NXT ran their 4th live special last night, Takeover R Evolution, and it was perfect. NXT is beyond the “it’s the best thing you’re not watching” argument at this point, because it’s been the best wrestling show (I don’t watch ROH or NJPW) for the entire 2014 calendar year. Imagine a world where a company has the resources of the WWE but also really cares about wrestling, and you’d have NXT. Watching Raw on Monday and then this show, it’s almost as if two different companies put on this show. Hopefully the writers and Vince take some cues from this show, because it was awesome. Takeover R Evolution was so good, that is has completely restored my faith in pro wrestling, and if HHH is indeed the future of the WWE from a behind the scenes point of view, the future is looking mighty bright. Here are some of the highlights:

• Kevin Owens (more on him later) debuted in the opening match and trounced CJ Parker, but not before Parker applied his palm thrust move a little too realistically.

No one makes Kevin Owens bleed his own blood. #NXTTakeoverREvolution #NXTREvolution pic.twitter.com/tZMlwyplFv

— The Fan’s Podcast (@TheFansPodcast) December 12, 2014

Make no mistake!! @FightOwensFight is the toughest man I’ve ever stepped foot in the ring with! Split to the bone! pic.twitter.com/M8hW4Isvlm

— CJ Parker (@WWEMoonChild) December 12, 2014

Hey CJ, NXT and the WWE MIGHT have some plans for Kevin Owens, so try not to push his nose through the back of his head next time.

• The Lucha Dragons retained the tag titles in a fun match with The Vaudevillians. The crowd chanted “chivalry” towards the end of the match when Aiden English shoved his partner Simon Gotch out of the way and got taken out by both Lucha Dragons, which was wonderful. I still love The Vaudevillians, and I’m excited for the next chapter in this feud.
• Baron Corbin beat Tye Dillinger in under a minute. The NXT crowd continued my favorite tradition by counting the entire match. For those who don’t watch NXT, Corbin is being built up as this powerhouse, and all of his matches have been under a minute. The NXT crowd caught on to this, and once the bell rings, they begin counting in unison until the match ends. It’s spectacular.
• Finn Balor & Hideo Itami beat The Ascension. The match was wonderful, but the most important thing is that Finn Balor has brought his body paint swag with him to NXT:

OH MY GOD! @wwebalor‘s war paint @WWENXT#NXTTakeoverREvolutionpic.twitter.com/Po847gVIcd

— Joey Styles (@JoeyStyles) December 12, 2014

• Charlotte beat Sasha Banks to retain the Women’s title in what would have been the match of the night on pretty much any other show. This was one of the best matches of the year, men’s or women’s. Charlotte is om another level, and if you watched her last night, you’d probably want to break your TV after thinking about her Raw appearance on Monday. Sasha Banks is a star as well. She sold her ass off, and earned her BOSS nickname. Also, this happened:

https://vine.co/v/O6Oz6wLEKhV/embed/simple

• Sami Zayn became the new NXT champion in an absolute classic. I can’t say enough good things about this match, and the show that Zayn and Adrian Neville put on for the NXT audience. It was a logical conclusion to a months long storyline that had a definitive ending. It wasn’t just two guys wrestling for a title, or because they were thrown together. Zayn finally winning the big one was just the icing on the cake. The entire NXT locker room, including Kevin Owens, Zayn’s real life good friend, came out to congratulate him on his title win. It was the perfect end to a perfect show, and then somehow, things got even better. Fast forward to the 1:20 mark if you want to skip the highlights.

Unreal. I can’t wait for next Thursday. That’s how it done, WWE.

– Ryan