Opening Segment: Keith Lee vs. Kona Reeves

Highlights include:
Reeves tries to take Lee down with a submission gameplan, opting for a wrist lock, then a side headlock. Lee holds on to a wristlock, even when Reeves goes to the outside.

On the return, Lee is kept away by the referee, as Reeves appears to be hurt. It was a trick! Reeves attacks. Boot to the head, followed by elbows to Lee’s head.

This continues for a few minutes, despite Lee’s attempts to reverse away. Off the ropes, Lee hits a crossbody. Headbutt. Running shoulder tackle! Lee picks up Reeves for a fireman’s carry…Jackhammer! 1-2-3.

Winner: Keith Lee via pinfall

1 cool point for Lee. He can endure tons of punishment and still come out on top. Reeves was dishing it out pretty well and it didn’t seem to make a difference once Lee got in a few solid rushes of offense. The stage is set for Lee to rise through the ranks. I say start it this summer and let’s see how the build goes into Chicago in November. He can handle a TakeOver match.

Highlights from the nXt Women’s Championship match at TakeOver: XXV are shown. Post-match, Io Shirai is interviewed. She says she’s not done with Baszler.

Second Segment: TakeOver XXV Highlights

Highlights from the nXt Tag Team Championship Fatal Four-Way Ladder match are shown. Backstage, Street Profits, the new champions, share how great it feels to be the champions.

Highlights from the nXt North American Championship match are shown. After Dream retained the title, Tyler Breeze was asked what’s next. Breeze says he has respect for Dream, and he feels Dream respects him now. He’ll be sticking around nXt.

Third Segment: Bianca Belair vs. Mia Yim

Highlights include:

No love lost between these two ladies, who start the match jawing at one another, trash talking.

First near fall goes to Yim after a sunset flip. Arm drags x3, but on the last one Belair blocks it. Yim goes for a leg sweep and attempts to pin Belair. Then, a dropkick. 1-2- kickout by Belair.

Belair gets her turn following a head scissors take down. Forearms and a clothesline. 1-2- kickout. Abdominal stretch is applied by Belair to Yim. Yim breaks it with a hip toss. Tilt-a-whirl gutbuster! 2 count.

A little bit of taunting as Belair rubs Yim’s face in the mat, picking up on last week where she was taunting Yim pretty consistently. Belair targets Yim’s back. Yim tries to avoid that with a rollup attempt, but Belair slams her back to the mat. Cross arm breaker attempt, but Belair stifles it.

On the outside, Belair uses the ring post to apply a bow and arrow on Yim. Yim pulls Belair face first into the ringpost! Belair responds with a double chicken wing. Counter to a victory bomb by Yim on the ring steps!

Back inside the ring, kicks are exchanged. Yim with a dropkick. Tarantula submission attempt in the ropes. Code Red! 1-2- kickout. Belair responds with a German suplex to break the momentum. Pinning attempts go nowhere though.

Yim nails Belair with a kick to the chest. Belair’s up on the top rope. Not a good idea. She misses, rolls through and comes up just to receive Protect Your Neck from the turnbuckle! 1-2-3.

Winner: Mia Yim via pinfall

This feud is burning hot right now. Good to see a secondary feud getting attention in the Women’s Division. Should lead to another opponent for Baszler down the road. 1 cool point for Yim. She showed up and didn’t let herself get tossed around as much as last week. Two wins in a row looks good on her.

Highlights from last week’s match between Kushida and Drew Gulak are shown. Cathy Kelley interviews Gulak. Gulak says things were going his way before Kushida came around. He makes fun of Kushida being a cosplayer for Back to the Future. Biff is the hero, not McFly. Gulak’s insulted by that pinfall. He wants a submissions match.

Highlights from the nXt Championship match between Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole are shown.

Takeover XXV Predictions
nXt Championship Match: Johnny Gargano (c) ret. Adam Cole
Adam Cole def. Johnny Gargano (c)
nXt Women’s Championship Match: Shayna Baszler (c) ret. Io Shirai (#1c)
nXt Tag Team Championship Fatal Four-Way Ladder Match: Street Profits def. Undisputed Era, Forgotten Sons and Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan
Undisputed Era def. Street Profits…
Matt Riddle def. Roderick Strong
Roderick Strong def. Matt Riddle
nXt North American Championship: Velveteen Dream (c) def. Tyler Breeze

Alternate timeline aside, a 4/5 showing is fine by me. Truly happy to see Cole win. I was pulling for him in April and it is an affirmation of all the good work Cole has done in his career, that he is now the nXt Champion.

Pretty decent post-TakeOver show, but regular viewers know it won’t be until next week that we get the updates on the feuds. Two months until TakeOver: Toronto so there will likely be a few short-term feuds in June before the TakeOver matches get set. What matches do you want to see this month?

Follow @JCoolLOP

Catch up on nXt results:nXt Cool Points Rankings: Pre-TakeOver: XXV
nXt Results- May 29, 2019 (3 Days To Takeover: XXV)
nXt Results- May 22, 2019 (Gargano & Riddle vs. Undisputed Era)

Word on the street is that a writers’ tournament is starting up in the Forums. That’s a fine way to make a splash and get to know the great community in the CF. Join the .