Last Time on NXT TakeOver: The Knight made his debut on the pre-show, Cameron Grimes gained an absolute BANGER of a theme song, we crowned all 4 winners of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, Adam Cole proved Pat McAfee never lies, and we finally found out what MSK stands for.
This Week on NXT TakeOver Stand & Deliver Night 1: HOLY SHIT THIS MATCH CARD
POP: Dunne Man X
So just to give you a hint of how great Night 1 is, this was the worst match of the night. Not because it was a bad match, in fact, this match was an incredible back and forth between two guys who simply want to prove who the best technical wrestler in NXT is (as Finn & Kyle chuckle in the corner). It’s only the “worst” by process of elimination.
This was also the match with the least amount of story behind it, but sometimes that can be made up for by just being a really dope match, and Pete & Kushida pulled it off here. Pete walked away with the win, but I gotta wonder what’s next for these two. Frankly since Danny’s injured and Pete is still in a stable with 1-2 Punch, I don’t know why they didn’t just team him up with Oney to hold the tag titles instead of vacating them.
I also don’t know if they’re ever gonna pull the trigger on NXT or North American Champion Pete Dunne. Kushida’s kinda been floating around from storyline to storyline too just having great matches but nothing else (Edit from the future: lololololololol.) Frankly I wouldn’t be surprised if Pete got called up soon, I’m not so sure about Kushida but to be honest, I’d be kinda scared of what they’d even do with him on the main roster. Less so if he wound up on SmackDown, that’d be a nice fit for him.
POP: Reed Ryder’s Anthem
Now, for those in the audience that are unfamiliar with the Gauntlet Eliminator match, it’s basically a combination of the Royal Rumble and Gauntlet matches with 6 people. NXT is really good at making sure every person in a multi-man match like this looks great and gets highlighted.
I can’t even really pick out an MVP of this match because all of them were equally great to me. That Corkscrew RuffKO that he hit off of the announcer’s table was definitely a huge moment that stood out to me though. Knight cutting a promo on his way to the ring was great too, mostly because I think he should have a mic in his hand 24/7. And of course you had Grimey paying Swerve to be his friend for like 15 minutes.
It eventually whittled down to Reed and Swerve and once again like every time these guys find themselves in a match together, it was magic. There were a LOT of times where I thought Swerve might wind up facing Johnny on Night 2, but it wasn’t meant to be as Reed splashed him through the mat for the win. Reed’s gotta be another one that Vince is looking to call up soon, the guy has a ridiculous amount of upside.
Small POP for Dexter’s skull graphics being eyes in the eye holes.
POP: It’s Dark and WALTER Chops
Hey so this was my favorite match out of the entire night. Honestly, probably out of both nights. This was pure unadulterated VIOLENCE.
This match is summed up by Ciampa and WALTER’s Intangibles: Psychotic and Unbeatable respectively.
This match was so good I actually paid full attention during the PIP, and saw Ciampa clothesline WALTER about 5,000 times without making a dent. So backstory: Ciampa and Tim Thatcher bonded over being angry old men and started beating up people together. Tim’s old bae from Ringkampf, Marcel Barthel tried to get him back, like a fuckboy is one to do, and after being rejected, Ciampa called out the final boss of NXT Beans and Mash, WALTER. This was a mistake.
I cannot say enough about how great this match was. Both guys worked their ass off and hit believable moves that worked for their style. Usually Ciampa is the WALTER in matches so it was interesting to see him in the role of the Underdog for once. But because he’s so used to dominating, he was actually able to hold his own.
And oh my god, that spot where WALTER BROKE THE TABLE WITH HIS CHOP? His hands should be registered weapons. If you watch any match from S&D, it has to be this one. I watched it 3 times (no wonder it’s taking me forever to get this out).
You know what, just let WALTER hold the title forever. It’s his now. It’s the WALTER Heavyweight Championship. He’s the new Bruno. It’s just WALTER. WALTER and his adventures, NXT.. WALTER FOREVER AND FOREVER A HUNDRED YEARS WALTER.
POP: Tags Gonna Give It To Ya
Looks like we finally got us some Must See Champs. I’m not surprised as Hunter clearly loves these guys and for good reason as every single match they’ve had has been an absolute banger so far. They were Tag Champ ready since they stepped into WWE. To be honest, they’re so effortlessly endearing, we’ll be lucky if they’re still working Tuesdays by the end of the year.
GYV and Legado del Fantasma were excellent as usual. All these teams really thrive in triple tag matches (under NXT rules where it’s a triple threat with tags, i.e. the only way it makes sense). Honestly I feel like they spent more time in the middle of the air than in the ring.
Looking forward to the reign of the Must See Champs.
POP: Shorty Was da Bomb
Raquel Gonzalez. Came out here looking like the protagonist of a supernatural vampire slaying show from the late 90s and dethroned one of the most dominant Womens champions in NXT history, and just like that became the first woman to ever be both NXT Womens and Womens Tag Team Champion.
She’s spent the better part of 2020 killing it in match after match, making her look like a million bucks and it paid off here where she really got to show her stuff. This was inevitable since the moment she sent Rhea packing to Monday Nights.
This was more of a clash of styles than say, Ciampa and WALTER, but if anyone is good at working with women twice her size, it’s Io Shirai. She looked strong here in defeat and really gave Raquel a good fight that elevated her to Io’s level. I’m really excited to see what’s next for her.
That was a fire Night 1, man. (And if you ask me the superior night of the nights.) I had to rewatch it as soon as it was over. Well, on to Night 2.
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Next Time: NXT TAKEOVER: STAND & DELIVER NIGHT 2!
Peace.
