BRM Reviews NXT TakeOver 36

[Big Red Machine]

NXT TakeOver 36 (8/22/2021)- Orlando, FL


SINGLES MATCH IN FOR THE WWE MILLION-DOLLAR CHAMPIONSHIP IN WHICH IF L.A. KNIGHT WINS, TED DIBIASE BECOMES HIS BUTLER: L.A. Knight(c) vs. Cameron Grimes(c) (w/Ted Dibiase)- 6.5/10
Knight threw out his butler’s outfit on the way to the ring in a special trashcan with a money symbol that Dibiase had brought, revealing, very garish, cartoony gear. The wrestlers did their stuff. Dibiase cheated to help Grimes win, so Grimes doesn’t deserve to be champion or to not be a butler. What a dumb finish. Could they really not just let the dude win clean?

NXT WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH: Raquel Gonzalez(c) vs. Dakota Kai- 7.5/10
Kai worked the arm and chased her big kick but Gonzalez fought through the pain to get the win. Also, I have to add that after both this past week’s Dynamite and last night’s SummerSlam, it was nice to see someone hit their finish off the top and have it actually be the finish.


POST-MATCH SEGMENT- Raquel’s next challenger will be Kay Lee Ray. The fans were all chanting for her.

NXT UK TITLE MATCH: WALTER(c) vs. Ilja Dragunov- a PERFECT 10/10!
The only negative thing I can say about this match is that it wasn’t quite as good as the previous one, but is anyone really going to tell Jaromir Jagr that he doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame because he wasn’t quite as good as Wayne Gretzky?
So yeah, this was the standard Ilja-WALTER package of just beating the sh*tout of each other and trying to win the fight. I think the only moves they did were chop, forearm, elbow, lariat, powerbomb, splash, Gojira Clutch/sleeper hold, Torpedo Moscow, superplex, and an armlock, and I think there might have been only one superplex and one armlock. This was two fighters having a fight for a title and fighting through everything they could to make sure that they were the one come out on top.

MCKENZIE MITCHELL INTERVIEWS TED DIBIASE & CAMERON GRIMES- This would have been fine babyface stuff if not for the fact that THEY CHEATED TO WIN IT! And also because Grimes said his dumb catchphrase.

REGAL TELLS JOE THAT HE HOPES JOE KICKS KROSS’ ASS- good

3 STAGES OF HELL: Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly- 8.5/10
The first fall was a regular match, which Kyle won relatively quickly with a roll-up. The second fall was a street fight. Cole worked the midsection and won that fall. It was some brutal weapons stuff. Mostly it was great, but the hockey fight with both guys having a chain wrapped around their fist was a little much for me in terms of credulity.
Kyle was being checked on by the doctors between the second and third fall. Cole attacked O’Reilly during this break. The third fall was a cage match. They did the usual stuff and Kyle won by submission.
This match was awesome, but it felt like it was lacking something. Like the feud had gone on too long.

MCKENZIE MITCHELL INTERVIEWS ILJA DRAGUNOV- fine

LEGADO DEL FANTASMA PROMO- fine
They’re having a six-man tag against Hit Row on Tuesday.

NXT TITLE MATCH: Karrion Kross(c) vs. Samoa Joe- 7.25/10
No Scarlett again. It’s weird that they don’t even comment on it. The crowd was chanting “HARDY!” to taunt Karrion Kross. It would have been better if they had been chanting “JOE!”
This was a hard-hitting match with some good submission exchanges and great intensity, but it was definitely hurt for me by the inevitability of the finish. I’m usually pretty good about not letting that affect me, but for whatever reason I wasn’t able to filter it out as a much here.


This was a great show from NXT. Of course it was great. It’s TakeOver. But this was probably the first time that my enjoyment of a TakeOver felt like it suffered due to a staleness of the product as a whole. Most of the matches either felt like the outcome was inevitable or were already tired out for me due to seeing them multiple times over the past few months (including at recent TakeOvers). At the very least, after this show, we know certain feuds are ending, so hopefully things will be freshened up again.