NXT TakeOver: The End: The full rundown and why you should care

NXT TakeOver’s subtitle, “The End,” has multiple meanings. It’s going to be the end of the longest-running title feud in the company’s history. It’s also the final live special before WWE’s main roster shows -- RAW and SmackDown -- diverge with separate rosters and stories as part of a brand split, a move that will have major implications for NXT and its own wrestlers. Now they have two “promotions” to be called up to, meaning more opportunities and potentially a faster-changing roster.

That means this is the end of an era for NXT in more ways than one, and that the next time we see them live, they -- and their branding -- could look different. While that’s all a couple of months away, the next steps on that path will be taken Wednesday night.

Once again, there are five matches announced for the two-hour special, including the debut of a superstar y’all are going to love. Just two of the five are rematches, and a whole lot has changed in one of the feuds since the last time the two met in the ring. Each matchup looks like it could be a killer one, and each will inform us of the short- and long-term direction of NXT for the rest of 2016. So, if you’re not an NXT regular just yet, now is as good a time as any to drop in: things are changing in a hurry.

NXT TakeOver: The End will begin at 8 pm ET, exclusively on the WWE Network. The pre-show will begin at 7:30, so if you want or need to catch up on these feuds, that’s when you’ll want to tune in. In the meantime, well, keep on reading!

What am I looking at here? Here’s your debuting star: Andrade “Cien” Almas is the former La Sombra, a Mexican luchador who is going to blow your mind. He’s now without a mask -- and this isn’t spoiling anything about his past or previous characters, either, since his vignettes have literally been him watching La Sombra footage while removing his mask -- and is likely going to be the winner here given it’s his first official match with NXT.

Before getting his new moniker, Almas wrestled as “Manny Andrade” on NXT’s house show circuit, and crowds that didn’t know who he was started to care in a hurry after watching him tear things up in the ring. He’ll take on Tye Dillinger, who a little too often tends to be in these matches against a high-profile debut who is likely going to defeat him. Dillinger had some momentum coming into this one, though, so maybe he’ll move out of this role and get his own push to the top after wrestling Andrade Almas.

Why you should care: Dillinger is one of the better performers in NXT, which is precisely why he gets to wrestle the likes of Andrade “Cien” Almas in the latter’s debut. The two should put on a show, one that could lead to Dillinger’s breaking out of his current role and toward a more significant one, while also setting Almas up to be a star in the upcoming Cruiserweight Classic tournament that WWE will begin taping later this month.

What am I looking at here? Shinsuke Nakamura is one of the greatest wrestlers and performers in the world, and Austin Aries is tired of being overshadowed by him. It is not going to go well for Austin Aries, nor his head, which is going to get kicked in.

Why you should care: Shinsuke Nakamura is still early on in his NXT career, and his debut match at TakeOver: Dallas is one of the greatest the company has ever put on. Seeing him ramp back up after entertaining, low-risk affairs for his second potential classic -- this time with Aries, who will try hard to entertain us all before his head is kicked in -- could be the highlight of the entire event.

It’s also a potential moment for Aries to stop being a jerky good guy so he can be a jerky bad guy, which should get us some new feuds and matchups in the coming months. Or, at the least, a ramped up version of this current feud.

What am I looking at here? These two teams faced off at TakeOver: Dallas, with American Alpha coming away first-time champions after avoiding the nefarious cheating and hard-hitting ways of the old-school Revival. American Alpha -- made up of Jason Jordan and Chad Gable -- will wrestle your face off and then suplex it using their amateur and Olympic experience, respectively. The Revival’s T-shirts say “No Flips, Just Fists,” and they tend to stay on-brand.

Why you should care: Leaving aside the part where both of these teams are dope for different reasons, there are a few wrinkles in play that make this more than just the former champs losing their contractual rematch to the new champs. The Revival already look like they’re starting a feud with another tag team, and American Alpha could well be promoted to WWE’s main roster before long with SmackDown going live and the roster splitting up between RAW and SmackDown starting in early July. Will Jordan and Gable retain, leaving The Revival’s next feud to be non-title? Will The Revival cheat, cheat and cheat some more to get their titles back? Intrigue!

What am I looking at here? Asuka is the most intimidating wrestler in the women’s division. Well, unless Nia Jax is. Asuka defeated Bayley at TakeOver: Dallas to win the NXT Women’s title. Then, Jax won a No. 1 contender’s match for the right to face Asuka, shortly after injuring Bayley in their own match. This is as “immovable object vs. unstoppable force” as you can get, considering Jax already learned from her one and only defeat with NXT, and Asuka remains undefeated there.

Why you should care: Asuka is terrifying in all the right ways, and Jax is getting there. Asuka has the speed advantage, Jax has size. Neither has taken on an opponent anything like the other, so Wednesday’s match will be about as new as can be for everyone. There is also the potential for this to be an inconclusive championship match, and with the previous champ, Bayley, having claim to a rematch against either opponent, we could be in line for a Women’s Championship triple threat at the next NXT live special. Please, please let us be in line for that.

What am I looking at here? Finn Bálor won each championship match against Samoa Joe, until he didn’t. Just when it seemed the feud might be over after TakeOver: Dallas, Joe won the NXT title from Bálor at a house show in Lowell, Mass. It wasn’t on television and there is no full video of it available, but as someone lucky enough to be in attendance, I can tell you that it was awesome, and arguably the best of the bunch so far. It was also a major surprise: titles just don’t change hands at house shows.

It is important that you know that Bálor is, on the side, a demon. It’s not just cosplay, it’s a metaphor: it’s the personification of the darkness inside him that he reaches back for in big moments. Hey, everyone has their good luck charms. Finn’s just has an amazing paint job and also happens to be very good at making other wrestlers violently lose.

Also, this time, Joe and Finn are going to fight in a cage. The cage signifies finality in a feud, and that’s its purpose here. You probably won’t see many attempts at escaping the cage here, with the two instead using it to heighten the violence of the match instead.

Why you should care: Joe hits hard and often, and can also submit an opponent in the blink of an eye. Bálor has never lost when he arrives to the ring dressed in his demon persona -- he was just regular old handsome, jacket-wearing Bálor in Lowell -- so that’s where the intrigue here lies in their umpteenth showdown. Will the demon finally lose a match? Will there be [pause for dramatic effect] shenanigans?

A whole lot can happen in a cage match, you know. After all, it is a no-disqualification affair, so if anyone out there has a reason to beef with Bálor ... all I’m saying is now’s the time to get said beef going.

All we know for sure is that this is the end of Joe vs. Finn. NXT even says so in the name of the event! How it will end exactly is unclear -- betting on Bálor to lose in some way so he can eventually head to RAW or SmackDown seems the smart one -- but the how of it all is where we all lack clarity. We’ll get it on Wednesday night, though.