8 Ups & 0 Downs From NXT TakeOver 36

Three titles change hands. Adam Cole takes his final NXT bow? TakeOver goes out on a high?

by Jamie Kennedy
Walter Ilja Dragunov
WWE.com

There are no 'Downs' to report.

WWE are promising big changes for the NXT brand, so this could be considered a swansong of sorts for the classic TakeOver format. If so, then that roster deserves a healthy bonus for the way they went about their business on Sunday night. After CM Punk's emotional AEW debut and a newsworthy SummerSlam card, NXT's finest produced one hell of a pure pro wrestling show.

Variety was the order of the day. WWE put on weapons-based brawls, slow-burning stories, insanely physical epics and more. They also ended the evening with a title change that should rock the boat on Tuesday nights going forwards - Karrion Kross is Raw bound, and Samoa Joe will lead NXT into a bold new future.

At least temporarily.

TakeOver 36 was a quite dazzling end to the weekend. It'd be a lie to say that each match topped the one before it (one midcard effort easily could've headlined), but there were no bad bouts here. Long live that TakeOver formula. It's just a pity that WWE couldn't move out of the CWC for this one and play the hits in front of 15,000+.

Get ready for a boatload of positivity...

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Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.