WWE NXT results: Adrian Neville and Finn Balor into final of title tournament
Pair to square off at TakeOver Rival for championship opportunity
Thursday 5 February 2015 15:55, UK
Britain’s Adrian Neville will tackle Ireland’s Finn Balor at TakeOver: Rival, with the winner earning a shot at the NXT Championship.
Neville overcame Baron Corbin in Orlando on Wednesday evening in the semi-finals of the title tournament, while Balor conquered friend and frequent tag-team partner Hideo Itami.
The grapplers will now square off in their first singles encounter in NXT next Wednesday and the successful Superstar will fight the victor of Sami Zayn versus Kevin Owens at a later date.
Newcastle high-flyer Neville downed Corbin with the Red Arrow after the latter had been attacked and thrown into the steel ring post mid-match by long-time adversary Bull Dempsey.
And so while Neville will combat Balor next week, Corbin will battle Dempsey, the man he has vanquished twice before at Full Sail University, in a No Disqualification Match.
Victory
Neville then headed to the announce desk for a close-up view of Balor’s main-event showdown with Itami, which, as expected, was full of clean and clinical wrestling manoeuvres.
Japanese sensation Itami seized the upper hand when he rolled out a flotilla of punches but a dropkick and the Coup de Grace from Balor allowed him to pick up the victory and secure a date with Neville.
Elsewhere, tension grew between allies Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks as their shot at Charlotte’s NXT Women’s Championship edges closer, with the two involved in a shoving match on Wednesday.
Lynch was going one-on-one with Bayley – the final prong in TakeOver Rival’s Fatal Four-Way title tussle – and opted to take a breather when her California born opponent gained a head of steam.
However, Banks, who was observing the action from ringside, then hurled Lynch back into the squared circle and straight into a match-losing Bayley-to-belly suplex, causing the pals to come to blows.
Plus, Emma’s visit to NXT ended in failure, with the Australian Diva forced to tap out to Carmella after being caught in the former hairdresser’s submission hold.
