Nerd Watch Wednesday: NXT TakeOver: R Evolution

Nov 27, 201912 min read

Updated: Jun 3, 2020

Largely a much loved promotion here at WSBF, this is actually the first time that we are covering a major NXT show. Pete was inclined to choose this card from the end of 2014, which saw the debut of Kevin Owens and the beginning of the next chapter in his feud with Sami Zayn. More on that later...

CJ PARKER v KEVIN OWENS

By Daniel Wildash

Hello and after last week's horrific no show from me I'm back watching CJ Parker V Kevin Owens from NXT Takeover Revolution. Kevin Owens is out first and I swear his theme music does not get old. Ever. He always looks so bloody intensifying. I also believe this is his first NXT match which adds a bit of spice to the affair.

When I picked this match I thought I'd be seeing Kevin Owens square off against Baywatch heartthrob Casey Jae Parker but I am bitterly disappointed when Juice - I mean CJ Parker - walks down the entrance ramp. He is an "eco warrior" which gets obviously booed by the Americans because they just don't give a fuck.

Owens quick out the blocks running into CJ in the corner followed up by a cannonball which allows Owens to soak up the crowd and break CJs sign which states "my fight matters". The only thing that matters to me right now is you haven't run down the ramp in a red leotard you fuck.

Owens dives over the top rope onto CJ and tells the camera "this is just the beginning". He gets CJ back into the ring and continues the onslaught until CJ kicks Owens in the chin and begins his offensive.

Palm strike from CJ and a kick out at 2. Running knee strike onto Owens but he shrugs it off and hits a lariat. Owens is visibly bleeding which adds to the intensity as he throws CJ into the rope for a big pop up powerbomb!

Lights out for CJ and it's over with a pin. Owens wins comfortably on his debut!

WINNER - KEVIN OWENS BY POP UP POWERBOMB

NXT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: THE LUCHA DRAGONS (C) v THE VAUDEVILLAINS

By Ross Casey

So it turns out that I had forgotten how good the heel Vaudevillains entrance was and how much of a banger their theme music was. Black and white crackling TV screens with playful vaudeville music followed by an ominous drone accompany the po faced circus cats. Absolutely glorious.

The music creators were clearly influenced by Doink's heel music, which I urge you to listen to once you are done reading this five star review...

Once the action gets underway, I take a second to appreciate Simon Gotch's leg muscles before preparing my analysis. Bloke is like a tree trunk. Sin Cara goes straight to the air with a moonsault and diving headbutt off the ropes within seconds of eachother. Attacking gotch anywhere but the legs, seems a wise move to be honest. Those aren't for turning.

The luchadors are fully in control until English, now the legal man thanks to a blind tag, drags Cara out of the ring under the bottom rope and discards him on the floor like WWE did with Mistico. Hey Hunico, how ya doin'?

English is both wearing and slowing Sin Cara down with a chin lock, before tagging Gotch back in to slowly dissect him with strikes and submissions. This section of the match has been fairly dull, but these dudes are decent storytellers and the fans are being sucked in enough to cheer for the faces to mount their comeback.

The Vauds are cutting off the ring and Kalisto is going nuts on the outside. The crowd are eating it up and are desperate for Kalisto to get the tag. HE MAKES IT! Kalisto runs rough-shot on them all including the insane no hand springboard elbow off the ropes sometimes used by Ospreay. How on earth do people do that? FREAKS!

English is dived on by both of his opponents on the outside, because his partner Simon Gotch wisely but somewhat cowardly left the scene as soon as he saw what was coming. The crowd chant CHIVALRY... you're saying cowardly wrong, lads.

Gotch smells blood and rolls Kalisto back in the ring to pick him off, but the masked man reverses a suplex and hits the Salinda Del Sol outta nowhere for the three. It was short, inoffensive fun, this.

A throwback reminder that not everything in NXT was blowaway good, but Kalisto in particular looked incredible in the ring here. All four made it to the main roster and with Kalisto, there is still hope he can recapture the energy he had for his in-ring output here. Fingers crossed he ditches that bloody piñata soon!

WINNERS - AND STILL NXT TAG CHAMPIONS, LUCHA DRAGONS BY SALINDA DEL SOL.

TYE DILLINGER v BARON CORBIN

By JCH

Out first is The Chairman, The Perfect 10, the no gimmicked Tye Dillinger. He has some generic music and very little response. Big Bad Belly Button Banter Baron walks through the spotlights.

There are screams from the audience. The Lone Wolf! No doubt who they are invested in here. Match begins and the crowd count along the seconds. Baron - heeling it up - takes his time to pause and look at Bull Dempsey.

The crowd stop counting at about 32. End of Days and Baron wins. Probably about 40 seconds. Stare down with Dempsey on the way out.

Based on how these two were positioned in the company, this was not a surprise.

WINNER - BARON CORBIN BY END OF DAYS

FINN BALOR & HIDEO ITAMI v THE ASCENSION

By Pete Hitchcock

Occasionally I forget the Ascension exist. I think that’s a real burial since that word gets slung around so much today. Hideo comes out and I think people think he is still good KENTA. It’s gonna be a while, lads. Finn’s demon entrance starts and yeah they never gave Hideo a chance, did they? He was just a guy from his entrance onwards.

Fun fact: Finn’s old tag partner Taguchi has beaten the Demon! Finn’s paint has gotten better over the years. They do stereo KENTA corner drop kicks to start, and since this is late 2014, none of us have discovered Shibata, the Johnny Cash to KENTA’s Trent Reznor as far as the move is concerned.

By the way this match is like 15 minutes long! An Ascension match. Ascension start a heat segment on Hideo and I’m going to write a little less now. “Baron Corbin trending worldwide on Twitter” apparently. Incidentally Bullet Club KENTA appears to have finally turned it around in his rematch with Ishii after a bunch of hilariously overblown bad matches...and he’s facing Wrestle Kingdom Goto, one of the best semi mythical New Japan wrestlers ever, along with Dick Heel Tanahashi. If Goto wins the NEVER but this time Shibata is there with him, I’ll be very happy.

Konnor knocks Balor off the apron. ‘Is that an in ring veteran or what?’ Come on lads, please. Balor gets the hot tag and yeah it’s just a Balor hot tag. Always wished he wrestled differently in the paint.

REVERSE BLOODY SUNDAY! Okay, haven’t seen that in a while. Itami gets Victor in the fireman’s carry for the GTS but Konnor knocks him down but there is a massive scream for that, he should have been using that from day 1.

Double Footstomps (silly) put away the Ascension and that’s all she wrote. ‘What a future ahead for those two gentlemen there!’ Uh sort of.

WINNERS - HIDEO ITAMI & FINN BALOR BY SILLY FOOT STOMPS

NXT WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: CHARLOTTE (C) v SASHA BANKS

By Matt Connolly

So this week I get to go into the not so distant past and check out Charlotte defending the NXT Women's title against Sasha Banks. These two of course an integral part of The Women's Revolution with their feud over the Women's strap on the Main roster being one of the tide turning moments in many's attitude toward Women's wrestling.

I remember them having a stormer on Raw when Sasha took the belt in a falls count anywhere match. There was that Hell In A Cell match too that felt massive at the time and was one of many firsts that these two women can claim. That feud saw a lot of Hot Potato with the strap but this is a little more straight forward. Charlotte your dominant champ, Sasha pretty much Heir to the throne.

Sasha is out first. She's playing Heel in this one. I've always had a disconnect with her. Nothing on her in ring work, that is as solid as anyone. It's the character. Too cool as a heel but too arrogant as a face. She is in limbo for me. I don't know if that is an opinion that anyone else holds.

The era I watch here sees her donning a red Leather jacket with her hair dyed to match. It's a throwback for me. Champ out next to the tacky but now iconic mashup of her Dad's theme. Just noticed that Sasha is wearing Charlotte's top. Charlotte's "Do It With Flair" motto has been adapted on Sasha's top and now reads "Do It Like A Boss". I like it. It's clearly pissed Charlotte off as you see her motioning towards it. Little extra needle before this is no issue of course.

Commentary doing a fantastic job in the early stages here. I feel like I have watched the whole build with the background they are giving me. As Sasha backs away from Charlotte early doors they state how that has been the story of the rivalry with Banks keeping 'The Queen' at arms length until now. Commentary compare Banks to AJ lee which for this era is high praise and also talk about her experience advantage over Charlotte. That's a wrinkle that WWE would never exploit on the main roster now as the fact that Charlotte is a 10 time champ with a Mania headline spot behind her makes that statement moronic - but I guess here it rings true.

Charlotte is clearly not the star she is today, nor should she be, but the signs are all there. Her pacing isn't as good in the early stages but the chops are as clear and physical as the ones she hits now. Good stuff. Banks sells them like a cannon ripped through her too which is great. She is a little further on in her development. This is highlighted when she hammers Charlotte into the ring steps but also poses so as to allow the crowd to catch up. When Charlotte gets the opportunity she does strike back though and this is more hard hitting than I expected.

Sasha hitting double knees with Charlotte draped over the ropes which is a particular highlight. Crowd are into both women. When is the NXT crowd not into everything though? Sasha hits double knees into the back of Charlotte in a move that I have become accustomed to turning into the Bank Statement but here it's just held as a cross armed submission. I like it.

She continues to dominate through the middle section with various submissions and a few struts and woo's to drive home the fact she is facing Ric Flair's offspring. Charlotte eventually turns it around with a beautiful swinging neckbreaker. Very crisp. Not enough to win though.

As we begin to enter the finishing stretch there are a few highlights. Sasha hits a suicide dive that makes me realise why the crowd won't boo her. Also, it's a blessing to my ears not to have Mauro barking TOPE SUICIDA at that moment. Charlotte hits a spear that takes Sasha out of her boots and she also misses with a moonsault but lands on her feet before hitting a senton that gets 2.

Sasha unable to kick out but instead sticks a limb on the bottom rope. Smart. Rope breaks were invented for heels. Sasha eventually gains control and decides to put Charlotte on the top rope for a superplex, but it backfires.

Charlotte hits a top rope Natural Selection and remains your champ. Surprised me that. Everything seemed to point to a Sasha win but I guess that historically is what Flair does. Fun 12 minute match that.

WINNER - AND STILL NXT WOMEN'S CHAMPION, CHARLOTTE FLAIR BY TOP ROPE NATURAL SELECTION

NXT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: ADRIAN NEVILLE (C) v SAMI ZAYN

By Matt Brummitt

I’m looking forward to this.

The main event tonight is over a year in the making. The story began with Neville beating Zayn for the no 1 contendership to Bo Dallas’s NXT title which, after a couple of unsuccessful attempts, Neville would win a few months later. Zayn would fall out of the title picture as he focussed on feuds with guys like Cesaro & Graves, until TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way where Neville defended his title against Zayn, Tyson Kidd, & Tyler Breeze.

Neville would be successful in that defence but the big talking point coming out of it was Neville’s need to pull the referee out of the ring when Zayn, his friend, had the match won. This was the real start of the tension between the two but it didn’t come to a head until a little later. Zayn mowed through a lot of the NXT roster on his “road to redemption” whilst Neville gently chided him about not being able to “win the big one”.

Zayn’s winning streak led to a one-on-one match for Neville’s title, just short of a year after their initial no 1 contender match. Towards the end of the match, Neville feigned injury to schoolboy Zayn for the win; adding weight to Neville’s claims that he was willing to go farther than Zayn. To prove Neville wrong, Zayn asked for a rematch for his title and said he would put his career on the line if he couldn’t beat him. Neville reluctantly accepted but patronised Zayn by saying he didn’t want to end his career which earnt him a good ole slap from Sami. This should be fun.

The challenger, Zayn, comes out to a big pop. Neville gets mixed reactions. Big match intro with loud “Olé, Olé, Olé" chants. Athletic chain wrestling to kick things off. First big move of the match is a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker which tilts & whirls Geordie Nev out of the ring and Sami follows it up with a springboard moonsault to the outside.

Back in the ring, Zayn tries a couple of quick pins to no avail. Neville with a couple of his own to the same result. An absolutely beautiful charging European uppercut from Neville gets another 2 count. In this match you can see the seeds of the modern day “Bastard PAC” in-ring style, as Neville is a lot slower & methodical than previously.

A period of Neville on top frustrates Zayn, leading him to twat Nev in the chest. Neville responds with a series of short shin kicks to the head which pisses Zayn off even more & he vents with a couple of lariats & a dropkick. Nev ends up on the outside again. Zayn hits a dive over the top rope to the outside to a big pop.

Zayn gets Nev back in the ring and gets a 2 count after a top rope crossbody. We then get a lovely series of reversals which finishes with a sweet electric chair Blue Thunder bomb to get Sami another 2. Nev back on offence with another beauty of a charging uppercut followed by a German suplex & a 2 count of his own. More pretty reversal goodness leads to a sit out powerbomb from Nev & another 2.

We then get a forearm war followed by some Nev kicks and Zayn clotheslines. A missed helluva kick attempt leaves Zayn prone for the Red Arrow but he gets his knees up! And then transitions into a Koji Clutch! Crowd explodes with “Tap! Tap! Tap!” chants. They don’t get their wish as Nev makes it to the ropes. A quick pin attempt by Nev results in a ref bump.

Zayn checks on the ref but turns into a Nev superkick & then a poisonrana! Ref is revived but Nev only gets a 2! This match is good. More Olé chants as the crowd is relieved that wasn’t the finish. Another forearm war but this time Zayn ducks a Neville kick & hits the 2 Germans + half-and-half suplex combo. Sami tries the helluva kick again but Nev rolls out. Sami follows him and hits that amazing dive-through-the-bottom-ropes-tornado-DDT spot! I love that move.

Back in the ring now as Sami goes for the helluva kick for the third time. This time he hits it but he catches the ref too! Matt Connolly leads the crowd in “This ref sucks” chants. Whilst Sami checks on the ref (again), Nev brings his title into the ring but Sami clocks him & kicks him in his head. Sami sees the belt on the ground & looks conflicted. He eventually picks it up & looks to twat Neville with it but then has second thoughts. Whilst he is in contemplation, Nev goes for a quick roll up but thankfully only gets the 2.

Zayn pops right back up & hits Nev with an exploder into the corner! 4th helluva kick attempt. This time he hits it without hitting the ref! 1, 2, 3! Sami is the new champ & keeps his career! Crowd goes mad!

Post-match: The NXT locker room pour out to celebrate with Sami & first to him is his best mate Kevin Owens who debuted earlier that night. What a night for Steenerico! Owens embraces him as everyone stands around & claps. Crowd are lapping this up. The roster lift Sami up on their shoulders as he raises the title above his head.

Zayn’s music stops as Nev re-enters the ring. The roster back off as Zayn & Neville have a face off. They eventually embrace and Nev raises Zayn’s hand to a fairytale ending. The roster lift Sami up again as he basks in the moment. The roster eventually leave so Sami can have some time with his fans which they enjoy.

As Sami gets out of the ring, he is embraced by Owens again on the ring apron as we get the title card in the bottom corner. I know this is coming but I don’t want to watch it. Owens raises Sami’s hand & as they walk back he throws Zayn to the floor. Brutal powerbomb on the ring apron. Regal runs out to remonstrate with Owens but Owens ignores him and walks to the back. The show closes with Regal summoning help.

Summary: Phew. Firstly, the match. That was great. To my memory, at that time, that was the best match that NXT had ever put out & the best WWE match since Punk Cena at MITB ‘11. There were a couple of ref bumps, but they made sense as a big part of the story was what lengths Zayn would go to to win the title. However, the post-match is what this show gets remembered for. Kevin Owens, you absolute bastard.

WINNER: AND NEW NXT CHAMPION, SAMI ZAYN WITH THE HELLUVA KICK