Check out our NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn live review.
Saturday, August 22 will feature the largest event in NXT’s brief history with NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn. The show will feature a double main event for the NXT Women’s Championship and NXT Championship.
The build for this show began with Finn Balor defeating Kevin Owens for the NXT Championship at the Beast in the East special in July. This ended Owens’ near-five month reign.
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Now we’re getting these two in a ladder match for the title. Who will come out on top?
We will also see Bayley take on Sasha Banks for the NXT Women’s Championship. With Sasha, Charlotte and Becky Lynch all on the main roster, this may be Bayley’s chance to shine. Can she take control of the NXT women’s division?
The Vaudevillains are also getting a rematch against Blake and Murphy for the NXT Tag Team Championship. The story of this has been how Aiden English and Simon Gotch can counter Alexa Bliss. Could they have a plan in-store?
We are also going to see two different kinds of debuts.
First is Apollo Crews. He signed with WWE earlier this year and has had a few vignettes air on NXT. What will he do to impress the fans? Who will he face?
Then there’s the WWE debut of Japanese wrestling legend Jushin “Thunder” Liger. He will take on Tyler Breeze.
The announcement of him coming to WWE for one night came as a huge surprise. How quickly will he win over the WWE fans?
We are also set to see Samoa Joe take on Baron Corbin. Can the former NFL player be stopped?
With this in mind, check out the match card for NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn below (some matches will be on the TV taping):
NXT Championship Ladder Match
Finn Balor (c) vs. Kevin Owens
NXT Women’s Championship Match
Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bayley
NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Blake and Murphy (c) vs. The Vaudevillains
Tyler Breeze vs. Jushin “Thunder” Liger
Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin
Apollo Crews vs. Tye Dillinger
Beginning at 9 pm ET, follow along with our live coverage of NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn by clicking below.
Next: Liger vs. Breeze
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Tyler Breeze vs Jushin “Thunder” Liger
Result: Liger def. Breeze by pinfall (Running Liger Bomb)
Rating: 3.0 stars out of 5 stars
TakeOver starts with HHH in the ring talking about how the fans made NXT unstoppable. He says the future is now and shows the absolutely packed house of the Barclays Centre. He grabs a mic and simply yells “We Are NXT.” This is going to be nuts.
Breeze has a walkway for his entrance and NYC themed models including a Statue of Liberty and an Empire State Building. Liger gets a massive ovation for his WWE debut.
Breeze taunts Liger by hanging out in the corner like he usually does. Once Liger gets the upper hand he does the taunt as well which makes the Barclays Centre go nuts. Liger uses a few different surfboard variations on Breeze. Liger even uses the selfie stick to mock Breeze. Tyler Breeze tries to take the mask off of Liger, which distracts Liger enough to allow Tyler to hit a Supermodel Kick for a two count.
Breeze tries to wear down the veteran Liger, but Liger manages to come back with a trademark rolling kick. He hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, but when he goes for a splash Breeze gets the knees up. Liger manages to get control once again, and hits a a rolling somersault plancha off the apron to Breeze on the outside. He hits the Liger bomb for the three count!
Evan’s Note: If this was someone’s first taste of Liger, they should be pretty impressed with his work. Breeze’s record at TakeOver specials continues to be bad, but he still did some great work in this opener.
Next: Tag Team Championship Match
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NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Blake & Murphy (c) w/ Alexa Bliss vs The VaudeVillains
Result: Vaudevillains def. Blake and Murphy by pinfall (Whirling Dervish)
Rating: 3.25 stars out of 5 stars
Alexa Bliss makes a comment about how no one is out to help the VaudeVillains, but finally Blue Pants is introduced! Blue Pants is the equalizer for the contenders. Gotch and English are also in Blue, so they all match. Blue Pants gets a massive ovation from the Brooklyn crowd, even starting a “Blue Pants City” chant.
Blake and Gotch start the match, and Gotch manages to catch Blake with a rolling armbar early. English tags in and manages to keep control of the tag champions. English goes for a springboard attack into the ring, but Blake rips him off the ropes and he crashes to the ring hard.
The champs isolate English and work him over, keeping him from tagging Gotch. Blake and Murphy hit a double neckbreaker and English manages to kick out at two. English gets an opening when Blake and Murphy tun into each other, and Gotch gets the hot tag. Murphy accidentally hits Blake during the action, but when the Vaudevillains try to take advantage Murphy recovers. Blake and Murphy go for a double superplex on English, but Gotch grabs them for a double powerbomb instead.
English hits a top rope senton for a two count that was oh so close. Bliss tries to interfere, but when she goes to slap English and Gotch, Blue Pants stops her. Murphy tries to take advantage of a distracted Gotch to roll him up, but he kicks out at two. The Vaudevillains manage to hit the Whirling Dervish for the three! We have new tag champions!
Evan’s Note: This was a fantastic tag match. It wasn’t overbooked to be about the managers, and instead sets up a really exciting reign for the Vaudevillains and Blue Pants.
Next: Apollo Crews Debut
Tye Dillinger vs Apollo Crewes
Result: Crewes def. Dillinger by pinfall (Standing Moonsault)
Rating: 2.75 stars out of 5 stars
Crewes is greeted with an “Uhaa” chant and the crowd is very behind him. Dillinger works his Perfect 10 gimmick a lot, doing a cartwheel. Crewes does a backflip that gets a “Perfect 10” chant from the crowd as well.
Dillinger manages to slow down Crewes and keep him on the ground, and connecting with a huge super kick for a two count. He goes for one again, but Crewes counters into a standing enziguiri. Apollo gets on a roll, and hits a gorilla press followed by a standing moonsault for the victory.
Evan’s Note: This was an impressive debut for the former Uhaa Nation. Crewes looked impressive, but it would have been a great match if they were given a little bit more time. Dillinger was also impressive in working his “Perfect 10” gimmick, so this was a fun match.
Next: Joe vs. Corbin
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Samoa Joe vs Baron Corbin
Result: Joe def Corbin by ref stoppage (Coquina Clutch)
Rating: 3.0 stars out of 5 stars
Joe immediately goes for an armbar on Corbin and goes for a Coquina Clutch early, but Corbin makes his way to the outside. Back in the ring, Joe hits a series of kicks and manages to dropkick Corbin to the outside. Joe goes for a suicide dive but gets stopped by the forearm of Corbin.
Joe transitions from a roll up into a half crab, and finally into a crossface. Corbin manages to get to the ropes and then dumps Joe down to the outside. Joe launches Corbin into the barricade, and then puts him back in the ring. Corbin catches Joe back in the ring with a heel hook., damaging the veteran’s knee. Corbin gets a huge sidewalk slam for a two count, and Samoa Joe comes back with a standing enziguiri and both men are down.
Both men are up by the count of 8 and they trade blows. From spinning back fists to open hand slaps to uppercuts. Joe tries to set up the Muscle Buster but is stopped by Corbin. Corbin tries to get the End of Days, but Joe avoids it and goes for the Coquina Clutch. He can’t get it locked in, and hits Joe with a massive spinebuster. After kicking out at two, Joe manages to catch Corbin in the Coquina Clutch. And makes Corbin pass out. Joe picks up the victory.
Corbin comes to and asks the ref what happens, since he never actually tapped out.
Evan’s Notes: Easily Corbin’s best match to date, as this brawl with Joe was a great balance of smash-mouth intensity and ground work. Corbin pulled out some new moves in his arsenal, but in the end the veteran Samoa Joe was too much. Interesting to give Joe the win here; hopefully that means this rivalry isn’t over yet.
Next: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks
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NXT Women’s Championship Match
Sasha Banks (c) vs Bayley
Result: Bayley def. Banks by pinfall (Bayley-to-Belly Suplex)
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 stars
Bayley has polka dots on her headband and wristbands in honor of Dusty Rhodes and gets a huge ovation from the crowd. Sasha Banks comes out to the ring in an Escalade accompanied by four big security guards. The crowd is hyped, and when Banks is announced to be from Boston the boos were tremendously loud.
Banks laughs at Bayley and calls her pathetic for the Dusty Rhodes tribute, so Bayley jumps her. Bayley hulks up at one point and smashes Banks’ head into the turnbuckle repeatedly, and follows it with a springboard elbow for a two count. Dueling chants for both competitors make the arena extremely loud.
The action spills to the outside and Bayley hits a dropkick through the ropes to Banks. Back in the ring, and Banks kicks Bayley off the second rope when the champ’s attempt for a superplex didn’t work. Banks mocks Bayley’s crowd taunt and maintains control of the challenger. Banks gets Bayley inyo a collection of submission holds and continues to trash talk her. Banks sets up Bayley in the corner on the top rope and hits her patented knee attack from there. She covers Bayley after and only gets a two count.
Banks goes to trash talk Bayley who is downed in a corner, but eats a big boot to the face. Banks manages to use Bayley’s momentum against her and hits an arm bar on the ropes. Banks rips Bayley’s hand brace off and then slams the exposed hand into the stairs and stomps on it. She then puts the hand between the steps and the ring and kicks it, which could’ve broken her hand. The ref checks on Bayley to see if she can continue, and Banks hits a rolling plancha over the top rope to Bayley on the outside.
The action moves back into the ring and Banks covers her challenger for another close two count. Banks goes to smash Bayley’s hand against the rope but also takes a big fall herself. Bayley and Banks trade elbows Bayley keeping her hands close to her chest.
Bayley hits the champ with a corner suplex and goes for the Bayley to Belly Suplex, but gets reversed. Banks manages to get Bayley into the Bank Statement and when Bayley her hand close to the rope, Banks stomps on it mercilessly. Bayley then manages to reverse the Bank Statement into a Bank Statement of her own! Sasha rolls out of it in excruciating pain. Bayley manages to catch Banks with a Bayley-to-Belly suplex but only gets a two!
Bayley puts Banks up on the top rope to go for a Super Bayley-to-Belly. The two trade blows on the top rope , but Banks shoves Bayley away to the mat. Banks drops knees on Bayley and gets a close two count. Banks then sets Bayley up on the top rope, but the challenger fights her off with elbows. Bayley hits a top rope reverse Bayleycanrana! She follows it with a Bayley-to-Belly Suplex and gets the three count! New NXT Women’s Champion!
Charlotte and Becky Lynch come out to celebrate with the new NXT Women’s Champion. Banks gets up after the match and congratulates Bayley. All four NXT women hug and celebrate, as this is probably the last time all 4 Horsewomen of NXT will be on the same NXT show.
Evan’s Note: That was an incredible match from top to bottom. The action, the psychology, the story of Banks being the ruthless champion and focusing on the injured hand of Bayley, Bayley evolving and becoming a more focused competitor. The crowd was into it, I was into it, and it was one of the best matches that I’ve seen so far this year. Just amazing.
Next: Owens vs. Balor
NXT Heavyweight Championship Ladder Match
Finn Balor (c) vs Kevin Owens
Result: Balor grabs the title to retain the NXT Heavyweight Championship
Rating: 4 stars out of 5 stars
The second ladder match in NXT history starts with Owens talking trash and shoving Balor back. He tries to go get a ladder immediately, but Balor pulls him back into the ring and hits him with a massive dropkick. Owens manages to get back some control and hits a massive senton to the champion.
Finn hits a double foot stomp on Owens, but takes too long to make his next move. Owens gets him into the corner and KO hits a cannonball. The crowd starts chanting Ole for Sami Zayn, and Owens mocks his former best friend’s shoulder injury. Owens gets hit with a slingblade, and then Owens goes out to get the ladder. Balor ends up being the one who grabs the ladder, but Owens catches up and rams the champion with the ladder. He sets up the ladder as a ramp, and when he makes a run at it he just tops and smacks Balor.
Owens tries to whip Balor into the barricade but then both end up fighting into the crowd. Owens goes for a powerbomb, but Balor flips him over the barricade back to ringside. Balor then gets run into the barricade and then tosses the champ over the table. Owens taunts Balor on the table before grabbing a ladder. When Owens turns with the ladder, Balor dropkicks it right back into Owens’ face by leaping off of the ladder.
Balor has the ladder in the ring but it gets pulled out by Owens. Balor then hits a flip suicide dive to Owens on the outside. The champ gets the ladder set up and almost touches the title. Owens manages to stop him before he can reach it. Balor comes back into the ring with a ladder, doubling the number in the ring.
Balor tries to set up Owens for a dropkick into the ladder, but Owens knew it was coming and clotheslined Balor into next week. Owens slams Balor down on a ladder and then comes down on the champ with a senton onto the ladder. Owens goes for a powerbomb onto the ladder, but it’s reversed and he goes back first onto the metal.
Balor goes for the title but is stopped and whpped into the other ladder by Owens. KO goes for a cannonball into Balor, but the champ moves and Owens instead cannonballs into a ladder. Balor hits his corner drop kick and then connects with the Coup De Grace off the top turnbuckle. Balor begins to climb the ladder amd gets his hand on the title. Owens gets up and pulls Balor off the ladder and destroys him with a powerbomb.
Owens gets to the top of the ladder, but the ladder gets toppled by Balor and Owens gets sent to the outside. KO goes for an apron powerbomb but is reversed at first. Balor then attempts a Coup De Grace on the outside, misses, and gets hit with an apron powerbomb! Both men down and out on the outside.
Owens gets close to the title but Balor breaks it up. Owens hits a superkick and yells at Finn to stay down. He connects with another superkick and then sets up a bridge with a ladder between the ladder and turnbuckle. He drags Balor up the ladder that is set up and tries to suplex the champ onto the bridge. Balor knocks Owens down onto the bridge. Balor’s ladder is off centre so he can’t reach Owens so instead he hit the Coup De Grace off the top of the ladder! Balor then has the ladder set up properly and manages to get it for the victory. Finn Balor retains the NXT Heavyweight Championship!
Evan’s Note: A well contested match between these two that made the most of the ladder stipulation. The Coup De Grace off the top of the ladder was a cool spot, and Owens was his regular great heel self. While not as strong as the Women’s title match, it was a great cap to a wonderful TakeOver event.
Next: Final Thoughts
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Final Thoughts
TakeOver: Brooklyn was a fantastic card from top to bottom. The opening match between Liger and Breeze really set the pace for the rest of the evening and opened a well put together card.
There were a lot of feel-g00d moments on the card, but none bigger than Bayley overcoming “The Boss” Sasha Banks in order to win her first NXT Women’s Championship. The sincerity of her celebration was one of the best moments for the NXT women, and that’s saying something. The match was definitely match of the night because it had everything you could ever want from a main event.
Owens and Balor put on an extremely fun ladder match that did well to be physical in the PG era. Balor’s demon gimmick gives him a great appearance and aura during big fight matches, but it will be interesting to see who his next challenger will be. Owens is off to destroy people on the main roster for good now, leaving a void as NXT’s top villain that needs to be filled.
An interesting note: none of the heels won their matches. The only one that I have real issue with is Samoa Joe going over Baron Corbin but that could just lead to more matches between the two of them in the future.
There’s really not much else to say about NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn except that from top to bottom, start to finish, it was an incredible show.
What did you think of NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn? Love the booking? Love the new champions? Let us know in comments below, or keep the conversation going with me on twitter at E_Gomes.
Next: 5 Reasons to Watch NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn
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