The road to TakeOver: Dallas made its final stop at Full Sail University, just two days before the hottest brand in sports-entertainment invades the Lone Star State. Many of the competitors set for action during Friday’s extravaganza took to the ring Wednesday night to make final adjustments before the biggest night of their careers. Who came out looking strong heading into the historic WWE Network broadcast?

Just days removed from the epic TakeOver: Dallas special, this week’s edition of NXT took a special look back at the incredible night, including American Alpha’s and Asuka’s big championship victories, Shinsuke Nakamura’s unforgettable debut and the all-out war between NXT Champion Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe.

Plus, in the main event, “The Drifter” Elias Samson sought to silence Apollo Crews once and for all, while Crews looked to capitalize on the momentum from his huge Raw debut and send Samson drifting away.

With NXT TakeOver: Dallas in the rear-view mirror, the Superstars of NXT are jockeying for position as the champions look for their next contenders. Meanwhile, the NXT Universe were on the edge of their seats waiting for this week’s main event, featuring the Wednesday night debut of The King of Strong Style, Shinsuke Nakamura.

As some of NXT’s most popular stars make an impact on Raw and SmackDown, there’s never been a better time for the rest of the roster to try to make their mark between the yellow ropes, or for some new faces to introduce themselves to the NXT Universe. This week featured some of both, as new NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha accepted the challenge of Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady, and Apollo Crews found himself in the crosshairs of Samoa Joe. Plus, the fun-loving No Way Jose made his NXT debut!

Finn Bálor made his long-awaited return to NXT this week, his first appearance since Samoa Joe ended his 292-day reign as NXT Champion. The Demon didn’t mince words, saying that all of his matches with the submission specialist could have gone either way. But before he could elaborate, his opponent in the main event, Elias Samson, interrupted Bálor with a song mocking the former champion. Bálor put an end to the impromptu concert, silencing The Drifter with a Pele Kick ahead of their battle.

After the brutal ending to last week’s match between Bayley and Nia Jax, NXT General Manager William Regal revealed that Bayley was not cleared to compete and would not be cleared in time to get her rematch against NXT Women’s Champion Asuka at TakeOver on June 8. Though Bayley will get her opportunity down the line, Regal announced that Nia Jax, Carmella and Alexa Bliss would square off in the evening’s main event to determine Asuka’s challenger in two weeks.

Tensions were running high in NXT, with TakeOver: The End… just one week away. Everyone was on edge, including NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival. Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder declared that they were going to take back their titles from American Alpha. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa disagreed, saying that not only can’t The Revival beat Jason Jordan & Chad Gable, Dash & Dawson couldn’t beat them. The trash-talking led to a scuffle between the two teams, with Gargano & Ciampa sending the No. 1 contenders scrambling up the ramp, setting the stage for a showdown between the duos later in the evening.