WWE NXT preview (Feb. 1, 2017): TAKEn

It’s time for our quarterly show for people who boycott YouTube! Here's what to expect on the TakeOver: San Antonio fallout show!

The Headliner(s)

On the ‘go home’, No Way Jose took care of business with Kona Reeves (business that started way back on the TakeOver: Toronto fallout show, but for some reason festered for a couple months). Just when our favorite dancin’ Dominican thought he could back to his 2017 resolution of partying all the time, that dang Elias Samson interrupted No Way’s music with one of his songs.

Jose told him to cut that crap off, and if the Drifter didn’t like it, he could... drift away. Samson put down his guitar and went to tell No Way, “no way!” and ended up getting popped in the mouth before he could get in the ring.

Voila! We have a match.

The Title Scene

Bobby Roode ruthlessly targeted Shinsuke Nakamura’s injured knee last Saturday to become the tenth NXT champion in history. The Glorious One says this is the next step in his plan to take NXT to the next level, and since WWE.com’s preview for this show actually teases statements from Roode and Nakamura, this feud see some advancement, even on what’s usually a filler episode.

The only champ to retain in San Antonio was Women’s titleholder Asuka, who shut down the Icons after Billie Kay & Peyton Royce took care of Nikki Cross. But while they battled one-on-one, SAnitY’s Cross looked more than up to the challenge of the undefeated Empress. Meanwhile, Ember Moon challenged Asuka on the pre-show, but the champ didn’t seem concerned... or aware of who Ember even is.

After an emotional win in Canada, #DIY wasn’t able to defend their tag team championship in Texas against the monstrous Authors of Pain. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa tried all the tricks which allowed them to finally get past The Revival, and a few more besides, but it wasn’t enough, as Akam & Rezar added the belts to their case alongside the Dusty Classic trophy.

Other stuff to keep an eye on:

- As I joked above, the show after a TakeOver is often made up of highlights and the interviews from after the event WWE posts online. But with only two months until TakeOver: Orlando, tonight might be a little more eventful.

- It’ll be interesting to see how they address the NXT-related things which have happened on the main roster in the last couple days, including Tye Dillinger’s Royal Rumble entry, and Samoa Joe showing up on Raw as Triple H’s “Destroyer” to retaliate for Seth Rollins’ invasion of TakeOver.

- Roderick Strong and Eric Young will look to build on their San Antonio victories, with Roddy gunning for a title shot, and EY, Killain Dain & Alexander Wolfe promising to “take” whatever they want.

- You know they signed Kassius Ohno, right?

NOTE: Spoilers are out there for these pre-taped broadcasts, but many Cagesiders don't partake. If you are going to post or discuss spoilers for this show before they happen, or results of future shows, please use the spoiler bar in your comment.

See you tonight for NXT, Cagesiders!