Since 2015, NXT Takeover: Brooklyn has been one of the best WWE shows of the year. The Takeover: Brooklyn specials have produced memorable battles such as Bayley defeating Sasha Banks for the NXT Women’s Championship (2015), The Revival vs. DIY (2016) and many more. History will be made once again in August when NXT Takeover invades Brooklyn’s Barclays Center for the third consecutive year.

Based on the latest round of NXT TV tapings (Spoiler Results) and the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, expect to see the following matches at Takeover: Brooklyn III:

• NXT Champion Bobby Roode vs. Drew McIntyre
• NXT Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Ember Moon
• NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain vs. Sanity
• Hideo Itami vs. Kassius Ohno

It also looks like they’re building towards No Way Jose vs. Andrade Cien Almas.

Based on what transpired at the conclusion of NXT Takeover: Chicago, it looked like Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa was going to be one of the big matches at Takeover: Brooklyn III, but he underwent knee surgery to repair a torn ACL that will keep him out of action for at least 6 months. Below, you can relive the betrayal and Ciampa explaining his actions:

Samoa Joe had a rough night at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. Not only did he lose the NXT Championship to Shinsuke Nakamura, but he was also injured during the match.

On Monday morning, Joe revealed that his jaw was dislocated and he’s not currently medically cleared to wrestle. Joe was visibly in pain after Nakamura delivered the kinshasa of the match.

Joe noted that he expects to be back in action soon.

Jaw dislocated & shortly relocated. Looking forward to being cleared soon.

— Samoa Joe (@SamoaJoe) August 22, 2016

Austin Aries vs. No Way Jose, Bobby Roode vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas and The Revival vs. Gargano & Ciampa have been announced for the 8/20 NXT Takeover: Back 2 Brooklyn event from the Barclays Center.

Here is the updated card:

NXT Championship Match: Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

NXT Women’s Championship Match: Asuka vs. Bayley

NXT Tag Team Championship Match: The Revival vs. Gargano & Ciampa

Austin Aries vs. No Way Jose

Bobby Roode vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas

Ember Moon debuts

It’s official: NXT Women’s Champion Asuka will defend against Bayley at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II.

This match is in addition to the main event, which will see Samoa Joe defending the NXT Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura.

NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II takes place on Saturday, August 20th from the Barclays Center.

If you don’t mind spoilers, you can see the complete card for Takeover: Brooklyn II at here.

It was announced on this week’s episode of NXT that the highly anticipated Finn Balor vs. Shinsuke Nakamura dream match will take place on the July 13th episode of NXT.

• Balor, Nakamura, Joe & Aries Wrestling At Sunday’s WWE Live Event

It was expected that NXT would hold off on this match until Takeover: Brooklyn, especially after Triple H strongly hinted this on Twitter. It’s also worth noting that the July 13th episode of NXT takes place just days before the WWE Draft. Jus sayin’.

WWE will tape the next 3 weeks of NXT television on Friday from Full Sail, which will include the July 13th episode and Balor vs. Nakamura.

THREE WEEKS AWAY!!
It's @WWEBalor vs. @ShinsukeN on @WWENXT!! @RealKingRegal pic.twitter.com/rXUYflYwUN

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) June 23, 2016

Four of NXT’s top competitors have been added to Sunday’s WWE live event from Orlando, Florida, a show Roman Reigns will miss due to his 30-day suspension for violating the company’s talent wellness policy.

Orlando’s Amway Center now is advertising a bonus NXT tag team match that is a pretty damn good consolation prize: NXT Champion Samoa Joe and Austin Aries will team up against Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura.

Other top stars advertised to appear include Seth Rollins, Cesaro, Alberto Del Rio, Sasha Banks, Eva Marie and “Members of The Club.”

The NXT tag match comes just weeks before the WWE Draft, when up to a dozen NXT performers are rumored to be joining RAW and SmackDown. While Samoa Joe is still NXT champion and Nakamura/Balor appear to be on a collision course for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, you’d be hard pressed to find anybody in NXT more qualified to be drafted than these four.

– Ring of Honor star Moose was backstage at last night’s NXT Takeover event. We noted during the day that he was spotted in Orlando with WWE Superstar Apollo Crews. Moose’s contract with Ring of Honor expires next month and he’s one of the ROH stars WWE is looking to sign when they become free agents.

– The pre-sale for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn quickly sold out on Wednesday. The remaining tickets are sure to sell out quickly when they go on sale to the general public this Saturday.

– WWE taped the following for tonight’s SmackDown episode :

• Baron Corbin vs. Kalisto
• Enzo and Cass vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
• Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio defeated Cesaro and Sami Zayn
• Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose

– Triple H tweeted the following and congratulated The Revival on becoming two-time NXT Tag Team Champions last night:

#NXTTakeOver is about making a statement. Congrats to #TheRevival on becoming 2-time @WWENXT Tag Team Champions. pic.twitter.com/QVs3gbeZPU

— Triple H (@TripleH) June 9, 2016

After speculation that we might see “the end” of NXT’s Takeover events, Triple H confirmed on Monday that Takeover: Brooklyn is in fact scheduled for Summerslam weekend. The event will once again take place from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, with tickets going on sale this Saturday.

#NXTTakeOver heads BACK to #Brooklyn on Sat. Aug. 20th

Pre-sale starts Wed. at 10am
On-sale Sat. at noon. #WeAreNXT pic.twitter.com/cyYFHvqtLo

— Triple H (@TripleH) June 6, 2016

Find out when you can get YOUR #NXTTakeOver: Brooklyn tickets, as announced by @tripleh! https://t.co/MY93YkWntu pic.twitter.com/G9wpTBSOWH

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) June 6, 2016

After some confusion at Ticketmaster caused concern for the future of the event, NXT Takeover: Brooklyn is now officially confirmed for SummerSlam weekend. Triple H & the official NXT account both Tweeted that the event will take place on Saturday, August 20th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

Tickets go on sale this Sunday at noon.

#NXTTakeOver heads BACK to #Brooklyn on Sat. Aug. 20th

Pre-sale starts Wed. at 10am
On-sale Sat. at noon. #WeAreNXT pic.twitter.com/cyYFHvqtLo

— Triple H (@TripleH) June 6, 2016

Find out when you can get YOUR #NXTTakeOver: Brooklyn tickets, as announced by @tripleh! https://t.co/MY93YkWntu pic.twitter.com/G9wpTBSOWH

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) June 6, 2016

Back in May, Ticketmaster removed the event listing from the website. According to F4WOnline.com, this had caused concern among the NXT roster about the company’s plans for them this summer.

https://youtu.be/n0emUF8jDOM

Two familiar faces made their respective NXT returns at the NXT television taping on Saturday night, as Blue Pants (Leva Bates) and former TNA World Heavyweight Champion James Storm both worked matches.

A while back, it was reported that Blue Pants had backstage heat on her in WWE and would not be brought back any time soon, due to an incident involving alcohol during SummerSlam weekend in Brooklyn, New York.

Blue Pants taped a match on Thursday night with Nia Jax that will air on the December 2nd edition of NXT. Her last match with NXT was a loss to Alexa Bliss at the August 13th NXT tapings. Her last NXT appearance was at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.

In Storm’s case, he recently made his NXT debut at the NXT tapings held October 8th. Storm beat Danny Burch that night. On the 12/2 edition of NXT, Storm will return on NXT television for the first time since his 10/8 debut, as he taped a match with Adam Rose.

A few weeks ago, it was reported that Storm had yet to actually sign an official WWE contract. Whether or not that remains the case now that he has been brought back to NXT TV remains to be seen. We’ll keep you posted.

• Ronda Rousey Makes First Statement Since Losing: How Is She? What’s Her Plans?

NXT Women’s Champion Bayley recently spoke with the official WWE website about winning the NXT title at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn and more. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On defeating Sasha Banks for the title and Vince McMahon’s reaction: “It was one of the most overwhelming moments in my life. It may be the most magical moment I’ll ever have in wrestling or life. Hearing the crowd react like that was something I’ve never heard before. After the match, Vince McMahon shook both our hands. Everyone was giving us hugs. Triple H, Stephanie and even my favorite Diva, Lita, were there to say how proud they were of us. It was just amazing.”

On getting emotional after the win: “All I could do was cry. I was crying because of everything I’ve been through to get there, how I got there, who I was in there with, how many people were there with us, how important it was and because I was literally living the dream.”

On accomplishing her mission: “I want every single person out there with a dream, no matter what it is, to know that it is possible. And it’s possible to do it your way, the way you believe in. Nobody can deny your heart. It sounds so cheesy, but Sasha Banks and I had the same dream since we were 10 years old, and wrestling brought us together to prove that anything you want to do is within reach! And it can be special. You just have to believe in yourself.”

Check out the complete interview at WWE.com.

• Ronda Rousey Has An Affair With Married UFC Star Travis Browne?

Despite incredibly strong ticket sales for WWE’s 3-night stint in Brooklyn, New York over the weekend, the numbers touted by WWE were inflated.

WWE touted that NXT Takeover: Brooklyn drew 15,589 fans, SummerSlam had 15,702 fans and RAW did 15,597. The arena was actually set up to accommodate a maximum of 13,438 seats for each show.

Some additional seats were opened up at the last minute after the production setup was finalized, but that would have only added a couple hundred seats per show. There were also a lot of free tickets given away, especially with all the media in town and the WWE 2K16 promotional events.

WWE has been overstating recent live attendance by about 2,000 people. That said, the company was most impressed by ticket sales for NXT, which they were only expecting to sell around 5,000.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

– WWE and Stephen Amell raised over $400,000 for Emily House charity by selling 15,694 t-shirts that Amell and WWE produced with the proceeds going to the charity. Stardust noted on Twitter last week that he would personally deliver the check if over 10,000 shirts were sold, which happened with ease.

– The Barclays Center took to Twitter to thank WWE for coming to their building three nights in a row for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn on Saturday, WWE SummerSlam on Sunday and WWE RAW on Monday night. The Barclays Center tweeted the following:

Thank You @StephMcMahon @TripleH @VinceMcMahon @WWE for 3 INCREDIBLE events in a row! See you in December! #Raw pic.twitter.com/a9p8PxeXVd

— Barclays Center (@barclayscenter) August 25, 2015

• VIDEO: HILARIOUS SNL-Type Sketch Of BROCK LESNAR As ESPN Security!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDIjApzICfI

It appears as though WWE has signed 33-year-old Japanese women’s wrestler Kanna, who was shown on screen alongside Ric Flair and Sgt. Slaughter during NXT Takeover: Brooklyn on Saturday night.

The rumors began when Japanese wrestling news journalist Enuhito, who recently had news about Jushin Thunder Liger working NXT, noted that WWE signed her a few weeks ago. It was also noted that she did not work the WWE tryouts at Sumo Hall this summer, but WWE did get a chance to look at her beforehand.

It’s worth pointing out that she normally spells her name with one “N,” however WWE spelled it as “Kanna” at Takeover, which could be another sign that she has signed with the company.

• VIDEO: HILARIOUS SNL-Type Sketch Of BROCK LESNAR As ESPN Security!

WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross updated his official blog following the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn and WWE SummerSlam events this past weekend. Below are some of the highlights.

On his overall thoughts of WWE SummerSlam: “I certainly would give Summer Slam a good grade as in a B+. I enjoyed watching it at home even though my Chrome Cast apparatus did not work for me and forced me to watch the show on my iPad. It still worked but not as easy to watch as our big screen TV.

One thing for sure and that it s impossible to make all fans happy these days when it comes to match structure or how the matches end. As I have said, and it’s true, there are multiple ways to do something right in a pro wrestling match and everyone’s taste will never be the same. I had no major issues with any thing that I saw but I liked some things better than others.”

On Jon Stewart’s heel turn: “The Jon Stewart using a chair on John Cena was a head scratcher but hopefully we will find out more about that matter tonight on RAW. I hope that the reason leads to something significant as it should. It would be poor booking if it doesn’t.”

On the finish to Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar: “Interesting and controversial conclusion to the Lesnar-Taker bout that did not adversely affect either man and facilitated a potential rematch in the future, likely at Wrestlemania in April, but perhaps not. That’s TBD I assume but if Taker considers retiring there then a Lesnar-Taker Hell in a Cell match with Lesnar winning in Satan’s Playground would be another ground breaking moment for Brock. Does Taker need to win his ‘retirement’ match? Not specifically and especially if it elevates WWE’s biggest star and monetizes their investment in Brock. Perhaps the ‘rubber match’ will be help prior to WM32 and Taker ends his ‘run’ at the Texas sized event with another opponent that’s unlikely to be Sting.”

Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.

• VIDEO: EXCLUSIVE Footage Of BROCK LESNAR & PAUL HEYMAN Backstage At SUMMERSLAM!

– A lot of the WWE main roster talents were backstage for NXT “Takeover: Brooklyn” at the Barclays Center last night.

– WWN Live’s Gabe Sapolsky and Sal Hamanoui were backstage and in the crowd for Takeover last night. There were definitely meetings going on between WWN and WWE yesterday this weekend about their potential working relationship.

– New Japan Pro Wrestling President Naoki Sugabayasi, Gedo and Tiger Hatori were backstage last night at Takeover also. They were visiting with NXT Champion Finn Balor and Jushin “Thunder” Liger.

– Japanese women’s wrestling star Kanna was shown in the crowd last night. It’s been rumored for several weeks that she signed with WWE and could be working as a veteran wrestler (like Rhyno) or as a trainer at the Performance Center.

(Source: PWInsider.com)

Here are the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn reaction videos from backstage after the show:

– WWE announced a reported attendance of 15,589 fans at the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn show on Saturday night at the Barclays Center.

– As noted, Kevin Nash, along with Scott Hall and Sean Waltman, were in attendance at the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn special on Saturday night. Triple H posted the following photo of he and Nash in the arena before the show.

Its almost that time… @RealKevinNash #NXTTakeOver #WeAreNXT pic.twitter.com/d0VNUtxUPp

— Triple H (@TripleH) August 22, 2015

– Also in attendance at the show was the four Tough Enough finalists. Below is a photo of them backstage at the show.

The competitors from @WWEToughEnough stop by #NXTTakeOver @TwitterMirror pic.twitter.com/BjYQyYLdwZ

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) August 22, 2015

• VIDEO: UFC Star JUMPS THE RAIL At GFW Taping, Goes After Chael Sonnen!

– In addition to the NXT Tag-Team Championships, which as we reported earlier, changed hands from Blake & Murphy to The Vaudevillians, the NXT Women’s Championship also changed hands on Saturday night.

– In the co-main event of NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, which took place at the Barclays Center and aired live on the WWE Network on Saturday night, Bayley defeated Sasha Banks with a Bayley-to-belly suplex to become the new NXT Women’s Champion.

– In the main event of the evening, Finn Balor defeated Kevin Owens to retain his NXT Championship in the third of three title matches during the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn special.

– Finally, it was announced by Triple H that NXT will be traveling to the U.K. from December 10th until December 16th. Tickets for the shows will go on sale to the public in the near future.

• VIDEO: UFC Star JUMPS THE RAIL At GFW Taping, Goes After Chael Sonnen!

– Jushin Thunder Liger won his NXT debut, defeating Tyler Breeze in the opening match of the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event on Saturday night at the Barclays Center. Liger picked up the win via pinfall after hitting Breeze with his “Liger Bomb” finisher.

– The Vaudevillains — Simon Gotch and Aiden English defeated Blake and Murphy, with the help of Blue Pants, to become the new NXT Tag-Team Champions at the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn special.

– Apollo Crews, the former Uhaa Nation, made his “Takeover” debut on Saturday night, defeating Tye Dillinger in a quick match at the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event.

– Below is the cool intro that Triple H did at the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn live special from the Barclays Center on Saturday night.

• VIDEO: UFC Star JUMPS THE RAIL At GFW Taping, Goes After Chael Sonnen!

– The Wolfpac, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman were all sitting ringside at the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event on Saturday. The trio were shown on camera during the event.

– Also sitting in the audience on Saturday night was music mogul Rick Rubin.

– A pre-taped vignette aired during the show promoting the upcoming debut of a new NXT Diva. The vignette simply read, “Nia Jax coming soon.”

– WWE Tough Enough finalists Josh, ZZ, Amanda and Sara Lee were also sitting front row during the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn special.

– The following is the complete NXT Takeover: Brooklyn “Kickoff Show” pre-show, which features a panel consisting of Renee Young, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton and WWE Hall Of Famer Amy “Lita” Dumas.

• VIDEO: UFC Star JUMPS THE RAIL At GFW Taping, Goes After Chael Sonnen!

NXT Takeover: Brooklyn Kickoff Show

The 30-minute pre-show opens up with the panel, consisting of Renee Young, Corey Graves, Lita and Byron Saxton running down some of the top matches scheduled for tonight’s show.

Backstage, Samoa Joe is interviewed. Joe promises to beat Baron Corbin down and put him to sleep tonight.

Back to the panel, where in the background, we see the Barclays Center is finally filling up. The fans are chanting something as the panel runs down more of tonight’s matches.

We see a video package on Apollo Crews, the former Uhaa Nation. Then, we see Sasha Banks and Bayley arriving to the arena, followed by the video package for the NXT Women’s Championship.

NXT Takeover: Brooklyn Opener:

The show opens with a spotlight on Triple H in the ring. HHH, off-mic, talks about how NXT is the future, etc. Finally, he does the Finn Balor hand-raising pose ane the lights come on and the fans inside the Barclays Center go absolutely ballistic. “We are NXT!” shouts HHH as we shoot to the regular opener.

Tyler Breeze vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

From there, we shoot to the entrance area where Tyler Breeze makes his grand entrance to the ring for our first match of the evening.

Rich Brenan, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton officially welcome us to the show on commentary. From there, we shoot back to the entrance way where the legendary Jushin Thunder Liger makes his way down to the ring.

The fans go nuts for Liger, chanting his name once he gets in the ring. The bell sounds, the lights go down and it’s time for our opening contest.

Breeze gets an early offensive advantage over Liger, so he leans on the top ropes and lays back, old-school Shawn Michaels style. Liger gains the upper hand now and he goes over and does the same thing to mock Breeze.

Liger gets Breeze in a surfboard submission hold. Breeze breaks free. The action picks up a bit, as the fast-paced offense sets the perfect tone for the evening. Liger knocks Breeze down, picks up his iPhone holder and takes a selfie to further mock Breeze.

Breeze finally establishes the offensive control in the match. Breeze dominates the action for a few minutes until Liger hits a big flip off the apron onto Breeze on the floor. Back in the ring, Liger hits the Liger-bomb on Breeze and covers him. 1-2-3. Jushin Thunder Liger kicks off NXT Takeover: Brooklyn with a victory.

Winner: Jushin Thunder Liger

Backstage: The Wolfpac, Bayley, Nia Jax Coming Soon

We see Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman sitting ringside for tonight’s show. We shoot backstage and see Bayley, who has Dusty Rhodes polka-dot colored wrist-bands, getting ready for her title match. Charlotte and Becky Lynch come in and wish her good luck. A vignette airs saying “Nia Jax coming soon.”

– WNWLive’s Gabe Sapolsky and Sal Hamaoui are backstage at the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event at the Barclays Center tonight. The two are likely there to talk to officials about a potential working relationship with NXT.

– Still in town for WWE SummerSlam weekend are Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, Sgt. Slaughter, Howard Finkel, Oscar from Men on a Mission and the entire Flair family, including Ric Flair.

– The staging and production setup for tonight’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event will be very similar to the setup used for past NXT Takeover events. WWE will not be using the full WWE big event setup for tonight’s show.

• BROCK LESNAR Says Vince McMahon Is BETTER Than Dana White, Explains Why …

(Credit: PWInsider.com)

WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley wrote the following post on his official Facebook page regarding NXT Takeover: Brooklyn and SummerSlam.

WRESTLING’S BIG WEEKEND

With so much going on, in so many places, involving people who have meant so much to me on a professional or personal level, I feel inclined to just congratulate the business itself for standing strong and delivering great matches and shows on so may different levels. From the towering achievement of WWE NXT #TakeoverBrooklyn selling out the Barkley’s Center, to one of the most anticipated #SummerSlam events in recent memory, to Jim Ross at the Grammercy Theater, to #ROH doing what they’ve done very well for a very long time, to the huge #ProWrestlingSyndicate show that I’ll be part of TONIGHT in #Sayreville NJ – there seems to be SOMETHING for EVERYONE over the course of the next few days. Check out that #PWS card if you can, featuring Rey Mysterio, Kenny Omega, Jimmy Snuka, myself and many, many more. if you can. Tickets are available at http://realmickfoley.com/
What are YOU looking forward to the most this weekend? The ladder match with Owens & Balor? A potential classic from the #LegitBoss Sasha Banks in her title defense against Bailey – a match in which I am counting on #Brooklyn to compensate for the disrespectful climate the WWE women faced on WWE Raw last Monday. Or, like many, are you looking forward to Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker – wondering if the payoff can live up to the legendary build.

• BROCK LESNAR Says Vince McMahon Is BETTER Than Dana White, Explains Why …

– Triple H posted the following on Twitter to promote tonight’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event at the Barclays Center.

If you can make it here….you can make it anywhere! #WeAreNXT @WWENXT pic.twitter.com/M5YdunYM73

— Triple H (@TripleH) August 22, 2015

– Speaking of Takeover, the latest edition of WWE Top 10, which you can check out below, looks at ten defining moments from past Takeover events.

• BROCK LESNAR Says Vince McMahon Is BETTER Than Dana White, Explains Why …