WWE NXT TakeOver: In Your House Results: Reviewing Top Highlights

Four men sought to take Karrion Kross off his throne and become the new NXT champion in the headlining match of NXT TakeOver: In Your House on Sunday.

The NXT Women's Championship was also on the line as Raquel Gonzalez was up against a former champion in her own right, Ember Moon.

Who walked away with the Million Dollar, North American and NXT Tag Team Championships?

Did Xia Li achieve vengeance for Mercedes Martinez embarrassing her years ago?

Now that the event is in the books, we know the answers to those questions and more. But which matches were the best of the night?

Presented in order of appearance, let's look back on the results of NXT TakeOver: In Your House and pinpoint its highlights.

NXT TakeOver: In Your House 2021 Results

• Six-Man Tag Team Winners-Take-All Match: Bronson Reed and MSK defeated Legado del Fantasma by pinfall to retain the NXT North American Championship and NXT Tag Team Championships.
• Xia Li defeated Mercedes Martinez by pinfall.
• Ladder Match: LA Knight defeated Cameron Grimes to win the Million Dollar Championship.
• Raquel Gonzalez defeated Ember Moon by pinfall to retain the NXT Women's Championship.
• Karrion Kross defeated Adam Cole, Pete Dunne, Johnny Gargano and Kyle O'Reilly to retain the NXT Championship.

UFC numbers their events, and they all blend together. But one of the special things about WWE is the ability to personalize pay-per-views and give them a different feel.

Simply calling this In Your House and bringing back the house set instantly made it a little more special than if it were just TakeOver 35 with the normal Capitol Wrestling Center setup.

To add some extra flair, the intro video package was reminiscent of old-school openings from the mid-1990s, down to using production music that hasn't been heard in decades.

Todd Pettengill and Dok Hendrix as guest members of the broadcast team was another delight. It's always great to see those guys and to add even more nostalgia. Pettengill even got to face Dexter Lumis in a game of Karate Fighters!

Of course, it also has to be said that there were more fans in attendance, too. Crowds have been sorely missed and the more cheers and boos, the higher the overall energy of the show, so that was a welcome bonus.

Those of us at home couldn't experience the environment firsthand, but we at least got the return of the ability to rewind and catch up to the live feed on Peacock, which was another great thing to see for this event.

WWE pulled a smart move by combining the North American and NXT Tag Team Championship title defenses into one winners-take-all scenario. This killed two birds with one stone (or, rather, three on each side), so it didn't extend the pay-per-view's length but made logical sense.

Legado del Fantasma is best as a unit, rather than the members going their separate ways. While Bronson Reed and MSK won their titles with just cause, they weren't as well-versed in teaming together.

That gave Santos Escobar's team the advantage, whereas the North American champion provided size and strength the heels struggled to overcome.

That back-and-forth led to a rock-solid opening contest that never had a lull in the action.

There was a nice series of one person after another leaping over the top rope to the outside, giving everyone a moment to show off their skills. Perhaps the best part of the match was Reed tackling Escobar through the security barricade to take him out of the equation.

Extra points go to both teams for having coordinated their ring gear. MSK and Reed matched in black, white and green, while Legado del Fantasma had some great blue, red and gold outfits. That wasn't absolutely necessary, but it helped show the synergy between the teams.

Every other match had a championship on the line, but this match was worth the watch even without stakes.

Xia Li has been steadily improving over the years since her first match with Mercedes Martinez. Now, instead of a huge gap between the two, it was a more even contest.

That led to a more entertaining fight. WWE could have easily gone the other way and booked Li to squash Martinez to help build the credibility of Li's faction, Tian Sha, but it didn't.

Instead, Martinez put up a fight. She's the veteran and showed it off by arguably being the more dominant of the two.

Ultimately, the right call was made to have Li go over. She's the younger talent who gained more out of this victory than if Martinez had had her hand raised.

The biggest takeaway from this was probably what happened after, though, with Mei Ying getting her hands dirty. She showed who truly has the power by easily dispatching Martinez, clutching her throat and throwing her into the barricade.

Hopefully, Martinez vs. Ying will be booked soon enough to follow up on that!

A few months back, nobody would have imagined this match would take place on this card—least of all for Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Championship.

Ladder matches are inherently fun, so Cameron Grimes and LA Knight had that going for them before the bell even rang.

Once it did, they went at it like they wanted to kill each other. Knight, in particular, threw the ladders around with a ferocity that is rarely seen in ladder matches, as competitors can often look like they're going through the motions of dance choreography.

This looked painful. Both Superstars are surely banged up after falling through ladders numerous times.

As far as bonus points, incorporating The Million Dollar Man's legendary belt instantly made this more intriguing, as nobody's carried that belt since November 2010. Bringing it back just to fawn over was surely enough for some people to classify this as a highlight.

It was tough to call who would win this. That unpredictability played a big factor in this match's success, as every time someone started climbing the ladder, it felt like it could be the finish. The more fake-outs, the more tension was built.

When everything was said and done, the more serious of the two is now holding the title. That most likely means there are plans for this longer than just a one-off gag. The more, the better!

On paper, this made sense. Ember Moon is a former NXT women's champion and tag team champion who is big enough and established enough to pose a threat to Raquel Gonzalez and give the titleholder a star to beat.

They've even had their fair share of animosity over the tag team titles, so it was the easy call to book this for In Your House.

Thankfully, it wasn't a match that fell short once the bell rang. While it wasn't the best contest of the night, it took care of everything it needed to do.

Moon had her moments of being on top. Particularly, she nearly had the win after an Eclipse. If it weren't for Dakota Kai putting Gonzalez's foot on the ropes, a new champion would have been crowned.

That led to the return of Shotzi Blackheart to brawl with Kai and shove her into the garden on the set. Despite evening the odds for Moon, the champion stood tall with a one-armed powerbomb.

It's a muddied win, but the history books will reflect that the title stayed put, and that's all that matters in the long run.

When you put five of NXT's best talents in the ring together and let them take their gloves off, it's hard to imagine this not being a highlight.

This match revolved around two basic ideas. If Karrion Kross is in there, he's putting up a great fight against the other four. When he was taken out of the equation, the others showed they were all on equal ground with constant counter-maneuvers and perpetual shifts in momentum.

Every time Kross started exerting his dominance, two or three Superstars teamed up to take him out. It was simple and effective.

Despite the odds stacked against The Tollman, he managed to secure victory by submission when Kyle O'Reilly passed out. A few seconds later, O'Reilly would have likely made Adam Cole tap out and won the title, so it will be interesting if NXT picks up on that for a future storyline.

Not only was the match itself fun from start to finish, but it also ended with much intrigue about the future of the brand.

Since Kross has dispatched every viable contender, who is left to step up? For that matter, what does William Regal mean when he says it's time for a change after being in charge for seven years?

This checked off the marks of a great main event and has given fans a hook to want to tune in to next Tuesday's episode. You can't ask for much more than that!

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.