NXT Awards
WWE kicked off the Royal Rumble Weekend and 2018 with NXT Takeover: Philadelphia being the first big show of the year. During the pre show, NXT handed out awards for its standout moments and performers for 2017:
* Overall Competitor of the Year – Asuka
* Rivalry of the Year – Aleister Black vs. Velveteen Dream
* Male Competitor of the Year – Aleister Black
* Breakout Star of the Year – Aleister Black
* Female Competitor of the Year – Asuka
* Tag Team of the Year – SAnitY
* Future Star of NXT – Cezar Bononi
* Takeover of the Year – NXT Takeover: WarGames
* Match of the Year – Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne – WWE United Kingdom Championship
Paul Heyman narrated the opening of this NXT: Takeover, which was fitting. Philadelphia, wrestling and Paul Heyman is an equation that rivals Philadelphia and cheesesteaks. Philly is the home of ECW, after all. Mauro Ranallo and Percy Watson announced tonight’s Takeover event without Nigel McGuinness, who was unable to work the show due to illness. Did Takeover continue its typical dominance despite merely being the opener for weekend heading into main roster major pay per views? Let’s jump in!
NXT World Tag-Team Championship: Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) (C) vs. The Authors Of Pain
The evening started off with big with this match. The Authors Of Pain (AOP) continued to show why they put asses in seats. AOP attacked the newly crowned tag champs before the bell rang and kept them off-balance. They dominated until Akam’s knee was taken out from under him and the champs were able to rally to get back in the match. Akam still was formidable enough to largely negate the numbers disadvantage he was in. The rally was undone when Fish halted the assault to trash talk Rezar. This allowed AOP back into the fight. Despite the grievous miscue, AOP was unable to close the deal as they fell victim to the chicanery of the champs via a cheap roll up
Winners: Undisputed Era: Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish
Singles Match: Kassius Ohno vs. The Velveteen Dream
Ever the showman, Velveteen Dream entered the contest with an entourage. Prior to the match, he promised to beat Kassius within 30 seconds. After landing a vicious shot on the Knockout Artist’s jaw, Velveteen celebrated prematurely rather than seal the deal to prove himself prophetic. Kassius immediately capitalized on Velveteen’s hubris and floored him with a stiff arm. Velveteen wasn’t derailed and he kept landing power moves on his foe but his celebrating kept giving Ohno a chance to remain in it. Despite his efforts to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, Velveteen ultimately won via pinfall thanks to a Purple Rainmaker.
Winner: Velveteen Dream
NXT Women’s Championship: Ember Moon (C) vs. Shayna Baszler
Shayna Baszler entered the match cocksure on winning the title as she bullied her way into the title picture. Sure enough, she physically dominated the first women’s champion of the post-Asuka era NXT. Ember wasn’t a pushover but she struggled to establish herself physically against her foe. Ember was eventually able to fight back and gain some breathing room after receiving an elbow stomp from Shayna. After that, Shayna regained the advantage and punished the champ with submission attempts. Ember rolled through and rope broke the attempts but Shayna was relentless. The match was won by the resilience and resourcefulness of the champ when she converted the aggressive challenger’s submission attempt into a pinfall. Shayna didn’t take the loss well and attacked Ember after the match. It’s likely that this feud won’t last or that there won’t be a resolution to the feud since it’s been speculated that Shayna will be headed to the main roster as part of Ronda Rousey’s debut since she is a Horsewoman.
Winner: Ember Moon
Extreme Rules Match: Adam Cole vs. Aleister Black
This match tapped into the birthplace of ECW throughout its duration. NXT Takeovers generally have high quality matches and this one did more than just meet the standard. This matchup is a Match of The Year candidate and was main event caliber. Aleister entered the match as the brightest male star NXT of 2017 and he showed why he was worthy of the accolades given before the show. The match was a vintage ECW brawl. There has been multiple attempts to recapture the magic of ECW over the years since it ended and this writer dares say that this match was one of the best flashbacks yet executed. One Night Stand stood alone for nearly 13 years but it finally has a solid followup in this match, mainly because One Night Stand was an entire event versus Black vs. Cole, which was a single match. The competitors came out to destroy one another from the jump. Both men attempted and connected one scintillating and painful move after another on and with various implements that make the match extreme. After a while, it seemed as Aleister was going to add the head of the Undisputed Era to the list of those vanquished after giving him a death valley driver onto some chairs. The rest of the UE came to Cole’s aid and were going to decimate him until SAnitY came out and eliminated the rest of the field so things could return mano a mano. Aleister recovered and gave Adam Cole a double knee drop through a table and finished him with the Black Mass as a counter when Cole tried to use a chair to take him out. Simply a great match throughout.
Winner: Aleister Black
NXT World Championship: Andrade “Cien” Almas (C) vs. Johnny Gargano
The main event had a tough act to follow in Black vs. Cole but it was a classic in its own right. These two have put together some of the more memorable matches that the WWE’s had in years, main roster included. Drama ensued throughout as both eluded and countered the other’s attempt to end things. Gargano eventually gained the advantage after landing a series of manuvevers on Almas. It was short lived as the two wound up outside the ring and he missed a move. This match also confirmed the signing of and was a debut of sorts for Candice LaRae. She would figure into the match later on. Both men gradually wore each other since neither could maintain an advantage for long. The match inevitably took a Jinder Mahal turn of events when Zelina Vega interfered by distracting the ref, Johnny, and even attacking Johnny at critical junctures of the match ala the Singh Brothers. Eventually, Candice jumped in and attacked Zelina and chased her off. Ultimately, Johnny Wrestling came up just short again after getting a knee strike against a ring post and dispatched with a hammerlock DDT. Things got even more frustrating when he was attacked after the match by Tommaso Ciampa. Hopefully, we get more of what has to be the biggest rivalry in NXT.
