The Undisputed Era vs. Moustache Mountain
The weakest of their trilogy, but still very good. Felt like somewhat of
a blend of their previous 2 matches w/ some psychology over the knee of
Bate, and then the red hot sequences, with everyone, in particular
Bate, going crazy. Somewhat awkward in it's pacing at some moments, but
that didn't eat away too much from the quality. Roddy & Kyle as the
sleazy, yet vicious heels is just a blessing. MOTN. ***1/2
EC3 vs. The Velveteen Dream
This started off pretty great, but by the end, it was dragging like a
motherfucker, so it's overall quality dragged down because of it. Loved
the beginning w/ them telling the story of EC3 being the more powerful
& experienced of the 2 - EC3 was very good on top, and Dream's
bumping was like something straight out of the 80's. After the Dream
gets back into things, he starts targeting EC3's neck, and after a while
of that, the match starts to drag, as I mentioned. Pretty good overall
w/ a great first half or so. **3/4
Adam Cole vs. Ricochet
A pretty good match - very indyriffic at parts, but also toned down nicely overall too, didn't go overboard. **3/4
Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane
A very good match w/ a simple, yet super effective dynamic. Shayna is an
awesome bully, twisting Kairi's ankles, toes & everything in brutal
fashion, while Kairi brings great emotion & fire with his babyface
work. Nowhere near their MYC tournament finals classic, but a very good
match nonetheless. ***1/2
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano
These two sure aren't afraid to beat the living crap out of each other, and I very much appreciated that in the first third (or so) of the match - great intensity & violence, especially on Ciampa's part; one standout moment definitely was the Angel's Wings on the steel steps. Brutal stuff. Shortly after that though, the match starts to drag & the drama start to felt way too forced. It's a good match, I'd definitely rank it over the NOLA one, but it didn't reach the overall greatness of their Chicago Street Fight. ***
MM vs UE was definitely the weakest match of their trilogy, but still, very enjoyable, it was everything a good opener should be.
ReplyDeleteEC3 vs Dream was a big disappointment, Cole vs Ricochet was plain boring.
After being bored by these two matches, Kairi and Shayna tore the house down. Probably the best women's match in WWE this year, alongside Charlotte vs Asuka. I always hate watching Shayna in the ring (in a good way - her brutal tactics are really uncomfortable to watch. I love her, she's great, but I hate her and I love to hate her. Makes sense, right?) and this was no different. She was being a big, bad, unstoppable bully and Kairi told a good underdog story (her win over Shayna in MYC doesn't really mean much now, does it?), while being a PHENOMENAL seller. At one point, I legitly thought her leg was seriously fucked up. Maybe the finish wasn't exactly best for the story, but it's completely understandable, since Kairi pinning Shana just like that with injured leg would be bs and Shayna would lose all the momentum.
Adding NXT title to Gargano/Ciampa feud was a very good move, since seeing the two main event another Takeover with another plain grudge match would be too stale. NXT title added a new element to the feud and I loved the story of Gargano not really caring about title as much as caring about taking it from Ciampa, as he felt guilty for him being a champ in the first place. The ending was very strong for the story, but I honestly hope they'll take a break from this feud for some time.
Overally, a very good Takeover, even with only three matches being any good for me.
I totally get what you mean about Shayna. She is absolutely phenomenal in that regard. Some of the most brutal work on the ground in all of wrestling right now. Big fan!
DeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way. And also, she's one of a very few legit heels right now. I don't remember legitly hating anyone that much like I hated Shayna in MYC and in her early NXT days, before I realized she made me a complete mark for her.
DeleteShayna is great. Like, really great.