After weeks of demanding The King of Strong Style's return, Samoa Joe gets his wish, as NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura returns with a vengeance. Video courtesy of the award-winning WWE Network.
Shinsuke Nakamura will put his NXT Championship on the line in a huge rematch against Samoa Joe in the main event of NXT TakeOver: Toronto.
Full TakeOver: Toronto coverage | Tickets available now
There is no love lost between champion and challenger, especially since TakeOver: Brooklyn II, where The King of Strong Style not only dethroned Joe, but left him with a dislocated jaw. The Samoan submission specialist, not content to let that be the lasting image of their rivalry, brutally attacked Nakamura several weeks later, sending him out of Full Sail University in an ambulance.
Samoa Joe later obtained the medical diagnosis of the NXT Champion, revealing that The King of Strong Style would be out of action for 6-12 weeks. Not wanting to wait for his title opportunity, Joe gave NXT General Manager William Regal an ultimatum: “Bring me Nakamura, or hand me my title!” The brute then made good on a promise to destroy the NXT roster until Regal rendered a decision, bulldozing through the Ealy twins and ruining the debut of Dan Matha. After he prematurely ended a match between Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake in ruthless fashion, Joe re-stated his demands and got an answer, but not the one he was looking for.
Nakamura returned, carrying the NXT Championship and sporting a neck brace. However, The King of Strong Style quickly showed that he was ready to fight, ripping off the brace and charging right at his rival. The two fought through a swarm of security guards, raining blows down on each other. In the end, it was Nakamura who made the ultimate statement, leaving Joe knocked out cold in the middle of the ring with a devastating Kinshasa. After the carnage cleared, Regal made this huge rematch official for Toronto.
Who will walk out of what is sure to be an all-out war for the NXT Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura or Samoa Joe? Find out during NXT TakeOver: Toronto, exclusively on WWE Network, tonight at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT!