NXT TakeOver: XXX Predictions
WWE
It’s going to be a busy weekend in wrestling and hopefully there will be a lot of good action. The busy weekend is going to kick off with the 30th edition of TakeOver. While most of these matches were made a few weeks prior, there are a couple matches I could’ve seen going on the card, but I think this is the final card. It still is a great card and should be a solid PPV. I think most people are most interested to see Pat McAfee getting into the ring against Adam Cole, but I could be wrong, there are a lot of potentially great match lined up. Here are my predictions for the show.
*Predicted winners are bolded
*Match Card is likely not in exact order
- Men’s Triple Threat Tag Team Match
Breezango vs. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch vs. Legado del Fantasma
WWE
It looks like this match will go on in the pre-show and it should be an exciting match. The winner of the match gets a shot at the NXT Tag Team Championship. I think this match belongs to Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza, because they seem to have the most momentum of the bunch. They’ve been on a little bit of a hot streak and Santos Escobar is on a streak of good momentum as well, so I’m going with Legado del Fantasma for the win.
- Men’s Ladder Match: NXT North American Championship
Bronson Reed vs. Damian Priest vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream
WWE
This match will probably be the biggest toss-up of the night. I could see literally every competitor winning this match. It looks like Damian Priest is the current odds-on favorite, but I think the winner will be somebody that has won the belt already. Somebody that really didn’t have a fair shot with the title. I think the winner will be Johnny Wrestling. His first reign as NA Champion was recognized to last less than a month and I think he will get a decent reign coming up. He could elevate some lesser known talent, but to be fair, I could see anyone winning this match and doing similar things with the belt. If Dexter Lumis were in the match, I would’ve predicted him to win, but an ankle injury is holding him out of the contest.
- Men’s Singles Match
Finn Bálor vs. Timothy Thatcher
WWE
I think this contest will be pretty exciting and I think that it has the potential for match of the night if given enough time. With that being said, I think Thatcher just has the momentum right now and he will win the match. He is the current favorite and while it wouldn’t shock me to see Bálor win, I don’t expect it.
- Women’s Singles Match: NXT Women’s Championship
Io Shirai (C) vs. Dakota Kai (with Raquel González)
WWE
The only women’s match on the card should be solid, but I’m not going into the match expecting a lot. Io Shirai is top tier in the WWE and although Kai is a proven competitor, I don’t think she is ready to be the new Women’s Champion. This match could turn into another opportunity down the line for Kai, but it would shock me to see her win here. There are so many great female competitors in NXT and Io Shirai could have a lot of great potential matches down the line.
- Men’s Singles Match
Adam Cole vs. Pat McAfee
WWE
This is personally the match that I am most interested in. I thought for sure that this was going to be a no-DQ match, but it looks like it isn’t going to be, which I think is even more interesting. With that being said though, I don’t think McAfee is going to win. McAfee is coming into this match as a heel and Adam Cole, if everything goes according to planned, Cole will walk out a face. I’ve also heard rumors that Adam Cole and Undisputed Era may be on the move to RAW or SmackDown, so this may be Adam Cole’s last match in NXT. I can’t see Pat McAfee becoming a regular competitor, so if he wins or loses, it doesn’t hurt him. I just think it is cool to see someone like McAfee wrestling in a match.
- Men’s Singles Match: NXT Championship
Keith Lee (C) vs. Karrion Kross (with Scarlett)
WWE
I think I am in the minority when I say I think Keith Lee retains. I feel like it would be a disservice to the champ if you take the title off of him this early into his reign. Not that I think Kross isn’t worthy of a title victory, I think they’re rushing it a little bit, that’s all. Keith Lee has basically only had the belt for a month, not to mention the fact that he took down the guy who held it for over 400 days. It just seems a little rushed if they have him lose tonight. NXT hasn’t had a heavyweight as champion since Drew McIntyre, which would’ve been 3 years ago around this time. I think they will somehow prolong this feud and Kross will take him down at a later date, but I think now is not the ideal time for that. Kross is the favorite heading into the match though.
Yacs