WWE will be presenting their NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York tonight for the live special airing on the WWE Network. Below is the final lineup for tonight’s show.
NXT Championship [Ladder Match]
– Finn Balor (c) vs. Kevin Owens
NXT Tag-Team Championship
– Blake & Murphy (c) vs. The Vaudevillians
NXT Women’s Championship
– Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bayley
– Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. Tyler Breeze
– Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin
– Apollo Crews vs. Tye Dillinger
Make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com later this evening for the best NXT Takeover: Brooklyn live results on the web!
NXT contracted performers have not been given bonuses based on working events with bigger gates outside of their usual shows at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. This includes those who worked the NXT event in San Jose, California during WrestleMania weekend, a show that drew over 5,000 paid.
The main reason WWE does not offer bonuses for these shows is because NXT live events and developmental in general are currently money losing businesses. Developmental loses money largely due to the fact that so many talents are under guaranteed contracts. Also, as a promotion, NXT only runs three live events locally in Florida, at the most, drawing 200-300 fans. They run the shows to give talent experience in front of a live crowd, and because there are no travel expenses for NXT talent working in Florida, the feeling is that they are being paid to learn.
It’s worth noting that when NXT talent are brought to WWE live events, they are paid for those shows and have their road expenses covered as well.
This Saturday’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event will have a live gate of around $700,000, which is an incredible accomplishment for the brand. The Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens and Sasha Banks vs. Bayley title matches are the headlining attractions, and traditionally those involved would receive a bonus based on the gate, however that may not be the case with NXT Takeover: Brooklyn.
Owens is now on a main roster deal, and Balor’s deal is said to be different than the traditional developmental deals because he was already an established star in a major league promotion, so they will both likely receive bonuses of some kind for Saturday’s live special.
The real question is whether or not Banks and Bayley will receive bonuses. Banks may also be on a main roster deal now, and if that is the case, she would get a bonus as well. What this could mean is that Bayley could be the lone performer among the four in headlining spots that will not receive a bonus due to the fact that she is under a regular developmental deal.
– WWE recently applied to trademark the term “Cryme Tyme.” JTG and Shad Gaspard have been using the name “Crime Time”on the independent scene.
– WWE has published a video of former NXT Champion Sami Zayn, who says he’ll be out of action for a few more months as he recovers from his injury. Zayn told fans “don’t hold your breath” expecting him to return anytime soon. He also said he’s pulling for Finn Balor, who will defend the NXT Championship against Kevin Owens in a ladder match this Saturday night at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn.
– Baron Corbin says he’s going to demolish Samoa Joe at Takeover: Brooklyn:
– Triple H will be holding his usual pre-Takeover conference call with the pro wrestling media on Wednesday morning to promote this Saturday’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event at the Barclays Center. Check back here later today for a recap of the call.
– Former WWE Superstar Sean “X-Pac” Waltman is the guest on the latest edition of the “Steve Austin Show” podcast. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– The latest edition of WWE’s “5 Things” web-series, which you can check out below, takes a look at five WWE Superstars who have never won at the annual WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.
WWE has announced several more matches for Saturday night’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn live special from the Barclays Center. The show will air live on the WWE Network with a new start time of 7:30pm EST. Here’s the updated card:
Ladder Match for the NXT Championship
– Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor (c)
NXT Tag Team Championship Match
– The Vaudevillians vs. Blake and Murphy (c)
NXT Women’s Championship Match
– Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (c)
– Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. Tyler Breeze
– Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin
– Bull Dempsey vs. Elias Samson
– Apollo Crews vs. Tye Dillinger
– Eva Marie vs. Carmella
– Enzo Amore, Big Cass, Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley vs. Jason Jordan, Chad Gable, Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson
– Charlotte vs. Emma vs. Becky Lynch vs. Dana Brooke
Scott Hall is another one of several legends who are scheduled to travel to New York for this year’s WWE SummerSlam weekend.
As previously reported, WWE is bringing “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Kevin Nash to New York City for the big weekend. Austin will likely be co-hosting the WWE 2K16 video game event, while Nash is expected to appear at some of the panels and signings. Hall will now be joining him.
As is the case with Austin and Nash, Hall isn’t expected to appear on the actual SummerSlam pay-per-view itself, but there was some discussions of him attending the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event on Saturday night.
Both Nash and Hall are scheduled to arrive in New York City this Friday.
Actor Stephen Amell will be appearing at this Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view, however it appears that NXT Takeover: Brooklyn is not a big enough priority for the “Arrow” star.
NXT star Dash Wilder of “The Mechanics” invited the actor to this Saturday’s special at the Barclays Center, however Amell told him he can not make the show.
– WWE has a 30-minute pre-show for next Saturday’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event planned for the WWE Network. The pre-show will air at 8:30pm EST. on Saturday, August 22nd, leading directly into the two-hour NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event, which is scheduled to begin at 9pm EST. on the WWE Network. Currently, there is no post-show scheduled for the NXT special.
– The latest edition of WWE’s “Canvas 2 Canvas” web-series features artwork on The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar, both of whom will be headlining next Sunday’s SummerSlam event against each other.
– Speaking of next weekend’s SummerSlam pay-per-view, WWE released the following look back at the 20 greatest moments in SummerSlam history to promote this year’s event.
NXT Champion Finn Balor recently spoke with Sports Illustrated’s “Extra Mustard” blog to promote next Saturday’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event at the Barclays Center. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On his verbal skills being the biggest knock from WWE coaches and Dusty Rhodes: “Dusty would say, ‘Finn, your work in the ring is up here, but you’re talking is down here – you’ve got to balance them out.’ He was always very straight to the point, and we had a great relationship together. I remember him saying one time, ‘Prince, you know I heard them talking about you before you came in here, and goddamn, I thought Lou Thesz was gonna walk in that door the way they talk about your work.’ I’ll never forget that, and I was very lucky to work with Dusty. He helped me incredibly with my communication, as he called it, and I learned a lot of lessons with him. ‘The Dream’ was someone who filled me with confidence the first time I walked in the door.”
On NXT being WWE’s best product right now: “Right now, NXT is the main roster. NXT is the hottest thing in wrestling. I’m not in any hurry to go anywhere else but take NXT to the next level.”
On possibly main eventing WrestleMania one day: “I started wrestling fifteen years ago, and my goal was to have just one match. I had one match, and then I wanted to have two. Then I wanted to wrestle in Japan, and I wrestled in Japan for eight years. Then I wanted to wrestle in WWE. Here I am, a year later, as NXT champ. So I don’t set long-term goals. The next goal is Brooklyn [against Kevin Owens at NXT Takeover]. But it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to think, in another fifteen years time, the odds are highly stacked in my favor about WrestleMania some day.”
NXT Champion Finn Balor recently appeared as a guest on the PodNasty Wrestling Podcast to promote next weekend’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On hitting his head on a ceiling panel during a recent NXT live event: “I’ve been seeing stars, but I think they were actual stars after going through the ceiling. When I walked into the building, I looked at the ceiling and said ‘that ceiling looks a little low, I better be careful later on.’ But of course in the heat of the moment, that’s the last thing I’m thinking about when I’m looking below on Solomon Crowe laying on the mat. So I jumped up, I was lucky it was a drop ceiling—it wasn’t solid and I kind of popped through it—a little bit of dust went in my hair, I came crashing down. I think it looked a lot worse than it was, no one was hurt seriously and we all lived to fight another day.”
On his recent tease of working with Paul Heyman: “I’m a big admirer of Paul, and I’ve had a lot of conversations with Paul about what we could do potentially in the future but it’s all hypothetical at the moment. That was some incredible, incredible fan art that I’m very fortunate that people send me all the time and I like to publicize some of their work and that’s literally all that was. A lot of people read into it their own way, and I apologize for that. But who knows, I will be in Brooklyn for NXT Takeover, I believe SummerSlam is in Brooklyn the next night, I believe Raw is in Brooklyn the next night so I’ll be in Brooklyn. Who knows?”
On not wanting to go to the main roster: “What we’re doing at NXT right now is groundbreaking. It’s revolutionary. For me, it’s like a Renaissance period in wrestling, and I want to be involved in NXT, I don’t want to go to the quote-unquote main roster, I don’t want to get called up, so to speak, because I believe that we at NXT are building something together that is going to be looked back on in 10 years the same way that we looked back on the ECW period as being revolutionary at that time, and this is something that I want to be involved in.”
NXT Champion Finn Balor recently spoke with Channel Guide Magazine to promote WWE SummerSlam weekend and the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On being NXT Champion: “Life hasn’t really changed as far as who I am. You still have to carry yourself day-to-day a certain way, whether you are NXT champion or not. So not much has changed, but the schedule has been hectic. I’ll admit that, but it is part of representing the company and what we are doing at NXT. That’s my responsibility now, and I’m happy to do it.”
On his Ladder Match with Kevin Owens at Takeover: “I wouldn’t say there is a lot of added pressure. Obviously, what we did in Japan was viewed by a lot of people and was a great spectacle. For me personally, it was one of the highlights of my career. It couldn’t have gone any better. I spent eight years in Japan and made this unsure decision to actually move to WWE. That ran in my mind whether I should come. Then I went through a pretty difficult adaptation to not only the Performance Center, but Florida, U.S.A., WWE. It was all very uncertain. I kind of went through all that with Kevin.
“Then a year later we return to [Ryougoku] Sumo Hall, the same building I had my first match in New Japan Pro Wrestling and the same arena I had my last match in New Japan. I invited all my friends. A year later I am back there with WWE and the NXT championship on the line live on the WWE Network. That story could not have been written any better. For some reason, going into TakeOver, the match feels so much bigger this time. I think it’s mainly due to the fact that in Tokyo it was a WWE show where TakeOver is an NXT show. We sold more than 13,000 tickets in Brooklyn. It’s NXT. We don’t just have a match or an act on the show. We are the show. We are excited to be in Brooklyn as a team, and we have to deliver.”
On uncertainty when he first came to WWE: “There was a lot of uncertainty when I came here whether this was the right decision or wrong decision. There were some downs in the beginning and that swung around. I made my debut and got a little bit of my confidence back. Things have been on the up-and-up. Every child has played video games growing up and played WWE games. To be part of a video game, it’s an unbelievable experience. I got the opportunity to do all the motion capture with 2K. They were amazing. Then I’m shooting a game commercial with Arnold Schwarzenegger. I then get a call that I’m going to Comic-Con the next day. I get to Comic-Con, and they tell me we have action figures coming out. I didn’t even know I was meant to be in L.A. to be with Arnold. I flew to L.A. and meet Arnold Schwarzenegger and then go to Comic Con. They show me drawings of action figures they are doing this year. So to say things are surreal is a huge understatement. I’m almost pinching myself every day. I’m sitting here at home and there is one of my WWE NXT t-shirts sitting on my chair. I can’t even believe that. It’s been an incredible year, and I’m looking forward to what the future holds.”
On NXT Head Coach Matt Bloom: “WWE realizes it can be difficult for foreigners to adjust to life here and have really been accommodating with that. I’m very grateful. I was helped by nearly everyone at the Performance Center, but one man I have to mention is Matt Bloom. We spent a lot of time together in New Japan. He came to Japan a few years prior to me. After his run with Tensai, he started coaching at the Performance Center. I must say if it wasn’t for him I’m not sure I would have lasted.
“He took me in and got me settled in. He helped me get my driver’s license. He helped me adjust to life in the United States. He is now head coach at the Performance Center. I can’t speak more highly of Matt Bloom and the help he gave me. With regards to in-ring work, Terry Taylor worked with me closely and helping me to adapt my style in NXT. I’ve had a lot of help top-to-bottom and am grateful for everyone.”
On a potential match against The Undertaker: “That would be a dream match for me to see Finn Bálor versus The Undertaker. It really doesn’t need to be explained more than that. I’ve been very fortunate to talk to Undertaker when I first came in here. We talked about entrances. He gave me a lot of advice that helps me to this day. So I’m very grateful for that. Maybe I’d play a couple of mind games with the Deadman. It would be a little bit fun.”
– WWE Hall Of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts got physically involved during a recent independent wrestling event. Below is video footage that shows Roberts slapping independent wrestler JP Simms and then taking an RKO.
– Samoa Joe tweeted the following about the upcoming NXT Takeover: Brooklyn special, which is scheduled for Saturday, August 22, 2015 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Rebuilding the monster, upgrading the arsenal, & refining the tactics. The stage is set, lets go. pic.twitter.com/0k2KGxca4d
– The plan for next weekend’s NXT tapings from the Barclays Center are to do the 2-hour live Takeover special on the WWE Network from 8-10pm EST. After that show concludes, they’ll be taping an episode of NXT TV.
NXT is taping TV tonight from Full Sail University, with the first episode taped airing next week as the “go-home” episode to Takeover: Brooklyn. The other episodes will begin airing on 9/2.
– Several NXT talents are using new ring names. Aside from Uhaa Nation now going under the name Apollo Crews:
Cassie McIntosh, who was K.C. Cassidy and then changed to Cassie, is now Peyton Royce.
Jessie McKay is now Billie Kay.
Axel Tischer is now Alexander Wolfe
Mike Rallis, who became Mike Rawlis, is now Riddick Moss.
Lina Fanene is now Nia Jax.
– Next week’s WWE RAW from Minneapolis, the go-home show for SummerSlam, has sold about 9,500 tickets. Ticket prices were recently discounted and there are around 1,000 tickets left. The show is being built around appearances from The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar ahead of their match next Sunday.
On this week’s episode of NXT, two more matches were announced for next Saturday night’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn special that will air live on the WWE Network. NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks will defend against Bailey and Samoa Joe will square off against Baron Corbin. With those matches set, here’s the updated card:
Ladder Match for the NXT Championship
Finn Balor (c) vs. Kevin Owens
NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Blake and Murphy (c) vs. The Vaudevillians
NXT Women’s Championship Match
Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bayley
Triple H tweeted the following video of New Japan Pro Wrestling legend Jushin Liger addressing the WWE Universe. Liger will be making a special appearance at next weekend’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event in a match against Tyler Breeze.
NXT Champion Finn Balor posted a photo on Instagram that is sure to get fans talking. Balor is scheduled to defend the NXT title against Kevin Owens at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn next Saturday night and is teasing that he could be joining forces with Paul Heyman.
This is not the first time Finn Balor has considered becoming a Paul Heyman Guy. Over WrestleMania 31 weekend, Balor posted a photo of himself with Heyman with the caption, “Temping.”
While he might have simply been sharing a fan-made graphic to get people talking, the prospect of Balor aligning himself with WWE’s evil mastermind is intriguing to say the least.
– The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has signed on to star in the big scree adaptation of the hit 90’s TV show Baywatch. Seth Gordon (‘Horrible Bosses’) will be directing, with Hollywood heartthrob Zac Effron currently in talks to appear alongside The Rock. According to THR:
“The story centers on a by-the-book and very serious lifeguard (Johnson) who is forced to team up with a young rule-flouting hothead (Efron) in order to save their beach from environmental destruction at the hands of an oil tycoon.”
– Triple H announced on Twitter that next Saturday night’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn live special from the Barclays Center is officially sold out.
IGN.com has revealed 12 more roster members for WWE 2K16, including Colonel Mustafa (The Iron Sheik) and General Adnan, Sgt. Slaughter’s compatriots from the early 1990’s when he was an Iraqi sympathizer.
Booker T, Colonel Mustafa, Emma, Eva Marie, General Adnan, Kalisto, Kane, Lord Steven Regal, Sin Cara, Summer Rae, Tamina, Triple H
They join “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose, Bad News Barrett, Paige, and Finn Bálor, bringing the list of announced roster members included in the game to 19.
The final 2 announced characters are two versions of Arnold Schwarzeneggar’s T-800 from the Terminator movies, which you can get by pre-ordering below:
As announced recently, The Vaudevillians (Aiden English and Simon Gotch) will be taking on Blake and Murphy for the NXT Tag-Team Championships at the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event on Saturday, August 22, 2015, live on the WWE Network.
The last time the duo earned a title shot, their victory was spoiled by NXT Diva Alexa Bliss, and as a result, there is speculation that one of the new NXT Divas will make their TV debut at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event to even the odds between the two teams and make things more fair.
WWE.com wrote the following teaser for the aforementioned tag-team match:
“NXT General Manager William Regal granted the old school duo a championship rematch at the Barclays Center on Aug. 22, but suggested that English & Gotch find a way to counteract Alexa Bliss this time around. Can The Vaudevillians neutralize the ever-present threat of Alexa Bliss, or will Blake & Murphy manage to walk out of Brooklyn with the NXT Tag Team Championship? Find out at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, live on WWE Network Saturday, Aug. 22 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT!”
As we reported last night, Triple H was testing out the latest streaming service brought to you by Facebook and took some time to answer some fan questions. Below is more of what was discussed:
– The WWE COO revealed that Bayley would be challenging Sasha Banks for the NXT Women’s Championship at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn but that wasn’t all he spoke about.
– While speaking about NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, he revealed that there were still some seats available for the event, but added that it will sell out.
– Triple H gives fans a small tour of his office which also shows the live stream of the Performance Center down in Orlando.
– He is asked about Ronda Rousey and whether or not we will see her in a WWE ring again, he explains that this depends on a lot of factors. He says they are huge fans of hers.
Triple H explained that the opportunity is there for Ronda but it all depends on what they can make happen and also congratulated her on her victory at UFC 190 adding “never say never.”
– Going on the road with NXT is brought up and Triple H discusses some of the tours and festivals they will be taking the show. He also addressed international shows and the potential for NXT dates in the UK. He explained that NXT will go wherever there is demand.
Following this week’s edition of NXT TV, below is an updated look at the scheduled lineup for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, which airs live on the WWE Network on Saturday, August 22nd.
NXT Championship (Ladder Match)
– Finn Balor (c) vs. Kevin Owens
NXT Tag-Team Championship
– Blake & Murphy (c) vs. The Vaudevillians
NXT Women’s Championship
– Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bayley
– Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Tyler Breeze
– Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin
– Apollo Crews (formerly known as Uhaa Nation) will make his NXT debut
– Appearances by Hideo Itami and others are expected as well
Former independent wrestling sensation Uhaa Nation, who recently signed with NXT, will be making his official debut with the promotion later this month.
Uhaa Nation will now be known as “Apollo Crews” in NXT, and will debut at the Saturday, August 22nd NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event, which airs live on the WWE Network the night before WWE SummerSlam.
As of right now, there is no official word regarding who Crews’ opponent will be at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn.
Earlier tonight we reported that Triple H was testing out Facebook’s new video streaming application that had been created for celebrities who were verified on the site.
In the video he discussed a number of topics including the upcoming special event on the WWE Network NXT Takeover: Brooklyn which will take place the night before SummerSlam.
He once again mentioned the main event of the night, Finn Balor defending his NXT Championship against Kevin Owens in a rematch from the Beast in the East event in Tokyo.
Triple H also confirmed that live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday, August 22nd, Sasha Banks would defend her NXT Women’s Championship against Bayley.
If you haven’t seen the video, you can check it out at this link.
– This weekend, while performing at an NXT live event in Lakeland, NXT Champion Finn Balor, who will face Kevin Owens at NXT Takeover Brooklyn this month hit his head off the ceiling.
Balor attached a photo along with his tweet where he joked that he blew the roof off the building, it looks like Balor was performing his Coup De Grace.
The NXT Champion was defending his title against Solomon Crowe and it was said that Crowe held his own to earn his place in the main event.
– The Rock took to Twitter yesterday (August 2nd) to praise Kevin Owens for his match against Finn Balor last month at the Beast in the East special on the WWE Network:
@MartyDeRosa @FightOwensFight Awesome. Keep up the great work KO. (watched your match w @wwebalor from Japan – incredible). ????
– Following the controversy ahead of the UFC 190 event on Saturday night where UFC President called wrestling “fake”, he took to Twitter yesterday to say he was joking:
@MLPChristian69 I pissed off wrestling fans? I respect wrestling and the people who do it. I was just responding to an idiot. It was a joke
As the road to NXT Takeover: Brooklyn continues the WWE Network presented yet another packed episode of WWE NXT taped in Full Sail University, Florida.
Below are the results:
– Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder defeated Enzo Amore and Big Cass
Jason Jordan and Chad Gable are shown backstage, mocking the other tag teams in the division.
A video package is shown to build up the Dana Brooke/Charlotte feud.
– Baron Corbin defeated Jesse Sorenson with the End of Days
Tyler Breeze visits William Regal in his office and demands a match at Takeover, Regal tells him to be careful what he wishes for.
– Jason Jordan & Chad Gable defeated Elias Samson and Manny Garcia (Levis Venezuela Jr.)
Devin Taylor is backstage with Dana Brooke and Emma. Dana says that she’s going to beat Charlotte and once again taps Devin on the head as she walks off.
A video package showing Bull Dempsey trying to get “Bull Fit” is aired.
– Charlotte defeated Dana Brooke with the Natural Selection
Samoa Joe is shown backstage talking about his goal in NXT is to win the title and talks trash about Rhyno and says that his future will end during their match next week.
Kevin Owens is shown backstage apologising to William Regal for striking him during the contract signing with Finn Balor last week.
– Kevin Owens defeated Martin Stone with the pop-up powerbomb and attacked him afterwards by planting him on the ring apron
– Blake & Murphy defeated The Vaudevillains to retain the WWE NXT Tag Team Championships
After the match, Alexa Bliss is left alone in the ring with The Vaudevillains, they allow her to leave unharmed but as she leaves she slaps them both across the face.