Our 3 Cents - NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day 2021
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. This is the first Takeover of 2021. We got a stacked card here. I'm come across an interesting fact but this is the first Takeover without a member of the Undisputed Era since 2017. That's crazy to me! Without further to do......
John: 63-23-1 (72%)
Jesse: 59-27-1 (68%)
Lonnie: 58-28-1 (67%)
Let's take a look at the card:
Finals for Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic
Winners will receive future WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Match
Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez vs. Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon
Jesse: The women’s side of the Dusty Classic has been forgettable up to this point, so I think they will have the faces win in order to make it fun. Shotzi and Ember will make great champs and deserve the push, I can also see them getting an upset and winning the titles.
W: Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon
Lonnie: I really do like both of these teams. NXT in general does a much better job of women’s tag team wrestling than the main roster and I would like to see either of these teams be the champs. For two reasons I think Kai and Gonzalez will win. I think having them beat the face champions makes more sense. Also, after her big win over Ripley and how she has been booked recently, I feel like Gonzalez is going to get a big push and this will continue that.
W: Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez
John: This should be good and I can see it going either way. Raquel and Dakota have got the best of Shotzi for most of their feud. Ember as Shotzi's partner has been great as well. I like that the winners get a shot at the women's tag titles as those titles desperately need some new contenders. With heel champs currently, it would make most sense for Shotzi/Ember to get the win. However, I'm going with Dakota/Raquel. Raquel has been an absolute beast of late and she needs to continue that momentum.
W: Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez
Finals for Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic
MSK vs. Grizzled Young Veterans
Jesse: This match is set up to be the classic tough guys vs the new cool act and it should be a great match with this great dynamic. Grizzled Young Veterans are good at what they do, be boring, but they are going to win this match because they have been around a while. Since I don’t see MSK winning, I do see them coming out of this match looking like a million bucks and winning the tag titles within the year.
W: Grizzled Young Veterans
Lonnie: This is a tough one. The GYV are clearly a great tag team and deserve a win here. But on the other hand, you have a new team in MSK that NXT is clearly trying to establish as a contender. I don’t think they can go wrong with either team. My coin toss says that they are going to keep MSK’s momentum going and they continue their impressive debut.
W: MSK
John: MSK has impressed me since their debut a few weeks ago. I've liked the GYV since their NXT UK days. If these teams are given 15-20 minutes, I think they'll tear the house down. I think the GYV should of won the Dusty Cup last year but obviously didn't. This should be the year for redemption as I see them picking up the win. MSK has had a great showing for the being the new guys on the block but I think GYV need it more at the moment.
W: Grizzled Young Veterans
NXT North American Championship Match
Kushida vs. Johnny Gargano (champ)
Jesse: What do we call Johnny for this Takeover? His heel run has been the best thing in NXT the last month, and it proves he is able to accomplish anything in the wrestling world. I think this match is just a bump in the road of Johnny’s reign, and he makes easy work of Kushida. I do see Dexter Lumis coming out after the match to challenge or just stare at Johnny and The Way.
W: Johnny Gargano
Lonnie: Watching NXT this past week I was cracking up. Gargano is amazing!!! Love or hate him, he is entertaining. I think Johnny can lose any match and it won’t hurt him as he is so over and established. I do believe after how he has treated Kushida it would look bad for Kushida if he loses her. I have high hopes for this match and think a new champ is in order.
W: Kushida
John: Gargano has been great in this build. He's playing the chicken heel very well. Kushida is great between the ropes and this has serious potential to be great and even steal the show. We all know that both men can go but I feel this match will suffer due to interference from The Way. In the end, I think Gargano squeaks out a win via nefarious means to retain.
W: Johnny Gargano
Triple Threat Match for the NXT Women's Championship
Mercedes Martinez vs. Toni Storm vs. Io Shirai (champ)
Jesse: TO THE MOON!!!!! I know Cameron Grimes isn’t in this match but I want to use his words to describe what I think NXT is about to do for Toni Storm. Io Shirai’s title reign has ran its course and it is time for a new champion to Takeover (see what I did there). Martinez seems to only be in this match to get pinned by Toni in order to not make Io look weak. I don’t agree with this approach but it can set up a little bit of a continuing feud with the new champ and Io for the next few weeks.
W: Toni Storm
Lonnie: First off, I respect Io's ring work. That being said, I don’t feel like she has the best character and I find it hard to get invested in her storylines. I feel like many other women on the roster are more must see in terms of character/wrestling combined. So on that note, I want to see a new champion to freshen things up. I think Toni will get the win here. I feel she will make a good champ, and if she pins Martinez that sets up a Toni/Io match since Io will have lost the championship without getting pinned.
W: Toni Storm
John: This is the hardest match for me to pick. Io is amazing but I think her reign could be coming close to an end. For better or worse, I'm not taking Mercedes Martinez as a serious threat to win but I do think Storm could win the gold. In the end, Storm could get a cheap win so Io can stay strong. It's a tough call here but I still with the champ retaining.
W: Io Shirai
NXT Championship Match
Pete Dunne vs. Finn Balor (champ)
Jesse: Do I follow my heart or my head for this match. My heart says I want Dunne to win, but my head is saying Balor won’t lose the title this soon. Don’t read past this part John....Balor is getting kind of boring as champ. Every interview/confrontation is the same, act like a tough guy, say something to the effect of “If you come at the Prince you best not miss”, then do the gun point thing with your fingers. It didn’t help that his last few matches were with Kyle O’Reilly and you knew he wasn’t going to lose those. With that said, I do believe Dunne will be champ very soon, but I sadly don’t think it will be Sunday. I’m following my head for a change and picking Balor to retain, but hopefully a Walter appearance will cut his celebration short.
W: Finn Balor
Lonnie: We know both of these guys can bring it in the ring. While this has the potential to easily be match of the night, it also has the potential to be a slower paced snooze fest. Dunne should be viewed as a legit challenger and I do think it is a very real possibility that he wins. However, I have also learned that I should just keep picking Balor until he loses. So that is what I am going to do. Balor retains here and probably keeps retaining until he fights Kross.
W: Finn Balor
John: I'm really looking forward to this one! I'm hoping this can reach the levels that Balor and O'Reilly did because those matches were amazing. I like Dunne but this just isn't the time for him to win the big one in NXT. Balor has been great for over a year now since coming back to NXT. Balor should win this and continue his roll. My fear is Karrion Kross could be the next challenger after this.
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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