On a night of changes, Finn Balor was the only one to retain his title, besting Samoa Joe anew for his NXT Championship. Photo by WWE.com
Finn Balor owned Samoa Joe’s number anew as he successfully defended his NXT Championship in the main event of NXT TakeOver: Dallas at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on Friday (Saturday in Manila).
The two warriors slugged it out from the get-go, with Joe getting his left eye bloodied early in the match and forcing the ringside doctors to check on him for a number of times.
Still, Joe fought on and even hit a Muscle Buster on Balor, before the Irish champ kicked out at two to the challenger’s surprise.
The match waged on until Balor dropped Coup de Grace on Joe and tried to follow it up with 1916. However, Joe reversed the suplex attempt to a rear naked choke, before Balor turned it to a rollup for the stunning pinfall win.
Balor was the lone defending champion to emerge victorious in the live event, as NXT’s other belts changed hands throughout the night.
Asuka made Bayley pass out on her Asuka Lock to become the new NXT Women’s Champion, while the team of Jason Jordan and Chad Gable, collectively known as American Alpha, claimed the NXT Tag Team titles from The Revival.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Austin Aries also scored big wins in their NXT debuts.
The revered Japanese striker waged war against Sami Zayn in a 19-minute classic, ending with Nakamura hitting his patented Bomaye knee strike for the win.
After the match, the Japanese legend gave his vanquished opponent a hug before leaving the ring, as the NXT crowd gave the charismatic Zayn a fitting sendoff to the main roster with a standing ovation.
Aries, meanwhile, surprised Baron Corbin in their match, reversing the End of Days and planting the latter’s shoulders to the mat for the three-count.
The TakeOver special was truly a head turner, as even Japanese star Kota Ibushi and former TNA Champion Bobby Roode were seen in the Dallas crowd, an indication that they may be well on their way to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).