TakeOver XXV
Business picked up early in the night with the expected performance in an NXT ladder match. It was expected by many that the Street Profits would claim the titles, but all the competitors did put on a show leading up to it. Montez Ford’s springboard to the ladder looked so effortless that it seemed like he couldn’t miss.
The follow up was probably the greatest bit of fan service NXT has given the faithful in a while. Velveteen Dream getting the rub from Tyler Breeze just made sure Dream remains in legendary status at NXT for a while.
Raw
The first Black wrestla’ wasn’t sited until Bobby Lashley and Braun Strowman teased their contest in the form of an arm wrestling contest. They sold us the idea that Lashley could match brute force with Braun before being defeated. The Almighty got the last word in a Strowman sized power slam after some chalk to the face.
Ricochet has another great partner in Cesaro; they came back with their third match in as many weeks that did not mirror any of the previous ones. It was the last match on the card and gave the crowd something to part with because the final segment was not that. For bonus points, the post match antics revealed that R-Truth was hiding under the ring and managed to outmaneuver those pursuing his title then make off through the crowd once again.
SmackDown Live
The champ, Kofi Kingston, returns to highlight his trip to Ghana where we see the love being spread among the people. Then, after an exchange with his upcoming challenger, Kingston and Xavier Woods were set to face and successfully defeat Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in the first match of the night. And when was Kofi off to travel to Africa? During the European tour?
The 24/7 Title is with the right one because R-Truth being scheduled in a match where he would lose to Elias once again but in a lumberjack match. Elias, not having the escape rating of a Truth, almost got mobbed by the lumberjacks, and just when he thought he’d slithered away, Truth regained title from underneath the ring of all places.
The flip-side to a great pre-prom main event on Raw was whatever they decided to do on Smackdown. Apollo Crews was handled so quickly by Andrade that he isn’t even mentioned on the WWE recap of the show.
NXT
Per usual, the week’s matches are the taped “dark” matches from the previous TakeOver. Keith Lee came out to show everyone that Kona Reeves was still on the roster, and although Reeves was to bring the fight to Lee, glory would have it that Keith would push his opponent beyond his limits.
The second rubber match of the week came in the form of Mia Yim and Bianca Belair. A Yim victory has to foreshadow a push for her across the summer; she’s possibly in line to be the next NXT Women’s champ, which would be the perfect springboard when Belair’s time comes.
Impact!
The new fiesty Kiera Hogan made another appearance; this time it was against former ally Jordynn Grace. Hogan’s attempts to out maneuver her opponent were more to set up the force with which Grace uses in her offense. Kiera was befallen by the a signature driver. More of this Hogan please.