It’s the aftermath of NXT TakeOver: XXV and if you think that things couldn’t get more exciting… they don’t. We’ve got two whole matches to get through so let’s not waste any more time and get to the meat of the matter. Here is what happened as the dust settled on NXT TakeOver!

Match 1: Keith Lee vs Kona Reeves

Lee just oozed charisma in this match, which balanced well against Reeves cockiness getting the better of him. Lee shined at the start highlighting his strength and control of the match, Reeves cut him off via a fake injury which worked to get the hate from the crowd. Lee built his way back up and refused to back down. Lee continued to the offence of Reeves, while again Reeves resorted to underhanded tactics to gain the advantage. Finally, Lee took the win and kicked off this week on NXT with a basic but effective opener to an episode.

The Stuff Inbetween

• A lot, and I mean A LOT, of recapping on what happened at NXT TakeOver. If you want the detailed list of what went down, check out John Dinsdale’s review right here.
• Promo Package for an upcoming wrestler, Damien Priest. Not sure of what to make of him based on the vignette, but intrigued to see where it will go.

Match 2: Bianca BelAir vs Mia Yim

Bianca took the role of the villain as Mia Yim came swinging and taking the momentum out the gate. The commentary alluded to the attitude problem that Bianca seems to have trouble controlling, which comes out during this match. The resilience of Yim visibly annoyed Bianca, almost as if to say ‘How dare you even try to come at me!’ which found it hard for Yim to catch her breath as she struggled to get back into the match. Bianca resorted to clubbing blows and expressed exhaustion to try and keep Yim down, but Yim finally started to inch her way to an offensive position.

It’s worth noting that the crowd, while getting some mild back and forth chants for both wrestlers, seem quite non-plussed about the action taking place. This could be due to fatigue from watching previous matches, the match feels flat by comparison to what came before, or that this match simply didn’t connect with them. Either of these options is still a shame as the crowd vocally loved Bianca coming out, but it all seemed to die down and become unexciting. It didn’t help that a reversal by Yim in which Bianca fell into the steps barely made a noise. Inserting a cartoon sound effect would’ve given more of a reaction than what happened there. I will acknowledge once Yim started getting some momentum the crowd starting letting themselves be heard, but they took their time getting to that point.

Bianca’s emotions started getting more irrational, which lead to Yim making a comeback and finally getting the victory.  A huge win as a second point for her against Bianca Bel-Air.

Overall this was a pretty skippable episode of NXT, if you wanted a visual recap of NXT without having to watch the entire show then this might be for you. However, if you pay 9.99 a month just for a recap of a PPV rather than watching it then I don’t know what that says about you. Either way, it feels good to be back.