Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Samoa Joe: NXT TakeOver: Toronto Winner and Reaction

Shinsuke Nakamura fell to Samoa Joe Saturday night at NXT TakeOver: Toronto, losing his first match since joining NXT as well as the NXT Championship.

Joe took advantage of the referee having his back turned outside the ring by hitting Nakamura with a low blow before planting him on the steel steps. Samoa Joe then took Nakamura out with a Muscle Buster to score the victory.

As seen in the following GIF courtesy of WWE NXT, Joe celebrated becoming the first two-time NXT champion:

Nakamura and Joe have been engaged in arguably the bitterest rivalry in all of wrestling over the past few months due to their obsession with the NXT title.

After losing the championship to the King of Strong Style at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, the Samoan Submission Specialist initially looked as though he was ready to turn over a new leaf.

He gave Nakamura credit and showed respect, but that was short-lived, as Joe suckered the Japanese Superstar in and instead orchestrated a beatdown that left Nakamura on the shelf for weeks.

That was only the start of Joe's path of destruction, however, as he implored NXT general manager William Regal to either hand him the title or bring him Nakamura. When Regal failed to comply, Joe instead took his frustrations out on the rest of the NXT roster.

Nakamura was eventually able to return, which led to an all-out brawl that added even more intensity to what was already a heated feud.

In the weeks that followed, Joe and Nakamura opted to play mind games with one another, as evidenced by the stalemate in this video, courtesy if WWE's official Twitter account:

Although it appeared as though the challenger backed down from the champion, Joe spun the situation in an effort to make Nakamura look bad, per WWE NXT:

Joe continued his attempts to mess with Nakamura's psyche with a number of different tactics, including refusing to be in the same ring with his rival during the contract signing for their match at TakeOver.

The time for fun and games was over Saturday, though, as two of the hardest-hitting competitors in wrestling once again laid everything on the line in a high-stakes encounter.

Nakamura and Joe left each other beaten, bruised and battered in their first match in Brooklyn, New York, but it can be argued that their Toronto bout was even more aggressive and brutal.

Neither Superstar held anything back, which captivated the already-raucous Canadian crowd and made for a match fitting of the NXT Championship.

The fact that Nakamura lost suggests that he and Joe are likely to continue their feud, which is a good sign for NXT considering how entertaining they have been together.

As is always the case with NXT, the result brings up questions regarding what it means for them potentially getting called up to the main roster. While both are almost certain to make it there eventually, it seems unlikely that there are immediate plans for either Superstar to make the leap.

Regardless of what the future holds for either Superstar, they put on another great performance Saturday and helped NXT continue its rapid ascent.

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