WWE NXT TakeOver 36 Review - August 22, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Pre-Show: Ridge Holland def. Trey Baxter

Baxter made it to the semifinals of the NXT Breakout Tournament before losing to Odyssey Jones. He also debuted in an NXT Cruiserweight Championship match against Kushida a few months ago. Thus, you would think they'd have more plans for the guy that don't involve getting squashed. Don't get me wrong, Holland should be picking up these kinds at this stage of his development and Baxter sold well for him, but it didn't make Baxter look great to be losing in a matter of minutes. I believe Holland will go one-on-one with Timothy Thatcher this Wednesday on NXT.

Cameron Grimes def. LA Knight to Win the Million Dollar Championship

Had Grimes beaten Knight for a third straight time here, Ted DiBiase would have become Knight's new butler. With that in mind, it was obvious Grimes was winning, but the predictability surrounding the outcome hardly mattered. This has probably been my favorite storyline in NXT all summer and everyone has been playing their roles remarkably well. This was a highly enjoyable opener with a feel-good ending. DiBiase getting physical with Knight at ringside was a nice touch.

NXT Women's Champion Raquel Gonzalez def. Dakota Kai

I think this match was a little less predictable a few weeks ago before Kai wrestled on Main Event (where she lost to Aliyah, which is a travesty), but it was a very entertaining affair, nonetheless. They hit hard and Kai can always be counted on for an outstanding performance. It's a shame she was never able to hold the NXT Women's Championship at least once, but props to her for always making her opponents look great like with Gonzalez here. Former NXT UK Women's Champion Kay Lee Ray emerged afterward and stared down Gonzalez, so she could be Gonzalez' next challenger. I love the idea of KLR coming to NXT after conquering the NXT UK women's division like Rhea Ripley and Toni Storm before her.

Ilja Dragunov def. WALTER to Win the NXT United Kingdom Championship

The first match these two had was arguably the best of 2020 for WWE. Well, it looks like we've found an early candidate for the best of 2021 as well. What a war this was. They beat the crap out of each other, were extremely physical, and had the crowd hooked every step of the way. I was worried that this would be hindered by the atmosphere inside the Capitol Wrestling Center, but I was glad to have been wrong. Throw in the story these two have told dating back over a year (and the fact that WALTER was champion for over two years) and you have yourself an absolute masterpiece of a match. The time was right for Dragunov to take the title, and as for WALTER, I'd like to see him transition over to the NXT roster full-time. Whether that's something he'd now be interested in is unknown, but he's accomplished everything he can in NXT UK and should move on in my opinion.

Kyle O'Reilly def. Adam Cole in a 2-Out-of-3 Falls Match

I wish they got a bit more creative with the stipulations, which were exactly the same for Cole's two-out-of-three falls match with Johnny Gargano two years ago. Other than that, I liked this a lot. I was in the minority that enjoyed their Unsanctioned match at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, but I understood the criticisms of it going too long. Interestingly enough, they technically had three matches in one here yet still ran way shorter than they did that first time. The third fall in particular felt like it ended a bit abruptly. This had the top-notch wrestling and drama you'd expect from these two and was a fitting conclusion to their lengthy story by and large. O'Reilly getting booed was weird (yet not all that shocking if you've been following the reactions he's been getting in recent months), but him winning was the only outcome that made sense. Let the speculation begin on where Cole goes from here.

Samoa Joe def. Karrion Kross to Win the NXT Championship

Prior to this, Joe hadn't wrestled a match since February 2020, so that's almost exactly a year and a half on the shelf. That ring rust was pretty apparent in my opinion as most of this match felt fairly slow, not to mention that Kross isn't the most exciting worker in the world. It wasn't what I hoped it would be, but it turned out to be a solid main event, nonetheless. I didn't have a problem with it being on the shorter side so it didn't overstay its welcome. Joe bringing back the Muscle Buster was a great touch and I'm glad he'll likely be using it in NXT again going forward. Kross is off to the Raw roster permanently where I have no faith for his future whatsoever.

Overall Show

Following weeks of rumors regarding NXT undergoing significant changes, Nick Khan confirmed the rumors in a sit-down interview earlier in the day, which is why people were referring to this show as "the end of an era." Honestly, they aren't wrong. From what it sounds like, the powers that be plan to drastically change everything that has made NXT great over the years, so this might be the last above-average TakeOver event we get for a while. Maybe the changes will turn out to be positive, but I'm not holding my breath. Despite all that, this was a very strong show and one of my favorite installments of TakeOver in a while. Every match ranged from good to great, we got three title changes, and the Capitol Wrestling Center was livelier than I thought they would be. The show breezed by per usual and I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish. My only complaint is that it should have happened in a bigger venue.

SEE ALSO: NXT Reviews