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Just a day before WWE SummerSlam, WWE NXT showed what the brand is capable of with a loaded NXT TakeOver XXX event. The 30th edition of TakeOver had a few big matches, including the NXT North American Championship, NXT Women’s Championship, and the NXT Championship.
The first match of the night saw Breezango defeat Legado Del Fantasma and the team of Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch to earn the right to challenge Imperium for the NXT Tag Team Championships once again.
Finn Balor faced the relatively new Timothy Thatcher, while five men geared up for the huge NXT North American Champion Ladder Match.
Dakota Kai had her eyes set on Io Shirai’s NXT Women’s Championship, while The Herald of Doomsday was ready to show Keith Lee who the real big man of NXT was.
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In this article, we will look at the five things WWE got right at NXT TakeOver XXX.
#5 Finn Balor knocks down Timothy Thatcher at NXT TakeOver XXX
Finn Balor and Timothy Thatcher rightfully opened up the main show and set a high bar for the rest to follow. The distinct styles of the two men made this contest even more interesting, as the submission specialist looked to leave a mark on Balor, who is a striking expert.
Thatcher tried to use his size advantage and used his expertise to keep pulling The Prince back. The contest remained very technical early on, and Balor got some of his best holds out to keep Thatcher at bay.
In the middle part of the match, The Prince missed a Coup de Grace and injured his left leg in the process. Thatcher smelt blood and immediately locked him in a single-leg Boston Crab.
After Balor nearly tapped out, the two men exchanged some more moves before Balor managed to connect with a Coup de Grace and followed it up with the lethal 1916 DDT to pick up the victory.
This was a good match between two men with unique styles, who did all they could to kick off the show on a high. While Thatcher is the new man who needs a few victories under his belt after his impressive Fight Pit match against Matt Riddle, Balor winning at TakeOver was the right way to go.
Balor stretches his lead as the most successful man at TakeOver events, and we will likely see him aim for a title in the coming months.
#4 Adam Cole has the last laugh against Pat McAfee at NXT TakeOver XXX
Ahead of his match at NXT Takeover XXX, former NXT Champion Adam Cole was keen on silencing former NFL kicker Pat McAfee. The leader of The Undisputed ERA came out prepared to send McAfee home early, while McAfee intended to leave his mark on NXT.
With no one in either man’s corner, the two men started with regular holds to warm each other up. McAfee pulled off a big move early but ate a Superkick for his troubles.
Undisputed ERA was forced to come out to help their leader as McAfee’s crew decided to make an appearance. While Cole delivered a few big moves, it was great to see McAfee kick out of them to show that he was prepared to go long in his debut match.
The Panama City Playboy took out McAfee’s kicking leg using the steel steps and followed it up with the Figure Four leglock. However, the heel fought out and kicked Cole below the belt while the referee wasn’t looking. He punted Cole in the head, but Cole managed to kick out in two.
The former NXT Champion ended the match by connecting with the Panama Sunrise on McAfee and shut him up for good.
This was a great match considering that it was McAfee’s first match in the NXT ring. While we’ve seen many celebrity matches, this one was by far the best as it seemed like a proper wrestling match with big moves.
McAfee came to entertain, and he did not disappoint at all in the entire match. Even though Cole won the match, McAfee’s performance makes him the real winner.
#3 Damian Priest win his first title in WWE at NXT TakeOver XXX
The ladder match was as good as many had expected, as five of NXT’s top Superstars competed for a chance to become the new NXT North American Champion. Velveteen Dream, Cameron Grimes, Damian Priest, Bronson Reed, and Johnny Gargano all went at each other right from the get-go, with Dream going for the ladder first.
We then saw Dream and Priest use the ladder in innovative ways to knock out the other competitors, but there was just too much competition to keep out during the contest.
AusZilla delivered a big TakeOver moment by putting his body on the line and crushing all his opponents in a corner with a few ladders between them. The rest of the competitors followed with their big spots, following which Candice LeRae came out to the ring to help her husband.
She prevented Grimes from winning and then climbed on the back of Thicc Boi who was on top of the ladder. AusZilla delivered a huge splash to Gargano in the ring with LeRae on his back to give fans another huge moment to remember.
After Dream was knocked off the ladder by Reed, it was a battle between Gargano and Priest to retrieve the title. The Archer knocked Johnny TakeOver off and pulled down the belt to become the new NXT North American Champion.
This was an incredible match that brought the best out of all five men. We’ve seen hundreds of ladder matches in WWE, but Superstars from NXT keep finding new ways to make it interesting each time. The Archer’s victory was the right move as he has already chased various titles several times.
#2 Io Shirai retains her title at NXT TakeOver XXX
An overconfident Dakota Kai was ready to take on Io Shirai to become the new NXT Women’s Champion. However, things are always different when you’re competing against The Best in the World.
Kai took control of the match early on with repeated strikes, but The Jodi Judas got back in the contest soon after.
The match spilled to the outside of the ring and Kai used the ring post to injure Shirai’s elbow. She continued to work on the Champion’s arm to gain an advantage.
The Jodi Judas made a late comeback in the match and hit a moonsault, but the referee was knocked out and could not make the three count. Raquel Gonzalez found it to be the perfect opportunity to interfere in the match.
The Genius from The Sky then took out both the heels with a moonsault on the outside and then hit another on Kai to pick up the victory and retain her title.
After the match, Gonzalez tried to attack Shirai and do damage to the Champion, but Rhea Ripley came out and stared down Gonzalez, who backed out and took Kai with her.
This was another good match that allowed the Champion to fight from below and pick up the victory against all odds. It also set up a future rivalry between Ripley and Gonzalez, something that will allow Gonzalez to rise as a singles star and give Ripley something important to do on the NXT roster.
#1 Karrion Kross rules NXT TakeOver XXX
The biggest match of the night was saved for last as Keith Lee defended his NXT Championship against the mighty Karrion Kross. Kross has been unstoppable since his NXT debut, while Lee has been on a golden run this year.
Lee was on the offensive from the opening bell, but The Herald of Doomsday made his way back into the match with a series of big strikes.
The match moved to the outside and both men tried to do damage to one another using the plexiglass and barriers. Kross kicked the guardrail into The Limitless One’s arm to pick up the advantage.
Kross worked on Lee’s injured arm before an explosive powerbomb allowed Lee to make a comeback. The challenger did not wait too long to apply the Kross Jacket, but Lee did not let go without a fight even when he faded away.
The two men fought their way up to the top rope, following which Kross delivered a huge suplex and got the three count to become the new NXT Champion.
The match was well put together and allowed Kross to slay the biggest man in NXT. TakeOvers usually have the best in-ring action, but this one seemed fit to be a regular television main event rather than being TakeOver worthy.
The end wasn’t too grand, but given the fact that Kross picked up an injury mid-match, it makes sense that NXT made a few changes. With The Herald of Doomsday as the new Champion, it seems like Lee will be moving to RAW or SmackDown sooner rather than later.
Having Kross at the top will allow NXT to build some new babyfaces who can take down Kross in the months to come.
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