WWE NXT TakeOver XXX Review - August 22, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Pre-Show: Breezango def. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch and Legado del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde) in an NXT Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Triple Threat Tag Team Match

Say what you will about NXT's depleted tag team division (and I know I sure have), but they can take it up a notch when the time calls for it. NXT doesn't typically hold pre-show matches, but this was perfectly positioned on the pre-show and was a blast for the six or so minutes it was allotted. That said, I wasn't enamored with the outcome. Breezango have already competed against Imperium for the NXT Tag Team Championship and lost. Legado del Fantasma made the most sense to me, and if not them, Lorcan and Burch would've been fresh contenders. Breezango as contenders do nothing for me.

Finn Balor def. Timothy Thatcher

As a match, this was solid stuff. Balor never ceases to bring his best on these TakeOver specials and Thatcher has been on a hell of a roll since beating Matt Riddle in the Fight Pit a few months ago. I was pulling for a Thatcher victory because of how much he could have benefited from it, but I realize Balor winning was more likely just because he hasn't won anything in almost two months. I wish these guys got more time to build their feud, but I enjoyed this opener.

Damian Priest def. Cameron Grimes, Johnny Gargano, Bronson Reed and Velveteen Dream in a Ladder Match to Win the NXT North American Championship

Ladder matches have been done to death in WWE, NXT and NXT UK over the last year or two, but because they're consistently entertaining, I can't complain. This was another gem. It started out fairly basic, but once they picked up the pace, it turned into an awesome affair. Everyone had their time to shine and it helped that any one of these guys could have realistically won, so there were plenty of close calls and suspenseful moments. I would have been happy with whoever (except for probably Dream), but Priest was the correct choice because of how he's needed a notable victory for a while. NXT's midcard scene is loaded at the moment, so Priest can have a quality reign if he remains on the rise.

Adam Cole def. Pat McAfee

I know I wasn't the only one who didn't have high hopes for this when it was announced a few weeks ago, simply because McAfee has zero prior wrestling experience. However, it's evident he took training seriously and was determined to be the best that he could because he had a stellar showing here. Being an excellent athlete helped his cause as well. They told a great story with McAfee giving Cole everything he had and nearly winning with the punt kick at one point. They kept the interference limited and delivered a super fun outing. I can absolutely see McAfee being brought back in the future for more matches.

NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai def. Dakota Kai

My biggest gripe with this match was that Kai wasn't positioned as much of a threat to the title coming into it. NXT has done an effective job of building up Kai since WarGames III in November, but it was too soon for Shirai to be dropping the strap (yes, I realize Keith Lee lost immediately after this, but Karrion Kross winning made more sense than Kai winning would have). Other than that, this was a very well-wrestled match with good work from both women. I was also happy that, like with Cole vs. McAfee, the outside involvement was kept to a minimum. The post-match angle made it look like we're headed toward Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Gonzalez and I'm not really sure why when Ripley's still seemingly feuding with Mercedes Martinez at the moment.

Karrion Kross def. Keith Lee to Win the NXT Championship

Similar to the opener, I can see some fans not liking this match because they didn't wrestle the same style that Lee did with Dominik Dijakovic during their long-running rivalry. It was more methodical, but they made each move matter as a result and I appreciated that. The ending felt a bit abrupt, but that may have been because I wasn't too familiar with his finisher or that it hasn't been fully established yet. Either way, Lee was made to look super strong in defeat. Part of me is disappointed Lee lost the title so quickly, but I'm happy he won it at all before he likely moves to Raw or SmackDown sooner rather than later.

Overall Show

Much like TakeOver: In Your House, the show obviously suffered from not having the hot crowd NXT is known for, but the actual in-ring action was outstanding with every match delivering. Plus, two titles changing hands to make it a newsworthy night. I can understand fans not getting a TakeOver vibe from this event (especially the 30th installment) because of the atmosphere, but I've grown so accustomed to it by this point that it didn't bother me much. I was satisfied by the end of the evening, and with it being announced that NXT UK is coming back September 17th and Tommaso Ciampa will be returning on Wednesday's episode of NXT, there's plenty to look forward to coming out this event.