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Review and Highlights From Last Night's NXT Takeover: In Your House

Published Mon, 08 Jun 2020 11:35:14 -0500

Last night, WWE held NXT Takeover: In Your House, a PPV event blending together the nostalgia for the past in the In Your House PPV era of 1995 to 1997 with the hope for the future of WWE's latest class of NXT Superstars. On the whole, the event was a success. WWE has released video highlights of the entire night, starting with the opening performance of metalcore band Code Orange.

The first match of the night at NXT Takeover: In Your House was a six-woman tag between Mia Yim, Tegan Nox, and Shotzi Blackheart vs. Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai and Raquel González. The match was a fun way to kick off the show and featured the faces going over when Nox got the pin on Dakota Kai. Check out the video.

Next, the apparently newly-turned babyface Finn Balor took on Damian Priest in a match that was kind of a sleeper. It was fast-paced with some satisfying violence in the ringside area involving the steel steps, and perhaps most importantly, it was relatively short, with Balor picking up the victory. Highlights below.

Next at NXT Takeover: In Your House, Keith Lee defended his NXT North American Championship against Johnny Gargano. It was a hard-hitting, classic David vs. Goliath match with a twist: David was the heel, and Goliath was the face. Lee retained, which was the right outcome, but fans may be disappointed to see that Lee will remain North American champ rather than moving up to the main title scene.

In a surprising twist, the NXT Championship match went on fourth as Adam Cole defended against Velveteen Dream in Backlot Brawl match. This match was a mixed bag for many, with some decent hardcore spots like Dream putting Cole through a car's windshield from a ladder and Cole hitting the Panama Sunrise on Dream on top of a giant ECW-style pile of chairs in the middle of the ring. But from a cinematic perspective, the editing was noticeable, and the camera work was sometimes hard to follow. Cole picked up the win to retain, dampening chances Dream will win the title before being called up to the main roster where creative's understanding of how to use his character will be questionable at best.

In the NXT Takeover: In Your House penultimate match of the night, Karrion Kross took on Tomasso Ciampa. It was a shockingly quick match with Kross putting Ciampa away in about six minutes after dominating the entire match. It's no secret that NXT is extremely high on Kross, and this match, Kross's Takeover debut, was designed to make that clear to everyone.

Of course, The Queen was going to star in the main event, so the final match of the night was Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Io Shirai in a triple threat. This was the perfect match to end NXT Takeover: In Your House, featuring a brawl on the In Your House stage set and a creative feel that went a long way in linking this PPV with the 1990s events it paid homage to while still feeling fresh. It was a classically entertaining main event where all three competitors looked good. The ending worked to let all three women keep their heat, and the right woman won. Flair had Ripley in the Figure Eight while Shirai hit a moonsault on Ripley's upper half for the pin. Check out the highlights below.

Overall, I came out of NXT Takeover: In Your House, feeling optimistic about the future of NXT. While NXT gets a lot of credit from fans for succeeding in all the ways WWE's main roster shows fail, to be honest, the show had lost its way a bit and not just because of the Pandemic Era. But also because it has felt like its motivation has been changed since it was brought to USA live on Wednesdays as a means for Vince McMahon to hamper AEW Dynamite. NXT Takeover: In Your House felt like a show less worried about its competition and more secure in its own identity. The PPV fully embraced the history of both NXT and the 90s-era WWE of its top creative minds. It was a fusion of past and present that defied WWE's usual tendencies in that area by enhancing the product on every level instead of burying it with nostalgia. What NXT does with that rub remains to be seen.

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