NXT TakeOver: Orlando (April 2017)

Original Airdate: April 1, 2017

From Orlando, Florida; Your Hosts are Tom Phillips, Nigel McGuinness, and Percy Watson

Opening Eight-Person Mixed Tag Team Match: Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe, Killian Dain, and Nikki Cross v Tye Dillinger, Roderick Strong, Kassius Ohno, and Ruby Riot: Ohno is a replacement for No Way Jose, who got roughed up by the heels earlier in the day. Big brawl to start, with the babyface team cleaning house. Dust settles on Nikki and Ruby, and Cross knocks her around, but misses a corner charge, and takes a headscissors into the middle turnbuckle. Tags to Wolfe and Ohno, and Ohno controls with a somersault senton splash for two, then works a wristlock. A distraction from Young turns the tide, however, and Ohno gets abused in the heel corner. He manages to get the tag to Strong, and he cleans house on the whole heel side, but takes a release German suplex from Wolfe. It's too bad Dain wasn't around in the mid-90s, because this dude would have been the perfect tag partner for Mantaur. They cut the ring in half on Strong, but Young misses a corner dropkick, and Dillinger gets the hot tag, and Roseanne Barr the door! That goes on for a while, until Dain pins Tye at 12:40. Everybody in this came off like local jobbers, and I couldn't connect with it at all. * ¼

Andrade Almas v Aleister Black: Feeling out process to start, with Black getting a slight edge on Almas throughout. Almas with a nice missile dropkick for two, and he grounds Black in an armbar, but Black escapes with a series of kicks that knock Almas to the outside. Black is on him with a moonsault press out there, then back in with a victory cradle for two. Spinkick is ducked, however, and Almas goes after the arm again, but Black kicks free. Almas tries another missile dropkick, but gets powerbombed out of the air for two (well, kinda - more like he just fell on his ass in front of Black, but whatever). Black hooks an inside cradle for two, but another victory cradle is reversed for two. Almas throws a pele kick for two, and a running double-kneesmash in the corner follows. Bridging German suplex gets two, so Black starts kicking him in the head to take the pep out of his step, and a spinkick finishes him at 9:35. This was technically good, and really fast paced, but I failed to connect with either worker. ** ½

NXT Tag Team Title Triple Threat Match: The Authors of Pain v The Revival v DIY: This is elimination rules, with tags enforced. Big brawl to start, with everyone ganging up on the champions. Once they're taken out (not eliminated, but down on the outside), they settle into a Revival/DIY match, with DIY dominating. The dust settles on Dash Wilder and Johnny Gargano, but Akam tags himself in during a criss cross, and destroys Tommaso Ciampa. The Authors put the hurting on Ciampa, and while he can't reach partner Gargano, he does reach the Revival - who refuse to tag in! Hey, they're not stupid. They do help out with a cheap shot on Akam, and with him down, oblige a tag in. Gargano tags himself in instead of letting them try to finish Akam off, and things quickly break down into a brawl between all three teams on the outside. Johnny hits Scott Dawson with a slingshot DDT for two, but a plancha onto the Authors ends badly when they catch him, then throw his body into both Dash and Ciampa. You know, it would really make my life easier of the Authors could incorporate their names on their gear. I mean, I can generally tell them apart when I try, but I shouldn't be putting more effort into their matches than they are. It just isn't fair, really. The Authors cut the ring in half on Gargano, but a helping hand from the Revival allows the tag to Ciampa. He comes in hot with a release German suplex on Akam, and a standard German sets up a running kneesmash for two. Both teams of challengers work together to put Rezar through a table on the outside, and with him out of the way, it's time to polish off Akam. The crowd is super into their alliance, but Akam actually manages to fight all four of them off! Eventually the number overwhelm him, and Dawson gets a kneebar on as Gargano aids with a crossface - Dawson and Ciampa desperately holding Rezar back from breaking it up! Unfortunately, he manages to bust through for the save, though the pop had Akam tapped would have been earth shaking. A pissed off Rezar tries to slam both Dash and Dawson at the same time, but DIY save, and they manage to clean house again. They keep working together as Dash and Gargano hit the champs with stereo topes, and then things get crazy when Dawson superplexes Ciampa onto all four guys standing below them on the floor! That was cool! Scott rolls Johnny in to finish off, but the Authors take him out before he can, and DIY is done at 19:30. They keep the hurt on Dash, but fall prey to some quality tandem moves - a bridging German suplex/2^nd rope flying backelbow combo getting two on Rezar. They try more tandem moves, but Rezar shrugs them off, and chokeslams Dawson. Final Chapter looks to finish, but Dash saves, and Dawson cradles Akam for two. He has no follow-up, however, and the Authors hit their challengers with stereo powerbombs. Dawson plays possum to sucker Akam into another inside cradle, but it fails to get the pin, and the Authors powerbomb their asses again to retain at 23:44. They kind of booked themselves into a corner here since they didn't want to change the belts, but the hottest portion of the match was when Revival and DIY were working together, and would have really been awesome had Akam tapped to their allied submission effort. Still a really fun Triple Threat, though it lost a lot of steam after DIY went home. ****

NXT Women's Title Match: Asuka v Ember Moon: Feeling out process to start sees a bunch of stalemates, until Asuka is able to hit the hip attack, but Moon responding with a dropkick. A kick combo sends Asuka to the outside, but she manages to avoid a dive, and send Moon off the apron with another hip attack. Ember beats the count in, so Asuka greets her with a few spinning backfists, and another hip attack. Asuka-Lock looks to put this away early, but Moon slugs free before she can apply it, and knocks the champion to the outside for a springboard bodypress. Back in, Moon tries the Eclipse, but Asuka dodges, and unloads a kick combo. Asuka-Lock is successfully applied this time, and comes very close to finishing before the challenger manages to fall back onto her to escape. Asuka responds with another hip attack, but Moon sidesteps it this time, and superkicks her ass. Moon is still too battered to follow-up, but manages to counter a suplex from Asuka with a headscissors, and she adds a dropkick. Moon with a fallaway slam, but an attempt to springboard is countered with a German suplex for two. Spinning backfist, but Moon ducks this time, and hits the champ with an exploder suplex for two. Moon goes back up for the Eclipse, but Asuka tries to counter with a superplex, so Ember counters back with a gourdbuster off the top! Eclipse, so a desperate Asuka shoves the referee into the ropes to knock her off, and Moon is done at 12:11. Asuka has now been champion for a year, and given how much they've gutted the roster to beef up the brand split, you have to wonder who could possibly dethrone her at this point. *** ¼

Main Event: NXT Title Match: Bobby Roode v Shinsuke Nakamura: Bobby shoots at the leg to start, but Nakamura is ready, and counters him into a hammerlock, and they feel each other out. Nakamura tries a vertical suplex off the apron, but Bobby counters with a dropkick, and he shoulderblocks the challenger off the apron and into the guardrail. Back in, Roode puts the boots to him, and delivers a neckbreaker for two. Bobby works a nervehold, but Nakamura escapes, so Roode backelbows him down, and adds a kneedrop for two. Bobby's offense is like watching paint dry. A headvice doesn't do much to change that assessment, nor does a sleeper. Nakamura escapes with a series of kicks, and he knocks Bobby out of the ring with a baseball slide. Back in, Nakamura wants a German suplex, but Bobby blocks, and drives home a clothesline. Charge in the corner doesn't end well, however, and Nakamura looks for Kinshasa, but Roode sidesteps, and clips the knee. Bobby goes to work on the leg, but Nakamura reverses a figure four, so Bobby goes back to basics: simply stomping on that shit. Back to the figure four, so Nakamura counters to a cross-armbreaker, but Roode is in the rope. Nakamura responds with a bunch of kicks, but a knee in the corner misses, and he ends up banging the injured part into the turnbuckle. Roode capitalizes by going back after the leg, but Nakamura fights him off with a series of kicks. A big roundhouse is countered with a lungblower for two, however, and a slugfest ends in Bobby trying the Glorious DDT, but Nakamura counters with a gourdbuster for two. Kinshasa, but Roode bails to the outside to avoid it, and a battered Nakamura is forced to drag him back in. Roode is able to take advantage of the bad leg slowing Nakamura down with the Glorious DDT on the way back in, but it only gets two! Desperate, Roode fetches the ring bell, but the referee takes it away from him, and Nakamura is able to sneak up with an inverted powerslam. Kinshasa, but Roode counters with a rotating spinebuster for two. Glorious DDT, but Nakamura manages to railroad him into the corner to block - only to have Bobby clip the leg again before he can follow-up! One more try at the Glorious DDT, and this one is enough at 28:29. It got pretty good by the end, and I liked the psychology, but I found it really tedious for the most part. I still don't get the big deal about Nakamura. ** ¾

BUExperience: A very underwhelming show, but not a terrible one – especially with the terrific Triple Threat in the middle.

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