WWE NXT TakeOver: San Antonio Transitioned Triple H's Brand to the Future
NXT TakeOver: San Antonio proved to be a successful step toward WWE NXT’s rebuilding process.
We already had WWE NXT host a TakeOver event dubbed, “The End”. For TakeOver: San Antonio, it might as well have been called, “The Rebuild”.
The hype around developmental’s latest live special was minimal at best. From the hot shot build of Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bobby Roode, to the three new women’s championship competitors, the Authors of Pain, and an uninspiring undercard—the excitement didn’t seem to be there. Maybe Triple H realized this when he said, “I’m not happy with where it is right now by far,” (h/t Cageside Seats). To hear that from the man who’s considered the father of NXT is concerning.
Almost 48 hours later, there’s every reason to be happy with where NXT is going. It’s not in perfect shape at all, but for a show that’s all about “the future,” TakeOver: San Antonio displayed to us what we should expect to see down the road.
An Old But New Face in the Main Event Scene
Fans of TNA will know who Bobby Roode is. Maybe if you’ve never even watched a second of Impact Wrestling before he joined WWE NXT, you knew who he was. After TakeOver: San Antonio, though, you should definitely know who Roode is because he’s the next main event star of NXT.
A top heel needed to be established for the long-term in NXT. It’s someone that will replace Samoa Joe, who went missing in action (until a brief crowd spot that could spell what’s to come at the Royal Rumble) in the main event scene and likely slide into the next few TakeOver main events, including in Orlando, FL during WrestleMania Weekend. While Roode doesn’t get the most negative crowd reactions in WWE, he’s still a draw and a popular enough act to carry one-half of the headlining match.
The focus of Roode had also been his entrance since his at TakeOver: Brooklyn II and Toronto were about the most memorable things he did. However, Saturday proved that he can certainly hold his own and work a main event level match.
What this also signals is the beginning of the end of Shinsuke Nakamura in NXT. Roode is going to replace Joe, but it’s an impossible task of filling the shoes of the King of Strong Style. If he gets phased out of the main event scene before Orlando, then we may have our most fascinating storyline over the next few months in NXT created—who is the new top babyface?
The Women of NXT Are Alright
Part of the concern with NXT TakeOver: San Antonio would be with the women of WWE NXT. Outside of Asuka, no one else had really been established. That may be why Nikki Cross, Billie Kay, and Peyton Royce were packed into an NXT Women’s Championship match that inched its way toward 10 minutes.
There are still plenty of strides to be made, but the women of NXT proved that there is potential beyond the Empress of Tomorrow.
Kay and Royce have characters that may be more established than originally thought. These two are snobby, full of themselves, and put their friendship first before anything else. The latter seems very babyface-like, but the holding of hands, helping each other go for a pinfall, and the double-team attacks will certainly go against that notion. All of this would be on display at TakeOver, which added a mini-storytelling element to this match.
The in-ring action still has a bit of a way to go, which will hold the Aussies back and keep them as depth for now. This is especially since Asuka disposed of them on Saturday and having already run into Ember Moon.
The star of this would be Cross, who NXT is clearly ready to make into the No. 2 woman behind Asuka. The teased fighting throughout January continued into TakeOver, which only saw these two square off for a minute or two. Fans got a taste of what could happen in the ring and should be prepared for an NXT Women’s Championship match between the two in Orlando. It could be one that’s the Irish woman’s to lose as well.
In the meantime, there’s two months to establish Cross. Her spot in SAnitY and being able to square up against Asuka should do only do her favors.
The Authors of a New Reign
DIY became fan favorites throughout their chase for gold and eventual win. TakeOver: Toronto became their crowning moment, as they put on a Match of the Year candidate with the Revival and established themselves as the biggest stars of NXT. Wasn’t it just four months ago that WWE had planned on Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa as part of the cruiserweight division?
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Well, the title reign everyone wanted came to a crushing end. Paul Ellering had promised the completion of Chapter 3 for the Authors of Pain and followed through. It didn’t happy swiftly, but the creation of a dominant force came to fruition.
Akam and Rezar put on their best match yet at TakeOver. Sure, you can attribute it to the former indie darlings doing their work to make this a crowd-pleasing affair. It takes two to tango, though, and these two behemoths did their part to make this yet another entertaining tag team bout at a TakeOver event.
Now we’re in for a dominant reign of the Authors of Pain through the NXT tag team division. If these two are bound to Full Sail for the rest of the year, there’s no harm in thinking that they receive a build similar to the Ascension. That may mean breaking the latter’s NXT tag team title reign record of 364 days. So by this time in 2018, could we still be talking about Ellering’s duo as the forces of the tag division?
Transitioning from the Undercard
Based on NXT TakeOver: San Antonio, WWE NXT’s undercard contains Andrade Almas, Tye Dillinger, Roderick Strong, and Eric Young as the main competitors. Almas and Dillinger lost, while Strong and Young pulled out victories. What’s next then?
Strong still needed to get his legs underneath him heading into San Antonio, and somewhat did so with the win over Almas. He gained some crowd support and put on a solid match. There’s just no character there, which seems to be something that’s not getting attention. If the former ROH star’s wrestling ability is going to be his focus, then we may just need to look at his backbreakers and Sick Kick as he potentially moves into the NXT Championship scene.
Young has his spot pretty much entrenched. He’s the No. 2 heel behind Roode and has a stable spot with his SAnitY stable that is running over NXT. EY’s win over Dillinger was fine, but as long as his former Team Canada buddy is holding gold, is his win going to push him forward or his groupmates?
Dillinger is the most interesting case. He’s taking on a lite version of Sami Zayn’s 2014 run as NXT’s “guy who keeps losing, doesn’t know what to do with his career if this continues, and will be NXT Championship or bust soon”. The loss to Young will only further this. The Perfect 10 could be a wild card for NXT TakeOver: Orlando’s main event, there’s just plenty of work that needs to be done over the next eight weeks. If not, then placing your bet on him for the potential early summer TakeOver event at Full Sail wouldn’t be so crazy.
Let’s be clear—WWE NXT is far from being complete with its rebuild. TakeOver: San Antonio proved to be a step in the right direction. Now they just need to make these next eight weeks smooth and deliver another memorable live special in Orlando with a more appealing build.
