NXT TakeOver 31 Review

 NXT TakeOver 31 took place on the 4th October at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. There are 5 matches on the card, including a surprising main event; so let's take a look.

The first match was for the North American Championship as Johnny Gargano challenges Damien Priest. After some back and forth, Gargano takes advantage of Priest accidentally taking out a couple of security guards to hit a low blow followed by a kick to the head. In the end, Gargano goes for the One Final Beat however, Priest is able to stop it and hit The Reckoning to get the win. This is an enjoyable match between the two.

Winner: Damien Priest (1 for 1)

The next match is Kushida taking on The Velveteen Dream. Kushida doesn't fuck aorund and attacks Dream during his entrance. When the referee gets control and rings the bell, Kushida continues his assault and focuses on the arms. After a brutal affair, Dream hits the Dream Valley Driver. However, Kushida grabs hold of the arm during the move and gets Dream to submit to the Hoverboard Lock to get the win. After the match, Kushida celebrates by continuing to attack Dream. This was a good match and it looks Kushida is about to go on a heel run, which I'm interested to see.

Winner: Kushida (1 for 2)

We now get Isaiah "Swerve" Scott challenging Santos Escobar for the NXT Interim(?) Cruiserweight Championship. Scott comes close to winning a couple of times before Escobar has to get help from his lackeys Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza. Scott gets some backup from Ashante Adonis but Escobar recovers and comes close to winning after hittting the Phantom Driver. In the end, Escobar gets the win after hitting a double underhook into a face buster. This match was really good although I thought the ending was a bit underwhelming. There was a great sequence that led to the Phantom Driver earlier in the match and I feel that that would have been a better way to end it.

Winner: Santos Escobar (2 for 3)

The penultimate match is for the NXT Women's Championship as Candice LeRae challenges Io Shirai.  Both women come close to winning before LeRae puts  Shirai in a cross face. When LeRae is forced to release the hold, she accidentally elbows the referee then makes it worse when she sends Shirai into him, sending him out of the ring. LeRae hits the Wicked Step Sister and her husband Johnny Gargano runs in with a referee shirt to do the count. Despite her husband helping and hitting Shirai with the Championship belt, it was not enough as Shirai hits a Spanish fly followed by an Asai Moonsault to get the win. This is a really good match between the two and I hope we get a rematch. I'm slightly gutted that LeRae didn't win but I feel she will be the Champion in the future.

Winner: Io Shirai (2 for 4)

The main event is for the NXT Championship as Kyle O'Reilly challenges Finn Balor. Balor and O'Reilly go toe-to-toe for the vast majority of the match, before Balor comes close after hitting a 1916 DDT. O'Reilly tries to get Balor to submit. However, in the end, Balor hits the Coup de Grace to get the win. This was a really enjoyable match and I was impressed by both guys. Afterwards, Ridge Holland desposits a beat up Adam Cole at ringside. A feud between Cole and Holland would be interesting to see. 

Winner: Finn Balor (3 for 5)

TakeOver 31 was a good show to watch. NXT most of the time hit the nail on the head and this is another example of that. I'm looking forward to seeing Ember Moon make her comeback and whether they will keep making Kyle O'Reilly a main eventer or treat it as an one off. Based on his match with Balor, I'm hoping for the former.