NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III
Drew McIntyre
OK so there is bias here. As both a fellow Scot and huge fan of Drew McIntyre and Drew Galloway I may be impartial. However McIntyre has as much a reason to be on this list as anyone else. McIntyre, alongside Bobby Roode, main evented this past Saturday’s event. It was a hard hitting affair with some absolutely textbook psychology. The champion Roode was impressive as always but as a return to prominence this was a showcase for McIntyre. This was nothing flashy or flippy, it was an old-school styled and slow building match and it was great. McIntyre and Roode have a far better chemistry than Roode and Nakamura. This led to a fitting end for a great show.
Beyond the match itself however is McIntyre and his return and rise to the top. Released 3 years ago McIntyre went out and became the busiest pro wrestler on the planet. Honing his craft and maturing as a competitor, performer and man in companies across the world such as ICW, WCPW, Evolve, PWG, TNA and others, McIntyre ultimately became one of the worlds best. Earlier this year McIntyre returned a completely different performer than what he was 7 and even 3 years ago. Brooklyn III was the culmination of this journey for McIntyre. That makes McIntyre one of the weekends MVPs.
Ember Moon
In defeat Ember Moon gained infinite amounts more than what she would have had she won. Her performance alongside Asuka crafted the best match of a fantastic card on Saturday. In her loss to NXT’s greatest ever women’s champion, Ember Moon earned both respect and her place in title contention. This was by far Ember Moon’s best match to date and there are many routes WWE can go from here. Perhaps this feud can stretch to one more match where Moon can dethrone Asuka. Or WWE can even send Moon to the main roster while Asuka continues to rule NXT as the brand’s star attraction.
Ember Moon really is a fantastic talent with bundles of potential. Whether in NXT alongside Asuka or on the main roster Ember Moon will be a star. At Takeover: Brooklyn Ember Moon showed audiences what she is really made of and what she can be. Therefore even though she lost, defeat was what she needed and with the help of Asuka she made the absolute most of it and may now be another true star in WWE’s women’s ranks. The predictable outcome was for Ember to defeat Asuka and end her undefeated streak. By coming so close only to fall short Moon gained the respect of a lot of fans and is now a more over and ultimately more elevated as a performer.
Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas&Johnny Gargano
This opening match to NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III was outstanding. These two men put on the best match of Almas’ NXT career and Gargano’s single run thus far. Almas has been a glorified jobber in NXT for months now, however with a manager at his side and a huge win at Takeover things are looking up for the talented Mexican. We already know the skills of Johnny Gargano however Almas proved Saturday night that he has the talent to hang with the best in NXT. This win for Almas spells good things for the star going into the last few months of 2017. This was a huge win in a fantastic match which was the second best of the night and an unbelievable way to open a fantastic night of wrestling. Almas is on his way to new heights on WWE’s developmental brand.
As for Gargano, a defeat was the right choice. Gargano does not look weak in defeat. In fact the way in which Gargano suffered defeat, via Zelina throwing the DIY tee at Gargano and distracting him allowing Almas to pick up the victory, only adds sympathy to the character of Johnny Wrestling while at the same time furthering the psychological effects of the break-up of DIY while Ciampa remains out with injury. Gargano further proved on Saturday how good of both a babyface and performer he was. The fast paced action only furthered the image of Johnny in fans’ minds. Both men have serious potential to be stars on NXT and can help carry the brand through this new era. This past Saturday proved that.
Adam Cole&reDRagon
Possibly the biggest talking point coming out of this weekend was the debut of Adam Cole (bay-bay). At NXT Takeover fantastic ROH tag team reDRagon reformed attacking the new tag champs SAnitY before reappearing later in the night to assist fellow ROH alumni Adam Cole (bay-bay) in a beat down of new NXT Champion Drew McIntyre. We have all heard rumours and ramblings of a ROH type stable forming in NXT. Now it is here and their debut did not disappoint. Having Adam Cole (bay-bay) debut in this way rather than a seat in the crowd was fantastic. It is going to be a fantastic few months for NXT with the addition of both reDRagon and Adam Cole (bay-bay).
These are three fantastic performers coming together to create a stable which have unlimited potential in NXT. Seeing this newly formed faction takeover NXT will be an amazing and interesting journey. Another interesting factor to this is Roderick Strong. Does the fellow huge ROH star join the faction? Does he oppose it? Or does he even care? We will see. While this trio are yet to do anything other than attack the champions they feel huge together. They really gave a sense that something big is about to run through NXT over the next few months and that big thing is them. Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole (bay-bay) – the three men who are about to rule NXT.
