A Beginner's Guide To WWE's Netflix Era

NXT has usually been positioned as the buffer between independent wrestling and the live TV of the WWE's main shows. For a long spell NXT leaned far more towards wrestling than any kind of 'sports entertainment' that Vince thought people wanted to see. The NXT Takeover shows were held in the run up to the main roster PPVs and often allowed fans a chance to see wrestlers develop characters and styles that would feature on episodes of Smackdown or Raw in the future. 

They were also usually brilliant and you could pick any of them and have a great experience. Takeover Dallas has Sami Zayn versus Shinsuke Nakamura though and that makes it stand out a little more from the rest.

For so long WWE would take wrestlers from other companies and, especially in the case of overseas talent, get them to start all over again. They might have achieved great things in the industry but they hadn't achieved anything in WWE. It's an attitude that was petty at best and self defeating at worst. Something felt like it was turning a corner on this night though. Nakamura had headlined the Tokyo Dome with New Japan and whilst he wasn't being sent straight to the main roster there was still plenty of buzz about his first WWE appearance. Being well travelled himself, Sami was also the perfect opponent.  The match turns into an almighty clash from start to finish. 

On the same show there's the main event of Finn Balor versus Samoa Joe, a cracking Women's title match between Bayley and Asuka and a Tag Team Title match putting American Alpha against The Revival. Don't let the 'development league' tag fool you, NXT Takeover shows were full of different wrestling styles and hard hitting action.