NXT TakeOver: Orlando has wrapped up, which means its time for another 3-Count review along with a post-show podcast (which you can find at the end of this post).
Outside of the quality of the matches themselves, what are three of the standout moments or factors of this event, whether they be positives or negatives?
The New Championship Belts
When it was announced that there would be new titles making their debut tonight, I instantly was worried.
The current trend in WWE has been to give every belt a colorful strap and I personally hate that concept. I think every single title would look better with a standard black background and in a way, I feel like the red and blue insults everyone’s intelligence by making it seem like they wouldn’t understand that those are brand-specific if everything isn’t color-coded.
Naturally, I assumed the worst and figured we would get horrid yellow straps for the NXT titles, which I already wasn’t too big a fan of to begin with.
Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was wrong and I think all three titles are an upgrade over the previous designs. They’re simple, yet effectively elegant at the same time. I enjoy the implementation of the side plates, the basic color scheme and the more angular design (just a personal preference, as I tend to like sharp corners more than rounded ones)
Now if only they would take another look at those hideous Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championship belts…
The Chosen One Returns
Any time someone shows up in the crowd for an NXT event, a short time later, they’re announced to either be signing with the company for the first time ever or in this case, returning to the roster—and quicker than ever, I must say, as we already have confirmation that Drew McIntyre is indeed back in WWE.
This is a good thing, but it’s somewhat strange for me to be saying it, I’ll admit. When McIntyre first came onto SmackDown, I wasn’t a huge supporter of his. In fact, I was quite opposed to the rushed push he was receiving as I felt it was too much too soon and he wasn’t worthy of an Intercontinental Championship reign or being called “the chosen one” that the company would depend on for years to come.
Then, his career went downhill and I was ready for him to get released, having never really been too into his gimmicks or his style or anything else about him, for the most part. He went off to wrestle elsewhere for a few years and I haven’t seen a single one of his matches outside of WWE. You’d think him coming back would mean nothing, if not cause a negative reaction, right?
On the contrary, I think this is great. From what I’ve heard, he’s improved dramatically and not only is he more confident in his abilities, but he has a better mindset for the business. If that’s the case, I’d much rather see him back home with WWE than to be competing in TNA or GFW or ROH, as WWE could use as many talented people as possible.
It also means WWE officials are continuing this mentality of scouring the globe for anybody who might have some value to them, whether they’re brand new or they just need a second chance. That means plenty of other people will be coming back into the fold as well, so it opens the door for other guys I’m actually fond of like Carlito, MVP, The Hardy Boyz and possibly, if I cross my fingers enough, Derrick Bateman aka Ethan Carter III.
A Lack of Pomp and Circumstance
Does anybody else feel underwhelmed by the overall production of tonight as far as making it feel like it’s an offshoot of WrestleMania Week?
This is billed as “the ultimate thrill ride” and yet, I feel like this TakeOver was the most muted in terms of visual flair that we’ve seen in a long while.
Nothing special was done for the entrances outside of having two pianists do a prelude to Bobby Roode’s theme, which wasn’t all that interesting from my point of view at least, and everyone else had the same generic intros as they do every week, including Shinsuke Nakamura.
Even at the beginning of the night, Triple H just did a basic copy/paste verbal hype promo rather than being in the ring or bringing something new to the table.
This is the night before WrestleMania. Let’s go crazy! Let’s have some wild entrances that upgrade this from the developmental program with a smaller budget and put it on par with at least an average Raw or SmackDown pay-per-view event, if not bigger than that, if possible!
It’s certainly not the end of the world, nor did that take away from the awesome matches we had, but it’s just a disappointment to see that this didn’t have the same production values as some other events have in the past.
For more opinions on the show as a whole, check out the latest edition of the Smark Out Moment wrestling podcast SMACK TALK as the panel reviews NXT TakeOver: Orlando with our immediate reactions following the event before the dust has fully settled.
Hosted by Anthony Mango
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