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WWE NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano in a Last Man Standing match.
Dave: What to do, what to do. It would be easy to book Johnny winning as a way to remove the sting of Aleister Black being forced out of the bout, but if it’s me? I go the other way. The one constant in the Gargano-Ciampa feud has been Johnny’s ability to control his rage. It has turned an otherwise white meat babyface into a crazy man. It allowed Ciampa to beat him when he was handcuffed. So here can be the time where he finally controls himself, or he doesn’t. Given that his rage is what cost Black the Title in the first place, I keep up that part of the storyline. Johnny again loses it at the wrong time and Ciampa gets the win. And, the wonderful feud continues, which it should.
Mike: Gargano won the battle last time, so the most logical thing (and this is NXT, so logic reigns) is that Ciampa does something absolutely evil in order to score the win. My guess is that Candice gets involved and ends up being the catalyst for Gargano to be taken out. This should be a huge brawl all over the building. While I will miss not getting to see Aleister Black, this bout more than makes up for that. We are pretty much guaranteed a classic here.
Richard: I was hoping they would have given this feud a little time to breathe and let them move on to new opponents, but this is the Zayn/Owens feud for NXT. It sucks that Aleister Black got hurt, but at least we get to have a Law & Order deal (bring in Otunga to be the lawyer). I like the idea of the Last Man Standing stipulation because it means that if Gargano wins, he is not pinning or forcing him to submit, he is pummeling him. I like the intensity for Gargano, as long as he does not go into Eddie Edwards territory. Is it time to send Gargano to the main roster? If so, have him lose and then announce that he is embarrassed that he cannot beat Ciampa so he is leaving.
WWE NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane.
Dave: This is the tiebreaker and we will see the flying of Sane vs. the ground style of Baszler. Shayna is an amazing heel and carries the belt extremely well. Unless she is being called up to the main roster, it’s way too soon to get the belt off of her. I could see her winning by nefarious means, thus setting up a rematch at Evolution.
Mike: This needs to be a war. To me, Baszler has far more to do in NXT, so I don't see a title change here. What I do see is a really interesting and fun brawl, playing off of all of the history they have had over the last year since the Mae Young Classic. I expect this to be really, really strong and it may end up being the best match of Baszler's WWE run thus far.
Richard: If you did not see this week's episode, you should watch the Sane/Aliyah match before Saturday. Sane showed the killer instinct that Baszler says no one in the division possesses. Baszler has been great as champion in the way that I do not see her 'playing the role' and would be like that based on her mannerisms and actions. I would keep the belt on Baszler and then if Ronda wins, you have the two champions celebrating together to set up the Survivor Series match I have been asking for since Ronda was signed.
WWE NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era vs. Moustache Mountain.
Dave: This program has been fun so far. I love both teams and I think this is the kind of feud that could be booked old school style where the teams trade the Title back and forth, leading to a final match at Takeover Mania. HHH definitely gets the concept of long term building. I could see him doing it here, and I hope he does. Speaking of Triple H, when he said on Wednesday that every match on this card could steal the show, he is right.
Mike: Unless everyone has the worst night of their professional lives, this is going to be absolutely awesome. They are going to have an incredible tag match. As far as who goes over, to me, it doesn't matter, but the best thing for the long term story is for Mustache Mountain to once again capture the titles and set up the next rematch.
Richard: Strong and Bate had a very good match on TV this week and like all of the matches on Takeover, it made me care more about the match on Saturday. The Undisputed Era are the Horsement of NXT and I think they continue to hold the gold after Saturday. This will be a very good match but I am more interested in seeing Kyle's facial expressions and the way that he embraces Mr. Belt. I expect something special from Strong that will pay tribute to his initial trainer (maybe a Hart Attack to win the match?)
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WWE NXT North American Champion Adam Cole vs. Ricochet.
Dave: Both of these guys are so, so good. Ricochet does things that are hard to believe. Cole is great and is just amazing with his psychology. I see this match coming down to his veteran savvy leading to him finding a way to hold on to his Title.
Mike: NXT TV did a great job previewing this on TV. I don't see a title change here unless Cole is being pulled up to the main roster, but a year after his debut, I feel like there's way more here for him to accomplish. I don't see a title change. Cole goes over.
Richard: I liked the video feature from this week's TV and focused on how close Ricochet came and how Cole has not been hiding as champion. At least one of them is telling the truth. The contrast in styles could make this a fun match as Cole tries to stop Ricochet from flying all over the ring. Keep the title on Cole but give us a reason to revisit this match or give us a reason why Ricochet is still going to be involved with the Undisputed Era.
The Velveteen Dream vs. EC3.
Dave: This one is so hard to call. EC3 was wise to Dream’s tricks last week on TV. Will he be wise to them in the ring? If EC3 is about to get called up, that would make this prediction easier. But even if he isn’t, I think Dream needs the win here so I put him over.
Mike: To me, it's all about who needs the win more. Velveteen Dream is going to be one of the anchors of NXT in the months ahead while EC3 is already established and in my mind, could be pulled up anytime. To me, the goal should be to continue to elevated Dream and I can see him getting the clean win here.
Richard: Two of the over the top characters on the roster have gone back and forth and both have been elevated. The fact that this match is a result of Dream walking out on EC3 in London and it is still a compelling angle shows how different things are in NXT compared to the main roster (imagine if they did the Owens/Strowman stuff with these two?) Dream has excelled in his Takeover matches and I think Dream will get the victory over EC3. Whatever EC3's future is, a loss will not hurt him the way that Dream has performed on these specials.
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