Hello it’s me TWB, and The Wrestling Brain had officially expanded, from now on there will be two brains with me @callumowen98 and now @Xterblack has joined ‘The Wrestling Brain’ Brand.
Today we’re here to give you our predictions for NXT Takeover: Toronto. This Saturday night’s show looks absolutely stacked, and I cannot wait to see what goes down inside the Scotiabank Arena. Let’s get things rolling with our first match of the night
Candice LeRae Vs Io Shirai
Callum: I am a huge Candice LeRae fan, in fact, she’s my favourite female wrestler in NXT and perhaps even in the whole of WWE right now, and my only one criticism of NXT is how under-booked she’s been since joining in early 2018, she was involved with the Johnny Gargano/Ciampa feud, so barely had time or opportunities to show off her in-ring skills and when she did she’d end up losing to the likes of Shayna Baszler in fairly convincing fashion.
Io Shirai turned heel and would attack LeRae on an episode of NXT a few weeks ago after she came up short in an attempt to become the NXT Women’s Champion. Io would lay Candice out by hitting her with a Brainbuster onto a steel chair, then repeatedly say “I don’t need no friends”.
Personally I feel this match is a lose-lose situation for both women, Io shouldn’t lose as she’s just turned and an early defeat will hurt her momentum, however this is Candice’s first proper singles feud and her first Takeover match, therefore I actually hope we get a double
Result – Double countout
Adam: This is an interesting one as I feel NXT needs a new, crowd-pleasing face to chase Shayna Baszler for the Women’s Championship so Candice LeRae getting the win here would make her look strong and kickstart some momentum for her but, on the other hand, Io Shirai needs a win to support her recent attitude change.
My head is telling me that, unfortunately, Candice will be the first major defeat for Shirai but there’s no reason why she can’t be the next challenger for Baszler at Takeover: Chicago.
Winner – Io Shirai
Street Profits (C) vs Undisputed Era – NXT Tag Team Championship match
Callum: The leader of The Undisputed Era faction Adam Cole, has promised that in 2019 all 4 members of UE will be draped in gold, this Saturday Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly have the opportunity to become NXT Tag Team champions once again as they face Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins aka The Street Profits.
Over the past few weeks Ford and Dawkins have appeared in backstage skits on Raw, now there’s a possibility that if they drop the tag belts they’ll be permanent fixtures on the main roster. My guess is O’Reilly and Fish will win, as I just can’t see them going to the main roster just yet, as they need to come up with Strong and Cole when there’s a
Adam: There is nothing more I would love than the NXT Tag Team Championships finally being something sought after and not the afterthought they seem to have become. War Raiders ploughed through all the competition, undefeated, and ended up vacating the titles upon their move up to the main roster.
Street Profits win the titles but are featured more prominently on Raw every Monday rather than on NXT. This one seems to be a foregone conclusion for me, Fish & O’Reilly win the titles while the Street Profits actually begin to wrestle on Raw to solidify their call up. Winners: New Champions – Undisputed Era
Shayna Baszler (C) Vs Mia Yim – NXT Women’s Championship match
Callum: This would be a huge upset if Mia Yim defeats Shayna Baszler, for the past few Takeover’s I’ve predicted Baszler’s opponents as I’ve felt for a while now, that the current NXT Women’s Champion is ready to go to the main roster, and that Raw and Smackdown need fresh faces in their women’s division.
However this time around I’m picking Shayna, I guess Mia is a transitional challenger until the Candice and Io feud is over, as I’m hoping LeRae finds herself in the NXT Women’s Title picture by perhaps the Takeover on Survivor Series or Royal Rumble weekend. Results: Shayna Baszler
Adam: Mia Yim’s push to No.1 Contender status has been extremely abrupt and I don’t feel that she has been given enough time on NXT TV for us to really invest in her or her character. Pitching her as a legitimate threat to Baszler is a completely different story and not one that is effectively done by simply having Yim attack Shayna’s cronies on alternating weeks. This one is Shayna’s. No shadow of a doubt there.
I feel she is going to be called up at either the Royal Rumble or after Wrestlemania which means, going back to my earlier comments, she needs a legitimate contender – Candice LeRea perhaps? Or maybe a Fatal 4 Way with Candice, Io Shirai and Mia Yim to protect Baszler losing the title.
Winner: Shayna Baszler
Velveteen Dream (C) Vs Roderick Strong Vs Pete Dunne – NXT North American Championship match
Callum: I’m pretty excited about this one, all 3 competitors are some of the best in NXT, and this match won’t disappoint. Velveteen Dream has had a solid run with the North American Championship, beating the likes of Riddle and Tyler Breeze, and his work as a character is just improving each time he’s on TV.
Roderick Strong of course part of Undisputed Era is hoping to be draped in gold at
Winner: New Champion – Roderick Strong
Adam: Pete Dunne being thrown into the match has sent alarm bells ringing in my head. How do you (hypothetically, of course) get the North American Championship off Velveteen Dream and onto Roderick Strong without Dream looking ‘weak’ in defeat with potential main roster call up looming.
Dunne coming back from a loss is an easy route out of this match – Have Dream hit Dunne with the Purple Rainmaker, Strong runs in, dumps Dream outside and covers the Bruiserweight for the win. The storyline between Dunne & Strong leading into Takeover: Chicago can be
Winner: New Champion – Roderick Strong
Adam Cole (C) Vs Johnny Gargano – Two out of Three Falls for NXT Championship
Callum: So for the 3rd Takeover in a row we’re going to see Adam Cole take on Johnny Gargano in the main event. Much like their clash at NXT Takeover: New York it’s going to be a Two out of Three Falls match, however, this one has a bit of a twist, as both men have picked stipulations for the first two falls, Gargano has gone for a Street Fight whereas Cole has picked a straight-up singles match, if it goes to a final fall then GM William Regal will pick the stipulation.
Personally and I’ve thought it for the last few months, Gargano is ready for the main roster he has done literally everything possible in NXT, he’s held the Tag, North American and NXT Championship, he’s had amazing matches and feuds with Ciampa, Cole, Ricochet, Andrade and Black it’s time for Johnny Wrestling to join either Raw or Smackdown.
As for Cole,
Adam: And with the main event, Adam Cole’s Undisputed Era prophecy is fulfilled as all four members of the group will be ‘draped in gold’ at Takeover goes off the air.
While I do like Callum’s prediction of Ciampa appearing at the end of the show to signify his return and subsequent chase for the championship, I feel the main story coming out of this Takeover will be Undisputed Era ‘draped in gold’ – Nothing against Gargano, as we all know that this will be an amazing match, but he should be on the main roster by now and feel this will be his NXT swan song.
As far as Regal’s choice of a third fall goes, I’d say a ladder match with the added stipulation that the loser leaves NXT leading to Johnny’s aforementioned call up. Winner: Adam Cole
There are our predictions for Saturday night’s NXT Takeover, follow us both on Twitter @callumowen98 and @xterblack and of course follow @sltdwrestling for more
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