[ad_1]
Triple H described NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day as a “brand comeback” and that’s what fans have asked with all their hearts.
Only six weeks have passed in 2021, but NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day is one of the top favorites for the wrestling card of the year. Each match delivered in its own way and by the end of the night there was an angle that builds the plot in what is yet to come. These words have been used for a while to describe an NXT WWE Network Special. But Vengeance Day felt like a throwback when NXT TakeOver events and the brand were consistently highlights in pro wrestling.
When it was announced that NXT was moving to USA Network in 2019, anxiety raged among fans of the yellow and black brand. The fear was that the show would fall into the same reservation troupes that affected the main roster content seen on Monday Night Raw and SmackDown. Soon after, this became the problem and the number one complaint about NXT.
While there were some highlights, the move to the US network caused NXT to lose some of the qualities that made the whole brand special. It didn’t help WWE face the fierce competition from All Elite Wrestling that same night. Still, there were things going on within the NXT brand that seemed more common on Raw and SmackDown. Distraction finishes, disjointed bookings, 50/50 bookings, and start / stop pushes slowly began to creep into NXT and TakeOver events which were meant to be one of the best fights WWE had to offer. . NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day sets the stage to correct all of this.
“You could look through this map and say that every game on this map can steal the show. It was that kind of card and overall they didn’t disappoint, ”Triple H said during the post-event media appeal (audio from Fightful). “I felt like it was a TakeOver that felt like it was going back to the start and coming back to the brand.”
Sunday’s TakeOver looked like a love letter to NXT fans on Valentine’s Day. New stars in MSK have emerged. Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai have been ranked as the two against Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax, in hopes of correcting some of the issues in the WWE Women’s Tag Team division. Johnny Gargano has reminded everyone why he is “Johnny Wrestling,” even though it came with a questionable clean win over the expanding Kushida. Io Shirai retains his title and may enter another immediate storyline with Toni Storm. Then there is the insanity to be assured between the unchallenged fractured era.
All of these moments create excitement for what is to come. One of the main issues plaguing the content of WWE’s main roster is that a lot of matches lack stakes, and it seems like nothing matters, even what happens on network specials when the same matches are played again and again. These results at TakeOver create a space where the brand can evolve into new angles for all the artists involved – creating the new angles and matches that fans want to see. Then there was the appearance of Eli Drake / LA Knight – another throwback to the new takeover crowd photo taken by TakeOver from past events.
Almost everything on NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day worked. No distractions or “dusty” finishes. No highly scripted promotions. Just classic, bell to bell wrestling. If Triple H’s words to bring NXT back to where it was is the real goal, this event is a step in the right direction.
Source link