NXT TAKEOVER VENGEANCE DAY REVIEW!
Hello everyone, and welcome to my review of NXT takeover vengeance day here on Bodyslam.net. Those of you who have been following me for a long time understand that I am a huge NXT fan, and I enjoy their brand of storytelling and action. With five huge matches on the card, tonight should be no different!
So without further ado, let’s begin!
Match 1. Women’s Dusty Cup Finals.
Dakota and Raquel VS Ember and Shotzi.
We kicked things off with the finals in the first-ever women’s Dusty Rhodes classic! As four of the top women in all of NXT went at it with everything on the line! Honestly, this match was excellent and quite honestly better than I’d hoped. I don’t mean that as disrespectful, but sometimes with the first-ever of something, it’s hard to live up to the history and pressure placed on your shoulders. Thankfully, these women did not have that problem. They went out their and crafted a great story of determination and back and forth fighting using an excellent combination of modern wrestling moves and old school tag team psychology. Fantastic stuff here, and I can’t wait to see when Raquel and Dakota get their much earned shot at the women’s tag team championships later this year!
Match 2.
NXT North American Championship.
Johnny Gargano (c) VS Kushida.
Next up is quite honestly the match I was most looking forward to upon looking at the match card earlier this weekend. As easily two of the most versatile and fantastic wrestlers I’ve ever seen go one on one! This ended up just being absolutely excellent, just like I had anticipated, this had a little bit of everything from both technical mastery and high-octane high-flying. As good as I am at writing, I don’t think there is anything I can say that will actually do this justice. If you watch anything from this show, make sure it’s this match; it’s just that simple.
I can’t wait to see what’s next for both men!
Match 3. Men’s Dusty Cup Finals.
MSK VS GYV.
Third, on this night is the second of two tournament finals as two of my favorite tag teams in all of pro wrestling square off for a shot at the NXT Tag Team Championships and the prestigious Dusty Cup! As last year’s finalists the Grizzled Young Veterans attempt to right last years loss against the fan-favorite high flyers of MSK!
This match was incredibly simple in terms of story structure but that’s not a knock on these men whatsoever if the wheel isn’t broken don’t fix it after all.
From high-flying insanity to crisp and captivating tag team combos this match had almost everything you could want from two tag team specialists.
Both teams are set up for a great year if this is any indication.
This was truly something worthy of the legacy and memories of Dusty Rhodes.
Match 4. NXT Women’s Championship.
Triple Threat.
Io Shirai (Champion) VS Toni Storm VS Mercedes Martinez.
In our penultimate match of the evening, we have something with the makings of a great match. As three of the best and brightest stars in all of wrestling, battle it out for the prestigious NXT women’s championship! Honestly this match was fast, frantic, and fun between three talented women. But it seemed to go a bit too fast at times and it was tough to get into as a result. Good stuff here but I honestly expected a little bit better, but that might just be because of my preference for one on one matches over 3-way bouts. I’m still really excited to see what’s next for Io especially with the recent reports that the NXT women’s championship might be defended at wrestlemania for the second year in a row.
Main-Event
NXT Championship
Finn Balor (Champion) VS Pete Dunne.
Our main event of the evening is a titanic battle of wills and wrestling styles. As two of the most aggressively athletic and talented wrestlers in all of the world go face-to-face for the NXT championship for the first time ever. This match was really good, while I won’t lie it was a little slow for my tastes, it still had plenty of good storytelling moments and crisp technical maneuvers, not to mention those strikes! This is truly something that has to be seen to be believed and it says a lot about the quality of the card tonight, that this was In my opinion not even the best match of the night!
I would personally give that award to Johnny VS Kushida.
But anyways I really enjoyed the show from top to bottom and I’m glad to have shared that with all of you. Can’t wait to see what happens Wednesday after the superkick heard around the world……..
