9 Ups And 3 Downs From NXT TakeOver: Dallas

NXT TakeOver sets the bar so high, WrestleMania can just limp under it.

OK WrestleMania XXXII, top that. NXT unleashed it€™s latest TakeOver special Friday night, running through five matches during a two-and-a-half-hour show that was an absolute can€™t-miss affair for any wrestling fan. Four of the five matches were jump-out-of-your-seat good, while the fifth still was a perfectly decent bout. We saw two new champions crowned out of the three title matches and likely watched NXT bid farewell to one of its biggest stars, with a couple others possibly headed on their way to the main roster in the coming weeks and months. TakeOver: Dallas was the culmination of months of storylines building to this point, with aggressors like Samoa Joe and Baron Corbin getting their comeuppance and rising tag team stars American Alpha shining. TakeOver also featured the in-ring debuts of two new stars, Austin Aries and Shinsuke Nakamura. One of them completely stole the show. The event also revealed a couple notable faces in the crowd (and no, we€™re not talking about Scott Hall and X-Pac), one of which was a jaw-dropper to American wrestling fans. All of this set the table for WrestleMania weekend, with the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies Saturday and Mania on Sunday. But as with TakeOver: Brooklyn and SummerSlam last year, NXT probably set the bar far too high for WWE to reach on Sunday. But maybe WWE will shock all of us€ With that said, what drew a €œHoly Sh**!€ chant and what elicited groans from the crowd? Let€™s find out€
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 fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.