This Saturday night, NXT will once again take their show on the road to host NXT:TakeOver Brooklyn as an appetizer for the next night’s SummerSlam show presented by WWE. For many, the NXT special is the most highly-anticipated event of the weekend, despite the presence of the Undertaker, Brock Lesnar and many more on Sunday night, and not without good reason.
WWE pay-per-views can sometimes be pretty hit or miss, which is to be expected when you put on a live special once every month (and sometimes more). But with NXT, the once every 2-3 months rotation they run for TakeOver specials is absolutely perfect. Storylines are allowed to breathe and work themselves out much more naturally than the rushed, month-to-month storylines WWE has to tell and the difference is easy to see in both products.
Let’s take a look at what is going down Saturday night when NXT takes over Brooklyn (pun totally and fully intended).
Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens (NXT Title Ladder Match)
The main event this Saturday night is Balor-Owens 2 for the NXT title. After putting on an absolute clinic in their last match at the Beast in the East special in Japan, the two will try take things up another level by adding a ladder into the mix this time around.
Surprisingly, Balor has never actually been in a ladder match before and his high-flying skillset will surely be an awesome compliment to the match type. Not to be outshined, the burly-yet-agile Owens will surely be putting on a show himself during the match.
The first time these two met, Balor became the first man in NXT to pin Owens en route to becoming the new NXT Champion. The match was an intense, fast-paced and hard-hitting affair that featured some unbelievable offense from both men.
Now, Owens is looking to get his title back and angrier than ever, which probably isn’t a good combination for the Champ. Since the Beast in the East match wasn’t very long ago, the storyline between these two has been a bit more fast-paced than others, which has been awesome for us. Needless to say, physicality has been at a premium.
There were failed contract-signings that led to Owens demanding (and being granted) a ladder match for the title.
Ring-side sneak attacks….
And of course a few Pop-Up Power Bombs…
And this Saturday everything comes to a head. With Owens pulling double duty between the main roster and NXT, it’s expected by many that Balor will be the man who leaves TakeOver with the title. But that seems like too much of a foregone conclusion, and I doubt Triple H wants to see his brand get stale. Expect a swerve here, maybe even a major one like Owens debut that saw him powerbombing Sami Zayn into the side of the ring.
I expect Balor to leave Champ, but anything can happen with this one and that’s what makes it so great.