New Japan Pro Wrestling | DI Wrestling Reviews

Date: 1st April 2016

Event: NXT Takeover: Dallas

Location: Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center, Dallas, Texas

Announcers: Corey Graves and Tom Phillips

Written by Kyle Dixon (@kyledixon95)

We get a video package on the history of wrestling in Texas, including the Fabulous Freebirds, Shawn Michaels, Terry Funk and Steve Austin. JBL was also in there too. It moves on to the revolution that is emerging in NXT. It focused on Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Bayley vs. Asuka and Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe. It was a good video package as usual from the WWE.

We cut to the arena where the fans are chanting NXT as usual. The announcers introduce us to the show and here comes American Alpha. The opening match will be for the NXT Tag Team Championships. Chad Gable and Jason Jordan get a huge pop and the fans love them in Dallas. The champions are The Revival, who are made up of Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. They have been champions for a long while at this point and fans were clamoring for this match.

The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) (c) vs. American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan) for the NXT Tag Team Championships

The fans are doing the Gable chant as he starts out with Dawson. The heel slaps Gable a few times to mock him and the fans are asking which one is Dawson and which one is Dash. They chain-wrestle a little with Gable rolling him up for a close two count which is understandable as he is a former Olympic wrestler. Dawson works on Gable’s arm and hits a couple of shoulder blocks. He flings Gable across the ring but the babyface comes back with a arm drags and a headscissors. Jordan tags in to nail a big dropkick that gets a good pop. Dash tried to tag in illegally and the distraction allows Dawson to rake the eyes behind the referee’s back. Dash does tag in but Jordan fights back with clotheslines and Gable helps out for a double back body drop. Jordan covers for a two count and tags in Gable. He works on Dash’s arm but Wilder fights out with an elbow. Dawson tags in to hit a stiff forearm but Gable comes back with a rollup for a near fall. He hits a crossbody but only gets two again. Gable hits a couple of arm drags and a dropkick. Jordan tries to get involve so the heels go for a double suplex on Gable. Jordan catches him partner and American Alpha hit a double dropkick. They hit dueling German suplexes and the crowd go wild for it. On the outside, the heels are hit with a Double Noggin Knocker. Wilder nails Gable with a clothesline though and pulls him into the ring for a beatdown. Dawson tags in and hits a nice back elbow for a two count. The heels start getting quick tags and isolate Gable from Jordan in their corner. Gable is stuck in a chinlock as the crowd chant for him. The heels cut off the hot tag and Dawson tags in to nail a dropkick to the head for a two count. He locks in a nice submission move that worked on Gable’s back but Chad rolls him up for a near fall. The Revival try to cut off the tag but get nailed with a double DDT. Wilder goes under the ring to knock Jordan off the apron, stopping the tag. Gable is hit with what looked like a Doomday Device attempt, but they didn’t connect properly with it. Wilder goes for the cover but the referee won’t count as Dawson is the legal man. The fans are all over Revival for the mistake. Wilder tags in but misses an X-Factor attempt. Dawson stops the hot tag again at the least minute but finally, Jordan gets in the match. He cleans house with dropkicks and hits Dawson with a T-Bone Suplex. The back suplex gets a two count but Dawson rolls Jordan up for a near fall. He had his feet on the ropes and Wilder was also holding the leg down that time. Wilder hits a huge uppercut but Gable saves the pinfall at two. He gets tossed out but Jordan rolls up Dawson for another near fall. Jordan hit a belly-to-belly but Wilder moves Dawson out of the way of the splash. Gable gets tagged in but gets rolled up for a near fall. Gable and Dawson exchange roll-up near falls. A backbreaker pin combo gets a two count for Gable and Jordan tags in without Dawson realizing. American Alpha hit Dawson with Grand Amplitude for the win.

Winners by pinfall and NEW NXT Tag Team Champions: American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan)

Match Rating: ***1/4

Match Analysis: That was a terrific tag team match that was booked very smartly. American Alpha are the new hot thing and will take the NXT tag division in a fresh direction. They are so fun to watch in the ring and you can see why the crowd gravitates so much to them. Part of their charm is the little things. Their facial expressions are great throughout the match and really added to the drama. There were a lot of roll-ups during this, and probably a little too much. At one point later in the match, it made a lot of sense but they should have toned it down a bit. Still, for an opening match, this was perfect. The fans are hyped for the rest of the show and that is the purpose of the slot.

We see shots of the crowd where Jim Ross, Michelle Beadle and Funaki are there. Next to him though is Kota Ibushi. The announcers make note of the Global Cruiserweight thing coming up so he is going to be in that it seems.

NXT will be in the UK in June for a run of shows.

Backstage, we see Bayley doing Make-A-Wish stuff earlier today. It cuts to a shot of Asuka warming up earlier also. That is still to come but next we have Austin Aries vs. Baron Corbin. We see a video package of how this match came around. Corbin was the loser of a triple threat match with Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn after tapping when both men had a hold on. He wanted to be in the rematch but William Regal said no. Aries came in for his debut but was immediately attacked on stage by an angry Corbin. He hit the End of Days on the floor and we are set for the match.

Corbin makes his way out to a lot of jeers from the crowd. He’s looking pretty bad-ass though. He has a cool jacket on that makes it look Viking-like. It really suits his character. Aries makes his entrance to a nice pop from this Dallas crowd. He looks pleased to be here. This is his WWE in-ring debut. Graves mentions how Austin has been a champion everywhere he has been.

Baron Corbin vs. Austin Aries

Aries goes right after Corbin but the heel powers out. The crowd have a dueling chant for these two so it shows Corbin has won over the fans. Aries hits a dropkick to the knee and clubs away at the back of Corbin’s head. There is a big size difference between these two. Aries hits a rolling forearm which sends Corbin to the outside. He climbs to the top and hits a forearm to the outside. Back in the ring, Corbin hangs Aries on the top rope and stomps away. Corbin stamps on Aries’ hand and chokes him on the bottom rope. Corbin launches Aries shoulder-first into the ring post and that gets a two count. With Aries in a resthold, Corbin talks a lot of trash to the crowd which is quite funny. Corbin hits a couple of corner clotheslines and nails a few elbows for a near fall. Aries fights back with a few forearms and chops Corbin into the corner. Aries taps Corbin in the ropes and unleashes a lot of punches. He hits a double axe-handle to the back of the rope and sends Corbin crashing off the second rope. Aries hits a missile dropkick from the top rope and another one in the corner sends Corbin out of the ring. Aries flies out with a suicide dive but Corbin comes back with a Deep Six on the floor. He climbs into the ring and demands the referee counts Aries out. He gets back in the ring at 9 ¾. Corbin unloads with forearms to the face and the crowd boo him heavily. Corbin goes for End of Days but Aries counters with a roll-up for the win.

Winner by pinfall: Austin Aries

Match Rating: **1/2

Match Analysis: This was a good big man vs. little man match. They did a real good job of playing up the psychology with Corbin overpowering Aries so he had to think of something different to win the match. It was a clever finish and worked here. I think the pace of the slow was a bit too slow when Corbin was on offense but I understand that it suits his character. It just seemed to take the wind out of the fans who were very quiet by the end. I do like Corbin a lot though and think he could make a good monster NXT Champion if he was given the chance.

We get a Wrestlemania advert which heavily featured The Rock. That does make sense I suppose. We see Finn Balor arriving to the arena earlier today. I like these clips as it adds a sense of realism to it and builds the main event. Up next, it’s Zayn vs. Nakamura and the crowd pop for both names on the screen. We get a video package which showed Zayn’s return from injury and failure to become number one contender for the NXT Championship. Regal announced that Zayn deserved a big match at Takeover and introduced NXT’s newest signing, Nakamura. They hype worldwide appeal with clips from Revolution Pro and New Japan. Zayn wants to know if Nakamura has what it takes when the pressure is on. We are about to find out.

We see Scott Hall and X-Pac in the crowd and out comes Zayn to a good reaction. The crowd in NXT will always love Sami Zayn. He is the ultimate babyface. He’s the modern day Ricky Steamboat. The crowd sing Zayn’s entrance music which amuses Sami. This is Zayn’s swansong NXT match as he is fully on the main roster and probably won’t be on NXT for a long while after this. The crowd eagerly await Nakamura and chant for him. The King of Strong Style makes his entrance to a great pop from this Dallas crowd. It was a really cool entrance too with strobe lighting before he finally showed his face. He looks pleased to be here and Zayn has a smile on his face at Nakamura’s debut. He does his trademark gestures in the ring to a huge roar. The crowd gives us a Holy Shit chant which seems fitting as this seemed impossible just six months ago.

Sami Zayn vs, Shinsuke Nakamura

The crowd start a dueling chant for these two and there is a great atmosphere inside the arena. Zayn takes a while to get to his feet which allowed Nakamura to soak in the reaction. There’s a massive yes chant for this. Zayn goes for a lock-up to start and Nakamura ducks it and swaggers away showing his unreal amount of charisma. The crowd think this is awesome already as Nakamura asks Zayn to bring it. He charges at Nakamura but gets hit with a knee to the gut and a few kicks which catches Zayn off-guard. Zayn works on the arm as the dueling chant rings out. Nakamura reverses with a wristlock of his own. The crowd actually start a hold his hand chant in a funny bit. Sami takes control with his wristlock and hits a couple of arm drags. Zayn tells Nakamura to bring it now. Graves note show this is Zayn’s house and Nakamura is here to take it from Zayn. Nakamura hits a kick to the chest and jumping knee gets a one count from Zayn. He locks in a nice arm bar as the crowd chant Shinsuke’s gonna kill you. Zayn fights out of it with elbow but gets hit with an enziguri. Nakamura stamps on Zayn’s face and a big spinning heel kick gets a one count. Zayn gets a nice snap suplex for a two count and hits a stiff forearm to the face. Zayn hits a dropkick to the face that gets another two count. Nakamura fights back a sharp forearm and climbs to the top rope, but Zayn knocks him off to the outside. Nakamura hits a Pele kick on the apron and drives his knee into Zayn’s face. Another knee drop gets a round of applause from the fans and Nakamura hits a stiff knee to the gut for a near fall. He goes for a T-Bone suplex but Zayn lands on his feet and sends Nakamura to the outside. He hits the running dive to the outside and a crossbody back in the ring gets a two count. Sami goes for a standing suplex but Nakamura counters with a knee to the face. He nails a couple of knees on the floor but Zayn hits a Michinoku Driver. They exchange blows with both men getting cheered. These blows are stiff forearms and Nakamura is busted open at the nose. It looks nasty actually. Neither man can get an advantage and the crowd loves it. Nakamura hits some stiff knees and Sami is in trouble. The King is using his strong style to destroy Zayn here. The crowd say they love strong style. Zayn hits a massive clothesline that turned Nakamura inside out. Nakamura turns another clothesline into the rolling armbar but Zayn fights out. Nakamura turns it into a triangle choke but Zayn counters with stiff kicks. He hits a strong punch and stamps on Nakamura to a big pop. Zayn gets nailed with a stiff shot but he counters with the Koji Clutch. The crowd chant no as they don’t want Nakamura to tap out. He counters with a roll-up for a two count. Zayn nails an enziguri and collapses in a heap. The crowd chant fight forever as they do not want this to end. Nakamura goes for a powerslam but Sami hits a stiff elbow. Nakamura hits a nice one-legged dropkick. Zayn goes for the Helluva Kick but Nakamura dodges it and hits an inverted exploder suplex. He goes for the Kinshasa, which used to be called the Bomaye but Zayn counters with the Blue Thunder Bomb for a very close near fall. On the outside, Zayn goes for his turnbuckle DDT but Nakamura blocks it with a roundhouse kick to the head. That got a Holy Shit chant. Nakamura climbs to the top rope but Zayn joins him up there and goes for a superplex. Nakamura fights out with a headbutt and climbs down. He goes for a running clothesline but Zayn counters with an exploder suplex attempt. Nakamura blocks with clubbing elbows and nails a knee to the back of the head from the top rope. He hits the Kinshasa for the win to end this war.

Winner by pinfall: Shinsuke Nakamura

After the match, Nakamura offers a handshake to Zayn who reluctantly takes it. They hug in the ring to a big pop and Zayn raises Nakamura’s arm. He leaves and Zayn gets an ole chant in the ring. He looks upset as the fans give him a standing ovation. He waves goodbye to the NXT fans and leaves up the ramp as the crowd hype his Wrestlemania match on Sunday.

Match Rating: *****

Match Analysis: That is five stars out of five. It’s the highest rating I can give and it deserves every star. It was an all-out war between two of the best wrestlers on the planet and it was glorious. There was counter after counter and the stiffness of some of the blows was amazing. These two men put it all on the line and the winners were the fans who watched it. That was the best NXT match there has been and is up there as one of the best matches of all time. It is that good. It’s better than some of the five star matches in the past and is in the top five matches of all time. I honestly believe that. Zayn endorsed Nakamura after the match and got the standing ovation he deserves. He is on to bigger things now and deserves his spot, but he will be missed in NXT. Nakamura is ready to step in and be the man for the yellow brand that Zayn has been for three years. This match will top anything on the rest of the show and also on Wrestlemania too. I will be happy to be wrong though.

We get a video on the Hall of Fame ceremony on Saturday night and we see Samoa Joe backstage. He looks focused. Up next, Bayley will defend her NXT Women’s Champion against Asuka. We see a package on Bayley’s title reign so far with Charlotte, Carmella and Becky Lynch showing up to praise the champion. It then focuses on Asuka’s NXT career so far with a focus on her style in the ring. Emma calls her dangerous and Dana Brooke says nothing gets Asuka out of her element. Regal announces that Asuka will challenge Bayley at Takeover and the match is set.

We see Stephanie McMahon in the crowd and she gets booed of course. Here comes Asuka to a decent pop with a new mask. Graves calls Asuka’s smile one of the most terrifying things anyone will ever see. That is good work from him. Bayley comes out to a decent cheer and she has the inflatable things with her. The crowd are chanting for her and she looks happy as usual. They get big match intros for this in a nice touch.

Bayley (c) vs. Asuka for the NXT Women’s Championship

The crowd are doing the Bayley chant to the tune of Hey Baby. They chain-wrestle to start with neither women getting an advantage. Asuka fights her way out with a stiff punch to the jaw and hits a good shoulder block. Bayley comes back with an arm drag but misses an elbow drop, and Asuka nearly connects with a roundhouse kick. Asuka kicks at the legs of Bayley but the champion hits a stiff forearm. Asuka hits one of her own and nails the hip attack. Bayley is hit with a stiff kick to the shoulder and Asuka goes for another hip attack. Bayley dodges it and hits a clothesline on the apron. A diving forearm gets a two count for the champion and she hits the running elbow. Bayley hits a crossbody from the top for a near fall. She hits a knee drop and goes for a forearm but Asuka counters with an Fujiwara armbar attempt. Bayley quickly gets to the ropes but gets nailed with kicks. Bayley counters by handing Asuka in the tree of woe and hits a springboard elbow drop for a two count. Asuka climbs to the top rope but is nailed by a stiff forearm by Bayley. The champion hits a hurricanrana from the top rope but Asuka kicks out at two. Bayley quickly goes for the Guillotine Choke, which is the move she beat Nia Jax with at Takeover: London. Asuka fights out and whacks on an ankle lock. Bayley is stuck in the middle of the ring but uses her leg strength to flip Asuka to the outside. Bayley has a hurt ankle now but still hits a suicide hurricanrana to the outside. In the ring, she covers for a two count. Bayley unloads with forearms but Asuka hulks up and hits a dropkick. She starts with kicks to the chest and hits a missile dropkick from the top rope to a round of applause. Bayle fights back with a right hand but Asuka hits a roundhouse kick and a stiff knee for a near fall. Bayley rolls her up for a two count and counters a hip attack with a back suplex. Asuka misses a roundhouse kick but follows it round with an enziguri. Both women are down and the crowd think this is awesome. They both go for a dropkick but Asuka hits a massive right hand. Bayley comes back and actually puts on a Asuka Lock. She turns it into a ankle lock and hits a running boot. Bayley is working on Asuka’s leg which is very clever. She delivers a dragon-screw leg whip but Asuka gets the Fujiwara Armbar locked in. Bayley fights out and dodges both the dropkick and the enziguri to roll Asuku up for a good near fall. The challenger goes for the Asuka Lock but Bayley counters with a snap suplex and a clothesline for a two count. She puts on the armbar that beat Sasha Banks last year but Asuka tries to fight out. She gets rolled up for two and Bayley goes for the Bayley-to Belly. Asuka counters with a big kick and hits a suplex. She locks in the armbar and Bayley is in trouble. Asuka tries to turn it into the Asuka Lock but Bayley tries to stop it. She does get it locked in and they are in the middle of the ring. Bayley powers up but can’t fight out of the hold. She passes out and the referee rings for the bell in a shocker.

Winner by submission and NEW NXT Women’s Champion: Asuka

Match Rating: ****1/4

Match Analysis: That was another tremendous match between two great wrestlers. They had a submission type match and in the end, Bayley fell to the deadly Asuka Lock. I liked how much Bayley countered Asuka and proved she can hang with her with puts the out-going champion over. I’m not that surprised by the result but they made you feel the shock by the end of the match. The loss means Bayley can go up to the main roster which is expected soon. She deserves it and has been a terrific NXT Women’s Champion. They need to focus on building up heel challengers for Asuka though as there is nobody ready at the moment.

We see an advert for Wrestlemania focusing on Triple H vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

It’s time for the main event of the evening. We see a video package of Balor and Joe’s rivalry so far. Balor beat Joe at Takeover: London but the heel weren’t giving up. He beat Sami Zayn in a 2/3 falls match and after the war in London, Balor has to do it all again to defend his championship. It focused on Balor having to survive against Joe which makes sense.

We see a shot of Bobby Roode in the crowd and that gets a big pop. It looks like he will be signed to NXT then. Samoa Joe comes out to some decent heel heat and the announcers put over his obsession with the NXT Championship. The champion makes his entrance and the crowd give a big ovation for the Demon. Balor has a chainsaw with him and it looks like he is in a Texas Chainsaw Massacre theme to mark the location. Nice. Joe looks unimpressed though.

Finn Balor (c) vs. Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship

Joe has an intense look on his face at the start. They stare off and Joe misses a splash. Balor is launched to the outside but comes back in with shot to the afce straight away. Joe is cut open already and Balor hits the flying dive over the top rope onto Joe on the outside. Balor continues to attack Joe but is launched over the barricade onto an unfortunate security guard. Joe is bleeding badly and it is adding to the occasion. Balor hits a jumping forearm and drags Joe back into the ring. Balor is not letting the referee check on Joe and the heel hits a couple of stiff punches. He hits a roundhouse kick to the head and Balor is knocked off the apron. Joe launches himself into a suicide dive that gets a Holy Shit chant. The trainer is here now attending to Joe who is covered in blood. They try and close the cut on a reluctant Joe. He has to let them or the referee will stop the match and Joe will lose his title opportunity. Joe hits a massive Rock Bottom like move out of the corner and hits a Pele kick for a two count. The match is stopped again so Joe can get seen to. The crowd think this is bullshit. There’s a Fuck PG chant which is funny. Joe hits a stiff elbow and starts chopping Balor’s chest. Joe actually hits a Broski Boot in the corner and tries to set up the Muscle Buster. Finn blocks it and goes for a double-axe handle from the top but Joe counters with an atomic drop. A couple of stiff kicks is followed by a knee drop to the face for a two count. Finn hits a nice dropkick and Joe is being attended to again. Balor hits a couple of forearms and a clothesline drops Joe to the mat. He hits a stiff chop in three corners but Joe counters with an kick to the face. He climbs to the top but a chop by Finn sends him to the outside. Balor hits the stiff kick to the face and drags Joe into the ring for a Slingblade attempt. Joe counters with a belly-to-belly suplex and went for another Broski Boot. Balor counters with a clothesline and another one is reversed into a senton by Joe. The heel hits a massive powerbomb for a two count. Joe transitions into a Boston Crab and then quickly into a crossface. Balor reverses into a double stomp and hits a Slingblade. He hits a dropkick and goes for the Coup de Grace but Joe stops it and hits an enziguri. Joe hits the Muscle Buster but Balor kicks out at two in a good near fall. Bakir hits a forearm and both men exchange blows. Balor hits the Pele kick and both men are down meaning the referee starts a count. They are both up at nine and Balor is demoning up. He hits a corner dropkick and the Coup de Grace is followed by a 1916 attempt but Joe counters with a Coquina Clutch. Balor springboards off the top rope into a roll-up for the win.

Winner by pinfall and STILL NXT Champion: Finn Balor

Match Rating: ***1/2

Match Analysis: This was good, but man, the stoppages took the wind out of this. I understand why they had to do it. This isn’t ROH or ECW. This is a PG WWE whether we like it or not. They are not going to allow mass amount so blood for a long time in the match. What we got though was good stuff with Joe looking like a monster and Balor escaping again. I thought Joe was going to win the title here and Balor was heading up to the main roster but this changes that. Is Joe going to go up to the main roster now? Is he going to be Roman Reigns’ first challenger for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship? I’m not sure where it leads Balor either. If he goes up to main roster, who takes the title at this point? Lots of questions are not a bad thing though.

Show Rating: 8.5/10

Show Analysis: This was a great show once again from the NXT roster. Is it the best NXT Takeover ever? It’s up there without a doubt. Each match was good in it’s own right with the worst of the lot coming in at decent stuff. The main event is slightly disappointing as they can do a lot better if Joe isn’t cut so early. The Women’s Championship match was a great showing from two quality wrestlers while the opening match showed American Alpha and The Revival at their best. To top it all off, two of the best wrestlers in the world had an all-time classic. This show will probably be better than Wrestlemania, but to be fair to the main roster, it’s a near impossible task to beat it.

Written by Kyle Dixon (@kyledixon95)

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