WWE NXT Results: Biggest Winners, Losers, Moments from NXT TakeOver: San Antonio

NXT took over San Antonio Saturday night, invading the historic Texas city for its latest live special, during which the brand crowned two new champions and spotlighted some of the best and brightest young stars the industry has to offer.

Bobby Roode captured the NXT Championship in a superb main event, defeating Shinsuke Nakamura cleanly in the center of the ring. The Authors of Pain ended DIY's inspirational run as tag team champions, and Asuka successfully defended her women's title, rounding out the slate of title bouts.

Eric Young scored a big win for Sanity over Tye Dillinger, and Roderick Strong netted a victory that should help his elevation up the ranks.

Would those victories be enough to secure "winner" status Saturday night, or would their opponents overshadow them, stealing the glory and building momentum for themselves, even in defeat?

Take a look now with this exclusive recap of NXT TakeOver: San Antonio.

Winner: Bobby Roode

It was the beginning of the Glorious Era Saturday night, as Bobby Roode defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to become the new NXT champion, capitalizing on his opponent's injured knee and pinning him after an implant DDT.

For Roode, it represents one of the smoothest transitions to NXT since Finn Balor.

The former TNA star arrived with considerable hype and wasted little time proving himself a legitimate star. He looked the part, acted the part and was received as such. Now, he is the top dog on a brand desperate for stability, given the recent talent departures to the main roster.

A proven commodity with a Superstar aura, expect Roode to thrive as the premier star in NXT.

He did Saturday night, entering the arena with a bevy of beauties on his arms and leaving with gold around his waist.

Loser: Sanity

It is clear that NXT management sees Sanity as the brand's answer to The Wyatt Family. It has presented Eric Young, Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe and Nikki Cross as an enigmatic faction whose intentions are not clear but whose penchant for chaos and suffering is.

But Saturday night, it took all three male competitors to defeat a midcard star like Tye Dillinger who, no matter how popular he may be right now, has never sniffed the main event scene, let alone consistently competed for the top prize on the brand.

In fact, only Cross was truly protected, taking a big bump to avoid defeat in the Fatal 4-Way Women's Championship match and smiling creepily at Asuka in a manner that suggested she would continue to be a thorn in the titleholder's side.

That the crowd was not entirely receptive for the faction upon its entry in the opening contest suggests NXT Creative has a ways to go in getting the group as over as it hopes it will be.

Winner: Asuka

Asuka is the most well-booked, badass Superstar in all of WWE.

Yes, all of WWE.

The NXT women's champion was challenged by three different competitors Saturday night. Facing 3-1 odds, it never once felt as though her title reign was in jeopardy. No, she withstood a brief bit of offense from Billie Kay and Peyton Royce, unloaded with a series of stiff kicks and pinned the latter to retain her gold.

At this point, The Empress of Tomorrow is running out of credible contenders.

That is both a testament to her credibility as champion and the brand's inability to build a star who even approaches her level of performance and legitimacy.

Winner: Andrade "Cien" Almas

It has been a tumultuous run for Andrade "Cien" Almas to this point in his NXT career.

His babyface run failed miserably, and he has been unable to catch on as a heel, most likely the result of NXT Creative's inconsistent use of him. Facing great uncertainty, he arrived in San Antonio for a match with Roderick Strong and proceeded to deliver the finest performance of his stint with the brand.

Almas looked confident and strong for the first time. He looked like he belonged in the ring with a world-class competitor like Strong, not a fish out of water, as he had so many times before.

He still needs to find himself as a character, but he has in-ring charisma and plays the role of condescending heel to perfection when the opportunity arises. Capitalizing on a strong performance such as this one should be one of the priorities for a writing team that has failed Almas more than once.

Loser: The Revival

The former NXT tag team champions, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder, took home Tag Team of the Year honors Saturday night during the TakeOver pre-show.

That would be the one and only appearance the best tag team of this generation would make.

How did Wilder and Dawson go from being featured parts of the NXT brand to afterthoughts on one of its live specials?

A devastating knee injury suffered by Shane Thorne of TM61 hampered their creative direction, but the fact that they were not even granted a backstage segment or interview of any kind was a surprise.

And not a good one.

On a night when NXT's star power was called into question more than once, disregarding the "top guys" the way management did stuck out like a sore thumb.

Or pinky, in Dawson's case.

Winners: Peyton Royce and Billie Kay

From their pre-show antics, which saw them gleefully accept the award for Breakout Stars of the Year, to their hijacking of Asuka's Female Competitor of the Year award, Billie Kay and Peyton Royce had an entertaining and productive night before they set foot inside the squared circle for their Fatal 4-Way match for the NXT Women's Championship.

Once the bell rang and the action was underway, the match revolved around the Aussies and their attempts to both avoid punishment and dethrone Asuka.

Best friends who refused to fight each other, they vowed to win the title together, something they came close to doing after putting Nikki Cross through a table and turning their attention to Asuka.

Alas, championship victory was not meant to be, but Royce and Kay earned "winner" status for their growth as characters and their elevation to the role of lead heels for a rebuilding division.