Keep it simple, stupid.
We've all heard that phrase before. And as shown by NXT: Takeover (R)Evolution this week, it's a phrase that can be particularly relevant to wrestling.
The story that has swirled around Sami Zayn, really for the past year and a half, is that he's a guy who can't win the big match. You could say it started in the summer of 2013, when he lost to Cesaro in the first of their classic matches. He then followed up by losing to Cesaro again at NXT: Arrival, losing to Tyler Breeze at the first Takeover, and then not winning the title in the fourway match at the Takeover show in September.
Finally, he started to overcome his demons. He beat Tyson Kidd, he beat Tyler Breeze, and yet, he lost once again to Adrian Neville in a screwy finish.
So this was his chance to overcome all of this. And this time, finally, he won the big one, and captured the NXT title.
It's such a simple storyline. Nothing at all fancy about it, and it almost all took place in-ring. Yet it was so well-done, that it was incredibly captivating.
This is something that the WWE, and wrestling fans as a group, forgets sometimes. You don't need countless swerves in a storyline to make it good. You don't need surprise run-ins, or extra incentives to make a feud and a storyline compelling. You just need a basic story, and do your best at telling that story.
It showed at Takeover.
The crowd, which had always been behind Sami Zayn, was in a frenzy during his match with Neville. And they completely lost it when he finally won. It wasn't just that they mark out for the indy wrestlers, or they respect his ability. They loved his character, and were desperate to see him win. When he won, people rejoiced.
This type of storyline was common in the past. Wrestling storylines stayed pretty basic. However, as it grew on national television, with both WWF and WCW, the stories became more convoluted. Swerves were added, to an absurd degree, and fans absolutely ate it up at the time.
Fans still, in many cases, crave surprises and swerves. Every single person who is reading this has probably heard a friend say in the past month, "This is so predictable."
As Thursday night showed, however, sometimes predictable is good. Everyone knew Sami Zayn was going to win. It was the only logical outcome. Nobody cared. Predictable can be good. It means they're telling a good story. And the storyline that culminated was one of the best on WWE television in a while.
The Rest of NXT: Takeover (R)Evolution:
** Nobody can talk about Sami Zayn's win without describing what happened after. The locker room emptied out, with the faces celebrating with Sami. The first person out, and the first person to hug Sami was Kevin Owens (formerly Kevin Steen in ROH).
For those who aren't familiar with their background, Kevin Steen and El Generico (which was Sami Zayn's character in the indies) were long-time tag-team partners, turned bitter enemies. Their feud was on-and-off for three years before Zayn made the jump to WWE. In the promos leading up to Owens' debut at Takeover (where he beat CJ Parker), they acknowledged his past, including his past with Sami Zayn.
After the hugs, they made their way up the ramp together, when all of a sudden Owens attacked. He hit Zayn with a clothesline, and then powerbombed him into the ring apron.
Whether or not they acknowledge the past feud, the fact that they're continuing a feud into WWE is notable. It used to be commonplace for a feud to jump from territory to territory, the two battling across the country, in different organizations. That has pretty much ended at this point, at least as far as the bigger companies go. NXT however hasn't just mentioned their past, it seems that they're embracing it.
And if the feud these two will have comes anywhere close what they did in ROH, and other organizations, then viewers are in for a treat.
** Outside of everything swirling around Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, the biggest reaction was surely for Finn Balor, and how he came to the ring for his match teaming with Hideo Itami against The Ascension. When Finn Balor wrestled in Japan and Europe (as Prince Devitt), he wore face and body paint to the ring. For the first time since he debuted in NXT, he wore the paint, which resembled The Predator.
His entrance, both with the added theatrics and the paint, drew a "marking out" chant from the Full Sail crowd. A lot of people had questions with how Balor would be used in NXT, and the WWE. Based on Thursday, I'm convinced that the WWE views him as a future star.
One truly notable aspect of this match, which Balor and Itami won, was when Itami picked up Viktor in a fireman's carry position, teasing a GTS. The crowd absolutely exploded, but the move was broken up by Konnor. Itami later, on twitter, teased the GTS again. The GTS was Itami's move before it became popularized by CM Punk. Now that Punk is officially gone from the company, it will be interesting to see if they allow Itami to start using it again. The first time he does, the crowd will go nuts.
** Charlotte successfully defended her title against Sasha Banks in another great match from the NXT divas. AJ Lee took the time to praise the women in NXT in her "Diva of the Year" speech, and they show why at every big show. This is the third truly great women's match in the four NXT specials this year (and Charlotte/Bailey was still better than most divas matches on the main roster).
It's one reason why people were so confused by Nattie beating Charlotte on RAW, especially since it was only given a couple of minutes. It will be interesting to see where Charlotte goes from here, as she's already beaten most of the women on the roster in big matches.
** The Lucha Dragons beat the Vaudevillains in an entertaining match. The Vaudevillains are incredibly over with the crowd, but their gimmick is going to be a hard one to translate to the main roster. It's a fun gimmick, but probably too quirky to call up, especially for heels.
** Baron Corbin squashed Tye Dillinger
Questions? Thoughts on the show? Leave them in comment section, email me, or find me on Twitter: @TheAOster