NXT TakeOver: The End

Background

The NXT TakeOver series of professional wrestling shows started on May 29, 2014, as the WWE developmental league NXT held their second ever WWE Network exclusive live broadcast billed as NXT TakeOver. In subsequent months, the "TakeOver" moniker became the brand used by NXT and WWE for all of their NXT live specials as they held NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way, NXT TakeOver: R Evolution, NXT TakeOver: Rival, and NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable prior to NXT TakeOver: Respect. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn was the first TakeOver show held outside of Full Sail University. NXT TakeOver: London was the first TakeOver show held outside of the United States. NXT TakeOver: The End was the tenth overall show held under the NXT TakeOver banner and the second held in 2016.

Storylines

On April 21, at a house show in Lowell, Massachusetts, Samoa Joe defeated Finn Bálor to win the NXT Championship. On the May 11 episode of NXT, NXT General Manager William Regal scheduled a rematch at NXT TakeOver: The End. Throughout various house shows, the duo were unable to refrain from engaging in all out brawls, and on May 17, during a contract signing at WWE Performance Center, the match was made a Steel Cage match. This marks the first ever steel cage match in NXT history.

At NXT TakeOver: Dallas, American Alpha defeated The Revival to capture the NXT Tag Team Championship. On the May 18 episode of NXT, William Regal made the rematch official at NXT TakeOver: The End.

On the May 18 episode of NXT, Nia Jax defeated former NXT Women's Champion Bayley. Following Bayley's loss and her inability to perform at 100%, on the May 25 episode of NXT, Jax defeated Carmella and Alexa Bliss in a Triple Threat #1 contender match, and would face reigning champion, Asuka, at NXT TakeOver: The End.

On the May 25 episode of NXT, Austin Aries declared his intention to become the next NXT champion, which prompted a response from Shinsuke Nakamura. William Regal would then schedule a match between Nakamura and Aries at NXT TakeOver: The End.

On June 2, William Regal announced that Tye Dillinger would face Andrade "Cien" Almas at NXT TakeOver: The End.

Preliminary matches

In the first match, Andrade "Cien" Almas faced Tye Dillinger. In the end, Dillinger tried to perform his Tyebreaker fireman's carry neckbreaker, but Almas countered and followed with a series of moves for the win: a handspring Pelé-style double knee strike, a bulldog and a running double knee strike to a cornered Dillinger.

Next, American Alpha (Jason Jordan and Chad Gable) defended the NXT Tag Team Championship against The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder). In the end, American Alpha tried for Grand Amplitude on Wilder, but Dawson pushed Gable out of the ring and then saved Wilder. The Revival executed the Shatter Machine on Jordan to regain the title. Post-match, American Alpha were ambushed and attakced by two men wearing black (later to referred to as "The Authors of Pain"). Paul Ellering emerged and accompanied the duo backstage.

After that, Shinsuke Nakamura faced Austin Aries. During the match, Aries applied his Last Chancery submission mid-match, but Nakamura reached the ropes to break the hold. After Aries executed a death valley driver on the ring apron on Nakamura, he tried to follow up with a suicide dive onto Nakamura at ringside, but Nakamura dodged, so Aries crashed into the ringside guardrail. In the end, Nakamura executed a Kinshasha off the middle rope followed by an inverted powerslam. Finally, Nakamura executed the Kinshasa for the pin and the win.

In the fourth match, Asuka defended the NXT Women's Championship against Nia Jax. Jax dominated with power, attacking Asuka's back with various attacks including a biel throw, a backbreaker, a spinebuster and a powerbomb, stretches and a bearhug. Asuka tried various submission holds (octopus, guillotine choke, triangle choke, kneebar, Fujiwara armbar and the Asuka Lock) on Jax, but she escaped, counterattacked or reached the ropes. Asuka executed a roundhouse kick, a spin kick and two more kicks for the win.

Main event

In the main event, Samoa Joe defended the NXT Championship against Finn Bálor in a Steel cage match. In the first 6 minutes, both wrestlers tried unsuccessful attempts to escape through the cage door. By the 14 minute mark, Joe had managed to kick out of a Sling Blade from the top rope, then Bálor kicked out of a muscle buster, followed Bálor executing his Coup de Grâce for a two count. The end of the match saw Bálor trying to climb out of the cage after escaping Joe's Coquina Clutch hold. However, Joe executed a muscle buster from the top rope to pin Bálor and retain the NXT Championship .

Reception

NXT TakeOver: The End received largely positive reviews. Professional wrestling commentator Jim Ross described the event as "compelling" and "entertaining" television, with positives in several aspects: booking, "in ring action", move execution and TV production. Ross was "proud of" the "efficient" commentary by Philips and Graves, which helped by "focusing in the action and diligently trying to get the talents over". For the matches, the main event was "classic", the women's title match showed off engaging "physicality", Nakamura-Aries "was one of the best TV matches on WWE TV in recent memory", and finally, "NXT has done a notable job making their tag team scene have significant meaning."

James Caldwell of Pro Wrestling Torch reviewed each match out of 5 stars. The "surprisingly quick" match for Almas-Dillinger was the poorest rated 2.0 stars. Caldwell commended Almas for "a money look and tons of charisma". The "super-hot tag match" was rated 3.75 stars; Caldwell described the outcome as "stunning" and praised all four men's work in the match. Aries-Nakamura was the best rated match at 4.25 stars: although "methodical early on", it reached "an epic conclusion". Aries was highlighted for "fire and in-ring ability", while Nakamura had "superior skills" and an "amazing" entrance. Asuka-Jax was rated 2.75 stars as both women gave a "fine display", with Asuka showing "underdog fire" and Jax "as a dominant force ... done in by her hubris". Bálor-Joe was rated 3.5 stars, "a very good main event", but due to a predictable match result, the "tired concept" of cage matches, and "close camera work" without "intimacy", it "just didn't seem to come together as the total package to 'end an era' for NXT."

Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald wrote that the event was "another action-packed, crowd-pleasing NXT TakeOver special" in front of a "very amp'd crowd". Ultimately, The End showed how NXT "continues to develop and grow into its own white hot brand". Varsallone credited how "those who started the NXT phenomenon" (examples include male wrestler Kevin Owens, female wrestler Sasha Banks, tag team Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady, manager Lana and referee Jason Ayers) have already transitioned to WWE's main roster, so now "it's time for the next group to step up, and they are" indeed shining. For the matches, the tag title match was "stellar", Aries-Nakamura was a "dream matchup", while Almas-Dillinger was "really good" and enhanced by the crowd supporting both wrestlers. Varsallone also listed a variety of chants for each match by fans.

Jason Powell of Pro Wrestling Dot Net thought that The End was "another excellent NXT Takeover special", "never a dull moment" despite less "buzz". Powell thought that the "strong, dramatic" main event had enough uncertainty as to its outcome to make "the near falls count". For the other title matches, the women match was "entertaining" although it "won't compete for best of the night", while the tag match was "excellent" and even better than their previous matchup at NXT TakeOver: Dallas. As a sidenote, Powell wrote, "As a longtime fan, I love the use of Ellering, who looks tremendous for his age." Meanwhile, Aries-Nakamura was "a hell of a match" with Powell enjoying how "Aries looked so strong in defeat". Lastly, in the opener, "Almas showed some tremendous athleticism, and Dillinger played his part in the match very nicely".