NXT TakeOver: Chicago was the 15th NXT TakeOver and inaugural TakeOver: Chicago professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The event aired exclusively on the WWE Network and took place on May 20, 2017, at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois as part of that year's Backlash weekend.

Five matches were contested at the event. In the main event, The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar) defeated DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) in a Ladder match to retain the NXT Tag Team Championship. In other prominent matches, Pete Dunne defeated Tyler Bate to win the WWE United Kingdom Championship, Asuka defeated Nikki Cross and Ruby Riot in a triple threat match to retain the NXT Women's Championship, and Bobby Roode defeated Hideo Itami to retain the NXT Championship in the penultimate match.

TakeOver was a series of professional wrestling shows that began in May 2014, as WWE's then-developmental league NXT held their second WWE Network-exclusive event, billed as TakeOver. In subsequent months, the "TakeOver" moniker became the brand used by WWE for all of their NXT live specials. Announced on April 3, 2017, TakeOver: Chicago was scheduled as the 15th NXT TakeOver event and was held on May 20, 2017, as a support show for that year's Backlash pay-per-view. It was held at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. Rosemont is a suburb of Chicago from which the event takes its name. Tickets went on sale April 8 through Ticketmaster.

The card included matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on their weekly television program, NXT.

At TakeOver: Orlando, Bobby Roode retained the NXT Championship over Shinsuke Nakamura. On the April 19 episode of NXT, Roode came out and insulted Nakamura. Hideo Itami interrupted Roode's speech, slapped him and attacked him with a GTS. The following week, general manager William Regal made a title match between the two official for TakeOver: Chicago.

Asuka successfully defended the NXT Women's Championship against Ember Moon at TakeOver: Orlando, but during the match, Asuka shoved the referee onto Moon to avoid Moon's finisher, the Eclipse, continuing Asuka's transition into a villainess that began at TakeOver: Toronto. On the May 3 NXT, Moon, Ruby Riot, and Nikki Cross were the final three combatants remaining in a #1 Contender's Battle Royal. During the match, Asuka attacked all three women, resulting in a no contest and cementing Asuka's heel turn. After the match, William Regal announced that Asuka would defend the NXT Women's Championship against Moon, Riot, and Cross in a fatal four-way match at TakeOver: Chicago. However, Moon suffered a legitimate shoulder injury after being thrown out of the ring awkwardly during Asuka's attack. Therefore, Moon was pulled out of the match, making the match a triple threat.

On May 6, at a United Kingdom Championship Tournament live event, Tyler Bate defeated Joseph Conners to retain the WWE United Kingdom Championship. Following the match, it was announced that on May 7 at the United Kingdom Championship Special, Bate would defend his title against Mark Andrews, who had become the number one contender after defeating James Drake. Bate would go on and win the match. Also on May 7, Pete Dunne defeated Trent Seven to become the new number one contender for the United Kingdom Championship at TakeOver: Chicago.

In the opening match, Eric Young faced Roderick Strong. Strong performed "End of Heartache" on Young to win the match.