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411 Roundtable Preview – NXT TakeOver: Rival
NXT may be the WWE’s “developmental system,” but no one can argue that the talent is great and that last year they put on some of the WWE’s best shows. NXT returns two months after their last critically acclaimed event to see if they can do it again. All three of the NXT Title are on the line; Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy try to prove that they are not a fluke, Charlotte looks to continue her dominance over the ladies of NXT and Sami Zayn looks to hold onto the title he worked so hard for against former friend and longtime rival, Kevin Owens.
* He does a little bit of everything around the 411 Wrestling and MMA zones, he is investigative journalist and international traveler, Jack McGee!
* He is the master of the Wrestling 8 Ball, but sucks at 9-Ball, he is Mike Hammerlock!
* Next up is the man that reviews NXT on a weekly basis and still carries my bags into the arena, he is Kevin Pantoja!
* Unemployed Main Event recapper because of international TV contracts and an irrational hatred for Hulu Plus, Alex Crowder!
* He controls the MMA Fact or Fiction universe and is a part time vintner, he is Wyatt Beougher!
Tyler Breeze vs. Hideo Itami
Jack McGee: This is a late addition to the card, and to tell you the truth I am not that excited bout it. I like both guys, but I simply see no reason to add more matches onto a two-hour show. I think that the match won’t get much time, and that it will likely only serve to give Itami a rebound victory after failing in the tournament. Personally I would have saves this for a main event when they tape the next three to four weeks of TV the next night. I am sure the match will be solid to good, depending on the time, but with it being shoehorned in late, I have a feeling it will just be another match.
Winner: Hideo Itami
Mike Hammerlock: Technically speaking, both these guys have a lot to lose. Last summer it looked like Breeze was on track to win the NXT title by now. Now he’s in line behind the NXT Five and probably Baron Corbin. It’s great for us that NXT has such a deep roster, but it kind of sucks for Breeze. He really needs NXT to bust out something like a TV title. Meanwhile, Itami walked into NXT as an established international star. Problem is, so did Finn Balor, who just beat Itami in the #1 contender’s tournament. Again, depth is a double-edged sword. Yet Itami is one of the NXT Five and he probably get the win here, though it is possible Breeze heels his way to victory, setting up a longer feud.
Winner: Hideo Itami
Alex Crowder: Like Mike, I feel bad for Tyler Breeze. He seemed to be a shining star in NXT, and then all this new talent came in and overshadowed him a little. Hideo Itami did lose to Finn Balor who seems to be taking some shine off Itami. Both men have a lot to prove in this one. I think Itami probably wins this one since he seems to be the bigger priority. This match may start a feud of sorts, so I would not be surprised if Breeze won either. I enjoy both guys and hope neither man gets lost in the shuffle that is NXT.
Winner: Hideo Itami
Wyatt Beougher: If this match were on the main roster, I would be worried that it was going to be three minutes long, end with a distraction roll-up, and do nothing for either performer. Thankfully, this is NXT, and the match has a perfectly acceptable reason for happening (Breeze wants revenge after Itami eliminated him from the NXT Contendership Tournament), will get sufficient time to let both performers shine, and if the Tyler Breeze/Marcus Louis storyline progresses at all, it will likely be after the match. As for the result? I look for Itami to win here, just so he doesn’t get too far behind his cool friend that he brought to NXT.
Winner: Hideo Itami, some sort of kick
NO DQ MATCH: Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey
Jack McGee: I get what they are doing here, but this is one of the matches I am not looking forward too. They have already had two matches, which Corbin won. Dempsey costs Corbin his shot in the NXT Title Tournament, and now we’re getting it again. The only decision that makes sense to me is for Baron Corbin to win and move on. Sorry Bull, the cards are stacked against you here and quite honestly you’ve never done anything to entertain me all that much.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Mike Hammerlock: What we have here is the difference between big and fat. Corbin is a towering figure and brings athleticism along with his size. He might be the top prospect down in NXT. Other guys have more wrestling talent, but Corbin has the makings of a dominant big man. Dempsey looks more like a hefty jobber. That doesn’t mean he can’t make his old school hard man gimmick work, Bray Wyatt looked like a hefty jobber once upon a time, but Corbin’s the more complete package and I expect he’s going over here.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Kevin Pantoja: NXT did a great job in building this up as two monsters meeting. It was like Taz/Sabu but on a MUCH smaller scale. The problems were A) Baron Corbin clearly has more star power than Bull Dempsey and B) In their first two matches, Baron won in a combined three minutes. Why are we supposed to believe that a No Disqualifications stipulation is going to make this ultra competitive? I expect it will last longer than a minute and a half, but Corbin will still stand tall.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Alex Crowder: Baron Corbin is the better prospect, but for some reason I find myself liking Bull Dempsey. Bull looks like an old school NWA wrestler and I think he could do well with the right booking. Unfortunately, Corbin has already dominated Dempsey making this match appear meaningless. This card has more than a few matches, so I expect more of the same. Maybe, this one will actually be competitive at least. I only hope that Bull doesn’t vanish completely like Mojo who I did not care for.
Winner: Baron Corbin
Wyatt Beougher: Oh, what’s that? Something else NXT does better than the main roster WWE? If Bull Dempsey had debuted on the main roster with the gimmick he debuted in NXT with, generic monster heel who rips off Eddie Kingston promos, he would’ve promptly been forgotten and would’ve ended up jobbing endlessly to Sheamus or whoever on Superstars. Instead, they introduced Baron Corbin as the generic monster face who doesn’t say anything and put him on a collision course with Dempsey, whose character has progressed a thousand fold as a result. Now, instead of being generic monster heel who isn’t particular monstrous, Dempsey is “slightly chubby guy who tries to be an unbeatable monster but is confronted weekly by his own inferiority complex and progressively builds up more and more impotent rage”. Barring some unforeseen interference here (maybe Mojo Rawley comes back and wrecks both guys), Corbin returns to the win column here, most likely after Bull (once again) hits him with everything that he has.
Winner: Baron Corbin (End of Days)
NXT Tag Team Title Match: Champions Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy vs. Lucha Dragons
Jack McGee: The tag team title scene in NXT has always been the source of issues, which is surprising since Hunter loves tag team wrestling so much. I was not a fan of how Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy won the titles, I mean out of nowhere they beat the champions in around three minutes and we’re suddenly supposed to buy into them. I just wish that they had been built up longer, and then won in a match that actually felt like a real match and not a Monday Night Raw throwaway. Hopefully they get the time here on the special and then Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy can score an impressive victory in front of a bigger audience. I see Kalisto heading to the main roster soon, and as for Hunico/Cara, I have a bad feeling that they are about done with him, which is a shame.
Winner: And STILL champions Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy
Mike Hammerlock: The rise of Blake and Murphy to the tag titles caught me by surprise. It seemed the Lucha Dragons were at a level above NXT’s other tag teams. This is the match where we find out whether Blake and Murphy are for real or if they’re a bit of a fluke. Since the booking in NXT has been so solid (all credit to HHH), my guess is the champions will continue their momentum. On top of that, we’re seeing more of Sin Cara in the WWE these days and there are rumors Kallisto might get called up with the worst gimmick ever (Rico 2.0). I wish the WWE would just keep them together. It needs tag teams. Yet, regardless of what they do in the WWE, the looming possibility of full-time WWE callups means the Lucha Dragons may have run their course in NXT.
Winner: Blake/Murphy
Kevin Pantoja: I appreciate the efforts that NXT has done to improve their tag team division, but this is the match I’m probably least looking forward to. Nothing against the workers as I enjoy all four guys, but there isn’t the build behind this that the other matches have. The Lucha Dragons just lost the belts out of nowhere and this is their rematch. I feel like Blake and Murphy will show that they belong on the Specials and put on a good match here before retaining.
Winners and Still Tag Team Champions Blake and Murphy
Alex Crowder: Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy shocked NXT fans with their victory over Lucha Dragons. I assume that Kalisto is getting called up soon. Kalisto would be more than an adequate replacement for Rey Mysterio Jr. I do not have anything against Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy but I enjoyed Lucha Dragons as a tag team. I wish WWE cared about tag teams more. I would not be surprised if Lucha Dragons regained, but I see the champions retaining.
Winner and Still Champions: Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy
Wyatt Beougher: Team Thick is probably the worst name I’ve heard for a tag team in a long time (and that’s saying something with reDRagon out there), but that doesn’t change the fact that Blake and Murphy are actually one of the more underrated acts in NXT right now. Sure, they don’t have much personality yet, but neither did the guys they won the titles off of, and I honestly think that Blake and Murphy probably have the best teamwork/tag team spots of anyone at any level of the WWE. If these guys can develop something character-wise beyond “we’re really excited to be champions and like to stand really close to one another shirtless”, they could be mainstays in the WWE tag division for the foreseeable future. I look for them to retain here so that Sin Cara can keep beating Miz via Mizdow distraction and Kalisto can become a gay hairdresser (except now that’s not going to happen, I guess).
Winners and STILL NXT Tag Team Champions: Team Thick (debuting their tag team finisher)
#1 Contender’s Match: Adrian Neville vs. Finn Balor
Jack McGee: Oh this, this could be pretty fucking great guys. Neville has had a good run in NXT, and has put in his share of great performances. Balor has an insanely huge superstar presence, from his ring work to the attitude, to the ring entrance; the guy is money and has been since his awesome work with New Japan. I know that Zayn vs. Owens is getting all of the shine for this show, and it deserves it; but don’t be surprised if these guys steal the show. I feel that Neville’s NXT tenure is coming to a close, so they will freshen things up with Balor in the main event scene.
Winner: Finn Balor
Mike Hammerlock: Neville is on a stellar run. He ended Baron Corbin’s undefeated streak last week (with a major assist from Bull Dempsey) and beat Tyler Breeze in a fantastic match the week before. He probably isn’t going up to the WWE until sometime after WrestleMania, so he’s going to remain a major factor in NXT for the near future. Meanwhile, Balor wrestled an absolute gem against Hideo Itami to get here. If I had to pick an NXT talent who’s ready to go over big in the WWE starting today, it would be Balor. He’s got everything working. I doubt he’s going to last long in NXT. So if they want to make him a major player in NXT, it needs to happen sooner rather than later. I could see either guy winning here. There’s no wrong pick from a booking perspective. I’m guessing Balor because it puts new blood in the title hunt.
Winner: Finn Balor
Kevin Pantoja: Now we’re getting to the really good stuff. The Tournament to determine a new top contender for Sami Zayn and the NXT Title was excellent. Nearly every match was good and enjoyable. This was the perfect choice for a Finals in my opinion. I don’t see Adrian Neville staying in NXT too much longer and expect him to be called up shortly after WrestleMania. Just like Bo Dallas put him over on the way out last year, I see Adrian doing the same for Balor. Balor has the “it” factor and a shot at the NXT Title would be huge. Neville will stay away from the title most likely, while I can see Balor winning. He may not be in NXT long and could win the title quickly.
Winner: Finn Balor
Alex Crowder: Finn Balor has always been a star no matter where he wrestled. Adrian Neville may have lost the NXT Championship, but I do not think he is going straight to the main roster. I see Neville staying behind to give credibility to other NXT stars. Neville will probably lose this one to make Finn Balor more of a threat. Finn Balor is great and Neville is really good too. I see this being a fantastic match. Neville has momentum and Balor is coming off a great victory.
Winner: Finn Balor
Wyatt Beougher: If you’re not excited to see this match, I’m not sure you should call yourself a wrestling fan. While Neville isn’t the most charismatic superstar, he’s outstanding in the ring, and Balor can match him move for move, as well as possessing enough charisma for both guys. This should be worth it simply for Balor’s entrance and face/body paint alone – the fact that this match has a chance to steal the show is simply a bonus. In the end, I see Balor going over as Neville does his customary jobs on the way up to the main roster (see: Dallas, Bo).
Winner and NEW #1 Contender: Finn Balor (Double Stomp)
NXT Women’s Title Match: Champion Charlotte vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch
Jack McGee: This match is a real wild card for me. The NXT ladies have obviously impressed in the past, but once you get into a four-way match, the chances of things going wrong grow exponentially; no mater how good you are. I do have a lot of faith in these performers, but at the same time am very worried about miscommunication and the right story not being told. I really hope my worries are dashed by a great performance, and I am going outside the box and going with Becky Lynch to take the win when Charlotte and Sasha get too involved in one-upping/trying to stop each other.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Mike Hammerlock: Charlotte’s been the queen of NXT since last May. She’s beaten all comers. This is a perfect opportunity for her to lose the title without losing. Any of the other three are solid choices. Bayley has a bit of a Sami Zayn vibe. The crowd roots for her even though she sometimes loses the big one. Lynch does well in the ring, though she’s still working to find her identity outside of it. Banks is a bit of generic heel, but she’s a good generic heel. She’ll anger people in the right way as champion and perhaps it opens the door to a face turn for Lynch.
Winner: Sasha Banks
Kevin Pantoja: Hands down the best women’s division going is the one in NXT. All of these girls are talented and they’ve delivered on every single live special. At the last one, R Evolution, Sasha Banks came so close to dethroning Charlotte in my favorite women’s match of the past few years. She’s my pick to finally win the belt. Charlotte is similar to Neville in that she’s going to the main roster soon and this four way is a good chance to get the belt off of her without her being pinned. Bayley can continue the babyface chase, while Becky hasn’t done much to earn the shot.
Winner and New Champion Sasha Banks
Alex Crowder: I imagine Charlotte is going to the main roster soon unfortunately for her. Bayley is unique and fun to watch. Becky Lynch is a veteran presence that has added to NXT. Sasha Banks is the crown jewel of the NXT women in my opinion. I’m really hoping Sasha finally gets the title here. Sasha Banks has already failed in her pursuit of the NXT Women’s Title and needs to win it before she is Lex Lugered. Charlotte puts on great matches with good talent. Charlotte will relinquish the NXT title at some point and this appears to be the perfect point. Charlotte has dominated the division, but dominance ends eventually. Becky Lynch, Bayley, and Sasha Banks are all good talents. This should be a great match just like Neville and Balor. I really want Sasha to win, but I think it is a 50/50 at best chance of happening to quote the Great Math Professor Scott Steiner. I’ll go on a limb and say Sasha wins since everyone else did.
Winner and New Champion: Sasha Banks
Wyatt Beougher: Between the contendership match, the tag title matches, and the championship match, all of which should be solid or better wrestling matches, this match might be the one that I am most looking forward to. I am an unabashed Sasha Banks mark, and while the tag team match pitting Bayley and Charlotte against Team BAE was nothing to write home about, I’m pretty confident that the ladies were saving their best stuff for the live special. In 2014, Charlotte had show-stealing matches with both Bayley (at Takeover: Fatal 4Way) and Sasha (at Takeover: “R”Evolution), and seeing all three of them squaring off (with the additional of Becky Lynch, who hasn’t really been given a lot to do in NXT but is a very talented professional wrestler in her own right) should mean another spectacular match under the belts of the NXT Women’s division. As for the winner, I’m not entirely sure here, as I think Charlotte is ready for the main roster, but I also thought she would lose at the last two Takeover shows, so my speculation might not be the best when it comes to her matches. Gun to my head, I’ll guess that Bayley hits the Belly to Bayley on Charlotte and looks to finally secure the win, only for Sasha to sneak in and hit the Banks Statement on her for the submission win, continuing Bayley’s chase for the title, this time against a new champion.
Winner and NEW NXT Women’s Champion: Sasha Banks (Banks Statement)
NXT Title Match: Champion Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
Jack McGee: This one is a really hard one to call for me. On one hand, Zayn just completed his journey and got the title, so taking it off of him seems like a bad idea if anyone else was involved. But here we have Kevin (Steen) Owen, with the perfect built in story, and the fact that Owens possibly taking the title and ruining Sami’s dreams to build another redemption story is very appealing. Unless (insert the deity you worship and sacrifice small animals to here) smites one of these guys, the one thing I do know is that this will be a fantastic wrestling match from both a work and storytelling standpoint. I think Zayn may retain here (possibly when Owens crosses the line, and gets disqualified) but a title change would not surprise me.
Winner: Sami Zayn
Mike Hammerlock: Even if NXT hadn’t made a habit of putting on superlative big events, this match would be a guaranteed **** minimum. Zayn and Owens have a history as El Generico and Kevin Steen. Now they’re clashing in NXT. Someday they’ll clash in the WWE. Zayn has been the big story in NXT during the past year, finally winning the big one at R Evolution. Fans love him and it’s easy to see why. He’s been beating Adrian Neville at house shows on a regular basis since his title win and supposedly they burn down the house every time. Owens has been slingshot into this title match. He’s worked three televised matches and two house shows. No problem with that. He came into NXT as a ready-made contender. Classic booking dictates you let your babyface spend some more time with his belt. However, the NXT Five is only going to be NXT for a limited engagement and I think they might play hot potato with the belt. It’s the perfect group of guys to do that.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Kevin Pantoja: The fact that this is so hard to predict is the beautiful thing about NXT. After the main roster produced the painfully predictable Royal Rumble, NXT gives us this. Part of me thinks Sami Zayn retains because he just won it and whenever I predict two title changes on these specials I’m wrong. The other side sees that Sami is so popular that he doesn’t need a long run with the belt and Kevin Owens ending that makes him an even bigger heel. If Owens loses, I don’t know where he goes from there. Besides, if all of my predictions are right, Balor/Owens could be incredible.
Winner and New Champion Kevin Owens
Alex Crowder: This match does not need much of an explanation. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens tore it up in the Indies as El Generico and Kevin Steen. These two had one of the best Indy feuds and put on incredible matches together. I’m assuming this will be no different. These two get expectations heaped on them, but I think these two are so skilled that they will meet the expectations. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens bring their rivalry to a new audience and I’m sure the NXT crowd will eat it up. I’m unsure if this match will have a fair ending. I could see Kevin Owens winning the title, but a part of me thinks it could end inconclusively to continue the feud. Regardless, I’m going say Kevin Owens wins.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Wyatt Beougher: If you’ve seen anything involving these guys from outside the WWE, you know that they have an undeniable chemistry in the ring and are capable of putting together some outstanding matches. If the Lucha Dragons hadn’t already lost their titles two weeks ago, I would have assumed Owens wins this match via nefarious means because there’s so much money to be made in Sami Zayn chasing the title, especially against an actual heel and someone with as much back story as he has with Owens. However, I think they keep the belt on Zayn here – perhaps Owens gets overconfident late in the match and that allows Owens to pick up a surprise roll-up win or a Helluva Kick out of nowhere? Regardless, the show ends with another Owens beat down on Zayn, since he’ll be representing the WWE in the Middle East and will likely miss the first set of post-Takeover: Rival tapings.
Winner: Sami Zayn, rollup
Jack McGee – My interest in the show is high!: I don’t want to sound too over the top, but the NXT specials are the shows I look forward too the most as far as wrestling in North America goes. All four of the shows last year very good to excellent, and quite honestly NXT does a lot of the stuff I wish that the main WWE product would do. I get good stories, great wrestling and always walk away happy. These shows feel like a call back to the Clash of the Champions events, and I mean that as a high compliment. NXT is a good one hour TV show, and while I am not a fan of how they got to certain things for this show, they knock it out of the park on their specials, and I expect that to happen again with the matches and talent set for the show.
Mike Hammerlock – My Interest Level For This Show Is High: NXT has become a brand we can trust. Honestly, I don’t care who wins any of these matches. I’m just excited that we get to see them. The booking in NXT has been so good they can go in multiple directions and each one would be a correct choice. NXT is doing it right. Rivals Roundtable is nearly guaranteed to come off better than WWE Fast Lane. At some point maybe they’ll recognize that it comes down to the guy in charge of the book.
Kevin Pantoja – My Interest Level for this Show is: High: The highest it could be actually. In 2014, with the exception of WrestleMania and probably SummerSlam, NXT produced my favorite shows of the year. They’ve delivered a quality product with each live special that they are given and I don’t see that trend changing in 2015. The card is loaded, the talent is motivated and the results should be splendid.
Alex Crowder -My Interest Level For This Show Is High: NXT always brings the goods. NXT unlike their well known counterpart gives us fans what we want. NXT to me has surpassed WWE at this point, and should not be considered a part of the WWE. NXT is better and feels so different from the company that owns it! NXT consentingly puts on a great product and is good as it gets. I do not think I could get any more excited for an NXT event.
Wyatt Beougher – My Interest Level For This Show Is High: Because it’s NXT. No explanation needed. < lol Watry >
In all seriousness, look at the track record for the live specials of the WWE’s developmental promotion, and give me one good reason why you shouldn’t be extremely excited for this show. If you like wrestling, NXT has that covered. If you like booking that actually makes sense, NXT has that covered. If you like tag team wrestling that isn’t just a bunch of superkicks and chantalongs, NXT has that covered. If you like women’s wrestling to be more than models who can’t wrestle awkwardly interacting with one another for three minutes prior to a rollup, NXT has that covered. I called NXT “the best weekly promotion in the US” after their last live special back in December, and I very much doubt this show is going to do anything except reinforce that notion.
411 will have live coverage of the show starting at 8PM ET tonight!
