NXT Takeover: Unstoppable

Date: May 20, 2015

Location: Full Sail
University, Winter Park, Florida

Commentators: Rich
Brennan, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves

Reviewed by Tommy Hall

It’s another live two
hour special with a rare rematch for the main event. Tonight it’s
Zayn vs. Owens II as Sami tries to get the NXT Title back from the
man who beat him by referee stoppage back at Takeover: Rival. These
shows are always worth checking out and there’s no reason to think
this won’t be the same so let’s get to it.

The opening video
features a bunch of fans talking about why they love NXT and thanking
the promotion for giving them wrestling back. It transitions into a
regular opening video with clips of every match and soundbytes from
the wrestlers.

Four models, wearing
fur and talking pictures of themselves, walk the aisle like a runway
and I think you know where this is going.

This was supposed to be
a triple threat but we get a clip of Hideo Itami being attacked in
the parking lot as he arrived. Kevin Owens is there and says that’s
a shame. THANK YOU! This is one of those things you never get
anymore in wrestling and it drives me crazy. Itami is injured, so
why not give Owens (or anyone) credit for it instead of just saying
“yeah he’s hurt. Too bad.” It’s so nice to see. It’s also nice
to see the full on Irish demon entrance for Balor again, complete
with dreadlocks, paint, the dragon style cape and spikes down his
back. He even has a huge yellow eye on his back.

Feeling out process to
start with Breeze looking disturbed (rightfully so) by Balor’s
appearance. Tyler finally nails a big kick to put Balor on the floor
before choking with the boot in the corner. We hit the chinlock on
Balor and Tyler seems to have his own group of fans tonight. Balor
rolls up and tries a sunset flip but rolls through into a basement
dropkick. Another dropkick to the side of the head sends Breeze
outside and Balor hits a running double stomp to the back from the
apron.

Back in and Balor kicks
him in the head for two more. The Sling Blade gets the same but
Breeze stops a charge with a Supermodel Kick for a very close two.
Tyler unhooks a buckle pad but misses the Beauty Shot. Balor misses
a double stomp and gets rolled up for two before being sent into the
exposed buckle, setting up a Beauty Shot for two.

Balor rolls outside and
walks a bit (Fans to the referee: “YOU’RE NOT COUNTING!”) before
surprising Breeze with a running forearm. Finn goes up to the bottom
of the Titantron (Fans: “PLEASE DON’T DIE!”) for a big dive to
take Breeze down again. Back in and the Coup de Grace makes Balor #1
contender at 11:05.

Rating:
B. Great choice for an opener
here and Breeze continues his hot streak. Balor was just too much
for him here though and that’s the right thought process. It’s hard
to go with Breeze, who has gone from a comedy character to a serious
wrestler, over someone who is one of the best packages in all of NXT.
Balor vs. Zayn or Owens should rock the house too.

Owens
watches from the back.

Someone
from Game of Thrones and Stephanie McMahon are in the front row.

Clips
of the northeast tour.

That place is going to
erupt when Bayley finally wins the title. Bayley catapults Dana into
a clothesline from Charlotte to start and chases Emma to the floor.
Emma hides behind her partner on the floor but eats a dropkick from
around the corner. Back in and Emma gets in a blind shot to take
over on Bayley, setting up a neck crank. The Emma Sandwich gets two
and Emma mocks the Bayley high five. That earns her a suplex and
it’s off to Charlotte who comes in with a double DDT. Emma’s cross
body is countered into the Figure Eight but Dana makes a save, only
to walk into the Belly to Bayley. Natural Selection ends Emma at
6:38.

Rating:
C+. This was fine but a bit
short. It’s a good move to not have Brooke take the fall as they’re
probably setting her up for something bigger down the line. Bayley
not getting the pin keeps Bayley vs. Emma ready for later on and
hopefully then on to the title pursuit again. Nice little match here
but the time hurt it.

We
look at Sami injuring his shoulder on Raw a few weeks back. I’m
still not sure how legit that injury is and I love that I can’t tell.

Some
NXT rookies are here, headlined by the still yet to be named Uhaa
Nation.

Just a power brawl
here. Rhyno looks almost the same as he did back in ECW. Baron gets
sidestepped and clotheslined to the floor to start and Corbin is in
early trouble. Back in and Corbin knocks him off the top and out to
the floor as the fans think Cor-Bin Sucks. Rhyno tries to fight back
but gets thrown into the corner and stomped down until the referee
pulls him off. We hit the chinlock and the fans aren’t sure who they
like more. Rhyno fights up and wins a slugout but Baron headbutts
out of a belly to belly. Instead it’s a spinebuster for two on
Corbin but he blocks a Gore with a clothesline, setting up End of
Days for the pin at 7:13.

Rating:
C. Take two guys, let them beat
each other up for seven minutes, soak in the cheers. There
isn’t much more to this one than that as Rhyno was brought in exactly
for this purpose: make other people look good and do the job at the
end, because he’s an established veteran who is going to bounce back
from whatever losses he has. Good power match.

We
look at Owens beating up Cena on Raw.

Owens
is asked about his busy week, which he breaks down in detail. The
NXT Title is a real prize, unlike the US Title. He
has a bit of veteran advice for Sami: don’t show up tonight, because
it’s the last time anyone will ever see (insert You Can’t See Me)
him.

Enzo
and Cass are challenging with Carmella in their corner, who may or
may not have turned on them. Enzo
says Team Cottonelle is taking an L tonight because there’s a bounty
on their head. In a nice
touch, Cass spells out the word and we cut to a SAWFT sign in the
crowd with the camera panning over each letter in time.

Enzo
takes Blake (with his hair
in ponytails) down to start
and it’s off to Big Cass, sending the champs hiding in the corner.
Murphy’s chop has no effect
on Cass so he throws Murphy hard into the corner for two. Enzo
adds a high cross body for the same but the champs cheat a bit to
take over, setting up Murphy for a backbreaker. Enzo
gets stomped down in the corner and
caught in a powerbomb into a Codebreaker for two more.

Back
to Murphy for a superplex but Amore fights him off and hits a tornado
DDT to set up the double tag. Cass
cleans house and gets two off the Empire Elbow before tagging a very
banged up Enzo for the Rocket Launcher. Cue
Alexa Bliss to jump Carmella, drawing Cass out before he can throw
his partner. Bliss crotches Enzo to give Blake the pin to retain at
8:48.

Rating:
C. Nice swerve here as Bliss
going after Carmella was teased a bit last week but it wasn’t enough
to make you think it was going to happen. People were waiting on
Carmella to turn and then you get a nice surprise instead. Enzo and
Cass probably aren’t taking the titles anytime soon and it might be
time to send them to the main roster.

Eva
Marie is here and is met with indifference.

We
look back at Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch.  Banks took Lynch
under her wing and used her to retain the title.  Becky shook
her off and has become #1 contender, saying it’s her time to prove
that her career has all been worth it by becoming Women’s Champion.

Becky
is challenging and sporting a new look with orange
hair, a black coat, goggles
and shorts. The ring gear
is similar to Lita’s look when she returned from her broken neck.
Becky cranks on the arm to
start and trips Sasha down into a rollup for two. We
hit a pinfall reversal sequence for some near falls each until Sasha
bails from an armbar attempt. Sasha
crawls away from a stomp on the apron and twists Becky’s arm into a
faceplant on the apron. Fans: “LIKE A BOSS! LIKE A BOSS!”

Now
it’s Sasha going for the arm and posing on the apron to mock Lynch’s
entrance. We hit the
chinlock from the champ before
she switches to a double arm choke with her foot in Becky’s back.
Sasha’s double stomp in the
corner lands on the arm for two and Banks steps on the arm, bending
it all the way back to the mat with her boot on the wrist. Off
to a short arm scissors for
a bit before Becky rolls over and does her Backlund/Bulldog lift into
a slam to break the hold.

Becky
makes the one armed comeback and gets two off a missile dropkick but
Banks goes back to the arm for two. Sasha
goes for the arm again but they both wind up on the floor. It’s
Becky going after the arm this time before throwing it back inside
for a suplex onto the arm. An armbar with the feet has Banks in
trouble and another suplex gets two. Fans:
“SUPLEX CITY!”

Sasha
flips out of a pumphandle suplex but gets pulled down into the seated
armbar, sending her crawling to the ropes for the break. Becky
gets kicked out to the floor again for a suicide dive but Lynch
catches her (mostly) on the
fly and drives the champ
into the steps. Back in and
Becky gets knocked off the top, setting up the Bank Statement (with
an additional arm trap) for
the tap out at 15:30.

Rating:
A-. I
know I say this every time, but I can’t remember the last time I was
this into a women’s match or most matches for that matter. These two
were beating the tar out of each other with the arm work going back
and forth making for a great story throughout. These
girls somehow get better and better every single time and they’re
stealing all of the Takeovers. Great match.

Becky
gets a standing ovation.

We
recap Owens vs. Zayn. They were friends for years but Owens attacked
Zayn after Sami won the title at Takeover: R-Evolution. Owens said
he wanted to provide a better life for his family but has been using
that as an excuse to be an evil jerk. He beat Zayn for the title
last time but now Sami is coming in with a bad shoulder.

Sami
is challenging. Owens comes
out wearing a John Cena The Champ Is Here shirt. After
the Big Match Intros, Owens bails to the floor as is his custom.
Sami gets tired of waiting and goes after him by sending Owens into
the steps and hammering away. He throws Owens into the barricade
before they spill into the crowd. Owens tries a powerbomb on the
concrete but Sami grabs a barricade to escape.

Sami
knocks him onto the concrete to take over again and they head inside
with the Blue Thunder Bomb connecting for two. The
half nelson/chicken wing suplex gets the same and Sami loads up a
tornado DDT, only to have Owens block it with a raised knee to the
back for a unique counter. The Cannonball misses though and the
t-bone into the corner rocks Owens again. He’s able to roll away
from the Helluva Kick though and it’s back to the floor. Another
exploder suplex staggers Owens but he catches a running boot and
powerbombs Sami onto the apron.

Cue
the referees to check on Sami but Owens keeps hammering away. Owens
stomps away as the fans want to let them fight. Kevin
throws Sami against the steps and punches him down again as the
doctor keeps trying to check on him. They
actually get back in the ring and I’m not sure if this match is still
going.

GM
William Regal comes out and calls Owens off, eventually ripping at
Owens’ face, earning Regal a headbutt. Kevin
gets the title and a chair (the same weapon that started their feud
in ROH) but we’ve got music. Cue SAMOA JOE (with that name on his
shirt and called that name by Brennan) and the fans are stunned. Joe
gets right in Owens’ face and the champ runs. We’ll call the match a
no contest at about 12:00.

Rating:
B+. Heck of a fight while it
lasted but that’s twice in a row now that Owens has knocked Zayn out
to beat him. It’s one heck of a rub for Owens and the beauty of it
is that Zayn is going to be right back on top through pure charisma.
Joe vs. Owens is going to be a war and that’s quite the way to have
him debut, even if it was spoiled.

Owens
comes back out but says he’s done his job to end the show.

Overall
Rating: B+.
Somehow, this is a downgrade over their previous shows. Really
fun show this time with the girls making up for the angle disguised
as a main event. Joe debuting is a great moment as he’s such a huge
name on the indy scene that the NXT fans are going to accept him with
open arms. This was another great Takeover and the future continues
to shine so brightly for this company’s future.

Finn Balor b. Tyler
Breeze – Coup de Grace

Charlotte/Bayley b.
Dana Brooke/Emma – Natural Selection to Emma

Baron Corbin b. Rhyno –
End of Days

Blake/Murphy b. Enzo
Amore/Colin Cassady – Blake pinned Amore after Bliss crotched him
on the top rope

Sasha Banks b. Becky
Lynch – Bank Statement

Kevin Owens vs. Sami
Zayn went to a no contest