NXT Takeover: 31 was a step up from the disappointment that was Takeover: 30.
By the way, the set from the now called Capital Wrestling Centre is clean. The lighting was especially on point.
pictures via wwe.com
Damian Priest vs Johnny Gargano For The North American Championship.
During the match, Gargano pulled Damian's arm that had the big man land on the outside floor.
That led to Gargano pushing Priest onto the steel steps.
In other words, Johnny has been targeting Damian's arm throughout the match (No f'ing sh*t, Omar).
Priest then delivered the Razor's edge to Gargano on the ring apron (rip Johnny's back).
After he reversed the one final beat from Gargano, Priest nailed the reckoning to retain the North American title.
Not the most mind-blowing opener of all time but it was a decent match.
Kushida vs *ugh* Velveteen Dream.
Velveteen Dream dressed as Dr Emmett Brown because GET IT? Kushida dresses as Marty McFly?
Kushida attacked Velveteen Dream during Dream's entrance and it didn't take long for the timekeeper to ring the bell.
Kushida is showing a lot of his newfound aggression as he relentlessly attacks Velveteen Dream's shoulder.
The Dream somehow delivered the purple rainmaker but the shoulder was too much for Dream to quickly pin Kushida.
Dream hits the dream valley driver to which Kushida locked in the armbar and won the match.
The winner of that encounter further damaged Dream's arm in a post-match beatdown.
The bout itself was fine. I do like Kushida's aggression.
I'm hoping they're keeping the momentum going because Kushida is too good to be wasted like that.
The Halloween Havoc IP is back this time on the black and gold brand on October 28th. About damn time. WWE should’ve used the Halloween Havoc name a lot sooner. Better late than never, right?
Santos Escobar vs Isiah Swerve Scott For The NXT Cruiserweight Championship.
This match was prettay, prettay, pretty great.
Escobar did a beautiful looking suicide dive (I mean, has he ever nailed a bad suicide dive before?).
Santos' trash-talking got Isiah hitting him with straight rights and lefts.
Scott did a great DDT to Escobar from the middle rope to a near fall.
Santos did the phantom driver but Scott kicked out.
Speaking of kick-outs, Santos kicked out of a kick followed by a 450 splash from Isiah.
The match ended with an underhook manoeuvre to win the match and keep his gold.
Probably the BEST cruiserweight championship match I've seen all year.
Io Shirai vs Candice LeRae For The NXT Women's Championship.
A rematch from NXT Takeover: Toronto.
However, this is the new Candice LeRae so it should bring a difference in this bout, right?
She was her heelish self, duh?
Candice did a springboard moonsault but Io reversed that into a kick on LeRae's lower chest.
Minutes later, LeRae applied the Gargano escape on Io Shirai and after Io grabbed the ropes, LeRae accidentally knocked out the referee.
 |
| Johnny's facial expression is funny for some reason |
Johnny Gargano showed up with the referee shirt and while he was talking to the referee, Candice hit Io with the championship belt but Io survived that.
Shirai ended the match with the moonsault to still be known as NXT women's champion.
It wasn't as good as their Toronto bout last year. However, it was decent.
After the match, Toni Storm via the titantron, reminded Io that Storm is back.
Do you know who also returned? Ember Moon.
DAMMMMMNNNN! I haven't seen Ember in the ring since last year. Welcome back Ember to the yellow brand.
With Moon and now Toni Storm, the women's division is now the best division in WWE based on pure talent.
Finn Balor vs Kylie O'Reilly For The NXT Championship.
Was this match THE match of the evening? No, but it was a damn good main event though.
Like all matches, it started off with head and wrist locks.
As time went on, Finn Balor's back looked reddish due to the series of kicks sustained by Kylie O'Reilly.
With blood on Kylie O'Reilly's mouth, Balor applied the sharpshooter that had Kylie barely getting out of the move.
The move that did put down the UE member was the coup de grace and that's how Finn retained his NXT championship.
After the match, we saw a beat-up Adam Cole being throw down to ringside by the big Englishman, Ridge Holland.
Will see where this Adam Cole beatdown goes from here because I'm definitely interested.
This was a grounded, technical match that you don't usually see in a Takeover main event.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed it because anything technical wrestling that is good gets a thumbs up in my book.
So, to recap for all of you slow mofos.
Like: NXT championship, Cruiserweight Championship match, Ember Moon and Toni Storm returning,
Didn't like: Nothing.
Let me know what do you think about NXT Takeover: 31 and follow me on the tweets @omartheplayaguy. Anyways, stay safe smarks.
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