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REGAL’S ANNOUNCEMENTS
We actually didn’t have to wait long for the groundbreaking announcements from Regal tonight. The first was the announcement of Takeover Stand & Deliver, a two night special this April.
The second was the announcement of the NXT Women’s Tag Champions.
One announcement got me excited. The other made me groan. Can you guess which?
Kai and Gonzalez more than deserve the spotlight as the first NXT Womens Tag Champions after what they’ve done over the last few months. With the abysmal booking of last week, I almost give it a pass where it culminated in this. While I think there are already too many titles in WWE, this one needed to happen. The WWE Womens Tag Titles don’t ever really appear in NXT. This will allow that division to flourish more and give more for the already stacked women’s division to fight over.
The two night Takeover does not excite me right off the bat. It seems like overkill. Between NXT and WWE we have four nights of content during Wrestlemania season? Each night at least 3 hours each! Not to mention RAW, Smackdown and NXT TV!
Verdict: One Hit, One Miss
NXT WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP: IO SHIRAI vs. TONI STORM
I wasn’t necessarily super excited for this matchup, because I felt like a Storm win was in the cards and she wasn’t necessarily who I wanted to see as NXT Champion. The outcome clearly helped my overall feelings about this match, but the two did a great job actually drawing me in. Truth be told, I started the night just wanting to continue playing Valheim rather than watch wrestling. Seeing Storm start off the show didn’t leave me feeling warm and fuzzy for a flawless opener either. But they told a cohesive story, didn’t go over the top with gimmicks and wrestled a great match.
And while this was a decent match for Shirai, it was one of the better that I’ve seen out of Storm. Losing was the correct option for her, she isn’t quite at that level right now to carry the title. But she definitely fought valiantly for it.
Verdict: HIT
JAKE ATLAS vs. PETE DUNNE
At first, I thought this was going to be an easy win for Pete Dunne. Jake Atlas hasn’t been in any notable storyline for awhile, and even when he was it was still a lower midcard feud. The commentary team put him over strong to start the match and that’s when I started thinking this might be more than just an easy squash for the Bruiserweight.
Atlas actually got quite a but of offense on Dunne, but got a little too cocky with the flippy stuff which was his ultimate demise. Otherwise, he could have potentially pulled it off from a kayfabe sense.
With how strong he was put over by commentary, it almost makes me wonder if we’ll be seeing more of Atlas? Or were they doing it just to raise the value of Dunne?
Verdict: HIT
NXT WOMEN’S TAG CHAMPIONSHIP – DAKOTA KAI & RAQUEL GONZALEZ vs. EMBER MOON & SHOTZI BLACKHEART
Less than an hour after being awarded the titles, Kai & Gonzalez put them on the line against their rivals, Moon & Blackheart. Oddly enough, the faces worked out of the traditional heel corner and vice versa.
Both teams looked like they had a chip on their shoulders tonight, making this feel like an important first step for this titles lineage. I was pretty surprised at the outcome, honestly. I didn’t expect to see new champions in the first match. I don’t like hot potato title swaps, it lessens the importance of the titles. But, depending on the booking I am willing to give it a bye for now.
Verdict: HIT
KAYDEN KARTER vs. XIA LI
Over the last few months, Xia Li has developed into this awesome new character at the hands of Mai Ying. Worried for their friend, Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro have tried to bring her back to the “light side”, if you will. Xia injured Kacy and this week Carter is out for revenge.
I was expecting a bit more of a one-sided matchup out with Li handily taking out Karter. Instead, Kacy Catanzaro attacked with a crutch resulting in a DQ finish. I’m actually okay with this, though the execution fell a bit flat. Kacy snapped, and it was about time.
Verdict: HIT
GRIZZLED YOUNG VETS vs. LEGADO DEL FANTASMA
While the new Women’s Tag division looked somewhat strong tonight, the men’s tag division… didn’t. This match up barely seemed to last five minutes before MSK dressed in Breezango’s space suits distracted GYV and allowed Fantasma to pick up the win. Then Breezango attacked Fantasma. This was retribution for Fantasma interfering in their matchup last week but it just seemed like a waste of TV time. Nothing advanced here, it just seemed really out of place on the show.
Verdict: MISS
NXT CHAMPIONSHIP: FINN BALOR vs. ADAM COLE
Balor won the title off of Cole months ago, and tonight Cole looked to finally reclaim his NXT gold. Truth be told, I wasn’t quite sure who might walk out of this victorious. I could make the case for Balor retaining. I feel like he has had a relatively strong run and continuing that into a feud with someone else, like Kross for example, could be intriguing. Especially if he had to bring back the demon to defeat him. Cole has had a lot of momentum coming out of the Undisputed Breakup, so running with him seemed to make sense too.
Kyle O”Reilly showing up int he crowd, like a ghost of Cole’s Christmas past was just the touch needed to sway the match in Balor’s favor. His involvement was subtle yet clearly got in the head of the challenger.
Speaking of Cross, who showed up in the ring behind Balor after the win and the KOR/Cole post-match brawl? Tick Tock, the clockmaster himself, Karrion Kross. While KOR and Cole fight one another, Kross might actually be the one to dethrone Balor? Maybe?
Verdict: HIT
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