7 Ups And 3 Downs From NXT TakeOver: The End
2. Saving It For Later?
One thing that was surprising about TakeOver: The End was what didnt happen in the Austin Aries/Shinsuke Nakamura match.
Aries and Nakamura had a great match that showcased both mens talents, changing pace without being dull and making sure both men looked strong throughout. However, the one thing that seemed to be missing was a definitive heel turn for A-Double. He certainly looked like he was going down that road in recent interactions with Nakamura, and even during their match, the crowd felt comfortable assigning him the heel role for the bout.
So why didnt he turn? It wouldnt have been hard for him to take a shortcut during the match, or even outright cheat, or he could have blasted Shinsuke afterward. Maybe this is something that will be revisited in the coming weeks, but it felt like the crowd was hot and would have reacted strongly to something like that from The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived.