After ranking WWE NXT Takeover 31’s matches beforehand, Bradley Jay is back with his post-show rankings. What changed?

Here’s the dillio. Before the show, I ranked the matches based on my excitement for them. Now that the show is over, let’s see how things worked out.

6. Damian Priest versus Johnny Gargano 3 stars

I don’t expect insane spots off a ladder for no reason or a thousand chair shots. For a Takeover match, I do expect something special, some moment that makes the match stand out. Sadly and surprisingly, this did not have that moment. It was a good match. It was a Wednesday night match. Something was missing. I thought that a lot watching this PPV. In fact, it should have been called Takeover 31: Something is missing. Dropped from 1 to 5

5. Io Shirai versus Candace Lerae, 3 stars

As good as she can be, I feel like Shirai isn’t consistently bringing her A-game. Her matches feel repetitive. Her moonsault has lost some of its air. And the revelation of not one but TWO returning superstars that I don’t care about seemed to drag everything down. Up from 5 to 4

4. Swerve Scott versus Santa Claus Ice Cream Bar, 3 ½ stars

Swerve did his thing, and that’s always a good thing. I don’t mind the interference, because that’s what factions do. They stick together and cheat. If someone is going to make the save, it at least has to be someone we recognize. Drake Maverick? Fandango? Even Tony Neese would have made sense. I feel bad for Swerve. I hope they don’t move on from his chance to grab the gold, but I’m afraid they will. Up from 4 to 3

3. Kyle O’Reilly versus Finn Balor 4.2 stars 

You know you’ve done something special when you lose the match & still come out smelling like a rose. Kyle O’Reilly showed us that he’s ready to be a singles guy. His combos and transitions are as good as anybody. His one man leg sweep looks almost as devastating as Total Elimination. He was made for a long run as the intercontinental champion. Up from 3 to 2

2. KUSHIDA versus Velveteen Dream 4.6 stars

When this match ended, I gave it 4.4 stars. The post-match beatdown was fan-flipping-tastic, so I gave it an upgrade. Hyper violent KUSHIDA is wicked awesome. I get the same savage vibe from him that I get from Timothy Thatcher. These are 2 guys who can brutalize an opponent without weapons. This was the only match of the night that was as good as I thought it would be. Bonus points to VD for the Marty McFly reference. Up from 2 to 1

1. Overall, it was a good show. Everybody worked hard. Nothing was horrible (except for Ridge Holland), but nothing was MOTY. Maybe it would have been better if the bar for Takeover wasn’t so insanely high, and if the production didn’t suck ass. Sometimes there was crowd noise. Sometimes it was silent. Some cheering seemed real. Some sounded piped in. Sometimes the ring itself sounded like it was cranked up to 11. And I don’t see the value in having faces in the audience if we don’t get the accompanying crowd noise. It all felt disconnected and detracted from the overall atmosphere. But if this was the stepping stone for KUSHIDA and O’Reilly, then it was all worth it.