It all comes down to this. WWE NXT Presents Takeover XXX takes place Saturday, August 22nd, live on the WWE Network. The biggest event of the Summer for the black and gold will answer all of the biggest questions currently in NXT. Will the cruiserweight tyrant fall to a swerve? Can an NFL Pro Bowler walk into wrestling and dominate over one of the brand’s most decorated champions? Who will carry one of the most prestigious titles in NXT after a dangerous ladder match? Can ‘the Genius’ defeat the deceiver? And finally, which man will be the brand’s top dog when it is all said and done. This is the preview of WWE NXT Takeover XXX!
Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch vs. Breezango vs. Legado Del Fantasma – NXT Tag Team Championship #1 Contender’s Match (Pre-Show)
Announced on this past week’s edition of NXT on USA, William Regal has made a match to find the next challenger for the NXT Tag Team Champions, Imperium.
A monumental match, the Brit-Am Brawlers of Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch face the former challengers, Tyler Breeze and Fandango in Breezango and the team who beat Breezango on Wednesday, Legado Del Fantasma. For Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde, its a chance to show why they have become one of the most all-around teams along with the NXT Cruiserweight Champion, Santos Escobar. With Breezango, Breezy and Dango’s chance to once again face Imperium after an exciting showing the last time they faced. And for Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch, it’s a chance to once again be the top team on the brand for their first title shot in a year.
This match is subsequently built for Legado Del Fantasma to show up and show out and become a big-time contender, but it’s still too soon for the trio to hold multiple golds ala Undisputed Era at this time. Breezango could turn a corner after losing to Legado over the past week but I expect much of the same as it was Wednesday for them, which leaves two hardest-hitting bruisers in NXT to once again rise to the top and prepare us for one of the most imposing tag title matches in the history of the brand.
Prediction: Lorcan and Burch set up a epic clash against Imperium as the new #1 NXT Tag Team Championship contenders
WWE NXT Takeover XXX
Io Shirai (c) vs. Dakota Kai – NXT Women’s Championship Match
Dakota Kai has made her intentions known: no friends needed, no help needed, she just wants her shot at the NXT Women’s Championship because she will win. But Dakota isn’t just facing any woman, she’s facing a woman who’s looking to be the most dominant women’s champion in NXT history in Io Shirai.
Io Shirai has been nothing short of perfect in her reign since NXT Takeover: In Your House pinning NXT legend Charlotte Flair. But for this match, her words, she faces a calculating leech in Kai who has done everything but steal her way into this title match at Takeover XXX.
While I fully expect Dakota Kai to pull out the effective offense that first got her on the radar of NXT faithfuls, especially her run in the Mae Young Classic, Io Shirai is currently on another level… a level many of us who tune into the black and gold brand expected from the ‘Joshi Judas’ when she came from the Land of the Rising Sun. This won’t be a walk in the park for Io but she’s going to fight for this win as WWE NXT presents TakeOver XXX.
Prediction: Io Shirai retains the NXT Women’s Championship
Adam Cole vs. Pat McAfee
This isn’t a match, both men have made that clear. No, this is a fight. A fight between two men who legit do not like one another. Call it ego, bravado, whatever. This is a match that will focus on the physical as much as mental.
Adam Cole has literally ran rough shot throughout the entire NXT brand for an entire calendar year. You name them, Cole has defeated them. But for Pat McAfee, throughout every match, he’s had something to say about the former NXT Champion. From his height to his assistance from Undisputed Era, McAfee has criticized everything Cole has achieved. Until Cole sat across from Pat on his show and the rest is history.
Even with an impressive workout video, Pat McAfee is still making his wrestling debut. This won’t be a debate, it won’t be a clash of promos, this is a wrestling match for a man who may be an athlete but knows nothing of the condition to be a professional wrestler. Adam Cole, however, has one goal: shut off the noise. He needs to focus less on shutting up Pat and wrestle his match as WWE NXT presents TakeOver XXX.
And there’s a reason why Cole is and will continue to be, the man in NXT.
Prediction: Adam Cole wins the match, bay-bay
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Finn Balor vs. Timothy Thatcher
You had to see this one coming. During the epic Triple Threat match for a spot in the North American Championship ladder match, Thatcher took the pin, which led to Balor’s retaliation after the match was over. But the NXT’s resident teacher of holds was not done with the Prince just yet as he made sure to ruin Balor’s chances into the ladder match, costing him his victory on last week’s edition of NXT to Velveteen Dream.
Both men on the outside of history, looking in, have had enough, and William Regal has made it official. Announced Thursday, the man who every demographic loves to watch faces the man who makes a living off snapping limbs in a must-see, potential show-stealer of a match at Takeover XXX. For Thatcher, it’s the biggest profile match of his short tenure in NXT since ridding the brand of Matt Riddle a few months ago. For Balor, this is a statement to back up his claim: when NXT needs viewers, they call on the Prince.
I’m with Balor here, this match could’ve main evented an episode of NXT after Takeover XXX, but we are treated to it on Saturday. Thatcher will give Balor a fight, one that may cause the former NXT Champion some harm if he doesn’t use his speed advantage of the bigger man. But Balor isn’t a rookie here; this is a seasoned vet whose made a claim for being Mr. NXT Takeover before Johnny Gargano made it cool. An impressive back and forth will have the world talking, but this is just another stepping stone for Finn as he continues his path to claiming gold again.
Prediction: Finn Balor sends Timothy Thatcher back to 1916 with a victory
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Photo / @WWEonFox Twitter
WWE NXT Presents Takeover XXX
Bronson Reed vs. Damian Priest vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream – NXT North American Championship Ladder Match
Keith Lee became the man in one swift night. At NXT Great American Bash, he became the holder of the NXT North American and NXT Championship, an occurrence that may never happen again.
But Lee, a man of his word, understood NXT is a land of opportunity, and he was willing to provide that opportunity relinquishing the North American title and putting the coveted championship up for grabs. In return, William Regal delivered with giving us 3 amazing Triple Threat matches and 2 awesome one-on-one matches that we’re all Takeover worthy. In the end, the upset kid Bronson Reed, the man who looks to live forever in Damian Priest, the loudmouth Cameron Grimes, the Wednesday Knight Johnny Gargano and will now compete in a ladder match to become the next man to hold the North American Championship.
Take your pick, you wouldn’t be wrong.
Bronson Reed gives you a cinderella story. You want Reed, a year since gracing his ‘Thicc Boi’ presence on NXT TV to make his Australian journey worth wild to become champion. You want Priest to win, who for all of his glory, became the superstar to watch in defeat to Finn Balor, could literally live forever as champion. In Grimes, you see his prediction of being one of NXT’s fastest rising superstars, especially one you will never stop hearing from if he wins. For Gargano, he can make his own personal history becoming 2-time NXT North American Champion and prove why he is the stuff of legends. For Velveteen Dream is a come back from a loss at the NXT Championship to get his chance at 2-time gold.
As close as the NXT Championship, I can’t really call this one. You cannot go wrong. But for some reason, I feel this night will truly be special for a man who’s literally been on a path of redemption since he debuted.
Prediction: Damian Priest lives forever as the North American Champion
WWE NXT Takeover XXX
Keith Lee (c) vs. Karrion Kross [w/ Scarlett] – NXT Championship Match
After a fireball to the face and many bodies fallen from the hands of cross. The match is set. The surefire main event between Keith Lee and Karrion Kross will definitely be one for the ages.
But Keith Lee is riding high on a wave of momentum. The first-ever NXT double champion after ending Adam Cole’s history-making NXT Championship reign has not been complacent after taking on all comers since becoming NXT’s golden goose. But waiting in the shadows is Karrion Kross who after highhandedly defeating one of the pillars of the brand, Tomasso Ciampa, has been on a rampage including delivering a fireball to the Keith Lees’ face.
This will be an all-out war between two behemoths that may literally be a Match of the Year candidate. This will be a close call, probably one of the closest in recent memory in NXT…
Prediction: Keith Lee retains his NXT Championship in a 20-minute brawl
Make sure you tune in live to the WWE Network this Saturday. As once again we make history as WWE NXT Presents Takeover XXX, 7 pm EST!
