A look at the final edition of NXT before NXT Takeover: Orlando this WrestleMania weekend
Not only was this the last show of this stretch in the CFE Arena, it’s also the last before Takeover: Orlando. While we know the matches that include all the championships being defended, plus Almas trying to ruin Aleister Black’s NXT debut, but there was still a big chunk of the show that needed to be filled. We now know it will be filled with an 8-Man Tag Team Match, featuring Tye Dillinger, Roderick Strong, No Way José, and Ruby Riot vs. SAnitY in its entirety (Eric Young, Nikki Cross, Killian Dain and Alexander Wolfe). We also got to see a good ole fashioned Loser Leaves Town (a.k.a. NXT) match between Kassius Ohno and the man that the game Guitar Hero was inspired by, Elias Samson.
Half Team Triple Threat
The NXT Tag Team Championship will be defended on Sunday between the Authors of Pain, DIY, and the Revival, so the go-home episode featured a Triple Threat match between half of each team. Akem, Johnny Gargano, and Dash Wilder faced off while each of their partners were on the side of the ring playing cheerleaders. Seeing this type of match makes me wonder why it’s not more of a staple in WWE television.
While the thought of the match made a lot of sense, and would have been fun if brought to fruition, it didn’t take long for the triple threat to become one-on-one, as the Revival decided that it’d be better to spare their energy, and left the arena. Or so it seemed, until after Akem and Gargano ripped each other apart, when Scott Dawson distracted Akem so Dash Wilder could pick up the pinfall.
This was exactly what you wanted from your top heels (sorry Champs) going into the biggest Takeover of the year. While it’s not an easy guess as to who will win thie Triple Threat Tag-Team Match, it may be easier to pick who will not (or, rather, who should not) win: Authors of Pain.
Destruction Ahead
It didn’t take long for fans to get a glimpse of which team will be carrying the NXT Tag Team division come next year’s WrestleMania weekend. Not only are these dudes massive, but they work great together as a team, can celebrate like ecstatic cavemen, and can clean house like Plus, they yell things like, “SHAKA LAKA” before dropping an atomic elbows from the ground. Tucker Knight and Otis Dozovic are the names you should try to remember for a while, if big, bruising tag teams are your thing.
Making it Official
We got a small sample of the mean side of Ember Moon, who had a backstage contract signing with NXT Women’s Champion Asuka. This is the match that will steal the stage at Takeover. There hasn’t been a Women’s Championship match with such great talent, and so much at stake (the Women’s division torch) since Bayley fought Sasha Banks in a 30-minute Iron Woman match.
With Asuka recently becoming a part of WWE house shows, fighting with the women on the SmackDown Live roster, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see her drop the belt for the ever-capable Ember Moon. Moon has come a long way fast these last few months, but if she does beat Asuka, it’d be tough to predict that she will hold the belt for as long, as there is a list of women who are ready for their chance to shine, including the not-so-sane one herself, Nikki Cross.
The Fate of NXT
Bobby Roode and Shinsuke fight for the keys to NXT for the near future, and we learned more about it during a promo. Speculation says that one of these guys — whoever loses, most likely — will get called up to the main roster, while the other will be the feature at all NXT live events for the foreseeable future. (Oh, and be NXT Champion on top of that.)
I feel like the last match they had, they both left something to be desired. If this will indeed be one of their last matches in NXT (my prediction: Nakamura will lose, then heads to RAW), they will both need to really impress.They’re obviously capable of doing that, as Shinsuke has shown for the past year, and take a look at Bobby Roode’s entire catalog if you have doubts about him. Takeover: Toronto seemed like empty calories, so this show (and this match) will need to satisfy our wrestling fix, since WrestleMania is more of a spectacle than a fanfare of fundamentals.
Loser Leaves Town
There is no joy in Central Florida. By way of the law that this match entailed, whoever lost between Elias Samson and Kassius Ohno would never be seen from again, at least on NXT programming. It was a back and forth match, and probably the best of Samson’s career. Despite Samson’s efforts, Ohno ended up winning by pinfall.
I hate goodbyes, and this one hurt badly. Having been a vocal Elias Samson supporter since he first starting carrying around his six-string sweetheart, there is a Free Bird-sized hole in my heart. Not only does it not make much sense for story advancement, but seeing Samson getting tossed from the arena being the last thing ingrained in our minds before Takeover, a show he (unfortunately) won’t be a part of.
While Samson drifts away, Ohno’s stock went way up. With some talent sure to be promoted to the main roster after Takeover, Ohno will find himself on whichever Takeover comes next, possibly fighting for the NXT Championship. For now, there is a hell of a show in store for Saturday.