NXT Cliff Notes 5-27-20

Drake Maverick vs Jake Atlas vs Kushida

What a way to kick things off on an exciting night of wrestling. These guys didn’t stop for more than 2 seconds. Jake Atlas looked good but Kushida looked like the man. A brilliant pin by Drake Maverick ended the match in controversy but Kushida told Maverick to fight for the Cruiserweight title and win. By the way, Drake has some of the worst music in the company.

The Gargano way

Gargano squashes an oddly named jobber while Mia Yim and Keith Lee mock dinner with the Garganos after Johnny’s win. The first part of the segment was cool but Mia Yim and Keith Lee needed a little more to work with.

Shotzi Blackheart vs Raquel Gonzalez

Great psychology throughout this match.

Tegan Knox and Dakota Kai got involved. LeRae confronts Knox and Shotzi is screwed out of a W. Shotzi is going to have the entire industry behind her in a few years just like Becky Lynch, Shotzi is being fast tracked to success. Raquel Gonzalez needs to take Nia Jax’s place immediately, Gonzalez is absolutely badass with all the tools to be the most dominant force in the women’s division. Her physicality is amazing and perfectly suited for her role and move set.

Charlotte [c] & Chelsea Green vs Ripley & Shirai

Io and Ripley were cheated by the dirtiest player in the game when Charlotte stole a victory with her feet on the ropes. Io made Green look pretty good, Ripley also helped Green look not so …green. Charlotte was great in the match as well. Charlotte really has stepped things up since becoming NXT Champion.

Tik tok

Scarlett was ringside for Tomasso Ciampa’s squash match. After the bell Karrion Kross appeared with a message for Ciampa. I like that the two had a face to face early on and have stayed away from each other, saving the intense physicality for their match at Takeover.

Fight pit

Kurt Angle was a great addition to the atmosphere of this historic match. Thatcher gets his teeth knocked out early. Thatcher submits Matt Riddle and the rumors of his trade to SmackDown seem to be very true at the moment. A historic victory for Thatcher indeed. Riddle really looked good in this match and he made Thatcher look even better. This was the perfect wrestling match hybrid.

Honorable mentions

1. Balor vs Priest vignette

2. Lorcan and Burch vignette. Finally getting a proper push and formally declare their intentions to capture the tag team titles.

3. Imperium vignette.

4. Adam Cole and Regal discuss the Velveteen Dream getting a rematch at Takeover. Cole wants this to be the Dream’s last chance for the title and Regal agrees but he is going to find a location suitable for such a match first.

Final take

I missed Dexter Lumis this week, a vignette would have been a nice touch. We all Takeovers are great and the build up to them is always interesting, this Takeover and these builds are no different.

#NXT #MattRiddle #KarrionKross #WWE #TomassoCiampa #NXTinyourhouse #TimothyThatcher