NXT Takeover 36: Samoa Joe needs to win the most

With two matches already announced for next month’s TakeOver event, the hype is already through the roof and gaining steam. In this piece, out of all the matches announced and anticipated, I’ll set out to prove why at NXT TakeOver 36, Samoa Joe needs to win the most.

It’s usually the case that the more experienced wrestler will lose a match in order to get a rising star over. I mean, it’s professional wrestling lore, and it has happened time and time again, but the intentions with Kross and Samoa Joe aren’t exactly clear at the moment.

Samoa Joe needs a big win at TakeOver 36.

Kross has appeared on Raw for two weeks straight. His first appearance had him losing to Jeff Hardy — and on his birthday no less. But he beat Keith Lee just this past Monday and if WWE plans to have Kross moved up to the main roster and on Raw, it’s highly unlikely that he will be going there with the NXT Championship.

A very telling tweet on Kross’s Twitter feed suggests a possible direction and one that we are getting to in this piece: “We must fall first… Before we truly rise. Do you see that now? I am the faith for the fallen. I always have been. As I fall, you shall too. And WE shall rise together… Stronger. ” In it, perhaps suggesting a fall to Joe in the not so distant future?

It is possible that he could, in the future, be playing double duty, doing both shows, essentially getting over with the crowd by beating Joe at Takeover 36 and then starting a run on Raw built on that momentum alone and with the title in tow.

But I think that Joe needs to win in his match against Kross and I’ll set to proving that in just a second.

First off, I’d like to say that already Takeover 36 is gearing up to be quite the event; with Walter vs. Ilja Dragunov announced by Triple H, Shawn Michaels and William Regal on NXT this past Tuesday; that’s sure to set the tone for matches to come.

I think it is also safe to assume that we’re going to get Dakota Kai vs. Raquel Gonzalez for the Women’s NXT Title and, of course, Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly III. My prediction for that match has O’Reilly winning, with Cole going up to the main roster after his win…or at least I hope, but with WWE these days, you never know.

Which brings me back to Joe vs. Kross: it’s the exact opposite of what I hope that happens with the aforementioned Cole and O’Reilly match, but there’s very good reason for that.

Joe has had a run at Raw and SmackDown, on the main roster, and he totally ran to the finish line with the chances he got there. He was involved in many storylines and went after the world championship quite vigorously, albeit to no avail unfortunately, but did end up acquiring the United States Championship, which considering the history of that belt, is no small feat to achieve.

After suffering a concussion, he was given the job as commentator until his subsequent release.

To the awe of many, he returned to NXT, a platform where he had attained legendary status as the brand’s champion and figure head…and of course this was after he attained a cult following on the indy circuit and at TNA. His matches in TNA against Kurt Angle were among some of the best pro wrestling matches in history.

Perhaps Kross needs no introduction, and his pursuits and winnings have been evident and are part of recent history, but what needs to be highlighted here, is the fact that he is a rising star, and he is worthy of being on the main roster, which is why the loss to Joe makes sense. They have definitely hyped up the match…been working on it for weeks in fact.

But why does Joe have to win?

Because in the end, Joe needs to be there to make other stars in NXT on the rise. If he captures the belt from Kross, the belt stays home, and if the belt stays home, it’s there for the taking by any young up-and-comer, like say O’Reilly…who really has been putting on matches worthy of, say, a Daniel Bryan level.

This is primarily why I believe Samoa Joe decided to come back to NXT in the first place…to help the younger portion of that roster, or rather, the less experienced portion on their way to being the best. He can surely do that as champion, and holding that title one more time, ushering in the new breed.

Kross has proven himself and a loss to Joe won’t slow his momentum down, as his recent tweet suggests. A loss to Samoa Joe is nothing to cry over. It’s the opposite: you were beaten by the best to wear that NXT belt on your way to the main roster. In the end it’s something to brag about instead.

It’ll be interesting to see. As I stated, Takeover 36 is shaping up to be something quite special, but it’s what comes after the event that can be even more special. Time will tell, folks.