WWE NXT TakeOver: San Antonio Review - January 28, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Eric Young def. Tye Dillinger

I have never been the biggest fan of Young, either as a character or as a wrestler, but this was the perfect place for him on the card. I might not have been interested in this match had it not been for Dillinger's involvement and how incredibly over he is with the fans at the moment. WWE would be beyond dumb to not at least consider him coming out as the No. 10 entrant in the 2017 Royal Rumble match. As a match, this wasn't anything too special and was honestly underwhelming up until the final few minutes. You had to know the rest of SAnitY would get involved somehow, so Dillinger didn't look like a loser in defeat because he had the odds stacked against  him.

Roderick Strong def. Andrade "Cien" Almas

For a bout that didn't have much of a buildup, this match must have been an unexpected gem for some, but then again, I expected an extremely entertaining match coming into this contest and they definitely delivered. It was hard-hitting from start to finish with both guys having their strongest in-ring performances to date in NXT. The crowd gradually got behind Strong throughout the bout, and with a few more notable victories, he can be a real breakout babyface for the brand. Meanwhile, Almas has a bright future as a heel and as I've said time and time, he is unquestionably more comfortable in this role and that was proven here.

Authors of Pain def. #DIY to Win the NXT Tag Team Championship

If you were holding out hope for something along the lines of the matches #DIY had with The Revival last year, then you were probably disappointed by this match. But I remember the encounter these two tandems had during the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and how it exceeded my expectations. Contrary to popular belief, Authors of Pain aren't awful, though it's a testament to how tremendous #DIY are when they can get a great match out of them. Needless to say, they worked well within their limits, but I'd be remiss if I said Authors of Pain were carried the entire time because they more than held their own. The suspense in the nearfalls was terrific and the crowd was engaged in the action the entire time. While I wish #DIY had a longer reign with the straps, Authors of Pain are absolute monsters, and the longer NXT waits to have a team conquer them, it will mean that much more in the end. Not to mention that #DIY are incredible in chase mode and the title change keeps the feud alive, allowing for more matches in the coming months.

Seth Rollins Called Out Triple H

I'm sure all of us have joked at one point or another that Rollins should journey to NXT if he really wanted to get his hands on Triple H because, well, that's the only place we ever seem to see him. Thus, Rollins showing up at TakeOver was a sweet surprise and the most rebellious we have seen him as a babyface yet. Triple H coming out only to send security after Rollins was wonderful and I look forward to how they follow it up at the Royal Rumble on Sunday night.

NXT Women's Champion Asuka def. Peyton Royce, Billlie Kay and Nikki Cross in a Fatal 4-Way Match

On paper, this was far from the most high profile NXT Women's Championship match in the history of TakeOver specials, but it was much better than I thought it would be with the build being as weak as it was. Asuka and Cross were clearly the central focus early on, but Royce and Kay teaming up to take out Cross (which was a spectacular spot) before setting their sights on Asuka was well done. The ending outcome was never in doubt for me, and they weren't given a ton of time, but it was a very good match while it lasted and each of the ladies deserve credit for putting forth an excellent effort.

Bobby Roode def. Shinsuke Nakamura to Win the NXT Championship

The entrances alone were epic. They could have ended the show right then and there and I would have been satisfied. In all seriousness, I liked how they wrestled a slower, more technical pace early on before picking up the pace down the stretch. Nakamura is such a stellar seller to the point where I thought he was legitimately hurt, and the storytelling with Roode zoning in on that knee before ultimately taking the title was... well, glorious. I'm shocked Nakamura dropped the title so soon, but could it be an indicator that Nakamura will be main roster bound before long? Perhaps only time will tell.

Overall Show

Fan anticipation wasn't exactly at an all-time high heading into TakeOver: San Antonio, but as I assumed would be the case, the event ended up being awesome Per usual with these TakeOver specials, there wasn't a bad bout on the entire card, capped off by a phenomenal finale that leaves us with more questions than answers. Where will the returning Kassius Ohno factor into all of this? I had my money on him showing up at some point tonight, but maybe they wanted to hold off until the next set of tapings. At any rate, this wasn't the greatest TakeOver to date, though it continued the strong streak of above-average live specials and TakeOver: Orlando over WrestleMania weekend should be equally enjoyable.