NXT TakeOver 25 Graded

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NXT TakeOver 25 Final Results and Grades

NXT TakeOver 25: Appropriately named for being NXT’s twenty-fifth TakeOver special. A lot of that good ol’ fashioned wrasslin’ went down this night, but what did my smarky self think about it? I thought it was freaking awesome, but I still gotta make an article, so here you go.

Matt Riddle def. Roderick Strong

Final Grade: A-

Strong Style city, b*tch.

Sometimes wrestlers pull back on punches and kicks to ensure the safety of others. Apparently Strong and Riddle throw that rule out the window and decide to try and kill each other in this match.

Every time Riddle throws a knee or Strong throws a punch, you can see the how hard they are trying to hit each other. “But wrestling is fake!” Not anymore.

Riddle wins with a modified Neutralizer. This is a great way to open the show.

NXT Tag Team Championships Fatal Four-Way Ladder: The Street Profits def. The Undisputed Era, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch and The Forgotten Sons to win the vacant titles

WTF Moment of the Night: Everything Kyle O’Reilly does

Match of the Night

Mauro Quote of the Night: “Oh my God! They killed Kyle!”

Final Grade: A-

Aside from watching Kyle O’Reilly die, this match is equal parts brutal and entertaining. It was not nearly as extreme as this year’s men’s Money in the Bank, but Kyle didn’t die for nothing.

Street Profits finally capture the NXT Tag Team Titles. It’s a huge win, and a well deserving team finally captures the gold.

NXT North American Championship: The Velveteen Dream def. Tyler Breeze to retain

Final Grade: B

This match is like being vegan: Sure, you can settle for “ok” and eat vegetables, but you’ll always be missing what it would be like to have a “spectacular” steak.

What that metaphor means is that this match is missing something. It wasn’t the instant classic it feels it should be, but it is good nevertheless.

Dream retains with a Purple Rain Maker. After the match, Breeze and Dream take a selfie in the middle of the ring.

NXT Women’s Championship: Shayna Baszler def. Io Shirai via submission to retain

Final Grade: C

Average to a disappointing level, but at least it was a step up from what could’ve been Bianca/Baszler 49.

NXT Championship: Adam Cole BAY BAY def. Johnny Gargano to win the championship

Move of the Night: Panama Sunrise from the top rope to the outside

Final Grade: A+

More like Johnny “Your Finisher Ain’t Nothin'”, amirite?

One Last Shot? Nope. One Panama Sunrise? Nope. One Panama Sunrise from the top rope to the outside? Do you think this is a game?

After kicking out of everything to the point you swear Gargano is blood-related to John freaking Cena, Cole puts him away with one more knee to the back of the head.

Overall NXT TakeOver 25 Final Grade: B+

It’s official: NXT TakeOver 25 is better than Double or Nothing. AEW scores a “B” while NXT shows them how to really put on a show… by a few fractions of a point, but still.

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Written by Jordan Piekarski

Photo credit to WWE via Twitter