NXT TakeOver:

London

NXT TakeOver: London was a professional

wrestling show and WWE Network event in
the NXT TakeOver series that took place
on December 16, 2015, produced by WWE,
showcasing its NXT developmental brand,
and was streamed live on the WWE
Network. The event took place in The SSE
Arena in London, England. This was the
first NXT TakeOver broadcast from outside
the United States as the finale of the first
ever NXT tour of the United Kingdom.[1][3]
 NXT TakeOver: London

Promotional poster featuring Finn Bálor,

Samoa Joe, Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin,
Bayley, and Nia Jax

Promotion WWE

Brand(s) NXT

Date December 16, 2015[1]

City London, England

Venue The SSE Arena

Attendance 10,079[2]
Tagline(s) NXT is Taking Over
London for the First
Time Ever!

WWE Network event chronology

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TLC: Tables, Ladders & Royal Rumble
Chairs

NXT TakeOver chronology

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Respect Dallas

Production
Background …

TakeOver is a series of professional

wrestling shows that began on May 29,
2014, as WWE's then developmental
league NXT held their second WWE
Network exclusive live broadcast billed as
TakeOver.[4] In subsequent months, the
"TakeOver" moniker became the brand
used by WWE for all of their NXT live
specials. London was the eighth NXT
TakeOver event and the first to be held
outside of the United States.

Storylines …
The card comprised five matches. The
matches resulted from scripted storylines,
where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains,
or less distinguishable characters that
built tension and culminated in a wrestling
match or series of matches. Results were
predetermined by WWE's writers on the
NXT brand, while storylines were produced
on their weekly television program,
NXT.[5][6]

After TakeOver: Respect, a battle royal

took place to determine the new #1
contender to Finn Bálor's NXT
Championship, which was won by Apollo
Crews. Bálor and Crews faced each other
for the title on the November 4 episode of
NXT, with the match ending in
disqualification after Baron Corbin
interfered and attacked both men with his
primary target being Crews. Samoa Joe
came to the ring and fended off Corbin
before attacking his friend Bálor, turning
heel in the process. Feeling betrayed for
not getting his title shot despite Bálor
wanting to give him a shot, Joe took
extreme lengths to get his title match. It
was later announced that Bálor will defend
the NXT Championship against Samoa
Joe at TakeOver: London. Meanwhile,
Baron Corbin explained his reason for
costing Apollo Crews his title opportunity
was because he held a personal grudge
against him since after last eliminating
him at the battle royal and challenged him
to a match at TakeOver: London which
Crews later accepted.

After retaining the NXT Women's

Championship against Sasha Banks in the
first-ever 30-minute Iron Woman Match at
TakeOver: Respect, Bayley continued to
make successful title defences. During
Bayley's title defence against Eva Marie on
November 25 episode of NXT, newcomer
Nia Jax interfered on Marie's behalf by
knocking out the official referee and
having Charles Robinson officiate while
being towards Marie. Despite this
interference, Robinson was soon knocked
out and Bayley retained her title by pinning
Marie with another referee making the 3-
count. After the match, Jax assaulted
Bayley with the intention of going after the
NXT Women's Championship. After a few
confrontations, it was announced that
Bayley will defend the NXT Women's
Championship against Nia Jax at
TakeOver: London.

Event

Preliminary matches …
The broadcast opened with a match
between Asuka and Emma (accompanied
by Dana Brooke). Asuka had the
advantage until a distraction by Brooke
allowed Emma to take control. During a
comeback by Asuka, Emma countered the
first "Asuka Lock" attempt by knocking
them into the referee, thus disabling him.
Brooke passed Emma a foreign object (a
belt) to use, which was snatched by
Asuka. While Asuka protested against a
possible disqualification to the referee,
Emma capitalized with a roll-up for a near-
fall and Asuka immediately applied the
"Asuka Lock", only for Brooke to distract
the referee from seeing Emma submit.
Emma attempted to use the belt again, but
Asuka executed a spin kick for the win.[7][8]

The second match saw Dash and Dawson

defend the NXT Tag Team Championship
against Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady
(accompanied by Carmella). Amore and
Cassady had a lively start, exemplified by
Cassady throwing Amore over the top rope
onto Dash and Dawson at ringside.
However, the champions regained control
by targeting Amore's arm and Cassady's
leg, necessitating Amore saving Cassady
from receiving a diving knee-breaker.
Amore and Cassady combined for a
"Rocket Launcher" onto Dash, with
Dawson breaking up the pin and then
sending Cassady into the ring-post. Dash
and Dawson then caught Amore on the top
rope, pinning Amore after a "Shatter
Machine" to retain.[9]

Next was the match pitting Apollo Crews

against Baron Corbin. Corbin gained the
advantage by dropping Crews over the top
rope onto the ring steps. Later, Corbin
executed "Deep Six" for a near-fall. Crews
countered Corbin's "End of Days", then
executed an enzuigiri and a standing
moonsault for a near-fall. Despite lifting
Corbin in preparation for a powerbomb,
Corbin grabbed the ropes and escaped,
then pinned Crews after the "End of Days"
to win the match.[8][9]

The fourth match featured Bayley

defending the NXT Women's
Championship against Nia Jax. Jax
dominated much of the match, countering
all of Bayley's attempts of a guillotine
choke into repeated leg drops or Samoan
drops, but only for near-falls. After much
of this, Bayley forced Jax to tap out to a
fourth guillotine choke hold for the win.[8]

Main event …
In the main event, Finn Bálor defended the
NXT Championship against Samoa Joe.
During the match, both men performed
dives out of the ring on their opponent,
with Joe using an elbow suicida and Bálor
a running flip over the top rope. Bálor
managed to escape Joe's attempts at
executing a muscle buster, and also rolled
out of Joe's "Coquina Clutch". In the end,
Bálor chopped Joe to the mat when both
battled on the top rope, and then pinned
Joe after a "Coup de Grâce" to retain the
title.[7][10] The event is also notable for the
Jack the Ripper inspired entrance that Finn
Bálor performed before his match against
Samoa Joe. Bálor stated in an interview
with Rebellious Noise that the night in
London was special for him, and he could
not have expected how well the production
team would shoot the entrance stating "it
was mind blowing".[11]

Reception
The show generally received positive
feedback from both the critics and the
fans. Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer
Newsletter rated the Women’s
Championship match 3.25 out of 5 stars
and the NXT Championship match 4 out of
5 stars, which is the same rating as the
Emma vs. Asuka match. The lowest rating
was the Apollo Crews vs. Baron Corbin
match, which got 2.5 out of 5 stars.
History of Wrestling scored the show
89/100.[12]

Aftermath
After defeating Apollo Crews at the event,
Baron Corbin declared his intentions of
going after Finn Bálor's NXT
Championship, proclaiming himself as the
No. 1 contender. However Sami Zayn also
returned from injury at the event also
wanting to have a match for the title. This
led to a Triple Threat Match between Zayn,
Corbin and Samoa Joe that took place on
January 27, 2016 episode of NXT to
determine the No. 1 contender to face
Bálor for the NXT Championship. The
match ended without a winner after Corbin
tapped out to both Zayn's Sharpshooter
and Joe's crossface at the same time,
leaving a shocked William Regal to review
the match. Zayn and Joe faced each other
in a No. 1 contenders match on the
February 17 episode of NXT from CFE
Arena in University of Central Florida,
which once again ended in no contest
after both men's shoulders were pinned.

A women's battle royal took place on the

January 13, 2016 episode of NXT to
determine the next No. 1 contender to
Bayley's NXT Women's Championship. The
match was won by Carmella after last
eliminating Eva Marie. Bayley successfully
retained her title against Carmella on the
February 10 episode of NXT from CFE
Arena in Orlando, Florida, but afterwards
Carmella was attacked by Eva Marie and
Nia Jax leading to Bayley coming to
Carmella's aid before gaining assistance
by Asuka who fending off Marie and Jax.
Asuka then confronted Bayley and looked
at the NXT Women's title belt, signaling a
challenge for the title.
Despite his title opportunity gone, Apollo
Crews challenged Finn Bálor to a non-title
match as he did not want their bout to end
in a disqualification which Bálor later
accepted. Bálor defeated Crews on the
February 3, 2016 episode of NXT with both
men shaking hands in respect afterwards.

Results
No. Results Stipulations Times[13]

American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan) defeated

Blake and Murphy (with Alexa Bliss), The Hype Bros (Mojo Fatal 4-Way tag
1N N/A
Rawley and Zack Ryder) and The Vaudevillains (Aiden team match[14]
English and Simon Gotch)

2N Elias Samson defeated Bull Dempsey Singles match[14] 7:10

3N Sami Zayn defeated Tye Dillinger Singles match[14] N/A

4 Asuka defeated Emma (with Dana Brooke) Singles match[15] 14:49

Tag team match

Dash and Dawson (c) defeated Colin Cassady and Enzo for the NXT Tag
5 14:57
Amore (with Carmella) Team
Championship[16]

6 Baron Corbin defeated Apollo Crews Singles match[17] 11:40

Singles match for

7 Bayley (c) defeated Nia Jax by submission the NXT Women's 13:17
Championship[18]

Singles match for

8 Finn Bálor (c) defeated Samoa Joe the NXT 18:22
Championship[19]

(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match

N – indicates the match was taped for broadcast on a future episode of NXT

See also
2015 in professional wrestling
Professional wrestling in the United
Kingdom
References
1. Caldwell, James. "WWE NEWS: WWE
announces live NXT special from the
U.K." Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved
August 27, 2015.
2. http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/65
3177-mick-foley-comments-on-jim-
dotsons-passing-triple-h-reveals-nxt-
takeover-london-attendance
3. Namako, Jason. "Triple H reveals NXT
live special set for London in
December" . wrestleview.com.
Retrieved 28 August 2015.
4. Howell, Nolan (May 29, 2014). "Neville
tops Kidd at NXT Takeover" .
 canoe.ca. Retrieved September 21,
2017.
5. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling
Works" . HowStuffWorks. Discovery
Communications. Archived from the
original on November 18, 2013.
Retrieved March 5, 2012.
. "Live & Televised Entertainment" .
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February 26, 2009. Retrieved
March 21, 2012.
7. Meltzer, Dave. "NXT TakeOver London
live results: Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe,
Bayley vs. Nia Jax" . Wrestling
 Observer. Retrieved 20 December
2015.
. Tedesco, Mike. "NXT TakeOver London
results - 12/16/15 (Balor vs. Joe)" .
wrestleview.com. Retrieved
20 December 2015.
9. Zimmerman, Zack. "12/16 WWE NXT
Takeover: London live review" .
prowrestling.net. Retrieved
20 December 2015.
10. "WWE NXT: TakeOver - Finn Bálor
retains title at Wembley Arena" . Sky
Sports. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
11. "VIDEO: Finn Balor talks about his Jack
the Ripper entrance at NXT TakeOver
 London" . Rebellious Noise. 2017-05-
26. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
12. http://historyofwrestling.weebly.com/t
he-raw-files-2015-blog/nxt-takeover-
london-by-arnold-furious
13. "NXT TakeOver: London Times" .
Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved
16 December 2015.
14. "12/16 NXT TV taping spoilers" .
PROWRESTLING.NET. Retrieved
11 December 2015.
15. Clapp, John. "Asuka vs. Emma" . WWE.
Retrieved 11 December 2015.
1 . Clapp, John. "NXT Tag Team
Champions Dash & Dawson vs. Enzo
 Amore & Colin Cassady" . WWE.
Retrieved 2 December 2015.
17. Melok, Bobby. "Apollo Crews vs. Baron
Corbin" . WWE. Retrieved
26 November 2015.
1 . Melok, Bobby. "NXT Women's
Champion Bayley vs. Nia Jax" . WWE.
Retrieved 9 December 2015.
19. Melok, Bobby. "NXT Champion Finn
Bálor vs Samoa Joe" . WWE. Retrieved
18 November 2015.

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