7 Ups And 3 Downs From NXT TakeOver: New York

2. Women Underperform

Bianca Belair Io Shirai Kairi Sane NXT TakeOver New York
WWE

It’s a tough call when you consider what qualified as a passable women’s match just a few years ago, but Friday’s NXT Women’s Championship match was a disappointment.

The fatal four-way bout between champ Shayna Baszler, Kairi Sane, Io Shirai and Bianca Belair had a good amount of action, but it was very disjointed and felt more like just a series of moves. Yes, there was the undercurrent of Io and Kairi teaming up and then squaring off, and everyone hit their finishers on Shayna, but other than that, it fell flat.

It’s a shame, because we’ve seen Baszler have a few really good title defenses, but this certainly was not one of them. If you’re going to skip one match from TakeOver, this is it. It’s perfectly watchable, but it doesn’t match up to the other four, or even past NXT Women’s Championship bouts.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fortunately became a fan in time for WrestleMania III and came back as a fan after a long high school hiatus before WM XIV. Monday nights in the Carlson household are reserved for viewing Raw -- for better or worse.