NXT TAKEOVER 36

 Orlando

CAMERON GRIMES vs. LA KNIGHT (16:31): I'm still baffled as to why this show was held at NXT's usual place, the WWE training complex in Orlando. Sure, there were a hundred or so fans, and the fans were loud, but we're amidst wrestling in front of big crowds these days and this seemed out of place to have a PPV show in a basement dwelling looking gym. I'm not sure why they held this show here. It definitely would have sold well at a basketball arena. They had Summerslam at the football stadium on Saturday in Vegas. Couldn't they have had it at the basketball arena in Vegas on Sunday? This might have something to do with WWE president Nick Khan's new idea which is to turn NXT back into a small, developmental show like it used to be. They lost the Wednesday Night War with AEW and so I guess they're giving up on NXT being a big, major thing. Supposedly HHH, who helps run NXT, was against this idea. If they go through with it, does that mean that all of these forever NXT stars like Ciampa, Cole, and Gargano will have to go on RAW or Smackdown? Samoa Joe is the NXT champ now, so I'm guessing there's still time until they officially revamp NXT. As for this match...it was entertaining but nothing special. Grimes lost to LA Knight earlier in the summer and had to be his butler. That meant every week on NXT we got dumb, comedy skits with Grimes as his butler. Granted, he did things like caddy for him on the golf course so I guess WWE has different ideas of what a butler is. Grimes won thanks to the help of Ted Dibiase, who was at ringside. And Grimes won the Million Dollar Belt. The crowds do seem to like Grimes, so that's something. LA Knight is kind of like The Miz...plastic, unremarkable, forgettable in the ring. **

RAQUEL GONZALEZ vs. DAKOTA KAI (12:24): You can tell how far the women's title has fallen since this match went on second behind the UK title match, a non-title match, and the championship match. Gonzalez is tall...I'm guessing that's the only reason she got the title. What is the deal with Vince only liking tall wrestlers? Was he beaten up by a midget in middle school or something? I'm guessing he thinks tall people come across better visually on TV. Do they? I'm not sure I can even think of a tall wrestler that's any good. Well at least Dakota Kai is a good wrestler so when she was on offense this was at least watchable. Dakota dyed her hair bright pink and it looked ridiculous. *

ILJA DRAGUNOV vs. WALTER (22:03): This match was awesome. Shockingly, their match last year without fans was even better, though perhaps only because this was more or less similar so we already saw it before. This was more just a sloppy brawl than any sort of wrestling match. They beat the shit out of each other, and you rarely if ever see hardcore beatings like this in the WWE. Dragunov won the title which wasn't really a surprise since he did deserve it, though Walter is so awesome I would've had him keep the title forever. Is Walter the best wrestler in all of WWE? Considering every match he's in is great, probably. ***1/2

KYLE O'REILLY vs. ADAM COLE "2 OUT OF 3 FALLS" (25:20): The first fall was four stars. Just a fast-paced, fantastic wrestling match with back and forth, devastating moves. O'Reilly won the first fall. Cole won the second which was a street fight. They used a Singapore Cane, chairs, and a chain. The third fall was a cage match. Cole handcuffed O'Reilly to the ropes but somehow O'Reilly still put him a submission hold and won. This was entertaining but I'd have rather just seen a one-fall match without all the hardcore stuff since they already had a hardcore match on a Takeover this year. ***

SAMOA JOE vs. KARRION KROSS (12:24): Joe won the title. This was basic stuff but Joe looked as good as usual. It only went 12 minutes which is kind of strange considering it was the main event and for a title. When they started this storyline I thought that it could fester for six months or so and then finally they could do the match and it would be great. Unfortunately, they pulled the plug too fast on the match. Joe came into NXT as the co-boss with Regal. They could have just slowly set up his anger with Kross over a few months to build up the suspense for a match. No, they did it right away. It didn't help that Kross, the unbeatable, muscled monster went to RAW last month and lost to Jeff Hardy right away. Great way to introduce your NXT champion! On the RAW the day after this show, Kross came to the ring with a silly looking pair of red suspenders across his chest and back in an X. He did beat Ricochet in less than a minute...which just makes me groan at how a legend like Ricochet has been put through the creative meat grinder that is the WWE. Kross has also lost his female manager. Did they fire her? It's so sad how they build guys up in NXT just to destroy them on the main roster. Matt Riddle has become a huge star, but they've made him a comedy geek in storyline. This Takeover show was actually pretty entertaining, as they usually are. It's just hard to watch any WWE because you just know they're going to royally fuck everything you like up sooner rather than later. **1/2