TakeOver was a series of professional wrestling shows that began in May 2014, as WWE's then-developmental leagueNXT held their second WWE Network-exclusive event, billed as TakeOver.[1] In subsequent months, the "TakeOver" moniker became the brand used by WWE for all of their NXT live specials. Announced on September 28, 2015, Brooklyn III was scheduled as the 16th NXT TakeOver event and was held on August 19, 2017, as a support show for that year's SummerSlampay-per-view. It was subsequently the third event in the TakeOver: Brooklyn chronology, a subseries of TakeOvers that were held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York as a support show for WWE's annual SummerSlam pay-per-view.[2] Tickets went on sale on June 9 through Ticketmaster.[3]
Storylines
The card included matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television program, NXT.[4][5]
In the main event, Bobby Roode defended the NXT Championship against Drew McIntyre. McIntyre performed a "Future Shock" on Roode for a near-fall. McIntyre performed a "Claymore" on Roode, who placed his foot on the bottom rope to void the pinfall at a two count. Roode performed a "Glorious DDT" on McIntyre for a near-fall. Roode performed a second "Glorious DDT" on McIntyre and attempted a third "Glorious DDT" but McIntyre countered. McIntyre performed a Glasgow Kiss and a second "Claymore" on Roode to win the title and to give Roode his first televised loss in NXT. After the match, reDRagon appeared and distracted McIntyre. Adam Cole, making his debut, attacked McIntyre along with reDRagon and performed a superkick on McIntyre. Cole hoisted the NXT Championship as the event ended.[6]
Aftermath
On the August 22 episode of SmackDown Live, Bobby Roode made his main roster debut as a face, defeating Aiden English. On August 24, Asuka relinquished the NXT Women's Championship due to a collarbone injury sustained during her match with Moon, thus ending her record-breaking reign.[7] Her reign lasted 510 days (WWE recognizes her reign as lasting 523 days due to the episode airing on tape delay on September 6, 2017). On the September 11 episode of Raw, a video promo aired announcing Asuka's main roster debut.[8]