7 Ups And 3 Downs From NXT TakeOver: The End

The end for Samoa Joe/Finn Balor, the beginning for others.

by Scott Carlson
samoa joe finn balor
WWE.com

Whenever theres an NXT TakeOver special, any fan with the WWE Network should make plans to watch it. Period. These shows are typically two hours long much easier to digest and are packed with extremely talented wrestlers who will put on no-nonsense matches that remind you why youre a wrestling fan.

Wednesday nights TakeOver: The End was no exception. NXT rolled out five strong matches, with all three titles on the line, a debuting Mexican high-flyer, and a grudge match between two independent scene stars. We saw American Alpha continue to be the clear fan favorite, but also saw how the Revival are their counterweight in many ways. We saw Shinsuke Nakamura mix it up with Austin Aries to find out who truly is greater. And we saw Finn Balor and Samoa Joe finally (and hopefully) put an end to their feud.

TakeOvers tag name The End created consternation among fans, especially with a brand split coming, but it was clear that this simply is the end of an era for NXT, and a new one with newer superstars being pushed as brand leaders is coning. That can make for a nostalgic and bittersweet moment, but otherwise, fans got a really great night of wrestling Wednesday night.

So what connected and what missed at TakeOver? Lets get to it

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Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.