NXT TakeOver: Rival was the fourth NXT TakeOver professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's developmental territory, NXT. The event aired exclusively on the WWE Network and took place on February 11, 2015, at NXT's home arena, Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
| NXT TakeOver: Rival | |||
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| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Brand(s) | NXT | ||
| Date | February 11, 2015 | ||
| City | Winter Park, Florida | ||
| Venue | Full Sail University | ||
| Attendance | 400+ (Sold out) | ||
| WWE Network event chronology | |||
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| NXT TakeOver chronology | |||
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The main event of the show saw Sami Zayn defend the NXT Championship against former friend Kevin Owens in a match that played off their shared history prior to signing with WWE. Also on the show, Charlotte defended the NXT Women's Championship against Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, and Bayley in a fatal four-way match, and Blake and Murphy defended the NXT Tag Team Championship against former champions The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) in their rematch. The show also featured the finals of a tournament to determine the number one contender to the NXT Championship, as well as two other matches.
Production
editBackground
editTakeOver was a series of professional wrestling shows that began in May 2014, as WWE's then-developmental league NXT held their second WWE Network-exclusive event, billed as TakeOver.[1] In subsequent months, the "TakeOver" moniker became the brand used by WWE for all of their NXT live specials. Rival was scheduled as the fourth NXT TakeOver event and took place on February 11, 2015, at NXT's home arena, Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.[2]
Storylines
editThe card comprised six matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on their weekly television program, NXT.[3][4]
The main event of the TakeOver: Rival was a storyline between long time real life friends and often in-ring opponents Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. The storyline played on the decade long friendship between the two, predating both of them working for WWE, back when they were known as Kevin Steen (Owens) and El Generico (Zayn). The two became friends when they worked for the Canadian International Wrestling Syndicate IWS and later on won several tag team championships as Kevin Steen and El Generico including the PWG World Tag Team Championship twice and the ROH World Tag Team Championship.[5][6][7] While they were close friends, the two also had a very intense storyline feud in Ring of Honor (ROH) that lasted from late 2009 until late 2012 where Zayn signed a contract with WWE.[8] Steen, given the ring name Kevin Owens, signed a WWE contract during the summer of 2014, joining Zayn in NXT. During the build to Owens' debut at TakeOver: R Evolution they acknowledge the past history of Zayn and Owens, citing their friendship. At "R Evolution", Owens won his debut match against CJ Parker and then later on in the night Zayn defeated Adrian Neville to win the NXT Championship. After the victory Owens came to the ring to congratulate Zayn on the victory, but then turned on him and attacked Zayn, performing a Powerbomb onto the ring apron on Zayn.[9] On January 14, 2015, Zayn successfully defended the championship against Neville, only to be attacked by Owens after the match once more.[10] At the following NXT show Zayn demanded a match against Owens, with Owens pushing back saying he was a "prize fighter" and would only fight Zayn if the NXT Championship was on the line, a stipulation Zayn agreed to.[11][12]
In the weeks prior to the TakeOver: Rival show, NXT held a tournament to determine the next challenger to the NXT Championship, announcing the tournament before Owens goaded Zayn into giving him a match for the championship. The eight man tournament included Finn Bálor, Curtis Axel, Hideo Itami, Tyler Breeze, Tyson Kidd, Adrian Neville, Baron Corbin, and Bull Dempsey. The first round of the tournament was broadcast on January 21 and 28 with Balor, Itami, Neville and Corbin all advancing to the semi-finals. The semi-finals of the tournament was shown on the WWE Network on February 4 and saw Balor and Neville qualify for the finals that would take place at TakeOver: Rival.[13]
On January 15, 2015 (shown on January 28), the team of Blake and Murphy upset the reigning NXT Tag Team Champions The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) to win the championship.[14] Prior to the victory, the team had only won a few matches since they became a regular tag team six months prior, so the title victory was seen as a surprise. Following the title change, NXT quickly announced a rematch between the two teams for TakeOver: Rival.
Event
editPreliminary matches
editThe event opened with Hideo Itami facing Tyler Breeze. Itami executed a "Shotgun Kick" on Breeze for the win.[2]
Next, Baron Corbin and Bull Dempsey in a No Disqualification match. Corbin executed the "End of Days" to win the match.[2]
After that, Blake and Murphy defended the NXT Tag Team Championship against The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara). After Murphy executed a brainbuster on Cara, Blake followed with a "Six Star Frog Splash" for the pinfall to retain the titles.[2]
The next match between Adrian Neville and Finn Bálor was to determine the #1 contender for the NXT Championship. During the match, Bálor performed a running front dropkick on Neville, who was leaning against the guardrail. Balor performed a diving double foot stomp to the back of Neville's head for a near-fall. Neville executed a Phoenix splash off the middle rope for a near-fall. In the end, Bálor performed a running front dropkick on Neville, knocking him into the turnbuckles, followed by a "Coup De Grace" to win the match.[2]
In the penultimate match, Charlotte defended the NXT Women's Championship against Sasha Banks, Bayley and Becky Lynch in a fatal four way match. During the match, Lynch performed an exploder suplex on Charlotte for a near-fall. Bayley performed a "Bayley-to-Belly Suplex" off the top rope on Charlotte, but Banks broke up the pinfall attempt. Banks performed a Banks Statement on Charlotte before altering it into a crucifix and pinned her to win the title.[2]
Main event
editIn the main event, Sami Zayn defended the NXT Championship against Kevin Owens. During the match, Zayn performed a "Blue Thunder Bomb" on Owens for a near-fall. After Owens executed a pop-up powerbomb for a near-fall, Zayn appeared to be injured. Medical personnel repeatedly checked on him. After Owens performed another four powerbombs, Owens was declared the winner by technical knockout. As a result, Owens won the NXT Championship.[15][2]
Aftermath
editOwens defended the NXT Championship against Sami Zayn at the following TakeOver, TakeOver: Unstoppable, again the match ended without a pinfall as Owens injured Zayn, attacking him until Samoa Joe made his shocking surprise debut for NXT and stopped Owens from attacking further.[16]
Results
edit| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[2] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hideo Itami defeated Tyler Breeze by pinfall | Singles match[17] | 8:13 | ||
| 2 | Baron Corbin defeated Bull Dempsey by pinfall | No Disqualification match[17] | 4:15 | ||
| 3 | Blake and Murphy (c) defeated The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) by pinfall | Tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championship[17] | 8:10 | ||
| 4 | Finn Bálor defeated Adrian Neville by pinfall | Singles match to determine the #1 contender for the NXT Championship[17] | 13:25 | ||
| 5 | Sasha Banks defeated Charlotte (c), Bayley, and Becky Lynch by pinfall | Fatal four-way match for the NXT Women's Championship[17] | 12:28 | ||
| 6 | Kevin Owens defeated Sami Zayn (c) by technical knockout | Singles match for the NXT Championship[17] | 23:27 | ||
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NXT Championship #1 Contender's Tournament bracket
edit| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Finn Bálor | Pin | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Curtis Axel | 04:55 | ||||||||||||
| Finn Bálor | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Hideo Itami | 12:03 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Hideo Itami | Pin | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Tyler Breeze | 12:55 | ||||||||||||
| Finn Bálor | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Adrian Neville | 13:25 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Tyson Kidd | 12:45 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Adrian Neville | Pin | ||||||||||||
| Adrian Neville | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Baron Corbin | 05:28 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Baron Corbin | Pin | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Bull Dempsey | 01:32 | ||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ Howell, Nolan (May 29, 2014). "Neville tops Kidd at NXT Takeover". canoe.ca. Archived from the original on July 30, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h James, Justin (February 11, 2015). "WWE NXT Takeover report 2/11: Zayn vs. Owens NXT Title match, Women's Title semi-main event, Neville-Balor; Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
- ^ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
- ^ "El Generico & "Mr. Wrestling" Kevin Steen". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
- ^ "El Generico & "Mr. Wrestling" Kevin Steen (2nd Reign)". Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.com. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
- ^ "Ring Of Honor Tag Team Championship". Ring of Honor. Archived from the original on April 12, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- ^ Caldwell, James (January 9, 2013). "WWE News: Independent star reportedly signs with WWE". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
- ^ Caldwell, James (December 11, 2014). "Caldwell's WWE NXT Takeover results 12/11: Complete virtual-time coverage of Neville vs. Zayn for the NXT Title, Itami & Balor, Charlotte, Kevin Steen/Owens's debut, Corey Graves retires". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on December 13, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
- ^ Caldwell, James (January 14, 2015). "WWE NXT report 1/14 - Week 135: New timeslot kicks off with Zayn vs. Neville NXT Title re-match, plus Charlotte & Natalya, Balor vs. Kidd, Corbin vs. Dempsey; Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
- ^ Howell, Nolan (January 22, 2015). "NXT: NXT Championship contender tourney kicks off". Canoe.ca. Slam Wrestling. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
- ^ Howell, Nolan (January 29, 2015). "NXT: Tournament and contract signing heat up". Canoe.ca. Slam Wrestling. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
- ^ "WWE NXT Title #1 Contendership Tournament". CageMatch.net. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- ^ Parry, Josh (January 15, 2015). "NXT spoilers from Full Sail University". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
- ^ Varsallone, Jim (February 12, 2015). "Hot crowd at Full Sail Live as Sasha Banks, Kevin Owens win WWE NXT titles; WWE NXT bound for Cleveland". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
- ^ James, Justin. "WWE NXT "TakeOver: Unstoppable" report 5/20: Owens vs. Zayn for the NXT Title ends in wild fashion with a major debut of Samoa Joe, plus spectacular NXT Women's Title match, more; Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on May 21, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f "Hideo Itami def. Tyler Breeze". WWE. February 11, 2015. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2016.