411 Roundtable Preview – NXT Takeover: Brooklyn

~INTRODUCTION~
NXT is back for another Takeover special, this time taking place outside of their home of Full Sail University. The brand travels to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY for the special, which will take place in front of over 13,000 fans. This is by far the biggest event in the NXT brand’s history, and on tap for the show is five matches (including three title bouts), featuring the NXT regulars, some of the stars that have moved onto the main roster and the WWE debut of Jushin “Thunder” Liger. Lets meet the staff and break down the card…

~THE STAFF~
* 411’s weekly NXT reporter, Kevin Pantoja!
* The man behind the Magnificent Seven, Mike Chin!
* From the Wrestling 2 the Max Podcast, Paul Leazar!
* Host of the 411 Games Top 5 and the Wrestling 2 the Max Podcast, Sean Garmer!
* 411 Wrestling columnist, MMA Fact or Fiction host and Agents of SHIELD reviewer, Wyatt Beougher!

Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin

Kevin Pantoja: While I like the idea of this match, I do feel that it’s a bit of a letdown after the hype that Samoa Joe came in with. I think he’s suffering from the injury bug hurting NXT and people getting called up. It seems like a rushed program. With that being said, I’m actually rooting for Baron Corbin here. I love him as a heel and he’s impressed me when I’ve seen him at live events. However, I can’t see Samoa Joe coming in and losing to Baron, despite how much I’d like it.

Winner: Samoa Joe

Mike Chin: This ought to be a fun enough big man brawl. Hopefully Joe can help elevate Corbin whilst furthering his own run toward the top of NXT, perhaps bound for a collision with Finn Balor.

Winner: Samoa Joe

Paul Leazar: I’m oddly looking forward to this match, mostly just to see what Joe can get out of Corbin because we’ve all seen this reports that Corbin can work well with the right opponent, but I don’t think any of those matches have been televised. Joe goes over for sure, as he is one of the top dogs around NXT that you need to keep strong, but I think we all might be in for a surprise with how good this match will prove to be.

Winner: Samoa Joe

Sean Garmer: I agree with my W2M Podcast compatriot that I’m also looking forward to this match because Samoa Joe knows how to work and will probably get the best match we’ve ever seen out of Baron Corbin. I know Corbin’s deal is apparently that he likes to make life hard for the indy darlings that come into NXT. Well, Joe may qualify for that moniker, but he’s gonna be putting the fight to the lone wolf.

Winner: Samoa Joe

Wyatt Beougher: “The unstoppable force meets the immovable object”, “the past meets the future” – you could use a whole slew of clichés to describe this match, but what it really comes down to is what WWE has in mind for Samoa Joe. Corbin has been winning squash matches for just under a year now, and we haven’t really seen much growth from him in that time. He’s lost a handful of matches to top-tier guys like Neville and Balor, which in theory should have led to character growth, but instead he just went back to squashing jobbers (and Bull Dempsey). On the other hand, Joe made his widely speculated debut at the last Takeover special, where he had words with NXT champion Kevin Owens. After a hot debut, Joe has more or less just been there, and now he’s facing a guy that WWE very much wants its fans to believe is an unstoppable monster. If you watched Ring of Honor or TNA prior to the Hogan/Bischoff era, you know Joe actually is an unstoppable monster. Best case scenario here – Joe beats Corbin and moves into a feud with Balor, leaving Corbin to get some ring gear that doesn’t show off his loose gut skin (which looks like a mouth) and join the Wyatt family. However, I’m not totally sold on WWE’s willingness to move Joe into NXT’s main event with how unique his contract is, so there is a possibility that Corbin wins here and finally moves into meaningful matches himself.

Winner: Samoa Joe (Muscle Buster)

Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. Tyler Breeze

Kevin Pantoja: Probably the most interesting match on the card. Just seeing Jushin “Thunder” Liger on WWE television would be good enough but facing Tyler Breeze should make this fun. Liger has shown on recent ROH appearances that he can still go despite being over 50. Tyler is someone that I feel should get called up soon or they should put the NXT Title on him. Outside of that, he’s done everything on the brand and it’s sink or swim time. As for the match, part of me can’t see Liger coming in to lose, but there are a lot of faces I’m picking and Breeze could use a nice win on a TakeOver. I’m going with Prince Pretty.

Winner: Tyler Breeze

Mike Chin: It’s pretty wild to think that that Liger–a cruiserweight who awed American fans with innovative offense opposite Brian Pillman in WCW in the 90s will be making his first appearance under the WWE banner in 2015. Liger is still a special talent, and here’s hoping he’s coming in to put over Tyler Breeze as one last little push before he graduates to the main roster.

Winner: Tyler Breeze

Paul Leazar: I’m really, really looking forward to this. Tyler Breeze has proved he can work any opponent with any style and put a match that gets people buzzing, and an aging Liger should prove to be no different. This match should be all sorts of epic with Tyler Breeze hopefully getting the victory here to launch him back towards title contention now that the picture should be opening up a bit more.

Winner: Tyler Breeze

Sean Garmer: For people like me that watch NJPW all the time, seeing Liger isn’t really that big a deal, but it is still an awesome moment to see him in a ring with a WWE logo on it. Tyler Breeze has a special match on his hands and I very much enjoyed what he did on the go-home episode of NXT. Breeze is probably winning, but we know Liger brings it in singles matches and this one should be special.

Winner: Tyler Breeze

Wyatt Beougher: Tyler Breeze has long been the most main roster-ready guy in NXT, and hopefully facing a legend like Liger is a way of WWE saying “sorry for not calling you up even though you’re ready”. This match should be awesome, as Liger is still better at fifty than most guys are in their twenties (I’m looking at you, mid-2000s WWE developmental classes), and it’s honestly one of my most anticipated matches on the card. While Liger winning doesn’t help NXT long-term, I can’t help but wonder if that was one of the conditions for NJPW to allow him to appear. If this were anything more than a one-off, I would pretty much guarantee a Liger win here, but because RoH and NJPW have re-committed to one another repeatedly since this match was announced, I can’t help but think this is the only time we’ll see Liger in an NXT ring. It’s because of that, and Triple H’s fierce protectiveness over his kingdom, that I think Breeze picks up the win.

Winner: Tyler Breeze (Supermodel Kick)

NXT Tag Team Title Match: Champions Blake and Murphy vs. The Vaudevillians

Kevin Pantoja: Similar to Tyler Breeze, it’s sink or swim time for the Vaudevillains. While I would have preferred to see Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady in this mach somehow, if the Vaudevillains don’t win here, what do they do? Job? The idea of them bringing in a female should be fun, especially if she plays off the “manly” gimmick and is “womanly”. I could see Gionna fitting that role since she’s in very good shape. Blake and Murphy have grown on my since winning the belts, but it’s about time they drop them. They’ll still be entertaining because the addition of Alexa Bliss has done wonders for them.

Winner: The Vaudevillains

Mike Chin: I could go either way on this one, but I think there’s a more interesting immediate future in The Vaudevillians getting a run with the tag titles starting in Brooklyn, so I’m hedging toward them.

Winner: The Vaudevillians

Paul Leazar: I’m not all to sure about how exciting this match will be, as The Vaudevillians are great outside of the ring, but tend to bore me inside of the ring. I’ve enjoyed watching Blake and Murphy find their way in the tag division this year, and I want to see that trend continue, especially with Alexia Bliss running around with them, who I think has future star written all over her once she gets some more wrestling time under her belt. I see no reason to take the belts off of Blake and Murphy, so they should retain here.

Winner and STILL NXT Tag Team Champions: Blake & Murphy

Sean Garmer: These guys haven’t lit the world on fire in the ring, but Team BAMF has been so great as a trio with Alexa Bliss that now I want to watch them every time they appear on NXT. Vaudevillains I feel are going to get shortchanged here because it still baffles me that Enzo and Cass aren’t in this spot. I will say that they Vaudevillains fit well into this role and have made their gimmick actually fit into this feud. There’s obvious intrigue here as to who they might bring out to combat Ms. Bliss, but I think in the end the champions are retaining here. I don’t see them losing it to anyone else but Chad Gable and Jason Jordan at this point.

Winner and STILL NXT Tag Team Champions: Blake & Murphy

Wyatt Beougher: In my opinion, the absolute best part of professional wrestling is truly great tag team wrestling – it allows for a fluidity and emotional investment that you can’t otherwise get in singles wrestling, and both BAMF and the Vaudevillians excel at what they do. Blake and Murphy are maybe my favorite tandem wrestlers in WWE right now, and I’ve been a fan of English since before Gotch was even a part of the promotion. My only hope is that whomever the Vaudevillians bring out to neutralize Alexa Bliss doesn’t take away from what should be a fun, well-wrestled contest between two tag teams at the top of their respective games. I’d like to see the Vaudevillains win here, so that they are not labeled as chokers, but I sincerely hope that this feud continues. I know the Realest Guys in the Room are probably more popular, but the Vaudevillains are far, far more entertaining overall.

Winners and NEW NXT Tag Team Champions: The Vaudevillians (Fireman’s Carry Roll/Senton combo)

NXT Women’s Title Match: Champion Sasha Banks vs. Bayley

Kevin Pantoja: There is no match on this card that I’m more invested in. Sasha Banks is my absolute favorite wrestler in the world and I’m always looking forward to her TakeOver matches than anyone else’s. Had it not been for the recent call to the main roster, I honestly think they should have gone with Becky/Sasha II in maybe a 2 out of 3 falls match or something. It was that good at Unstoppable. Instead, Bayley gets to have her moment. It will be nice to see and I’m sure the match itself will deliver. Despite my undying love for Sasha, with her on the main roster now, this is Bayley’s time

Winner: Bayley

Mike Chin: Bayley has been getting a very good run, working her way through the women’s ranks over the past few weeks–exactly the sort of purist wrestling angle that has made NXT special. Sasha Banks has already moved up to the main roster. While Banks is getting a star push in the big leagues, it’s time for her to honor tradition and pass the torch in developmental.

Winner: Bayley

Paul Leazar: It’s time. Sasha is ready for the main roster, the NXT fans are ready for Bayley to have her crowning moment, and the stars have lined up. These two have plenty of experience working against each other, and this could easily end up being match of the night. Bayley gets the big victory here, Sasha makes her look a trillion dollars, and we ride the Bayley wave until the rest of the Women’s division in NXT catches up, which I think everybody who follows NXT will gladly enjoy.

Winner and NEW NXT Women’s Champion: Bayley

Sean Garmer: This is going to be all kinds of awesome. This is going to rival Sasha vs. Becky in emotion, but for the opposite reason. This is made to be Bayley’s shining moment and cementing her as the leader of the future crop of NXT Women. Should Bayley be on the main roster with the other three horsewomen? Sure she should, but NXT also doesn’t need to lose every female draw they have at once. Bayley is to the women what Sami Zayn is to the men. She extremely over with that crowd that they even chant her theme song and that promo by Sasha at the contract signing just pulled everything together. It is very evident that Bayley is winning, but I am ready for the journey to end with that star making moment.

Winner and NEW NXT Women’s Champion: Bayley

Wyatt Beougher: Bayley has to win here, right? This is her Sami Zayn at [R]Evolution moment, isn’t it? Sasha is probably my favorite female wrestler right now (and maybe ever), but Bayley needs this win to give Sasha her comeuppance before the Boss takes the Divas title from Nikki Bella and disappears onto the main roster forever. If she wins, then there’s still hope in this world for good people to succeed; if not, then the WWE main roster definition of a babyface (basically, an angry, violent, belittling jerk) becomes the standard necessary for success. I don’t want to live in that world. At any rate, Bayley had one of the best Takeover matches ever with Charlotte at Fatal 4Way, she and Sasha were half of the outstanding Fatal 4Way match at Rival, and Sasha and Becky tore the house down at Unstoppable, so this match should be GOOOOOOD.

Winner: Bayley (Belly to Bayley)

NXT Title Ladder Match: Champion Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens

Kevin Pantoja: When this match was first announced, I wasn’t very interested. They’ve already had two matches and the one in Japan was really good. I would have preferred this rematch be on an NXT taping since I couldn’t see Kevin Owens winning the belt while being on the main roster. He also should be the United States Champion right now but I digress. What has gotten me interested in the ladder match stipulation. At least it will be something different between the two and has potential to be great. Still, I can’t help but feel like the outcome isn’t in doubt. Finn Balor retains while Owens works the main roster midcard.

Winner: Finn Balor

Mike Chin: The ladder match stipulation has the potential to result in a very good, very violent spin on a traditional gimmick match, in addition to protecting Owens from having to eat a second pinfall in NXT en route becoming main-roster exclusive. Had Owens not already moved up, this may be a toss up, but now Balor is the man in NXT and Owens is closing the door on this stage of his career.

Winner: Finn Balor

Paul Leazar: These boys got some rough work ahead of them to try and top what they did at Beast in the East, but if any two guys could do it, they can. The weird part is that I could see them moving belt back over to Kevin Owens to keep him involved in NXT until Zayn is ready to come back, and it could keep him looking important up on the main roster as well, but I don’t think anybody on the NXT Writing team is thinking that way, and Finn will walk out still the champion, and be that fighting champion we all love because despite what looks like an open void at the top of the card, you could have Tyler Breeze immediately challenge for the title after getting his big win over Liger.

Winner and STILL NXT Champion: Finn Balor

Sean Garmer:: I’m glad that they added the stipulation to this match because it was going to be extremely hard to top what they did at Beast in the East. This is all about trying to prove that Tokyo was not a fluke for Balor, while Owens is now searching to be champion again. I’m excited to see what they can pull off here and hope it stand on its own as a killer NXT Takeover main event by the time it is all said and done. The thing is, Owens is already on the main roster and it would destroy any momentum Balor could create by having him lose here. Balor retains and holds this belt for a while longer.

Winner and STILL NXT Champion: Finn Balor

Wyatt Beougher: The first and only time the NXT championship was defended in a ladder match, the defending champion lost his title and moved to the main roster (after a few weeks of legitimately hilarious segments). This time, it’s the challenger who has already moved to the main roster and Balor himself only won the title last month at the Beast in the East special. I’m interested in seeing how this match plays out, as Owens won their first encounter against normal human Finn Balor, while the demon Balor is the one that won the title at BitE. Does the demon even give Balor an advantage in a ladder match? Will fans chant “fly fatass fly” at Owens if he’s perched on the ladder and looking to leap? These are the questions that we need answers to, and I have a feeling we’ll get them on Saturday night. Like every other match on the card that doesn’t involve Baron Corbin, this pits two outstanding talents against one another and should be an outstanding contest between two wrestlers who are, right now, walking that fine line between the high level, unrestricted performances they put on while wrestling outside of WWE and the more polished style that WWE requires of its talent. If Bo/Neville was the HBK/Razor ladder match, built more upon the strategy of actually getting the ladder up and climbing rather than using it as a weapon or perch for crazy spots, I am expecting this match to lean more towards the latter, with Balor and Owens busting out increasingly more violent/crazy uses of the ladder in an effort to keep their opponent down long enough to retrieve the title. In the end, I think a Coup de Grace, followed by a slow, agonizing climb, wins the day for Balor.

Winner: Finn Balor

411 will have live coverage of the show starting at 8:30PM ET tonight!