NXT TakeOver Main Event Cut Short, Bright Future For Damien Priest

WWE gave us NXT TakeOver 31 last night, and the TakeOver main event may have been cut short. Also, there appears to be a bright future for Damien Priest, the current NXT North American Champion.

NXT TakeOver Main Event Cut Short

Last night, from the brand new Capitol Wrestling Center, WWE gave us NXT TakeOver 31. According to reports, the NXT TakeOver main event was cut short.

The match, a brutal and hard hitting affair between Kyle O’Reilly and champion Finn Balor, did not seem to be abbreviated.

However, according to reports after the end of the show, the main event was actually cut short.

The premature ending had something to do with some injuries suffered during the match.

According to Wrestling Observer, both the champion and the challenger suffered injuries during the match. Balor was noticeably bloody at the conclusion.

Per the report, it was Balor’s apparent jaw injury that had the match wrap up early. There is not yet news on the severity of the injury, however.

There wasn’t news indicating how much of the match we lost, though thinking back to the Sunday main event, it did not necessarily feel overly short or rushed.

That said, this one bears watching. Hopefully, the injury to Balor is nothing too severe.

Last time an NXT Champion suffered an injury, it meant vacating the title and led to Balor’s current reign.

Stay tuned for the latest developments, and to see what that may mean for NXT.

Bright Future For Damien Priest

Generally speaking, if you are deemed worthy of holding a championship, the company likes you. This is true of the North American Champion, as WWE sees a bright future for Damien Priest.

Priest had a successful defense of his recently won North American Championship at TakeOver 31. His first singles title in NXT is just the beginning, if things go according to plan.

You can see that the company is high on the Superstar. He hasn’t been around that long, relatively speaking, yet is already a singles champion.

The vision WWE (specifically, NXT) leadership has for Damien Priest was a driving force behind his TakeOver match with Johnny Gargano.

According to the Wrestling Observer, Gargano was picked as Priest’s opponent because, well, Johnny Wrestling would make Priest look good.

As a rule, if you have high hopes for someone, you want to do anything you can to make sure they get over. As a champion, you want them to work strong matches and of course, to look good in the process.

To that end, Johnny Gargano has a strong track record of delivering exceptional TakeOver performances. His matches with and against Tomaso Ciampa speak for themselves.

Sunday’s match with Damien Priest was just the latest in Gargano’s string of impressive TakeOver matches. This one served a purpose of cementing a bright future for Damien Priest.