NXT TakeOver: Dallas was the ninth NXT TakeOver professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's developmental territory, NXT. The event aired exclusively on the WWE Network and took place on April 1, 2016, at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. The event was held as part of the WrestleMania 32 weekend festivities, in turn being the first TakeOver to take place during a WrestleMania weekend.

Five matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Finn Bálor defeated Samoa Joe to retain the NXT Championship. Another prominent match included Asuka defeating Bayley to win the NXT Women's Championship: the match was also notable as the start of Asuka's record-breaking reign as champion. Additionally, Shinsuke Nakamura, in his WWE debut, defeated Sami Zayn, and Austin Aries, also in his WWE debut, defeated Baron Corbin. The event also saw the final match of Zayn in NXT and Corbin's final match in NXT for seven years.

TakeOver was a series of professional wrestling events that began in May 2014, as WWE's then-developmental league NXT held its second WWE Network-exclusive event, billed as TakeOver. In subsequent months, the "TakeOver" moniker became the brand used by WWE for all of its major NXT events. On December 12, 2015, TakeOver: Dallas was scheduled as the ninth NXT TakeOver event and the first to be held during a WrestleMania Weekend. Specifically, it was held on April 1, 2016, as a support show for WrestleMania 32. It took place at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center and was named after the venue's city of Dallas, Texas. Tickets went on sale on December 19 through Ticketmaster.

Finn Bálor, who was defending the NXT Championship at the event, revealed his original plan for his entrance involving riding a horse, despite never have ridden one. The horse would have played into the Texan culture theme for Bálor's entrance as the event was hosted in Texas. He eventually scrapped the idea when he learned that Triple H attempted a similar feat, in which the horse kept bucking during rehearsals, and those plans were dropped.

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

At TakeOver: London, Finn Bálor successfully retained the NXT Championship against Samoa Joe. At the same event, Baron Corbin defeated Apollo Crews and declared his intentions of going after the NXT Championship, however, Sami Zayn returned from injury at the event also wanting a shot at the title. This led to a triple threat match between Corbin, Zayn and Joe that took place on January 27 episode of NXT to determine the #1 contender for the NXT Championship. The match ended in a no contest after Corbin submitted to both Zayn's Sharpshooter and Joe's Crossface at the same time. Zayn and Joe faced each other in a #1 contender's match on February 17 episode of NXT, where the match ended in a draw after both men's shoulders were pinned. To resolve this issue, Zayn and Joe faced each other in a two out of three falls match on March 9 episode of NXT, where Joe defeated Zayn to become #1 contender for Finn Bálor's NXT Championship at TakeOver: Dallas.

NXT General Manager William Regal then announced that Zayn would face NXT's newest signing Shinsuke Nakamura at the event.

On the March 2, 2016, episode of NXT, Austin Aries made his debut. However, while walking down to the ring, Baron Corbin attacked Aries. NXT General Manager William Regal announced the next week that both were scheduled for a match at Takeover: Dallas.