We see Pete Dunne and Finn Balor preparing for tonight’s main event in the back.
NXT Title Match: Pete Dunne vs. Finn Balor
We go to the ring for tonight’s main event and out first comes Pete Dunne. The dramatic music starts up as we see NXT Champion Finn Balor approaching the steps of the stage in the back. Balor’s entrance music starts up as he makes his way to the ring to a pop. We get formal ring introductions from Taylor as they face off in the middle of the ring.
The bell rings and they stare each other down. Fans chant “NXT!” and they go at it. They lock up and break. They size each other up and tangle again. They go to the mat and trade holds. They break and get back up, staring each other down. Balor grabs the arm and takes Dunne down by it. Dunne with an arm drag but Balor keeps him down by the arm now. Dunne turns it around but Balor slams him to the mat to break free. Balor grounds Dunne by his arm again.
Balor twists the arm up and keeps control. Dunne with a Monkey Flip but Balor keeps his arm tied up. More back and forth on the mat but Balor keeps the upperhand with the arm. Dunne turns it around but Balor quickly gets away. They lock up as fans chant for Finn. The champ takes the challenger down with a headlock as the referee checks on them. They run the ropes and Balor drops Dunne with a shoulder. Balor takes Dunne right back down with a headlock.
Balor with another takedown as they tangle again. Dunne ends up with a leg scissors on the mat, keeping Balor down. Balor breaks free and they both get up for a stalemate as fans chant “NXT!” now. Balor smirks at Dunne. They lock up again and Dunne takes it to the ropes. The referee counts but Dunne rams Balor with shoulders against the ropes. Balor takes him to the corner but Dunne takes control and starts bending the fingers back. Dunne bends the fingers and wrist again but Balor breaks it.
Balor looks for a submission but Dunne counters. Balor ends up on top of Dunne on the mat now, tying his arm up. They tangle on the mat some more and Balor tries to avoid an arm bar attempt. Dunne gets the upperhand on the mat, bending Balor’s hand back again as fans boo. Dunne snaps the arm and hand back as the boos get louder. Balor screams out in pain. Balor rolls free and retreats to the corner in pain as Dunne stares him down. Dunne goes for the arm again and they end up on the mat. Dunne grounds Balor and starts bending the fingers back. Balor keeps bending but Balor tries to break free. Fans rally for Balor but Dunne grounds him with a boot to the neck and an elbow to the ribs. Dunne bends the hand back once again, then jumps and stomps the ribs.
Fans boo Dunne as Balor clutches his ribs in pain. Dunne grabs Balor but Balor stomps his toes. Balor with a drop toe hold into a leg submission as fans cheer him on. More back and forth now. Balor goes for the single-leg Crab but they end up back on the mat. Dunne with a headbutt and a forearm across the jaw to get the upperhand, going into a front face-lock. They get back to their feet and Dunne goes for a Guillotine. Dunne goes for a twisting suplex and drops Balor on his head but it looks as if Dunne’s knee also goes out. Balor kicks out at 2. They trade strikes now. Dunne chops Balor into the corner. Balor with a big stomp to the back of the knee as it’s trapped in the corner.
Balor takes Dunne back down but Dunne goes for the arm bar. Dunne takes Balor back down by the arm and gets a 2 count. Dunne with a big enziguri. Balor comes right back and levels Dunne with a clothesline for a close 2 count. Balor stomps Dunne while he’s down. Balor drops a knee to the back of the neck as fans cheer him on. Balor with big strikes to the back of the knee now. He grounds Dunne from behind and beats on him with forearms. Balor with a STF in the middle of the ring now, causing Dunne to start fading out.
Dunne is fading but he manages to get Balor off him by driving Balor’s fingers into the mat. Balor chops Dunne into the corner. Balor chokes Dunne as the referee warns him and counts to 5. Balor with another big chop to drop Dunne in the corner. Balor sends Dunne into the opposite corner and keeps control. Dunne takes a chop but fights out of the corner with chops of his own. Balor takes the knee out a few ties and goes for 1916 but Dunne counters. Dunne keeps fighting and stomps away while Balor is down. Dunne with a shot to the jaw and a sitdown powerbomb for a close 2 count. Fans chant “this is awesome!” now.
Dunne with a big jumping stomp, then a snap German suplex. Dunne keeps control and stomps the fingers. Balor comes back and nails a Backstabber in the middle of the ring. Balor drops Dunne again and then dropkicks him into the corner as the crowd continues to cheer him on. Balor goes to the top for a Coup de Grace but Dunne counters on the way down and catches him in a submission. Dunne pounds on Balor while trapping him on the mat. Balor is almost at the bottom rope but Dunne pulls him away and continues grounding him, this time in the middle of the ring. Balor manages to get his feet on the bottom rope and the hold is broken.
Dunne points to how Balor is knocked out, despite the foot on the rope, and the referee checks on Balor but apparently he’s awake, but barely. Dunne charges with a huge kick while Balor is down, right after the referee says he’s still in it. Balor counters and goes for the 1916 but that is blocked. Dunne goes for the fingers again but Balor takes him down in another hold. Dunne breaks free and snaps the fingers as Balor screams out and fans boo. Dunne grabs the fingers and holds them but Balor fights him with his good hand. Balor stomps while Dunne still has his hand. They continue to tangle and this leads to Dunne nailing a Bitter End for a very close 2 count. Dunne can’t believe it.
A shocked Dunne sits up against the bottom rope. Fans chant “this is awesome!” again. Dunne nails a double stomp to both hands, and another while the boos get louder. Dunne rocks Balor and goes for a powerbomb but Balor turns it into a big DDT. Balor charges but runs into a kick to the jaw. Dunne keeps control but Balor blocks a Bitter End. Balor turns that into the reverse 1916 for a close 2 count as Dunne somehow kicks out, still clinging to Balor’s fingers.
Balor tries to pull his hand away from Dunne. Balor kicks his injured angle but Dunne snaps the fingers back again. Balor with a double stomp to the back to keep Dunne down. Balor has Dunne on his knees. He gets his hand free but has also pulled Dunne’s mouth guard out. Balor backs up, points his guns at Dunne, and then hits the double dropkick to the face. Balor immediately goes to the top and nails Coup de Grace. Balor follows up with 1916 for the pin to retain in the middle of the ring.
Winner: Finn Balor
After the match, Balor recovers as the music hits. We go to replays. We come back to Balor standing tall with the title. He poses in the corner as the crowd cheers him on. Dunne is down but recovering. Balor poses on the stage with the title around his waist until NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch run out, dropping Balor from behind. The boos get louder as Burch and Lorcan bring Balor into the ring for the double team. The referee tries to stop the attack but he gets knocked down, possibly by a recovering Dunne. Dunne joins in for the triple team until The Undisputed Era’s music hits for a big pop. Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong run down and hit the ring as Dunne, Burch and Lorcan retreat to the stage. O’Reilly checks on Balor and offers his hand. O’Reilly helps Balor to his feet and they shake as fans cheer them on. The Undisputed Era stands in the middle of the ring and does their pose as Balor stands with them, doing his own pose. Cole suddenly superkicks Balor out of nowhere. O’Reilly and Strong, especially O’Reilly, aren’t happy with this. O’Reilly has words with Cole while we hear Strong say he understands what Cole did. Cole superkicks O’Reilly out of nowhere and lays him out next to Balor on the mat. Strong looks a bit unsure about everything but he’s with Cole. The boos get louder now as Cole looks down at O’Reilly, who is barely moving. Cole made his exit from the ring while Balor and O’Reilly are still down. Strong acted conflicted between the two. NXT “Takeover: Vengeance Day” goes off the air.
