NXT Takeover: Dallas results and observations

There were a lot of expectations heaped upon NXT Takeover: Dallas.

Once news leaked of what the card for this event was going to be, fans and pundits hailed it as one of the best shows of the year before it had even taken place.

On Friday night, NXT met those expectations and in multiple ways, exceeded them.

Whenever NXT runs a live special right before a major WWE event, it usually gives the main roster show a run for its money and sometimes tops it.

The same gauntlet NXT has laid down to the main roster on multiple occasions in the past has been laid down once again. This time, it happened before the biggest event of the year, WrestleMania.

This event's juxtaposition to WrestleMania will be one of the more fascinating stories of the weekend, as NXT presented a show devoid of a lot of shenanigans and controversial finishes that will more than likely flood WrestleMania.

Sure, NXT Takeover lacked the glitz and glamour that makes WrestleMania the mega-event that it is, but there is something to be said about presenting a card that people want to see and delivering, and that is what NXT did Friday night.

Now, it is on WWE's main crew to best its own developmental program, which set the bar fairly high.

As good as things were Saturday night, they are apparently going to get even better. That's because the production specifically showed Kota Ibushi and Bobby Roode sitting in the audience, which could only mean that they are eventually going to work for NXT in some capacity moving forward.

For Ibushi, it sounded like he is going to take part in the Global Cruiserweight Series in July. For Roode, he's probably getting set for a full-fledged run with NXT.

With that out of the way, let's get to the matches.

NXT Tag Team championship – American Alpha def. The Revival

This match wasn't just about the action in the ring, it was also about the emotion of American Alpha — Jason Jordan and Chad Gable — finally winning the big one.

Jordan specifically expressed a lot of emotion, as tears were streaming down his face upon picking up the victory.

That's because it was not that long ago that Jordan was lost in the shuffle and in desperate need of a spark during his time teaming up with Tye Dillinger.

Once that team dissolved, he was paired with Gable, who had never been seen by NXT's television audience. In some ways, Jordan's future depended upon Gable's transition to the television audience.

What seemed like an odd couple at first turned out to be the perfect combination, as both Gable and Jordan compliment each other with their extensive amateur wrestling backgrounds.

For Jordan, he is now more popular than he has ever been and it is thanks in part to teaming up with Gable. Both Jordan and Gable should be earmarked for stardom one day.

The match itself was very good, which was to be expected. Both American Alpha and The Revival are capable of putting on entertaining matches and that is exactly what happened Friday night. There were a lot of near falls, but they didn't feel excessive. In my eyes, it added to each team's urgency of winning the titles.

The outcome was to be expected, as NXT has spent months building up American Alpha with important victories and video packages, but it was still very entertaining getting there nonetheless.

Austin Aries def. Baron Corbin

This match presented another rather predictable outcome, but it didn't make the match any less entertaining, as Aries and Corbin put on a quality performance.

I know a lot has been made about the Aries' NXT in-ring debut, but I think lost in all of that hoopla is the progression of Corbin, who more than held his own with one of the best performers in the world Friday.

Corbin has improved as a character and in the ring lately and put his progression on display against Aries.

Aries won, but I believe Corbin showed some people that he is capable of having good matches with a variety of opponents.

I also like the way Aries won, which was by quickly rolling up Corbin to squeak out a victory. It didn't hurt Corbin any and it showed that Aries, despite his size, could hang with a man the size of Corbin.

Shinsuke Nakamura def. Sami Zayn

Mere words cannot describe just how great this match was, but I am going to try.

If there was any doubt that Shinsuke Nakamura could translate to the American style and the American audience, if there was any doubt that Sami Zayn is a top star in the making, it was all erased Friday night, as these two put on an instant classic.

Everything about this match was excellent, even the entrances. Nakamura did not have his famous theme music from New Japan Pro Wrestling, but his WWE substitute was pretty good.

Nakamura's entrance is very important as it is an integral part of his presentation and I thought WWE's production team did it justice.

More importantly, how about the match?

It was incredible. That is not hyperbole either. This match far exceeded any expectations fans or pundits could heap upon it. It was filled action and still had the hard-hitting nature of most of Nakamura's matches. And he got to use the Boma Ye knee strike, which WWE is calling something else, but I have no recollection of the name.

Zayn also got to show why he is so talented. This match was more than just a showcase for him. It was essentially him finally graduating to the main roster and in what looks like his final NXT match for the foreseeable future, Zayn got to show everything that he has learned since he signed his developmental deal a couple of years ago.

When Zayn got NXT, he had to remove the El Genrico mask, which had made him so famous on the independent circuit so that he show his facial expressions. His facial expressions only add to the emotions of the match and the character and they were on full display against Nakamura.

Both Zayn and Nakamura have very expressive faces, which helped make the match even better than what it was.

Zayn showcased his great knack of great timing, which you have to believe was improved over the years in WWE's developmental system.

At the end of the day, however, the night belonged to Nakamura, who received a hero's welcome from the fans in Dallas and pinned Zayn to win his NXT/WWE debut. The fans stood up out of respect to both, but Nakamura left the ring out of respect to Zayn, who got to have one last moment with the NXT fans, as he will be a part of WWE's main roster on a full-time basis.

The year 2016 has seen some incredible matches so far, but this has to be near or on top of that short list. It was that good.

Another match I believe belongs on that list was Nakamura versus AJ Styles at New Japan's Wrestle Kingdom 10 back in January. Now, they're both in WWE in some capacity. What a time to be a wrestling fan.

NXT Women's championship – Asuka def. Bayley

Another match I had high expectations for was Asuka challenging Bayley for the NXT Women's championship.

This wasn't Bayley's best match, but it was probably was for Asuka, as she forced Bayley to pass out with the Asuka to win her first title in NXT.

The match was good, but the story of the two women was even better.

First, the finish played out exactly how it should have. Asuka should have beaten Bayley. It is her time and Bayley has held that title since August of last year. Plus, if Bayley is getting called up to the main roster soon, this was a good time for her drop the title. Although I must say, it is never fun to see Bayley lose. She is such a lovable character that it genuinely hurts to see her come up short.

At the same time, if she had to lose, having her pass out in Asuka's finisher was the way to go. Bayley is not the type of character to give up. It wouldn't make any sense for her to do so. Yeah, I know, it sounds a lot like John Cena, but that is just how it is. It works for Bayley and it worked Friday night.

As for Asuka, she is going to be great as the NXT Women's champion and is more than worthy of being the next to follow in the now great lineage of Paige, Charlotte, Sasha Banks and now Bayley.

NXT championship – Finn Balor def. Samoa Joe

If you want to watch a match that was full of intensity, look no further than Finn Balor versus Samoa Joe from Friday night.

First off, Balor came out with a chainsaw. Yes, he did it because the event took place in Texas (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, anyone?), but I couldn't help but think about Dean Ambrose. Did Balor borrow Ambrose's, which was given to him by Terry Funk.

I guess a chainsaw was fitting for this match because early on Samoa Joe suffered a nasty gash over his right eye after inadvertently butting heads with Balor, who was sporting a lot of blue in his attire.

Samoa Joe's cut was pretty nasty, as blood was gushing out of his face and was streaming down his chest. It only seemed to enrage Samoa Joe even more, as he proceeded to knock the daylights out of Balor on multiple occasions.

However, the momentum of the match was halted on multiple occasions due to WWE's insistence of wiping off blood from its wrestlers during the match.

I understand why WWE does this. It does not want blood to be all over the ring, as it could be a health hazard. Also, Samoa Joe's gash was pretty bad and someone should try to stop the bleeding.

The problem was that the doctor's ran over to clean Samoa Joe up multiple times because the blood just kept gushing out of his head.

If Samoa Joe's cut was that bad and if WWE was that worried about the blood getting all over the ring, then stop the match and tell everyone to go home.

Obviously, that is not going to happen and nor should it. If the match is going to be allowed to continue then try to clean him once, maybe even twice. If the bleeding doesn't stop, you have to let the match go on without further interruption.

I say that because there were moments when the intensity was ratcheted up to extremely high levels, only for a pair of doctor's to run in and attempt to clean up Samoa Joe, forcing he and Balor to temporarily halt the match.

Eventually after about a half-dozen stoppages, the WWE doctors cleaned up Samoa Joe and the match went on without further interruption, and what a match it was? Samoa Joe is amazing as a monster heel and Balor, well; he's Balor, which means he is incredible as well.

However, the finish was little weird to me. For one, Balor retained the NXT championship, which is somewhat head-scratching if he is supposed to receive a call-up to the main roster soon. I suppose he could always move to the main roster with the NXT title like Kevin Owens did last year, but I figured it would be more of a clean transition.

Also, Samoa Joe fell short again, which was kind of weird considering how much of a monster he has been on NXT for the better part of six months. I'm OK with it if it means that he is getting called up to the main roster soon.

Also, the finish came from out of nowhere, as it was reminiscent of the Bret Hart-Roddy Piper finish from WrestleMania 8.

I didn't mind it. It just felt a little out of place considering how intense the match was throughout. The finish didn't hurt the quality of the match for me, though. It was still fantastic, as was the event as a whole.

As expected, WrestleMania will have a steep hill to climb in order to top NXT Takeover: Dallas.