Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe: Winner and Reaction from WWE NXT TakeOver: Dallas

Finn Balor successfully retained the NXT Championship Friday night in perhaps his toughest title defense yet against Samoa Joe in the main event of NXT TakeOver: Dallas.

After Balor kicked out of Joe's Muscle Buster finisher, Balor got back to his feet and got a second wind. He connected with a Slingblade clothesline and a dropkick into the corner, followed with his Coup de Grace finisher. 

Balor didn't go for the pin, but instead he went for his underhook brainbuster finisher. The Samoan Submission Machine countered that and applied the Coquina Clutch and appeared to be on the verge of choking the Demon out and winning the NXT title. But Balor countered into a roll-up for the three-count and retained his title.

WWE provided a shot of Balor celebrating the title after it was over:

The match itself was another Balor-Joe classic, carrying over from their match at NXT TakeOver: London in December, but there were stoppages early on due to Joe suffering a gash on his right eye. That caused multiple stoppages early on that halted the pace of the match.

Nevertheless, it was a great way to cap off a great show, and Smackdown announcer Mauro Ranallo agreed:

The Demon has been the unquestioned face of NXT since winning the brand's top title from Kevin Owens at Beast in the East this past summer. After doing so, however, he became a marked man.

He initially struck up a friendship with Samoa Joe, which led to them winning the inaugural Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic at NXT TakeOver: Respect. After Joe was denied an immediate title shot by NXT general manager William Regal, though, he turned on Balor.

That led to weeks of the former Ring of Honor and TNA star imposing his will on the leader of the Balor Club, which culminated in a title match at NXT TakeOver: London in December.

Balor managed to come out on top in a hard-fought affair, but the Samoan Submission Specialist was undeterred as he attempted to regain the No. 1 contendership.

He did precisely that by defeating Sami Zayn in an epic 2-out-of-3 Falls bout, which set the stage for a huge rematch with Balor at NXT TakeOver: Dallas.

Due to the success he enjoyed all over the world prior to signing with NXT, Joe made it clear he felt as though he was entitled to the NXT Championship on a number of occasions leading up to the big event, via WWE NXT on Twitter:

His obsession was obvious, but Balor revealed he was obsessed in his own right with being the best that sports entertainment has to offer, as seen in this video courtesy of WWE's official Twitter account: 

It hasn't taken long for Balor to establish himself as the face of NXT and one of the most popular Superstars under the WWE umbrella, but the result of Friday's match was very much up in the air due to uncertainty regarding both competitors moving forward.

While Balor and Joe have been great for NXT, they both could be called up to the main roster at any time, and they would undoubtedly provide a major spark in that role, especially with so many big-name talents out due to injury.

With main roster opportunities likely on the horizon for both men in the very near future, they put on another fine performance at NXT TakeOver: Dallas, and they once again proved why NXT is considered by many to be the hottest brand in professional wrestling.

Balor's victory suggests he is in NXT to stay for the time being, although it isn't outside the realm of possibility that he could appear on Raw Monday and pull double duty for a period of time due to NXT's friendly taping schedule.

The result also opens the door for Joe to make the leap to the main roster as early as Monday, which would be a long time coming for the 37-year-old veteran.

With Balor still holding the title, a number of intriguing contenders could potentially emerge, including new signees such as Shinsuke Nakamura and Austin Aries.

The talent level in NXT is extremely impressive, and both Balor and Joe showed at TakeOver they are among the best it has to offer.

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