NXT TakeOver: Dallas - NXT Championship: Finn Balor (c) VS Samoa Joe

[Jack-Hammer]

Samoa Joe defeated Sami Zayn in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match on last night's episode of NXT to become #1 contender for the NXT Championship. WWE has officially announced that Joe will face Balor at the NXT TakeOver event taking place in Dallas on Friday, April 1st as part of WrestleMania weekend.

As of today, Finn Balor has been NXT Champion for 250 days and there's been a little buzz by NXT commentators regarding Balor being close to having the longest reign with the title. By April 1st, he'll have been champ for 272 days while the current record is 287 held by Neville; so, it's possible that Balor drops the title to Samoa Joe and that we'll see Balor on the main roster. At the same time, however, there are reports of WWE officials really enjoying Balor's work in NXT, that he's the "face" of the brand, and that they hope to find someone to step into that spot before Balor is brought to the main roster.

Balor defeated Joe in a title match during the TakeOver special in London back in December, so the feeling I get is that Joe won't lose to Balor in back to back TakeOver specials. While it's far from a certainty, I see Joe picking up the win as part of Balor's eventual move to the main roster.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I expect Balor to reach the main roster post-Mania. I have a hard time believing he signed a WWE contract without a stipulation stating that he'd get on the big shows fairly quickly. I think Joe wins, and if he doesn't, then why the rematch?

 

[Mighty NorCal]

I think Joe wins, and if he doesn't, then why the rematch?

Pretty much this. If this weren't intended to get the belt on Joe and free up Balor for RAW on Monday, then why do it?

Though im a fan of the reigning NXT champ having a small but hot run on the main roster like Owens did in over to put over the brand and the next champ better. I think the timing of everything took that from us here.

Expect a badass match. If they improve upon their London match, we have our leader in the pack for MOTY in 2016.

 

[ShinChan]

Samoa Joe really needs to win this match and become the next NxT Champion. Finn Balor needs to lose in a hard fought battle so that he can move up to the main roster along with Gallows and Anderson in a Bullet Club-esque stable with whatever name they have decided for it.

As for Joe's feud after he wins the strap, I think that Hideo Itami/Apollo Crews/Baron Corbin can serve this purpose. Hideo can return claiming that Joe was the one who attacked him due to which Hideo got injured.

​

 

[Bagpipes]

Very much looking forward to what should be a very entertaining Joe heel run with the title. Seeing Joe vs. Nakamura in a WWE setting is something I never thought would happen and has potential to be perhaps the best NXT match to date.

I wouldn't mind seeing Joe run through KENTA and even Crews on his way to a showdown with Nakamura sometime around SummerSlam.

 

[Piss Bucket]

I've been a big Samoa Joe fan for quite a few years, I want him to win, but I won't cry if he doesn't.

 

[Harthan]

The result here, and this show in general, will really test something in NXT that hasn't really been pushed yet - what truly is the role of guys like Joe (and Asuka, and Aries, and so on) in NXT? There's a tension in the NXT roster between the guys who clearly are destined for the main roster (Balor, etc.) and guys who likely are not (Joe, etc.) So, will they ever want the title on a guy who it seems is unlikely to reach the main roster? Joe's role in NXT, on paper, is to be a credible, main event level threat, but ultimately to put over the top developmental talent, so from that angle of the booking, theoretically, Finn should go over here.

Some have said above that this booking doesn't make sense if they don't intend to put Joe over, but really, what other options did they have in booking this match? Nakamura needed one of the top stars of NXT, so it had to be Zayn or Balor. Nakamura also has to go over but they probably don't want to put the belt on a guy on his first night, so then it has to be Zayn. So, then, what matches are left to make for Finn? Giving him Corbin or Crews or something and not putting those guys over hurts them, so if they're not ready to do that, the options are pretty much Joe and nothing else. I don't think this match demands Joe go over by booking necessity, because I think this match was booked because there was nothing else to do.

My personal opinion - NXT isn't quite ready for the shock of Finn and Zayn leaving simultaneously. I think Finn will go over Joe here, turn heel in his debut on Raw, and come to NXT for a last set of tapings/Takeover to drop the belt to a face (perhaps Itami?). I just don't think NXT has a vested interest in making guys like Joe champion, unless it's a very short, transitional type of reign, which I'll allow is possible, but doesn't fit with the historical booking of the NXT title so far.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

I want to see Balor retain w/ the help of Gallows and Anderson, then they all show up on RAW on Monday. On RAW, have Balor forfeit the NXT championship belt and immediately set his sights on Reigns. Have a tournament to crown a new NXT champion.

I don't like when guys "do the honors" in NXT then get called up to WWE. If you LOST, you shouldn't be rewarded with a promotion. Have Balor come in strong as the reigning NXT Champion. Samoa Joe doesn't need that belt but you can still have him win the title in the tournament if you want. His loss to Balor won't hurt him as it would have been due to outside interference.

 

[OYDK]

I was kind of surprised at the finish of this match to be honest. Fantastic match, even with the repeated stoppages, but I wholly expected a clear-cut conclusion to the Joe/Balor feud and we got anything but with the Piper/Hart finish last night. I would have liked to see this match go one way or the other, with either Joe choking out Finn and dominating as the moster heel NXT champ, or Finn pinning Joe and moving up to the main roster as the champion, but it is what is is.

In the back of my mind, I knew there was a strong chance that Balor would retain last night. It seems like he is destined to become the longest reigning NXT champion in history and WWE doesn't really pass those opportunities up when they get the chance. At this point, I'm sure they would love to be able to say Balor's name instead of Neville's whenever they bring up the longest reigning NXT champ.

I'm interested as to where they go from here with Gallows and Anderson. Last I heard they were debuting on the main roster so maybe they want to give them some exposure before immediately uniting them with Balor? Or maybe they stay away from Balor altogether? I don't know, but post-Mania Raw needs something big and I for one, was kind of expecting the Bullet Club. Picture should become clearer after Raw on Monday.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Balor retaining doesn't mean a thing when it comes to him being on the main roster. Didn't effect Owens when he was champ, nor Zayn for the past month. If WWE want him on the main roster with Anderson and Gallows, he will be.

Him retaining makes me think it's a certainty we'll see him at Mania or Raw.

 

[OYDK]

Balor retaining doesn't mean a thing when it comes to him being on the main roster. Didn't effect Owens when he was champ, nor Zayn for the past month. If WWE want him on the main roster with Anderson and Gallows, he will be.

Him retaining makes me think it's a certainty we'll see him at Mania or Raw.

Yeah I think it's likely we'll see him at one or the other, I just found the finish... odd. I guess it leads to another Joe/Balor match with Joe eventually taking the title? Other than that, I don't see why they wouldn't have just gone with an outright Balor victory after the Coup de Grace.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The fans irritated the shit out of me during this match last night. Joe was busted open the hard way and it was close to the eye, so they most definitely should have checked it out to make sure that the eye in and of itself wasn't cut or otherwise damaged. That sort of reaction is a genuine problem in wrestling, at least in my view, because it suggests aren't sensitive to the fact that these wrestlers are flesh and blood human beings who're just as vulnerable and frail as they are. Of course, the injury didn't look to be at the eye itself, thankfully, but we didn't know that at the time but, hey, I guess it's okay if a guy severely damages his eye if it means that the fans can pop for one more high spot.

I thought the match itself was another strong outing, though it has a most difficult time following Zayn vs. Nakamura and Bayley vs. Asuka. The stoppages did affect the match but, like I said, it was perfectly understandable in my opinion considering the location of the cut. After all, it wasn't as though Joe was cut on his forehead or anything along those lines, I could understand such a reaction if there were multiple stoppages for that; however, that wasn't the case and it was the right call to make. It's too bad that it took what happened with Benoit to finally get WWE to take the health & well being of its talent seriously but at least they do now and it's hard for me to fault them for it.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

If Samoa Joe won the match the cut and the ref stoppage would have been a blessing in disguise. Can you imagine the image of Joe's eye being cut and gushing with blood but winning a war against Balor? That would have made Joe look like a real bad arse.

I am actually not sure where this go. Does Joe take the title in the next match or does Joe get called up in the main roster. With Reigns possibly winning the title and being kept as a face I would WWE might want to call up someone like Joe to be an upcoming challenger for Reigns Title.