REQUIRED REWATCH: NXT TAKEOVER - FATAL 4 WAY

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  JUST at the last second, he gets it done! The first match saw The NXT Tag Team champions, The Ascension facing NXT's bounciest team of Lucha Dragons. You can see my old review of the match here.

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UPON REWATCH:

  The Ascension looked strong but overconfidence cost them. Once Kalisto was allowed into the match The Lucha Dragons kicked it up a notch, keeping the fans behind them from bell to bell. The Fall of Man was protected and The Luchas speed won them the championships.Work Rate: 3.5 Personal Enjoyment: 2.75 OVERALL: 6.25

  They showed video packages for each of tonight's main event throughout the event. The first one was for Adrian Neville. This lead into our first squash match of the night. Baron Corbin steamrolled over CJ Parker.

You can't really change your thoughts on a match, but considering this treatment lead to CJ Parker Joining greener pastures in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Work Rate: N/A (Squash) Personal Enjoyment: 1.5 OVERALL: 1.5/5

At the midpoint of the show, we get our "Freakshow match" with Enzo Amore and Sylvestor LaForte each putting their hair on the line. The original review for that match is here.

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  This match was a big basic waste of time. All Enzo Amore has had going for him since being thrust upon us is his charisma. This match was three years ago and I don't think many people would disagree with me that he hasn't improved much in that time period. This time could have been used for literally anything else. I get that these Takeovers are part of the $9.99 subscription fee for the WWE Network, but that doesn't mean they can take liberties. Enzo won (after the worst distraction - roll-up - counter I've ever seen), the fans enjoyed it and the right guy didn't end up bald. Escaping the arena unscathed. Work Rate: 1.75 Personal Enjoyment: -1.75 OVERALL: 0

After this we were treated to Commissioner William Regal introducing Japanese Superstat KENTA to NXT. He renamed himself Hideo Itami and ran off The Ascension on his own with a chair. After all the work in the competitive match, they're run off like that? I get making Itami a big deal but couldn't someone else have done this? Then onto Bull Dempsey squashing Mojo Rawley which can be found here. Rawley showed some tenacity before falling to Bull Dempsey's power. Within 6 months Mojo Rawley went from squasher to squashee. So is the life of an NXT Superstar. Work Rate: N/A Personal Enjoyment: 2.25 OVERALL: 2.25/5

The next two matches are billed as a Double Main Event. First we see a video package showing Bayley in her journey to face Charlotte for the NXT Womens championship. That match was originally posted here

Bayley gets a reaction like no one else in NXT. The fact that they could play out the same story between her and Sami Zayn during the same time point in NXT without pissing the world off is amazing. She was the ultimate underdog in the NXT Women's division. Beating Sasha Banks twice; first to win #1 contendership to the championship and then, purely to prove it wasn't a fluke, defeating her again to secure the title shot. This was an important match in Bayley's NXT career. She stuck it out with Charlotte. Bayley didn't give up and the finishing sequence was as intense as it gets. As the spots began speeding up in pace there were a few flubs, but nothing major. Charlotte also proved she could do it without her father there to help her. The moonsault looked rough, but Bayley's look of defiance as she tried to get up made up for it. It was important to have Charlotte retain whilst keeping Bayley in the race, and this match did just that. After the match, Sasha Banks tried to attack Bayley, but Charlotte backed her off. Showing Bayley earning the champion's respect in a hard-fought match. Work Rate: 2.75 Personal Enjoyment: 3.5 OVERALL: 6.25

The main event was built up perfectly. With Adrian Neville as the dominant and confident champion wanting to take on all three of his top challengers at once and knock them all to the back of the line. Tyler Breeze is a divisive figure with some loving him and some hating him. Tyson Kidd is trying to revitalise his career in NXT and get rid of the moniker of "Natalya's husband" Sami Zayn is the underdog that everyone wants to win the championship and keeps getting within reach but not getting the big one. The original post is here.

Each man played his part well in the match. Tyson Kidd has been showing a more vicious side to himself to stop his wife overtaking him so much in popularity. It's a really awkward story to tell sometimes. They just can't play it off right. Neville began the match confident but as time went on he would use more and more desperate tactics to retain his championship. Sami Zayn threw everything he had at his opponents and it was sooo close to being enough, being almost within reach to break up the final fall at the end. Tyson Kidd would only get involved when he deemed that he had the advantage and the match smartly kept Sami Zayn and Neville away from each other, whilst talking about their friendship too until the very end. Breeze made the most of his first opportunity by trying to capitalise on everyone else's work. It was a really well-structured match Work Rate: 3.25 Personal Enjoyment: 4 OVERALL: 7.25

FINAL THOUGHTS:

This was an easy enough show to sit through, everyone's story was progressed and the main events both lived up to the hype. It will be interesting to see how they differentiate between Zayn's and Bayley's character arcs over the next few months. Overall 50% of the matches disappointed, with one going too long and the other two being simple squash matched but the championship matches were there for me. A very middle ground show. SHOW RATING: 5.2/10 (3.3/5 Matches 1.9 Segments)