NXT TakeOver Respect: Finn Balor, Samoa Joe Pushed at Expense of Baron Corbin

The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic at NXT TakeOver: Respect should have been a crowning moment for up-and-coming Superstar Baron Corbin.

Instead, Triple H and company did what Big Brother, WWE Creative, has been criticized for doing so often: They gave the win to the guys who need it least. 

WWE NXT champion Finn Balor and Samoa Joe defeated Corbin and Rhyno in the finals of the Dusty Classic on Wednesday night.

It shouldn't be surprising that two of NXT's biggest draws were declared the winners. When these two declared their intention to team up in August, fans had to know this super team would make its way into the finals at NXT TakeOver: Respect. 

Having the two biggest stars in the company win this tournament doesn't do anything for either man. They are already at the top, already on course to face each other for the NXT Championship in the near future, like at the next TakeOver event in London. 

Corbin, on the other hand, would have benefited greatly from winning this event with his partner, Rhyno. A Corbin win could have catapulted the Superstar into the NXT main event scene. Pinning either Joe or Balor would have put his name into the conversation for a title match. Instead, it's just another loss in a big match. 

Corbin has always been considered a raw but talented wrestler. His seconds-long squash matches for most of his NXT career have offered mere glimpses at Corbin's strength. 

Corbin has been a dominant force again while teaming with Rhyno during the Dusty Classic. In his first match of the evening, Corbin helped make Chad Gable look far superior than he is, especially during the execution of Gable's German suplex. 

"

Best Baron Corbin match. #WWENXT #DustyClassic

— Scott Fishman (@smFISHMAN) October 8, 2015"

In the finals, Corbin was a monster. He hit both Balor and Joe with convincing, striking blows. He let the match come to him, not rushing moves. It might have been his best overall match in NXT, between his in-ring moves and the story he and the other three men in the ring told throughout the finals. 

Corbin was saved by the NXT creative team, as Rhyno ate the pin following a Muscle Buster and Coup de Grace. Instead, Corbin was just a spectator to the two guys who least needed a win taking the trophy home.

Where Corbin goes from here is unclear. It seems just as likely that Corbin could make a run at the NXT title as it does he becomes the next victim of the Apollo Crews unbeaten streak. 

That's what happens when the chips don't fall your way. Instead of NXT TakeOver: Respect being Corbin's coming-out party, it seemed like it was his End of Days.