NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable

NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable was a professional wrestling and WWE Network event produced by WWE, under their NXT brand division. It was broadcast live on the WWE Network, available to subscribers. TakeOver: Unstoppable 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 televised broadcast and one that was a dark match that occurred prior to the televised portion of the show. It was the fifth show in the TakeOver series of Network exclusive shows.

NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable
Promotional poster featuring Finn Bálor
PromotionWWE
Brand(s)NXT
DateMay 20, 2015
CityWinter Park, Florida
VenueFull Sail University
Attendance400+ (Sold out)
WWE Network event chronology
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NXT TakeOver chronology
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Brooklyn

The main event of the show was a rematch from 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. The event is notable for the first TakeOver event to not have at least one of the three NXT Championships change hands.

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.[1] In subsequent months, the "TakeOver" moniker became the brand used by WWE for all of their NXT live specials. Unstoppable was the fifth NXT TakeOver event.

Storylines

The card comprised six matches, as well as one dark match before the broadcast. 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.[2][3]

Event

Preliminary matches

The show opened with a match between Finn Bálor and Tyler Breeze to determine who would be the number one contender for the NXT Championship. The match originally also included Hideo Itami, but Itami suffered a shoulder injury and was not able to compete. To explain Itami's absence, WWE aired footage of a (kayfabe) attack on Itami in the parking lot.[4] While never explicitly stated, the footage revealed that Kevin Owens was near by during the attack. During the match, Breeze performed a "Supermodel Kick" on Bálor for a near-fall. After Bálor collided with an exposed turnbuckle, Breeze executed a "Beauty Shot" for a near-fall. In the end, Bálor executed a running front dropkick on Breeze, knocking him into the turnbuckles, and a "Coup de Grâce" for the win.[4][5]

Next, Emma and Dana Brooke faced Bayley and Charlotte. In the end, Bayley performed a "Bayley-to-Belly Suplex" on Dana. Charlotte executed "Natural Selection" on Emma for a pinfall to win the match.

After that, Baron Corbin faced Rhyno. Corbin executed "End of Days" on Rhyno for the win.

In the fourth match, Blake and Murphy defended their NXT Tag Team Championship against Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady. In the end, Alexa Bliss attacked Carmella. As Cass checked on his valet, Murphy attacked him with a superkick. Alexa shook the ring ropes, knocking Enzo off the top rope. Blake pinned Enzo to retain the titles.[4][5]

Next, Sasha Banks defended the NXT Women's Championship against Becky Lynch. During the match, Becky applied the "Dis-arm-her" on Sasha but Sasha touched the rope, forcing Becky to release the hold. In the end, Sasha forced Becky to submit to the "Bank Statement" to retain the title.

Main event

In the main event, Kevin Owens defended the NXT Championship against Sami Zayn. Zayn performed a "Blue Thunder Bomb" on Owens for a near-fall. Zayn executed an exploder suplex into the turnbuckles on Owens and attempted a "Helluva Kick", but Owens rolled out of the ring. Zayn performed an exploder suplex on the floor on Owens. Owens performed a pop-up powerbomb onto the ring apron on Zayn. As Zayn appeared to have injured his shoulder and was unable to compete, the match came to a halt but Owens continued to attack his injured opponent, drawing out NXT General Manager William Regal. Regal raked Owens's face but Owens retaliated with a headbutt. Samoa Joe appeared, making his surprise debut, to stop Owens's attack. After staring at Joe, Owens grabbed the title belt and then walked away as medics tended to Zayn at ringside.[4][5]

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.[6] He would not return until December. With his victory Finn Bálor earned a match against champion Kevin Owens in one of the main matches of The Beast in the East, a WWE Network special on July 4, 2015. Bálor defeated Owens to become the seventh NXT Champion.[7] He later successfully defended the championship against Owens at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn[8] and went on to hold the title for 292 days, becoming the second longest-reigning NXT champion.[9]

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 then challenged and defeated Charlotte on the August 5 episode of NXT.[10] On the August 12 episode of NXT, Bayley defeated Becky Lynch to earn the title match at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.[11] On August 22, Bayley defeated Banks to win the NXT Women's Championship.[8]

Results
No. Results[4] Stipulations Times[4]
1D The Mechanics (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson) defeated The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch) Tag team match[12] 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 Dana Brooke and Emma Tag team match 6:51
4 Baron Corbin defeated Rhyno Singles match 7:15
5 Blake and Murphy (c) defeated Colin Cassady and Enzo Amore (with Carmella) Tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championship 8:50
6 Sasha Banks (c) defeated Becky Lynch by submission 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
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
  • D – indicates the match was a dark match

Footnotes
  1. The scheduled third participant in this match, Hideo Itami, was ruled out due to injury.

References
  1. Howell, Nolan (May 29, 2014). "Neville tops Kidd at NXT Takeover". canoe.ca. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  2. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  3. "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. "Sami Zayn to undergo MRI on his shoulder". WWE. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. "Samoa Joe captures NXT Championship at Live Event in Lowell, Mass". WWE. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. "NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable dark match & more". PWInsider.com. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
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