COOL POINTS: TakeOver In Your House Plus Review
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Welcome to the Cool Points.
Read on for everything you need to know about the feuds and stories going into TakeOver. Last night’s show development and results will be included where appropriate.
nXt Women’s Championship Picture
Io Shirai def. Rhea Ripley & Charlotte Flair (c)
3 Cool Points Review
The ladies got the main event for only the second time in TakeOver history (Banks/Bayley, Ironwoman, 2015). The star power of Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, coupled with the fact that Cole vs. Dream was a cinematic match, bolstered the argument that the triple threat should close the show. It was the right call.
These three ladies tore down the house, somewhat literally, with Io Shirai even jumping off the roof of the set at one point in the match. It would be another top rope jump, minutes later, that she would land on Ripley to get the pinfall victory. Ripley actually lost twice, enduring a Figure-Eight from Flair whilst being attacked by Shirai.
Ripley looked strong in the loss and has more motivation than ever to turn her 2020 around.
Flair was never pinned and went on to win the Raw Women’s Championship Monday evening, which leads one to question if she ever stops being champion. The answer is no, by the way.
Shirai’s had one of the best years ever in the Women’s Division. Since her title match at TakeOver: XXV, she has had some major victories, like Candice LeRae at TakeOver: Toronto and the WarGames advantage match over Yim in November. She’s hovered around the #1 contendership for the past 14 months and finally ascended to the throne.
Post TakeOver IYH Development
Unfortunately, no spotlight on Shirai yesterday. The video promo with Shirai saying the Women’s Division belongs to her is all we get. Robert Stone tries to recruit Rhea Ripley and, for that, Ripley socks him a couple times, in what amounts to a comedic segment.
nXt Women’s Division- 6 Woman Tag Match
Nox/Blackheart/Yim def. Kai/Gonzalez/LeRae
2 Cool Points Review
This was the hot opener for the night and for those who questioned its place on the card, peep this. The Women’s Division has been averaging two matches per TakeOver since TakeOver: Toronto. With nXt TV featuring more matches each week, that gives the brand more time to present matches and storylines, which has benefitted the Women’s Division.
Furthermore, a multi-woman match is a great way to give women an opportunity to showcase their skills on a bigger stage while protecting them from having to carry a match on their own.
Case in point, Shotzi Blackheart and Raquel Gonzalez. Both women are very new to the roster. They’ve been gaining recognition from consistent TV time, but neither has been placed in a feud that warrants a big TakeOver finish.
Surrounding them by two very hot feuds (LeRae/Yim, Nox/Kai) allowed them a few minutes of in-ring time and an introduction to fans who only watch TakeOvers on the Network.
I’ll talk about Yim and LeRae alongside Lee and Gargano.
The hinge of this match ended up being the relentless feud of former BFFs, Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai. Kai is thriving in her role as top heel of the division. Nox has gradually been replacing Candice LeRae for top babyface and her win, with the Shiniest Wizard, helps to further that claim.
It was a fun opening match, albeit a little rough around the edges, where each woman made the most of their minutes.
Post TakeOver IYH Development
Kai w. Gonzalez defeats Kacy Catanzaro. Catanzaro held her own until Kai landed a combo Scorpion Kick and GTK for the win. Her ally, Kayden Carter, arrives to the ring post-match and receives a choke slam from Gonzalez for being a good friend.
Kai faces the camera and motions for the title belt, which is good, because she should be aiming for the title. Hard to say when that might happen. Shirai’s a tweener right now but could easily be cheered against women like Kai, LeRae, etc.
Shirai/Ripley will be first though and we’ll see where we are after that.
North American Championship Picture
Keith Lee (c) def. Johnny Gargano
4 Cool Points Review
Match of the night at TakeOver: IYH has to be Lee vs. Gargano. Gargano throws everything he has at Lee, even trying to smash Lee into the house. Even injuring Lee’s eye with the key to the house. Even hitting a slingshot DDT. None of it can put Lee down and he shifts momentum by hitting Gargano with a Spirit Bomb, followed by a Big Bang Catastrophe for the win.
I’m not enjoying the near falls as much as I used to, but they were all exciting in this one. It really appeared that Gargano was going to win the championship after the key was used, but Lee mustered up enough effort to lift the shoulder.
Great seeing Yim interfere in LeRae’s attempt to…interfere on behalf of her husband. Bringing in the couples dynamic has benefitted all four people, giving them cross-divisional attention and double the TV time.
Post TakeOver IYH Development
Speaking of which, we got our second mixed tag between these two couples. Gargano & LeRae won again, thanks to Lee being a nice guy and helping LeRae after he squashed her by accident. Yim has to be careful here because that’s 2 losses in a row. The promo time with Lee, though, helps make Yim one of the feature members of the entire show.
Again, they get one of the biggest matches last night, and, after the match, Lee announces that he’d like a shot at Adam Cole. This is a no-brainer. Lee’s been a rising star since TakeOver: Toronto. His win over Gargano elevates him to 3-0 at TakeOvers. He’s such a fan favourite that he’d make a perfect challenger to knock Cole off of his one year, and counting, championship platform.
nXt Men’s Division
Karrion Kross def. Tommaso Ciampa, Finn Balor def. Damian Priest
2 Cool Points Review
Kross’ TakeOver debut is swift and powerful. He takes care of Ciampa fairly quickly and looks great in the process. He’s scary, he’s dangerous and he’s big. Did Ciampa have a chance? The man has not been the same since TakeOver: Portland, losing to Cole because of Gargano’s interference. He was outdone and outnumbered there, just as he was on Sunday night. Ciampa’s black heart is gone. Gargano took that during the empty arena match and now he’s left a shell of his former self.
Balor is undefeated at Takeovers since his return last fall. He’s 3-0, having beaten Riddle, Gargano and now Priest.
Priest, in his first 1v1 singles match at TakeOver, put in his best showing yet and has received lots of credit for his near win. Some have credited it as one of the best matches of the evening, but I didn’t get that impression. More reasons and buildup to fight would have been needed for that.
Post TakeOver IYH Development
Balor had a rematch against Cameron Grimes last night. Even though Grimes beat Balor a few weeks ago, he tried to get out of the match by faking an injury. GM Regal wasn’t having any of that, though, and Grimes had to face the Prince at the top of his game.
Balor got his win back and called out North American champ Keith Lee post-match. That was an interesting twist because I’m all in on seeing Cole and Lee start up. Perhaps Lee vs. Balor will be the stepping stone to get there. Champion vs. Champion would be nice but Balor as North American champ is an interesting idea. It would be an appropriate reward for a guy who’s been largely owning his competition since his return.
nXt Championship Picture
Backlot Brawl: Adam Cole (c) def. Velveteen Dream
3 Cool Points Review
This was nXt’s second cinematic match, following the empty arena match between Gargano & Ciampa in April.
The artistic direction on the setting, with all the cars in a semi-circle, headlights pointed at the ring was stellar. Having Cole ride in the monster truck and Dream in the luxury car added to their character nicely. The Uber driver bit was a bit off-setting, being used as a comedic gag, but I guess Lumis’ appearance out of nowhere was somewhat funny, too. Seeing him drive off with Fish and Strong was surprising, and evened the odds for Dream. Dream needed the numbers game neutralized if he had a hope of winning.
Dream threw everything at Cole, including a Purple Rainmaker on to a chair, but it was Cole’s Panama Sunrise on to the pile of chairs that ended Dream’s title aspirations for the time being. I liked seeing that a significant effort was needed for Dream to give up. Keeps him looking tough while Cole extends his streak of TakeOver singles victories to 4.
Post TakeOver IYH Development
Last night, Cole and his pals do a little gloating until Lumis shows up again, creeping the hell out of Roderick Strong. Cole decides to confront Lumis and call him out to a match, which becomes the main event.
Lumis continues to act creepily but also look incredibly strong in the process, especially his choke hold, which seized Cole near the match’s end.
Ultimately, Cole wins the non-title match and the fight continues afterwards with Velveteen Dream showing up to take out Fish and Strong.
It’s an interesting storyline, since Lumis is relatively new to the roster and Dream can’t try for the nXt Championship anymore. Does he help Lumis achieve that goal? Does Lumis even care about gold the way Adam Cole does? Does Lumis aim for Strong instead, leaving Cole to worry about Karrion Kross, the way Scarlett wants him too? That hour glass she brought to the ring doesn’t have that much sand in it. Keen to see that story play out.
nXt Cruiserweight Championship Picture
El Hijo del Fantasma & Friends beat up Drake Maverick
In a shocking development, the masked men revealed themselves to be Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde, and the SECOND shocker was that Fantasma sided with them. He renamed himself Santos Escobar and seems to have a little faction leading the Cruiserweights now.
Maverick is in a golden spot, having tons of support for his recent contract signing, but also big sympathy for being such a good sport in showing respect to Escobar for his tournament victory. How he was completely overwhelmed by the three of them last night only serves to expand that sympathy further into their storyline.
IN CLOSING
Here’s the recap on my predictions for TakeOver: In Your House:
LeRae/Kai/Gonzalez def. Nox/Blackheart/Yim
Ciampa def. Kross w. Scarlett by DQ or No Contest
Balor def. Priest (no development on this feud last night)
nXt North American Championship: Lee (NAc) ret. Gargano
nXt Women’s Championship Triple Threat: Flair (c) ret. Ripley, Shirai
nXt Men’s Championship Backlot Brawl: Cole (c) ret. Dream
Looks like I went 4-2, missing on the Ciampa match and the Triple Threat.
Tonight’s post-TakeOver: In Your House show did a good job of balancing the aftermath of Sunday’s feuds, but also teasing at possible directions wrestlers may go in the coming weeks. While it was disappointing that the Women’s Division didn’t get more attention after main eventing Sunday, the nXt Championship and North American Championship pictures have gotten very interesting. Will Dream assist Lumis in taking down the Undisputed Era? Will Keith Lee get his wish of challenging Cole or will it be Karrion Kross? And those nXt Tag Titles will finally be defended again next week. How will Imperium do in their first title defense?
Add your own thoughts on TakeOver: In Your House and yesterday’s show in the comments below or on Twitter!
Peace!
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