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WHAT WORKED, WHAT DIDN'T & WHAT WE LEARNED AT WWE NXT TAKEOVER FATAL FOUR WAY

By Mike Johnson on 2014-09-11 22:00:00

Since Richard Trionfo was handling the live play by play for WWE NXT Takeover: Fatal Four Way and Dave Scherer posted a live blog from the show, here is the first ever edition of “What Worked, What Didn’t & What We Learned" – written LIVE as the NXT broadcast was ongoing!

What Worked:

*NXT Championship Bout. There was a lot to like about this and whoever laid this out should be really proud. A great physical match. More than ever before, Tyson Kidd had the chance to show what a ring general he can be as he truly controlled the flow of this match for a long time. Early on, this was a lot more of a brawl than one would have expected with a lot of fighting on the floor and suplexes on the stage and rampway. Tyson Kidd and Tyler Breeze doubling over on Sami Zayn was a slight surprise given the issues between the two in the videos building to the match. Zayn did a great job as the babyface in peril, as he always does. It also made sense for them to keep Neville on the outside to build the drama of him potentially losing the belt and the eventual pop when he finally returned and hit all that insane super-speed offense. When Zayn finally had his moment but it was taken from Neville with the springboard moonsault to the floor, well, that was friggin’ awesome. The staredown between Neville and Zayn to set up their short sequence in the ring was great too. For much of the bout, I felt like Tyler Breeze was getting short-changed, but then the tide turned and he wiped everyone out with kicks and scored near falls. So many near falls and moments where you thought it was about to end. Even the “Tower of Doom” superplex spot looked like a big moment where Zayn was about to steal the win instead of just a big spot to pop the crowd. Breeze trying to steal the win after Neville killed Zayn with a shooting star press was equally awesome. As if Zayn wasn’t already over as the fighting babyface, this match took it to the next level. The Sami Zayn show at the end with the dives on Neville and Breeze and then the Yakuza Kick on Kidd…just tremendous stuff. Neville pulling the referee out, then nailing Sami and hitting his finish on the already beaten Kidd to get the win, just as Sami was inches away from stopping him…only to fall short…just brilliant. A great finish. Neville retains. Sami, more than ever, is the underdog everyone wants to see get the big win. Kidd looked like a badass and Breeze showed more than ever he can hang. Go watch this one now!

*Charlotte vs. Bayley. Easily the best Bayley match to date, it was also a great throwback wrestling match with the babyface kicking out to show there was hope and fighting spirit again and again. They really fought for the title and it showed. Great physical action. That close-up on Bayley's face after she kicked out of the moonsault was just a great moment - the look of someone who wasn't going to give up on what she wanted. Charlotte continues to improve in the ring and really showed that when it comes to the big matches, she is going to bring it. I also like the post-match stuff with Sasha Banks getting in the ring to attack Bayley, only to have Charlotte throw her off. It wasn't a babyface turn as much as a way for Charlotte to show Bayley respect, but it set up an interesting triangle feud between the three going forward. Thumbs up across the board here.

*The Ascension vs. Kalisto & Sin Cara. On the last NXT special, The Ascension vs. Luchas bout really whiffed the ball. This time, it was an entirely different scenario. The Ascension looked the best they have looked since I've started paying close attention to NXT 18 months ago in both the offense and the defense department. The match was laid out perfectly with Sin Cara taking the brunt of the beating before Kalisto made the hot tag, setting the stage for him to go nuts with all those beatiful aerial moves. There were some nice spots between Kalisto and Konnor towards the end. The dive sequence with Sin Cara hitting the dive on The Ascension in the corner was shot beautifully and the Luchas winning was a nice surprise. I also liked the new tag name for the team - The Lucha Dragons. A nice opener for sure.

*Baron Corbin’s debut. When WWE teased a mystery opponent, you know fans online were hoping for Fergal Devitt or Kevin Steen, but instead WWE debuted Corbin, who completely wiped out CJ Parker. As a way to debut Corbin and showcase him as someone who’s just a beast in the ring, this worked. It wasn't a match really, but an introduction. I would even steal a page out of the Bill Watts’ playbook and book Corbin as Junkyard Dog, who wipes people out in a minute, just to showcase him as a true badass. It’s a great way to protect him as he continues to get seasoning.

*KENTA’s introduction. The video feature they aired did a tremendous job of making KENTA look like a huge signing. He announced that his name, as a tribute to “one of his heroes” will be Hideo Itami and that he would be NXT champion. I think the fans were pleasantly surprised by the fact that he was cutting a promo. KENTA announcing his new name was a smart way to bridge his past and his future. The Ascension coming out and tossing Itami out of the ring, only to see him bounce back and run off both of them was a nice way to show his fighting spirit and some of his charisma. To have a newcomer fight off and back down the longest running NXT Tag champions was a nice first statement for the now former KENTA.

*Bull Dempsey vs. Mojo Rawley. A surprising squash. Mojo showed some decent power but Dempsey looked awesome coming out of the corner with the running Avalanche. The flying headbutt is a great choice for a finisher for Dempsey as he’s a larger guy and a move like that comes off even more devastating looking when delivered by someone that big. It also gives him a big finish that looks far more devastating than the Bulldozer.

What Didn’t:

Hair vs. Hair. I wanted to like this. I really did. I think Enzo Amore is ridiculously charismatic and I have really felt that Colin Cassidy has grown tremendously as a personality and performer in the last year. I recognize that there was no way this was going to be a great in-ring encounter and didn’t expect it to be as Sylvester Lefort has never been presented as a threat in the ring. The match was what it was, but that was OK because this was going to be a bout where the personalities were spotlighted. I expected a lot of silliness, which there was, but LeFort running off without getting his hair cut was pretty lame. I get that they did the big spot with Marcus Louis instead getting the bucket of hair cream dumped on him and that will lead to some silliness but I always prefer when you actually give what you advertise. I gave them an out during the broadcast hoping that they would catch LeFort and shave him later, but I guess this was instead starting a storyline where they will stalk him on TV to finally get him. That's fine and the bit with Louis bald was fine for comedy, but like I said, I always want to see fans get what they are promised.

What We Learned:

*Neville was willing to do anything to win. Was that a darker side of Neville we just saw signs of?

*"How You doing?" will be the new "What?" If Enzo Amore and Big Cass make it to the main roster in their current personas, their entertaining mic work followed by the crowd yelling, "How you doing?" will catch on like fire. Good, entertaining, interactive stuff that WWE crowds eat up.

*KENTA indeed gets a new ring name. Hideo Itami? That's going to get some getting used to. I wish they had retained KENTA as it's pretty much a brand name. Hideo Itami? We'll have to see if it sticks.

*Mojo's lost his mojo. Compare this NXT special to the first one. If anyone has gone backwards in terms of how they are presented by the company on TV, it's Rawley.

*The NXT Divas are the real deal. Two shows in a row, they are the show. If this keeps up, we might be seeing some major PPVs one day where they, not the men, are the main event.

*Itami in action next week! I can't wait.

*We need monthly NXT specials. Seriously. Make it the modern day version of the old MSG broadcasts. These shows are so much fun to watch. As a Network subscriber, I personally want more.

Mike Johnson can be reached at MikeJohnsonPWInsider@gmail.com.

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