Overall, NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day is one of the most underrated “NXT” events from the “Black and Gold” era. There really isn’t a bad match on the show despite a few gripes with certain things, and everyone who was on the card gave it their all for the minimal crowd that was on hand to see it live. Which brings me on to the biggest hate of all, one that I think we can all agree with especially with a card like this, I wish this show didn’t take place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The problem that we’ve had a lot when covering TakeOver shows for this Loved and Hated series is that it’s genuinely difficult to find things to complain about. The cards are so tight and concise that you aren’t feeling burnt out by the end of them, the five match structure actually works because the shows are short and not filled with at least two weeks worth of commercials like we have today, and because it was the style at the time, the in-ring action was the focus which meant that it had to be great and most of the time it was. Vengeance Day follows that same formula, but the only thing missing is the rabid TakeOver audience we used to get at every show.

Props have to be given to those in attendance as they made their own noise, but you can just tell that a match like Kushida vs. Johnny Gargano was made to be wrestled in front of a molten hot capacity crowd. A moment like MSK winning the Dusty Rhodes Classic would have been one of the feel good moments of the “Black and Gold” era had Nash Carter and Wes Lee had people to celebrate with other than each other, and the Adam Cole heel turn at the end of the show would have probably helped him become more detestable than what he ended up being in his feud with Kyle O’Reilly. A lot of wrestlers make the claim of being the heart and soul of “NXT,” but its when the brand lost its voice that the decline really started to be noticeable.

Some people like to say that it was AEW that killed the original incarnation of the “NXT” brand, but while that company’s success didn’t necessarily help, it was far from the biggest reason why “Black and Gold” didn’t make it to the end of 2021, it was the pandemic. Forcing a brand that had such a loyal and vocal audience behind closed doors was the move that needed to be made at that time, but it was the death blow for “NXT” as a brand. “NXT” during the 2010s was the show that the fans would rant and rave about, the crowd took characters into their arms and made them superstars, and had this show happened in front of thousands it would be heralded as an all-time classic. But instead, it’s just a lot of great wrestling happening in a near-empty building.

If you’re one of the people who dipped out on wrestling during the pandemic, go and watch this show, because even a global pandemic couldn’t stop professional wrestling from being great on this night.