NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day
NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day is an upcoming professional wrestling pay-per-view and WWE Network event, produced by WWE for their NXT brand division. It will take place on February 14, 2021, and will broadcast from the Capitol Wrestling Center, hosted at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. It will be the 33rd event in the NXT TakeOver chronology and the ninth in the Vengeance chronology—the first since 2011. The name of the event is also a play on Valentine's Day, as the event is being held on the same day as the holiday. It will also be the final NXT TakeOver event to air on the American version of the WWE Network before it merges with Peacock.
| NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day logo | |||
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Brand(s) | NXT | ||
| Date | February 14, 2021 | ||
| City | Orlando, Florida | ||
| Venue | WWE Performance Center | ||
| Attendance | 0 (behind closed doors)[lower-alpha 1] | ||
| WWE Network event chronology | |||
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| NXT TakeOver chronology | |||
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| Vengeance chronology | |||
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Production
Background
TakeOver is a series of professional wrestling shows that began on May 29, 2014 as WWE's NXT brand 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 WWE Network specials. While originally exclusive to the WWE Network, NXT TakeOver events also became available on traditional pay-per-view beginning with TakeOver 31 in October 2020. TakeOver: Vengeance Day will be the 33rd NXT TakeOver event. The event revived WWE's old Vengeance pay-per-view name, rebranding it as an NXT TakeOver event, making it the ninth in the Vengeance chronology and the first since the 2011 event. The name of the event is also a play on Valentine's Day, as the event is being held on February 14, 2021, the same day as the holiday.[2]
On January 25, 2021, WWE announced that the WWE Network would become exclusively distributed by Peacock in the United States as part of a new agreement with NBCUniversal, which airs Monday Night Raw and NXT on the USA Network. The WWE Network will become its own premium channel under Peacock, while Peacock Premium subscribers will get access at no additional cost; other countries will maintain the current separate WWE Network service distributed by the promotion itself. This merger will go into effect beginning March 18, making TakeOver: Vengeance Day the final NXT TakeOver event to air on the American version of the WWE Network before it merges under Peacock.[3][4]
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WWE's NXT events had to be presented from a behind closed doors set at NXT's home base of Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida since mid-March 2020; WWE's programming for Raw and SmackDown were also done in this manner but at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, before moving to Orlando's Amway Center in August in a setup dubbed the WWE ThunderDome (which was relocated to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida in December). In October, it was announced that beginning with TakeOver 31, NXT would be moving their events to the Performance Center, which would feature the "Capitol Wrestling Center" setup, an homage to the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, the predecessor to WWE. Like the ThunderDome for Raw and SmackDown, LED boards were placed around the Performance Center so that fans could attend virtually, while additionally, friends and family members of the wrestlers were in attendance, along with a limited number of actual live fans, divided from each other by plexiglass walls.[5][6]
Storylines
The show will include matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters to build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines are produced on their weekly television program, NXT.[7][8]
On the February 3 episode of NXT, Pete Dunne demanded NXT Champion Finn Bálor give him a title match. Bálor then came to the ring and told Dunne he would get his match at Vengeance Day. Men's Royal Rumble winner Edge then came to the ring. He spoke about how seeing the drive, passion, and focus on wrestling in NXT helped motivate him to make his comeback. He said he had never held the NXT Championship and told Bálor and Dunne that he would be watching their match at Vengeance Day, and regardless of who won, it may help him decide which world championship he would challenge for at WrestleMania 37.[9]
In January 2021, the sixth Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic was announced, and for the first time, a women's version was also announced. The finals of both the men's and women's tournaments were scheduled for Vengeance Day.[9]
Matches
| No. | Matches* | Stipulations | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Io Shirai (c) vs. Toni Storm vs. Mercedes Martinez | Triple threat match for the NXT Women's Championship[10] | |
| 2 | Dakota Kai and Raquel González vs. Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart or The Way (Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell) | Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals Winners also receive a future WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match[11] | |
| 3 | MSK (Wes Lee and Nash Carter) or Legado Del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde) vs. Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher or Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) | Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals[11] Winners also receive a future NXT Tag Team Championship match | |
| 4 | Finn Bálor (c) vs. Pete Dunne | Singles match for the NXT Championship[12] | |
| 5 | Johnny Gargano (c) vs. Kushida | Singles match for the NXT North American Championship[13] | |
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Men's
a ^ Ciampa and Thatcher replaced Ashante "Thee" Adonis and Desmond Troy after they were both (kayfabe) injured by Karrion Kross.
b ^ Lucha House Party were guest participants.
Women's
| Quarterfinals NXT and 205 Live (January 20–January 29) | Semifinals NXT (February 3–February 10) | Final NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day (February 14) | ||||||||||||
| Cora Jade and Gigi Dolin | [15] | |||||||||||||
| The Way (Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell) | Pinc | |||||||||||||
| The Way (Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell) | ||||||||||||||
| Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart | ||||||||||||||
| Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Marina Shafir and Zoey Stark | [19] | |||||||||||||
| Dakota Kai and Raquel González | ||||||||||||||
| Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Mercedes Martinez and Toni Storm | 9:27[16] | |||||||||||||
| Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter | 13:01[9] | |||||||||||||
| Dakota Kai and Raquel González | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Aliyah and Jessi Kamea | 5:56[17] | |||||||||||||
| Dakota Kai and Raquel González | Pin | |||||||||||||
c ^ This was the very first women's match to be held on 205 Live.
Notes
- The event will be held without a paying audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, though it will feature a live crowd of WWE wrestlers, trainees, and select invited fans as well as virtual fans via NXT's Capitol Wrestling Center viewing experience.
References
- Howell, Nolan (May 29, 2014). "Neville tops Kidd at NXT Takeover". canoe.ca. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
- WWE.com Staff (January 6, 2021). "NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day set to take place Sunday, Feb. 14". WWE. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
- Spangler, Todd (January 25, 2021). "NBCU's Peacock Pins WWE Network Exclusive U.S. Streaming Rights". Variety. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- Hayes, Dade (January 25, 2021). "Peacock Adds Wrestling In WWE Network Streaming Exclusive". Deadline. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- "Capitol Wrestling Center to be unveiled tonight at NXT TakeOver 31". WWE. October 4, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
- Defelice, Robert (October 4, 2020). "NXT TakeOver 31 To Feature The Debut Of The Capitol Wrestling Center". Fightful. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
- Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
- Moore, John (February 3, 2021). "2/3 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Royal Rumble winner Edge's appearance, Santos Escobar vs. Curt Stallion for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship, Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher vs. Adam Cole and Roderick Strong in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic match, additional Dusty Classic matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
- Garretson, Jordan (January 29, 2021). "NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm vs. Mercedes Martinez (Triple Threat Match)". WWE. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- NXT results 2-3-21
- "Finn Bálor and Pete Dunne to clash for NXT Title at TakeOver: Vengeance Day". WWE. February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
- "Johnny Gargano and Kushida set to brawl for NXT North American Title". WWE. February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
- Moore, John (January 13, 2021). "1/13 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Adam Cole and Roderick Strong vs. Tyler Breeze and Fandango, and Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Ever-Rise in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic matches, Shotzi Blackheart vs. Candice LeRae, Johnny Gargano vs. Dexter Lumis in a non-title match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
- Vishwakoti, Anish (January 22, 2021). "1/22 WWE 205 Live results: Anish V's review of Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher vs. Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari, and Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell vs. Gigi Dolin and Cora Jade in Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic first round matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- Moore, John (January 20, 2021). "1/20 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher in the NXT Fight Pit, Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter vs. Mercedes Martinez and Toni Storm, Kushida and Leon Ruff vs. The Way, and LHP vs. Imperium in Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
- Moore, John (January 27, 2021). "1/27 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Finn Balor and Kyle O'Reilly vs. NXT Tag Champs Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan in a non-title match, Santos Escobar vs. Curt Stallion for the NXT Cruiserweight Title, Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
- Vishwakoti, Anish (January 15, 2021). "1/15 WWE 205 Live results: Anish V's review of Drake Maverick and Killian Dain vs. Curt Stallion and August Grey, and Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde vs. The Bollywood Boyz in Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- Vishwakoti, Anish (January 29, 2021). "1/29 WWE 205 Live results: Anish V's review of Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart vs. Marina Shafir and Zoey Stark in a Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic first round match, Jake Atlas vs. August Grey vs. Ariya Daivari". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 30, 2021.