The ominously named NXT TakeOver: The End — no, it doesn’t mean NXT is over, stop being terrified — airs live this Wednesday, June 8, on WWE Network. The show features NXT’s first-ever steel cage match for the NXT Championship. Also on the card is the WWE TV debut of the former La Sombra, Austin Aries vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and both Women’s and Tag Team Championship matches.
Here’s the complete card as we know it.
NXT TakeOver: The End Card:
1. Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Tye Dillinger
2. NXT Tag Team Championship Match: American Alpha (Jason Jordan and Chad Gable) (c) vs. The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder)
3. NXT Women’s Championship Match: Asuka (c) vs. Nia Jax
4. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Austin Aries
5. Steel Cage Match for the NXT Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Finn Bálor
As always, here are our predictions and analysis. If you aren’t familiar with NXT, we’ve included a “what you need to know” section for each match with probably-too-simple descriptions of who’s fighting and what’s going on. Be sure to share it with your friends who have bad taste in wrestling and don’t already watch!
Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Tye Dillinger
What You Need To Know: NXT’s favorite character — read: their only character — is a guy who was good somewhere else, so you like him already! Shortcuts! Their favorite TakeOver trope is a new guy from somewhere else showing up and beating a guy you should probably like, who has been there forever. Originally it was CJ Parker, then it was Solomon Crowe, then it was (more or less) Tyler Breeze. Now it’s Tye Dillinger, a man who loves the number ten. That’s his entire character. It’s great.
Dillinger’s opponent on this special is Andrade “Cien” Almas, aka former CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling star La Sombra. If you’ve never seen him, he’s a luchador in a zoot suit. Now he’s wrestling without his mask, so … a normal guy in a zoot suit? A hat with no shirt? THE SHADOWY FEDORA finally debuts in NXT!
What Will Happen: The easy (read: easiest ever) prediction here is that Andrade just lights Dillinger up like every other debuting guy, wins, and moves on to face, I don’t now, Roderick Strong at the next NXT special. Reckless Youth. We’re running out of cool indie guys.
I’m going to get broad (and totally wrong) here and predict a Dillinger win. Nobody’s expecting it, and there’s an audible and general kind of complaint with stalwart “good hands” like Dillinger getting shuffled into this death spot on every TakeOver. I’m gonna be brave, say NXT pulls a Lucha Underground and has a guy earn respect in defeat. Yes, this prediction is wrong, it’s fine. You can just have him win the Cruiserweight Classic later and it’ll be totally fine. Don’t Apollo Crews him.
La Sombra is dope either way though, so this should be good.
Staff Predictions
Austin Heiberg – Poor, poor Tye Dillinger. He just got (maybe?) his first singles win on NXT television, and now he’s getting fed to “Cien” Almas. Basically, it’s the Tyler Breeze role. It passes between Canadians. I’ve got Almas.
David D. – I feel bad for Tye Dillinger. He’s awesome but he’s basically NXT Brooklyn Brawler, getting beat by debuting wrestlers every month. At least this should be a great showcase for Almas as Tye is perfect for these matches.
Bill Hanstock – It really sucks that Dillinger has to be fed to Cien JUST as he’s starting to become a guy who wins matches. The Tyler Breeze comparisons are all too chilling. There’s a possibility they’ll Lucha Underground it, but if there’s anyone who has to pick up a big flashy first win, it’s probably the guy they’re hoping will be the new Mexican hero they’re trying to create. The good news is that these two have wrestled each other a billion times at this point. I’m hoping it will be a showcase for both and Cien will pick up a very narrow, competitive victory. Almas wins; we’re just hoping Dillinger doesn’t get steamrolled in the process.
NXT Tag Team Championship Match: American Alpha (Jason Jordan and Chad Gable) (c) vs. The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder)
What You Need To Know: American Alpha is what the Steiner Brothers would be if they’d been born in 1990 instead of 1960. They’re amazing amateur wrestlers with all the intensity and skill in the world, but they’re also kinda emo about everything and obsessed with friendship and novelty hand towels. They’re up against the former Tag Team Champions, The Revival, which is what the Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard would be if they’d been born in 1990 instead of 1960. They’re into punching dudes in the face and getting all tag team raw with folks instead of doing fancy moves and flips, but they’re five feet tall and kinda made out of vanilla.
What Will Happen: That “what you need to know” doesn’t read too complimentary, but this should be GREAT. Their last TakeOver match was on its way to being an all-time NXT classic before a few badly timed botches, so I’m guessing this is their attempt to get all the way through it. Alpha should retain, as they should always, but The Revival’s recent loss to Gargano and Ciampa’s got me wondering about NXT’s recent iffy understanding of momentum. I could see a sh*tty title change happening again to give American Alpha something to chase, but we’ll be safe and say WWE understands that AA is made out of precious, precious gold.
Staff Predictions
Austin Heiberg – Oh man, talk about a layup here. I feel like American Alpha has already proven everything they needed to in Dallas, and they might just end up speedrunning this title defense just to show the world they can do it. American Alpha wins, convincingly.
David D. – American Alpha retains. They apparently have been touring around a crazy spot at house shows and we should see it play out in a match that steals the show.
Bill Hanstock – It would be super awesome for the Revival to stun the world and become the first two-time NXT champs. And they’d have a built-in feud with Ciampa and Gargano. Although American Alpha is our heart and soul, they might be on the verge of bolstering the brand split ranks, so anything is possible. That said, I believe American Alpha will retain, but I’d say there’s a 40 percent chance of Revival chicanery leading to a title change.
NXT Women’s Championship Match: Asuka (c) vs. Nia Jax
What You Need To Know: Nia Jax is superficially mean and way bigger than everyone else in the NXT women’s division, and she kinda coasts on it. She’s Vader if Vader was a lady and really gentle with everybody. Asuka is a tiny Japanese lady who is SUPER NOT GENTLE WITH PEOPLE. This is a confrontation they’ve been building for a while.
What Will Happen: I really, really hope this is the match that makes us all say, “Nia Jax is great.” She should be. She’s got the right look and a character that should work, but she just seems too nice. She doesn’t seem like the kind of person who’d try to beat you up over anything ever. Getting into the ring with Asuka might fix that, as getting kicked hard as f*ck in the leg 12 times can make even the nicest person get pissed and start throwing hands.
Everyone I know who’s seen this match at live events has described it as “just okay,” so I’m not looking for it to be a classic. That said, if it is a classic — and it could be — I’m happy to be surprised. I’ll pick Asuka to retain, because there’s so much more to do with Asuka. Hey, we want some Bay-lay, et al.
Staff Predictions
Austin Heiberg – Don’t get me wrong, I love Nia. She’s a vastly improved wrestler and reigning queen of WWE personnel on Snapchat, but this is still Asuka’s world. They want you to believe that this is some brand-new challenge for the champ, but I’m sure she’s faced Tsubasa Kuragaki at some point or another. Asuka’s got this.
David D. – We have a big Asuka vs. Bayley rematch coming up probably in Brooklyn so Asuka has to retain. The question here is, where do we go with Nia Jax? She probably shouldn’t be losing so many title matches as she’s supposed to be so dominant, but I don’t know how she retains here unless Asuka is getting called up immediately.
Bill Hanstock – This match might be the hardest to call of any on the card. There are three real possibilities here: 1. Asuka retains by the skin of her teeth. 2. Jax wins the title in convincing fashion. 3. A non-finish, DQ or nebulous finish setting up a Jax/Asuka/Bayley triple threat in Brooklyn. I’m going to go with the latter. Jax crushes Asuka against the post on the outside or something and wins by countout, or gets an excesivo castigo DQ. That sets up the Bayley mandatory rematch in a situation where the DQ/countout is off the table entirely. Perfect.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Austin Aries
What You Need To Know: Shinsuke Nakamura is the coolest motherf*cker in the world. He’s like the bizarre, amazing triangle love child of Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury and Kazushi Sakuraba. Everyone loves him. He transcends language and culture barriers, and could go on to be one of the most beloved pro wrestlers, not only in puro history, but WWE history as well. Austin Aries is a very small guy from Wisconsin who thinks he’s exactly as cool and good as Shinsuke Nakamura.
What Will Happen: Nakamura’s gonna beat the dogsh*t out of him. The best thing they could do here is let Aries go full heel, because no crowd of living human beings on the planet is gonna cheer him over Shinsuke Nakmaura. Aries’ mom and dad would boo a babyface Aries against Nak. Let Aries cut loose as a prick, and maybe get Bobby Roode involved somewhere. Make the most of the time, you know? If they try to do Nak vs. Zayn again, it’s not gonna be the same.
Staff Predictions
Austin Heiberg – Let’s just say this… If wrestling was real, Nakamura would probably knee Austin’s head into the third row in the opening minute of this match. Barring outside interference or anything, the King of Strong Style has got this one in the bag.
David D. – Guys. I don’t like Austin Aries. Sorry. But I’m excited about Nakamura getting another long match. I don’t think Nak is long for NXT as Smackdown is on the horizon. So this might be one of his last great NXT matches.
Bill Hanstock – Would this be Aries’ first loss in NXT? It’s gotta happen sometime, right? I think Swagsuke and Ol’ Sparklebutt put on a clinic that’s not as good as Zayn-Nakamura. (But what is?) The over/under on up-their-own-ass Full Sail chants is set at four (including a wholly unnecessary “FIGHT FOREVER” reprise). I think this match is going to rule, personally, but we also know that Shinsuke is winning this bad boy.
Steel Cage Match for the NXT Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Finn Bálor
What You Need To Know: You’ve seen this match a few times before. Samoa Joe is a pissed off champion who is sick of having to repeatedly prove himself on wrestling’s biggest stage against a dead-eyed gothic ballerina summoner who spams dropkicks. Finn Bálor is so good at wrestling that he makes “dead-eyed gothic ballerina summoner” a compliment. Their last TakeOver match was interrupted repeatedly by Joe bleeding, so this time they’re wrestling in a cage. Nowhere in WWE is more blood-free than a steel cage.
What Will Happen: You can’t have Joe lose at two TakeOvers, win the Championship at a house show and then lose it on the next TakeOver. Joe should retain, and Finn should make a point to brave the match without the Demon so we don’t have to have the Demon lose before some hypothetical future WrestleMania. Or, hey, Samoa Joe murks the Demon. Either way. Joe for life.
Staff Predictions
Austin Heiberg – And here’s why they call this one “The End.” Finn has had an amazing run in NXT, but I believe this is where he says goodbye. Joe will fight dirty, but if there’s any place to do that, it’s inside a cage. Champion retains, and Raw gets its most interesting wild card in years.
David D. – I’m not sure what happens here but I think Joe retains. I think we get something really crazy here, though. My far out prediction? This ends in some sort of invasion angle. Maybe a bunch of indie people trash the cage or something. But something weird is happening and it’s going to happen in the main event.
Bill Hanstock – I think the only real question is whether Finn is bringing the demon into this match. And I honestly don’t think he is. I think he lost the title as Finn and wants to prove he can reclaim it as Finn. It would also prove the feud and the stipulation are “real” enough that he doesn’t need any other theatrics. (And of course, it also helps protect BIG MATCH DEMON FINN). This is The End, and The End would indicate Joe retains and sends Finn packing … perhaps out of NXT entirely.
