NXT Takeover: Chicago Reax

Read on for my thoughts on last night's NXT brand WWE Network special event.
-- Kickoff:
- Ember on the panel:
Welp. So much for her coming back in time to win the title at Summerslam. What if the winner of the women's tournament becomes the next champion?? Asuka can relinquish the belt and move up to Smackdown.

- Strong interview:
I like the new chapter for Roderick. A change in environment was good for him, as it can be for a lot of talents.

-- Takeover: Chicago:
- Strong vs. EY:
Holy shit Strong is NOT in the mood for SAnitY's shit tonight.


Roderick not wasting any time!

I'm liking this one. Young makes a good cagey veteran.

Pretty smooth work.

Roderick might want to get someone to tweet No Way Jose to come help him out.

I like Young's mean streak.

I liked the dragon sleeper spot.

MAN. Talk about Eric having the numbers advantage.

Classic story of the heel doing everything he can to keep Strong from building momentum.

I like Strong knowing EY was going for the dragon sleeper again and trying to block it.

Strong can definitely go on a roll with offense.

I'm liking what they're putting together here.

Ahh the classic EY elbow drop.

Nice counter to the wheelbarrow neckbreaker.

Roddy might just pull it out!!

I'm liking the superplex teases as a move you REALLY don't want to take instead of something you can bounce right up from for a Falcon Arrow.

That was pretty solid! Great job.

- Commentary change:
I can't say I would have called "WWE developmental will do a show in front of 8,000 people featuring a match between UK talents called by Jim Ross and Nigel McGuinness" a few years ago.

- Bate vs. Dunne:
Dunne's something special.

This is nice early. Good to see something very different from the first match.

I like the obvious contrast between these two in their styles. No ambiguity about who's heel and who's face.

Dunne clearly has a gameplan here.

HOLY SHIT that suplex into the apron.

Hahaha sometimes you just need to slap someone.

Very glad to see Dunne here. He's already someone you stop and pay attention to.

Hey, don't count Bate out. He's clearly got something worth developing.

OH MY FUCKING GOD that SSP counter was BEAUTIFUL.

I'm liking Bate, too. I can see why he's in the position he's in.

This is a pretty display of talent.

LOTS of punches here.

Damn. Things are really heating up here.

I'm liking the counters here.

Really impressive from two guys who don't have a lot of exposure in the U.S.

Bate's got some impressive MOVES.

That was NICE. Great work from both of them.

- Asuka vs. Ruby vs. Cross:
This should be a big war.

So much for a feeling out process!

I like this. It's pretty much chaos. I doubt we'll see a pretty Tower of Doom spot or anything.

This is interesting given the different styles at play.

Asuka is something else. She could really be a force to be reckoned with.

This is pretty fun so far.

Everyone's hitting pretty hard, which makes sense with the feud.

All three women here are clearly pretty good at what they do. No Carmella or Eva Marie here.

Asuka is unstoppable!

OUCH. Apron bumps always look NASTY.

Cross is convincingly insane with her unusual offense designed to hurt more than look pretty.

No way are either Ruby or Nikki going to beat Asuka, so they're wise to try to pin each other.

That ending was a LITTLE disappointing given everything that led up to it, but I was impressed with another big win for the champion.

- Roode vs. Itami: 
I'm surprised this isn't the main event. I wonder what else HHH has up his sleeve here.

Bobby already toying with him. Please don't get injured, Hideo.

Hahahah Itami going for the GTS early.

Not bad early.

Hideo's GLORIOUS was pretty funny.

Bobby showing why he's a top athlete here.

This is pretty solid from Bobby.

Itami does have good offense.

Nice story of avoiding the GTS.

Hideo heating things up well.

Nice action here leading to the Double R spinebuster.

Roode giving a master lesson on psychology here.

I like that both of them are guarding injuries here.

Hideo's never going to win the big one, is he?

Fine finisher trading.

NICE GTS counter.

That was a pretty good ending. Sorry, Hideo. Time to really evaluate things (and turn heel?).

- Authors vs. #DIY:
Oh this is exciting. Glad Ciampa could make it.

#DIY knows they've got a big mountain to climb here.

Get those belts as fast as you can!!

The Authors are already better big men than War Machine.

I'm liking #DIY's work here.

Gargano's a guy who goes all out.

#DIY have a big battle against these two guys.

Good God the domination of Akam and Rezar.

They're going to need those ladders as weapons to beat the Authors.

Uh-ohhhhhhhh. Ciampa's leg.

This is carnage!!

I like this dynamic to a ladder match instead of everyone doing dives.

Like those two monsters NEED ladders as a weapon.

Oh, boy. Ladders set up like that don't usually end up in usable shape.

INSANE splash spot.

This is really good.

Hahahah I love Ellering's interference. They used it at the right time.

The Authors have some evil intent here.

OH MY GOD WHAT A URANAGE!!!!!!

#DIY MIGHT JUST DO IT HERE!!!

Oh, well, so much for that.

That was an insane ending. Great work all around.

- Post-match:
Talk about surviving a war.

Oh shit! Ciampa didn't take that loss well, huh?

I'm fine with this being a feud for a few months before the two of them move up. I'm sure they'll ave one hell of a battle.

Ciampa is NOT pleased.

GOOD GAWD ALMIGHTY!!!! YOU WERE THE BEST MAN AT HIS WEDDING, TOMMASO!!

One hell of an ending to the show.

More wrestling coming up.