NXT continues to take over Phoenix as The Street Profits look for revenge on The Forgotten Sons! Plus, Kairi Sane & Io Shirai VS The Horsewomen!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Kairi Sane & Io Shirai VS Jessamyn Duke & Marina Shafir; Sane & Shiari win.
• The Street Profits VS The Forgotten Sons; The Forgotten Sons win.

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NXT continues to take over Phoenix!

The Era lost the war, the Un-De-Fea-Ted is no more, and the One and Only fell to Johnny Takeover! But most important of all, the Psycho Killer did NOT Fade to Black! Tommaso managed his Fairy Tale Ending, and now DIY is golden. What is next for NXT in 2019?

Kairi Sane & Io Shirai VS Jessamyn Duke & Marina Shafir!

The Pirate Princess and Genius of the Sky combine the powers of sea and sky, and look to shut up and shut down the Horsewomen! Will the stars of Stardom shine bright in the Phoenix desert? Or will Jessamyn and Marina prove they’re more than just Shayna Baszler’s help?

The teams sort out and Shirai starts against Marina. They circle and tie up, and Marina knees low. Marina STOs fast, then throws Shirai with a hip toss. Shirai lands on her feet then breaks free. Shirai eggs Marina on, the dodges to handspring and dropkick Marina down! Marina scrambles and tags Jessamyn, so Shirai tags in Kairi. Fans are strongly on Kairi’s side as she and Jessamyn approach. Jessamyn taunts Kairi for being shorter, so Kairi chops her! Kairi dodges but Jessamyn gets her down for ground ‘n’ pound. But Kairi turns it around to give the same! Jessamyn turns it back but Kairi turns it again! Jessamyn gets Kairi down and thrashes her about. She backs off at 4 while fans boo and jeer. Jessamyn whips but Kairi goes up and over to roll her, TWO! Kairi has the facelock right away!

Kairi tags Shirai and the best friends of Stardom double whip. They redirect and misdirect Jessamyn for chops all over! Double dropkicks take her down! Shirai aims corner to corner, meteora! Jessamyn gets out to the floor but Marina coaches her up. Fans rally for Shirai but Marina blocks her path, only to get a forearm! Jessamyn sweeps Shirai’s legs! Shiari lands on the apron, then Jessamyn kicks her sideways! The ref keeps Kairi back while Jessamyn tags in Marina. Marina drags Shirai up and into a corner for big uppercuts. She then reels Shirai out for a scooping slam, covers, TWO! Marina keeps on Shirai with a knee grinding into her head. Fans rally for Shirai as she endures a hammerlock. Marina deadlifts Shirai right up into a fireman’s carry! She tags Jessamyn then flips Shirai out for Jessamyn’s roundhouse! Jessamyn covers, TWO!

Jessamyn grows frustrated but keeps on Shirai with a butterfly stretch. Fans rally while Shirai endures. Shirai powers up and heads for her corner. Jessamyn can’t hold Shirai back, so she turns Shirai around for a butterfly suplex! Cover, TWO! Jessamyn rains down rights on Shirari then drags her back up for another butterfly lock. Jessamyn pushes Shirari towards the Horsewomen corner but Shirai uses that momentum to throw her into buckles! Marina tags in and intercepts Shirai with a dragon sleeper. Shirai fights out and to the ropes, for leverage into an inverted DDT! Fans fire up while both women are down! Shirari crawls but Marina pursues. Marina grabs Shirai and suplexes but Shirai slips out and rolls under, hot tag to Kairi!

Kairi rallies on Marina, dragon screw leg whip! Then the Blockbuster! Kairi hits another blockbuster then whips Marina to a corner. Marina reverses but Shirai comes out with the Interceptor Spear! Kairi fires up and marches the plank. She runs back corner to corner, Sliding D! Kairi drags Marin up while Shirai intercepts Jessamyn with a dropkick. The Sky Pirates combine for the pop-up elbow! Shirai DIVES onto Jessamyn while Kairi drags Marina to a drop zone! Kairi climbs, anchors aweigh, InSane Elbow! Cover, Sky Pirates win!!

Winners: Kairi Sane & Io Shirai, Kairi pinning

The score is settled! Kairi makes the Horsewomen pay for helping Shayna screw Kairi out of the title! Kairi and her best friend are on a roll between their tag team victories and Year End Awards, what new heights will they reach in their journey together?

Post-TakeOver interview with Johnny Gargano.

The NEW NXT North American Champion has his first singles title. He promised to win, and he did. Johnny TakeOver wins and is the NEW NXT North American Champion. “And boy, winning feels great.” Gargano loves being a champion, but how long will he get to feel that way?

Post-TakeOver interview with Bianca Belair.

The EST is no longer spotless, but Un-De-Fea-Ted is also a mindset. Shayna had to have her friends to help her because she was scared. Bianca is still Un-De-Fea-Ted in legit competition. What does she say to detractors, like one Sam Roberts, saying Bianca didn’t deserve to be in the match to begin with? Mr. Sam can say whatever because Bianca took Shayna to her limit. To Sam and other haters: “Kiss mah ass.” Her first loss does not bother Bianca at all, but will she be able to get back to a title match?

Post-TakeOver interview with the War Raiders.

Hanson & Rowe are the NEW NXT Tag Team Champions! How satisfying does this feel? They came and did what they said they were going to do. The Undisputed Era has their respect, but their era is over. The war is here, the raid begins, and the War Reign begins now! Who will step to the war beards on the Road to Wrestlemania weekend?

Post-TakeOver interview with Matt Riddle.

The Original Bro finally shut up Kassius Ohno with a third victory. It wasn’t even about wins or losses, it was making a point. Riddle beat Ohno into giving up, and vows to do the same to anyone who wants to test him. Who will Riddle take on next? And will he beat them into Bromission, too?

Paul Heyman tweeted the praises of Tommaso Ciampa.

To quote the Advocate, when Triple H was “tasked with ensuring WWE’s future through the NXT brand, he accepted he was accountable to future generations for the health of the industry. NXT boasts the greatness of Project Ciampa.” If any other brand wants to stand out, they need to compete with that! Is the Psycho Killer a future Heyman Guy?

But there was more to TakeOver after the Network cut away!

Velveteen Dream confronted the golden DIY, but so did Adam Cole! Aleister Black even rose from the ring and Ricochet returned from the back. Things broke down into a brawl that was surprisingly split 3v3. Triple H got in the middle of it all to keep the peace, and made a huge decision! Shawn Michaels announced it for him at the Royal Rumble, these six men will face off in a Six Man Tag match, in the return of WWE Halftime Heat! The Patrick Clark Experience joins forces with the Embodiment of the End and the King of Flight to take on Adam Cole and DIY! While the Super Bowl is on break, which team breaks the other in this match?

The Street Profits VS The Forgotten Sons!

Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford finally want to become NXT Tag Team Champions in 2019, but they apparently left a team off the checklist. Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler made sure to remind them who they are in a sneak attack a few weeks ago. Will the #CurseofGreatness get payback for that? Or will they be remembered as the team Blake & Cutler beat on the way to their own title shot?

Tensions run high as the teams make their entrance but the referee manages to keep the peace. Teams sort out and Cutler starts against Dawkins. Cutler taunts Dawkins about that attack then shoves Dawkins, so Dawkins tackles Cutler! They go around scrapping but Blake tags in. Blake drags Dawkins up but Ford evens the numbers! It’s a brawl now and Ford punches Cutler out of the ring. Dawkins whips Blake and Ford tosses him out onto Cutler! Dawkins puts Blake back in and drags him over to tag in Ford. The Profits double whip and shoulder Blake down. Cutler returns but gets flapjack’d onto Blake! Ford clotheslines Cutler all the way out but Blake blindsides Ford! Blake stomps Ford down then tags Cutler in. The Forgotten Sons mug Ford on the ropes but let up at 4. Cutler drags Ford up as fans taunt them, “We Forgot You!”

Cutler gives Ford a backbreaker, then shouts “You want to forget us, huh!?” He slaps then suplexes Ford, then tags to Blake. The Forgotten Sons double urenage backbreaker! Cover, TWO! Blake keeps on Ford with a snapmare then springboard knee drops to the back! Blake puts on a chinlock on Ford and grinds him down but fans rally up. Ford feeds off the energy but Blake pulls his tights to bring him back down. Blake pulls Ford back more but fans continue to rally. Ford gets up again but Cutler tags in. Ford rolls but Cutler’s on him. Cutler gets an elbow, but Blake powerbomb lifts Ford, for a buckle bomb to Cutler’s knees! Cutler then rebound backbreakers! Cover, but Dawkins breaks it! The ref backs Dawkins down while Cutler drags Ford up.

Cutler throws hands in the corner and Blake tags in. Cutler whips Blake in but Ford tosses him way out! Ford hits Cutler back then dumps him out. Ford heads for his corner but Blake leaps in for a splash! Blake belly flops! Both men crawl and fans fire up, hot tag to Dawkins! Dawkins rallies on the Forgotten Sons! He tosses Cutler then tosses Blake! He throws hands on Blake in a corner but dodges Cutler, to dropkick him into Blake! Dawkins tosses Cutler again, then scoops Blake for a hotshot! Dawkins runs to bulldog Blake! Fans fire up and Dawkins runs, but Cutler saves Blake from the 360 clothesline. Ford sees Cutler and FLIES out onto him!! Dawkins SPEARS Blake, covers, TWO!! Blake survives but the Profits fire up and coordinate.

Ford refreshes himself with his cup of water, then tags in. Dawkins whips and gets Blake up, BLOCKBUSTER DOOMSDAY!! Cover, but Cutler breaks it! Dawkins throws Cutler out and Ford staggers over. Tag and Ford climbs but Cutler drags Dawkins out. Ford runs but into Jaxson Ryker! Dawkins sees that from across the way, and the two stare down. The two big men go around the corner, but Blake DIVES onto Dawkins! Blake drags Dawkins back in, tags Cutler, and the Sons combine for the inverted DDT stomp! The Memory Remains! Cover, the Forgotten Sons win!!

Winners: The Forgotten Sons, Steve Cutler pinning

Ryker was the X-factor for the Forgotten Sons and that was enough to stop the Profits! Will the entire NXT Tag Division keep these three in mind as we roll on towards Wrestlemania?

My Thoughts:

A pretty good Post-TakeOver episode of NXT here. Of course, it was still recap heavy, but the post-match interviews were done much better this time. For one, you couldn’t hear background noise that gets in the way of hearing the people taking. But even for such a great TakeOver event, the interview promos were pretty standard. Heyman having a tweet of high praise was really great in place of an interview of Ciampa or Aleister. Ciampa really does deserve to be the NXT Male Superstar of the Year because of how he’s transformed himself since coming back from his knee injury. Heyman recognizing that is proof that he’s gotten that good, and this next phase for him, and by extension all of NXT, is going to be quite the show.

A major piece will be Halftime Heat, which WWE really wants everyone to watch. If Gargano and Ciampa can stick together, then DIY really is back, and we can go into phase three of their story in being together again but as Heels. Candice can get involved and finally be on NXT TV again, and who knows? She might give in to her own Heel side and then it’s a trio performance where Candice can try for the Women’s Title again. Granted, Shayna Baszler is a Heel, but in the same way Gargano was slowly turning more Heel against Ciampa, Candice can learn to be Heel against THE Heel of NXT. Bianca surprised me at being in good spirits, maybe she’ll get another shot on the road to Mania. And as I’m thinking, a Mixed Six Tag of Bianca & Profits VS Candice & DIY would be really fun.

The “Sky Pirates” are doing great as a team, and I guess this match here counts as Kairi’s blow-off with Jessamyn and Marina. I don’t know if Kairi gets another go at the NXT Women’s Championship, but I am hoping Kairi and Io go to main to jump into the WWE Women’s Tag Division. They should be in that Elimination Chamber match representing SmackDown, Shirai Asai Moonsault off a pod is an amazing spot in my mind. I don’t know if they’d win the titles flat out, but they’d raise the level of competition in the division pretty quickly. Plus, being on SmackDown, what if they form a trio with Asuka? Triple Joshi Strong Style on Tuesdays please!

Then in the main event tag match, Profits VS Forgotten Sons was way better than I expected! Fans may have heat for the Forgotten Sons, but those guys know how to go. And being Heels, of course they use a third teammate to get an opening. With War Raiders being the new champions, Heel teams have the advantage of challenging next. However, Forgotten Sons will likely have another match with Street Profits because they’re still not at the level of challenging nor becoming champions. Therefore, I’m thinking the Undisputed Era’s reDRagon come around to take Rowe & Hanson on, in the quest to become a golden faction. Those matches will be very good, but especially the “ROH in NXT” match of War Raiders and Fish-O’Reilly.

My Score: 8.1/10