The last time that NXT and WWE had two events in the same weekend came back in August, when NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn happened the night before WWE SummerSlam. The former featured one of the best matches of 2015 -- one of the most beloved and critically acclaimed matches in recent memory.
NXT TakeOver: Dallas: The full rundown and why you should care
WWE’s minor league promotion gets its own biggest show of the year on Friday night. It might end up being even better than WrestleMania.
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Bill Hanstock is a writer, author and Emmy Award-winning producer. He began writing for SB Nation in 2011.
WWE and their developmental league, NXT, have been playing a game of oneupsmanship for some time. Now NXT gets to let it all hang out in Dallas on WrestleMania weekend, just two days before WrestleMania 32 goes down.
Although TakeOver: Dallas only has five matches announced, its top four matches, on paper, have the potential to blow away any four matches on the WrestleMania card. All three NXT titles will be on the line and an international superstar will make his WWE debut to go toe-to-toe against arguably the most beloved NXT wrestler of all time.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Read on and find out why this is one of two can’t-miss wrestling events this weekend ... and this year. If you’ve never seen NXT before, this is the time to start. But don’t worry, I’ll get you all caught up.
NXT TakeOver: Dallas begins at 10 p.m. ET on Friday night, exclusively on the WWE Network, with the Kickoff Show beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET.
(Note: Apollo Crews vs. Elias Samson may not appear on the live TakeOver special and may be taped for a future episode of NXT, but “card subject to change” and whatnot.)
Apollo Crews vs. Elias Samson
What am I looking at here? Apollo Crews is a next-level athlete, a ridiculously muscular guy who moves like a cruiserweight. He was cruising through the NXT ranks until he ran into the NXT champion, Finn Bálor. Now he's trying to find a new focus and direction.
Elias Samson is a drifter. Allegedly. He shows up and is too cool for school and carries a guitar, which he only rarely actually plays. He has been plowing through nobodies for months, but last week he finally got upset by Johnny Gargano -- and he snapped. Crews came to the rescue and now Samson and Crews are going to hash it out in the ring.
Why you should care: I'll be honest: this is the weakest TakeOver match on paper, but it does have the potential to be a sleeper, given Crews' ability and a complete lack of seeing Samson in competitive matches up until now. If you've never seen Crews wrestle before, you're in for a treat. On the other hand, those of us who have been watching NXT for years have barely seen Samson wrestle. This could really go either way. Just hope Crews does a bunch of cool stuff.
Don't worry, it gets WAY better from here.
Baron Corbin vs. Austin Aries
What am I looking at here? Austin Aries has spent the past decade wrestling everywhere but WWE, becoming one of the most accomplished and respected wrestlers in the world during that time. Baron Corbin, by contrast, is a former Division II football champion who had a cup of coffee in the NFL and immediately got signed to a WWE developmental contract.
In one of the greatest no-brainer gimmicks of all time, Corbin is an entitled jerk who thinks he’s done it all and is the world’s greatest athlete. He doesn’t understand why NXT fans cheer for all these nerds from stupid indie federations. In Corbin’s mind, these globe-trotting former champions haven’t accomplished anything, because they haven’t done it for the company he works for. Thus, he hates Aries on principal alone. That’s why he attacked Aries from behind during Aries’ NXT debut.
Why you should care: Corbin is one of the best natural heels around right now and the NXT crowd absolutely hates his guts. They’re going to hate his guts even more when he goes up against their/our beloved Austin Aries. At the same time Corbin has come into his own as a great heel, he’s begun having lights-out wonderful matches, particularly against smaller opponents. This has the potential to be a barn-burner. If nothing else, you’ll come out of this match loving how much you hate Baron Corbin.
Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
What am I looking at here? Sami Zayn is a former NXT Champion who is currently in the process of transitioning full-time to the main WWE roster -- in fact, he’s even in a ladder match at WrestleMania on Sunday. He’s one of the most natural baby faces WWE has had since at least Bret Hart. Heck, maybe ever. He’s the ultimate underdog. There’s a very good reason he’s one of the most beloved NXT wrestlers of all time.
Shinsuke Nakamura is making his WWE and NXT debut here. The longtime New Japan star became a genuine Japanese pop culture sensation via his style and charisma -- there’s a reason they call him “Swagsuke” -- to say nothing of his in-ring skills.
Why you should care: This is wrestling’s equivalent of the top two quarterbacks in the league going up against each other in a postseason game. They’re two of the absolute best in the world inside the ring and you know they’ll have a mind set to try and steal the show -- if not the whole weekend.
Add to that the drama of this potentially being Zayn’s final NXT match -- or at least his final match as a full-timer in NXT. The emotion will be extremely high. People in the crowd will likely tear up. Zayn himself will probably be reduced to tears afterward. It’s okay. Let it wash over you. It’s the happiest sort of sad.
NXT Tag Team Championship Match: The Revival (Dash & Dawson) (c) vs. American Alpha (Jason Jordan & Chad Gable)
What am I looking at here? The Revival are a throwback tag team, right down to their matching satin jackets. In stark contrast to the majority of their NXT contemporaries, their aesthetic is, “No flips, just fists.” They’re no-good sucker-punchers and they know it.
American Alpha are like a modern-day Steiner Brothers -- if both Steiner Brothers were lovable goofballs straight out of Saved by the Bell. Gable is one of the most amazing combinations of talent, charisma, legitimacy and character since the early days of Kurt Angle. Jason Jordan is possibly the best hot tag in the game.
Why you should care: American Alpha is ready. It’s time for American Alpha to run this damn show. When they win the titles on Friday night -- yes, when -- you’re going to hear an ovation of nothing but unbridled joy. It’s going to be wonderful. Before that, you’re probably going to see some world-class wrestling and you’re probably going to fall deeply, irrevocably in love with Gable and Jordan. It’s okay. Let it wash over you. It’s nothing but good times.
NXT Women’s Championship Match: Bayley (c) vs. Asuka
What am I looking at here? Remember earlier, when I said that Sami Zayn was arguably the most beloved NXT character of all time? That’s because Bayley is the asterisk. Bayley is pretty indisputably the most beloved NXT character of all time. She’s on her way to becoming the most beloved WWE wrestler of all time, period. She’s a lifelong wrestling fan who just wants to hug her heroes and her friends, but along the way accidentally became one of the best wrestlers in the world. (It may seem like I’m typing “one of the best wrestlers in the world” a lot in this column. That’s because this is NXT, which has become like Pokemon Stadium for best wrestlers in the world.)
SPEAKING OF BEST WRESTLERS IN THE WORLD, Asuka built her reputation in Japan, where she was known as “Most Dangerous” Kana. She is less a wrestler than a force of nature. She’s undefeated since coming to NXT and most of her time has been spent kicking and forearming and hip attacking the living bejesus out of the rest of the women’s division. Now she’s getting her first title shot. While she and Bayley aren’t enemies, per se, this sure doesn’t look good for Bayley.
Why you should care: Bayley is going to make you root for her. When you’re not rooting for her, you may find yourself idly wondering what it would be like if you and her were best friends for realsies. Bayley’s biggest fan, a young girl named Izzy, will likely be at ringside. If Bayley loses her title, Izzy will cry. She will cry a whole bunch. Your heart will be broken into a billion pieces.
Asuka is going to kick the holy hell out of Bayley. Bayley is going to fight like hell to keep her title and make her fans proud. It’s probably going to be one of the best women’s matches you’ve ever seen. Not to get your hopes up or anything.
NXT Championship Match: Finn Bálor (c) vs. Samoa Joe
What am I looking at here? Finn Bálor is an almost impossibly good-looking Irishman whose body tends to become inhabited by an ancient Irish demon at big shows. That demon has impeccable timing, honestly. He’s held the NXT title since July 4 of last year. He’s even defeated Samoa Joe before, at the last TakeOver special in London.
Samoa Joe is pissed off. He won like three No. 1 contender matches in a row to get here (long story) and he’s going to punch a friggin’ demon in the face until he wins that NXT title.
Why you should care: What, beyond the whole “that shockingly agile and supremely pissed-off fat guy won’t stop choking the piss out of that demon” thing? Well, there is the little matter of Finn Bálor’s friends, two members of the popular New Japan stable the Bullet Club (a stable that Finn himself started). They’ve been signed by the WWE and Bálor has been teasing their arrival for months. What better way for them to make a flashy entrance than at NXT’s biggest show of the year?
You should tune in for the three title matches alone. You should tune in to see Zayn vs. Nakamura alone. You should just tune in. There’s a 141 and two-thirds chance that everyone will be talking about this show for a long time. Might as well watch along live with the rest of the world.
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