What we learned from NXT TakeOver: Dallas

DALLAS -- On Friday night, in the same building that is hosting WWE’s WrestleMania Fan AXXESS event, the company’s developmental promotion, NXT, held its latest live WWE Network special, NXT TakeOver: Dallas. It seems like this gets written about nearly every TakeOver, but top to bottom, this might be the finest event that NXT has ever put together.

Just two days before WrestleMania 32 hits nearby Arlington, NXT upped the ante and gave WWE a tough act to follow during pro wrestling’s biggest weekend of the year. With several NXT stars seemingly on the verge of being called up to the main WWE roster, great care was taken to give the white-hot Dallas crowd a truly unforgettable event.

Without further ago, here are the full results from Friday night’s NXT TakeOver: Dallas and what it means for the players (and the company) going forward.

(Since it did not air on the live broadcast and I have no idea what the plans are for airing the Apollo Crews vs. Elias Samson match that ended up being part of the pre-show, I will not be including that match in this recap. Apologies to the Elias Samson fans out there.)

In one of the biggest no-brainers in recent memory (and arguably the only match on the card that seemed like a sure thing), American Alpha completed their meteoric rise to the top of the tag division.

This was the platonic ideal of a tag team match. If aliens come to Earth and you need to explain tag team wrestling to them, this is the match you would show them.

Although the Revival attempted to cheat mightily and retain their titles by hook or by crook, Gable and Jordan finally managed to hit the Grand Amplitude for the win and the belts.

What we learned: The tag belts now have a rightful home with American Alpha, who will be fighting champions and defending against all comers. Likely their first defense will be a rematch against the Revival and then things will proceed from there.

Strangely, this may have the biggest impact on a team that wasn’t involved in the match. Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady certainly seem ready to make their main roster debut, possibly as soon as Monday night’s episode of RAW. They have nothing left to prove in NXT and the belts are with some fellow fan favorites and allies now. There’s no need to divide the fans’ loyalties by pointing these two teams at each other. So it looks like it will be onward and upward for Enzo and Cass.

Austin Aries made his televised NXT and WWE in-ring debut on this show and wowed the crowd (which already loved him) by showing a hard-hitting side that made even longtime Aries fans sit up and take notice. Although Baron Corbin continued his streak of terrific matches and really put the boots to his rival, Aries managed to reverse End of Days into a rollup to win his debut match.

What we learned: Baron Corbin will continue to hate indie nerds and Austin Aries is a force to be reckoned with. One assumed that this match is really going to send Corbin off the deep end and go on a hellacious tear of indie nerd retribution. It’s going to be a hell of a thing to witness.

Later in the evening, former TNA star and Aries tag team partner Bobby Roode showed up in the crowd -- very unexpectedly. He may be bound for NXT soon as well and he may renew his alliance with Aries. Anything goes in NXT these days.

In the second NXT/WWE debut of the evening, worldwide superstar Shinsuke Nakamura faced off against the heart and soul of NXT, Sami Zayn. The result was what is easily the Match of the Year to date and will be very hard to top. In the end, Nakamura delivered a second-rope knee to the back of the head, followed by the Bomaye knee strike -- which WWE is calling the Kinshasa -- for the pinfall victory.

What we learned: If you haven’t seen this match yet, stop whatever you’re doing and watch it right now. This was the perfect way to introduce Nakamura to the WWE audience. The average North American wrestling fan has likely never seen a wrestler that looks or behaves quite like the self-proclaimed King of Strong Style ... and he and Zayn gave everyone one of the best matches of the past few years, to boot. Nakamura is primed to be a huge star -- at the very least, a major player in NXT.

Sami Zayn, on the other hand, may very well have just wrestled his last match as a full-time member of the NXT roster. After the match, he soaked in the cheers and chants from the crowd and was understandably emotional. He is part of the Intercontinental title ladder match at WrestleMania on Sunday, so bigger things are definitely in store for him. Still, as one of the most beloved NXT figures of all time, he will definitely be missed.

Bayley’s reign as everyone’s favorite fighting champion came to an end on Friday night ... much to many fans’ despair. After 223 days as NXT Women’s Champion, Bayley passed out while in the Asuka Lock. She didn’t tap out or verbally submit, but was unable to answer the referee or show movement, so the match was awarded to Asuka.

What we learned: Bayley may very well be another NXT wrestler destined to head to the main WWE roster sooner rather than later. The loss devastated her ... and may have revealed an even more sinister side of the violence-loving Asuka. Asuka left Bayley sitting at ringside as she left with her freshly won title.

The rest of the women’s division is about to be in a whole lot of trouble with Asuka holding the top prize.

As expected, Finn Bálor brought the demon to Texas -- a demon in an all-new color scheme, wielding a chainsaw.

Samoa Joe got busted open almost immediately after the match started, causing several blood stoppages -- much to the live crowd’s immense agitation. Joe looked like he had the match won at several points. He locked in the Coquina Clutch and Bálor went limp -- then fought back with one last gasp and pushed off the turnbuckles, rolling backward and pinning Joe while in the Clutch, a la Bret Hart and Roddy Piper at WrestleMania VIII.

What we learned: It certainly seemed like the time was right for Joe to do the unthinkable and defeat the demon, especially with Bálor’s good friends in the Bullet Club about to make their debut (which is also rumored to take place on RAW in just a few days).

Joe stared down Bálor for a very long time after the match and came closer than anyone before to defeating Bálor. Perhaps he will be the first person to explicitly challenge the champ to leave the demon at home and face him with no outlandish gimmicks?

It’s unclear where either man goes from here. Or who could possibly defeat Bálor if Joe couldn’t get it done. But NXT has always made one thing abundantly clear: it is going to be a whole lot of fun finding out what’s next.

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