Opening Segment: Mia Yim vs. Bianca Belair

Just a note to say Bianca Belair’s theme song has grown on me. Actually don’t mind it now, and this is coming from a guy who enjoys a fair amount of hip hop. Great horns hook after the chorus.

Highlights include:

Attitude abounds from both women as they begin this match. Plenty of smack talk. Quick cover by Belair, but Yim kicks out.
Yim fights back with a chop block to the leg. Rolling cannonball into the corner on Belair, followed up with a 2 count.
Belair blocks a kick and hits back with a boot to the face of her own. 2 count.

Double chicken-wing submission on the mat by Belair. Yim’s getting jerked around, side to side, as Belair switches to a full nelson. Yim manages to stand up. Reversal to an arm drag. Unique pinning attempt goes nowhere.

Amazing squat vertical suplex. Running splash! She’s bragging after that exhibition of strength. Phoenix has great things to say about Belair after that.
Quickly, Yim catches Belair with a tarantula submission in the ropes. Belair replies with a standing dropkick.

Cocky cover by Belair, laying a foot on Yim’s chest. That’s the second time she’s done something like that this match. Double chicken-wing hold, lifting Yim into the sky. Yim rolls down for a pin attempt. Then a backslide pin for a 2 count.

Strong right hand to the jaw of Yim. 1-2- kickout! Yim’s slowing down but she continues to kick out from Belair’s pinfall attempts.
Off the ropes, overhead belly to belly throw suplex by Yim. Both women have collapsed on the mat. Fans yell out at them and begin to clap weakly. Not into the match, even though both women have been working hard.

CODE YIM! 1-2- kickout by Belair. Belair’s back to her feet, driving Yim back first into the turnbuckle. Belair misses a shoulder tackle and hits the ringpost. EAT DEFEAT! Belair rolls out to the entrance ramp, so Yim can’t cover her.

Belair retreats up the ramp. Yim seizes her and pummels her back to the ringside area. Belair gets the upper-hand and rolls into the ring, having wiped out Yim with another double chicken-wing slam to the apron. Ref gets to 9 when Yim rolls in to break the count.

Hair throw slams x3. Awkward landing on the back body drop for Yim. Belair can’t hold her though and Yim hits her with Protect Yo’ Neck! 1-2-3! She used Belair’s hair to trap her in place for that!

Winner: Mia Yim via pinfall in 10 minutes

1 cool point for Yim who gets her biggest win in nXt yet. Beating Belair, who only has a couple losses to date, lifts her right up the #1 Contendership ladder behind Shirai. Lady-in-waiting.

A promo and highlight package for the nXt North American Championship match at TakeOver XXV between Velveteen Dream (c) and Tyler Breeze is shown. Dream blasts Breeze for not having felt the spotlight since he left nXt. Dream says nXt has upgraded their cellular plan to the Dream.

Highlights from last week’s kendo stick attack by Shirai, defending against nXt Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke, are shown.
Earlier today, the horsewomen are finishing a photo shoot when they are approached with questions about what happened. Baszler says at TakeOver, Shirai won’t be allowed to use weapons and she won’t have friends. Baszler will have her friends though.

Second Segment: Drew Gulak vs. Kushida

Two relatively new guys to the nXt roster getting some TV time is a good sign of a summer push.

Highlights include:

The two men start out with a series of reversals, both trying to assert their strength over the other. Arm twists, reversed by both men, into hammerlocks. Kushida rolls a number of times to break the hammerlock. Slick.

Test of strength as they lock up. Gulak gets leverage as Kushida bridges, his head and neck strength quite impressive. Kushida is taken down by Gulak. Single leg crab. Kushida breaks it. Spider guard. That was cool.

Reset and Kushida can’t get the backslide pin on Gulak. Kushida with the crossface. He adjusts to the other side and goes to a side headlock. Both men up on their feet now as Kushida wrenches that submission in to bring Gulak down to the mat.

Spinning for an abdominal…no! Kushida with an octopus stretch on Gulak! Gulak powers out and wraps up Kushida’s leg in a trailer hitch submission. Excruciating pin on Kushida, says Ranallo.

Hip toss attempts both blocked. Gulak sends Kushida to the apron. Arm wrench on the top rope sends Gulak to the mat. Gutbuster by Gulak! Traps Kushida’s head and begins to manipulate the fingers on one hand.

Kushida reverses it into a submission of his own, but Gulak breaks it. Commentary team are impressed with this one.
Off the ropes, Gulak somersaults right into an armbar by Kushida! Gulak up on his feet with an ankle lock reversal. Beauty rolling armbar by Kushida. Gulak’s right back into the ankle lock. Kushida hops for the ropes but can’t get there, so he rolls out to escape.

Kushida tries to get the hoverboard lock, but Gulak blocks it. Flatliner by Kushida and he pins Gulak’s arms to the mat with both legs. 1-2-3.

Winner: Kushida via pinfall in 8 minutes

2 cool points for both Gulak and Kushida. The crowd was so quiet watching this, not because it was poorly received, but because of how impressive each move and reversal was. Honestly, this was a compelling battle of body and mind. So much strategy was visible here. Could definitely get on board with a feud between those two.

Third Segment: TakeOver: XXV Hype

Cathy Kelley interviews Io Shirai backstage about Baszler and the horsewomen. Shirai says she doesn’t care how many of them there are, she can take care of it.
Candice LeRae enters the scene to thank Shirai and to tell her she has her back on Saturday.

A promo package for nXt Champion Johnny Gargano and his feud with Adam Cole is shown to hype the Takeover: XXV championship match. Cole wants to take nXt to new heights. Gargano wants Cole to tell the truth, that he isn’t good enough to be champ.

nXt TakeOver XXV’s official theme is “On My Teeth” by Underoath.

Main Event: Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan vs. Forgotten Sons w. Jaxson Ryker

Highlights include:

Burch and Blake start it out. Burch is quick out of the gates. He works the left leg of Blake until Cutler slaps Blake’s back at the ropes and gets involved. Quick tag for a double team double backbreaker. Blake pins Burch for a 2 count.

Burch ducks the clotheslines and tags in Lorcan. European uppercuts! Ryker tries to trip Lorcan at the apron. Blake seizes the opportunity to hit him with a lariat. The referee bans Ryker from ringside, seeing that interference.

On the ramp, Ford & Dawkins of the Street Profits beat up on Ryker. Then, they run down to interfere with the tag match.

Winners: No Contest in 3 minutes

Cutler & Blake are cleared from the ring. The remaining 4 begin punching one another until Cutler & Blake return with chairs to beat up on them. They motion for Ryker to join them in the ring but here comes Roderick Strong and Adam Cole from the Undisputed Era. They taunt the Forgotten Sons but Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish trap them at the bottom of the ramp.

Superkicks and a High/Low combo are performed in the ring to take out Cutler & Blake. The Undisputed Era poses, but then Cole looks to Ryker. He brings out a ladder from underneath the ring. All 4 UEra members hold the ladder and batter Ryker with it on the stage.

Ranallo questions whether Ryker’s ever been beaten like this. I don’t think so. They set up the ladder above Ryker on the stage. Cole sits on the top. Strong hands him a mic.

“Riddle! Gargano! That is undisputed!”

1 cool point for the Undisputed Era who come out of this on top…literally on top of a ladder, and, yet again, an episode of nXt TV fades out on nXt’s greatest faction. Street Profits look good in this one, too, interfering and taking out Jaxson Ryker. That holds true to their desire to be taken more seriously in recent months.

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

But what do you have to say? This card looks pretty stacked and should be another fantastic TakeOver. I’d like to hear your own predictions and comments for Saturday’s show.
Follow @JCoolLOP

Catch up on nXt results: nXt Results- May 22, 2019 (Gargano & Riddle vs. Undisputed Era)
nXt Results- May 15, 2019 (Viking Raiders vs. Street Profits)

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