NXT came to Toronto for the first TakeOver special out of Canada, and left having put on a stormer of a show.
#TLDR: Featuring perhaps the best match this year for WWE, TakeOver: Toronto was a smash hit, in spite of a disappointing Dusty Rhodes classic final.
The Full Review: Straight out of the gate, 12,649 was the announced crowd for NXT – not quite a sellout, but pretty good. It’s straight into action too…
Bobby Roode vs. Tye Dillinger
Roode had a vocal choir for his entrance, something that Dillinger didn’t get (nor need…). We got a “this is awesome” chant before they even touched, and I have a feeling this crowd may become grating…
Eventually, the match started with both men unloading on each other, before Dillinger clotheslined Roode to the outside. He was quickly thrown back in… for another clothesline to the floor, as Tye followed him out so he could throw a couple of chops around ringside.
Roode took a whip into the crowd barrier, then a back body drop onto the floor as he rebounded. Back in the ring, Dillinger remained on top, hitting ten (of course) punches in the corner, before the tables turned as Roode backdropped Tye to the floor.
Roode followed him out, shoving Dillinger into the crowd barriers, as we got a more annoying rendition of the “count ahead of the referee” gimmick, as the crowd chanted “ten” for each count. Stop that! Back inside, Roode retained control by whipping Dillinger into the turnbuckles, before a clothesline and an axehandle chop to the back of the next kept the Glorious one on top. Dillinger turned a neckbreaker into a backslide for a near-fall, before Roode hit that neckbreaker at the second attempt.
We got some corner punches out of Roode, but Dillinger countered them with an atomic drop, before fighting back and landing some forearms to Roode. Dillinger gets a short-arm clothesline on Roode, before stomping down on him and setting-up for the Tye-Breaker… but Roode rolled to the outside and tried to walk out of the match.
Dillinger brought Roode back in, but he ran into a spinebuster for a near-fall. Roode kept up the offence with a superplex that brought Dillinger in from the apron, again for a two-count, before Roode mocked Dillinger’s own Tye-Breaker finisher, by pulling down the kneepads… but Tye reversed it, but quickly got schoolboy’d as Roode was denied a win as the referee spotted his feet on the ropes.
Tye hit back with a schoolboy and a superkick of his own for another pair of twos. After fighting back to their feet, the pair traded shots back and forth, before Roode elbowed out of a Tye Brekaer. Eventually, Roode worked that sequence into a Sharpshooter for a massive cheer, but Tye grabbed the rope to keep the match alive.
They exchanged more near-falls from an inside cradle and a reversal, before Roode threw Dillinger into the ringpost. That left Roode with a clear path to the implant DDT, and the win from an opening match that was good, but perhaps not as glorious as the crowd declared it! ***¾
Despite coming up short, Dillinger got a hero’s ovation on his way out of the ring. He was already a star in NXT before this match, but in defeat, Tye should have moved himself away from “enhancement talent” level.
We get a recap of the entire Dusty Rhodes Classic from this past summer, featuring more than a handful of team that perhaps weren’t NXT regulars!
Dusty Rhodes Classic – Final: Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar) vs. TM61 (Shane Thorne & Nick Miller)
The stipulation here was that Paul Ellering would be hoisted above the ring in a shark cage (sorry, “crash cage”, since it’s tied in with a new line of toys…), to prevent any interference. It also left the Authors of Pain to their own devices…
The match started with Akam and Miller together, but not much happened before Thorne tagged in and double teamed both of the Authors. A clothesline sent everyone bar Miller to the outside, as Nick followed in with a tope. That was a bad move, as Rezar picked up Thorne and climbed the crash cage’s supporting structure, dumping Thorne there. After realising where he was, Thorne leapt off the structure with a senton, knocking down both of the Authors.
As the referee suddenly decided to care about the tag rules, Rezar dragged Thorne off the apron and onto the floor, getting a two-count out of it. A neck crank followed, before Akam came in and took a near-fall after a stomp on Thorne.
Akam kept Thorne down with a rear chinlock, before a choke throw sent Thorne across the ring for another two-count. Thorne ducked a corner clothesline from Akam, but couldn’t make the hot tag to Miller as Rezar returned. A dropkick knocked Rezar into the corner as Miller finally tagged in, and took down the Authors with forearms and bodyslams.
A pair of sliding forearms knocked down the Authors as Miller went up for a moonsault – and connected for a near-fall. At this point, the camera got a good look at Nick Miller’s boots, with the initials MN on. Hey, if you’ve changed from Mikey Nicholls to Nick Miller, you’re not gonna pay for new boots to swap those initials around just yet…
Thorne rushed in with a dropkick as the Authors took duelling corner punches, before attempted powerbombs were countered into ‘ranas into each other. The Aussies connected with the Thunder Valley – press slam into a double team bodyslam for a near-fall – before they flew, as Thorne took out Akam and Miller with a slingshot senton.
Paul Ellering dropped a chain as the referee looked outside, allowing Rezar to wrap the chain around his fist and try to punch Thorne with it. Except the chain flew into the front row, much like a bouquet at a wedding. Thorne got a near-fall from a sunset flip after that slip-up, but fell to a spinebuster from Rezar, as the Authors landed the Last Chapter (Russian legsweep/clothesline) for the win. Not a great match outside of the dives, and that chain botch didn’t help. **
William Regal, Triple H and Dustin Rhodes (Goldust) presented the Dusty Rhodes trophy to the Authors of Pain after the match. Without the facepain, Dustin’s looking more and more like his old man these days…
Apparently the NXT tag title match is now best-of-three-falls. When did that get added?
NXT Tag Team Championship, 2-out-of-3-falls: #DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) vs. The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) (c)
This should be a good one! Dawson and Gargano start off with some fast-paced grappling, with Gargano getting an early near-fall from a cradle as Dawson was forced into the corner for cover.
Dawson took Gargano into the corner and cheap-shotted his way out, before a series of whips into the ropes led to a blind tag that allowed Ciampa to level Dawson with a forearm for a near-fall. A distraction from Dash Wilder allowed Dawson to fish-hook at Ciampa, before being tagged in legitimately to add to the attack. The Revival worked over Ciampa, double-teaming him sporadically, before Gargano tagged back in and landed a series of lariats.
An overhead belly-to-belly put paid to Wilder’s attempted interference, as a bulldog/clothesline to the Revival and a reverse neckbreaker got Gargano a near-fall on Dawson. A blind tag saw Wilder tag in, and with Gargano unawares, his slingshot spear into the ring was caught and turned into a Shatter Machine as the Revival took the lead after five minutes.
Wilder pounced on Gargano from the restart, but nearly took a schoolboy for the equaliser as Dawson promptly tagged in to work over Gargano. More double-teaming came as Wilder clotheslined Gargano into the ring, and into a slingshot float-over suplex for a near-fall from Dawson. The Revival continued to work over Gargano, forcing a kick-out after a drop toe-hold/legdrop combo.
Some body scissors kept Gargano grounded, before Dawson turned it into a Gory Stretch as they looked to complete a clean-sweep. Despite rolling out, Gargano still had to content with some double teaming, but turned an effort into a tornado DDT as he took down both of the champions. We almost got a hot tag to Ciampa, as Wilder created a distraction, and the ensuing mess led to more double-teaming.
Ciampa gave chase in a game of cat and mouse as the Revival landed a Hart Attack for a near-fall. The tiring Gargano reversed a back superplex from Wilder into a crossbody, before finally getting the hot tag to Ciampa, who took down Dawson with a missile dropkick and a knee strike into the corner. A reverse leg lariat from Ciampa almost levelled things, before he went to the well for some rolling German suplexes.
The hattrick of Germans left Dawson vulnerable for a knee trembler, but that only earned him a two-count. Dawson fought back, and dragged Gargano into the ring as the Revival went for a stuff piledriver, but instead a crossbody from Ciampa earned another near-fall. With Wilder rocked from a knee trembler, Gargano came in and played a part for a double-team knee trembler to Dawson, as the challengers tied things up. This match, so far, is out of this world.
The match resumed with Ciampa and Wilder trading shots back and forth, with the yay/boo shots ending with a slap from Ciampa. Dawson got the blind tag in, but was caught in Mark Haskins’ Star Bar floatover armbar, before rolling out and cracking Ciampa with a knee lift. Gargano got a blind tag of his own as Ciampa hit an elevated flatliner, before a slingshot DDT got Gargano another near-fall.
Gargano fell into an European uppercut-assisted German suplex as the Revival almost stole the win with a double-team, but Ciampa was quickly thrown shoulder-first into the ringpost. That left Gargano alone in the ring against both of the Revival, with his attempts at overcoming it almost getting a win as a backslide reversal ended in a small package for another two-count.
Dash Wilder threw one of the tag titles into the ring, and it quickly came into play as Dawson used it to smash Garganos knee as he went for a rolling kick – and somewhere in this, Dawson got cut open. Dawson went for the inverted figure four to force a submission on Gargano’s weakened knee, just like in Brooklyn, but Gargano made it to the bottom rope to break the hold.
The Revival called for #DIY’s finisher, but they missed as Wilder superkicked Dawson, before turning around into their own Shatter Machine! Gargano got a near-fall as Dawson returned to life to break it up, and then played possum to roll up Gargano with the tights… but the referee caught it. Wilder ran in to give Gargano a chop block, which led to a variation of the indy-riffic pinning exchanges, ending with Gargano catching Wilder in a crossface.
Ciampa ran in with a float-over armbar onto Dawson, as the Revival held onto each other to prevent a submission, but in the end they tapped as we have new tag team champions. Well I predicted a turn, but I’ll gladly take this. With six weeks or so left in the year, I don’t think anything under the WWE banner is going to top this match this year.
To quote a wise man in a recent debate about these ratings, “the five stars are there to be used”. I was wavering back and forth on this, but I’m going to do it. *****
After the show, the Revival dropped a few interesting tweets. Perhaps a main roster call-up is on the cards?
Jim Ross was shown at ringside, as we went to our semi-final – featuring the return to WWE after six years of Mickie James. You know, the one last seen on the North American scene being pushed into the path of a train in TNA?
NXT Women’s Championship: Mickie James vs. Asuka (c)
After feinting some strikes, a tie-up saw Mickie and Asuka swap near-falls, before they shook hands and went face-to-face once more.
Mickie grabbed a headlock and kept it on as Asuka tried to push away, before landing a sliding dropkick that forced the champion to roll to the floor. James held the rope open for Asuka to return, but instead Asuka slid in between the bottom ropes. They traded hammerlocks, before Asuka moved it up into some headscissors, before the pair traded some kicks.
After a hip attack knocked Mickie to the outside, Asuka held the ropes – but when Mickie tried to go in between the bottom ropes, she ate another hip attack. They fought on the floor, where Mickie hit a headscissor takedown off the apron, before a kick from Mickie was caught, and eventually turned into a German suplex as James was dumped on the floor.
Mickie eventually hauled herself back in, and back into the path of more hip attacks, before getting hiptossed across the ring. Someone tried in vain to start a “Trish’s lover” chant, as Asuka tied up Mickie in the ropes with an Octopus hold, before missing another hip attack. Asuka needs to stop watching her Taguchi tapes.
In spite of that, Asuka went back to some kicks, but Mickie caught one and turned the champion into a single leg crab, then a Muta lock, forcing Asuka to drag herself and Mickie into the ropes. Asuka does just that, before he starts to trade blows back and forth. Mickie launches into Asuka with a series of clotheslines, then ducks a crossbody out of the corner before landing a flapjack.
Mickie hits a flying seated senton off the top rope for a near-fall, but Asuka quickly came back with an armbar that was instantly broken up. After dragging Mickie into the middle of the ring, Asuka was kicked to the mat, before another Mick Kick to the head earned a near-fall as Asuka got her foot on the rope. Another cover, another two-count followed, before Asuka countered a DDT into the Asuka Lock.
Mickie kept trying to roll through, and almost got the win with a cover as she rolled back, but instantly from the kickout Asuka got the lock on and forced a submission. As a match, this was pretty good, but very few people seemed to believe that Mickie James would be more than one-and-done – and as such, that the title really could change hands. ***
They faded away before Mickie got the Tye Dillinger reaction…
NXT Championship: Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (c)
Joe’s finally got a new t-shirt… and Nakamura got a lot more violinists “playing” him to the ring.
Nakamura opened up with some kicks to Joe, who returned fire, and seemed to kick the champion low early on. Joe demanded a clean rope break, but kneed Nakamura in the head as he did a mocking break, only for the champion to return with a kneedrop to Joe’s head.
After following Joe to the outside, Nakamura took a headbutt and some knees before throwing his challenger into the crowd. They exchanged shots before Nakamura took it back to the ring, only to fall to an enziguiri after being trapped in the corner.
A back elbow from Joe took down Nakamura as he ate an elbow drop for a near-fall, but again, Nakamura fought back with knee strikes, only to take a sit-down knee breaker from Joe. More kicks from Joe led to a rolling takedown into a kneebar as Nakamura was forced to kick himself free.
Joe dropped Nakamura with a Bionic-like elbow, then turned him over with a single-leg crab, but again Nakamura kicked himself free, as the champion remained on the back foot. The challenger wiped out Nakamura with a tope suicida after sidestepping a charge, and then looked to drop Nakamura with a uranage on the ring steps – echoing the angle that put Nakamura out for several weeks.
An enziguiri from Nakamura took down Joe, and finally got him some breathing space. More kicks from Nakamura took Joe into the corner, and in position for a running elbow before landing a running knee to Joe – after having draped him across the top turnbuckle. A front facelock looked to wear down Joe, but a bodyslam and an atomic drop, then a big boot and a back senton put paid to that theory as Joe earned another near-fall.
Joe hit his powerbomb for a near-fall, but rolled into a deep Boston crab after the kick-out, then into an STF before finally switching into a crossface to complete the evil hattrick of submissions. Nakamura rolls back and gets a near-fall before grabbing an armbar, but he runs into a powerslam by Joe as the match kept turning back and forth.
Nakamura hits Joe with a diving knee strike, but both men were left laying. Joe got up and struck first as they went to the yay/boo shots, before a forearm shot knocked Joe down. Nakamura tried for an inverted exploder, but Joe elbowed free… only for a deadlift German suplex to take the challenger down regardless.
A running knee into the corner missed as Joe retaliated with a log roll to attack Nakamura’s knees, before he went up for the Muscle Buster… but Nakamura rolled out and hit the Kinshasa! Joe kicked out at two from that though. Another Kinshasa was blocked as Joe grabbed a rear naked choke, sending Nakamura to his knees.
Nakamura powered back to his feet, but Joe kept the hold on, and then switched it into a German suplex, then a Dragon suplex, and finally a package German for another near-fall. Joe missed a right hand shot, and took a Kinshasa to the back of the head, sending him flying to the outside.
An already-bloodied Joe was joined on the floor by Nakamura, who went for another Kinshasa – but Joe kicked him low as the referee was pushed away. The uranage on the ring steps followed, and it was elementary from there: Muscle Buster, three-count. Samoa Joe becomes a two-time champion. A fine main event, even if they did play Joe’s original (crap) music to celebrate his win.
Who thought this was disappointing? This was better than the Brooklyn match where Joe lost… and now, cue a load of speculation of Nakamura for the main roster once more! ****¼
As a show, this was a massive thumbs up from me. In spite of that Dusty Rhodes Classic final – which I had low expecations for going in – this show will be memorable for a trio of great matches, including one that has a real good shout of getting match of the year votes in a few weeks time.
If you skipped this show, at least find time to match the tag title match! But perhaps grit your teeth for the “TEN!” chants for count-out spots…