NXT TAKEOVER XXX

From Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida

FINN BALOR vs. TIMOTHY THATCHER (13:32): I haven't been watching much WWE lately for a number of reasons. And I haven't been watching NXT mostly because it goes head to head with AEW's Dynamite, which is a superior show. Wrestling without fans is almost unwatchable...but things have gotten somewhat better since the wrestlers now come out and act as the crowd. I cancelled my WWE subscription when the pandemic hit and so haven't watched most of the PPV's...though the WWE sent me an email last week offering me a free month so I took it. There's three PPV's for free this month so I figured I'd check them out. I, sadly, kind of wish I hadn't. This was by far the worst NXT show I can ever remember watching. And I don't think you can blame too much on there not being fans in the arena. The last NXT Takeover with fans was in Portland in February. While I vaguely remember it, I do remember Bryan Alvarez asking Dave Meltzer what he thought of the show and Dave said something along the lines of, "It was one of the best WWE shows ever." So the mighty have fallen! This show was atrocious. This wasn't even the first match. There was a pre-show match. I didn't realize NXT Takeover shows even had pre-shows. Either way, Finn Balor was the big mainstream name that went to NXT when they decided to compete against AEW Dynamite. I love Balor...but this Balor seems to be going through the motions. He was once good...as Prince Devitt in New Japan. I even recall him and Neville having an awesome match on a Takeover years ago. Once Balor won the Universal title and got injured and un-pushed he's never really recovered. Thatcher is a mat wrestler...which means he's boring. So instead of big dives, flips, or excitement...we got kicks and holds. Ugh. This was not good. 1/2*

DAMIAN PRIEST vs. BRONSON REED vs. CAMERON GRIMES vs. VELVETEEN DREAM vs. JOHNNY GARGANO "LADDER MATCH" (21:24): This was by far the best match on the show and realistically the only watchable one. Why Gargano is still in NXT after like five years is beyond me...although he was the best wrestler in this (his wife also made an appearance to try to help him win). Velveteen Dream is still around...even though he got caught sending and receiving naked pictures from teenage boys he messaged with on Twitter. The WWE didn't fire him because he's kind of a big NXT star. So he's still around. I honestly don't believe in ruining someone's life over something like that...so I don't mind him not being fired, tarred and feathered, or whatever punishment some might have wanted to administer. Maybe just an apology? Send him to counseling or something? The WWE kind of swept it under the rug...which was bad. And Dream took the worst bump in this, falling off a ladder, landing feet first on the top rope then flying over the protective glass at ringside and onto the announcer's table. It looked like he was dead...though they didn't give us enough replays to actually see how/where he landed. The other unique spot had Gargano's wife on someone's back (I don't think I can tell Reed and Grimes apart...but it was one of them) as they splashed off the ladder onto Gargano on the mat. This was definitely too sloppy but it was entertaining. Damian Priest, who I do remember from ROH, won the North American title. **1/2

ADAM COLE vs. PAT McAFEE (16:12): I'm not sure who Pat McAfee is. I googled him and it said he was an NFL punter. He was an announcer on one of the Wrestlemania pre-shows a few years ago. Maybe I would have enjoyed this match better if I had watched NXT regularly. McAfee did some cool flips and dives and he did sell his leg...so he definitely knows wrestling. I would have liked to see Cole against a better opponent, though, as he's one of NXT's best wrestlers. This was decent. *1/2

IO SHIRAI vs. DAKOTA KAI (17:13): Io Shirai is apparently dating NJPW's Evil. Two champ house! If they live together...which they don't, since you can't come or go from Japan these days. Maybe they do Skype sex shows late at night. Shirai and Evil have one thing in common: they're fucking boring! This match was a bore. Shirai does some top rope flips which at least are nice to look at. Kai is kind of rough and tough like a ragdoll. This just never worked. *

KARRION KROSS vs. KEITH LEE (21:51): One huge problem with this show (besides the fact that Kushida wasn't on it...is he stuck in Japan?) is that the WWE decided to compete hard against AEW Dynamite this summer so they put all of these big matches on Wednesday nights instead of saving them for their Takeover shows. Keith Lee won the title from Cole on a random Wednesday show when it should have happened here. Keith Lee is already ex-champion now...a mere month after winning the thing. What the fuck? Why even give him the title? I kind of thought they gave him the title because he's black and it happened right after the country was immersed in the Black Lives Matter protests that engulfed the country. I could be right...since he already lost the title to a guy I've never even seen before. Kross is kind of like a Vince guy; tall, muscled, not exciting in the ring. His manager, the latex clad blonde, is pretty to look at...maybe that's why he won the title. This match never turned into anything remotely entertaining. NXT usually features the best of the best and the champions are usually excellent like Cole, Ciampa, Neville, Lee. Kross is a poor choice as champ, as I can never see him ever having a great match with anyone. Sigh. Is NXT dead? *