With so much going on in Brooklyn this weekend from Goldberg being there, with him and Brock calling each other out and of course, Summerslam is tomorrow. As much as I’m looking forward to the Summerslam PPV, NXTTakeover: Brooklyn II was something I was excited about also. The NXTTakeover specials have been instant classic and this one should be no different. Let’s see how things turned out!!
This feud started when Aries attacked No Way Jose after they were having fun and dancing all around. Aries nailed him with the forearm knocking him off the announce table and proceeded to beat him down. I’ll be honest, No Way Jose haven’t click with me like he has with other fans, but his entrance was pretty good though. The match was actually better than expected with No Way Jose showing some much needed aggression throughout the match. In the end, Aries won the match with the Last Chancery, which is what should’ve happened. Winner: Austin Aries
Match Rating: 3.5/5- I added a half a point because Hideo Itami came out after the match when Aries started to attack No Way Jose and got into it with Aries and eventually hit him with the GTS. Looking forward to this feud!!
This is the debut match for Ember Moon, who’s a great pick-up for NXT that brings a unique look and amazing skills in the ring. In the match, Billie Kay got in n nice amount of offense, but in the end, Moon hit a diving, twisting Stunner from the top rope for the win. Winner: Ember Moon
Match Rating: 2.5/5
This is the official debut by Bobby Roode and let’s says his entrance was GLORIOUS!!! I’ve been a huge fan of Bobby Roode for the longest and think this is a great pick-up for NXT and if he’s not on Raw or Smackdown, he’ll be a future NXT champion. The match was pretty good between these two with Almas being a great wrestler with his Lucha style offense and Roode always reminded me of Triple H. In the end, Roode hit Almas with the Glorious Bomb to pick up the win in his debut. Winner: Bobby Roode
Match Rating: 3/5
This was for the NXT tag team championships as the Revival are the only 2-time champs in NXT history. I’m a huge fan of the Revival because they’re just a throwback tag team with memories of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew or Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard. Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano are known around the world and they’re a part of the Cruiserweight Classic on the WWE Network where they even faced each other. As far as this match, this was an instant classic and if you have the WWE Network, then you need to go out of your way to watch this match. This match had so much action with nearfalls and the crowd was behind this match the entire time. There were so many times I thought the titles were going to change hands, but in the end, Dawson made Gargano tap out with a modified figure four. Winners and Still Tag Champs: The Revival
Match Rating: 4.5/5- AWESOME Freakin Match
This is a rematch for the title that Asuka took away from Bayley at the Takeover Special in Texas a few months ago. In the beginning of the match, it seems like Asuka knocked the hell out of Bayley with one of those kicks. Afterwards it seems like it fired Bayley up and this turned out to be a very physical match between these two. This was a great match and it seemed like Bayley was about to regain the title, but in the end Asuka hit a crazy buzzsaw kick to retain her championship. Winner and Still NXT Women’s Champ: Asuka
Match Rating: 4/5- It seems like this was the final match in NXT for Bayley as the crowd gave her a standing ovation after Asuka picked her up and hugged her. After receiving the standing ovation, she hugged Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and even Charlotte. As she walked up the aisle, she pointed to the NXT sign as to say she’ll miss it.
This was another match-up I was looking forward to with two of the best wrestlers in the world as Samoa Joe defended his NXT title against Shinsuke Nakamura. If you thought the Asuka/Bayley match was hard hitting, this Joe/Nakamura match felt like an MMA/Wrestling match. In the end, Nakamura calls for the Kinshasa, but Joe powerslams him. Nakamura kicks out. Joe sits Nakamura on the top for the Muscle Buster. Nakamura pushes him away. Joe kicks Nakamura in the face. Joe finally hits the Muscle Buster. Nakamura kicks out! Joe goes for another Muscle Buster, but Nakamura rolls out of it and hits the Kinshasa! Joe kicks out! Nakamura goes up top and hits a Kinshasa to the back of Joe’s head. Nakamura hits ANOTHER Kinshasa to Joe and it’s all over. Winner and New NXT Champion: Shinsuke Nakamura
Match Rating: 4/5
Overall Rating: This was another AMAZING NXTTakeover special and like I said before, go out of your way to check out this one. Below are my highlights of the show!!
Top 5 Happenings from NXTTakeover: Brooklyn II
- The Revival vs. Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano
- Debut of Bobby Roode
- Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Samoa Joe
- Asuka vs. Bayley
- Austin Aries vs. No Way Jose
What did you think about NXTTakeover: Brooklyn II? What was your favorite match of the night? What did you think about the debut of Bobby Roode and Ember Moon? What did you think about the appearance from Hideo Itami? Head to the comments section below and give me some feedback about the NXT special from Brooklyn, New York.
