Our 3 Cents - NXT Takeover 36
Welcome to our second year of Our 3 Cents where myself, Jesse, and Lonnie give you our predictions on what's going to go down. NXT brings us a loaded Takeover that is sure to deliver. Without further to do......
John: 19-5 (79%)
Jesse: 17-7 (71%)
Lonnie: 16-8 (67%)
Let's take a look at the card:
Million Dollar Championship Match
If Grimes loses, DiBiase becomes Knight's butler
Cameron Grimes w/ Ted DiBiase vs. LA Knight (champ)
Jesse: As much as I enjoyed this storyline in the beginning, it has started to get a little stale. I don’t see LA Knight winning because I want crazy millionaire Grimes back, especially with the Million Dollar Championship. Grimes wins and hopefully ends this feud.
W: Cameron Grimes
Lonnie: Is it time for Ted DiBiase to be Knight’s caddy? I think so!! After all the humiliating things heel DiBiase had fans do years ago, it is time for the table to be turned and have him serve Knight. Grimes could win here but it just doesn’t make for a good storyline. The better way to go is to have him lose and DiBiase then suffer because of it. Grimes can then get one final match in the near future and pull off a victory and get his redemption.
W: LA Knight
John: This feud has been one of the more entertaining parts of NXT over the past couple months. It may have run its course though. I’m not sure how much longer Grimes can be Knight’s butler before it gets stale. DiBiase also being Knight’s butler doesn’t make much sense to me because DiBiase isn’t regularly used on NXT. I think Grimes pulls off the win with a possible assist from DiBiase.
W: Cameron Grimes
NXT Women's Championship Match
Raquel Gonzalez (champ) vs. Dakota Kai
Jesse: I’m not going to lie; I actually like this storyline a lot. The women’s roster on NXT is a little bloated, but both of these ladies have showed why they are the cream of the crop. I get that Raquel is still a little green in the ring, but I think she has room to grow and Dakota will make her feel like a monster in this match. Raquel wins to continue her reign as champion.
W: Raquel Gonzalez
Lonnie: I think NXT had a real point when Gonzalez was in the ring with Kai by her side asking who was left and Kai saying nobody. Of course, Kai then attacked Gonzalez to set up this match. I do feel Kai could win because of the fact that if she loses there is really no one left for Gonzalez and Gonzalez has potentially done all she can in NXT. My issue with that is that I just don’t see Gonzalez being moved up to Raw or Smackdown in the near future. And due to that I feel that she would be best suited retaining the championship here. I could see this finish not being clean to keep the feud going.
W: Raquel Gonzalez
John: We had to know that a heel turn was coming soon or later from one of them. It only made sense that with Gonzalez running out of challengers that Kai would naturally make that move. I feel like Gonzalez has come into her own on the NXT roster and I expect her to retain here. I don’t expect Kai to go away lightly though and the feud will continue.
W: Raquel Gonzalez
2-out-of-3 Falls
1st Fall - Traditional Match, 2nd Fall - Street Fight, 3rd Fall - Steel Cage Match
Kyle O'Reilly vs. Adam Cole
Jesse: Look, it’s an off brand 3 Stages of Hell match. Adam Cole is one of my favorite guys in wrestling, so any match he is in I will watch, but Kyle O’ Reilly character is lacking and you can’t connect with him, so that makes this feud feel like it is lacking. I think O’Reilly will win just because they want a feel-good story when he eventually wins the NXT Title.
W: Kyle O'Reilly
Lonnie: I expect this to be a very good but very long match. It should be an epic conclusion to their rivalry, but I just fear the two of them will try to make it too dramatic or too drawn out. I really do hope they keep a good pace and keep it a reasonable length (30-35 minutes) and have the right guy win… Kyle O’Reilly. We know they are both great, but KOR has still been in Cole’s shadow. With Cole’s contract situation looming now is the time for him to put KOR over once and for all on the big stage. A big win here for O’Reilly would allow him to slide right back into the title scene and this time hopefully win the NXT Championship.
W: Kyle O'Reilly
John: Rumors have been going around for weeks that Cole’s WWE/NXT contract is about to expire. He’s supposedly had meetings with higher ups about staying or going to Raw or Smackdown but nothing is certain including Cole staying with the company. That said, it seems as though the safe bet is on O’Reilly. I expect a long match that goes all three falls. This will probably go a minimum of 30 minutes but I wouldn’t be surprised to see 40-50 here. I hope it doesn’t go too long but history shows the chances of that are good. With Cole’s future uncertain, O’Reilly takes the win.
W: Kyle O’Reilly
NXT UK Championship Match
WALTER (champ) vs. Ilja Dragunov
Jesse: I didn’t really care for this feud when it first started happening because A. I figured Walter would dominate at everything, and B. The time difference made it hard for me to watch the match, but boy was I wrong. Dragunov has been great in the last few months and his match on Tuesday really sold me on him. I think it is time for Walter to lose this title and either go for NXT gold or move up to the main roster, so therefore Dragunov will win and make a surprising good champion.
W: Ilja Dragunov
Lonnie: Dragunov is great in the ring and he has a bright future, however he is not WALTER. I really think this will be a great match but I just can’t bring myself to pick Dragunov. WALTER is a dominant champ and I just don’t think Dragunov is a big enough name or that it is the right time for a new champ.
W: WALTER
John: This is the match of the weekend in my mind. Their first match was nothing short of epic and I expect them to go all out again. It’s so hard to bet against WALTER but Dragunov is the first person who feels like they have a chance to dethrone him. It almost feels like a now or never situation for WALTER to lose the gold. Against my better judgment, I’m going with Dragunov in what I consider to be an upset. Hopefully WALTER can then challenge for the NXT Championship.
W: Ilja Dragunov
NXT Championship Match
Karrion Kross (champ) w/ Scarlett vs. Samoa Joe
Jesse: Kross has been the worst NXT Champion of all time. There I said it… any other champ has been able to put on an entertaining and decent match, but Kross just hasn’t lived up to that billing. I have avoided mentioning the rumors around the future of NXT in my previous picks, but with it being said that NXT will look to be fully developmental and going with bigger guys, I think Joe will win the match then vacate the title in order for a King of the Ring style tournament to take place and name a new champ. I don’t like the way this seems to be going because I feel like NXT is the best thing WWE has, but if that’s what they think the fans want, then we will see how long it lasts.
W: Samoa Joe
Lonnie: I have a few strong opinions about this match. 1. Having Kross lose to Jeff Hardy on Raw and then act like a chicken on NXT lately makes no sense after he has been dominant for months. 2. Do you trust Joe to be champ with his injury history 3. I do not see the positive of Joe returning to the “developmental” brand and winning the championship. To me, NXT is built to develop new stars and having a Joe title reign after we already had a reign by an established star recently (Balor), just seems to be taking away a new talent’s opportunity. Aside from those points, Joe has been great as usual and I truly feel he can get one of the better matches out of Kross that we have seen. In the end I feel they will give Kross the big win here. A Kross win has more upside to me and he can move on to fight Kyle O’Reilly before Kross moves up the roster this fall.
W: Karrion Kross
John: I’m not the biggest fan of Kross. On top of that, ever since he’s showed up on Raw, I feel WWE has ruined what few things were good about him. They toned down his entrance and more importantly; they took away Scarlett. Joe has been great since coming back to NXT and he can hopefully still deliver in the ring. If he’s the Joe of old, he has a believable chance of taking home the gold. I’m not sure what the future of NXT looks like but I think it’s best if Joe wins the gold and Kross permanently goes to Raw (hopefully with Scarlett).
W: Samoa Joe
That does it for this edition of Our 3 Cents!! Check back for a full review of the event to see how we did!
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