WWE NXT TakeOver: Respect - 7 Major Talking Points
It was certainly a very memorable night for the so-called ‘developmental brand’.
Continuing the trend of NXT putting on incredibly memorable Network specials, NXT TakeOver: Respect took place on Wednesday, October 7th, 2015, from Full Sail University. The two-hour special featured six scheduled matches, including the final parts of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and the first-ever Ironwoman match for the NXT Women’s Championship between Bayley and Sasha Banks. Truly, there was a lot to look forward to in the build-up to this show.
And a lot of great things took place on the show.
The full results are as follows:
Finn Balor & Samoa Joe defeated The Mechanics (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) to advance to the tournament finals
Baron Corbin & Rhyno defeated Jason Jordan & Chad Gable to advance to the tournament final
Asuka defeated Dana Brooke by submission
Apollo Crews defeated Tyler Breeze by pin fall
Finn Balor & Samoa Joe defeated Baron Corbin & Rhyno to win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic
Bayley defeated Sasha Banks 3 falls to 2 to retain the WWE Women’s Championship.
This show’s main theme was, as the title implied, respect. That theme bled into every single match and the show’s most dramatic and exciting moments. Indeed, it was a highly memorable show that every fan of WWE should watch.
This article will analyze the seven most important discussion points from last night’s NXT special. It will highlight the importance of certain booking decisions, match results, performance quality, and most importantly, what we can expect to see in NXT in the future.
7. Corey Graves Is An Excellent Commentator
Throughout the evening, Graves was doing outstanding work as a commentator. He puts so much heart into his work, and you can tell how passionate he is when he speaks. In particular, he did an amazing job of making every bump and injury appear to be much worse than it really was, which made each match more dramatic.
The way he framed each statement (i.e. Balor might be injured; Joe might have to compete alone) added so much more curiosity to each match. Graves also did a great job of adding history and context to the matches he was calling, such as when he referenced the origin of Asuka’s name (the highly-popular Crush Gals of 1980s Japan), or suggesting that the Ironman match would go into overtime if it ended in a tie (like HBK/Bret Hart did at WrestleMania XII).
Finally, Graves added so much emotion into moments of shock and excitement that you couldn’t help but relate to how he was feeling. Indeed, a major reason why viewers watching at home would enjoy the matches was because Graves was doing a fantastic job of selling them.
He was, in a sense, the opposite of how the RAW commentators behave: he was focused and intelligent, he referenced history, and he used regular psychology to get fans to love each match more.