Things are definitely heating up in the land of NXT, with the rivalry between Finn Balor and the NXT Champion Samoa Joe reaching a boiling point. Both the superstars will face off in what could be the final match of their intense rivalry at NXT TakeOver: The End, inside a steel cage! Joe and Balor have attacked each other at every opportunity they got, and with their match being made official, the NXT Universe can expect a showdown for the ages, as both the superstars look to give it their all on June 8th.

William Regal also announced a match between American Alpha and The Revival for the NXT Tag Team Championships at NXT TakeOver. Ever since American Alpha defeated The Revival at NXT TakeOver: Dallas for the titles, the former champions have been on a quest for revenge, and have taken it out on other tag teams. American Alpha will be defending their titles for the first time against The Revival, and it will be interesting to see which team comes out on top.

Last but not least, Asuka is arguably the most dominant NXT Women’s Champion in history, and with Nia Jax defeating Bayley last week, it will be interesting to see who faces Asuka for the title. There have been rumors going around about Bayley possibly being injured at the hands of Jax, but we will likely find the opponent for Asuka on this week’s show, along with the announcement of a few other matches for NXT TakeOver: The End. So without further ado, let us now take a look at what happened on this week’s edition of NXT.

1. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa versus TM61 (Shane Thorne and Nick Miller)

This week marked the debut of TM61, formerly known as The Mighty Don’t Kneel (TMDK). The duo had set the independent scene on fire, and WWE signed them up not too long ago. They add to the already impressive 006_NXT_05202016ej_0558--e8083644860677462794bc6c011f6dc5tag team division on NXT, and are two of the most exciting athletes in the business. The duo took on Gargano and Ciampa, and controlled the majority of the match and displayed impressive team work. However, in the end, Gargano and Ciampa turned the tables and connected with their Superkick/knee combination to pick up the victory.

“The Greatest Man That Ever Lived” Austin Aries made his way out, and talked about being great. He said “the best” is overused, and listed his accomplishments before saying in spite of his greatness, he was being overshadowed by others. Aries then talked about going after the NXT Championship before he was interrupted by Shinsuke Nakamura! Nakamura spoke in Japanese, but Aries said he doesn’t understand Nakamura to which he replied, “Yeah, me neither”. Nakamura then said he would be the next NXT Champion, before William Regal made his way out. Regal said he was impressed by both their acumen, and said they could do more. He announced a match between the two at NXT TakeOver, as the crowd erupted! Aries and Shinsuke shook hands, before staring each other down. This could easily top the Zayn/015_NXT_05202016ej_0756--21e0be59cf4d07770611d7b2d7e5f486Nakamura match.

2. No Way Jose versus Jonathan Ordegun

Jose danced his way to the ring, and looked to continue his impressive win streak on NXT. Jose worked on Jonathan before dropping him with the Airplane Spin. Jonathan tried to mount a comeback with some rights, but Jose once again stopped him in his tracks before dropping him with the Cobra Clutch Slam to pick up the victory.

3. Nia Jax versus Carmella versus Alexa Bliss in a Number One Contender’s match for the NXT Women’s Championship

Jax and Carmella went at it in the beginning, while Bliss waited for the right moment to strike. Bliss then found the opportunity and worked on Carmella, with the surfboard leading to Bliss’ showdown with Jax. Bliss looked impressive and grounded Jax, and then connected with the Sparkle Splash, but Carmella broke up the pin at the last m018_NXT_05202016ej_0902--6cca6834b10154ada6eb4066a941a1a3inute. Carmella and Bliss worked together to neutralize Jax, and Carmella connected with a suicide dive on Jax outside the ring! However, Jax stopped Carmella’s offense and dropped her with a splash. She then connected with the leg drop to pick up the victory.

This show did a nice job of loading up on newsworthy stuff towards the next live special, but again this feels like such a sudden announcement and build to the next Takeover. Next week is go-home week and there are some very strong matches for the special on paper, so I’m looking forward to the final push they give to the big show.