Asuka vs. Mickie James

[6.0] "A regular match that didn't have anything special aside for Mickies return to the company. Mickie was fine for what she could do."

[7.0] "I liked it, it's not amazing, but it's pretty good. It has a good pace, and the first few minutes are excellent with that technical style that I personally love. It's not bad at all, really, I would watch it again."

[7.0] "Everyone seemed genuinely happy to see Mickie James make her return here, and it was fun watching her and Asuka play off each other with plenty of showmanship. The ending felt a bit odd, with Mickie tapping out instantly to a crossface, which undercut some of the match's build. That said, the post-match moment where Asuka refused to shake Mickie's hand and instead held up the NXT Women's Championship belt was perfect. *** 1/2"

[7.0] "pretty decent match not my fav from either but this was good, Mickie got to really show off and did sell the asuka lock good leading to asuka winning"

[9.0] "In my opinion this match is near perfect, th in-ring is really clean and the taunting between the two was something that totally suprised me, they worked absolutly well together. If there was one thing that was lacking it's the lack of emotional investment I had, but that is to be expected for a dream match like this one."

[6.0] "A bit of a mild match. It was very solid all the way through, but not much stood out. The tap-out finish was a bit too sudden, making Mickie look weaker than she was shown the whole rest of the match. ***"

[7.0] "A good, well-constructed match. There is respect between the two women but tensions arise from the first 5 minutes. Subsequently they show more aggression. A somewhat sloppy finish. (3*1/2)"

[7.0] "Fairly fun match between these two. Asuka continues her reign of dominance and establishes herself even more by beating a legend in Mickie James. I absolutely love Asuka and she did great here, as did James."

[5.0] "Eh, definitely see the rust from Mickie James, pretty slow match for most of it, finish wasn't anything exciting"

[10.0] "This was a great match. Mickie and Asuka are very different; it was such an exciting and interesting mix of styles. The moment I saw Mickie on the screen, I knew these two would deliver. I wish they had a second bout where they could be given more time. This match felt like it came to an end as soon as it started to pick up. But it was still very great."

[9.0] "Asuka's best NXT match to date at this point, and I'd also say Mickie's best match in her WWE run. Bonus point for the rejected endorsement at the conclusion of the match."

[4.0] "The novelty of Mickie returning wears off quickly...of course Asuka goes over, but why bring Mickie back to lose' 2*"

[6.0] "Mickie James durfte in den paar Minuten das ein oder andere mal mit ihrer Erfahrung Asuka gefährlich werden, aber doch nie so ganz. So richtig gut war das Match nicht, aber auch nicht schlecht. Das Ende kam mir etwas zu kurz."

[7.0] "A good match given the expectations. This one felt like it was about to really pick up, but unfortunately never did. The crowd was pretty torn out too, coming off a ridiculous tag match earlier, so can't blame them. I will say though, Mickie looked amazing for a woman who pretty much past her prime, and another title run for her wouldn't hurt whatsoever. [***1/4]"

[8.0] "I instantly experience happiness hearing Mickie's theme song hit in the NXT Arena. I had not ever been able to watch TNA Impact, so I was very excited to see the queen return. Wisely watching this match it genuinely enjoyed and had me very entertained. The ending and entire match were quite intense even though the ultimate winner was obvious."

[7.0] "Solid match, Mickie performed better than I had anticipated going in. I thought they had great chemistry as well. Gotta knock it for the awkward finish, though."

[6.0] "Another pretty good match here. Asuka was stiff as always. Mickie looked real good in her first match coming back to wwe. Her work was solid. The action was good enough to get decent reaction from crowd who were exhausted after DIY/Revival match."

[7.0] "Abrupt ending harms an otherwise good match. Mickie James looked fabulous and matched Asuka every step. Asuka's selling was very good and it seemed like she could legitimately lose. Heelish overtones after the end of the match took her performance a notch higher. ***1/2"

[7.0] "Es spricht für die Qualität beider Damen, dass sie zum Ende der Elternzeit James' ein solches Match raushauen. Mickie James dominiert das Match fast zu sehr, um dann so schnell beim Aufgabegriff abzuklopfen. Das ist aber Kritik auf hohem Niveau."

[8.0] "Very Good match! it surprised me because i didn't see too much of mickie when she was on tna knockouts, and i throught this was going to be a bad match. but it was far from my expectatives. *** 3/4"

[7.0] "Unlike the far majority of her challengers, from the moment it was announced, Asuka has sold that meeting Mickie James for the NXT Women's title was something that truly excited this violent vixen into doing something she hasn't done since entering NXT, and that is credibly sell for her opponent's offense. Granted, when one's best challenger has been the durable but soft Bailey, it's hard for a champion to take the rest of the ladies' division seriously. Mickie James's tenure as a competitor, and the fact that she looks like a woman who, though approaching middle-age, has improved the quality of her in-ring work made this title defense the best of Asuka's run in NXT."

[6.0] "Klasse Auftritt von Mickie, die das Match ganz klar dominiert und keinerlei Ringrost zeigt. Leider fehlt die Chemie etwas, auch das Publikum ist erstaunlicherweise eher still. Ein ganz großer Schwachpunkt ist das abrupte Finish. Asuka wird als brandgefährlich dargestellt, eine Aktion kann sofort das Ende bedeuten - klar. Aber ein so schneller Tap-Out passt überhaupt nicht zum Aufbau des Matches, dass Mickie sich nach dem Match einfach so abkochen lässt ebenfalls nicht. Fazit: Zwei Top-Performerinnen, die hoffentlich weitere Matches haben - und dann besser harmonieren."

[7.0] "Für mich ist auch dieses Match ganz ansehlich und es war schön Mickie James mal wieder zu sehen. Sie zeigt eine solide Performance und man sieht, dass sie es noch immer draufhat. Das einzige was wirklich fehlte war die Spannung, denn es war definitiv klar das Asuka mit dem Titel auch wieder nach Hause fährt. Das Finish kommt irgendwie ein wenig zu kurz, da hätte noch mehr gehen können. Sonst sind das solide 7 Punkte."

[4.0] "Leider hatten diese beiden tollen Wrestlerinnen überhaupt keine Chemie mit- bzw. gegeneinander. So ist mir die WON-Wertung unverständlich (**)."

[8.0] "Great match and Mickie definitely looked better than expected not far from childbirth. She may have been the only great talent from the mid-2000's women's division. However, it was awkward seeing her have the advantage about 75% of the match and the ending was too abrupt for my taste"

[7.0] "Es geht doch nichts über Erfahrung. Mickie James kann man spontan aus dem Mutterschaftsurlaub holen und hat prompt ein ansehnliches Titelmatch parat. Technisch einwandfrei und vor allen Dingen versteht es James, mit all ihrer Klasse wie eine wirkliche Bedrohung für die sonst so dominante Japanerin auszusehen. Man kann natürlich zu keiner Zeit davon ausgehen, dass Mickie hier mit dem Titel in den Sonnenuntergang reitet, aber sie ist definitv eine gute Wahl, die Qualität der Titelmatches der NXT-Damen hoch zu halten, da ansonsten im Nachwuchsbereich noch keine Kollegin so weit zu sein scheint. Sehr anständige sieben Zähler."

[8.0] "This match really showed how much Mickie James has improved since leaving WWE initially; her TNA and indie runs have had some serious gems, but this was something special. Such a "2016" matchup here, but they worked so well together. Mickie played the veteran very well against the cocky dominant champ in Asuka, bumping really well for her (especially that leg-capture German to the floor) and working stiff enough to keep up with her. The dynamic was worked very well, and the finish grew on me more the more I thought about it; Mickie spent a full minute trying to fight out of the devastating Asuka Lock, but Asuka just would not let go. When Asuka finally got it locked in and Mickie knew she couldn't escape, she tapped immediately to save herself. Felt really legitimate, and I loved it. ****."

[8.0] "This match was much better than I expected it to be. I didn't watch TNA too often when Mickie was still there so I didn't know if she was still any good but damn was she. Very fluent with every move. These women put on a great match that had a big fight feel. Would love to see more of Mickie ***1/2."

[6.0] "War halt klar dass Asuka NXT Womens Champion bleibt, Da man Mickie sicher nicht für den einen Auftritt den Gürtel geben wollte. Fand das Match in Ordnung. Mickie ist halt eher eine, die man mehr für Old School Wrestling hernehmen kann, mit Asukas dynamischem Ringstil passt das nicht so gut zusammen. Fande auch dass Mickie James zu früh abgeklopft hat, da wären doch sicher noch ein paar Minuten drin gewesen. Jetzt nichts, was nach einem weiteren Mickie James Auftritt bei NXT schreit, aber dennoch nett sie wieder mal bei der WWE zu sehen."

[6.0] "Man wusste nicht was man erwarten sollte. Asuka ist super und bei Mickie wusste man eben nicht wie sie drauf ist. Dennoch machte das Match laune und war sogar recht gut. *** 1/4"

[6.0] "Asuka vs. MJ hatte ne ganz nette Story, ein paar nette Sequenzen und eine annehmbare Schlussphase. Finish kam zu früh, insgesamt solide (***)."

[6.0] "Das Match war von der Qualität her ungefähr so, wie man es erwarten konnte. Mickie James war damals eine sehr gute Workerin im Vergleich zu dem Rest der Diva Division, aber im Vergleich mit Asuka oder den Big 4 stinkt sie heutzutage etwas ab. Fairerweise muss man aber auch sagen, dass es extrem schwer war nach dem Tag Match das Publikum noch einmal zur Teilnahme zu aktivieren. ***"

[6.0] "Ein solides Match, nicht mehr, aber auch nicht weniger. Um ehrlich zu sein hat mir das Match nicht so gefallen wie erwartet, was vielleicht auch daran lag, dass das Match etwas zu kurz geriet. Man muss aber zugeben, dass die beiden eine wirklich gute Story innerhalb des Matches erzählt haben. (***1/4)."

[7.0] "The only gripe I have here is that Mickie took a bit too much of this match which goes against Asuka's current NXT character, unless you come at it from the angle that NXT is the top minor league, and Mickie is experienced in the majors. Personally I don't think it's up there with the likes of the Horsewomen 4 Way, Sasha/Becky and the two Sasha/Bayley matches, or the second Bayley/Asuka match, but it certainly wasn't a disgrace to the reputation that Takeover women's matches have. Certainly it was very good, and Mickie made a great case for WWE to re-sign her."

[7.0] "A good match. I didn't know what to expect from Mickie James, but she delivered here. The storytelling was solid w/ the mind games, Mickie's veteran tricks vs. Asuka's hard hitting offense. ***"

[7.0] "Richtig guter Co-Main Event. Mickie ist immer noch in klasse Form wrestlet ja trotz Kind immer noch hin und wieder. Ihr Mann war nicht anwesend hat aber das Match vielleicht dann über Network angeschaut. Ein Match das mir gut gefiel und für das erste Mal zwischen den beiden war das richtig gut (***1/4)."

[7.0] "A good match, maybe not a great one but still one that I enjoyed. Asuka brings a great aura and has some really awesome offense. Mickie looked good still, as anyone who has watched outside of WWE would already expect. They played a decent storyline as well, Mickie using her veteran wiles to stay ahead of the dominating offense as long as possible."

[6.0] "Ordentliches Match. Ich muss zugeben, dass ich mir hier etwas mehr erwartet hatte, da ich wusste, dass sich Mickie James nach wie vor in einer tollen Verfassung befindet. Leider hat hier die Chemie der Beiden nicht ganz gestimmt, wobei dies aber vielleicht auch bisschen auf Asukas Stil zurückzuführen ist. Früh war klar, wer das Ding gewinnen wird. Insgesamt ein "befriedigend"."