Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole had the unenviably task of trying to follow Walter vs. Ilja Dragunov 2 at tonight’s (Sun., Aug. 22, 2021) NXT TakeOver 36 event from the Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, Florida. It was already going to be a tall task to live up to the promotion for the match itself, billed as the Undisputed Finale, a 2-out-of-3 Falls match that would mark the end of their feud.
They each got to choose a stipulation for one of the falls, with General Manager William Regal picking the third. In the first, O’Reilly chose a straight up singles match. It should come as no surprise, then, that he was the winner of that fall.
AND JUST LIKE THAT!@KORcombat picks up a quick first fall in the straight-up match! Bring on the STREET FIGHT!!!#UndisputedFinale#NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/jk5lXsDsVr
— WWE (@WWE) August 23, 2021
O’Reilly surprised Cole, as you can see, by countering a Panama Sunrise with a victory roll and stole an early lead.
The second fall would be contested in a Street Fight, Cole’s choice. It should come as no surprise, then, that he was the winner of that fall.
.@KORcombat - 1️⃣
— WWE (@WWE) August 23, 2021
@AdamColePro - 1️⃣
Bring on the #SteelCage!#NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/8RyOAvfhpD
That sent it to a third and final fall in what Regal chose to be a steel cage match.
Cole had badly beaten O’Reilly up by this point, and then he just kept doing that. Eventually, he got a pair of handcuffs and literally cuffed O’Reilly go the top rope, where he was free to tee off.
Except O’Reilly managed to get ahold of Cole and tie him up into a submission that Cole tapped to. Yes, with one arm handcuffed to the rope, O’Reilly still submitted Cole to win the match.
The saga complete.
Get complete NXT TakeOver 36 results and coverage of every match on the card right here.