NXT TakeOver: Chicago

NXT TakeOver: Chicago was a professional wrestling show and WWE Network event in the NXT TakeOver series that took place on May 20, 2017, at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.[1] The event was produced by WWE for its NXT brand division and streamed live on the WWE Network.

NXT TakeOver: Chicago
Promotional poster featuring Ruby Riot, Asuka, Nikki Cross, Bobby Roode, and Hideo Itami
PromotionWWE
Brand(s)NXT
DateMay 20, 2017
CityRosemont, Illinois
VenueAllstate Arena
WWE Network event chronology
← Previous
United Kingdom Championship Special		 Next →
Backlash
NXT TakeOver chronology
← Previous
Orlando		 Next →
Brooklyn III
NXT TakeOver: Chicago chronology
← Previous
First		 Next →
II

Production

Background

TakeOver is a series of professional wrestling shows that began on May 29, 2014, as WWE's then developmental league NXT held their second WWE Network exclusive live broadcast billed as TakeOver.[2] In subsequent months, the "TakeOver" moniker became the brand used by WWE for all of their NXT live specials. Chicago was the 15th NXT TakeOver event and the first in the TakeOver: Chicago chronology.

Storylines

The card comprised five matches. The matches 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]

At TakeOver: Orlando, Bobby Roode retained the NXT Championship over Shinsuke Nakamura.[5] The following Wednesday on NXT, Roode came out and insulted Nakamura. Hideo Itami interrupted Roode's speech, slapped him and attacked him with a GTS. The following week on NXT, general manager William Regal made a title match between the two official for TakeOver: Chicago.

Asuka successfully defended the NXT Women's Championship against Ember Moon at TakeOver: Orlando, but during the match, Asuka shoved the referee onto Moon to avoid Moon's finisher, the Eclipse, continuing Asuka's transition into a villainess that began at TakeOver: Toronto.[5] On the May 3 NXT, Moon, Ruby Riott, and Nikki Cross were the final three combatants remaining in a #1 Contender's Battle Royal. During the match, Asuka attacked all three women, resulting in a no contest and cementing Asuka's heel turn. After the match, William Regal announced that Asuka will defend the NXT Women's Championship against Moon, Riot, and Cross in a Fatal 4-Way match at TakeOver: Chicago.[6] However, Moon suffered a legitimate shoulder injury after being thrown out of the ring awkwardly during Asuka's attack. Therefore, Moon was pulled out of the match, making the match a triple threat.[7]

On May 6, during at a United Kingdom Championship Tournament live event, Tyler Bate defeated Joseph Conners to retain the WWE United Kingdom Championship. Following the match, it was announced that on May 7 at the United Kingdom Championship Special, Bate would defend his title against Mark Andrews, who had become the number one contender after defeating James Drake. Bate would go on and win the match. Also on May 7, Pete Dunne defeated Trent Seven to become the new number one contender for the United Kingdom Championship at TakeOver: Chicago.[8]

Event
Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
Commentators Tom Phillips
Nigel McGuinness
Percy Watson
Jim Ross (UK Championship match)
Ring announcer Mike Rome
Referees Darryl Sharma
Drake Wuertz
Eddie Orengo
Pre-show panel Charly Caruso
Peter Rosenberg
Nigel McGuinness

Preliminary matches

In the opening match, Eric Young faced Roderick Strong. Strong performed "End of Heartache" on Young to win the match.[9]

Next, Tyler Bate defended the WWE United Kingdom Championship against Pete Dunne. In the climax, Dunne performed the "Bitter End" on Bate to win the title.[9] The match was rated 4.75 stars by journalist Dave Meltzer, tying for Meltzer's best-reviewed WWE match of 2017 thus far. The match was also voted as the NXT Match of the Year.

Afterwards, Asuka defended the NXT Women's Championship against Ruby Riott and Nikki Cross in a triple threat match. The ending saw Asuka perform a running knee smash on Riot and pin both women to retain the title.[9]

In the penultimate match, Bobby Roode defended the NXT Championship against Hideo Itami. Roode performed a "Glorious DDT" on Itami for a near-fall. Itami performed a "GTS" on Roode, who rolled out of the ring, and scored a near-fall. Itami attempted a second "GTS" on Roode, who countered and performed two consecutive "Glorious DDTs" on Itami to retain the title.[9]

Main event

In the main event, The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) defended the NXT Tag Team Championship against DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) in a ladder match. Gargano performed a splash off a ladder onto Akam, who was lay on a ladder bridged between the ring apron and the barricade, whilst Ciampa performed a splash off the ladder through a ladder, which was also bridged, on Rezar. After Paul Ellering interfered, Gargano performed a superkick on Ellering. Ciampa performed a German suplex through a ladder, which was positioned in the corner, on Rezar. Gargano and Ciampa performed "Meeting in the Middle" into a ladder, which Akam was trapped in. Gargano and Ciampa attempted to retrieve the title belts but Akam and Rezar performed powerbombs on Gargano and Ciampa. Akam and Rezar then performed the "Super Collider" on Gargano and Ciampa. Akam and Rezar retrieved the title belts to retain the title.

After the match, Ciampa attacked Gargano and performed two running knee smashes on Gargano, turning heel. Ciampa performed an "Air Raid Crash" through two tables near the announce table on Gargano. Medical personnel checked on Gargano as the event ended.[9]

Results
No. Results Stipulations Times[10][9]
1N Aleister Black defeated Curt Hawkins Singles match[10] 2:51
2N Velveteen Dream defeated Robert Anthony Singles match[10] 2:25
3N Drew McIntyre defeated Wesley Blake Singles match[10] 8:50
4 Roderick Strong defeated Eric Young (with Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain) Singles match[11] 13:42
5 Pete Dunne defeated Tyler Bate (c) Singles match for the WWE United Kingdom Championship[12] 15:27
6 Asuka (c) defeated Nikki Cross and Ruby Riott Triple threat match for the NXT Women's Championship[13] 12:30
7 Bobby Roode (c) defeated Hideo Itami Singles match for the NXT Championship[14] 17:50
8 The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) (c) (with Paul Ellering) defeated DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) Ladder match for the NXT Tag Team Championship[15] 20:06
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
  • N – indicates the match was taped for broadcast on a future episode of NXT

References
  1. "NXT TakeOver: Chicago to take place on the eve of WWE Backlash". WWE. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  2. Howell, Nolan (May 29, 2014). "Neville tops Kidd at NXT Takeover". canoe.ca. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  3. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  4. "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  5. Powell, Jason. "4/1 Powell's NXT Takeover: Orlando Live Review – Bobby Roode vs.Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT Title, Authors of Pain vs. DIY vs. The Revival for the NXT Tag Titles, Asuka vs. Ember Moon for the NXT Women's Title". Pro Wreslting Dot Net. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  6. Moore, John (May 4, 2017). "5/3 Moore's NXT TV Review: Battle Royal to become number one contender to Asuka's NXT Women's Championship, Hideo Itami vs. Kona Reeves, Heavy Machinery in action, Killian Dain vs. Danny Burch". Pro Wreslting Dot Net. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  7. Clapp, John. "Shoulder injury takes Ember Moon out of TakeOver: Chicago". WWE. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  8. Martin, Adam. "SPOILERS: 5/6 WWE United Kingdom TV taping results in Norwich, England". WrestleView. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  9. Zimmerman, Zack. "5/20 Zim's NXT Takeover: Chicago live review – Bobby Roode vs. Hideo Itami for the NXT Title, Authors of Pain vs. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa in a ladder match for the NXT Tag Titles, Asuka vs. Nikki Cross vs. Ruby Riott for the NXT Women's Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  10. Zimmerman, Zack (May 24, 2017). "5/24 Zim's WWE NXT TV Review: Drew McIntyre vs. Wesley Blake, Aleister Black vs. Curt Hawkins, Velveteen Dream debuts". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  11. Murphy, Ryan (May 20, 2017). "Roderick Strong def. Eric Young". WWE. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  12. Murphy, Ryan (May 20, 2017). "Pete Dunne def. Tyler Bate to win the WWE United Kingdom Championship". WWE. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  13. Murphy, Ryan (May 20, 2017). "NXT Women's Champion Asuka def. Ruby Riott and Nikki Cross in a Triple Threat Match". WWE. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  14. Murphy, Ryan (May 20, 2017). "NXT Champion Bobby Roode def. Hideo Itami". WWE. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  15. Murphy, Ryan (May 20, 2017). "NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain def. Gargano & Ciampa in a Ladder Match". WWE. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.