By David Dodgson @DodgeeWriter
The final NXT show before TakeOver and it is set to be a big one. We have the final of the Dusty Rhodes Classic – Authors of Pain v. Roderick Strong and Pete Dunne with the winners to go on and challenge Undisputed Era at TakeOver New Orleans. That will likely be the final addition to an already stacked card. How will the build to the other matches play out? Let’s review the action.
Dusty Rhodes Classic Final: Authors of Pain v. Strong & Dunne
Straight into the main action as AoP look to retain the trophy, but they will face a stern test from two of the pound for pound toughest competitors on the roster. Dunne easily gets the biggest pop during the entrances and the opening exchanges. He finds himself, however, on the wrong end of an extended beatdown from Akam and Rezar. Some of Dunne’s famous finger work creates an opening for a hot tag. Strong proceeds to clean house and bags a near fall off an Olympic Slam.
Another near fall follows as Dunne delivers a double stomp to Rezar while Akam lays on the outside. The pace really picks up with quick tags and false finishes aplenty. A double team version of the Bitter End nearly has AoP beat, and soon all four men are laid out on the mat as the crowd goes wild with an ‘NXT!’ chant.
Enter stage left Undisputed Era as Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole attack both teams and the match is called off. That brings out William Regal, who announces a triple threat tag match for TakeOver: Undisputed Era v. AoP v. Strong & Dunne with the winners claiming both the Dusty Rhodes Cup and the NXT Tag Titles.
Winners: Double DQ
Now we have a huge addition to the TakeOver card and a potential show stealer! With Bobby Fish announced as injured at the top of the show, that presumably means Cole and O’Reilly will represent the Undisputed Era, so what does that mean for Cole’s participation in the North American title ladder match? He features in the hype package for that clash immediately afterwards so does that mean double duty?
Speaking of hype packages, an absolutely fantastic one airs charting the story behind Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa’s rivalry. I skipped all the RAW and Smackdown ones this week but could not take my eyes off this one. Make sure you watch it!
In fact, here it is courtesy of WWE’s YouTube channel:
Kairi Sane v. Vanessa Borne
Sane is looking to regain momentum after suffering a loss to Shayna Baszler a couple of weeks ago. She uses her quickness to frustrate Borne early on before getting over-powered for the mid-portion of the contest. A huge spear puts the Pirate Princess back in control. It is all then about setting up The Elbow Drop. Borne tries to block it but gets tangled in the ropes. One stomp later and the path is cleared for the most aesthetically-pleasing Elbow Drop in the business.
Winner: Kairi Sane
A straightforward win to position Sane as the leading contender to whoever emerges from TakeOver as champion.
A Tough Decision for Undisputed Era
Cole and O’Reilly confront Regal in the parking lot to protest the decision made earlier in the night. They are given three choices: Cole competes in both the tag title match and the ladder match; O’Reilly fights without a partner; or Cole withdraws from the North American Championship bout. They don’t look especially keen on any of those options!
Lars Sullivan v. Killian Dain
Two of the six men who will compete to be the first ever North American Champion square off in tonight’s main event. The two behemoth bruisers engage in a slugfest, exchanging blows and grinding each other down. Late in the match, both men are duking it out on the top turnbuckle when headbutts send both big guys crashing to the floor. Somewhat predictably, that brings their opponents from TakeOver out. Ricochet gets his own special entrance as all six guys stare each other down and we fade to black.
Winner: ???
Well, that kind of just… stopped. We could have at least had 30 seconds of melee to cap it all off. While the crowd were excited to see all six guys in the ring, for the TV viewer it was anticlimactic.
Final Thoughts
As with the main roster shows this week, the show was light on action due to all the hype packages and recap for the TakeOver matches. Throw in the fact that the opening and closing bouts had inconclusive finishes and it was not a noteworthy night of in-ring action. However, a good job was done of building Saturday’s event. The card is stacked with every match having a level of anticipation about it. Join us soon for our NXT TakeOver New Orleans preview!
