NXT TakeOver Vengeance Day Results, Grades, and Analysis

Finn Balor (c) vs. Pete Dunne for the NXT Championship

Result: Finn Balor wins by pinfall

Grade: A+

So we have an early Match of the Year contender!

I cannot say enough about the job Finn Balor is doing right now as the NXT Champion. Every single match of his feels like both a war and a chess match at the very same time. The psychology of Balor’s matches has you gripped on the edge of your seat, to the point where you are terrified of the hard-hitting nature of the vicious moves themselves and also of the very panic that Balor might indeed lose the title on this night.

The suspense and violence of Finn Balor vs. Pete Dunne was off the charts. I was hooked by the technical wrestling between the two of them at the beginning. It was smooth, painful, and teasing. And it was all purposeful. Each hold felt like it mattered and was part of a calculated game of strategy from two athletes on the top of their game. And it all led to a furious sprint at the end in which both men threw everything at each other, knowing only their absolute best shot would win the day.

In the end, Finn took home the honors, ripping out the mouthguard of Dunne before delivering the Coup de Grace and 1916 to put the result beyond all doubt. Dunne is one of the best wrestlers in WWE in his own right, but as the champion, Balor is operating at a level that is miles above what anyone else is doing inside the ring. I love that in his second stint in NXT, he can show his technical quality to a different degree and do actual psychology-based wrestling to an audience that fully appreciates it.

There was one last thing to close the show that has HUGE ramifications. Adam Cole attacked Kyle O’Reilly. The Undisputed Era just might be over.