411’s NXT Takeover: Orlando Preview

~THE STAFF~
* , Mr. Ken Hill
* , Mr. Kevin Pantoja
* , Mr. Justin Watry
* , Mr. Mitch Nickelson

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Sanity vs. Tye Dilinger, Roderick Strong, No Way Jose & Ruby Riot

Kevin Pantoja: This is rather tough to call because it could really go either way. SAnitY could win to keep their momentum, but they’ve won most of their matches thus far and it could be time for the faces to overcome. I like the addition of Ruby Riot. She was very good on the indies and a feud with Nikki Cross could be great. I think the faces take it here but this feud will not end here, even if Tye Dillinger gets called up.

WINNER: Tye Dilinger, Roderick Strong, No Way Jose & Ruby Riot

Ken Hill: While the post-WM RAW/Smackdown is usually the best time to debut the latest crop of NXT upstarts, I’m gauging that they’ll keep Tye’s feud with Sanity going for at least another month so he can have a more proper one-on-one sendoff versus Eric Young.

WINNER: Team Perfect 10-4

JUSTIN WATRY: Sanity is getting to a point where either they have to be taken seriously…or the group will falter. I loved their debut. Loved it! Not even a fan of Eric Young so that is saying a lot. However, the stable has already gone through some stalling and a replacement. NXT usually gets 95% of their story lines right. This one is getting very close to be placed in the MISS category. The faces are all about where I expected them to be – minus Tye Dillinger. He is more than ready for a call up. No Way Jose and Roderick Strong? Yeah, fine. Whatever. No issues. Ruby Riot is the wild card here, and since she just showed up, I suppose the company will give her the victory. Personally, I’d favor Sanity though…

WINNER: Ruby Riot wins for her team

Mitch Nickelson: Sanity is the actual faction here while the other team is a collection of singles. That’s my entire reasoning for picking Eric Young’s group to win. Hopefully, Roderick Strong gets plenty of time to shine because his tenure in NXT so far hasn’t felt like as big of a deal as it should. The episode when Ruby Riot debuted was the first episode of NXT I’ve missed in about a year and a half, so I look forward to seeing her in action proper.

WINNER: Sanity

Aleister Black vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas

Kevin Pantoja: I like Aleister Black. I dug him as Tommy End and he was cool when I saw him at NXT Cleveland a few weeks back. However, Andrade Almas JUST started being awesome. He needed the heel turn and lifting some of his old Los Ingobernables antics has greatly helped. Unfortunately, he looks like he’s going to take the old Tyler Breeze route of being used to put over new guys. Breeze did it for Itami, Balor and Crews. Almas has done it for Roode, Strong and now Black.

WINNER: Aleister Black

Ken Hill: Almas has shown remarkable improvement since making his heel turn, turning in a number of solid performances as of late. It’s Black’s debut match, so no doubt here.

WINNER: Aleister Black

JUSTIN WATRY: Just a simple way to give the newcomer a win. I have enjoyed the vignettes thus far. Having never seen his work before being signed, I am very curious to watch this one. Andrade Almas is nothing more than enhancement, sadly. Every time he gets some momentum, it is just done to put over somebody else. Maybe this will be different? Probably not.

WINNER: Black wins

Mitch Nickelson : I don’t know much about Tommy End but I hear a ton of good things. That was my story with Andrade Almas before his debut and I’ve learned to appreciate how good he is inside of the ring. I feel like Almas could be a much bigger star given the great matches he occasionally has but any push for him isn’t happening yet. Cien is putting over the new guy here.

WINNER: Aleister Black

NXT Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Match: Champions Authors of Pain vs. DIY vs. The Revival

Kevin Pantoja: This should be the best match on the card by quite some margin. The Revival are, hands down, the best tag team on the planet. DIY is probably second and the Authors of Pain have shown that with the right opponents, they can deliver. I’m not sure how the elimination stipulation will impact the match but regardless, it should rule. I don’t think DIY get the titles back and I can only assume the Revival are getting called up soon. Or at least they should. A win for the Authors over the top two teams of the past six months in NXT would be big for them.

WINNER: The Authors of Pain

Ken Hill: Sad state of affairs for the RAW/SD tag division when it’s this tag match I’m looking forward to most come Mania weekend. Ellering’s boys are slowly coming into their own as a dominant, stonewalling tag team, Ciampa and Gargano look to regain their gold, and The Revival look to make history as the first-ever 3-time NXT Tag Team champions. Given the timing, I can think of no better way for the Revival to move on from NXT than to put over NXT’s latest tag team tour de force in AOP. This way, #DIY remains in the hunt for the straps without taking a fall.

WINNER: Authors of Pain

JUSTIN WATRY: The Revival are main roster bound within the next week. That is my story, and I am sticking to it. Smackdown LIVE feels like the perfect fit for them. By summer, them and American Alpha SHOULD be tearing the house down each week. DIY is an interesting case. I think they could be a ‘tag team main event’ act on NXT. However, it also seems they were headed for a breakup and move to the cruiserweight division six months ago. Then their journey to the tag titles was the story…and then they lost the belts quickly. Whatever is going on with them, I’m intrigued. All over the place right now. Really, the only true constant is The Authors Of Pain are monsters and can’t be beat.

WINNER: The Authors Of Pain

Mitch Nickelson : Two of the three of these teams are among the best current tag teams on the planet so this could be one of the best matches of the entire weekend. Authors of Pain are the titleholders going into this but I do not see them retaining. In fact, I hope they get out of the way and let DIY and Revival take control of as much of this one as possible. I’d really like to see The Revival win and DIY chase the belts again, but between all of these duos I’d guess The Revival are getting call ups before everyone else. DIY is my pick to win and they can stay in NXT to help get Akam and Rezar get better in the meantime.

WINNER: DIY

NXT Women’s Championship Match: Champion Asuka vs. Ember Moon

Kevin Pantoja: Considering Asuka debuted in October 2015 and is undefeated since, while also coming up on about a year as champion, you’d think this would be the opportune time to have her drop the title. Unfortunately, NXT hasn’t developed anyone enough to even feel like they’re in Asuka’s league. Ember Moon is good, don’t get me wrong, but I have no reason to care about her. She’s just the girl with cool eyes. Personally, I’d have booked Niki Cross against Asuka here. If not, I’d have Asuka retain. I’m not booking though. I say Ember wins so she can get a huge moment under her belt but I don’t think it’ll be enough to make her stand out.

WINNER: Ember Moon

Ken Hill: Simply put, Asuka has absolutely nothing left to prove in NXT. She’s already got the longest title reign (which will be one calendar year come Saturday in Orlando) and has steamrolled virtually every competitor brought to stand against her. Moon’s ‘Eclipse’ has been built well as possibly the only maneuver that could finally put Asuka down for good. We’ll see Asuka attempt every counter in the book to stop it, only to finally fall victim to Ember. A new “Moon” will rise on NXT, while Asuka sets sail for the main roster.

WINNER: Ember Moon

JUSTIN WATRY: My pick for match of the night. My pick for most interesting match of the card. My pick for hardest prediction of the show. I am beyond pumped to see Asuka vs. Ember Moon. I have figured this was the WrestleMania weekend showdown ever since August 2016. It has been a long time coming. From the beginning, it appeared that Moon was THE ONE to finally dethrone Asuka (both are undefeated). My one hang-up is I think Asuka is not going to leave NXT, at least not for another few months. She could be one of the big moves in the WWE Draft this summer. That is why, despite proclaiming a new NXT Women’s Champion was being crowned in Orlando ever since last summer, my head tells me Asuka retains. Then Moon defeats her in a rematch a few months down the road. It allows us a little bit more time with Asuka acting heelish but also lets Ember gather more fan support to overcome the unbeaten champ. I am really at a loss here as to who wins. Gut has said Moon for over six months, but now I have flipped to Asuka. Ugh. Tough call!

WINNER: Ember Moon

Mitch Nickelson : NXT has done a good job in getting Ember Moon’s Eclipse over as a dangerous maneuver in a short amount of time. It does feel like if she can nail that on Asuka then it’s over. Asuka’s put in her time on NXT and other than a follow up contest with Moon I’d like to think this is the start of her transition to the main roster.

WINNER: Ember Moon

NXT Title Championship Match: Champion Bobby Roode vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Kevin Pantoja: The NXT Title picture just bores me. It has since the Owens/Balor rivalry in 2015. Balor/Joe, Joe/Nakamura and Nakamura/Roode have under whelmed. Actually, Nakamura has under whelmed since the Sami Zayn match. Still, I think the outcome here should be clear. Bobby Roode is a fun champion and Nakamura shouldn’t be in NXT anymore. Have Roode retain and Nakamura debut the night after WrestleMania.

WINNER: Bobby Roode

Ken Hill: Not much that can be said that hasn’t already been said. Since Shinsuke’s arrival in NXT last year, he’s gone the gamut of having good to great matches with Samoa Joe to having wonderful matches with NXT veterans in Sami Zayn and Finn Balor to being the promotion’s first-ever 2-time champion, and the IWC is positively salivating at the slew of dream matches (Styles, Joe, BROOOOCK LESNAR) he could have with the main roster. Strike while the iron’s hot, as the old saying goes. Have Shinsuke solidify Roode’s GLORIOUS rise to the top, then make his blockbuster debut on a post-Mania RAW to make the crowd go catatonic.

WINNER: Bobby Roode

JUSTIN WATRY: Outside of the women’s title match and thinking of who is leaving NXT soon, this Takeover card is pretty under whelming. Nowhere even close to last year’s NXT Mania show. I would say it will take a miracle to jump-start the brand again, but that may be dipping into spoiler territory. For now, Bobby Roode is the reigning NXT Champion, and I would be stunned if that changed anytime soon. Like, for most of 2017 “soon.” He is the man moving forward. Nakamura has been my Raw after WM33 call up pick for almost a year now. He may be advertised for some June NXT shows, but who cares? He can do both for a few months, like others have in the past. Let him make his Raw (or Smackdown LIVE) debut next week and then finish up with NXT by the summer on a part-time basis. He deserves a Mania weekend send off to mark one year in NXT and then a HOT smarky crowd reaction days later. Epic WWE debut setting for him.

WINNER: Bobby Roode

Mitch Nickelson : Shinsuke Nakamura is just doing this match as a formality, right? He’s definitely showing up on Raw or Smackdown next week, right? It’s really a huge shame that he wasn’t immediately pushed on a main roster brand upon arrival when signed by WWE. That time’s finally here and he gets to lose to Bobby Roode once more. Hopefully there are some entrance tweaks because they both have such good ones.

WINNER: Bobby Roode

make sure to join 411 tonight at 7:30PM ET for our live NXT coverage…