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NXT presents Takeover this Saturday from Chicago, Illinois. Here is our take on what we think will happen. You can also make your choices as to what will happen in the matches by going and betting at the top online casinos!
Men's War Games Match: Undisputed Era (NXT Champion Adam Cole, NXT Tag Team Champion Bobby Fish, NXT Tag Team Champion Kyle O'Reilly, and NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong) versus Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Dominik Dijakovic, and Partner To Be Announced
Dave: The storyline about the mystery man has been cool. I expect the fourth guy to be a surprise and if so, that means Ciampa's team should get the win. Whoever takes out Cole can be the next challenger. It would make sense that it be Ciampa, but I could also see it being the mystery partner. Then Ciampa can stew about bringing in the guy who got his shot at Goldie. Whatever happens here should set the course for the next arc of storylines.
Mike: Since WWE has had John Morrison waiting to debut, I wonder if he'll be the fourth man. That would be a nice surprise. This should be a lot of fun as everyone can really go, but the focus at the end should be Ciampa beating Adam Cole to set him up as a challenger. That could also put into question whether Cole could be beatable at Survivor Series. While WWE put most of the focus into Survivor Series on Wednesday's NXT, this show should be great.
Richard: I like that they have not announced the fourth man for Ciampa's team at the time that I am writing this. If I were WWE, I wouldn't announce it until he has to come out as the final entrant in the match to maximize the crowd reaction. If he is available, do you bring back Velveteen Dream for this moment or do you do what was suggested on No Name Show . . . Kevin Owens. When Hunter tried to recruit Owens to come back to NXT, it was the Undisputed Era who attacked Owens and Cole was yelling at Hunter. I wouldn't mind seeing it be announced that if Ciampa's team wins, the person who gets the win will have a title match against the person pinned. However, that would focus the attention to Cole since he is the Number One Champ in the company. I would start off with Strong and let him show why he is the cardio monster of the team. Strong and O'Reilly should be the stars of the match for Undisputed Era. This will be the night that Keith Lee shows the world how great he is. I would have Ciampa beat Cole to win the match and then we can start the tease to Ciampa/Cole for Goldie (at Mania Weekend?). The best Undisputed Era might be a pissed off one for next week's TV. I think this match will end the show, because of the surprise entrant so I would hope that we don't have any Raw or Smackdown involvement during the matches so we can see people from Raw and Smackdown approach Hunter to ask who are on the NXT teams for Survivor Series. Hunter then tells them to turn around and the two teams are officially revealed.
Women's War Games Match: NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler, NXT UK Women's Champion Kay Lee Ray, Io Shirai, and Bianca Belair versus Rhea Ripley, Candice LeRae, Tegan Nox, and Mia Yim
Dave: I can't see them doing the same thing twice. If they are going to set up Cole's next challenger in the men's match, they probably won't do it here. I think Rhea's team wins and I would not be shocked at all to see Shayna take a powder and leave her team hanging since she has no investment in any of them anyway.
Mike: This is the match I am really looking forward to. The women are going to go all out here. The really interesting story has been Dakota Kai not being tapped for Rhea's team and being let down by that, so I wonder if we'll see her get involved in some way. I can see Baszler's team winning, especially if Kai gets involved.
Richard: There are a number of ways they can go with the mechanisms in this match. They can say the winning team is part of the Women's Team at Survivor Series (since they haven't named a team as of the time I am writing this) with one person added if Rhea's team wins (Dakota Kai maybe) and two people added if Shayna's team wins since she is facing Bayley and Becky on Sunday. They could have Shayna tell her partners if they win the match for their team, they can get a title match in the future. The strategy will be with the order and I can see Shayna putting Io out there for the duration since Io is the biggest threat on her team. The big money match for the women in NXT right now is Rhea vs. Shayna and I hope we get a good tease to continue that battle. Of the eight women in this match, I think two need to have standout performances. Bianca Belair has been put on the back burners recently and I don't see them doing too many call ups since they need to keep NXT's roster strong. Kay Lee Ray might not have the following in the US that she has in Europe so this is the night for her to get the casual fan to realize how good she can be. The redemption story can be completed by having Tegan Nox get the win for her team.
Pete Dunne versus Damian Priest versus Killian Dain: Winner Faces Adam Cole for the NXT Championship at Survivor Series
Dave: What I would like to see is Dunne getting the win to take on Cole, but that is only because I am a huge fan of his. What I am guessing will happen is Priest comes out on top, and he and Cole at the Series will be great as well.
Mike: I am going to lean towards Dunne as well. I am looking forward to this one as they can all really go and have a nice, physical brawl.
Richard: I like how they have built to this point in the feud and to add a title match for the winner is a good motivating factor. What stops will they pull out to win since they know they have to fight the next night, but against a damaged Adam Cole due to his involvement in War Games? I can see Priest or Dunne wining and unfortunately, I see Dain being the one to take the pin. Dunne versus Cole is the money match for now, but a win by Priest and a strong performance against Cole can take him up a few levels going forward.
Finn Balor versus Matt Riddle
Dave: Riddle is a really good young talent. Obviously, Finn is the vet and would be the one that is projected to win. So, I have it be pretty competitive and at the end, Finn gets a little overconfident and takes a fall. Riddle goes over.
Mike: If they are going to have a long-term program, Balor should win. He just turned and they need a long-term storyline for Riddle and Balor. If not, have Riddle win, perhaps after Gargano walks out. This has a great chance to steal the show, which is crazy when you think about how stacked this show is.
Richard: It is a shame that we couldn't get Balor/Gargano, but Matt Riddle is the type of athlete you can put in any situation and he should thrive. I hope Riddle asks Balor "Bro, am I not good enough for the Demon?" at some point. This is Balor's first big match back and we need to see that his decision to go to NXT was the right one as he starts to stake his claim for gold. I hope we see Balor pull out a few moves that we haven't seen since his days in NXT so he shows that he is 'more motivated' on NXT than he was on Raw or Smackdown. Balor should win this match because he needs it more, but this will be a fun match that should get a lot of time if they are not adding anything to the card with only 4 matches announced.
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