NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day 2021

NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day 2021 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view and WWE Network event, produced by WWE for their NXT brand division. It took place on February 14, 2021, and was broadcast from the Capitol Wrestling Center, hosted at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. It was the 33rd NXT TakeOver event.
==Production==
===Background===
TakeOver is a series of professional wrestling shows that began on May 29, 2014 as WWE's NXT brand held their second WWE Network-exclusive live broadcast, billed as TakeOver. In subsequent months, the "TakeOver" moniker became the brand used by WWE for all of their NXT live WWE Network specials.
====Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic====
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WWE's NXT events had to be presented from a behind closed doors set at NXT's home base of Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida since mid-March 2020; WWE's programming for Raw and SmackDown were also done in this manner but at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, before moving to Orlando's Amway Center in August in a setup dubbed the WWE ThunderDome (which was relocated to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida in December). In October, it was announced that beginning with TakeOver 31, NXT would be moving their events to the Performance Center, which would feature the "Capitol Wrestling Center" setup, an homage to the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, the predecessor to WWE. Like the ThunderDome for Raw and SmackDown, LED boards were placed around the Performance Center so that fans could attend virtually, while additionally, friends and family members of the wrestlers were in attendance, along with a limited number of actual live fans, divided from each other by plexiglass walls.
===Storylines===
The show included matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters to build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines are produced on their weekly television program, NXT.
On the February 3 episode of NXT, Pete Dunne demanded NXT Champion Finn Bálor give him a title match. Bálor then came to the ring and told Dunne he would get his match at Vengeance Day. Men's Royal Rumble winner Edge then came to the ring. He spoke about how seeing the drive, passion, and focus on wrestling in NXT helped motivate him to make his comeback. He said he had never held the NXT Championship and told Bálor and Dunne that he would be watching their match at Vengeance Day, and regardless of who won, it may help him decide which world championship he would challenge for at WrestleMania 37.
In January 2021, the sixth Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic was announced, and for the first time, a women's version was also announced. The finals of both the men's and women's tournaments were scheduled for Vengeance Day.
==Match Preview==
Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm vs. Mercedes Martinez 	Preview
Finn Bálor vs. Pete Dunne 	Preview
Johnny Gargano vs. Kushida 	Preview
Dakota Kai & Raquel González vs. Ember Moon & Shotzi Blackheart	Preview
MSK vs. Grizzled Young Veterans 	Preview
==Results==
;
;
*Dark Match: Bronson Reed defeated Isaiah Scott
*Dakota Kai & Raquel González defeated Ember Moon & Shotzi Blackheart in the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic final (17:40)
:*
*Johnny Gargano (c) defeated Kushida to retain the NXT North American Championship (24:51)
*MSK (Wes Lee & Nash Carter) defeated Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) in the Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic final (18:28)
:*
*Io Shirai (c) defeated Toni Storm and Mercedes Martinez in a Triple threat match to retain the NXT Women's Championship (12:15)
*Finn Bálor (c) defeated Pete Dunne to retain the NXT Championship (25:11)
===Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic bracket===
==== Men's ====
† After Ashante Adonis & Desmond Troy suffered storyline injuries at the hands of Karrion Kross, they were replaced in the tournament by Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher.
====Women's====
==Other on-screen talent==
;Commentators
*Vic Joseph
*Beth Phoenix
*Wade Barrett
*Carlos Cabrera 
*Marcelo Rodríguez 
;Interviewer
*McKenzie Mitchell
;Pre-show Panel
*Sam Roberts
*Brandon Walker	
;Ring announcer
*Alicia Taylor
;Referees
*Drake Wuertz
*Darryl Sharma
*D.A. Brewer
*Tom Castor
==See also ==
*List of NXT pay-per-view events
==External links==
* NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day at WWE.com
* NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day Pre-Show on WWE Network
* NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day on WWE Network
* NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day at CAGEMATCH.net
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events
Category:2021 NXT pay-per-view events
Category:NXT Takeover
Category:2021 events
Category:NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day