he played the crowd like a violin and proved just why Triple H and indie fans were so high on him in the first place. This is a prime example of what he’s capable of when given free reign. It was glorious. Hopefully he gets to have free reign again on Sunday night, in his SummerSlam match against Cesaro.

The landscape of NXT has changed ... and only for the better. Do everything you can to see this show before you’re the only dummy who missed out on it. It was that good.