The 2014 NXT TakeOver was the inaugural

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- ...

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 or ...

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 e ...

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 vari ...

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

developmental territory In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

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- ...

. The event aired exclusively on the

WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television t ...

and took place on May 29, 2014, at NXT's home arena,

Full Sail University Full Sail University is a private for-profit university in Winter Park, Florida. It was formerly a recording studio in Ohio named Full Sail Productions and Full Sail Center for the Recording Arts. The school moved to Florida in 1980 and began ...

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 f ...

. Five matches were contested during the main broadcast and one match prior to the televised portion of the show. The main event was the first high-profile

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. ...

defense in

Adrian Neville Benjamin Satterley (born 22 August 1986), better known by his ring name Pac, is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he was the inaugural AEW All-Atlantic Champion. He is one-third of the ...

's title reign after winning the championship at

NXT Arrival NXT Arrival (stylized as NXT ArRIVAL) was a professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's developmental territory, NXT. The event aired exclusively on the WWE Network and t ...

as he wrestled

Tyson Kidd Theodore James "TJ" Wilson (born July 11, 1980) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler better known by the ring name Tyson Kidd. He is currently signed to WWE, where he works as a producer. The final graduate of the Hart Dungeon, Wilson ...

. In another prominent match, the tournament finals for the vacant

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 ...

was contested as

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

defeated

Natalya Natalya (russian: Наталья) is the Russian form of the female given name Natalia. The name Natasha (russian: link=no, Наташа), being originally a diminutive form of Natalya, became an independent name outside the Russian-speaking state ...

to win the title.

Production

Background

In 2012,

restructured their

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 ...

from being a

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...

-based competition television show to a

for their main roster. In February 2014, the promotion held its first live special for NXT that was uniquely titled

Arrival Arrival(s) or The Arrival(s) may refer to: Film * ''The Arrival'' (1991 film), an American science fiction horror film * ''The Arrival'' (1996 film), an American-Mexican science fiction horror film * ''Arrival'' (film), a 2016 American science ...

, which was also the very first event to air live on WWE's online streaming service, the

, which launched earlier that same month. The promotion scheduled their next WWE Network event for NXT as an event called TakeOver. It was scheduled to be held on May 29, 2014, at NXT's home arena,

Storylines

The card comprised five matches. The matches 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 that built tension and culminated 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, ''

''.

Event

The commentators were Tom Phillips,

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 t ...

and

Byron Saxton Bryan Jesús Kelly (born August 20, 1981) is an American professional wrestling commentator, ring announcer, and former professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he works as a backstage interviewer on '' Raw'' and color comment ...

. The pre-show panel consisted of Christian,

Paul Heyman Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former promoter, photographer, and executive. He is currently signed to WWE, appearing on the SmackDown brand as manager for Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweig ...

and

Renee Young Renee Jane Paquette is a Canadian-American television personality currently working as a backstage interviewer for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). She was previously known for her time in WWE between 2012 and 2020, where she served as a commentator, ...

Preliminary matches

The first match saw

Adam Rose Raymond John Leppan (born 20 July 1979) is a South African retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE under the ring name Adam Rose. Making his debut on the South African independent circuit in 1995, Leppan signed with ...

face

Camacho Camacho is a surname of Spanish, Portuguese or French origin. Notable people with the surname include: * Camacho (wrestler), one of the stage names of Tevita Fifita (born 1983), Tongan-American professional wrestler * Alejandro Camacho (born 1954) ...

. Rose executed a "Party Foul" on Camacho to win the match. Next, The Ascension ( Konnor and

Viktor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

) defended 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 2 ...

against Kalisto and El Local. Viktor pinned El Local after the "Fall of Man" to retain the title. After that,

Sami Zayn Rami Sebei ( ar, رامي سبعي; born July 12, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sami Zayn, and is a member of The Bloodline. Prior to jo ...

faced

Tyler Breeze Matthew Clement (born January 19, 1988) is a Canadian professional wrestler and professional wrestling trainer. He is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Tyler Breeze as a trainer at the WWE Performance Center. From 2010 to 2012, he pe ...

to determine the #1 contender to the

. During the match, Zayn executed a "Blue Thunder Bomb" on Breeze for a near-fall. Breeze executed a "Supermodel Kick" on Zayn for a near-fall. In the end, as Zayn attempted a "Helluva Kick" on Breeze, Breeze executed a "Beauty Shot" to win the match. There was a segment with

Mojo Rawley Dean Muhtadi ( ar, دين موهتادي; born July 17, 1986) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and former American professional football player. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Mojo Rawle ...

confronting Rusev and

Lana Lana may refer to: *Lana (given name) *Francesco Lana de Terzi (1631–1687), Italian Jesuit priest and scientist *Lana (wrestler), professional wrestler and pro wrestling manager *''Wild Energy. Lana'', a 2006 Ukrainian fantasy novel Sciences *L ...

; Rusev dominated the resultant brawl. In the penultimate match,

(accompanied by her father, Ric Flair) faced

(accompanied by WWE Hall of Famer

Bret Hart Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling back ...

) for the vacant

. During the match, Natalya applied the

sharpshooter A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with " marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" ...

on Charlotte, who countered into the "Figure-Eight Leglock", which Natalya would counter. Charlotte applied the sharpshooter on Natalya but Natalya escaped. Charlotte pinned Natalya after "Natural Selection" to win the title.

Main event

In the main event,

defended the

against

. During the match, Neville executed a pop-up sitout powerbomb on Kidd for a near-fall. Kidd performed a

springboard A springboard or diving board is used for diving and is a board that is itself a spring, i.e. a linear flex-spring, of the cantilever type. Springboards are commonly fixed by a hinge at one end (so they can be flipped up when not in use), and ...

"Blockbuster" on Neville for a near-fall. Kidd applied the

on Neville and transitioned into the "Dungeon Lock", with Neville touching the ropes to break the hold. In the end, Neville executed a super hurricanrana and a "Red Arrow" on Kidd to retain the title.

Aftermath

With the scheduling of NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way in September 2014, the "

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 ...

" name would subsequently be used as the brand name for NXT's live shows. The TakeOver events were held several times a year, often as support shows for one of WWE's main shows, such as

WrestleMania WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, mos ...

SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...

. The events were originally exclusive to the WWE Network until TakeOver 31 in October 2020 when they also became available on traditional pay-per-view (PPV). The TakeOver series came to an end in 2021 with the final TakeOver held as TakeOver 36 in August that year. In September 2021, the NXT brand went through a restructuring, being rebranded as "NXT 2.0", reverting, in part, to a developmental territory for WWE. It was speculated that with this rebranding, the TakeOver series would be discontinued. On November 9, 2021, NXT's next PPV and WWE Network event was announced as

WarGames ''WarGames'' is a 1983 American science fiction techno-thriller film written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes and directed by John Badham. The film, which stars Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, and Ally Sheedy, follow ...

. While WarGames had been held as a TakeOver event from 2017 to 2020, the announcement confirmed that the 2021 event would not be a TakeOver event, thus ending the TakeOver series.

Results

NXT Women's Championship Tournament (2014)

On April 24, 2014, Paige was stripped of the

, by NXT's commissioner

John Bradshaw Layfield John Charles Layfield (born November 29, 1966), better known by the ring name John "Bradshaw" Layfield (abbreviated to JBL), is an American retired professional wrestler and football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on t ...

, because she couldn't defend both the NXT Women's and

WWE Divas Championship The WWE Divas Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship in WWE. The championship was created by WWE in 2008, and was introduced as part of the WWE brand extension via a storyline by then SmackDown General Manager Vickie ...

, ending her reign at 308 days. Right after, during the tapings for the May shows, a tournament was announced to take place to determine the next champion.

defeated

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- ...

on May 29, 2014 to become the new champion.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:NXT TakeOver

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 ...

2014 in professional wrestling in Florida 2014 WWE Network events Events in Florida Professional wrestling in Winter Park, Florida May 2014 events in the United States