WWE presented us with the NXT TakeOver 36 event from the Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, Florida last night. Overall four championship matches were on the line and three of those matches witnessed title changes. Only the NXT Women’s Champion was able to retain her title although she already received her next opponent.
Speaking of the title changes at NXT TakeOver 36, Ilja Dragunov defeated WALTER to become the new NXT UK Champion. Ilja forced WALTER to tap out to the Sleeper Hold submission move.
With this loss, WALTER’s record-breaking 870-day reign as the NXT UK Champion has come to an end. He won the title back on April 5, 2019, at NXT TakeOver: New York (during the WrestleMania 35 weekend) while this also marks the first title reign for Ilja on the NXT UK roster.
WWE NXT TakeOver 36 Full Results With Highlights: August 22, 2021
WALTER’s longest reign ended at NXT TakeOver 36
Some also consider WALTER as the longest-reigning champion of the modern era but WWE doesn’t officially count it. Rather, Brock Lesnar is touted to be the longest Universal Champion who captured the belt for 503 days while CM Punk had the longest run with the WWE Championship for 434 days. Becky Lynch is the longest-reigning champion from the Women’s Division who held the belt for 373 days while WWE records it as 398 days due to tape delay.
Speaking of record-breaking title reigns, Samoa Joe has become the new WWE NXT Champion. During NXT TakeOver 36, Joe became the new champion by defeating Karrion Kross in the main event match. Joe used the rare muscle buster move on Kross to get the pinfall win and capture the strap.
This is Joe’s third reign with the NXT Title which happened in his first match on the brand since his return, a few weeks ago after getting released by the WWE. Kross won the title back at “Takeover: Stand and Deliver” Night Two on April 8 from Finn Balor and held the title for 135 days.
The title win of Joe at NXT TakeOver 36 is historic since he became the first-ever three-time NXT Champion. The likes of Finn Balor, Karrion Kross have held the belt on two occasions. As mentioned above, this was Joe’s first since his return. His final in-ring appearance occurred on the February 10, 2020, RAW episode.