Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor: Winner and Reaction from NXT TakeOver: The End

In his first title defense since winning the NXT Championship in April, Samoa Joe defeated Finn Balor on Wednesday in a steel cage match at NXT TakeOver: The End to retain the belt.   

WWE captured a photo of an exhausted Joe after he hit Balor with a Muscle Buster for the win:

WWE and WWE Universe provided some of the top highlights from a match that lived up to the hype: 

Joe took a photo with his championship belt backstage after the win:

Former pro wrestler Sid Vicious alluded to the possibly of this being Balor's final match NXT:

"

Winner and still NXT Champion, Samoa Joe! Good match. One wonders where Balor will be headed at this point. Hmm... #NXTTakeOver

— SID VICIOUS (@SychoVicious) June 9, 2016"

Meanwhile, Aaron Oster of Rolling Stone thinks the lack of a send-off for Balor suggests otherwise: 

After several unsuccessful attempts at beating Balor for the strap, Joe finally got the job done in shocking fashion at an NXT live event in Lowell, Massachusetts.

The win came after losses to Balor at both NXT TakeOver: London and NXT TakeOver: Dallas, but the third time was the charm for the Samoan Submission Specialist.

After his record-breaking NXT Championship reign ended, the Irish Superstar revealed it was initially difficult to move forward, according to WWE.com:

"

It was definitely a feeling of surrealism. You tend to picture winning the championship. You always have the dreams and vision of how you are going to win, but you never imagine how you are going to lose. I remember feeling like an ant laying on the mat with Joe standing over me.

I had the championship for 292 days, so that title became a part of me and who I was, and what I represented. After all the hard work I put into NXT, and to suddenly wake up one day and realize that title, achievement and crown you've worked so hard for isn’t there, it forced me to start questioning my ability and whether or not I belonged.

"

During the lead-up to Joe finally winning the title, he often made it clear he was obsessed with becoming NXT champion for the first time.

Balor took on a similar obsession prior to NXT TakeOver: The End and expressed in his promos that taking back the belt consumed him.

Despite the prospect of an angry and determined Demon coming after him, Joe continued to show confidence in myriad ways, including this tweet:

Balor and Joe got physical on numerous occasions leading up to TakeOver on NXT programming and even at house shows, which prompted general manager William Regal to make their decisive match occur within the confines of a steel cage.

Wednesday's bout marked the first cage match in NXT history, and it was bolstered by the hallmark combination of brutality and technical acumen that all of the matches between Balor and Joe have featured to this point.

Their chemistry was once again evident, and they put forth a main event-caliber performance on a card that was stacked with several high-quality matches.

Balor's best efforts to become the first two-time NXT champion were thwarted, and Joe remains the face of the NXT brand.

With WWE's main roster set for a brand split, Balor's loss will undoubtedly lead to speculation that a call-up is forthcoming.

As for Joe, a call-up is also possible, but things seem to be trending toward an NXT Championship feud between him and Shinsuke Nakamura.

If Wednesday marked the final NXT match between Joe and Balor as well as Balor's NXT swan song, then it was a fitting end to a memorable and entertaining run.

For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics, or catch the latest episode in the player below (some language NSFW).

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.