NXT TakeOver XXX

NXT TakeOver XXX (originally NXT TakeOver: Boston) was a professional wrestling and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their NXT brand division. It took place on August 22, 2020 at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. It was the 30th NXT TakeOver event. It was also the final NXT TakeOver event to air exclusively on the WWE Network, as beginning with TakeOver 31, the events also became available on traditional pay-per-view.

NXT TakeOver XXX
Promotional poster featuring various NXT wrestlers
PromotionWWE
Brand(s)NXT
DateAugust 22, 2020
CityWinter Park, Florida
VenueFull Sail University
Attendance0 (behind closed doors)[Note 1]
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31

The event was originally scheduled to take place at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city's Mayor Marty Walsh announced the suspension of all large-scale gatherings and that no permit would be issued for an event that could draw a large crowd before September 7. As such, the event was moved to NXT's home base of Full Sail University. It was the final NXT TakeOver event to be held at Full Sail, as beginning with TakeOver 31 in October, NXT's events were moved to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida and broadcast from a new setup dubbed the Capitol Wrestling Center.

Six matches were contested at the event, including one on the pre-show. In the main event, Karrion Kross defeated Keith Lee to win the NXT Championship. On the undercard, Io Shirai defeated Dakota Kai to retain the NXT Women's Championship, Damian Priest won the vacant NXT North American Championship in a ladder match and Adam Cole defeated Pat McAfee.

Production

Background

TakeOver is a series of professional wrestling shows that began on May 29, 2014 as WWE's NXT brand held their second WWE Network-exclusive live broadcast, billed as TakeOver.[1] In subsequent months, the "TakeOver" moniker became the brand used by WWE for all of their NXT live WWE Network specials. TakeOver XXX was the final NXT TakeOver to air exclusively on the WWE Network, as beginning with TakeOver 31 on October 4, 2020, the events also became available on traditional pay-per-view.[2]

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, broadcasts of NXT, as well as the previous event, TakeOver: In Your House, had to be presented from a behind closed doors set at NXT's home base of Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida since mid-March; WWE's programming for Raw and SmackDown were also done in this manner but at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. This TakeOver event, as well as the following night's SummerSlam, were originally scheduled to take place at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.[3] However, on May 8, 2020, Boston mayor Marty Walsh suspended all large-scale gatherings until September 7, effectively canceling WWE's planned events in the city.[4][5] As a result, "TakeOver: Boston" was also moved to Full Sail University and subsequently renamed to "TakeOver XXX" due to it being the 30th NXT TakeOver event.[6] TakeOver XXX would also be the final TakeOver to broadcast from Full Sail University, as beginnning with TakeOver 31 on October 4, 2020, the events were moved to the WWE Performance Center in a new setup dubbed the Capitol Wrestling Center.[2]

Storylines

The card comprised six matches, including one on the Pre-Show, that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains or less distinguishable characters to build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on their weekly television program, NXT.[7][8]

On the July 22 episode of NXT, then double champion Keith Lee reflected on his career and all of the opportunities he had gotten and stated that he now wanted to pay it forward, so he voluntarily relinquished the NXT North American Championship to allow other wrestlers a chance at the title, while he would focus solely on defending the NXT Championship. As a result, NXT General Manager William Regal announced that there would be a series of triple threat matches set up as qualifiers for a five-man ladder match to be held at TakeOver XXX to crown a new North American Champion. That same night, Bronson Reed defeated Johnny Gargano and Roderick Strong to become the first to qualify for the match.[9] The following week, Dexter Lumis joined Reed as the second person to qualify by defeating Finn Bálor and Timothy Thatcher,[10] but was later ruled out due to an ankle injury. On the August 5 episode, Damian Priest joined Reed as the third person to qualify by defeating Oney Lorcan and NXT UK's Ridge Holland.[11] Due to Lumis' injury, Regal announced two singles matches that would take place to fill Lumis' spot and determine the final two competitors. The wrestlers in those matches will be the ones who were neither pinned nor submitted in the triple threats.[12] On the August 12 episode of NXT, Cameron Grimes joined Reed and Priest as the fourth person to qualify by defeating Kushida and the returning Velveteen Dream, the latter of whom turned heel after the match.[13] The final two to qualify were Gargano and Dream by defeating Holland and Bálor, respectively.[14]

At TakeOver: In Your House, Shirai defeated Rhea Ripley and then-champion Charlotte Flair in a triple threat match to win the NXT Women's Championship. On the July 15 episode of NXT, after Shirai successfully defended against Tegan Nox, Kai attacked Shirai. On the August 5 episode of NXT, thanks to interference from The Robert Stone Brand's Mercedes Martinez, Kai defeated Ripley to earn an opportunity against Shirai at TakeOver XXX, after which Martinez attacked Ripley.[11]

On July 23 during McAfee's radio program on CBS Sports Radio, Cole got into an altercation with McAfee, due to McAfee accusing Cole of hiding behind The Undisputed Era during his record 403-day NXT Championship reign and mocking Cole for his smaller stature, resulting in Cole cussing out McAfee and shoving a producer.[15] On July 27, NXT head Triple H offered McAfee the opportunity to work things out with Cole on the August 5 episode of NXT.[16] During the NXT Tag Team Championship match, which saw Imperium's Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel defend against Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly, McAfee mocked Cole while serving as guest commentator and got into another altercation, which ended with McAfee punting Cole in the head while Cole was being restrained, before being thrown out of Full Sail University.[11] The following day, Triple H issued a challenge to McAfee on Cole's behalf for a match at TakeOver XXX on ESPN's Get Up!,[17] which McAfee later accepted in a video.[18]

Event
Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
Commentators Vic Joseph
Corey Graves
Beth Phoenix
Spanish commentators Carlos Cabrera
Marcelo Rodriguez
Interviewer McKenzie Mitchell
Ring announcer Alicia Taylor
Referees Drake Wuertz
Darryl Sharma
D.A. Brewer
Tom Castor
Stephon Smith
Pre-show panel Scott Stanford
Sam Roberts
Booker T

Pre-show

On the TakeOver XXX Pre-Show, Breezango (Fandango and Tyler Breeze) defeated Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch and Legado del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza) in a Triple threat tag team match to determine the #1 contenders for the NXT Tag Team Championship.[19]

Preliminary matches

In the first match of the main show, Finn Bálor faced Timothy Thatcher. The match in itself was a highly technical matchup and Thatcher and Balor used a lot of submissions. Bálor won following a Coup de Grace and a 1916.[19]

Next, the vacant North American Championship was decided in a five-way ladder match featuring Bronson Reed, Damian Priest, Cameron Grimes, Johnny Gargano, and the Velveteen Dream. Midway through the match, Reed performed a suicide dive onto Grimes, Gargano, and Priest, prompting Gargano's wife, Candice LeRae, to come out and check on her husband. Grimes was taken out of the match when Gargano used a powerbomb on him from a ladder onto another ladder. Dream was thrown out into the audience on the concrete floor. LeRae would become more heavily involved in the match by preventing Grimes from grabbing the title. She also tried to stop Reed from grabbing the title as well, but suffered greatly once Reed jumped from the ladder with LeRae on his back, splashing Gargano. In the end, it was Damian Priest who walked away as the new champion.[19]

Following this was the grudge match between Adam Cole and Pat McAfee. Things started off intense after McAfee dove to the outside, taking out Cole and the rest of The Undisputed Era, his own posse of NFL teammates, and several WWE officials and security. McAfee's advantage would dissipate over time after Cole locked him in a Figure 4 Leglock. McAfee would escape and hit his signature punt on Cole for a near fall. McAfee would counter a superplex attempt by Cole by flipping out and landing on his feet. McAfee also did a suicide dive from the top turnbuckle onto the Undisputed Era and rest of officials on the outside. However, in the end, it would be Cole who would pick up the victory following a Panama Sunrise.[19]

In the penultimate match, Io Shirai defended the NXT Women's Championship against Dakota Kai. Kai started the match off strong with several kicks and lariats. Once Shirai started mounting offense, Kai escaped to the outside where her enforcer, Raquel Gonzalez, stopped Shirai in her tracks, long enough for Kai to attack her from behind. Kai continued her advantage by targeting the arm of Shirai and hitting her with the Kairopractor for a near fall. Kai would then accidentally kick the ref, knocking him unconscious. Shirai capitalized with her patented Over-the-Moonsault, but was attacked by Gonzalez, who laid Shirai out with a Pumphandle Uranage. Kai capitalized and covered Shirai as the ref came to and started the count, only for Shirai to kick out at a 2 count. Moments later, Shirai would do a Moonsault on both Gonzalez and Kai outside the ring. Shirai would win the match by hitting Kai with yet another Over-the-Moonsault to retain the title. Afterwards, Shirai was attacked by Gonzalez, but was rescued by Rhea Ripley.[19]

Main event

In the main event, Keith Lee defended the NXT Championship against Karrion Kross, who was accompanied by Scarlett. Soon after the bell rang, the fight was quickly taken to the outside, with Kross kicking Lee's arm in between the guard rail and plexiglass divider. Kross continued to wear Lee down with various submission holds, and even hit a Doomsday Saito for a near fall. Lee would eventually mount a comeback against Kross, countering an arm bar by lifting it into a powerbomb, and would nail Kross with the Spirit Bomb for a near fall. Kross would mount a comeback by trapping Lee in the Kross Jacket and nearly made the champion pass out, but Lee would stay conscious and fight out of the hold. Lee attempted to go for a top rope maneuver, but would be met by Kross, who performed a top rope Doomsday Saito to pin Lee and win the NXT Championship for the first time in his career.[19]

Aftermath

After the event ended, it was reported by WWE that Karrion Kross had suffered a separated shoulder during his main event match with Keith Lee.[20] At SummerSlam, it was announced that Lee would be moving to Raw brand. On the following NXT, Kross announced that due to suffering that shoulder injury, he would not be medically cleared to defend the NXT Championship and thus relinquished the belt. As a result, Regal announced later that night that four former champions—Johnny Gargano, Finn Bálor, Adam Cole, and the returning Tommaso Ciampa—would compete on the September 1, 2020 "Super Tuesday" edition of NXT in a four-way 60-minute Iron Man match for the vacant NXT Championship. Also on that episode, Breezango defeated Imperium to become the new NXT Tag Team Champions, their first titles in WWE, while Kai and González capitalized on Martinez's interference and defeated Ripley and Shirai in the main event.

Results
No. Results Stipulations Times[19]
1P Breezango (Fandango and Tyler Breeze) defeated Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch and Legado del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza) Triple threat tag team match to determine the #1 contenders for the NXT Tag Team Championship[21] 6:52
2 Finn Bálor defeated Timothy Thatcher Singles match[22] 13:32
3 Damian Priest defeated Bronson Reed, Cameron Grimes, Johnny Gargano, and Velveteen Dream Ladder match for the vacant NXT North American Championship[23] 21:24
4 Adam Cole defeated Pat McAfee Singles match[24] 16:12
5 Io Shirai (c) defeated Dakota Kai (with Raquel González) Singles match for the NXT Women's Championship[25] 17:13
6 Karrion Kross (with Scarlett) defeated Keith Lee (c) Singles match for the NXT Championship[26] 21:51
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
  • P – indicates the match took place on the pre-show

Notes
  1. The event was held without a paying audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, though it featured a live crowd of WWE wrestlers and trainees.

References
  1. Howell, Nolan (May 29, 2014). "Neville tops Kidd at NXT Takeover". canoe.ca. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  2. Defelice, Robert (October 3, 2020). "NXT TakeOver 31 To Be Available On Traditional Pay-Per-View". Fightful. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  3. "Boston to host SummerSlam in 2020". WWE. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  4. Johnson, Mike (May 8, 2020). "SUMMERSLAM WEEKEND WILL NOT TAKE PLACE IN BOSTON, MAYOR SAYS ALL MAJOR EVENTS NEED TO MAKE ALTERNATIVE PLANS". PWInsider. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  5. Tedesco, Mike (May 8, 2020). "WWE SummerSlam will not take place in Boston, mayor announces no events will take place". WrestleView. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  6. "NXT TakeOver XXX to take place Saturday, Aug. 22". WWE. July 22, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  7. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  8. "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  9. Moore, John (July 22, 2020). "7/22 NXT TV results: Moore's review of William Regal's announcement, Karrion Kross vs. Dominik Dijakovic, Killian Dain vs. Dexter Lumis". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  10. Moore, John (July 29, 2020). "7/29 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Finn Balor vs. Timothy Thatcher vs. Dexter Lumis in a NXT North American Title ladder match qualifier, Io Shirai and Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai and Candice LeRae, Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong, Mercedes Martinez vs. Shotzi Blackheart". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  11. Moore, John (August 5, 2020). "8/5 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Damian Priest vs. Oney Lorcan vs. Ridge Holland in a ladder match qualifier, Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai in a No. 1 contenders match, Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel vs. Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish for the NXT Tag Titles, Keith Lee vs. Cameron Grimes in a non-title match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  12. Toro, Carlos (August 5, 2020). "Dexter Lumis Not Competing At NXT TakeOver XXX, Matches To Determine Replacement Set For 8/19 NXT". Fightful. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  13. Moore, John (August 12, 2020). "8/12 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Kushida vs. Cameron Grimes vs. a mystery person in a qualifier for the ladder match for the vacant NXT North American Championship, NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar vs. Tyler Breeze in a non-title match, Damian Priest vs. Bronson Reed, Karrion Kross vs. Danny Burch". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  14. Moore, John (August 19, 2020). "8/19 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Adam Cole and Pat McAfee meet on the Takeover XXX go-home show, Finn Balor vs. VelveTEEN Dream and Johnny Gargano vs. Ridge Holland for spots in the NXT North American Championship ladder match, Rhea Ripley and Shotzi Blackheart vs. Mercedes Martinez and Aliyah". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  15. Lambert, Jeremy (July 23, 2020). "Adam Cole And Pat McAfee Is The New Weirdest Feud Of 2020". Fightful. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  16. Lambert, Jeremy (July 27, 2020). "Triple H: Adam Cole Is Responsible For His Own Actions". Fightful. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  17. "Triple H challenges Pat McAfee to face Adam Cole at NXT TakeOver XXX". WWE. August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  18. Lambert, Jeremy (August 6, 2020). "Pat McAfee Accepts NXT TakeOver XXX Match Against Adam Cole". Fightful. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  19. Moore, John (August 22, 2020). "NXT Takeover: XXX results – Moore's live review of Keith Lee vs. Karrion Kross for the NXT Championship, Adam Cole vs. Pat McAfee, Io Shirai vs. Dakota Kai for the NXT Women's Championship, a ladder match for the vacant NXT North American Title, Finn Balor vs. Timothy Thatcher". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  20. "Karrion Kross sustains shoulder injury at NXT TakeOver XXX". WWE. August 22, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  21. Melok, Bobby (August 22, 2020). "Breezango def. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch and Legado del Fantasma to become No. 1 Contenders to the NXT Tag Team Championship (Pre-Show Match)". WWE. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  22. Melok, Bobby (August 22, 2020). "Finn Bálor def. Timothy Thatcher". WWE. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  23. Melok, Bobby (August 22, 2020). "Damian Priest won a Ladder Match to become NXT North American Champion". WWE. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  24. Melok, Bobby (August 22, 2020). "Adam Cole def. Pat McAfee". WWE. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  25. Melok, Bobby (August 22, 2020). "NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai def. Dakota Kai". WWE. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  26. Melok, Bobby (August 22, 2020). "Karrion Kross def. Keith Lee to become NXT Champion". WWE. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
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