Samoa Joe wins NXT Championship at TakeOver 36
Samoa Joe is the first three-time NXT Champion in history.
In the main event of TakeOver 36 on Sunday night, Joe defeated Karrion Kross to win the NXT Championship. The finish of the match saw Joe pin Kross after hitting a Muscle Buster.
This was Joe’s first match since February 2020. After concussion issues forced him out of action, he was a color commentator on Raw until being released by WWE this April. Joe made his return to the company in June, joining NXT as an on-screen authority figure and part of the talent scouting department.
After feuding with Kross while he was an authority figure, there was an angle where Joe resigned from that position, got reinstated to the NXT roster, and was given a title match against Kross at TakeOver. NXT general manager William Regal said earlier in tonight’s show that, even though he’s supposed to stay unbiased, he hoped that Joe kicked Kross’ ass.
Kross made his main roster debut on Raw last month, losing to Jeff Hardy. He has a 3-2 record in his matches on Raw.
During his first stint in NXT, Joe held the NXT Championship twice in 2016.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
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