WWE NXT Spotlight: Takeover Toronto Fallout + 11/23 Results by Kurt Zamora

Welcome one and all to another installment of the NXT Spotlight here at TJRWrestling. We’re going to do things a little different this week as I have a lot to say about the spectacular Takeover event that took place this past weekend. I’m going to give my thoughts on all the matches that took place last night and then at the end in my final takes this week, I’ll do a brief recap of the matches that took place on this week’s NXT show. It was a lot of recap itself, so I can knock out two birds with one stone this week.

Bobby Roode defeats Tye Dillinger

If you read my preview piece that I put out last week, you saw that this match went exactly to my plan. Dillinger came across as a star and Roode proved himself to be the top level guy that he is. This was a fantastic match and was absolutely the right choice to kick off the show. It was hard to beat Roode’s entrance from Brooklyn but sure enough, there were probably 100 choir members singing his theme. It was simply GLORIOUS. I loved the aggression of Dillinger in this match and felt he took a huge leap in this match. The 10 count that swept the nation over the four days in Canada is going to be the new “it thing” in the WWE Universe and if this doesn’t lead to him coming out at #10 at the Royal Rumble, then it’ll be a damn crime. Dillinger is the new Tyler Breeze of NXT, which is a great role to be in and clearly can lead to a main roster promotion, which is where the Royal Rumble play comes in. As for Roode, even with the surprise finish in the main event that we’ll get to, I still say that he is next in line for a NXT Title match.

The Authors of Pain win The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic

It was clear from the get go that these four guys would have their hands full in this match as the crowd was clearly the least interested in this match. I said in my preview piece that I feel NXT missed an opportunity by not having Sanity go against AOP and just have an all out brawl that would’ve made all four guys. Instead, I don’t know that any of the guys in this match were “made” and it didn’t exactly feel like a big deal when AOP eventually won. It obviously gives them a shot at the Tag Titles whenever they want it, but even though TM61 is a good team, the crowd hasn’t gotten behind them yet and thus I don’t feel like the fans feel AOP beat anyone worthy yet. The huge bump from Shane Thorne was impressive, but nothing much really happened after that moment. Clearly the finish was botched with the chain going into the crowd, but I’m sure HHH and the creative team still feel they accomplished what they wanted to. A speech from Dustin Rhodes would’ve made this feel more important, considering all the pomp and circumstance when Finn & Joe won last year.

#DIY defeat The Revival 2 falls to 1 to become new NXT Tag Team Champions

I told anyone and everyone that this match would become the leader in the clubhouse for match of the year in WWE, and here I stand vindicated in my prediction. As great as Zayn vs. Nakamura was in Dallas, I felt this match was even better. The emotion from the opening bell to all of the incredible near falls, it was perfect. I loved the fact that there were no cheap falls in this match. Each one meant something and it took something special for each of the falls to take place. Shatter Machine out of Gargano’s through the ropes Spear for the first fall was an incredible counter and I feel set the tone for the rest of the match. Gargano and Ciampa with the Meet in the Middle for fall #2 was a great way to continue to establish that finisher for them, but it still needs an official name. From there on, it was tag team wrestling heaven. The near falls were incredible, DIY using the Shatter Machine, The Revival using DIY’s finisher, and the callback to the kneebar submission from their Brooklyn match. There’s even more I could reference but it was all incredible. I haven’t seen a tag team match put together that well since the days of The Rock-N-Roll Express vs. The Midnight Express. It was that good. I really hope #DIY get to hold on to the titles for awhile as the crowd is strongly behind them. I also hope that that The Revival can continue to make their name a reality and come up to the main roster and use some of that magic to make that division better.

Asuka defeated Mickie James to retain the NXT Women’s Title

My one big thought for this match is that I really hope they made Mickie look this strong because they have plans for her beyond this match. I was surprised at how much she was given in this match and how much they had Asuka come from underneath in this match. It was a pleasant surprise. For a lot of people, they felt Mickie hadn’t lost a step since she hadn’t been in a WWE ring in over 6 years, but for those of us that have followed her during that period, it was obviously she’s only gotten better in the ring since she left the company. She looked fantastic in this match. The ending went exactly as I expected with Asuka blowing off Mickie at the end and slowly starting her inevitable heel turn. I would love to see one more match between these two and then have Mickie be given a contract to go to Raw full time and help out that brand’s division. They need another strong hand desperately.

Samoa Joe defeats Shinsuke Nakamura to become Two-Time NXT Champion

WOW. That’s all I could muster when the final bell rang for this match and we had been given a new NXT Champion. By design, these two men really took the physicality level up a couple notches for this one, as it felt even more hard hitting than their match in Brooklyn. I think despite the surprise finish, the plan of one of these men going up to the main roster is still in play. The next Takeover will be the day before the Royal Rumble, so they have can have their third and final match and then the loser can still be an entrant at the Rumble the next night. The more I think about it, the more it actually makes sense for Nakamura to be the one that moves up now. With anywhere between 40-60,000 fans inside the Alamodome, when those violins play for his entrance, that building will absolutely explode. He will be a made man immediately. I loved the German Suplex that Nakamura delivered on Joe and I loved the finish, bringing it full circle with the urinagi on the steel steps which is what originally took out Nakamura after their Brooklyn match. Going forward for Joe, can you imagine in Orlando of all cities, Joe vs. Roode headlining the Takeover event during the biggest week of the year for the company. It would be simply surreal.

K-Tank’s Final Takes

• As it pertains to this week’s episode of NXT, Rich Swann had a match that was broken up by Sanity. He was taken out by the group until No Way Jose tried to make the save. He brawled with Sanity until they got the upper hand on him as well. This will lead into No Way Jose taking on Eric Young next week.
• Ember Moon, Aliyah, & Liv Morgan defeated Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, & Daria. Daria was left out to dry by her partners, particularly Billie Kay, at the end and was hit by the Total Eclipse from Ember Moon.

We’ll be back to normal next week with all the action that takes place. Until next time, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do but if you do, name it after me.