NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable
| NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable | ||||
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| Theme song(s) | "Unstoppable" by Motionless in White[1] | |||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | WWE | |||
| Brand(s) | NXT | |||
| Date | May 20, 2015 | |||
| Attendance | 400+ (Sold out) | |||
| Venue | Full Sail University | |||
| City | Winter Park, Florida | |||
| WWE Network event chronology | ||||
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| NXT TakeOver chronology | ||||
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NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, was a major professional wrestling event produced by WWE, under their NXT brand and was broadcast live on the WWE Network, available to subscribers. NXT TakeOver took place on May 20, 2015 at NXT's "home" arena, Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida and featured six matches as part of the main broadcast and one match prior to the televised portion of the show. The show was the fifth show in the "NXT TakeOver" series of Network exclusive shows. The main event of the show was a rematch from NXT TakeOver: Rival as Kevin Owens defended the NXT Championship against Sami Zayn, the man he had won it from at the previous TakeOver. During the show Samoa Joe made his surprise NXT debut during the main event match. The show included five additional matches including matches for the NXT Women's Championship and the NXT Tag Team Championship.
Production
Background
The NXT TakeOver series of professional wrestling shows started on May 29, 2014 as the WWE developmental league WWE NXT held their second ever WWE Network exclusive live broadcast billed as NXT TakeOver.[2] In subsequent months the "TakeOver" moniker became the brand used by NXT and WWE for all of their NXT live specials as they held NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way, NXT TakeOver: R Evolution and NXT TakeOver: Rival prior to Unstoppable.[3][4][5]
Storylines
The NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable show featured professional wrestling matches involving different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines that played out on the NXT television program prior to the show. Wrestlers portrayed faces (those who portray the "good guys") or heels (the "bad guys") as they followed a series of events that built tension and culminated in a match or a series of matches.[6][7]
Event
The commentators were Rich Brennan, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton.[8] The pre-show panel consisted of Corey Graves, Byron Saxton and Renee Young.[9]
The opening match of the show was originally scheduled to include Finn Bálor, Tyler Breeze and Hideo Itami but Itami suffered a shoulder injury and was not able to compete. To explain Itami's absence the WWE aired footage of a supposed attack on Itami in the parking lot as a storyline.[8] While never explicitly stated the footage revealed that Kevin Owens was near by during the attack. Instead Bálor and Breeze fought in a Singles match to determine who would be the number one contender for the NXT Championship. Bálor came to the ring wearing the "demon" body paint that was his signature look for major event such as TakeOver. In the end Bálor was able to execute his Coup de Grâce finishing move, a Diving double foot stomp off the top rope, to win the match.[8][10]
During the match for the NXT Tag Team Championship challengers Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady appeared to be in control of the match against Blake and Murphy when Alexa Bliss came to ringside. Bliss attacked Carmella on the outside of the ring, turning heel, and then distracted Cassady and Amore. Moments later Blake took advantage of Amore being distracted and pinned him to retain the championship. Following the victory Alexa Bliss joined forces with Blake and Murphy as they celebrated their victory.[8][10]
The main event played up the long time rivalry and storyline hatred between former friends Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens as the match started with a series of fast moves and counters. About seven minutes into the match Owens slammed Zayn on the apron of the ring where it appeared that Zayn injured his shoulder and the match basically came to a halt as Zayn was unable to compete. Owens continued to attack his injured opponent, drawing out NXT General Manager William Regal to try and pull Owens away from his opponent. After Owens pushed Regal off Samoa Joe ran to the ring, making his surprise debut, to stop Owens' attack. After staring at Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens grabbed the championship belt and then walked away as EMTs attended to Sami Zayn at ringside.[8][10]
Aftermath
The main event match was the last match for Sami Zayn before having to undergo shoulder surgery to deal with an injury he suffered in the weeks prior to TakeOver.[11] He would not return until December. With his victory Finn Bálor earned a match against champion Kevin Owens in one of the featured matches of The Beast in the East WWE Network special on July 4, 2015. Bálor defeated Kevin Owens to become the seventh over-all NXT Champion.[12] He later successfully defended the championship against Owens in the main event of NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.[13]
After her successful defense of the NXT Women's Championship Sasha Banks made her Raw debut on July 13, while still the NXT Women's Champion. In NXT Bayley returned from a hand injury and stated that she wanted a title match against Sasha Banks. Bayley would then challenge Charlotte to a match, which Bayley won, on the August 5 episode of NXT.[14] On the August 12 episode of NXT, Bayley defeated Becky Lynch to earn the title match at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.[15] On August 22, Bayley defeated Banks to win the NXT Women's Championship.[13]
Results
| No. | Results[8] | Stipulations | Times[8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1D | The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch) defeated The Mechanics (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson) | Tag team match[16] | N/A |
| 2 | Finn Bálor defeated Tyler Breeze | Singles match to determine the #1 contender for the NXT Championship[Note 1] | 11:30 |
| 3 | Bayley and Charlotte defeated Emma and Dana Brooke | Tag team match | 6:51 |
| 4 | Baron Corbin defeated Rhyno | Singles match | 7:15 |
| 5 | Blake and Murphy (c) defeated Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady (with Carmella) | Tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championship | 8:50 |
| 6 | Sasha Banks (c) defeated Becky Lynch | Singles match for the NXT Women's Championship | 15:33 |
| 7 | Kevin Owens (c) vs. Sami Zayn ended in a no contest | Singles match for the NXT Championship | 13:00 |
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Footnotes
- ↑ The scheduled third participant in this match, Hideo Itami, was ruled out due to injury.
See also
References
- ↑ "NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable Results, May 20, 2015". WWE. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
- ↑ Howell, Nolan. "Neville tops Kidd at NXT Takeover". canoe.ca. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
- ↑ Howell, Nolan. "Neville shocks, defies odds at NXT Takeover: Fatal 4 Way". Canoe.ca. SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ↑ James, Caldwell. "Caldwell's WWE NXT Takeover results 12/11: Complete virtual-time coverage of Neville vs. Zayn for the NXT Title, Itami & Balor, Charlotte, Kevin Steen/Owens's debut, Corey Graves retires". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ↑ Caldwell, James. "NXT News: Big title changes on "Takeover" special, tournament finals, pre-show dark match, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
- ↑ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- ↑ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 James, Justin. "WWE NXT "TakeOver: Unstoppable" report 5/20: Owens vs. Zayn for the NXT Title ends in wild fashion with a major debut of Samoa Joe, plus spectacular NXT Women's Title match, more; Overall Reax". PWTorch.com. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- ↑ Trionfo, Richard. "NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable preshow report". pwinsider.com. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
- 1 2 3 Meltzer, Dave (May 20, 2015). "WWE NXT TakeOver Unstoppable results & live coverage: Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn, surprise debut". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ↑ "Sami Zayn to undergo MRI on his shoulder". WWE. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
- ↑ Caldwell, James (July 4, 2015). "Caldwell's WWE Network special report 7/4: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of "Beast in the East" - Lesnar's in-ring return, Owens vs. Balor for NXT Title, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
- 1 2 James, Justin. "JAMES'S WWE "NXT TAKEOVER: BROOKLYN" REPORT 8/22: Balor vs. Owens ladder match for NXT Title, epic Women's match, Tag Titles, Samoa Joe, Liger, dignitaries in the crowd; Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ↑ Melok, Bobby (August 5, 2015). "WWE NXT results - Aug. 5, 2015: Samoa Joe and Rhyno lock horns, Bayley faces Charlotte to prove championship mettle". WWE. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- ↑ Trionfo, Richard (August 12, 2015). "WWE NXT REPORT: WE HAVE AN OPPONENT FOR SASHA BANKS IN BROOKLYN, JOE HAS A MATCH IN BROOKLYN, IS IGNORANCE BLISS FOR THE VAUDEVILLAINS?". PWInsider. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
- ↑ "NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable dark match & more". PWInsider.com. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
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