NXT TakeOver: Chicago (May 2017)

Original Airdate: May 20, 2017

From Chicago, Illinois; Your Hosts are Tom Phillips, Percy Watson, and Nigel McGuinness

Opening Match: Eric Young v Roderick Strong: Strong takes out the SAnitY guys on the way to the ring, and attacks Young with some chops, followed by a backdrop. Clothesline sends Eric over the top, and Roderick is hot on his tail for a beating around ringside. Back in, Strong hits a dropkick, but misses a charge in the corner, and Young delivers a modified side suplex to end the onslaught. I see NXT has now switched to the gaudy LED ring posts as well. Eric with a swinging neckbreaker for two, and he grounds Strong in a cravat, but Roderick escapes, and whacks him with a clothesline. Corner whip sends Young flipping onto the apron, but that allows his SAnitY buddies to clobber Strong on the outside to turn the tide. In, Young hits a 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop for two, and he works Roderick over, as his crew pepper in more cheap shots from the floor. 2^nd rope flying axehandle is countered with a dropkick though, and Strong mounts a comeback. Young bails to the outside before Roderick can put him away, however, and he catches Strong with a wheelbarrow neckbreaker on the floor when Strong follows him out. Back in, it gets two, so Young goes to the top with a flying elbowdrop, but it's still only enough for two. Another wheelbarrow neckbreaker, but this time Strong counters with a victory cradle for two. That brings SAnitY into play again, and Eric is able to clobber him while he's busy fighting them off. To the top again, but this time Roderick knocks him off with a kneesmash - knocking Eric down onto both his buddies like they're bowling pins. In, Strong hits a high knee, and the End of Heartache finishes at 13:42. Technically fine, but I never got invested in it, and Young's offense felt very limited. * ½

WWE United Kingdom Title Match: Tyler Bate v Pete Dunne: Jim Ross sits in for commentary on this one, fresh off of calling the recent UK special. I love that JR is back, and that he’s being used to call stuff he can really sink his teeth into (as opposed to parrot act the main show announcers are forced to do), but it sucks that it took such a tragic event to bring him back into the fold. Dunne takes it to the mat right away with a front-facelock, and they work a series of reversals and counters as they feel each other out. Dunne starts wrenching at the hand, but Bate knocks him out of the ring with a dropkick - only to get blasted with a forearm as he tries hopping out after him. Pete keeps after the hand, but a stomp on the steps is dodged, and Tyler dives off of the steps with a corkscrew backelbow. He tries rolling Pete back in, but gets whacked again, and Dunne delivers a wild crash landing on the apron! In, Dunne grounds him in a hammerlock, then starts pulling at the hand again. If this wrestling thing doesn't work out, Pete should totally move to Philly and look up Tony Gazzo. Tyler powers to a vertical base to allow for an exploder suplex, but a charge in the corner ends badly. Dunne tries another crash landing, but Bate back flips onto his feet, and hits a standing shooting star press, then adds a saito suplex into a cradle for two. Great sequence there! A running shooting star press is countered into a triangle choke, however, but Bate powers to a vertical base, and utilizes a powerbomb to escape. Airplane spin gets two, and I just realized how much Bate versus Cesaro needs to happen at some point. Bate with a German suplex, but Dunne back flips onto his feet, so Tyler tries a springboard twisting bodypress, but Dunne smacks him out of the air, and drops him with a vertical suplex powerbomb for two! Wild, and the crowd is eating it up! That leads to a slugfest, which Bate gets the better of, but Dunne throws an enzuigiri before Tyler can follow-up. That leads to both guys staggering to their feet for another slugfest, which Bate attempts to win with a koppou kick, but Pete fires right back with a boot. He tries tossing Tyler over the top, but Bate literally bounces back at him with a clothesline for two! Tyler Driver, but Dunne counters to the Bitter End - only to get countered back with a DDT! Pete wisely rolls out of the ring before a battered Bate can cover, so Tyler dives after him with a moonsault press, then rolls his ass back in for a flying corkscrew senton splash for two! Nuts! That flurry took as much out of the champion as it did the challenger, however, and Dunne again wisely rolls to the outside to make Bate work for it. Tyler guts it out for a tope suicida, but Pete is able to sidestep this time, and he crushes him with the Bitter End to win the title at 15:28. Holy shit. That was a next level great match, a big step up from their (also very good) tournament final back in January. But this was a whole new level compared to that one. The timing here was just unbelievable. The psychology, the effort, the complexity of the spots - all top notch stuff. Good luck following that, everyone else. **** ¾

NXT Women's Title Triple Threat Match: Asuka v Nikki Cross v Ruby Riot: First fall wins it. Cross dumps Riot to the outside right away, but runs into a hip attack from the champ. Asuka gets rid of Nikki, and Ruby is back for her turn. She manages to schoolgirl Asuka for two, and she dumps the champ to the outside, but Nikki cuts off an attempt at a dive. Cross turnbuckle smashes her fellow challenger, and a straightjacket neckbreaker follows, but Asuka is back before she can continue. She pounds Nikki with a series of kicks, but Cross delivers a neckbreaker for two. Riot comes in with her own series of kicks, but Asuka powerbombs her into an anklelock - Cross saving. That allows Riot to roll Asuka for two, and a sloppy 2^nd rope flying rana follows. They spill to the outside, where Riot nails Asuka with a tope, then rolls Cross in for a flying senton splash - Asuka breaking the count at two, and bridging German suplexing Ruby for two. Spinning backfist for Nikki, but she's able to counter with a sling blade for two, and Ruby superkicks them both. Ruby goes up for a flying legdrop on the champ, but she ends up in the Asuka-Lock instead - saved only by Cross coming in with a flying splash. Nikki takes her fellow challenger out to the apron for an inverted DDT onto it, so Asuka tries a baseball slide, but ends up caught between the ring and the apron like a fish in a net! Neat! Cross pulls her back in for a nasty elevated neckbreaker, but Riot saves at two. They work together to clothesline Asuka over the top, and they trade cradles for a few near falls - only for Asuka to run back in and blast them with the shining wizard, then pinning both simultaneously at 12:26. Very indy-ish stuff. This division is dead - which is a shame, considering it was one of the best women's divisions in the entire world only a couple of years ago. * ¼

NXT Title Match: Bobby Roode v Hideo Itami: Roode gets cocky, and nearly ends up eating a GTS in the opening moments, but wisely bails to the outside to regroup. Back in, Bobby grabs a side-headlock, and they feel each other out. Itami starts throwing kicks to take control, and a snapmare sets up a pair of kneedrops, but Bobby blocks a tornado DDT, and hits a 2^nd rope flying somersault neckbreaker for two. He chokes his challenger on the ropes and fires off chops, then delivers a pair of cross corner clotheslines to setup a neckbreaker for two. Roode locks some chin, but Itami counters another neckbreaker with a backslide for two, so Bobby clotheslines him. He gets cocky again, so Itami slaps him across the face, and starts throwing kicks to put the champion down. Vertical suplex follows, and Itami comes off the top with a flying clothesline for two. GTS, but Bobby blocks, and shoves him into the corner. Charge, but Itami sidesteps, and more kicks follow. Roode tries a schoolboy after ducking a kick, but Itami catches the arm, and holds it into a fujiwara armbar, but Bobby is able to escape. He tries another flying somersault neckbreaker, but Itami dodges this one, and delivers a falcon arrow for two. He tries a charge of his own, but Roode is ready with a spinebuster for two. Glorious DDT, but the injured arm prevents him from executing it, and Itami goes for the GTS, but Roode snaps his throat across the top rope to block again. They spill to the outside, where Roode sends him into the barricade, but a trip into the steps is reversed. Itami tries a dropkick against the steps, but Bobby dodges, and the challenger goes crashing into the steel! Bobby heads in, but Hideo beats the count as well, and poor Roode has got a massive booger hanging. Save that for the house shows, Bob. Itami hits a cross corner seated dropkick, but the leg he hit on the steps gives out as he tries the GTS, and Roode Glorious DDT's him for a dramatic two! He goes after him again, but Itami guts out the GTS - only for Roode to fall out of the ring after taking it! That forces the battered challenger to have to hustle to the outside and drag the larger champion back in, and Roode is able to kick out at two by the time he does! Another GTS, but Bobby counters with a sunset flip - Itami reversing by cradling the legs for two! Slugfest goes Hideo's way, but another GTS is countered with the Glorious DDT, and this time Bobby hangs on to it - rolling into a second alarm to make sure he's good and dead at 17:43. Very good stuff, with lots of psychology, and sequences building on previous sequences. *** ½

Main Event: NXT Tag Team Title Ladder Match: The Authors of Pain v DIY: Big brawl to start, with the Authors dominating early, but getting isolated, and blitzed. DIY clean house, but by the time they're able to get to the ladders, the champs jump them. They shouldn't have split up. One of you get the ladder, one of you stand guard. The Authors kick the shit out of them on the floor, but Tommaso Ciampa manages a drop-toehold into the steps, and Johnny Gargano follows up with a flying somersault senton off the apron. They stay together to bring a ladder in, but here come the Authors again, so Johnny dives onto both of them with a tope through the standing ladder! They both try to climb, so Akam tops the ladder, but that backfires when DIY land on their feet, and tip it right back into his face! Rezar comes in, but the challengers double up in the corner, so Rezar responds by giving one a uranage ONTO the other! Nice! The Authors look to climb, but DIY cut them off by attacking with another ladder, so the Authors try stereo powerbomb, but the challengers end up on the ladder! They climb, but get tipped, and the Authors abuse them with ladders. Rezar climbs, but the challengers show signs of life again, and he hops down so the Authors can beat them down better first. They knock DIY to the outside with a ladder, then take some time to wedge a pair of ladders between the ring and the barricade. They try stereo powerbombs off the apron onto the ladders, but both challengers manage to block, and they throw superkicks to knock the champs onto said wedged ladders. DIY climb a super tall ladder on the outside to dive onto the downed champs with splashes - connecting, and driving them through the wedged ladders! It takes a lot out of both teams though, and both Akam and Ciampa end up climbing for the belts. Rezar and Gargano follow suit on a second ladder, and the Authors end up getting knocked off, so Paul Ellering comes in to stop Johnny's climb! He eats a superkick, but he accomplished what he set out to do, and Akam has recovered enough to blast Gargano with a big boot before he can climb again. The Authors MURDER Gargano with a ladder (with Johnny stepping in to take a bullet for Ciampa), but Rezar's climb is cut off when Ciampa German suplexes him off of the ladder, and through another! Some poor angle choices reveal that the ladder is made of wood, though it's still a cool spot. DIY superkick Akam down, and with a ladder over his head, they Meet In The Middle. Climb time, and they very nearly unhook the belts, but the Authors pull the ladders away, and hit stereo two-alarm no-release powerbombs! That kills DIY dead, and the champs retain at 20:09. Afterwards, DIY soak up the crowds cheers once the champs clear off - only for Ciampa to turn on Gargano, and put Johnny through a table as the show goes off the air. Good in the general sense, but kind of a letdown as a main event, and I thought it fell a little flat. I eagerly anticipate a Gargano/Ciampa feud, though. *** ¼

BUExperience: After a few weak entries, NXT is back in good form with this special. One must see classic on the undercard and two strong matches on top make this a winner – though it still isn’t quite on par with some of the earlier TakeOver specials.

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