The students at Full Sail University have to be the luckiest folks on the planet. Not only do they live in the sunny state of Florida, but also every Thursday they witness the highflying theatrics of the WWE’s homegrown league NXT. Every year they have a live event and tonight’s NXT Takeover REvolution gave the world its first account of what these stars of capable of. Tonight was no different even with stakes being so high on the card. But belts on the line weren't the only things that were special this night. Tonight unveiled a new superstar to the WWE and NXT Universe, The 300 lbs. bulldozer known as Kevin Owens. Fan favorite Sami Zayn lived up to his promise and finally defeated Adrian Neville to be crowned the new NXT Champion. Both the Lucha Dragons and Charlotte were able to retain their titles in an explosive live night of WWE NXT Takeover REvolution. On to the recap!
Like a rooster in a hen house Kevin Owens blasted out of the gate at WWE NXT Takeover REvolution. His first opponent in NXT is no other than Captain Planet himself CJ Parker. Before the bell was finished ringing Owens was all over Parker lining him up for Bradshaw style clotheslines over and over. Owens was also able to show the world his athletic ability bouncing in and out of the ring in total annihilation of Parker. It seemed as if the Owens would end the match soon, Parker landed a peace palm to the nose of Owens and split it instantly. After a failed pin attempt Owens soon took over once again finishing CJ with two devastating moves. Yes ladies and gentleman Kevin Owens is here and his night wasn’t done just yet.
Next up was the Tag Team Championship between The Lucha Dragons and The Vaudevillians. The match went as you would expect with tons of highflying early from Sin Cara and Kalisto. The villains mounted some offense but really only to Sin Cara, who remained in the ring for some time. As soon as Kalisto was tag in it was only a matter of minutes before the pendulum swung back in favor of the Dragons and allowed the high flyer to land the Salida del Sol for the win. It was surprising to see the Dragons retain the tiles, as we were sure the increased popularity of the Vaudevillians would put them over. Guess they just aren’t quite there.
We got another quick glimpse of Baron Corbin. Corbin made quick work of Tye Dillinger, defeating him in 33 seconds while Bull Dempsey looked on. The fastest pin competition could only lead to a match between these two NXT newbies and that’s exactly what we want to see. Corbin and Dempsey are two hard hitters with a dark side so this should be the rivalry to look in the upcoming weeks.
While it truly feels like The Ascension have had their time in NXT the former tag team champs were at least kind enough to stick around for this feud. Hideo Itami and Finn Bálor may be the future of NXT but as long as William Regal keeps bringing these guys out who cares what they accomplish. As if the two weren't entertaining enough already Bálor went and raised the bar bringing his unique creativity to the NXT universe that he is know for. In almost “Boogeyman” type fashion he entered the ring in dark and mysterious attire that drove the Full Sail audiences wild.
It only got better from there as all four athletes put on a great show. It ended with a double foot stomp from Bálor and Itami and maybe the former long time reigning champs are gracefully moving on. No matter the case it was a match that we had seen before but heightened with the performance of Bálor. It will be something we will never forget.
Now you would think the match of the night would go to the main event competitors battling it out for the NXT Championship. While it was a great affair it was plain to see from the fans of NXT, and those looking around the world, the night belonged to Charlotte and Sasha Banks. Most thought Charlotte would steamroll “The Boss” but Sasha showed the entire world tonight what she is made of. Essentially going toe to toe with the NXT Divas champion and at times out performing her.
Sasha is gifted not only with the mic but also in the ring and that’s one of the reasons everyone is so high on her. Sasha will be amazing once she joins the main roster. We all know Charlotte is no slouch and she pulled of some maneuvers no one thought the long and tall champion was capable of. Back and forth the women went with each stunt more impressive than the other. Charlotte was able to finish Sasha with a top rope version of “Natural Selection” to retain the title. It’s only a matter of time before we see these two ladies invade not only the main roster but possibility the reality show too.
The main event of the night was no let down. The battle between Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville was an epic affair. Both athletes really gave their all and put on a hell of a performance. The Universe turned on Neville and they told Triple H, William Regal and everyone else who was involved who their champion was. Surprisingly, WWE listened. This will go down as one of the best wrestling cards of the year and the headlining event was the icing on the cake. There was everything you wanted and more. The aerial attacks of both. The counters of Zayn, the tricks of Neville. The compassion of Sami almost spelled his doom once again but he would not stop. The night was his in a match that fit perfectly into this stellar card. Just as it seemed as if Sami might walk off into the sunset of the main WWE roster, another old friend has some unfinished business with him. That friend is Kevin Owens and at the end of the night he left his friend and former ROH tag team partner Sami Zayn laying helpless on ground. Kevin Owens said he is here to fight everyone and that also includes his best friend. We will see what he has to say next week on his plans because that is definitely not the last we'll hear from him.
NXT has managed to take a nice amount of spotlight from the main roster and as Vince and Triple H would say” that’s best for business”. The passion and energy in that crowd has created superstars in Florida and that’s exactly the purpose of NXT. No longer do WWE stars come in building a fan base match per match on the big stage. Because of NXT now they come in as their own stars. Good luck Smackdown you have a lot to live up to after tonight!