With Royal Rumble weekend being so big, I have to split this review up. I'll take care of Takeover here and do the Royal Rumble in a separate blog later today. I don't recall ever being dissatisfied with a Takeover event. Takeover: Philadelphia was another good one and it just proves that no matter how much talent moves on from NXT, more talent goes into NXT. Whenever NXT gets purged for talent, I worry for their roster a little bit. Sooner or later, I realize that more talent will arrive and NXT is the place to be. Everyone in NXT brings their A game to the Takeover events and this one was no different. I have to applaud everyone that participated. I'm not here to compare it to the Royal Rumble PPV the next night. It's apples and oranges and not a fair comparison. Besides all of the great matches, I should mention some of the newly signed members of the NXT sitting in the audience such as Ricochet and EC3. I also want to take a moment to appreciate the show's opening promo by Paul Heyman. I think having Heyman's endorsement of NXT in the city of Brotherly Love was a classy move and so fitting.
NXT Tag Team Titles - Undisputed Era vs. Authors of Pain
This was a good way to open the show. Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish have been teaming for years on the independent scene and in Ring Of Honor, mostly known as Redragon. Their work on Saturday especially reminded me of Arn Anderson and Tulley Blanchard, the way they would focus on a body part. Their ring psychology is fantastic! The Authors of Pain, though they are powerhouses, are pretty agile as well. They have improved drastically since they first hit the scene and having Paul Ellering only increases their presence. The match ended with Akam accidentally colliding with Rezar, enabling O'Reilly to get a quick roll-up pin for the victory. The Undisputed Era injured the APO early on and it worked in their favor. I can see the Authors of Pain heading to Raw or Smackdown in the near future. Will they show up between now and WrestleMania? Will they show up the night after WrestleMania? Though they will make their main roster debut this year, I'd like to see them in a clash with the newly signed War Machine, who were seated at ringside for this event. And yes, Peter Rosenberg, War Machine is a tag team!
The Velveteen Dream vs. Kassius Ohno
Takeover: War Games was the coming out party, so to speak, for The Velveteen Dream. His match with Aleister Black was amazing and even in a losing effort, he was even able to make Black himself say his name, along with everyone else. After his loss to Johnny Gargano last week, he needed a big win. He promised to end the match in under 30 seconds against NXT's resident knockout artist Kassius Ohno. It looked like just that would happen in the match's opening moments when Dream nearly knocked Ohno out. However, his showboating cost him, as it gave Ohno time to recover. Ohno delivered some knockout blows of his own but couldn't put the Dream away. After a Purple Rainmaker, The Velveteen Dream scored a big victory. Although I wasn't initially on board with his gimmick, his match with Aleister Black made me respect his in-ring ability. Even watching Tough Enough, I knew Patrick Clarke had something in him to succeed as a wrestler.
NXT Women's Title - Ember Moon vs. Shayna Baszler
If there was ever a match where I worried that the Title would change hands, this was it! Before the show, Moon winning was not only my prediction, but my hope. I felt that this would be too soon for her to lose the Title she worked so hard to get. I'll tell you what, I think Baszler proved a lot of people wrong on Saturday night. Her psychology was great and really took apart Moon's left arm throughout the match. Having been in MMA and really trying to break people's limbs, I think it came natural to her. Credit to Ember Moon as well for her tremendous job at selling! I know I'm not supposed to know those terms and I would never use them in front of wrestlers, claiming that I know anything about the business.
This match told a story and every time that arm was being worked on, it made you think that the Queen of Spades could walk out as the new NXT Women's Champion. While performing her infamous Eclipse maneuver, Moon's arm was even worse for wear. She was in so much pain that she couldn't reach Baszler in time to go for the pin. After that, she was basically using her right arm the rest of the match. Baszler caught her in various arm bars throughout the match and was able to get away from the ropes several times so Moon would have nowhere to go. In a last ditch effort, Moon dug deep and used all of her weight into a pin. Because Baszler had her cross arm breaker locked in tight, she was not able to escape the pin. After the match, Baszler attacked Moon and continued to injure her arm. It left fans wondering if she was legitimately injured and if she would have to relinquish the Title. I can see a rematch in the future for sure! Both women put on a great performance.
Extreme Rules Match - Aleister Black vs. Adam Cole
I predicted that this would be match of the night and boy was I right! Wow! I mean, what more can I say? I don't recall seeing this brutal of a match in a long time. It was fitting that a Hardcore match like this took place in ECW's birthplace, Philadelphia, PA! Adam Cole's super kick into a chair led Black to fall backward into and through two tables. Cole then set up two chairs in the ring with vicious intent. He then turned the chairs back to back, almost resembling a sharp edge. Unfortunately for Cole, Black countered and delivered a Death Valley Driver onto the chairs. During the match, Cole almost had his thumb severed. It was taped up mid-match so he could continue.
It didn't take long for Cole's cohorts Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly to show up, as they hit the ring and delivered Total Elimination to Black. Just then, the three members of Sanity showed up and brawled with the Undisputed Era. While Eric Young and the returning Alexander Wolfe fought Fish and O'Reilly on the outside, the tremendously agile heavyweight Killian Dane performed a dive to the outside, taking out both his foes and partners at the same time. Meanwhile, Black hit a double foot stomp to Cole through a table, finishing the sequence with Black Mass for the win. This match accomplished a lot of as well. It most likely set up the next Tag Team Title feud and brought Black that much closer to the main events in NXT. This match was simply incredible!
NXT Title - Andrade "Cien" Almas vs. Johnny Gargano
I was wondering if the last match could be topped. Well, I'll tell you this! This match came as close as it possibly could. Talk about telling a story! The fight within Johnny Wrestling is so endearing and with every match, win or lose, comes even more respect from the fans. While I still don't think Almas should have been anywhere near the NXT Championship, he's a good in ring performer, so I'll give credit where it is due. The way Gargano's eyes looked vacant in certain moments made people think the match might get stopped. But Johnny persevered! After Zelina Vega interfered and attacked Gargano, his wife and newly signed NXT wrestler Candice LaRea, who was sitting at ringside, had enough! LaRea chased Vega through the crowd. Meanwhile, Almas was able to pin Gargano and retain. After the match, when LaRea helped Gargano up to the ramp, Tomasso Ciammpa came out and hit Gargano with a crutch. If I had one criticism of the match, I wish that Ciammpa was the reason why Gargano lost. I know it would have taken him too long to make it to the ring but the spot on the ramp could have come during the match. Either way, we're about to continue with an extremely personal feud.
From top to bottom, NXT Takeover: Philadelphia delivered. The Black/Cole match was phenomenal! Almas/Gargano told a great story. Ember Moon and Shayna Baszler put on a great match. Moon sold incredibly and Baszler's psychology was fantastic. The Velveteen Dream continued to rise and the Authors of Pain may have had their swan song in NXT. Seeing War Machine, Ricochet, and EC3 all sitting at ringside were also great moments. I really can't find much to complain about here, as it would just be nitpicking at this point. I wouldn't call it the greatest Takeover by any means, but it was special and entertaining.
If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments. Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans. Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport. For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
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