Shinsuke Nakamura had conquered the landscape of professional wrestling in Japan and in the seven months he’s been in NXT, has made his mark across the country. Samoa Joe has been around the independent scene for more than a decade and has laid waste to the competition anywhere he sets foot. Nakamura had beaten Joe back at TakeOver Brooklyn II for the NXT Championship and Joe has been laser-focused on getting his title back. At NXT TakeOver Toronto, Joe got his wish for a rematch and what a match it was.
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In a match that carried a different pace than their first encounter, Nakamura and Joe instantly brought out their intensity out on one another. Both men attacked one another with flurries of kicks and chops, wearing each other down. Nakamura went a traditional route of applying choke holds and kneed Joe while he was captured, but Joe used his submission specialty to bring Nakamura’s energy down.
A highlight of the match was Nakamura being able to actually german suplex Joe and follow up with a Kinshasa, only for Joe to kick out at the last second. Going for a second Kinshasa, Joe caught Nakamura and locked in the kimura clutch. Joe then added a triple threat attack of a german suplex, a dragon suplex, and a straight jacket suplex, but Nakamura still persevered…for only a moment.
Joe planted Nakamura into the steel steps and brought him back into the ring for a Muscle Buster and hit the King of Strong Style to get the pinfall. Samoa Joe has become the first two-time NXT Champion and ends Nakamura’s seven-month winning streak.
