WWE NXT TakeOver 36 aired live on Peacock from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
- Ridge Holland def. Trey Baxter
- WWE NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez def. Dakota Kai
- Ilja Dragunov def. WALTER to win NXT UK Title
- Kyle O’Reilly def. Adam Cole
- Samoa Joe def. WALTER to win NXT Title
Here are the takeaways from the show:
Karrion Kross vs. Samoa Joe
WWE NXT Champion Karrion Kross vs. Samoa Joe headlined the show.
The match saw Joe start off hot with then Kross dominating. Joe with a sleeper on Kross, but Kross got out of it and went for the Kross Jacket, but Joe got out of that. Joe with the muscle buster for the win and a new era has begun.
Joe is now the first-ever three-time NXT Champion.
Many expected for Joe to go over in his first match in NXT in several years and his first match since being put on the shelf due to a severe concussion. Joe was favored heading into the match to dethrone Kross, who had beaten all challengers up to this point only for him to do jobs to the likes of Jeff Hardy and Keith Lee on the main roster. It appears Kross will be moving on from NXT for good and making his tenure on Raw full-time.
WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov
WWE NXT UK Champion WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov was one of the top matches and highly anticipated encounters of the year.
As expected, these guys started throwing chops right out of the gate. WALTER also hit a nasty powerbomb on the apron. IIja was bleeding from his eyebrow. Ilja made his comeback with a series of chops then a power suplex. WALTER went to the top rope and Ilja hit a superplex for good measure then a drop kick. WALTER with a series of powerbombs then a splash off the top rope for 2.
Leading up to this bout, WALTER had beaten down Dragunov on several occasions. However, Dragunov was cutting pretty good promos to further build up the underdog story.
In fact, Dragunov was the favorite to win the title here despite WALTER’s lengthy title reign.
Raquel Gonzalez vs. Dakota Kai
WWE NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez vs. Dakota Kai took place after months of slowly building to it.
After a strong start by the champion with a series of power moves, Kai fought out of the corner and caught her with a big boot. Kai caught her in an armbar, but Gonzalez tossed her into the corner a few times. Gonzalez launched her onto the top rope that sent Kai crashing to the ramp. Back in the ring, Kai hit a back stabber. Gonzalez hit her finisher off the middle rope for the win.
Post-match, Kay Lee Ray came out to the stage and had a staredown with Raquel.
Kai had been the manager of Raquel for several months and was portrayed as her best friend who would do jobs when WWE didn’t want to pin the champion. That all changed when Kai turned heel by attacking her former friend in a double character switch and turned Raquel into a babyface.
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole in a Best 2 Out Of 3 Falls Match took place. The 1st fall was a singles match, the 2nd fall was a Street Fight and the 3rd falls was a Steel Cage Match.
Cole went for a panama sunrise, but O’Reilly blocked it and covered him for the first fall. Onto the street fight. O’Reilly hit a drop kick off the apron to Cole, who had a trash can on his head. Cole won the second fall when he tossed Kyle off the top rope onto standing chairs then hit the last shot. Cole came off the top rope to hit the panama sunrise for a near fall. Cole brought out handcuffs and locked Kyle to the cage. Kyle caught a kick and locked in a knee bar for the win.
These two guys have been feuding for months and really, the booking of it had been in reverse by starting out with a gimmick match only to work a normal match. The fact that WWE booked them in various bouts in one night, but perhaps, they could’ve gone in a different direction considering Cole’s unknown status with the company. Whether he leaves WWE or re-signs and goes to the main roster, maybe a loser leaves NXT match would’ve been better despite it being predictable.
LA Knight vs. Cameron Grimes
WWE Million Dollar Champion LA Knight vs. Cameron Grimes was booked with the stipulation that if Grimes loses, then Ted Dibiase becomes Knight’s new butler.
The match saw Grimes start off strong. They brawled at ringside where the WWE Hall of Famer helped out Grimes a bit. The tide turned when Knight knocked him off the apron. Knight beat him down for a few minutes until he missed a spring board moonsault. This is when Grimes started to make a comeback. Knight hit a reversed suplex off the top rope for a near fall. Dibiase punched Knight then put him in the Million Dollar Dream at ringside when the referee wasn’t looking. The finish came when Grimes hit Knight with the double footstomp.
Hopefully, this will be the end of this feud as they’ve worked several times and it being one-sided in the favor of Knight. However, since Knight did lose the title, he does deserve a rematch. Time will tell.