Our 3 Cents - NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver Night 1 & 2
Welcome back to another edition of Our 3 Cents where myself, Jesse, and Lonnie give you our predictions on what's going to go down. It's being billed as the biggest Takeover ever and is the first ever two night Takeover! Lots of matches have potential to be great. Without further to do, let's look at our standings as we come down the stretch.
John: 77-27-1 (73%)
Jesse: 71-33-1 (68%)
Lonnie: 70-34-1 (67%)
We've decided to include nights 1 and 2 in the same article. Let's take a look at the card:
Night 1
#1 Contender's Gauntlet Eliminator Match
Participants are listed in the order they will enter
Leon Ruff vs. Isaiah "Swerve Scott vs. Bronson Reed vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Dexter Lumis vs. LA Knight
Jesse: This should be a fun time filler for night 1 filled with some great competitors. I only see Lumis, Grimes and Knight as real threats to win, but it seems like they are building up to a Lumis vs Gargano showdown for night 2, so that is my pick.
W: Dexter Lumis
Lonnie: These matches can be very good or they can drag on forever and absolutely suck. I am hoping they keep a decent pace and keep it relatively short to make sure everything else on night 1 has time. When it comes to facing Gargano, I think it needs to be Lumis or Knight. When you have a new guy who is better than Gargano to make the person a star? No one. That said I think LA Knight will pick up a nice win here.
W: LA Knight
John: I'm really taking to LA Knight since his debut and his mic skills have sold me but I'm not sold on his ring work yet. Grimes is always great and to me his character is going to take him places. I think Grimes will win the NXT North American Championship soon but not against Gargano. We need a face to take the title from Gargano and who better than the man who has had The Way's number the past few months....Dexter Lumis.
W: Dexter Lumis
Triple Threat Match for the NXT Tag Team Championships
MSK vs. Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Legado del Fantasma
Jesse: I am kind of glad this match has come about. Injuries suck, but it seems like the tag division had gone stale for a while. All of these teams can bring it, and hopefully that continues in this match. I really can only see new comers MSK winning to freshen up the division.
W: MSK
Lonnie: MSK or GYV are winning here. Legado del Fantasma have no chance in hell. I have to say I was surprised at Vengeance Day when MSK beat GYV to win the Dusty Classic. That showed me that NXT wanted to push MSK hard and make them a major player. I feel like this triple threat allows GYV to get some payback and walk out as champions. MSK can lose the match without taking the pinfall. They can then claim they are 1-1 against GYV and the babyfaces can chase the championships.
W: Grizzled Young Veterans
John: I'm pretty sure Legado isn't winning this one. So that leaves MSK and GYV. I felt certain that GYV were winning the Dusty Classic and then MSK pulled off what I considered an upset. What that showed me was that MSK was in line for a push. Since they won the Dusty Classic, I feel like going with MSK is the right call and feel they will win unless GYV gets a cheap win over Legado.
W: MSK
Pete Dunne vs. Kushida
Jesse: I’m not going to lie, at first I wasn’t a fan of Kushida. I had seen him in NJPW and he really didn’t do anything for me, but these last few months he has actually impressed me. His match with Gargano was a masterpiece and hopefully he can have another with this match. With that being said, I think Dunne needs this match more than him. Dunne should have a rocket strapped to his back if the main event wasn’t crowded with Kross, Balor and the remnants of Undisputed Era. Dunne wins in the match of the night for night 1.
W: Pete Dunne
Lonnie: This is going to be one hell of a match. Both of these guys can bring it, and with their styles I think this will be the match of the night on night 1. I know they eliminated each other at the same time in the battle royal, but there hasn’t been a big build like other matches. To me that makes it hard to predict as they could go either way. For the sole fact that I think he would benefit from a big win more, I’m going with Kushida. Dunne is so over and I don’t think a loss will hurt him.
W: Kushida
John: This is a match that I didn't realize how much I wanted to see it until it was announced. Both of these guys can go in the room and I expect this to also contend for a show stealer. In my opinion, Dunne has been built up better in recent months and I feel this is a good rebound for him after his loss to Balor. I see Dunne getting the win here in a great match.
W: Pete Dunne
NXT UK Championship Match
Tommaso Ciampa vs. WALTER (champ)
Jesse: Who in the world did Ciampa piss off backstage? I get his is getting older and probably wants to put over the new guys, but it hasn’t been the same since he came back. WALTER wins cause Ciampa ain’t winning the UK title and isn’t WALTER “defending” the title on Thursday?
W: WALTER
Lonnie: I love this match up. It would have been better a year or two ago, but nonetheless I am still looking forward to it. I expect this to be hard hitting and just brutally painful for both men. In the end, WALTER will retain for two reasons. First, I just don’t see Ciampa being the UK champion. Second, Ciampa has not been a dominant main eventer the last year and has suffered from some poor booking recently. Due to that he just doesn’t see to be as legit a threat to WALTER as he otherwise could be.
W: WALTER
John: If you want a hard hitting, no nonsense match then his is for you. I expect these two to beat the hell out of each other. Ciampa should put up a good fight but I'm not buying him beating WALTER for a second. WALTER has been champ for over two years now and Ciampa is just not the man to get "that rub". WALTER should win no problem.
W: WALTER
NXT Women's Championship Match
Raquel Gonzalez vs. Io Shirai (champ)
Jesse: Io is getting stale as champ and should have lost the title to Toni. But in the back of my mind I have a feeling Toni and Io are getting called up to the main roster soon. I really do wish it was someone else winning the title here, but it is what it is. Raquel wins to begin a dominant reign.
W: Raquel Gonzalez
Lonnie: In case you haven’t been able to tell from me picking against Io basically every chance I get, I am so over her run as champion. She is a good wrestler, but I just can’t get into her character and it has made it hard for me to get invested in her matches. Being Mania weekend and the time for stars to be born, I think this is Raquel’s time. She has been dominating the women’s division the last few months and she has earned the right to be champion. Io bit off more than she can chew when she challenged Raquel.
W: Raquel Gonzalez
John: I really like Io but feel she should of been showcased better during her title reigns. She's been great in my opinion but something has been missing. I'm not opposed to her beating Raquel. The problem is, there's no challengers left afterward. I feel the Io's reigns is finally coming to an end. Raquel has been built up for this for a while going all the way back to pinning Io at War Games. It's Raquel's time to see if she can take the proverbial ball and run with it. I could see Io getting one more rematch before heading to Raw or Smackdown.
W: Raquel Gonzalez
Night 2
NXT Women's Tag Team Championship Match
The Way vs. Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon (champs)
Jesse: The Way has been amazing since they began, and Candice has been too underutilized while in NXT. Sadly since there has already been a Women’s Tag Team Championship change in the last month I don’t see it happening here, Shotzi and Ember win thanks to Lumis somehow distracting Indi.
W: Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon
Lonnie: Right after Vengeance Day Blackheart and Moon beat The Way in a match that The Way didn’t even seem to care about. Well what a difference a month makes. Hell, back then the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship didn’t even exist. My heart says to pick The Way as I really do like both of them. But my head is telling me that to establish the tag team championships and have them mean something the champs should retain and hold them for a while. I just feel that having a new championship change hands too much devalues it (Such as the 24/7 championship disaster).
W: Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon
John: Before I discuss this match, I want to say that I don't like the introduction of the NXT Women's Tag Team Championships. Nothing against the NXT ladies but I feel Raquel and Dakota should have beaten Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler. The women's tag roster has been scarce at times on the main roster so using the NXT women's tag teams could of given it a boost plus allowed them to get main roster exposure. However, we go this. Rant over. The Way are great but I also am really digging this team of Blackheart/Moon. Neither team winning would surprise me but it feels too soon for Blackheart/Moon to lose since we've already got a quick title change with these belts. The Way should eventually win the gold as it's actually impressive how long Candice LeRae has been in NXT without winning gold. She's overdue but tonight isn't her night.
W: Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon
NXT Cruiserweight Championship Unification Ladder Match
Santos Escobar (champ) vs. Jordan Devlin (champ)
Jesse: I am glad these two get a ladder match to unify the title. I actually enjoy this storyline and how it organically had to happen due to Covid. I think Devlin would have made a fine champion, and Escobar has outstanding as champ. This might sneak in and be a match of the night contender with Cole/KOR. Escobar wins and hopefully Devlin moves away from the cruiserweight division.
W: Santos Escobar
Lonnie: I feel like Escobar has done as much the last year as champion as Devlin has. Which is to say he hasn’t done much since Devlin was stuck overseas. Using the ladder match stipulation was a good idea and these two should deliver a high quality match. NXT was high on Devlin a year ago and I am hoping this match can jump start his momentum once again as he becomes the undisputed champion.
W: Jordan Devlin
John: I was looking forward to this before the ladder match stipulation. Needless to say, I'm pumped about it now. These guys could tear the house down. I think both guys are great champs and I would be happy with either guy "winning/retaining". I like Devlin a little more so I'm giving him the nod here but I expect great stuff. Hopefully they hang both championships similar to HBK/Razor at WrestleMania X.
W: Jordan Devlin
NXT North American Championship Match
TBD vs. Johnny Gargano (champ)
Jesse: To remind everyone, I picked Lumis to win the contenders match. I feel that Lumis was suppose to win the title a few months ago but due to an injury that got pushed back. Since Johnny Wrestling is in the match I can see this being very entertaining, but in the end Lumis wins what is rightfully his.
W: Dexter Lumis
Lonnie: I picked LA Knight, but that pick could be completely wrong. What we do know is that Johnny Wrestling will be in this match, we know he always kill it at Takeover, and that I’m not dumb enough to pick against him when I’m not sure who his opponent will be.
W: Johnny Gargano
John: I think Lumis will be the challenger as he and Gargano have the most recent history together. I think Lumis was set to win the championship at NXT Takeover XXX before he suffered an injury. He's fought his way back and this should be his first big singles title win on a big stage with Gargano who can make him look great.
W: Dexter Lumis
Unsanctioned Match
Kyle O'Reilly vs. Adam Cole
Jesse: These two have done an amazing job building this storyline and the promo WWE put together for it was top notch. This is my most anticipated match of WrestleMania Week and I feel it should be main eventing night 2. I am not one to say a title should be a part of a feud just for so and so reason, but I feel the NXT title should have been a part of this feud. Both these guys are going to put on one hell of a show, but I feel KOR needs this win more than Cole.
W: Kyle O'Reilly
Lonnie: Literally years in the making!!! I wouldn’t want to have to follow these two guys. This match should be amazing and it is the match I am looking forward to most on the entire card. I could see Cole winning as he was the leader of UE for so long and it would make sense for him to reign supreme. However, I feel like a win here for O’Reilly would be so awesome. I think he has taken a back seat to Cole for much of the UE run and it is his time to shine. I see Cole doing the honors here and making O’Reilly truly look like a star.
W: Kyle O'Reilly
John: This is going to be awesome. Anything less than a **** match will be a disappointment here in my eyes. Both men should be highly motivated to steal the show and I wouldn't be surprised if they did just that. O'Reilly had great matches with Balor but this could help cement him as a permanent top star. Besides that, I feel like O'Reilly needs it more. I'm not sure where the loser would go from here as they both seem "above" the NXT North American Championship at this point in their careers. This is one of the most anticipated matches of the whole week. I'm going with O'Reilly as I feel he needs it more coming off of back-to-back title losses.
W: Kyle O'Reilly
NXT Championship Match
Karrion Kross w/ Scarlett vs. Finn Balor (champ)
Jesse: Once again, John please look away. I am not thrilled about this match at all. For the last few weeks Finn has been pointing, Kross has been staring and Scarlett has been doing whatever Scarlett does. It seems like Kross should win since he was champ and had to vacate due to injury, but I think we are going to get a swerve here. I feel Kross will get called up to the main roster very soon, so Finn wins this match and continues his reign....until he meets KOR and loses cause third times a charm right?
W: Finn Balor
Lonnie: I am not just saying this to annoy John, but I have a bad feeling that this match is going to be a let down. Finn is good, but so far Kross hasn’t had that amazing match that makes me buy into him as a must see main eventer. If Balor wins here who would he move on to face? I have no idea, but we don’t need to worry about it. NXT crowned Kross the champ last year before his injury and after a slight detour he is back to be champion once again. I expect a Kross win and for him to dominate the main event for most of 2021. My hope is that with the world returning to normal and WWE hitting the road again in the near future that Balor will rejoin Raw or Smackdown.
W: Karrion Kross
John: Those that know me will tell you that I'm the biggest Balor fan! It's no secret and this is the one match on the card where I'm going with my heart bias. Beyond being a Balor mark, Kross just hasn't impressed me much since coming to NXT. His best match in my opinion was his No DQ against Escobar not too long ago. Also, Kross' style just seems better fit for the main roster so I'm hoping he takes a loss here and debuts on Raw or Smackdown shortly. As for how they could give Balor the win, I wouldn't complain if we got an unannounced "Demon" appearance. Hey now! A guy can dream. Either way, I'm going with The Prince!
W: Finn Balor
That does it for this edition of Our 3 Cents!! Be sure to follow along tonight for LIVE COVERAGE and check back to see how we did.
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