NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable Review: Samoa Joe Debuts

Rob Wolkenbrod

WWE.com

Follow along here with our review of NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable.

NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable premiered at 8 pm ET on the WWE Network this evening. This was NXT’s second live event of 2015.

This was another great night of wrestling at Full Sail Live. The buildup has been ongoing for this show for months and it culminated in some great performances.

Check out the card from tonight:

Bayley and Charlotte vs. Dana Brooke and Emma
Baron Corbin vs. Rhyno
#1 Contender’s Match for the NXT Championship
Finn Balor vs. Tyler Breeze
NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Blake and Murphy (c) vs. Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady
NXT Women’s Championship Match
Sasha Banks (c) vs. Becky Lynch
NXT Championship Match
Kevin Owens (c) vs. Sami Zayn

Also check out our posts about NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable.

Ready for the show? Follow along with our review by clicking “next.”

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Pre-Show

We see Hideo Itami injured in the parking lot. It’s officially announced that he will be removed from the match card, leaving it as Finn Balor vs. Tyler Breeze for the #1 contender’s ship for the NXT Championship.

We get a look at each match for tonight’s show and the live event from Albany, NY.

Greg Hamilton interviews Stephanie McMahon. She says it’s nice being cheered and puts over how great the NXT fan base is.

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#1 Contender’s Match for the NXT Championship
Finn Balor vs. Tyler Breeze

Result: Finn Balor defeats Tyler Breeze via pinfall to become the #1 contender for the NXT Championship.

Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

Tyler Breeze has his entrance broadcasted live on Periscope.

Finn Balor then came out in a new look for his entrance that really showed why “the demon” is here. This got our first “holy you-know-what” chant of the evening. Explaining it on here doesn’t do it justice.

Breeze took control initially with a few holds. Balor would counter back with a couple take downs and begin to go to work, only for Prince Pretty to regain control. Breeze would stay ahead with multiple holds while harassing the referee.

Finn would finally be able to work his way back with a sunset flip and a few sharp chops which got Breeze to the outside. He then hit a big double foot stomp to Breeze’s back. He tried for Coup de Grace, but Breeze rolled away.

Balor would hit the slingblade and look to set up a dropkick, but Breeze hit a big Supermodel kick for a near-fall. He would take off a turnbuckle while Balor was down.

After plenty of back and forth, Breeze would plant the Beauty Shot on Balor and nearly get the fall. This sent Breeze into a panic as The Demon walked to the outside.

As Breeze walked out of the ring, he got knocked down by Balor. We then saw him going to the top of the stage and hit a huge dive that got some “please don’t die” chants.

Balor would get Breeze into the ring and hit Coup de Grace for the win.

Rob’s Note: What an awesome match to kick off NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable. How about that Demon?

Installment number two of Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor or the first of Sami Zayn vs. Balor is going to be incredible.

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Bayley and Charlotte vs. Dana Brooke and Emma

Result: Bayley and Charlotte defeat Dana Brooke and Emma via pinfall.

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

Bayley and Charlotte took over in the beginning with a big takedown from Ric Flair’s daughter and multiple tags.

Bayley would shove Emma down and send her out of the ring. The latter hid behind Brooke as Bayley looked for more retribution.

In the middle of this, the announce team made a misdemeanor joke about Emma. This goes back to her arrest from last fall.

Emma would get Bayley into a hold and take control. After a distraction from Charlotte, Bayley would turn things around, hit a suplex and make a tag. The Nature Girl would take down Brooke and nearly pin Emma.

After a flying cross-body from Emma, she would get put into a Figure Four. Brooke would come in to break it up but Bayley would even the odds and take out The Total Diva. Charlotte would hit a big Natural Selection for the win.

Rob’s Note: A little surprised Brooke and Emma weren’t put over, but the former is very green and Emma just isn’t valued highly anymore. Solid match, though.

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Baron Corbin vs. Rhyno

Result: Baron Corbin defeats Rhyno via pinfall.

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

Rhyno would begin the match by brawling with Corbin and sending him out of the ring. Corbin would respond by sending the former ECW star out, too.

We get back into the ring to see the former NFL player continue to be in control. He pummeled Rhyno with a few big punches and kicks, showing off that new aggression.

Rhyno would finally work his way back by countering Corbin’s Irish whip. They would start brawling in the ring with The Man Beast taking control. He hit a spinebuster for a near-fall.

Rhyno would set up for the Gore but Corbin countered with a huge clothesline. He would hit End of Days for the win.

Rob’s Note: This was an all-out brawl that was fun. It won’t be match of the night, but it served its purpose.

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NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Blake and Murphy (c) vs. Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady

Result: Blake and Murphy defeat Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady via pinfall to retain the NXT Tag Team Championship.

Rating: 3.2 out of 5 stars

Enzo would take early advantage with a cross-body and a dropkick. This is unusual but nice.

Blake would tag out and Big Cass would tag in, scaring the NXT Tag Team Champions. Cass would take control while in the ring and tag in Enzo. He got a few quick hits on Blake and Murphy but was taken down and controlled by Blake.

The champs would control Enzo, who struggled to make his way to Big Cass. As he was about to hit the tag, Blake stopped him. He would nearly get the pin on Enzo. The Certified G would finally break away and hit a massive DDT!

Cass would finally tag in and wreak havoc on the champs. He dragged a limp Enzo to the top rope to set up his splash. However, Alexa Bliss would come out of nowhere to take out Carmella. She would push off Enzo from the top rope, leading to Blake and Murphy getting the pin.

Rob’s Note: Very solid match but this is an interesting alliance between Alexa Bliss, Blake and Murphy. This has a lot of potential. As for Enzo and Cass, their time will come with the titles.

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NXT Women’s Championship Match
Sasha Banks (c) vs. Becky Lynch

Result: Sasha Banks defeats Becky Lynch vis submission to retain the NXT Women’s Championship.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Becky Lynch came out in orange hair and a completely new look.

Lynch began with a few quick pinfall attempts but couldn’t complete it. She would take Banks down and go for the armbar, but the champion rolled to the ropes.

As Lynch looked to continue her momentum, Banks slammed her onto the ring apron and into the post. She would start pulling her hair and mocking’s Lynch’s pose until the latter nearly got a surprise pin.

Banks would drive both knees into Lynch and yank her arms back for a straitjacket hold. Banks would set her up on the ropes and drive her knees into Lynch. She would get a near-fall from this.

Sasha would hit an ugly looking arm lock on Becky that drove it almost all the way behind her. It had to of hurt. Lynch would nearly get a pin after countering.

Becky would finally take advantage by lifting Banks up and slamming her down on the ring. Becky would hit a dropkick from the top rope for a near-fall.

Sasha would go to work on Becky’s bad arm and hit a big knee to the face for the near-fall again.

They would get up and begin going back and forth. Banks would try to hurt the left arm of Lynch again, but failed to capitalize. Becky would start hyper-extending Sasha’s arm with her feet and send the champ flying with a suplex.

After countering suplexes, Becky would somehow get Banks into an armbar! The champ looked like she was done for but grabbed the rope. With one arm, Banks would go for a dive but get caught by Lynch! She would throw her into the ring apron.

Becky would climb to the top rope but get drive down by Banks into the Bank Statement. Lynch would tap.

Rob’s Note: That was an awesome match. Despite the loss, this was Becky Lynch’s coming out party. She established herself as a star from this match. Sasha Banks continued to show why she is The Boss of NXT, too.

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NXT Championship Match
Kevin Owens (c) vs. Sami Zayn

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Kevin Owens came out in John Cena’s shirt. Pure gold.

Owens would begin by going out of the ring before Sami Zayn could do anything. All part of the mind games. Zayn would hop out of the ring and attack Owens to get things started.

The two would start brawling outside the ring with Zayn in full control. He threw punches and swung Owens into the steeps steps, twice. Zayn would get Owens over the barricade and the two would brawl around the fans! However, Owens would get Zayn up for the powerbomb, but the former champion escaped by grabbing the railing.

They would get back into the ring and Zayn hit a big blue thunderbomb for a near-fall. Zayn would then get up Owens for a big back-body suplex for another near-fall.

Owens would start to get an edge but missed a cannonball. Zayn would hit the exploder suplex on Owens and lined him up but he rolled out of the way from the Helluva Kick.

As the two went out of the ring, Zayn went to attack Owens. However, the champion picked him up and hit a huge pop-up powerbomb into the ring apron. This left Zayn injured on the ground. While the referees tended to him, Owens continued to attack and had to be held back.

Owens would drag Zayn into the ring and look to attack him, but NXT GM William Regal came running in to try to stop him. Owens refused and Regal fought back but he countered.

As Owens was about to bash Zayn with a chair, some unusual music started to play.

SAMOA JOE!

Joe came down to the ring to stop Owens before he could do anything. However, he scurried from the ring before Joe could get to him.

Rob’s Note: Unbelievable. Awesome. Amazing. Wow.

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Final Thoughts

NXT always likes to make a big statement at their live specials. Samoa Joe debuting was that statement and arguably the biggest one of the yet.

Joe being in NXT and having a feud with Kevin Owens is something hardcore wrestling fans will salivate over. This is going to be amazing feud for however long it goes.

The other big takeaway was Becky Lynch becoming a star. While she did not defeat Sasha Banks, the Irishwomen put on her best performance in NXT. She definitely has a title reign in her future.

NXT once again showed why they are the hottest thing in professional wrestling. There is no sign of it slowing down.

Next: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn Results

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Rob Wolkenbrod

Robert is an editor, writer, and video editor. He covers the San Antonio Spurs for Forbes and the Toronto Raptors for Hoops Habit.