WWE NXT TakeOver: In Your House 2021 - As It Happened
An eventful night of in-ring action
Jun 14, 2021
NXT brought the 1990s to 2021 on June 13 with NXT TakeOver: In Your House and, as usual, WWE's black and gold brand delivered a very good show that was capped off with an excellent main event.
Changes to NXT also appear to be on the horizon as TakeOver went off the air after a tearful William Regal admitted it was time for a change following seven years as general manager.
Check out what happened below:
Bronson Reed & MSK def. Legado del Fantasma - Winners Take All Six-Man Tag Team Match for the NXT North American Championship & NXT Tag Team Championship
NXT TakeOver opened with the Winners Take All match and all six competitors spent time in the ring during the opening minutes that featured Bronson Reed dominating all three members of Legado del Fantasma.
Putting Bronson's power to good use, the team of champions worked over Joaquin Wilde, wearing him down for a few minutes. Wilde eventually managed to make the tag to Santos Escobar and the first major spots of the match followed. It all started with a Tope Suicida from Nash Carter and everyone in the match followed up with their own dives to the floor, ending with a Tope from Bronson Reed.
Amidst all of the chaos, Santos Escobar threw Wes Lee back into the ring and Legado del Fantasma dominated the former Dezmond Xavier until the MSK man made the tag to Bronson Reed. The Colossal One used his power once again to annihilate Wilde and Mendoza and Reed finally faced off against Santos Escobar.
Legado del Fantasma then almost picked up the win as Escobar decimated Reed with the Phantom Driver. Nash Carter broke up the pin, though. Wilde and Mendoza responded with their tag team finisher to Carter but it was Wes Lee's turn to break up the pin with a Senton from the ramp into the ring.
The babyface team then gained the upper hand after Reed splatted Escobar on the outside through the cage barricade. MSK decked Joaquin Wilde with their Hart Attack-Blockbuster finisher moments later and Reed followed up with Tsunami to score the win.
Xia Li def. Mercedes Martinez
Xia Li dominated the opening minutes, sending Mercedes Martinez crashing into the ring post before she wrenched the 20-year-veteran into the post soon after. The ring post came back to haunt Li, though, as Martinez dodged a kick, sending Xia's leg crashing into the metal.
The match then became more of an even contest, with Martinez selling her midsection while Li sold her damaged leg. Mercedes got on a roll after a few minutes and she set up for the Air Raid Crash. Li managed to escape and she connected with a Spinning Kick for the 1-2-3.
After the match, Xia Li demanded Boa hand her a steel chair. Martinez awoke, though, and she decimated Li and Boa with the weapon. Martinez then shouted that she wasn't scared of Tian Sha while she continued to beat down Xia.
She really should have been, though, as Sha survived a steel chair shot and sent Martinez flying into the cage barricade after grabbing her by the throat.
LA Knight def. Cameron Grimes - Ladder Match for the Million Dollar Championship
Big pop for Cameron Grimes as he made his way to the ring and the CWC crowd rained down chants of 'to the moon.' LA Knight was instead met with chants of 'you still suck.'
The chants seemingly spurred Grimes on as he dominated the opening minutes until LA Knight fought back with a Stiff Clothesline. The action then became more even and both men enjoyed hurting their opponent with the ladder, with Grimes driving LA Knight into the barricade at one point.
LA Knight eventually gained the upper hand again and he battered Grimes around ringside and inside the squared circle for several minutes. The Technical Savage briefly got back into the match with a German Suplex onto a ladder but Knight quickly fought back with a painful Neckbreaker on the side of the same ladder.
NXT continued the story of Grimes fighting from underneath, only to be cut off by LA Knight. The Technical Savage eventually decked Knight with a Dive from the steel beams to the floor and he followed up with a Hurricanrana over the top rope to the former IMPACT World Champion. Grimes was then about to grab the title but LA Knight got back in the ring and sent Grimes crashing onto a ladder on the ramp.
LA Knight then climbed the ladder and grabbed the Million Dollar Title for the clean win.
Following the match, we had a backstage clip of Karrion Kross and Pete Dunne trying to fight each other. This followed on from Kyle O'Reilly and Johnny Gargano trying to fight each other in the car park before TakeOver went on the air. On both occasions, an infuriated William Regal ordered them to calm down. The general manager will surely have to reassert his authority soon.
Raquel Gonzalez def. Ember Moon - NXT Women's Championship
Dakota Kai made her presence felt early on as she distracted Ember Moon which allowed Gonzalez to send the challenger flying from the apron into the cage barricade. The champion then proceeded to work over Moon, dominating her with methodical offence.
Ember Moon eventually managed to fight back and she decked Gonzalez with Code Red for a near fall. She locked in an Inverted Cloverleaf but the champion made it to safety after Dakota Kai pushed the bottom rope towards her. Gonzalez then tried to get some breathing room but The War Goddess caught her with a Tope Suicida to the outside and she followed up with a Flatliner for another near fall.
Moon looked to capitalise with the Eclipse but Dakota Kai hopped onto the apron, allowing Gonzalez to recover and throw Ember across the ring. Why the official didn't send Kai to the back at this point is anyone's guess.
Gonzalez then tried to hit her One-Arm Powerbomb finisher but Moon fought back with a Stunner, similar to earlier this week, and she capitalised with a Codebreaker from the top rope and the Eclipse. Dakota Kai proved to be the decisive factor yet again, though, as she placed Gonzalez's foot on the bottom rope before the official could count to three. A returning Shotzi Blackheart then charged to the ring and battered Kai to the back.
Back in the ring, Moon hit Gonzalez with a DDT on the ramp. The champion managed to kick out, however. Moon then went for a second Eclipse but Gonzalez escaped and delivered Snake Eyes and the One-Arm Powerbomb for the win.
Ahead of the main event, NXT announced The Great American Bash would return to NXT on July 6.
Karrion Kross def. Adam Cole, Pete Dunne, Johnny Gargano and Kyle O'Reilly - Fatal 5-Way for the NXT Championship
Pete Dunne, Kyle O'Reilly and Johnny Gargano were made to look weak in the early going as they stepped up to Karrion Kross, only for The Herald Of Doomsday to win the duel. The only man who put Kross down was Adam Cole, but Pete Dunne caught the former NXT Champion's leg and the other three challengers beat him down while he was trapped in the apron.
We had a cool spot soon after of Pete Dunne manipulating Gargano and O'Reilly's fingers at the same time. Karrion Kross broke up the move with a Powerbomb to Dunne and the NXT Champion went after Adam Cole. Cole escaped a Powerbomb attempt, though, and Dunne and Gargano sent Kross crashing through the In Your House door.
This left the four challengers to fight undisturbed for a little while and they had some cool spots, including an Enziguri exchange, until Karrion Kross came back to life and annihilated the field. The NXT Champion then tried to pin Gargano following a Tornado F5 but Johnny Wrestling kicked out. It was then the North American Champion's turn to run roughshod over the competition and he scored a near fall on Adam Cole with a Reverse STO.
The action became more even again soon after until Kross once again dominated the field with German Suplexes, channelling his inner Brock Lesnar. Dunne fired back with a German Suplex of his own, though, and Cole and O'Reilly worked together and drilled Kross onto the announce table with a Double Powerbomb as 'Undisputed' chants echoed around the Capitol Wrestling Center.
The action came down to the four challengers once again and Gargano caught Cole with One Final Beat for a near fall. Johnny Wrestling then locked in the Gargano Escape on Dunne and Cole simultaneously but O'Reilly broke it up with a Running Knee. Kyle O'Reilly decimated Gargano with a Brainbuster and the former ROH World Champion tried to follow up with his Diving Knee but Cole pushed him to the floor.
The former Undisputed ERA leader then hit Panama Sunrise on Gargano but he couldn't make the cover as Dunne pulled him to the floor and decked him with a Brainbuster. Karrion Kross awoke moments later and Pete Dunne and the NXT Champion battled in the ring. Dunne got the better of the exchange as he caught Kross with the Bitter End for a near fall. Kross was then about to pass out after Dunne locked in the Triangle Choke but the three other men in the match broke up the submission.
Karrion Kross hit Double Saito Suplexes on Cole and Dunne soon after and he followed up with a Clubbing Forearm to the back of Cole's head before he locked in the Krossjacket on Dunne.
The Bruiserweight managed to escape and Gargano capitalised with One Final Beat, only for Kross to lock in the Krossjacket on him. Cole fired back into the ring with a Last Shot to Kross and O'Reilly hit the NXT Champion with the Diving Knee. Kool Kyle was about to pin Kross until Adam Cole caught him with a Superkick. Cole then went for Last Shot on O'Reilly but Kyle rolled through and locked in the Heel Hook on his former friend.
Cole was close to tapping and it became a race against time after Kross locked in the Krossjacket on Kyle. Unfortunately for O'Reilly, he faded before Cole tapped and the official called for the bell.
With that, Karrion Kross ended the night still NXT Champion.
An eventful night wasn't finished there, though, as McKenzie Mitchell caught up with a tearful William Regal as he left the building and the general manager admitted it was time for a change after seven years in charge.