NXT TakeOver: London Review

TakeOver: London kicked off with a match between Asuka and Emma. They were given nearly fifteen minutes and really did well with it. Emma played the cautious heel, knowing that Asuka is one bad chick. Emma's heat segment lasted a while, as she tried to take the hot crowd out of it. Asuka fought back, using multiple hip attacks, but then we got a ref bump. Normally that is groanworthy, but it made sense here as it allowed Emma and Dana to get in some underhanded tactics. They teased an actual loss for Asuka via DQ and then again when she made Emma tap behind the referee's back, only for Emma to roll her up. Asuka knocked her out with a kick to win a really good opener that proved to be the match of the night for me. Emma came off great in a loss. The NXT Women's Division is in good hands if the focus is put on Bayley, Emma and Asuka. ***1/2

The NXT Tag Team Championship match followed up and the fans were MOLTEN hot for it. Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady have been the most over tag team in NXT by a mile, though Chad Gable and Jason Jordan are quickly catching up to them. Here, they had the crowd in the palm of their hands for this. There was an old school vibe to it. Dash and Dawson just get how to work a classic tag match, doing all of the little things to draw heat. They cut the ring in half on Enzo and even when Cass got the tag, they went to work on his bad leg, looking like smart champions. The false finish of Enzo and Cass winning just brought the fans to their feet. When Dash and Dawson won with a super Shatter Machine, the crowd was absolutely crushed. At this point, I don't think Enzo and Cass are ever going to win the belts. This was a good performance by both teams, making for another good Tag Title match on a TakeOver. ***

Two of the bigger stars in NXT right now, Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin, did battle next. I'd like to start by saying that I obviously see big things in the future for Crews, but there's something about Corbin's new heel persona that is just clicking. The character he's playing seems to fit him much better, which makes sense if his Breaking Ground persona is how he actually is. The match itself was rather slow and lost the crowd at some points, but it had some good points. Crews did a fantastic job of selling, while Corbin was on point with the trash talk. A highlight was him shouting for Crews to "go back to Ring of Honor", even though Crews wasn't really known for that promotion. Corbin surprised me by winning cleanly, giving Crews his first pinfall loss. Outside of a near fall after Crews hit a moonsault, this seemed to lack drama. They worked fine until the finish but it was certainly missing something.It looks like Corbin is next in line for a big time NXT Title match, so the win here made sense. Crews should be fine and is absolutely a guy I'd peg as a future NXT Champion. The match itself was decent at best. **1/4

In the co-main event slot, Bayley faced Nia Jax in a match where a lot of pressure was on. 2015 has seen the best women's matches in company history, but with Becky, Sasha and Charlotte exiting for the main roster, Bayley has the task of leading unproven ladies like Alexa Bliss, Eva Marie and Nia Jax around. This was expertly booked. Knowing that Nia isn't accomplished in the ring, they just had her play the dominating heel, while Bayley was the ultimate underdog babyface. It worked well, though Nia still seems unsure of herself at times. It's clear that she still needs tons of work, but with time, could become a good monster heel for the division. They played on the fans' emotions, with Nia obliterating Bayley and nearly winning a few times. Bayley didn't go all SUPERBAYLEY, but found a smart way to turn things around, wearing down Nia with a guillotine choke before making her submit. I'd rather Nia pass out instead of tap out, but this was a smartly worked match that was about as good as it could have been. **3/4

With the show in London, Finn Balor's "Demon" character had an added dimension, playing off of Jack the Ripper. It was really fucking cool. As for the match itself, I've seen high praise, but I didn't feel that way. Technically, it was fine, with two really good workers going at it. However, something about it felt hollow. For a match that was built on a friend turning on his buddy, there wasn't much in the way of emotion here. It was just two guys working a solid match. That's fine, but I wanted more. They teased the Samoa Joe victory a few times before Finn was able to retain with the Coup de Grace. A pretty good match to close out the show, but ultimately underwhelming. ***1/4

Coming into the show, this was one of the weaker TakeOver cards ever and honestly, it was probably the weakest TakeOver in execution. It's the only NXT special where I didn't give out at least one **** rating. Don't get me wrong, it's a fine way to spend two hours, but it lacked something to make it special.