Welcome to the Mastermind Analysis review of NXT TakeOver: The End. The thoughts and opinions expressed below are those of The Mastermind only, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts and opinions of the entire F4R team. Let us know what you think in the comments, or by getting involved on Facebook! But for now, on with the show...
Pre-PPV Thoughts
I don’t know what it is, but ever since the Christmas/New Year break, NXT just hasn’t seemed as hot to me. It could have been my below-average experience of the NXT TakeOver: London show (I was sat near the entrance way, but the floor seats have terrible visibility for anyone under 6ft 5); it could be the fact that the main roster has ransacked NXT, leaving them without Sami Zayn, The Vaudevillains, Baron Corbin, Apollo Crews et al; That said, the card still looks pretty good on paper. And despite the lack of any real build up for most of the matches, I’m still looking forward to the show. My main area of intrigue though is the choice to call this ‘The End’. I hope that by the end of the show, I have a better grasp of what has ended. I hope it’s not referring to the NXT brand…!
(Edit: Sitting down to watch the show, I see the sub-header "of the beginning". Perhaps this is the last 'TakeOver' event, as NXT has already taken over and will get it's own PPVs from here on...?)
Main Show
Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas vs Tye Dillinger
Prediction: I’m not going to lie and claim to have an extensive knowledge of La Sombra. I’ve never seen any of his matches, and I’ve barely heard of the guy in all honesty. Despite the fact that TM61 (terrible ring name that sounds like a Pokemon item) lost their debut tag match, I’m still presuming that Almas will start his NXT tenure with a win, as is (usually) traditional for new talents. Combine that with the fact that Dillinger has become the new Tyler Breeze, in the fact that he is there to lose despite being incredibly over with the crowd, and I think this is a no brainer.
Match Analysis: I must say, a really impressive debut for 'Cien'. I'm a big fan of innovative move sets and the double moonsault move, the moonsault knees, and the running knees to finish were all extremely exciting to watch. Tye Dillinger is insanely over with the crowd, and it's a shame that he isn't given a few meaningful wins. Still, for what it was, the match was fine.
[***]
American Alpha © vs The Revival
Prediction: Their first encounter in Dallas was an absolute masterclass in simply booked tag team wrestling. They didn’t pull off too many flashy high spots; there wasn’t any OTT shenanigans from the heel team; they just put on a solid match, which had the crowds attention throughout. I’m not sure the Full Sail crowd will be as hot overall as the Dallas crowd was, but I still expect this to at least match the quality of their Wrestlemania Weekend match. I fully expect American Alpha to retain here, which leaves me wondering what could be next for The Revival?!
Match Analysis: Holy shit, what a match!! It turns out I was wrong on all counts there... Full Sail were bat shit for AA, the match was even better than Dallas... But The Revival won. The last time I felt that shocked by a result, The Undertaker was having his streak broken by Brock Lesnar. I truly wasn't expecting the match to go to the former champs, but result aside, that was sheer brilliance!!
The post match attack was interesting. No idea who the 2 men are, but they look like beasts. And rather interesting seeing Paul Ellering back in the game...
[****1/2]
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Austin Aries
Prediction: I am writing this entire article the morning after the event actually took place. My plan is to get home from work and watch the entire show straight away. The one thing that has shocked me is the lack of spoilers facebook has given me. In fact, I have yet to see a single post relating to The End (I ended up double checking Wikipedia to ensure that the event definitely took place!). I am frankly shocked that I haven’t seen anything about this match up, as this – for me at least – is every bit of a dream match as Sami/Nakamura from Dallas. Being a long running TNA fan, I am very aware of the quality of match that Austin Aries is capable of. And although I’m concerned that the lack of Facebook spoilers means this match wasn’t anything special… I’m still expecting this to be every bit as good as the classic from Dallas. It’s 50/50 for the winner, but I believe Shinsuke will continue his winning ways…
Match Analysis: I'm not sure if it's because I'm over-exposed to Austin Aries thanks to my TNA viewing, but this match didn't quite click for me. I know Austin Aries can do better than this when he's motivated to do so. Perhaps the lack of real build up is to blame, who knows. It was a solid match up, the crowd were hot, but it didn't quite captivate me like the tag match. Aries seemed to play things very safe, so I think when he settles into NXT life, he will start upping his game.
[***1/2]
Asuka © vs Nia Jax
Prediction: Nia Jax may be slightly less green than she was for her encounter with Bayley in London, but I’m still not sure she’s #1 contender material at the moment. That said, the women’s roster has taken such a hit over the past year that NXT seem to be wearing thin on the ground for solid female performers. Asuka was the natural heir to the throne, and I just can’t see Nia Jax being the top female in the company. Asuka all the way.
Match Analysis: This was by far the best outing from Nia Jax we've seen. She put in a brilliant performance against Asuka - who was as strong as ever. I think both women have an awful lot of room for charachter development, and tonight was a big step forward for both women. At this stage of her career, Nia Jax isn't capable of putting in ****+ matches, but this was without a doubt her strongest outing.
[***1/2]
Samoa Joe © vs Finn Balor
Prediction: A contingency of the IWC are claiming that “The End” refers to the end of the feud between these 2 men. I hope that is the truth, but I fear it may not be accurate. It’s insane to think that this will be the FIRST cage match in NXT history. To say the product has gained this much ground, without the need for gimmick matches speaks an awful lot for the power of actual wrestling in 2016. One thing I love about the NXT Championship is it feels so different to almost any major belt out there. There really is an anything-can-happen feel. Look at the history – Finn won the belt on a network special overseas; Kevin Owens won the belt on a referee stoppage; Joe won the belt on a house show! How many times do you see major belts change hands like those examples…? Usually, I would feel that this is 100% on Samoa Joe, however there’s a part of me that thinks that Finn could win the belt back here, keeping with the unpredictable nature of the belt. But for now, I’m going to go with Samoa Joe for the win.
Match Analysis: First off, I'll admit I mini-popped for the cage being lowered. It looked cool as hell. As did the entrance for Finn. One last pre-match though is just how cool NXT's production values are for their title matches. Room lights cut, spotlights on each competitor. Their presentation is second to none at this stage. For those of you who listen to the F4R podcast series, I don't hide my disdain for the walk-out-the-door rule in cage matches. It pisses me off beyond belief. Thankfully they didn't focus too much on that rule, so I am a happy Mastermind. As far as cage matches go, this was fine. Nothing more than expected, a few bumps into the cage wall, and one high spot to finish. But nothing special in my opinion.
[****]
I don’t know what it is, but ever since the Christmas/New Year break, NXT just hasn’t seemed as hot to me. It could have been my below-average experience of the NXT TakeOver: London show (I was sat near the entrance way, but the floor seats have terrible visibility for anyone under 6ft 5); it could be the fact that the main roster has ransacked NXT, leaving them without Sami Zayn, The Vaudevillains, Baron Corbin, Apollo Crews et al; That said, the card still looks pretty good on paper. And despite the lack of any real build up for most of the matches, I’m still looking forward to the show. My main area of intrigue though is the choice to call this ‘The End’. I hope that by the end of the show, I have a better grasp of what has ended. I hope it’s not referring to the NXT brand…!
(Edit: Sitting down to watch the show, I see the sub-header "of the beginning". Perhaps this is the last 'TakeOver' event, as NXT has already taken over and will get it's own PPVs from here on...?)
Main Show
Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas vs Tye Dillinger
Prediction: I’m not going to lie and claim to have an extensive knowledge of La Sombra. I’ve never seen any of his matches, and I’ve barely heard of the guy in all honesty. Despite the fact that TM61 (terrible ring name that sounds like a Pokemon item) lost their debut tag match, I’m still presuming that Almas will start his NXT tenure with a win, as is (usually) traditional for new talents. Combine that with the fact that Dillinger has become the new Tyler Breeze, in the fact that he is there to lose despite being incredibly over with the crowd, and I think this is a no brainer.
Match Analysis: I must say, a really impressive debut for 'Cien'. I'm a big fan of innovative move sets and the double moonsault move, the moonsault knees, and the running knees to finish were all extremely exciting to watch. Tye Dillinger is insanely over with the crowd, and it's a shame that he isn't given a few meaningful wins. Still, for what it was, the match was fine.
[***]
American Alpha © vs The Revival
Prediction: Their first encounter in Dallas was an absolute masterclass in simply booked tag team wrestling. They didn’t pull off too many flashy high spots; there wasn’t any OTT shenanigans from the heel team; they just put on a solid match, which had the crowds attention throughout. I’m not sure the Full Sail crowd will be as hot overall as the Dallas crowd was, but I still expect this to at least match the quality of their Wrestlemania Weekend match. I fully expect American Alpha to retain here, which leaves me wondering what could be next for The Revival?!
Match Analysis: Holy shit, what a match!! It turns out I was wrong on all counts there... Full Sail were bat shit for AA, the match was even better than Dallas... But The Revival won. The last time I felt that shocked by a result, The Undertaker was having his streak broken by Brock Lesnar. I truly wasn't expecting the match to go to the former champs, but result aside, that was sheer brilliance!!
The post match attack was interesting. No idea who the 2 men are, but they look like beasts. And rather interesting seeing Paul Ellering back in the game...
[****1/2]
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Austin Aries
Prediction: I am writing this entire article the morning after the event actually took place. My plan is to get home from work and watch the entire show straight away. The one thing that has shocked me is the lack of spoilers facebook has given me. In fact, I have yet to see a single post relating to The End (I ended up double checking Wikipedia to ensure that the event definitely took place!). I am frankly shocked that I haven’t seen anything about this match up, as this – for me at least – is every bit of a dream match as Sami/Nakamura from Dallas. Being a long running TNA fan, I am very aware of the quality of match that Austin Aries is capable of. And although I’m concerned that the lack of Facebook spoilers means this match wasn’t anything special… I’m still expecting this to be every bit as good as the classic from Dallas. It’s 50/50 for the winner, but I believe Shinsuke will continue his winning ways…
Match Analysis: I'm not sure if it's because I'm over-exposed to Austin Aries thanks to my TNA viewing, but this match didn't quite click for me. I know Austin Aries can do better than this when he's motivated to do so. Perhaps the lack of real build up is to blame, who knows. It was a solid match up, the crowd were hot, but it didn't quite captivate me like the tag match. Aries seemed to play things very safe, so I think when he settles into NXT life, he will start upping his game.
[***1/2]
Asuka © vs Nia Jax
Prediction: Nia Jax may be slightly less green than she was for her encounter with Bayley in London, but I’m still not sure she’s #1 contender material at the moment. That said, the women’s roster has taken such a hit over the past year that NXT seem to be wearing thin on the ground for solid female performers. Asuka was the natural heir to the throne, and I just can’t see Nia Jax being the top female in the company. Asuka all the way.
Match Analysis: This was by far the best outing from Nia Jax we've seen. She put in a brilliant performance against Asuka - who was as strong as ever. I think both women have an awful lot of room for charachter development, and tonight was a big step forward for both women. At this stage of her career, Nia Jax isn't capable of putting in ****+ matches, but this was without a doubt her strongest outing.
[***1/2]
Samoa Joe © vs Finn Balor
Prediction: A contingency of the IWC are claiming that “The End” refers to the end of the feud between these 2 men. I hope that is the truth, but I fear it may not be accurate. It’s insane to think that this will be the FIRST cage match in NXT history. To say the product has gained this much ground, without the need for gimmick matches speaks an awful lot for the power of actual wrestling in 2016. One thing I love about the NXT Championship is it feels so different to almost any major belt out there. There really is an anything-can-happen feel. Look at the history – Finn won the belt on a network special overseas; Kevin Owens won the belt on a referee stoppage; Joe won the belt on a house show! How many times do you see major belts change hands like those examples…? Usually, I would feel that this is 100% on Samoa Joe, however there’s a part of me that thinks that Finn could win the belt back here, keeping with the unpredictable nature of the belt. But for now, I’m going to go with Samoa Joe for the win.
Match Analysis: First off, I'll admit I mini-popped for the cage being lowered. It looked cool as hell. As did the entrance for Finn. One last pre-match though is just how cool NXT's production values are for their title matches. Room lights cut, spotlights on each competitor. Their presentation is second to none at this stage. For those of you who listen to the F4R podcast series, I don't hide my disdain for the walk-out-the-door rule in cage matches. It pisses me off beyond belief. Thankfully they didn't focus too much on that rule, so I am a happy Mastermind. As far as cage matches go, this was fine. Nothing more than expected, a few bumps into the cage wall, and one high spot to finish. But nothing special in my opinion.
[****]