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WWE NXT TakeOver 31 is all set to pop off tonight (Sun., Oct. 4, 2020) at 7 p.m. ET, live on WWE Network!
CagesideSeats.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, match-by-match coverage of NXT TakeOver 31 below, beginning with the first match of the evening and right on through to the main event.
Tonight's show comes our way from Orlando, and it's offering up the usual stacked card. While you're waiting for the show to begin, dig into our predictions - as well as a preview of the entire card!
Kick your off your shoes, relax, and enjoy all the action with the best damn pro wrestling community on the interwebs. And remember to keep refreshing!
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WWE NXT TAKEOVER 31 QUICK RESULTS
Finn Bálor def. Kyle O’Reilly
Io Shirai def. Candice LeRae
Santos Escobar def. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott
Kushida def. Velveteen Dream
Damian Priest def. Johnny Gargano
WWE NXT TAKEOVER 31 LIVE BLOG & MATCH COVERAGE
Melt the glaciers inside my veins, thaw my eyes, crack the glaze. Trapped under ice at a fathomless depth, but I know I exist, I can see my breath. Come up to the surface, the ice age has passed, hallelujah, it is over at last. A new day will follow a nuclear blast, but for right now, I’ve got to liveblog this here pro wrestling show, folks.
The show opens with a video package reminding us of the history of WWE, specifically its beginnings as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation as a way of introducing the Capitol Wrestling Center as NXT’s new venue.
Damian Priest (c) vs. Johnny Gargano (NXT North American Championship)
Gargano ducks a right, body blows in the corner, backing off from kicks and he bails to the floor, baiting Priest to follow. Back in, clobbering Damian with overhand punches, whip reversed, up and over, roll away, duck a kick, duck an elbow, but he runs right into a heel kick! Priest stalking after him with kicks, throwing Johnny into the corner and lighting him up with punches.
Floating out, thinking the tilt-a-whirl Gargano Escape but Damian shrugs him off. Whip across, big back elbow, into a knuckle lock. Headed up top, walking the ropes, slip down, hit a forearm but Gargano slips through his legs looking for a powerbomb to the floor. No dice but Johnny pulls him off the apron and he hits the floor hard!
Off the ropes, suicide dive connects, Gargano follows it up by pulling Priest into the steel steps! Back inside, clubbing blows with Damian trapped in the ropes, rights and lefts, off the ropes with a dropkick to the sternum! Johnny off the second with a senton atomico... NO GOOD! High-angle half-crab applied, Priest rolls over and kicks him off!
Gargano to the floor, back inside, Damian with right hands, Johnny fires kicks back but gets chucked into the corner. Boot up, leg pick, Priest stomps him down in the corner! The damage done, shaking feeling back into the injured knee, elbows to the forearm, kicks, big reverse STO and the Archer of Infamy is rolling!
Charging back elbow, Broken Arrow... NOT ENOUGH! Johnny with a back elbow, sidestep, roll-through enzuigiri blocked and Priest swats him down with a right hand. Release full nelson facebuster, hoist him up, Gargano reverses into a nearfall! Off the ropes, Priest clobbers him with a right but Johnny fires a discus lariat right back!
Enzuigiri connects, Damian returns one of his own, springboard elbow to the jaw! Priest slapping his injured knee, he’s feeling it, Cyclone Kill misses and Gargano posts him shoulder-first! Johnny dumps him and goes for a dive, caught, he slips out to the apron, basement superkick connects but Priest uses the Cyclone Kill as a legsweep on the apron! RAZOR’S EDGE INTO THE APRON!
Slow to capitalize, Gargano chop blocks him but gets laid out by a lariat right after! Off the ropes, jockeying for position, Johnny with a standing Shiranui and then a northern forearm for two! Priest sidesteps a kick, Gargano with a victory roll... NOPE! Looking for the slingshot DDT, blocked, sunset flip blocked, Damian with a goozle... SITOUT CHOKESLAM CAN’T QUITE PUT JOHNNY WRESTLING AWAY!
Gargano out to the floor to recover, Priest charges, tope con giro... JOHNNY PULLS SECURITY IN THE WAY TO TAKE THE DIVE! Low blow, back inside, basement superkick... SO CLOSE! Gargano Escape applied in the middle of the ring, adjusting it, Damian scraping and clawing and he barely gets his foot on the bottom rope!
Action to the apron, jockeying for position, back in the ring, Gargano with a pair of superkicks, slingshot DDT countered...
Damian Priest wins by pinfall with the Reckoning to retain the NXT North American Championship.
We see footage of Undisputed ERA and Finn Balor arriving at the venue earlier today.
KUSHIDA vs. Velveteen Dream
KUSHIDA on the attack during entrances, beating Dream down! Whip reversed, sliding kick, Velveteen bails and throws a chair into the ring! KUSHIDA grabs the chair and waves it at him but referee DA Brewer makes him drop it and rings the bell!
Action to the floor, a merry chase but KUSHIDA lands a kick and follows it up with a handspring heel kick that staggers VD on the apron! Back inside, an inverted Divorce Court ruins Dream’s night! Drop toehold attempt, Velveteen stays on his feet so KUSHIDA wrenches his arm and applies kind of a modified Ode to Jim Breaks before falling back on the arm to wrench it!
VD recovers and dumps KUSHIDA to the floor, diving on him with a Giant Baba brain chop. Back inside, uppercut connects, cover for one and a Bronco Buster to follow. Forearms out of the corner, KUSHIDA backing him into the ropes, whip reversed, handspring caught into a sleeper hold! Trying to grind him down but KUSHIDA gets to his feet and backs him into the corner for the break.
Big back elbow, trading right hands, KUSHIDA with mounted punches! Hip toss, handspring into a dropkick, real one-man Time Splitters stuff! Wristlock stomp dodged, an elbow knocks Dream down! Wristlock stomps to the back, turn him around, wristlock stomps to the face, Bryan Danielson-style! KUSHIDA posts him shoulder-first, and then again a second time!
Dream’s arm trapped in the steps... KUSHIDA DROPKICKS THE STEEL AND VELVETEEN IS LEFT SCREAMING AGONY! VD gets a superkick, Purple Rainmaker countered into a cross armbar! Dream to the floor, right hands to break and a thumb to the eye! Powerbomb connects but KUSHIDA reverses the cover into an armbar!
Desperate windmill punches break the hold, following it up with the Dream Valley Driver, headed up top, Purple Rainmaker connects but he hit it with the injured arm and comes up screaming agony! Slow lazy cover, no dice, KUSHIDA with wrist control and Dream hits a short-arm lariat! VD up top again, KUSHIDA pops up to join him, jockeying for position, Hoverboard Lock off the top!
Dream screaming, KUSHIDA’s got the hold as Velveteen reaches out but he repositions him to be stuck in the middle of the ring! Dream posts to his feet but KUSHIDA still has the hold! Fireman’s carry but KUSHIDA reapplies the hold and keeps it locked even as the Dream Valley Driver connects! Wrenching it in...
KUSHIDA wins by submission with the Hoverboard Lock.
Post-match, KUSHIDA rains more violence down on the Velveteen Dream, punching before locking a cross armbar in! Wrenching the fingers back, referees hit the ring and break it up! They pry KUSHIDA off but he goes right back to it and grabs an omoplata while Dream’s screams make a merry symphony!
We get a promo telling us that NXT is doing a Halloween Havoc this year.
Cut to Johnny Gargano coaching Candice LeRae backstage and then to Io Shirai warming up in her entrance gear.
Isaiah “Swerve” Scott vs. Santos Escobar (c) (NXT Cruiserweight Championship)
Circling, collar and elbow, Escobar with an armbar, Scott counters, rolls through a tijeras, tijeras off his own and we get a stalemate! Leg pick, roll-through, waistlock, Santos rolls through, victory roll for two! Trading quick pins, stalemate, Swerve with a solebutt and Escobar drops him with a forearm.
Low bridge puts the champ to the floor, moonsault off the apron takes him out! Off the apron again with a corkscrew moonsault, throwing Santos back inside but he rolls out the next side. Isaiah off the ropes... MOONSAULT TOPE! Back inside, cover for two, outside again and Swerve wrenches his wrist against the post!
Back inside, Ode to Jim Breaks, wrenching it way back, stomping the arm after, fireman’s carry takeover dropped into a short armscissors! Scott ends up on the floor and Santos dives on him so hard he goes into the steel chain of the barricade! Back inside, following it up with a lariat, up top and Escobar hits an avalanche Frankensteiner!
Powerdrive elbow, only two, choking Isaiah in the ropes, jawing at him, windmilling right hands and Swerve clobbers him with rights of his own! Punches in the corner, Swerve fired up, uppercut in the corner, diving elbow to the back, Santos to the floor and Scott comes off the apron with a boot! Lining him up, another boot, dropping down, scooping him up and throwing him back in.
Slingshot in, big reverse STO... NOPE! Perching up top, waiting for Escobar to recover, pulling him in, jockeying for position... DDT OFF THE TOP! SO CLOSE! Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza running interference, shoulderbreaker from the champ can’t keep Swerve down! To the apron, crotching the champ, right hand, up top with him... SCOTT FRANKENSTEINERS SANTOS INTO HIS STABLEMATES!
ASHANTE ADONIS COMES DOWN TO RUN MENDOZA AND WILDE OFF! Back inside, Escobar with a superkick, Phantom Driver... ISAIAH SCOTT KICKS OUT! Santos looking for a follow up, settling on the Three Amigos. One, two, all three connect! Up top... SWERVE ROLLS AWAY FROM THE FROG SPLASH! Scott going back to the arm... HE STOPS ON IT IN KIND OF AN ODE TO JIM BREAKS POSITION AND IT SNAPS!
HOUSE CALL CONNECTS! UP TOP... 450 SPLASH ISN’T ENOUGH TO KEEP SANTOS ESCOBAR DOWN! Action to the apron, thinking about the JML Driver but Escobar shrugs him off and puts him into the exposed turnbuckle! Santos gets him back inside, underhooks...
Santos Escobar wins by pinfall with a double underhook facebreaker to retain the NXT Cruiserweight Championship.
We see Kyle O’Reilly and Finn Balor backstage as they prepare for their match later tonight.
Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai (c) (NXT Women’s Championship)
LeRae with a side headlock, shot off, drop down, handspring, big hip toss into a dropkick and Shirai kips up! Candice to the floor, back inside, block a crucifix, to the corner, sidestep the charge, monkey flip but Io lands on her feet! LeRae bails again, Shirai going for a sunset flip to the floor but she blocks and hits a springboard knee strike!
Io with an Asai Moonsault, giving as good as she gets, throwing Candice back inside and putting boots to her in the corner. Slingshot knees, cover for two, LeRae with a lungblower for two of her own. Clubbing blows, headscissors takeover, Shirai lands on her feet but Candice drops her with a lariat! Pressing the attack, top wristlock applied.
Backbreaker, another two, ramming Io into the corner face-first, charging uppercut, taking Shirai on a tour of the turnbuckles and putting boots to her. Biels, tossing the champ around, straight suplex, knee to the back sets up a standing neck crank. Looking for the step-up senton, nobody home, Io with a double stomp to get herself back into it!
Shoulder blocks, flapjack, Tiger feint kick connects! Springboard dropkick, la casadora blocked, facebuster and a senton as LeRae regains the momentum, but she goes for a quebrada and Io cuts her down with a kick! Underhook backbreaker, Shirai headed up top but Candice pulls her down with a powerbomb! Io is able to roll through and hit the double knees in the corner!
Sunset flip, Shirai kicks out, Shotei sets up a German suplex! LeRae with a German of her own, a lungblower, the quebrada... SO CLOSE! Candice with right hands, Io counters one into an arm-trap crossface in the middle of the ring! Wrenching it back, but LeRae rolls through into a pin to counter and locks Gargano Escape on in return!
Shirai crawls... and gets the ropes! Candice accidentally clobbers referee Darryl Sharma on the break! Io hits the Beach Break and heads up top, diving moonsault... THE KNEES ARE UP AND SHIRAI GOES THROUGH SHARMA AS SHE SPRAWLS AWAY! Candice deathlocks the leg, Curb Stomp... NO REFEREE TO COUNT THE PIN! Johnny Gargano comes down with a ref shirt on but even with his fast coutn, Io kicks out!
Sharma recovers, Gargano distracts him, LeRae clobbers Shirai with the belt but she still kicks out! Up top, jockeying for position... SPANISH FLY! Io back up top...
Io Shirai wins by pinfall with the diving moonsault to retain the NXT Women’s Championship.
Post-match, Toni Storm appears on the tron to congratulate Shirai and make sure everyone knows that she’s back in NXT as of right now.
We get a video of a woman rolling up to the arena in a black motorcycle helmet and she makes her entrance...
...IT’S EMBER MOON! SHE’S BACK!
Backstage, Ashante Adonis is interviewed and says he was sick of Santos Escobar and his boys running wild, but now it’s all about him, and it’s showtime.
Finn Balor (c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly (NXT Championship)
Circling, O’Reilly with a probing leg kick, Balor with a waistlock, Kyle reverses to a hammerlock, waistlock takedown, jockeying for position on the mat. Finn with a headscissors and they stalemate! Side headlock, block the shoot off, KOR with a cross armbar attempt, holding onto the wristlock and wrenching the arm repeatedly.
Standing armbar, takedown, backhammer and knees to the elbow follow. Hammerlock applied, hanging onto the arm, Balor finally shrugs it off and hits a dropkick! Finn grabs a seated armbar, senton to the shoulder to break, applying a hammerlock after. Putting O’Reilly into the corner, elbows and lariats, wrenching the injured arm over the ropes and hammering him with chops after.
KOR recovers and lights him up with a strike rush, shoulder armbreaker, rolling butterfly suplexes into a swing-out butterfly DDT... NOPE! Balor fighting out of a back suplex, Kyle kicks his leg and follows it up with another flurry of strikes. Knee in the ropes, a forearm, another knee, Finn shoves him away and they end up trading shots in the middle of the ring.
O’Reilly stumbles after a kick to the midsection, Balor puts him into the corner, shoulder thrusts, hard whip across puts KOR’s sternum into the turnbuckles! Attacking the kidney, forearms and boots, seated senton across his back and Balor grabs a seated rear chinlock! Elbow drop across the kidneys, Cobra Twist applied but a hip toss breaks it!
Kyle with the Regalplex... NO GOOD! Shoulder armbreaker countered into an inverted headlock elbow drop! Sling Blade connects, Balor can see victory but KOR cuts him off with a dropkick to the knee! Finn with the Cobra Twist again, but Kyle counters with a heel hook! Sharpshooter reverses that, but O’Reilly crawls to the ropes and forces the break!
Balor stomping away in the corner, both men trade strikes until they’re laid out on the mat! KOR to his feet first but Finn catches a kick and pastes him with a slap across the face! Jockeying for position over a suplex, Kyle gets a guillotine choke! Balor faiding, O’Reilly with a hard knee... VERTICAL DROP BRAINBUSTER NEARLY ENDS IT!
Kyle with an armbar attempt, Finn keeping his hands clasped... KOR BREAKS HIS GRIP BUT BALOR GETS TO HIS FEET AND BREAKS THE HOLD WITH STOMPS! Elbow strikes, Finn with an inverted facelock, rising to his feet, inverted 1916... NOT ENOUGH! Balor up top, Kyle cuts him off... DRAGON SCREW INTO THE TOP ROPE! AND ONE INTO THE MIDDLE ROPE!
O’Reilly up top... DOUBLE STOMP WIPES BALOR OUT! KOR up top again, knee drop across the knee and he goes back to the heel hook in the middle of the ring! Wrenching it in, shifting grips, inverted heel hook, Finn fights back with kicks but Kyle adjusts to the Volk Han double heel hook! Rolling on his side for maximum tension as Balor crawls, reaching and desperate... AND HE GETS THE ROPES!
Kicking Finn’s leg out of his leg, the champion has trouble standing up but manages to get the double leg into the double stomp! Into the corner, KOR with a knee, a release German suplex, Balor with another double stomp and both men are down and out! Finn up top...
Finn Balor wins by pinfall with Coup de Grace to retain the NXT Championship.
Post-match, a man who I don’t recognize but the internet tells me is Ridge Holland rolls up with Adam Cole over his shoulder, dumping him into the ringside area and leaving. Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish come over to check on him.
That’s the show, folks.