On Wednesday, December 16, 2015, WWE will present NXT TakeOver: London , live at 3 p.m./12 p.m. ET/PT at the Wembley Arena in London, England. For those who are unable to attend it live, it will be available for viewing exclusively on the award-winning WWE Network.
However, the Inquisitr understands not everyone in the WWE Universe (or wrestling community in general) will be able to spend two to three hours to watch NXT TakeOver: London . Therefore, results will be presented live as they become available, followed by a synopsis for each match.
Similar to past WWE pay-per-views, the WWE is providing one courtesy to those who do not have a paid subscription to the WWE Network. Thirty minutes before the special event, NXT TakeOver: London Pre-Showwill take place, which will include a panel of WWE personalities and commentators consisting of Renee Young, Tom Phillips, Kyle Edwards, and WWE Hall of Famer Lita discussing the matches in NXT TakeOver: London. It can be viewed not only on the WWE Network, but also on WWE’s official website, WWE App, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, Pheed, and Pinterest one hour before the actual pay-per-view.
Prior to this, the Inquisitr reported on the latest news leading up to WWE NXT TakeOver: London , which may or may not assist in fan predictions on what will take place. Also, it may provide insight on when current NXT wrestlers will be called up to the WWE main roster.
- Will Sami Zayn make his return to in-ring action at NXT TakeOver: London ?
- Finn Bálor says it is “detrimental to his career” if he is called up to the WWE main roster right at this moment.
- The same can be said about Bayley , who is not looking forward to being called up to the WWE main roster, as well.
Nevertheless, the following match card shown below is what is provided at this moment, and can change for any reason. Inquisitr will update this article with the latest results and update each match synopsis (either during or after the show) as they become available.
Apollo Crews vs. Baron Corbin — This match was made in association that both Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin were gunning for the NXT heavyweight championship. Their pursuit for the title differ as Crews challenged Finn Bálor directly, while Corbin had his hands full with the No. 1 contender, Samoa Joe. Eventually, their championship pursuits crossed paths, and it will come to a breaking point when they meet in the ring. This winner of this match will most-likely become the number one contender for the NXT heavyweight championship, too.
RESULT : Baron Corbin defeats Apollo Crews via pinfall after the End of Days.
SYNOPSIS : This match started out power vs. power as both contestants did lock-ups mostly to see who would be more dominant. When it became clear such a show of vanity wouldn’t account to a win, the match truly started. Baron Corbin starts out by playing intimidation but only gets backed to the corner for his actions, getting a flurry of shoulders into his gut. Despite Corbin trying to take breaks outside of the ring, Apollo Crews is on top of him. The match finally turned in favor for Corbin while he was in the corner. He countered a charging Crews who went over the top turnbuckle and crashed hard outside of the ring. On the way down though, his head bounced off the steel steps.
Since the over-the-top-rope/steel steps incident, Baron Corbin now controls the match, making the pace to his liking (slow and steady). Corbin’s showboating however payed him a price as Apollo Crews was able to retaliate. At one time, Corbin tries to walk away from the match but Crews stops him. He even connects with an apron moonsault too. Crews throws Corbin back into the ring to finish him off but Corbin neutralizes the assault with a Deep Six (spinning side slam). Both men struggle to get to their feet in which Corbin prepares to end the match with End of Days. Crews however does a backflip escape from the move and hits Corbin in the face followed by a standing moonsault. Finally, Crews sets up Corbin for his signature powerbomb but Corbin is able to counter him with the End of Days. A three-count later, Corbin is standing victorious.
Asuka vs. Emma (with Dana Brooke) — This match is the next chapter in the angle involving Asuka, Dana Brooke, and Emma. Back at NXT TakeOver: Respect , Asuka and Brooke went one-on-one, and the former just dominated the latter. The weeks after Brooke’s humiliating loss, they nitpicked and harassed Asuka. They even set her up for a sneak attack, where Emma locked in the Emma Lock on Asuka. Eventually, Asuka make it clear she is now hunting Emma (who is clearly afraid to even go up against the legendary Japanese wrestler) and they will meet in the ring tonight.
RESULT : Asuka defeats Emma via pinfall after a Spinning Back Kick to the Head.
SYNOPSIS : Unlike Asuka’s debut match against Dana Brooke, her match against Emma was not so one-sided. Asuka showed her prowess in the beginning with her strikes, kicks to Emma’a back, and even a hip rush attack from the top of the apron to Emma standing outside of the ring. However, Emma’s other half, Dana Brooke, played a major role by distracting Asuka. That gave Emma enough time to retaliate and turn the match to her favor.
Emma took full control of the match after that distraction, keeping close to Asuka. There was a time when Asuka almost swung the match back to her favor when she whipped Emma to the corner, but Emma countered it into the Dilemma. She then did a double-underhook butterfly suplex to Asuka to the corner, a setup for the Emma Sandwich. However, Emma got a little too cocky when she took too much time to lock in the Emma Lock. Asuka reversed it into an Ankle Lock followed by a German Suplex. That would be the beginning sequence that would end with Asuka semi-locking in the Asuka Lock. In trying to fully lock it in, the referee was pushed over.
Dana Brooke would interfere once again, throwing a leather strap to Emma to use on Asuka. Asuka saw it and tried to get the strap away from Emma. She succeeded but the referee recovered and thought Asuka was using it as a weapon. That situation gave Emma the chance to role up Asuka into a roll-up pin but Asuka countered it into a fully-locked in Asuka Lock. Brooke yet again interferes with the referee so he wouldn’t see Emma tapping out. It did not matter though because Asuka knocked out Emma with a Spinning Heel Kick to the face. A three count sealed the deal.
Dash and Dawson vs. Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady (with Carmella) for the NXT Tag Team Championships — Most of the NXT universe will be cheering for Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady in this match because they are major fan favorites, but have never been champions. That is a bit of a shame, given the fact they’ve been holding up the tag team division in NXT for years. The Lucha Dragons, Team BAM, the Vaudevillians, and current champs Dash and Dawson have been champions and haven’t been in NXT (as a tag team, per se) as long as Amore and Cassady. It is unsure if they will win, but it would be nice if they finally get the gold after working so hard for so long.
RESULT : Dash and Dawson defeat Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady when Dash Wilder pinned Enzo Amore after a Shatter Machine.
SYNOPSIS : This match starts out with Enzo Amore in control with quick tag outs with Colin Cassady. However, when Cassady came in to control the match, Dash and Dawson swarmed him in their half of the ring. Cassady was able to fight them off and throw them out of the ring, a setup for him to hurl Amore into them. Eventually, Dash and Dawson were able to use their strategy to cut off the ring by targeting Cassady’s knee. There was even a moment Dash and Dawson would have won when Dawson locked in an Inverted Figure-Four Leglock on Cassady.
Eventually, Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady were able to gain momentum connecting with the Assisted Splash Combination for the win… almost. Scott Dawson dragged Enzo Amore out of the ring to break the count, threw Cassidy into the ring post by using Carmella as a distraction. Amore came back, rolling Dawson back into the ring. He tried to climb the turnbuckle for a high-risk maneuver but found himself crashing into the canvas with a Shatter Machine from the top of the turnbuckle. Dash and Dawson retain the titles.
Bayley vs. Nia Jax for the NXT Women’s Championship — Bayley has proven to be a champion that is both ring-savvy and entertaining. Believe it or not, the only other female wrestler to pull both off well was Sasha Banks (Both Paige and Charlotte make better heels than faces and both were faces when they were champion). Anyways, there hasn’t been a women’s match for the title, in which there is definitely a size difference. Nia Jax is probably the first “monster” in the women’s division and her size will play a unique part for the division. It will be cool to see how Bayley adjusts because many do not see her pulling off suplexes, body slams, or even her Bayley-to-Belly on Jax.
RESULT : Bayley defeats Nia Jax via submission with a Guillotine Choke.
SYNOPSIS : From the start, this match would be a lot slower-paced compared to Bayley’s other title defenses. Also, Bayley will need to adjust her style given the fact that Nia Jax’s ability to absorb punishment would be counter-intuitive for Bayley’s faster style. In short, Bayley would need to pepper Jax if she wants to win, kind of like cutting down an oak tree.
Unfortunately for Bayley in the beginning, she didn’t understand this change in attack and tried to speed up the pace. As her reward, Bayley ate a lot of damage courtesy of Nia Jax. This includes a Cobra Clutch, multiple corner splashes, multiple Samoan Drops, and multiple leg drops. Despite all that punishment, Bayley kept kicking out. Eventually, Bayley would understand that she needs to wear down Jax. What better way to wear down bigger opponents than submissions. Starting with a Triangle Choke, Bayley kept slapping on submissions as counters to Jax’s assault. One time, she even locked in a Dragon Sleeper. However, it would be a trio of Guillotine Chokes that would submit Jax ultimately giving Bayley the win.
Finn Bàlor vs. Samoa Joe for the NXT Heavyweight Championship — For the longest time, the NXT universe (who are most-likely old school TNA fans) have wanted to see Samoa Joe make a heel turn. While being a villain, Joe was his most ruthless and entertaining. Ergo, when he laid out Finn Bàlor, it was surely a crowd pop of epic proportions. The championship pursuit just so happens to be a part of the angle simply because Bàlor is champion. It is not expected if Joe will win, but it will be a decent match nevertheless. Also, if there is any time Sami Zayn should show up at the event, to interfere in this match would be perfect.
RESULT : Finn Bàlor defeats Samoa Joe via pinfall after the Coup de Grâce.
SYNOPSIS : At the moment the bell rings, Finn Bàlor realizes early that he can’t use any power moves against Samoa Joe. It should have been noticeable from the offset given that Bàlor is more than 100 pounds lighter than Joe, but I guess he thought he had a chance. Still, Bàlor was able to control the beginning of the match in which Joe is constantly escaping to the outside of the ring. At one time, Bàlor follows Joe outside and dropkicks him hard into the steel steps.
The tables turned when Samoa Joe counters another one of Finn Bàlor’s running assault attempts into a side slam. Joe throws Bàlor back into the ring and starts to wear down Bàlor, peppering him with strikes. He even connected with a splash/jumping Enzuigiri. Bàlor does try to build momentum again when he connected a kick to Joe’s head from the apron, but when he tries to springboard in, he is chopped in midair and sent crashing down outside the ring. He composes himself just to look up and see Joe flying in with a suicide dive. Once back in the ring, Joe does a series of submissions from a powerbomb. The first was a Boston Crab, floated over to a Crossface, finally ending in a Rings of Saturn. Fortunately for Bàlor, he reaches the bottom rope.
There is some back-and-forth happening in which Finn Bàlor was able to connect with a double footstomp to the back of Samoa Joe’s head and Joe semi-locked in the Coquina Clutch. However, the ending was a back-and-forth sprint to the end. Joe locks in the Coquina Clutch on Bàlor but when he tries to take it down to the ground, Bàlor rolls through it and double stomps Joe in the chest. Joe tries to counter Bàlor in the top turnbuckle with a top-rope Muscle Buster but is chopped off the turnbuckle instead. He then feels the impact of the Coup de Grâce which is enough for Bàlor to pin Joe and retain the NXT Heavyweight Championship.
[Image via NXT TakeOver: London Promotions on Official WWE Website ]