WWE NXT Takeover: Orlando results and observations

NXT Takeover: Dallas set the bar very high during WrestleMania weekend last year.

This year, NXT Takeover: Orlando repeated that trend, as WWE's third brand put forth a stellar showing Saturday night at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla.

Not only were the matches very good, but most of them told some very good stories that showcased why NXT is such a beloved brand; it is because it tells stories that fans, including the so-called smart ones, can invest in.

Since I have some thoughts and analysis about each match, I will go through them in chronological order.

Before I get into the matches, there were two important pieces of information to delve into. At one point, Drew McIntyre was shown sitting in the stands and it was later announced that he had inked a deal with NXT.

This is a fantastic signing for the brand, in my opinion. When McIntyre was released from WWE a couple of years ago, he was comedy act as part of 3MB and felt like another instance of WWE failing to tap into someone's full potential.

Since he has been from underneath the WWE banner, he has reinvented himself in multiple promotions under his real name, Drew Galloway.

The name was not the only thing that changed for McIntyre, as he underwent an entire tone shift to become more of a serious act. It has helped him win a bunch of titles, and now, a spot back on the WWE/NXT roster.

Another piece of news coming out of this show the unveiling of new title belts for all three of NXT's championship.

I think they all look good, but they all have a big "X" on them. I understand that WWE wants the "X" in NXT to be prominently featured, but I couldn't help but think that they all looked like a variation of Impact Wrestling's X Division championship.

Outside of that, I liked all three designs.

With that said, let's get to the matches:

Sanity def. Tye Dillinger, Roderick Strong, Kassius Ohno & Ruby Riot

This was a far better match than I expected. To be frank, I should not be all that surprised. Although the story was not all that enthralling heading in, the talent involved is all worth their salt in the ring.

That includes newcomer Ruby Riot, as she had some very entertaining interactions with Nikki Cross.

Ohno was a last-minute addition to the match due to No Way Jose being written out of the contest after being attacked by Sanity. Ohno's inclusion of the match may have Jose off the card, but it definitely helped the match exceed my personal expectations.

Aleister Black def. Andrade "Cien" Almas

This was one of the matches I was looking forward to the most on this card.

It wasn't only because it marked the Black's NXT television debut, but also because he was working with Almas, whom I believe is one of the more underappreciated members of the NXT roster.

The first thing I want to touch on is Black's entrance, which was very cool. I thought it had some similarities to Finn Balor's entrance with its dark motif, but the most spectacular thing about to me was that Black already has his own custom nameplate and Saturday night was only his first match.

The only other members of the WWE roster that have their own custom nameplates are The Undertaker and Bray Wyatt. What that tells me is that NXT has some big plans for the man formerly known as Tommy End.

The outcome was inevitable, as Black won his first televised NXT match, but it wasn't without another great outing from Almas. Although he feels like the heel version of Tye Dillinger, which is essentially the gatekeeper for new and up-and-coming babyfaces, but Almas plays his role to near perfection and I think it has only helped him in NXT in the long run.

NXT Tag Team championship – Authors of Pain def. DIY & The Revival

This was easily the best match of the night.

It was not only because of the action, which was fantastic, it was also because of the story that was told for the bulk of the match and its near perfect execution.

The story of the match was DIY and the Revival, who have been heated rivals for months, being forced to team up in an effort to nullify the dominant Authors of Pain.

This story was told in a couple of ways that all ended with my jaw on the floor with how clever it was. The near sacrilegious alliance between DIY and the Revival involved a member of each team working together to pull each team's finisher.

Despite all of their efforts, it was not enough to keep the Authors of Pain down for too long. The champions managed to eliminate DIY and eventually marched their way through the Revival to retain the NXT Tag Team titles.

I thought the decision to have DIY be eliminated first was an interesting one, as it left two heel teams to close out the match. If it meant that it was NXT's way of sending off the Revival to the main roster, I like the decision.

Regardless of who was eliminated first, this was one of the best tag team matches I have ever seen and is easily in consideration for match of the year for 2017.

NXT may not be hitting on all cylinders overall, but its tag team division is.

NXT Women's championship – Asuka def. Ember Moon

I was definitely surprised by the outcome, but after watching it play out, I am more than interested in what is to come next when it comes to the NXT Women's title.

The story was essentially that Moon was such a threat to Asuka that she resorted to cheating to beat her, as she shoved the referee into the ropes to knock Moon off the top turnbuckle.

Asuka quickly capitalized on the situation by kicking Moon right in the noggin to pick up the win.

What this did was make Asuka a full-fledged heel, as she has been straddling the line between heel and babyface ever since she won the NXT Women's title.

Now that she seems like a full-on heel, it not only helps her but it helps Moon. Now, Moon can be the true babyface in the feud that people will want to see defeat Asuka.

Asuka has been so dominant for long in NXT that it almost feels beneath her to cheat, which will make people want to see Moon defeat her even more.

NXT championship – Bobby Roode def. Shinsuke Nakamura

This match was as much about the action as much as it was about the story that was told between the two combatants.

The story of this match was that Roode was working on Nakamura's previously injured knee whereas Nakamura worked on Roode's left arm/shoulder, which hampered his ability to hit the glorious DDT.

I thought Roode and Nakamura did a great job of selling their injuries during the match and I think it helped make the match much better than their encounter at NXT Takeover: San Antonio back in January.

At the end of the day, Nakamura's knee saw too much damage and it allowed Roode to deliver the glorious DDT for the win and wrap a very productive night for NXT.