SHINSUKE Nakamura has defeated Samoa Joe to become NXT Champion in the hard-hitting main event of TakeOver: Brooklyn II – but the night belonged to Tag Team Champions The Revival, who stole the show in their blistering title defence against Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.
In front of a red-hot crowd of 15,000 at the Barclays Center, Nakamura made his most spectacular entrance – complete with live violinist – and there was pushing and shoving with Joe before the bell.
Joe dominated in the early going, using his 280lb frame to crush Nakamura in the corner and hit an enziguri. Nakamura attempted to drop a knee on the apron but crashed to the floor knee-first. Joe then hit a dangerous dive through the ropes.
Back inside the ring Joe dropped elbows and a cannonball-like senton for a two count. He controlled the pace with submissions and a thunderous powerbomb, which he switched into a modified boston crab, then STF and cross face.
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Nakamura came back with knees and then countered Joe’s muscle buster attempt with a flying kick from the second rope.
There was a dramatic sequence as “The King of Strong Style” surprised Joe with a German suplex – but Joe reversed his Kinshasha running knee attempt into a hard power slam.
Nakamura then shocked the crowd by kicking out of a muscle buster, which Joe answered by kicking out of a a Kinshasa.
Nakamura quickly followed with a knee to the back of Joe’s neck and another Kinshasa for the title victory.
The night got off to an energetic start with Austin Aries battling No Way Jose.
There were deafening Austin Aries chants as the two men exchanged chops and kicks.Aries reversed a fireman’s carry from the top rope, dropping Jose’s throat across the ropes and hitting a precision-perfect elbow from the second rope to the back of Jose’s neck.
Jose regained momentum with a some big power moves – including an Attitude Adjustment-like slam and suplex modified into a powerbomb – but Aries technical skill was too much.
“The Greatest Man That Ever Lived” leapt over Jose from the top rope into a sunset flip, before locking in his Last Chancery submission for the win.
Aries continued to attack Jose after the bell, prompting Hideo Itami to make the save. The crowd exploded as Itami hit Aries with a flurry of strikes and GTS.
Next up, the mysterious Ember Moon made her debut against Aussie bad girl Billie Kay. Moon took Kay down early on with a lightning quick head scissors and launched a springboard cross body block from the second rope.
Kay showed aggression with her punches and forearms, before lifting Moon over her shoulder for a widow’s peak backbreaker submission.
Moon eventually pinned Kay after she unleashed her impressive finisher – a diving corkscrew stunner from the top rope.
Bobby Roode also made his highly-anticipated in-ring debut against Andrade “Cien” Almas, the highlight of which was Roode’s “glorious” entrance. His attire and flamboyance recall legendary wrestling villains such as Ric Flair and Michael P.S. Hayes.
Almas – who WWE clearly has big plans for – didn’t stand a chance with the crowd. They were firmly behind Roode. Almas showed off his high-flying skills, including a springboard head scissors and stunning corkscrew plancha to the outside.
Roode then showed impressive power by holding Almas in a vertical suplex and a hitting a devastating running clothesline.
Almas reversed a German suplex from the top rope, flipping backwards and landing on his feet, before hitting a back suplex of his own for a near fall. Roode then planted Almas with a spine buster and his pump handle “Glorious Bomb” slam to win.
It was a solid debut from Roode, but a disheartening reaction for Almas. He isn’t connecting with the crowd as WWE wants him to.
Next came the breathtaking Tag Team Championship bout between defending champs The Revival – Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder – and the newly named “DIY” – Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.
The Revival kept the early advantage, cutting Ciampa off from his partner with quick tags and double team maneuvers – including a fearsome face buster suplex and Demolition style elbow from the second rope.
There was some classic tag team villainy as The Revival used dirty tricks to stop Ciampa getting the tag, distracting the ref and sneaking around to pull Gargano off the apron. It was the kind of old school tag team wrestling that’s rarely seen in WWE these days.
Gargano finally got the tag and fired the crowd up with fast-paced blows, an overhead belly-to-belly, and diving spear through the ropes into Dawson for a near fall.
The Revival then slowed things back down by luring Gargano into a DDT, but Ciampa caught Dawson in a painful looking armbar finisher. Dash made the save before Dawson could tap.
There was an electric near fall when Gargano and Ciampa hit Dash with their superkick/running knee combo, but Dash got his foot to the rope just before the three.
The Revival got the win when they attacked Gargano’s knee and locked him in a painful-looking reverse figure four.
The Revival are putting on WWE’s best tag matches in over a decade – and the crowd gave a standing ovation for Gargano and Ciampa as they left the ring.
After the women’s title match between Bayley and Sasha Banks tore the house down at TakeOver: Brooklyn last year, there was huge expectation for the next match between current Women’s Champion Asuka and Bayley – itself a rematch from TakeOver: Dallas this past April.
Bayley began with some quick pin attempts and leap from the second rope, but Asuka caught her with a sharp knee. “The Empress of Tomorrow” kept control with her patented strikes and hit a hard running kick to the head as Bayley hung lifelessly on the ropes.
Bayley came back by driving Asuka’s head into the turnbuckle, then countered Asuka’s hip attack and dropped her with a neck breaker on the ropes. Bayley showed new levels of aggression as she returned the champ’s strikes and escaped her submission attempts.
Asuka eventually gripped Bayley in the Asuka Lock – the move that rendered Bayley unconscious at TakeOver: Dallas – but the challenger fought back and hit her Bayley-to-Belly suplex for a near fall.
Bayley then fought out of another Asuka Lock, reversing it into a pin – before Asuka caught her with two brutal kicks to the head for the three count.
Bayley received a huge ovation after the match. It’s likely to be her NXT swansong –expect her to make the transition to the WWE main roster in the near future.
Watch NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II on the WWE Network
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