NXT Takeover: In Your House Review

Written by token

NXT yet again delivers something memorable for us wrestling fans as the brand brought back the infamous In Your House name! NXT took over our homes last night was some amazing matchups that featured interesting conclusions. Championship matches that had us standing up on our couches and scream at the television with excitement made this event a night to remember! Let's take a look at how this event went down!

Shotzi Blackheart, Tegan Nox & Mia Yim Vs. Dakota Kai, Raquel Gonzalez & Candice LeRae

All out action to kick off the network special as both teams had their moments in kicking serious ass throughout the match. Even almost all of the participants had their opportunity to hit their own dives and that added to the chaos of the match. It was kind of a quick bout too but that doesn't mean the match wasn't capable of turning out well. Mia Yim earned a hot tag later on and ran wild on everyone including Raquel Gonzalez who got rocked a couple of times in this match. Candice LeRae would pull the middle rope to let Mia fall out of the ring then the two would end up brawling towards the back, immediately excluding themselves from the match. Tegan Nox and Shotzi Blackheart worked well together as they took down Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez with good teamwork. Match concluded with Dakota Kai accidentally booting Raquel in the face then Shotzi takes her down with a Baseball Dropkick. Tegan Nox then finished off Kai with the Shiniest Wizard to pick up the win for her team!

Finn Baylor Vs. Damien Priest

Finn Bàlor immediately kicked off the match was a Running Corner Dropkick to Priest! He wasn't wasting any time nor playing any games. This match was very good as both guys delivered in their roles and beat each other senseless. Damien Priest in particular was very impressive as he not only showed his dominance but his agility as well. This man is very agile and he proved it here against Bàlor. Bàlor was very competitive against Priest as he used his speed and agility to knock the big man down a few times. Near fall after near fall, having the PC fans going nuts! The big spot of the match came where Priest brought the bottom half of the steel steps towards the ringside area. Bàlor fought at first but Priest would then get him up on his shoulders for a Razor's Edge tease. He was going to Razor's Edge Bàlor onto the steel step! Bàlor fortunately fought him off once again and knocked him off the apron, onto the steel step!! That looked like it completely sucked for Priest's back. Bàlor rolls him back into the ring then nails the Coupe De Grace for the win! What a really good match between these guys!

Keith Lee (C) Vs. Johnny Gargano (NXT North American Championship)

What a Championship Match! Both guys went into this match with the mindset of becoming a champion at the end and man, they sure went through hell and back! Johnny Gargano early on tried to escape the wrath of Keith Lee as he tried opening the door to the house of the stage set. Keith Lee followed up just to bash his head into the door then tossed the man around for a while. Gargano would turn the tables by attacking Lee's legs then for a while the match had its slow point as he would execute holds on Lee. Lee would eventually fight off Gargano and things began to get crazier as the match went on. First, Gargano was at ringside where out of nowhere, Keith Lee would Pounce him over the railing and through the plexi glass in front of the fans! Lee then brings Gargano to the ring when suddenly Candice LeRae showed up to distract him. Mia Yim wasn't far off as she appeared right behind LeRae and attacked her to even the odds. As the referee was distracted by this, Gargano pulled out a key and gashed Lee in his right eye with it then follows up with the Final Beat DDT for a near fall! Superkick after Superkick, near fall after near fall, Gargano just couldn't put the big man away. Gargano then tried to apply an Armbar but Lee overpowered him and hits the Spirit Bomb! That wasn't the finish there. Lee wanted to end Gargano once and for all so he did that by hitting a Powerbomb then follows up with the Big Bang Catastrophe for the win! Keith Lee retained the NXT North American Championship in what was a good match!

Adam Cole (C) Vs. The Velveteen Dream (Backlot Brawl; NXT Championship)

Both men arrived in epic fashion as the NXT Champion Adam Cole drove in a custom Undisputed Era Monster Truck while Velveteen Dream pulled up in a sweet Lamborghini. Now the match itself, to be honest I didn't think this match lived up to the hype. Wasn't bad for what it was but kind of expected more from the match. Both guys would beat each other all over the backlot by throwing each other onto cars, smashing windows, trashing the environment, etc. Typical stuff you would see in these types of matches. Velveteen Dream was whooping Cole seriously as he showed no mercy towards him. Cole for a bit looked like he was on the edge of losing his title. A ladder was then brought into play as Cole was laid out on a car and Dream decided to climb the ladder as he was setting up for the Purple Rainmaker. A car then pulls up, shining its bright lights into Dream's eyes. Cole would take this opportunity to attack Dream and we see Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish step out of the car! Dream then knocks Cole off the ladder and Cole would land on the windshield of a car, smashing it and cutting up his right arm! Strong and Fish would attack Dream as expected and they even threw a pile of chairs into the ring. They were taking over until we see a chair slide on its own from under the ring. Turns out that wasn't the case as Dexter Lumis came up and got rid of the two by attacking them with the chair! Lumis would put them two in the trunk of their car and drove off to settle that score! Cole finally rised up and got back into the ring as Dream nailed the Dream Valley Driver for a near fall. Cole somehow turned things around by knocking down Dream by the pile of chairs then he hits the Panama Sunrise! This would be the end as Cole successfully pinned Dream to retain the NXT Championship! Unfortunately, this conclusion officially means that as long as Adam Cole's champion, Velveteen Dream can no longer challenge for the NXT Championship. Definitely dream over for The Dream.

Tomasso Ciampa Vs. Karrion Kross

Good match as it served its purpose by making Karrion Kross look like a major threat. Kross was killing Ciampa for half of the match as he tossed the man around from pillar to post, damn near damaging the man's neck. Things looked bleak for Ciampa but he eventually would fight back against Kross. Ciampa only got so much offense on Kross towards the ending of the match and almost finished him off with the Fairy Tale Ending, but Kross countered it into an alternative version of the F5. Kross then put Ciampa to sleep with the Kross Jacket submission hold for the win in his Takeover debut! Things are definitely looking up for Kross going forward.

Charlotte Flair (C) Vs. Io Shirai Vs. Rhea Ripley (NXT Women’s Championship)

It's main event time and what a match it was! These three ladies sure weren't letting each other have it easy in this match as they went all out for the championship. Rhea and Charlotte have their history so of course they beat each other up, but with Io Shirai added to the mix they had someone else to worry about. Nonstop action throughout the match then things went further as the women brawled by the stage set. Charlotte through Io through the window display of the titantron, taking her out of the equation for a little bit. Rhea and Charlotte would then continue to brawl kind of like having a cat fight as they still despise one another. This was the case until everyone looks up and on top of the stage set was Io Shirai as she dove off onto both women with an epic Crossbody!! The fans went crazy and was behind Io, basically throughout the whole match. Match continued for a while and near falls were exchanged to add more speculation to it all. By this point, no one knew who was going win this match. So much twists and turns! Io Shirai gets taken out then we see Charlotte and Rhea on top of the turnbuckle as Rhea then executes an Avalanche Ripe Tide and almost had Charlotte beat! Io came to break up the pin just in time and Rhea was in distraught. Later on, Charlotte would lock on the Figure 8 to Rhea and Rhea looked like she was going to submit, almost making us believe that Charlotte would retain the title. Out of nowhere, Io Shirai is on a nearby turnbuckle and hits the Moonsault on Rhea! Charlotte's legs were still locked in and she tried very quickly to get untangled, but it was too late for The Queen. Io Shirai pins Rhea for the three count and finally, Io Shirai has become the NEW NXT Women's Champion!!! Great main event and a new champion is upon us!

NXT was definitely in our house last night. Amazing event that featured good matches and a new champion to close out the show. It was really a treat for us to witness the In Your House concept again after 23 years of its absence and I'll greatly appreciate WWE for that. NXT Takeover: In Your House will go down as one of the best Takeover specials in the history of the brand!

Show Rating: 9.3/10