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NXT TakeOver Rival ended up being another fantastic showcase of the future that is to come in WWE.
Finn Balor and Adrian Neville put on a match that blew the roof off of Full Sail University. The match did not end well for Neville, as Balor won the match, and became the "Number One Contender" for the NXT Championship.
The future also shone bright on the future of the Divas division. NXT TakeOver Rival hosted a “Fatal Four Way” match for Charlotte's NXT Women’s Championship. Becky Lynch, Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Charlotte proved that they are not only the future, but the new standard of what women's wrestling is in the WWE. When the match came to an end Sasha Banks finally got what she wanted, when she pinned Charlotte for the victory and became the NXT Women's Champion.
The final match of the night would see Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens for the NXT Championship. The match would also play host to the demise of Sami Zayn. Kevin Owens beat Zayn unmercifully, and he did so to the point where the referee had to stop the match. With Zayn no longer able to continue, Kevin Owens was the victor and the new NXT Champion.
With three of NXT’s biggest stars (Charlotte, Neville, and Zayn) losing high profile matches what is next for NXT?
NXT TakeOver Rival may have been used to push the established stars out, and replace them with NXT’s new top talent. With Charlotte and Zayn losing their titles, and Neville losing too Balor, it is possible that Charlotte, Zayn, and Neville could be moving up to the main roster.
Now Zayn and Charlotte may have one more match left in NXT, but there is nothing currently holding Neville back from moving up. Charlotte and Zayn will more than likely get rematches for their respective titles, and then after that it’s on to the main roster. Charlotte, Zayn, and Neville have been the core of NXT for over a year now, and they have proved that they are more than ready to make the jump to the main roster.
NXT TakeOver Rival may have put the focus of NXT on Kevin Owens, Sasha Banks, and Finn Balor. And if this proves to be true then the NXT program is in very good hands.
