The go-home show for NXT TakeOver: Back 2 Brooklyn promised to be a good one just days before the PPV. Same Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura’s blood feud has been brewing for weeks, while Austin Aires and The Revival have No Way Jose and Gargano and Ciampa to worry about respectively. Asuka vs Bayley II should be one of the showcase matches of the night, with Bayley returning to the same building, where she first won the NXT Women’s Championship, after almost a year. Ember Moon’s debut should be something to look out for too. She was a standout on the independent circuit under the ring name Athena. The intro package showed us a brief recap of last week’s confrontation between Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura before quickly cutting straight into the action.
Trending
Hideo Itami vs Mustafa Ali
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
I was so excited to see Mustafa Ali getting a go in the NXT ring. He looked great in his solitary Cruiserweight Classic match and was unfortunate to lose. Not to mention, any time Hideo Itami kicks off an episode of NXT it’s bound to be a loaded episode.
Mustafa Ali looked pretty slick in the opening exchanges of the match before it was clear that Itami’s superior conditioning was giving him the edge. Itami took control of the match as Ali played the typical foreign heel. Ali went out for a breather when Itami gave him a sliding dropkick to the outside that looked brilliant. When Itami was in the process of getting his opponent back in the ring, Ali took advantage with a spinning neckbreaker.
The youngster who’s been billed from Karachi, Pakistan, out on an impressive flurry on the offence including a unique move which I can only describe as a rolling thunder neckbreaker. At one point, he actually called Itami “an old man”. Bad idea.
An incensed Itami hit back and devastated him with a dragon screw leg whip and a series of devastating strikes, followed up with the patented dropkick into the corner followed by a running knee strike for the pinfall.
Hideo Itami def. Mustafa Ali
Interesting fact, we haven’t seen Itami use the GTS since his comeback.
We saw an excellent Bobby Roode promo package after this. Roode showed just how great he is as a heel and I’m so glad he left TNA so that he could show what he could do in the WWE. Of course, this video package was GLORIOUS.
The video package hyping the rematch between Asuka and Bayley was even better. It showed their journey since Bayley lost to Asuka in Dallas. It recapped Bayley’s journey from underdog to champion which was in contrast to Asuka coming off as an unstoppable force.
We see Carmella, Liv Morgan and Nikki Glencross backstage after this, getting ready to take on Alexa Bliss, Mandy Rose and Daria Berenato, the latter two of whom you may remember from Tough Enough.
Another video hype package followed this. As much as I wanted more action, these video packages were amazing. This one had shots of New York interspersed with a few NXT Superstars talking about how if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere and their upcoming matches in Brooklyn. No Way Jose and Austin Aries spoke about their matchups on Saturday. The Bobby Roode and Andrade “Cien” Almas match was also hyped. The tag-team champions, The Revival, also spoke. As did their opponents on Sunday, Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa.
We see a backstage shot of Alexa Bliss giving instructions to her tag-team partners for the evening, Mandy Rose and Daria Berenato.
We see William Regal in his office after this and he talks about NXT’s success in the last year and how this Back 2 Brooklyn will eclipse eclipse even last year’s show from the same arena. Then, surprisingly, Billie Kay interfered. She argues that this TakeOver couldn’t be the best one yet without her on the card. Even more surprisingly, Regal agrees and he schedules her to face the debuting Ember Moon.
Carmella, Liv Morgan, and Nikki Glencross vs Alexa Bliss, Daria Berenato, and Mandy Rose
The women’s tag match was up next. This match will show how NXT’s women’s division could shape up in the future. Live Morgan comes out first, followed by the debuting Nikki Glencross. She calls herself ‘The Best in the Galaxy’ and she’s going to be a major player in NXT’s women’s division in the near future. Last but not least, the returning Carmella. ‘The Fabulous One’ received a pretty big pop from the Full Sail crowd who absolutely adore her. Daria Berenato came out next and from first look, she has an MMA gimmick, and her music is awesome. Mandy Rose came out next followed by Alexa Bliss. Bliss has come on a really long way in the last year, and Berenato and Mandy Rose look so much more comfortable in the ring than Eva Marie.
Nikki Glencross and Alexa bliss start us off as the crowd chants ‘women’s wrestling’. Bliss showed the newcomer no respect at the beginning but soon got outwrestled by the former Nikki Storm. Nikki looked great in her first match on NXT television and Bliss was soon on the outside, reeling from a flurry of offence from her opponent. Bliss tagged in Berenato after this. Berenato worked with Glencross and Liv Morgan before tagging in Bliss. The heels punished Liv Morgan in the corner. When Mandy Rose got tagged in, Graves completely lost it, treating her as the second coming of a Greek goddess. Sidenote, Mandy Rose has a great running knee strike.
As Daria Berenato has Live Morgan overpowered with a constriction submission hold, we learn that she’s a 3-time National Grappling Championship gold medallist. That’s an impressive resume. Daria looked really good in her first outing here. This didn’t look like her first television match.
The final sequence began with a flurry from Carmella after Liv Morgan finally managed to make the tag. The end came when Carmella reversed a pin attempted by Mandy Rose into a Code of Silence for the submission win.
Carmella, Liv Morgan and Nikki Glencross def. Alexa Bliss, Daria Berenato and Mandy Rose
The exclusive sit-down interview with Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura is next. We can see William Regal warning security at the beginning to keep Joe and Nakamura apart no matter what. Byron Saxton begins the interview, as we see security standing in the background. Joe talks about how he hasn’t received any respect from William Regal, saying that he only got his NXT Championship shot after laying waste the entire roster. In respect to him, he says that Nakamura just got handed the championship shot after beating two people who he has already beaten. Joe says that he’s beginning to think that William Regal doesn’t want him to be the NXT Champion.
Byron says that both Joe and Nakamura have had success all over the word. Byron follows this up by asking if they’ve ever crossed paths before.
Joe says that when Nakamura was still at the beginning of his career, he had visited Joe’s dojo. Nakamura laughs this off saying that he didn’t remember this. Joe follows this by saying that he respected Shinsuke’s achievement, but didn’t respect him as a man anymore. Nakamura mockingly replied that he respected Joe which incensed Joe. Joe gets up and immediately gets held back by security as he yells that he’ll beat the respect out of Nakamura.
EPISODE GRADE – C+
