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Karrion Kross Wins Back The Title He Never Lost At NXT TakeOver

Posted: Apr 9th 2021 By: Josh Coulson - TheSportster.com

Karrion Kross has defeated Finn Balor to become a two-time NXT Champion at TakeOver: Stand and Deliver.

Finn Balor's impressive reign as NXT Champion came to an end at the hands of Karrion Kross at Stand and Deliver.

Finn Balor has been doing exactly what he set out to do since returning to NXT. Win championships and fend off everyone who tries to take those from him. The trouble is, it could be argued Balor only won the NXT Title for a second time after a separated shoulder forced former champion Karrion Kross to relinquish the title.

Kross has been on a collision course for the title he never lost ever since he made an almost unnaturally quick recovery from that injury. He finally called time on not only his shot but also Balor's reign on night two of TakeOver: Stand and Deliver. The now-former champion put on an impressive performance against Kross, but once the challenger started to gather momentum, there was no stopping him.

Balor actually looked pretty dominant during certain parts of the match, something Kross hasn't been used to in NXT. However, when the new champion was on top of Balor doling out hammer blows to the back of his head, it became clear that the end of Balor's second title reign was nigh. Kross continued to pile on the pressure after that before eventually putting the Irishman out of his misery.

Kross is now just the fourth man in NXT history to win its richest prize more than once. Balor, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Samoa Joe are the other three. It has been clear since he arrived that those who run the black and gold brand have big plans for Kross. Hopefully, this second reign won't be marred by a nasty injury and will last a lot longer than a week.

NXT's first-ever two-night TakeOver has played host to some big matches and a lot of changes ahead of the brand's move to Tuesday nights. Not only has a new NXT Champion been crowned, but Raquel Gonzalez ended Io Shirai's dominant title reign on night one, and there are no longer two Cruiserweight Champions. Bring on SmackDown this Friday and then two nights of WrestleMania.