Takeover: The End:
Good show, turned out much better than I had ended up anticipating. Very well rounded, which is why I seemed to be so into. Basically most matches were really snug and I almost get a kick out of that when seeing everyone laid into each other on an intended "big night".
The Sombra vs Dillinger match did its job. I feared using Tye here was going to backfire on the guy obviously going to win his debut. Crowd seemed to smooth out by the end, after the offense of Sombra, or Cien, won em over. This was better of a showcase than say what Tye vs Crews was in Brooklyn.
Loved the tag, would say I preferred it over the first. All four were total fire. They just don't let up, and bless their hearts for making their matches so compelling on the big stage. The title change ruled, b/c who expected it? I walked into this really annoyed b/c The Revival lost to the indie geeks (Gargano/Ciampa, seriously, that's all their persona is rn) on the NXT a week before this which was outrageous. But all that aside, and general "cynicism" of expectations, the nearfalls were heaven & easy to believe on both sides. The Revival is by far my favorite duo in the whole of WWE rn, so seeing these dudes continue to get a rub is something that can put a smile on my face. Wasn't ready for them to lose the straps in Dallas, even if Alpha has already established themselves as a hell of a unit. This is what some like to look for, so yeah, MOTN here.
Nakamura vs Aries was really, really good. Aries should be a full heel following this, but the baby steps towards it were well in place given the nature of this match. I thought his deliberate ways, and flat out DOMINATING Nakamura did a ton for him, even w/the loss. He needed more than *just* to look like "hey I'm Austin Aries, I got plenty of cool moves that can earn a pop too". He's better off being a jerk to the fans, b/c he can be great at that, and messing w/their expectations slightly, while still putting on a hell of an effort. Plus, this shows how strong of a babyface fighting from underneath Nakamura is. Against Zayn that wasn't something showcased (and w/good reason) and all the short TV matches were him working on top. This turned out nicely. I'm gonna enjoy returning to it. Finish is SICKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK. Popped for a death valley driver on the apron spot b/c I knew Aries does it & it feels like a long time since he brought it out. (and he used it on Punk in 2005, so c'mon, right?) That's marky, but what can I say. Good transition spot to try and go for broke in missing the dive, which allows Naka to only squeak by.
Enjoyed Nia Jax vs Asuka. Not a great match, per say, b/c I don't think they were quite given that chance to exceed there, but Nia Jax is good. There's no doubt about it. She's a monster, she works like a monster, she's totally convincing as a monster. Didn't mind Asuka in it, but you could tell this was more contained via Nia's domination through her which spawned the first time ever desperation by Asuka to just lay in as many gnarly kicks to the face/skull as she could to drop the bruiser. Nia outworked Bayley BIG TIME in their rematch a few weeks ago (worth a look; would be even better had Bayley sold during it) and now she put in another memorable outing on another Takeover. I can cope w/her losses being what they are. The Bayley one was perfection, and this felt logical. You kick someone in the head enough, they well go down. There just could have been a touch more behind it overall. Between these three, there's proven worth. It's the rest of the roster I feel needs to beef up to contain some air of consistency.
I can go out on a limb and say I was cool w/the main event. The start kind of worried me b/c it looked like they were going to lock up or do fancy bs in a HEATED GRUDGE MATCH, before Joe fooled Balor and started to lay it in on him. Like the majority of the show, this was p. damn aggressive. Joe was quality. Not Dallas godly, or even on par to where their best match was in London. Still Joe is all I had to truly care about this from start to finish. Balor was.... ok. If that's being nicer than I want to be. Some of his strikes were great, but he doesn't do much else to feel invested in. At a time here or there during this I started to go blank watching b/c there's nothing going on. This is the main event and the first time on the show I'm losing a twinge of interest b/c of this guy. Sure kicking the living FUCK out of Joe in the face was memorable, but what else are you giving me through your role? At least this worked out to where I was fine w/it by the end. Compared to what feels like numerous other matches involving him where they come, they go, either I hate it or had nothing to remember. Glad the finish was the super Muscle Buster and not the contrived Coup de Grace from the top of the cage. I anticipated a Balor championship win, so once he got annihilated that's when I was feeling p. darn good about the eventual 3 count. Right guy went over. Feud is finally done w/a decent enough capper, even if the cage environment wasn't the most utilized structure. Memorable ending, to say the least. I'll chalk that up as a positive. And this HAS to mean Balor is done out of the championship picture. Please, lets hope so. Joe vs Nakamura is the go to en route to Brooklyn. There's no reason it isn't.
PS: BOBBY ROODE
PPS: PRECIOUS PAUL ELLERING. Didn't see that coming.