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Welcome to PWInsider.com's coverage of WWE NXT's Takeover: Stand and Deliver Global Press Conference.
Wade Barrett welcomed everyone to the conference, saying we are one day away from the biggest event in WWE NXT history. The NXT talents are sitting on a across tables, surrounding Barrett.
Adam Cole was asked about Kyle O'Reilly by Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated. He put over Cole as a wrestler but said what an idiot it is he's become. He said Kyle is a great tag team wrestler and is better at tag teams than a singles wrestler.
CBS Sports asked Finn Balor about he and Karrion Kross each having titles taking from them due to injury. He said that has happened but that's where the similarities end. He's proven himself time and time again and has proven he is the best wrestler in the world. Karrion has only proven he can return. If anyone thinks he's passing the torch, he's sadly mistaken. Karrion told Balor he was full of sh**.
WALTER was asked whether Tommaso Ciampa was a worthy enough opponent to actually travel from Europe. He said that it's not just about himself but European wrestling. He said that he wishes he was facing the Ciampa of two years ago; that was the wrestler he respected. The question is whether Ciampa is still the same wrestler he used to be and still has it. He doesn't think wrestling is the most important thing in Ciampa's life anymore. He said when he steps in the ring, it's the most important thing. He leaves it all in the ring because wrestling is the most important thing to him.
Raquel Gonzalez was asked what she needed to do defeat Io Shirai. She said she would do whatever is necessary.
Io was asked her strategy against Raquel Gonzalez. She said was going to take her down.
Karrion Kross was asked by yours truly about how important it was this main event and to have a great performance at Takeover as his last Takeover main event resulted in injury. He said this was the biggest opportunity of a lifetime. People want to tell you every week how tough they are but fans saw someone separate his shoulder, try to push it back in and still became champion with one arm. He will do whatever it takes to become champion again.
Santos Esbobar was asked about Hector Garza. He said that the one thing he learned from him was to always enjoy every second in the ring.
They went back to me as I asked Tommaso Ciampa about how his personal and mental prep has changed over the insanity of the last year as he heads into his biggest match over the last year. Ciampa said his mental game has changed as he's become a father and he had neck surgery. This is the most anxious and excited for a Takeover that he's been since Takeover: New Orleans. He's going to remind the world and WALTER who Ciampa is.
Kyle O'Reilly was asked about his future. He said it was foolish to look past Thursday and he's 100% focused on Adam Cole and winning the title
Jordan Devlin was asked if he's looked to the past for inspiration and what he has thought about Santos Escobar's reign. He said that he didn't enjoy anything about Santos being gifted a title reign and having a few matches with his goons getting involved. He promised he was going to take out Escobar.
Io said that she has been champion for many years in Japan as well as here in NXT. She said there are many things Raquel is better than Io at, but not at being champion. She said she has learned an English word - meathead - and Raquel will be the meathead tomorrow.
Raquel said that if Io thinks she's going to try and play mind games today, good luck with that because Raquel is going to take her down tomorrow.
Adam Cole was asked his past wars with Kyle O'Reilly and how this will be different from the past. Adam Cole said he's a different pro wrestler now because he used to be about proving he was the best to the world. Now he doesn't need to prove anything to anyone. His 403-day title reign proves that. The only thing he has to prove anything to is Kyle O'Reilly and that's proving that he's going to beat Kyle again, just like he has 99.9% of the time in the past. Adam Cole has proven he can hang. Kyle cannot. Tomorrow is about hurting Kyle and making sure he is never the same again.
Kyle O'Reilly was asked about what aspects of MMA have translated well to his style and what don't. Kyle said he tries to compete with the most authenticity as possible in a style he's a fan of. If you do it with passion and conviction, it will do well. Since it historically came from Japan, it does well there. It's just a matter of time before that style becomes more prevalent in sports-entertainment.
Ciampa was asked about potentially jumping to NXT UK if he beats WALTER. He said that he has thought about it since seeing NXT UK developed and the title reigns that Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate and WALTER have had, you'd be hard-pressed to find a stronger title with more credibility. He said the fans in Europe are special and there are a lot of talents he hasn't stepped into the ring with. He held onto Goldie for some time but it's time he should have some time with "My Lady" and that's what he's going to do.
Karrion said that Finn Balor is the best NXT Champion of all time and there's no one better to compete against. He said Balor will bring out the best in him.
Finn Balor said that a win over Karrion would mean that his title reign would go to 211 days and would likely surpass that.
Jordan Devlin was asked if the Ladder Match stipulation complicates his match with Santos Escobar. He said that he can see why they went with a Ladder Match but there's not a match he can't be beaten in by Santos Escobar. He sees the similarity to the Wrestlemania X Ladder Match - a legitimate champion and someone who is a pretender.
WALTER was asked why European stars are tougher than the others around the world. He said he can only say that he thinks he's tougher than most of the talents over here and certainly Tommaso Ciampa. He said it's a chance to step up and prove that European Wrestling is the most exciting sport right now.
Io Shirai was asked her biggest personal and professional challenges in uprooting herself from Japan to Florida for WWE. There are a lot of challenges and differences privately. In the ring, she found herself bringing out the dark side of herself and that's how she became successful.
I asked Santos Escobar how important it was to carry the legacy of lucha libre in the ring this week since he and Jordan Devlin have two very unique, different styles. He said that he thinks lucha libre is a unique style and the most exciting one in the world and he's the emperor of it. The Cruiserweight style is based on what he represents, lucha libre. He owns the division and will forever own the division. It's in his blood and runs through his veins. For Jordan Devlin to overcome that, he has to go through him and he doesn't
Jordan Devlin said the Cruiserweight style was born in Mexico but perfected in Ireland.
Raquel Gonzalez said that it has been her time and tomorrow whatever happens, she is going to take every opportunity to win the title. If her win at Wargames and her win against Rhea Ripley haven't already proven herself, she will be opening a lot of eyes tomorrow.,
Finn Balor was asked by WrestlingINC how the energy of Takeover differs from Wrestlemania. He said it doesn't matter the energy of the crowd but the energy of the wrestlers. If he's in a parking lot or Madison Square Garden, he fights the same and the energy is the same.
That's it from the conference. Thank you for your support of PWInsider.com!
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