6. Karrion Kross Retains NXT Championship
Pridefully, the NXT Championship five-way between Karrion Kross, Kyle O’Reilly, Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano & Pete Dunne was a reason alone to watch NXT TakeOver: In Your House.
There was too many spots to name but it certainly blew the roof inside your house. Especially the roof of Pete Dunne, who was on the receiving end of many of these manouveres. For example, Dunne was hit by a double superkick during his moonsault in an epic moment! It is safe to say his head would be in quite a bit of agony this morning.
We also witnessed a rather fascinating Undisputed Era reunion as O’Reilly and Cole hit a double powerbomb on the NXT Champion, Karrion Kross. However, this was short-lived as Cole and O’Reilly still had to battle their differences during this bout.
Moreover, don’t devalue Gargano – NXT’s most prized jewel – or the upcoming, Pete Dunne as they gave a spectacular showing in this match. Dunne applied plenty of devasting finger-twisting moves and Gargano fought his rebel heart out, proving he can still make a good NXT Champ in this day and age.
However, they all fell and prayed when Karrion Kross locked in his powerful Kross Jacket finishing move and forced O’Reilly to pass out for the Championship retention.
This victory ended a fun ‘In Your House’ event, however, Kross holding the belt didn’t come across as highly valued by fans. Adam Cole was the most-over which particularly contradicts being the biggest heel on the brand. With O’Reilly most likely being built up as the man to beat Kross, where does Cole fit into the equation? We should get answers on the next edition of NXT…
5. MSK & Bronson Reed Retain In ‘Winner Takes All’ Fight
Now let us travel back in time to the opening match. ‘In Your House’ firstly opened its door to the ‘Winner Takes All’ bout which featured both the NXT Tag Team and North American titles being defended by MSK and Bronson Reed, respectively. This was against the opposing, Legado Del Fantasma.
This was a fiery opener as TakeOver openers often are, however, it didn’t seem to click with the Capitol Wrestling crowd for some reason. On the other hand, it still delivered mighty spots like Reed bulldozing Santos Escobar right through the plexiglass. Additionally, Reed’s tsunami splash is always a spectacle to watch.
MSK and Bronson Reed win. Looking into the future of both divisions, MSK’s next challengers should be the victors of the Tornado Tag Match between Grizzled Young Veterans and Ciampa & Thatcher. Bronson Reed should convey his brute strength against the head of the Hit Row, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott.
4. Xia Lee Defeats Mercedes Martinez
In her first TakeOver, Xia Lee defeated Mercedes Martinez in a decent bout. Xia Lee has it all; character, personality, entrance, culture, an undeniable wrestling ability. She will be a force to be reckoned with on the NXT Women’s division for sure but the post-angle sort of desaturated her impressive win. After Lee got a promising victory with the aid of a Boa and Martinez stare-off, Lee wanted to hurt her opponent more dramatically.
Unfortunately, her use of a steel chair didn’t get rolling as Martinez got hold of the foreign weapon and used it to get herself over, until the demon who watches over Lee’s matches, Tian Sha was summoned and threw Martinez off the stage.
Tian Sha looked awesome here as always and will remain an interesting presence during Xia Lee’s bouts, however, this basically made Xia Lee look weak after her exciting victory on a TakeOver stage. Perhaps this will lead to Xia Lee having to fight further for the satisfaction of Sha? This story still seems to be slowly building and it’ll be intriguing to see what direction it goes in next.
3. LA Knight Wins Million Dollar Championship
Cameron Grimes and LA Knight both looked a million bucks last night as they battled in a ladder match for the returning Million Dollar Championship.
Both men fought quite safely for a ladder bout but still managed to put on another impressive version of this beloved stipulation.
The ladder was used for many different methods, Sometimes it was in their arms being spun around like a sword. Other notable spots saw them go crashing into its structure or jump off it.
Some of the best moments saw Grimes hit a crossbody from a scaffolding, Knight sends Grimes gruellingly through the side of a ladder and Grimes fell from shocking heights into a set-up ladder on the ramp. The latter saw LA Knight pick up his first big victory becoming the Million Dollar Champion.
He gained the approval of Ted DiBiase in the end and cockily celebrated even though it is unknown what the roles of this belt will be? With Knight being the confident heel and Grimes in the role of the tragic babyface, surely, we’d see Grimes chasing the Million Dollar Champion to the moon for his rematch. Most likely at the Great American Bash in a few weeks.
2. Raquel Gonzalez Retains NXT Women’s Championship
Raquel Gonzalez had her first TakeOver defence against Ember Moon and takeover is exactly what she did.
Gonzalez has certainly grown as a character and wrestler since becoming the NXT Women’s titleholder. She could easily have one of the best runs if booked as powerfully as she was last night.
Ember Moon done terrific at trying to slow the champ down, this included a modified eclipse to Gonzalez, however, she couldn’t get the job done as Dakota Kai sneakily placed her partner’s leg on the ropes ruining the pinfall.
This then led to a returning Shotzi Blackheart, who chased Kai away. However, this resulted in Ember Moon being distracted and whacked by an innovative one-handed powerbomb for the Gonzalez retention.
As this story continues, it seems likely that Gonzalez would defend against Shotzi Blackheart at the Great American Bash mini-PPV. That match will definitely not tank in ratings. Unlike my puns…
1. William Regal Stepping Down As NXT General Manager?!
Finally, let’s discuss the way NXT TakeOver: In Your House locked the door for another year.
After Kross’ five-way victory, the camera cut to Mckenzie Mitchell hunting down NXT General Manager, William Regal to get the juicy gossip on his thoughts on the show.
Regal turned around to reveal he has had a hectic evening, with tears in his eyes, he basically told us that he has had enough of the backstage brawls and out-of-hand fights that have become commonplace on the show as of late. Even this TakeOver featured multiple brawls that Regal had to break up. He is very remindful of a principal placing his pupils in detention but seemingly there is only so much “WarGames” a man can yell.
He closed the show demanding a change to come to NXT. What this means, we don’t know but it has many people speculating.
Some of the most popular theories see Regal stepping down as the General Manager or gaining a helping hand. This enforcer will surely be the highly reported returning wrestler of Samoa Joe.
With Joe seemingly still not medically cleared and the fans frustration at his release back in April, Samoa Joe returning to the place he dominated during his era would be an incredible thing to bear witness to.
Whatever this cryptic message implies, it is safe to say that Regal has been one of the best modern authority figures displaying that they can still work nowadays. He would be a missed presence whenever he decides to leave the black and gold brand.
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