WWE NXT Takeover results
December 11, 2014
Live at Full Sail University
Aired on WWE Network
Report by PWTorch assistant editor James Caldwell

Follow live PWTorch tweets tonight during the NXT special HERE.

- On the pre-show, Corey Graves announced that he is retiring from active competition due to injuries, but he will be joining the NXT announce team.

Live NXT Takeover Special

The NXT special opened with a video package on Kevin Steen/Owens talking about this being his time after waiting 14 years. The video transitioned to highlighting all of the stars on the show.

Live in the arena, new music played and the crowd popped when they saw Kevin Steen/Owens emerge on the stage. Owens was sporting a "KO" t-shirt and teared up as he walked to the ring. At ringside, Rich Brennan, Alex Riley, and Corey Graves talked up Owens's journey to this moment. After Steen soaked up the crowd's adulation, C.J. Parker was introduced as his opponent.

1 -- KEVIN OWENS (Kevin Steen) vs. C.J. PARKER

The bell sounded and Owens immediately attacked Parker with three consecutive corner smashes, including a butt bomb. Steen ripped up Parker's sign to a pop, then hit a flying splash on the outside, wowing the announcers and crowd seeing a big man like Steen fly through the air. Back in the ring, Parker cut off Steen with a leg whip. The crowd responded with a "Owens's Gonna Kill You" chant.

Owens walked into a palm strike for a close nearfall, then took a double knee smash in the corner, but Owens no-sold and clotheslined Parker across the ring. Steen, who was busted open at the nose, followed with a pop-up powerbomb for the pin and the win. After getting the win, Owens popped to his feet and shook off the blood covering his face to celebrate.

WINNER: Steen at 3:14. It was only natural that Steen bled heavily from his nose/face in his NXT debut match. It was just very fitting capturing the grittiness of his character. Strong NXT debut.

Announcers: Corey Graves talked about his retirement due to concussions before they went backstage.

Backstage: Adrian Neville was shown warming up for his NXT Title defense in tonight's main event.

Video Package: NXT tag champs Lucha Dragons.

2 -- LUCHA DRAGONS (KALISTO & SIN CARA) vs. THE VAUDEVILLAINS (SIMON GOTCH & AIDEN ENGLISH) -- NXT Tag Title match

The challengers isolated Sin Cara early on, keeping the tag champs on the ground and out of the air for their high-flying attack. Cara finally escaped to his corner and tagged in Kalisto, who flew at Gotch and Graves off the top rope. Cara and Kalisto then dumped English over the top rope onto Gotch on the floor. The tag champs followed with a double splash on the floor, but English shoved Gotch out of the way just in time for Gotch to avoid the attack. Gotch saw the opening his tag partner afforded him and rolled Kalisto into the ring to try to pin him, but Kalisto dropped Gotch with Salida del Sol for the pin and the win.

WINNERS: Lucha Dragons at 6:40 to retain the NXT Tag Titles. Alex Riley dropped in a Rey Mysterio reference for Kalisto, which was not by mistake. He's the one to inherit Rey's role as the featured Lucha/masked wrestler in the future.

Backstage: Sasha Banks prepared for her NXT Women's Title shot.

Next Week: Kevin Owens/Steen will be interviewed by Renee Young on NXT.

In-ring: Tye Dillinger was introduced for the next match. Next was the dramatic ring introduction for Baron Corbin.

3 -- BARON CORBIN vs. TYE DILLINGER

As soon as the bell sounded, the crowd began counting the time of the match. Snake eyes into a big boot from Corbin as the counting passed 20 seconds. Then, Bull Dempsey came down to ringside just before Corbin dropped Dillinger with End of Days for the pin and the win. Corbin had a stare down with Dempsey on the way out.

WINNER: Corbin at 0:41.

Backstage: Sami Zayn prepared for his NXT Title match later in the main event. It was a locker room setting with wrestlers coming and going, then Kevin Steen/Owens sat down on a bench a few feet away from Zayn for an unspoken Steen/Generico reunion. Zayn got up and kept pacing the locker room.

In-ring: The Ascension was introduced for the next match. Out came Hideo Itami (KENTA) as the opposition, and Brennan noted that fans in Japan are watching on J Sports right now. Finn Balor (Prince Devitt) was introduced last. Full-on entrance for Balor complete with smoke, flashing lights, dramatic music, and Balor crawling across the entrance stage before popping up to his feet sporting one of his wild costumes from New Japan. The announcers went silent during the intro, which finished with Balor revealing his wild body paint selection for the match. Ringside, Konnor acted stunned seeing Balor's bodypaint.

4 -- HIDEO ITAMI & FINN BALOR vs. THE ASCENSION (KONNOR & VICTOR)

Before the bell even sounded, Itami and Balor cornered The Ascension and delivered rapid-fire kicks before switching and running across the ring for basement dropkicks. The Ascension regrouped on the floor, then returned to the ring for the opening bell. Back-and-forth early on until The Ascension cut off Itami and isolated him in their corner. Itami finally made it to his corner, but Konnor was on the wrong side of the ring and yanked Balor off the ring apron to cut off the tag.

Itami fought back on The Ascension and finally made a clean tag to Balor. Balor ran over Konnor and Victor before sending both men to the floor. Balor followed with a flip dive onto both men on the outside. Back in the ring, Balor wanted a top-rope splash, but Victor rolled out of the way. Balor adjusted and delivered a reverse-grip brainbuster suplex, but Konnor broke up the pin.

The action broke down until Itami yanked Konnor out of the ring to the floor and Balor smashed Victor with a Pele Kick. Itami with a running knee smash to Konnor, then Balor and Itami delivered stereo double foot stomps from the top rope. Balor pinned Victor for the pin and the win. Riley said they made a believer out of him.

WINNERS: Itami & Balor at 11:38. Good, high-energy tag match showcasing Balor more than Itami, who took an extended beat down and didn't get in Go To Sleep on this night. Plus, Balor got the crazy entrance. It will be interesting to see when Itami and Balor split off for singles runs.

Backstage: Renee Young brought in Roman Reigns. A bit of a mixed reception live in the arena. Reigns talked about winning Superstar of the Year on Raw, then said he's here to watch an awesome show and big main event. He said his future is to be the first NXT alumni to win the WWE World Hvt. Title. The females in the crowd cheered, but not much from the Full Sail males.

Backstage: NXT Women's champion Charlotte was greeted by Ric Flair at the make-up station. A final father/daughter discussion before Charlotte's title match.

In-ring: Sasha Banks was introduced first for the NXT Women's Title match. Charlotte was out next to Wooos! from the crowd. Formal ring introductions and Charles Robinson had the referee assignment for Flair's daughter's match.

5 -- NXT Women's champion CHARLOTTE vs. SASHA BANKS -- NXT Women's Title match

Charlotte took it to Sasha early on, showing off her very distinct aggressiveness and skill. Sasha cut off Charlotte on the floor, then rolled her back in the ring. But, Charlotte nailed a jawbreaker and hard forearm in response. Sasha tried to cut her off by jumping on her back, but Charlotte rammed her into the corner to escape. Sasha yanked down Charlotte by the hair, though.

After Robinson administered a count, both ladies came to their feet. Charlotte delivered a suplex into a neckbreaker for a two count, but Sasha knocked Charlotte to the floor and followed through on tonight's theme of big dives to the outside. Back in the ring, Sasha delivered forearm strikes, but Charlotte came back with an explosive clothesline. Sasha cut off a figure-four leglock, then cut off a top-rope move. She kept fighting, but the taller, more dominant Charlotte eventually scored a top-rope neckbreaker for the win to retain the title. The crowd cheered loudly in approval, both for Charlotte and the match.

WINNER: Charlotte at 12:12 to retain the Women's Title. Just great. On paper, this read like an odd mix of Charlotte playing the face role despite being the taller, dominant figure and Sasha playing the heel despite being the smaller, scrappier, work-for-everything-she-has wrestler. The twist being Sasha took the babyface story and turned it evil by acting entitled and having an over-inflated sense of importance. So, it was a different take on an old story and the crowd really invested. It helps that Charlotte is just that good and original in the ring.

Video Package: Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn title feud. It's time.

Backstage: Sami Zayn was shown walking down the hallway looking very focused and grown-up. Zayn then bounced out on-stage and strutted on the ring apron before pacing the ring. They cut backstage to show Adrian Neville stepping through the curtain to make his way out. Neville bounced out on-stage to a mix of boos and cheers as Zayn sat down in the ring waiting for the champion to enter. Formal ring introductions, including loud "Sami, Sami" chants and boos for Neville, then the opening bell sounded.

6 -- NXT champion ADRIAN NEVILLE vs. SAMI ZAYN -- NXT Title match -- Zayn has placed his career on the line

Once the bell sounded, the champ and challenger stood in their corner letting the audience provide the soundtrack with "Ole, Ole, Ole!" chants. Lock-up, control traded, and Neville got the best of the opening exchange, then stood over Zayn to act domineering. Zayn tried not to let Neville get in his head, but Neville retained control until running into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Neville quickly rolled out of the ring, but Zayn caught him a springboard moonsault on the floor.

Neville took his time re-entering the ring, making the announcers wonder if Neville was just going to walk away from the match and keep his title via count-out. But, he hopped onto the ring apron and re-entered the ring. Neville quickly regained control, putting Zayn on the mat with a headlock. Zayn broke free, then a great sequence unfolded with each man knowing the other's patterns and cutting off big moves until Zayn finally dumped Neville to the floor and hit the Move of the Night - a flip dive on the outside.

Back in the ring, another "we know each other so well" sequence unfolded that stunned the crowd not seeing some of the counters coming to familiar sequences. Neville nailed a huge sit-out powerbomb for a close two count, then followed up with forearm strikes, but Zayn got right in Neville's face telling him that's not enough. Zayn with an inside-out clothesline, but Neville cut off a corner attack. Neville had Zayn positioned for the top-rope Red Arrow, but Zayn got his knees up to block. Zayn flowed into the Koji Clutch submission in the middle of the ring. Neville got his foot on the bottom rope, though, breaking the hold and buzz-killing the crowd.

Reset, then Neville trapped Zayn for a pin attempt, but Zayn smashed heads with the referee kicking out of the pin. Zayn debated whether to show compassion checking on the ref as the crowd told him to turn around, only to take a superkick from Neville. Neville followed with a reverse rana, but Zayn kicked out just before three.

After the crowd went nuts for the nearfall, they reset at 19:30 with a standing exchange. Zayn delivered a German Suplex, then a second, and a third with an exclamation point dumping Neville on his face. Zayn wanted a corner kick, but Neville rolled out of the ring to the floor. So, Zayn followed up with his trademark diving DDT through the corner ropes onto the entrance ramp. Back in the ring, Zayn nailed the corner Helluva kick, but the ref took the blow. The announcers said it looked like Neville pulled the ref in the way. "This ref sucks" chant from the crowd. Poor guy.

While Zayn checked on the ref, Neville grabbed the NXT Title belt and brought it into the ring. Zayn smashed Neville with a kick to the head to cut off Neville, then he picked up the NXT Title belt and contemplated bashing Neville with it as the ref woke up. Zayn couldn't pull the trigger, though. Long moment of internal conflict, then Zayn dropped the title, only to have Neville roll him up from behind, but Zayn kicked out just before three. Exploder suplex in the corner, then Zayn got The Look on his face and smashed Neville with the helluva kick in the corner. One, two, three, and the place went nuts.

Post-match, Zayn took the title belt to loud "Ole!" chants after finally winning the big one, and doing it the babyface way. Zayn posed with the belt as Neville recovered in the corner. "Sami, Sami" chants from the crowd. They replayed the high points, pivotal ref bump, and the finish.

Back live, the locker room spilled out to greet Zayn. The first man to greet him was Kevin Steen/Owens, who cried through the blood on his face. Long hug for Zayn and Owens. Owens raised Zayn's hand in victory, then Zayn hugged it up with the rest of the locker room. Pat Patterson even joined the celebration. Confetti, applause, and Zayn was lifted in the air.

WINNER: Zayn at 23:18 to capture the NXT Title. Now that's a main event. And, refreshingly, they completed the babyface journey with Zayn deciding not to give into the temptation in order to achieve the desired goal, trusting his own abilities to finish the job. Just great action and in-ring storytelling channeling Daniel Bryan's WrestleMania Journey. (***** for a complete story, and actually using a ref bump to enhance the story.)

Still in the ring, suddenly, there was Adrian Neville, who didn't seem ready to join the celebration. Neville slowly approached Zayn, who put the NXT Title belt to the side and extended his hand. Neville kicked his hand away, but then pulled him tight for a big embrace. Neville raised Zayn's arm in the air, then gave him the floor to continue celebrating. Zayn posed with the belt, then the locker room put him back in the air to finish the celebration.

The ring started to clear out, then Zayn and Owens/Steen exchanged a few final words. Zayn posed in the corner by himself in the ring before they replayed the finish of the match. Back live, Zayn danced and celebrated in the corner, then dropped down on the ring apron and embraced Steen/Owens. Zayn and Owens posed ringside, then Steen helped Zayn up the entrance ramp as Brennan signed off with a new champion in place.

Suddenly, Owens grabbed Zayn around the neck and threw him down to the floor, drawing shrieks from the crowd. Steen then scooped up Zayn and powerbombed him right on the edge of the ring apron. Owens stood ringside breathing heavily and staring straight ahead with an evil look in his eyes while soaking in the moment of ruining his old pal's day in the sun, flashing back to their epic ROH feud. As Owens marched up the ramp, NXT GM William Regal ran out to check on Zayn before requesting medical attention. Owens disappeared to the back as Zayn came to life and NXT signed off.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Consistency. That is what NXT brings to the table - consistently great specials with strong main events. And, after delivering a satisfying end to Zayn's journey, they started a new journey with Steen/Owens taking out Zayn to give him a new opponent. Now, they bring their ROH feud to a different platform with new layers to explore.

Did you watch Takeover? Send in your Reax, 0-10 Score, and Best/Worst match to pwtorch@gmail.com after the show.

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