NXT TakeOver: In Your House 2021 PPV Breakdown & Analysis

Last night, WWE presented its most recent wrestling pay-per-view – NXT TakeOver: In Your House 2021. This show emanated live from the Capitol Wrestling Center (WWE Performance Center) in Orlando, Florida. This show was commentated by WWE Hall of Famer Beth Pheonix, former WWE Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett, and resident WWE analyst Vic Joseph. In keeping with our theme of reviewing wrestling shows match by match, it’s time to get into our review and analysis of this special from NXT. This show boasts a five-match card (four of which being championship matches). Let’s dive into this month’s NXT TakeOver card!

Winner Take All Match for the NXT North American Championship and NXT Tag Team Championship: Bronson Reed (c.) and MSK (Nash Carter & Wes Lee) (c.) vs. Legado del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde, Raul Mendoza, & Santos Escobar)

We start off tonight’s action with the Winner Takes All Match for the NXT Tag Team Championship and NXT North American Championship! This match did not have an intense build if I’m honest. On NXT, MSK and Reed would back each other up in combat with Legado del Fantasma. This would lead to an eventual challenge being thrown down by Santos Escobar for a Winner Takes All Six-Man Tag Team match, which Reed would accept. First off, we have MSK and Bronson Reed make their entrances down to ringside. MSK and Reed are decked out in a sick black and green affair. Legado del Fantasma would make their entrances adorned in royal gold and purple. Will this stable of luchadors walk out of NXT TakeOver: In Your House with championship gold around their waist? Let’s find out.

The bell rings, and this match is on! Right out of the gate, we have Wes Lee and Raul Mendoza with some quick-paced action that was way too quick for me to jot down. These two go back and forth, but neither man is able to get a visible advantage. Eventually, Mendoza tags in the ring leader of Legado del Fantasma, Santos Escobar. Escobar looks past Lee, and points at the NXT North American Champion, challenging him to get into the ring. In response, Lee would proceed to tag Reed into the match… only for Escobar to tag out to Raul Mendoza rather than face this Australian behemoth. Reed would proceed to dominate Mendoza.

At one point, we received a very intense sequence from all six men. With Escobar already on the outside of the ring, Nash Carter would hop onto the apron and perform a moonsault onto the former NXT Cruiserweight Champion. This would lead to Mendoza tossing his partner, Joaquin Wilde, out of the ring onto Carter. Wes Lee would then launch himself out of the ring with a Tope Con Hilo on to Wilde, Carter, and Escobar. Mendoza would join the fray with a Spaceman Plancha to the outside. However, not one to be outclassed, the 300+ pound Bronson Reed would perform a suicide dive to the outside, wiping out every competitor in the process. That was an incredible spot! The pace really began to pick up around this point.

All six men would perform incredibly impressive maneuvers. After constant near-falls, superkicks, and high-flying action, we advance to our finish. On the outside, Escobar would walk toward the timekeeper and steal the NXT North American Championship. He’d proceed to look into the camera and lambast the audience watching at home before Bronson Reed would channel his inner Monty Brown and send Escobar through the barricade and wall with a massive shoulder tackle. Carter and Lee would go on to hit a devastating Burning Hammer/Stomp combination to Wilde on the outside of the ring. The tandem would make their way to an isolated Mendoza in the middle of the ring, land their finishers, and get the pinfall victory to retain their titles.

This match was a great opener for the show. I’m a sucker for high-flying action (especially when it’s performed by a guy the size of Bronson Reed). Personally, I feel this match could have made it to 5 star territory if it had gone on longer, but it was good for the time they were given. At this point in their reigns, I can’t think of a single person I would rather see holding the titles, and that’s very telling! This match was awesome. Go out of your way to watch this one.

Match Result: MSK (Nash Carter and Wes Lee) (c.) and Bronson Reed (c.) defeated Legado del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde, Raul Mendoza, and Santos Escobar) via Pinfall in 13:36 to retain their respective championships.
Walker’s Star Rating: 4 Star Match