Elisa Marie Looks Back At WWE NXT Takeover XXV

Follow Elisa Marie’s journey during WWE NXT Takeover XXV and look back at this historic night–one week later.

I never would have imagine that there has been 25 NXT Takeover events, and just looking back from where NXT began to what it has become now, it is a simple reminder of just how great the NXT brand is. It truly is. Saturday’s NXT TakeOver XXV proved yet again how great this brand has developed to be and with the card filled with ton of potentially great matches to share, it indeed delivered. All four titles were scheduled to be defended, with the vacated NXT Tag Team Championships quite literally up for grabs in a Fatal 4-Way ladder match, which in my opinion arguably one of the great matches of the night. Now that it’s over and the dust has settled, I am here to give my review of NXT Takeover XXV.

NXT Championship – Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano (c)

You cannot start a review without discussing the elephant in the room and that is the match between Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole. What a battle! The storytelling of this match was just as strong as their match at TakeOver: New York. Gargano played a great babyface in peril, and looked to have it won multiple times. Cole will instead rule Wednesday nights and Gargano will go back to a role he excels in: chasing the title. At first, my initial thought was Gargano will win this match as he just won the title back in New York, so it is initially a little early for him to lose the title. However, to my surprise. NXT is not as predictable as the WWE brand can be. It did not matter who won the match honestly, they both performed amazingly. I love them both and honestly you can make an argument for either one to win the belt. Putting this aside, I had several overview thoughts on NXT Takeover.

Matt Riddle vs. Roderick Strong

It’s hard to think of the last time an NXT TakeOver has opened with a bad match. This card was no exception, as Matt Riddle and Roderick Strong put on a technical clinic to start this show. Both the Original Bro and the Undisputed Era member looked incredible in the match. Strong had a ton of offense and looked like an absolute killer. Riddle is not long for NXT since he’ll be very popular on the main roster and he’s ready. A battle with Adam Cole could be on the horizon before heading to the main roster after Summerslam – that’s my opinion. I will not be surprise if it indeed happens.

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NXT Tag Team Championship Ladder Match

For wrestlers whose gimmicks are described as fun, one of the hardest things to do can be to be taken seriously. After tonight, no one should sleep on the Street Profits, especially Montez Ford. While the Street Profits are extremely fun, they also turn it on in the big moments. Angelo Dawkins was great in the match, but Ford stood out. His facial expressions, his athleticism, it all came together. The ending moment of him leaping onto the ladder to get the titles was his biggest moment to date. Ford has the mic skills and mat skills to be a success, and the Street Profits are ensuring the NXT tag division are in good hands.

WWE NXT Takeover XXV Overall

Overall, this show was amazing from top to bottom. The ladder match, and main event were just all amazing and kept me off the edge of my seat. One criticism is the women’s championship really felt like a rerun of all the other Baszler title matches, which could be a bad thing. It will be interesting to see when and who will Baszler finally lose the title to. I will admit that Io Shirai’s post-match snapping and kendo stick beating was really a refreshing change for her character. I am interested to see where she takes that. It reminded me of when Charlotte Flair snapped on Ronda Rousey, it could make for some interesting entertainment. The battle between Velveteen Dream and Tyler Breeze was good but I could not help feel it has more to offer. It will interesting to see who is next for the Dream. Overall, I grade the show an A. The quality of wrestling and excitement is what gets me every time with NXT. I can go back and watch a ton of NXT Takeovers but I cannot really say the same about the WWE.