WWE: ‘NXT TakeOver: The End’ Updated Card — Austin Aries Vs. Shinsuke Nakamura Added
With WWE SmackDown moving to Tuesday nights and the main WWE roster returning to the brand-split format, some of the top NXT talent may be looking at their last days as part of the WWE’s developmental brand. Many of the current NXT superstars are expected to make the jump to the main roster sooner rather than later, meaning NXT TakeOver: The End could be the last major NXT event for many of the brand’s top superstars.
Top prospect Bayley isn’t scheduled for the event, as she was storyline-injured by Nia Jax on WWE NXT recently. Otherwise, all of the top NXT superstars are booked for NXT TakeOver, including Samoa Joe, Finn Bálor, Nia Jax, Asuka, American Alpha, The Revival, Austin Aries, and Shinsuke Nakamura. All three titles are on the line, and at least one more match yet to be announced is expected to take place.
“It’ll just be YOU, @wwebalor… trapped with the MONSTER!” @WhereisADTR@SamoaJoe#NXTTakeOver…The End #NXTLoudhttps://t.co/sgf6Uk0CLY
— WWE Music Group (@WWEMusic) May 28, 2016
After next week’s episode of WWE NXT, the following NXT televised event will be TakeOver: The End on Wednesday, June 8.
Updated NXT TakeOver: The End Card
With less than two weeks until the event, WWE has only announced four matches for NXT TakeOver: The End. No NXT live special has had fewer than five matches, with some having as many as seven in the past. The following matches are scheduled for the June 8 event at Full Sail University.
Two of @WWENXT's biggest signees are set to collide at #NXTTakeOver: The End… https://t.co/Sg5camt8Lb #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/8qn5Cysrzk
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) May 28, 2016
- NXT Championship: Steel Cage Match — Samoa Joe (c) vs. Finn Bálor
- NXT Tag Team Championship Match — American Alpha (c) vs. The Revival
- NXT Women’s Championship Match — Asuka (c) vs. Nia Jax
- Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Austin Aries
Samoa Joe vs. Finn Bálor
While neither competitor showed up on this week’s WWE NXT, they did show two video packages highlighting their feud, with one showing Nakamura and Aries both saying they wanted to challenge the NXT Champion after The End.
Woah! @SamoaJoe rocking a @BossKey shirt on WWE television! Awesome! @lawbreakers @therealcliffyb pic.twitter.com/J7ZuYBM5ZQ
— ReclaimJoey (@ReclaimJoey) May 27, 2016
The NXT Championship Match at TakeOver: The End will be the first Steel Cage Match in NXT history. No NXT superstar has ever held the NXT Championship twice, so a win for Finn would make this match historic in more ways than one. Bálor held the title for 292 days before losing it to Samoa Joe in Lowell, Massachusetts, on April 21.
American Alpha vs. The Revival
NXT’s tag team division continues to grow, as TM61 debuted on this week’s WWE NXT against the increasingly-popular team of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. Jason Jordan and Chad Gable were interviewed backstage and gave a pretty standard promo for their match at TakeOver.
I liked a @YouTube video https://t.co/nrqaVED7Z2 American Alpha vs. Corey Hollis & John Skyler: WWE NXT, May 11, 2016
— Nigel Hagans (@RandomGame100) May 28, 2016
American Alpha defeated The Revival for the NXT Tag Team Championship at TakeOver: Dallas, and will have held the titles for 69 days when The Revival gets a rematch at TakeOver: The End. Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson held the titles for 162 days. No team has ever repeated as the NXT Tag Team Champions, although Adrian Neville held the championships with both Oliver Grey and Corey Graves.
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Asuka vs. Nia Jax
This week’s episode of WWE NXT began with William Regal making the announcement that Bayley would not be medically cleared to compete at TakeOver: The End. Instead, Nia Jax, Carmella, and Alexa Bliss would compete in a Triple Threat Match to determine the No. 1 Contender for Asuka on June 8. Asuka was interviewed backstage and said she didn’t care who won the match, because she would beat any of them.
NXT Women's Champ @WWEAsuka wanted an up-close look at the newly-crowned No. 1 Contender @NiaJaxWWE. #WWENXT! https://t.co/mfkkGfLUiq
— WWE (@WWE) May 26, 2016
Nia Jax won the match after hitting her Hogan-esque leg drop on Carmella. Afterwards, Asuka came to the ring and got in Nia’s face, showing that she isn’t intimidated by the much larger competitor.
Asuka won the NXT Women’s Championship from Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Dallas. On June 8, she will have held the title for 69 days. Nia challenged Bayley for the championship at NXT TakeOver: London, but was unsuccessful.
Austin Aries vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
The match was made official on this week’s WWE NXT when Austin Aries was interrupted by Shinsuke Nakamura, both men feeling as though they should be challenging the winner of Samoa Joe/Finn Bálor. William Regal came out and set the match for TakeOver without saying the winner would be the new No. 1 Contender. With the WWE Draft coming up in July, either of these competitors could potentially be moved to WWE RAW or WWE SmackDown before they get a shot at the NXT Championship.
.@RealKingRegal makes the match: It's @AustinAries vs. @ShinsukeN at #NXTTakeOver June 8 on @WWENetwork! https://t.co/DH3e1p1zlw
— WWE (@WWE) May 26, 2016
Both the Greatest Man in the World and the King of Strong Style debuted during WrestleMania 32 weekend at NXT TakeOver: Dallas, getting wins over Baron Corbin and Sami Zayn, respectively. The men have been essentially equal in terms of their winning streaks since coming to NXT, including one win as a tag team last week.
These matches for TakeOver: The End have been confirmed by WWE.com’s official NXT site.
Where to Watch
The WWE Network airs new episodes of WWE NXT on Wednesdays at 8/7c. It is available for streaming on-demand immediately. NXT TakeOver: The End will air exclusively on the WWE Network on June 8.
Additionally, on Thursdays, replays of WWE NXT become available to stream on-demand with a Hulu Plus subscription.
[Photo via WWE]