NXT TakeOver 31 was the 31st

NXT TakeOver NXT TakeOver was a series of periodic professional wrestling events produced by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The events were produced exclusively for the promotion's NXT brand division and aired live on pay-per-v ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

(PPV) and

livestreaming Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

produced by

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

brand division. The event took place on October 4, 2020, and was broadcast from the

Capitol Wrestling Center The WWE Performance Center is the official professional wrestling school system of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The promotion currently operates two Performance Center locations, which serve as training facilities for WWE w ...

, hosted at the

WWE Performance Center The WWE Performance Center is the official professional wrestling school system of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The promotion currently operates two Performance Center locations, which serve as training facilities for WWE wre ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

—this was the first NXT event to feature the Capitol Wrestling Center, NXT's version of the

WWE ThunderDome The WWE ThunderDome was a bio-secure bubble created by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, in partnership with the full-service fan experience company, The Famous Group. It was launched in August 2020 as a way for professional wres ...

used for

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

and

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

and an homage to the

Capitol Wrestling Corporation Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing p ...

, the predecessor to WWE. This was also the first NXT TakeOver to air on traditional PPV in addition to the

WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television and ...

. Five matches were contested at the event. In the main event,

Finn Bálor Fergal Devitt (born 25 July 1981) is an Irish professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Finn Bálor (), and is a member of The Judgment Day. Devitt is widely known for his ten ...

defeated

Kyle O'Reilly Kyle Edward Greenwood (born March 1, 1987) is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs under the ring name Kyle O'Reilly. He is also known for his time in Ring of Hono ...

to retain the

NXT Championship The NXT Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. It is defended as the top championship of the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. In ...

. In the penultimate match,

Io Shirai is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Iyo Sky (stylized in all caps). She is a member of Damage CTRL and one-half of the current WWE Women's Tag Team Champions with ...

defeated

Candice LeRae Candice LeRae Gargano (''née'' Dawson; born September 29, 1985) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand. She is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion and was a member of The Way. LeRa ...

to retain the

NXT Women's Championship The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on April 5, 2013, t ...

. Other prominent matches included

Santos Escobar Jorge Luis Alcantar Bolly (born April 30, 1984), is a Mexican second-generation ''luchador'' (professional wrestler). He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Santos Escobar. Before his WWE ca ...

defeating

Isaiah "Swerve" Scott Stephon Strickland (born September 30, 1990) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Swerve Strickland and is a former AEW World Tag Team Champion (with Keith Lee). ...

to retain the

NXT Cruiserweight Championship The NXT Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that was created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. Before its retirement, it was defended across the NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live brand divisions, which were d ...

and

Damian Priest Luis Martínez (born September 26, 1982) is an American professional wrestler of Puerto Rican descent. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Damian Priest, and is a member of the stable The Judgme ...

defeating

Johnny Gargano John Anthony Nicholas Gargano (born August 14, 1987) is an American professional wrestler best known under the ring name Johnny Gargano. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is best known for his time in NXT, wh ...

to retain the

NXT North American Championship The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is primarily defended as the secondary men's championship of the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental ...

in the opening bout.

Production

Background

TakeOver In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to t ...

was a series of

shows that began in May 2014, as

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

held their second

-exclusive event, billed as

. In subsequent months, the "TakeOver" moniker became the brand used by WWE for all of their NXT live specials. Titled for being the 31st NXT TakeOver event, TakeOver 31 was scheduled to be held on October 4, 2020. While NXT TakeOver events were originally exclusive to the WWE Network, TakeOver 31 was the first TakeOver to also be available on traditional

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

As a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

that began affecting the industry in mid-March, WWE had to present the majority of its programming from a behind closed doors set. NXT's programming was held at NXT's home base of

Full Sail University Full Sail University is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university in Winter Park, Florida. It was formerly a recording studio in Ohio named Full Sail Productions and Full Sail Center ...

Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,183 according to the 2022 census population estimate. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winter Park was fo ...

. In October 2020, it was announced that beginning with TakeOver 31, NXT would be moving their events to the

, which would feature the new "Capitol Wrestling Center" setup, an homage to the

, the predecessor to WWE. Like the

utilized for

and

's programming, LED boards were placed around the Performance Center so that fans could attend virtually, while additionally, friends and family members of the wrestlers were in attendance, along with a limited number of actual live fans, divided from each other by plexiglass walls.

Storylines

The show included five matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

, or less distinguishable characters to build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on their weekly television program, ''NXT.'' On the September 23 episode of ''NXT'',

won a gauntlet eliminator match defeating

Bronson Reed Jermaine Haley (born 25 August 1988) is an Australian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Bronson Reed. He is a former NXT North American Champion. Professional wrestling c ...

Cameron Grimes :not to be confused with actress Camryn Grimes who voices Mrs. Claus in Mickey Saves Christmas Trevor Lee Caddell (born September 30, 1993) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ...

Kushida is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, better known by his mononymous ring name Kushida. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as Impact Wrestling. He is best known for his tenure in NJP ...

, and

Timothy Thatcher {{Infobox professional wrestler , name = Timothy Thatcher , image = ThatcherMLW2019.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Thatcher at MLW Saturday Night SuperFight , birth_name = Timothy Andrew Moura{{cite web, ur ...

to face

NXT Champion The NXT Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. It is defended as the top championship of the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. In ...

for the title at TakeOver 31. On the September 23 episode of ''NXT'',

won a

battle royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...

to become the number one contender for the

against

at TakeOver 31. On September 23, NXT general manager

William Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is known for his over 20 years spent in WWE, as both a performer and an on-screen authority, and for his ti ...

announced that

would defend the

against

at TakeOver 31. On the August 12 episode of ''NXT'', Kushida and the returning

Velveteen Dream Patrick Clark Jr. (born August 19, 1995) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE where he performed under the ring name Velveteen Dream. Clark began his professional wrestling career in 2014, when he debuted in ...

competed in a triple threat match, to determine who would qualify for the ladder match at TakeOver XXX. After the match, Dream attacked Kushida. On the September 8 episode of ''NXT'', Kushida returned and attacked Dream. On September 26, a match between the two was scheduled for TakeOver 31.

Event

Preliminary matches

The pay-per-view opened with

challenging

for Priest's

. A spot in the match saw Damian Priest use a suicide dive but Johnny Gargano moved out of the way and Priest landed on a cameraman. At the conclusion of a competitive match, Priest managed to reverse Gargano's attempt at his slingshot DDT finisher (known as "One Final Beat") into his own rolling cutter finisher (known as "The Reckoning") which secured him the victory. Next,

faced the

. Kushida was the aggressor for the majority of the match, with Dream only getting brief flurries of offense in. At the match's climax, Kushida locked in his "Hoverboard Lock" submission finisher and Dream tried to escape from it. He managed to hoist Kushida on his shoulders to deliver his own "Dream Valley Driver" maneuver, but still, Kushida did not release the hold, and Dream eventually submitted. Kushida continued to attack Dream after the bell, having to be pulled away by officials.

then challenged

for his

. This marked the first occasion that the cruiserweight championship was defended during the main card of a TakeOver event. The match was competitive, and both men kicked out of their opponent's finisher (the first instance in which Escobar's "Phantom Driver" did not secure him a victory). At the match's conclusion, Escobar's Legado del Fantasma stablemates

Joaquin Wilde Michael Paris (born October 5, 1986) is a American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Smackdown brand, under the ring name Joaquin Wilde. He is a member of Legado Del Fantasma. Paris began his career in 2004 ...

and

Raul Mendoza Raúl Mendoza (born November 25, 1991) is a Mexican professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the name Cruz Del Toro and is a member of Legado Del Fantasma. Professional wrestling career Ear ...

ran in to distract Scott, but were chased off by Ashante "Thee" Adonis, entering to help Swerve. In the confusion, Escobar hit Swerve with a lifting, kneeling double-underhook facebreaker (which later came to be known as "Legado") and earned the pinfall. The penultimate match of the night was for the

defending against

. The two traded high-impact and high-flying maneuvers for many minutes, until LeRae locked in her husband's signature "Garga-No Escape" submission hold. When Shirai reached the ropes to force the break, LeRae inadvertently elbowed the official. Gargano then ran in with a referee's shirt on to try to fast-count the win for his wife, unsuccessfully. He then grabbed the championship belt and gave it to LeRae to use as a weapon, which she did, but Shirai still survived. Following a top-rope Spanish Fly and her signature finishing moonsault, Shirai won the match to retain the championship. Afterward, the mystery biker who had been advertised to make their appearance at the ''TakeOver'' came out to confront Shirai and was revealed to be

Ember Moon Adrienne Reese (born August 31, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Athena. She also appears in AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where she is the current ROH Wom ...

Toni Storm Toni Rossall (born 19 October 1995), better known by the ring name Toni Storm, is a New Zealand-Australian professional wrestler. She is currently signed to AEW, where she is a former AEW Women's World Champion. She previously worked for WWE ...

also confronted Shirai via satellite and confirmed that she has returned to NXT.

Main event

challenged

for the

. The match was physically intense, with the two men trading stiff shots at one another for the bulk of it. Late on a kick by Bálor to the face of O'Reilly knocked him off his feet and he sustained legitimate injury. A knee to the gut of Bálor injured him and he started bleeding from the mouth. O'Reilly also sustained a notable shot to his liver, which was referenced in-storyline in the following days. The end featured Bálor using his "Coup de grâce" finisher (a top rope diving double foot-stomp) on O'Reilly to retain. He offered a handshake to O'Reilly as a sign of respect after the brutal match. After the match, as the show was about to go off the air, Ridge Holland suddenly appeared behind the barricade. He held over one shoulder a badly-beaten

Adam Cole Austin Kirk Jenkins (born July 5, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Adam Cole. He is also known for his tenures with WWE and Ring of Honor (ROH). Col ...

(O'Reilly's

Undisputed Era The Undisputed Era was a professional wrestling Stable (wrestling), stable from WWE's NXT (WWE brand), NXT brand. It formed on August 19, 2017 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III shortly after Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O'Reilly signed with WWE, a ...

stablemate). Holland said nothing, dropped Cole at ringside, and left. The show closed with O'Reilly,

Roderick Strong Christopher Lindsey (born July 26, 1983), better known by his name Roderick Strong, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand, as the leader of Diamond Mine, but is currently inactive due to ...

, and

Bobby Fish Robert Anthony Fish (born October 27, 1976) is an American professional wrestler currently appearing on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenure with WWE, where he performed on the NXT brand and was a member of The Undisputed Era ...

checking on Cole. Both Bálor and O'Reilly sustained legitimate injuries in the match with Bálor suffering a hairline jaw fracture while O'Reilly had broken teeth and other unspecified injuries. Both missed the subsequent edition of ''

'' as a result.

Reception

NXT TakeOver 31 received positive reviews from fans and insiders, with the NXT Championship Match garnering the most praise. Kevin Pantoja of 411mania.com gave the show a score of 9 out of 10 stating: "The COVID era TakeOvers have been good but not great. Well, this one gets back to classic TakeOver levels. The worst thing was a good KUSHIDA/Dream match. Then, you get a heck of an opener and two **** title matches before an all-time banger of a main event. To top it off, the show runs under two and a half hours, which is great." Adam Silverstein of CBSSports.com called TakeOver 31 one of the best shows of the year. He gave the NXT North American Championship match a grade of A−, Kushida vs. Velveteen Dream a grade of B, the Cruiserweight Championship match a grade of A−, the Women's Championship match a grade of B+ and the NXT Championship match a grade of A.

Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON''). He has als ...

of the

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

gave 3.75 stars to the NXT North American, Cruiserweight and Women's Championship matches while giving 3.25 stars to Kushida vs. Velveteen Dream and 4.5 stars to the NXT Championship match.

Aftermath

Ridge Holland was seriously injured on the October 7, 2020 episode of ''

'', putting him out of action for an extended period. As announced during TakeOver, NXT was set to revive

Halloween Havoc Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE for the company's developmental brand, NXT. As the name implies, it is a Halloween-themed show held in October. It was originally produced as an annual pay-per-view ...

as a special edition of ''NXT'' on October 28, hosted by

Shotzi Blackheart Ashley Louise Urbanski (born March 14, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and singer. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Shotzi (shortened from her previous ring name Shotzi Black ...

. On the October 14 edition of the program,

defeated Blackheart to earn another opportunity to challenge

for the

was also given a return bout with

for the

, and both title matches were announced to be "Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal" matches (a reference to

Halloween Havoc (1992) The 1992 Halloween Havoc was the fourth annual Halloween Havoc professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It took place on October 25, 1992, from the Philadelphia Civic Center in Philadelphia, ...

and just such a match between

Jake "The Snake" Roberts Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955), better known by the ring name Jake "The Snake" Roberts, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs as manager to Lance Archer. He is be ...

and

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

returned to ''NXT'' on the October 14 edition, cutting a promo before stablemates

and

won a match to become #1 contenders to the

NXT Tag Team Championship The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on January 23 ...

, saying he would be medically cleared to wrestle again the following week and that if Ridge Holland were not already laid up in hospital,

The Undisputed Era The Undisputed Era was a professional wrestling stable from WWE's NXT brand. It formed on August 19, 2017 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III shortly after Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O'Reilly signed with WWE, although Fish and O'Reilly had ...

would have put him there.

's injuries were more severe than first thought, and he underwent surgery on October 9 to repair his jaw fracture, with expected recovery time of six weeks. He returned to ''NXT'' on November 18 to announce his return, being interrupted by Pat McAfee and his "Kings of NXT" faction (of which Holland was meant to be a member prior to his injury), who then brawled with the also-returning

in advance of a

WarGames match WarGames is a specialized steel cage match in professional wrestling. The match usually involves two teams of either four, five, or more wrestlers locked inside a steel cage that encompasses two rings placed side by side. The cage may or may not ...

between the two sides at the next TakeOver event.

Results

Notes

References

External links

* {{WWEPPV, NXT TakeOver 2020 WWE Network events October 2020 events in the United States NXT TakeOver 2020 in professional wrestling in Florida Events in Orlando, Florida Professional wrestling in Orlando, Florida Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television