411’s NXT Takeover: Unstoppable Preview

~INTRODUCTION~
On February 11th, 2015 Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn re-ignited their feud in the ring as the main event of NXT Takeover: Rival. Owens would destroy his longtime friend and enemy for 20-minutes, and the referee would stop the match and award him the title. On the same show Sasha Banks defeated Charlotte, Bayley and Becky Lynch to win the NXT Women’s Title, Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy defeated The Lucha Dragons and Finn Balor earned a shot at he NXT Title. Zayn will now challenge Owens to get his title back, Banks defends against the rising Becky Lynch, Enzo Amore & Big Cass look to become more than just the cool kids as they challenge for the tag team titles and more! Some of the card is in doubt due to reported injuries, but we’ll break down what has been advertised. Lets meet the staff…

~THE STAFF~
* He’s 411’s weekly NXT reviewer, he is Kevin Pantoja!
* He heads up MMA Fact or Fiction, writes the 411 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. review and also dabbles in writing about wrestling, he is Wyatt Beougher!
* He has you covered every week for WWE Smackdown coverage , he is Eric Palmer!
* He always has an 8-Ball on him, he is Mike Hammerlock!

***NOTE: The article was written prior to the announcement that Itami was not wrestling and the confirmation that Zayn was wrestling. ***

Baron Corbin vs. Rhyno

Kevin Pantoja: This should be a classic case of a veteran putting over a young gun. Baron Corbin seems to be more heel as of late which is perfect since it suits him way better. The build for this has been similar to the Corbin/Dempsey stuff from a few months ago but Rhyno is far better than Bull. I expect a clash of two hard hitting guys that won’t go on for very long. It should be a fun match that Corbin wins before maybe moving into the NXT Title picture.

Winner: Baron Corbin

Wyatt Beougher: Look, I’m not the biggest Rhyno fan in the world. I was a huge fan of Taz’ run in ECW, and to me, Rhyno always felt like a chunkier, less talented version of Taz. That said, he *should* win this match. To his credit, Corbin is ready to graduate past the “beat jobbers quickly” stage of his career, but that puts him in a quagmire – a guy his size, with his attitude and gimmick, should realistically be destroying the Zayns and Balors and Itamis of the world, but he’s absolutely not at that point yet in his career. The charisma isn’t there, the character work isn’t there, and he hasn’t proven that he can work a longer match convincingly to this point (at least not without being carried by someone significantly better than him in the ring). Maybe this match with Rhyno will be his coming out party, but unless he wins by countering a Gore into the End of Days, it’s going to feel like a travesty.

Winner: Baron Corbin (End of Days)

Eric Palmer: I like this booking a bit more than I probably should. I’m not expecting a classic here, but these two should be able to work a solid eight minute match and give Corbin a needed win over a vet like Rhyno. I expect Corbin to move up after this match, hopefully he can show that he can hang with a veteran.

Winner: Baron Corbin

Mike Hammerlock: Rhyno never was the unstoppable force they’re currently portraying him as, but he’s a hard-hitting vet with a commendable history in the business. He’s no slouch. Corbin should get a good rub from beating him. Also should be interesting to see if NXT can add a few wrinkles to the classic big-man match.

Winner: Baron Corbin

Bayley & Charlotte vs. Dana Brooke & Emma

Kevin Pantoja: There aren’t many things in NXT that I don’t enjoy but Dana Brooke is one of them. They seem hellbent on pushing her and getting her over though. She is obviously still learning but the growing pains are hard to watch. The matches, the promos and the awkward feeling herself up stuff is all bad. The other three girls here are all excellent. I see Charlotte getting called up soon and Bayley is similar to Sami Zayn in that she’s lovable regardless of her win/loss record. With that being said, I fully expect the heels to go over here. Last note; I’m not the biggest Alexa Bliss fan, but it’s a travesty that Dana gets to be on a TakeOver event before her.

Winner: Dana Brooke and Emma

Wyatt Beougher: This match should be indicative of whether or not Charlotte will be making her main roster debut in the near future – if she turns on Bayley here in true Flair fashion, expect her to stick around NXT for at least another program. But I don’t think we’re going to see that, and when Charlotte does leave, it’ll be as a face. This match will be about continuing the Bayley/Emma feud, and (unfortunately) they’re also going to be looking to put over heat vacuum Dana Brooke, so look for Emma to distract or incapacitate Bayley, leading to Brooke hitting her finisher on Bayley for the win and continuing the Live Event losing streak for the most huggable wrestler in NXT.

Winner: Dana Brooke and Emma (Brooke, Samoan Driver)

Eric Palmer: I’m really not sure why this match needs to happen. I think Bayley vs. Emma would be much better. The ladies of NXT usually tear the house down, but Dana Brooke just isn’t ready for this spotlight yet.

Winner: Bayley and Charlotte

Mike Hammerlock: On paper this one looks like a mismatch. Charlotte spent most of 2014 dominating the NXT women’s division. Bayley is a top contender for the NXT Women’s Championship. Meanwhile Emma flamed out spectacularly in her WWE callup and Brooke is a newbie. The wild card here is just how much of a spotlight do they want to give Brooke? If she pins either Bayley or Charlotte, that would hot-shot her into contention. I’m guessing it’s more likely that Emma is there to eat the loss.

Winner: Bayley and Charlotte

NXT Tag Team Title Match: Champions Blake & Murphy vs. Enzo Amore & Big Cass

Kevin Pantoja: One of the biggest glaring issues with NXT has been their lackluster tag team division. While I don’t mind Blake and Murphy, I still think it’s insane that the Vaudevillains never got a run with the belts. At least there is the addition of a storyline here with the Carmella stuff. Enzo Amore and Big Cass need a ton of work in the ring but they are so over it’s ridiculous. I don’t think they want to keep them away from the belts any longer.

Winner: Enzo Amore and Big Cass

Wyatt Beougher: I love Enzo and Cass, but honestly? They shouldn’t get the win here. They probably will, but Blake and Murphy are a lot more fun to watch once the introductions are over, and Enzo and Cass are more than over even without the belts. I guess at least if Enzo and Cass win, we might finally see the return of the Vaudevillains, who, for my money, are the best team in NXT. (Though I feel like I should mention that Blake & Murphy vs. the Vaudevillains was the direction I was hoping the tag division was going in when the Dubstep Cowboys won the tag team titles.) No matter how this match plays out, Carmella is going to factor into the finish – either she distracts the champs to help her boys win, or she tries to distract them, it doesn’t work, and Blake and Murphy reveal that they’ve only been courting her to gain a mental advantage on Cass and especially Enzo. I’m going with the former, especially since B&M cost Carmella her match with Alexa Bliss on the most recent NXT, though the latter would help out the current champs’ character development quite a bit.

Winners and NEW NXT Tag Team Champions: Enzo Amore and Big Cass (Cass launches Enzo onto one of the champs)

Eric Palmer: I haven’t seen much of Blake and Murphy, but I love Enzo and Cass. I can’t comment too much about this one, but I can only hope Enzo and Cass have been improving their in-ring work. I’d like to see new tag champs, but I’m not sure they’d go with two straight quick reigns. That said, I’m still going with Enzo and Cass here and hoping for the best.

Winner: Enzo Amore and Big Cass

Mike Hammerlock: Blake and Murphy surprised a lot of people by winning the tag belts and it’s entirely possible they’re nothing more than transition champs between a team that was headed up to the WWE (Lucha Dragons) and the wildly over New Yawk team of Enzo and Cass. It’s high time Enzo got a push. Just imagine how over the top his promos will get if he wins a belt? Plus, you can’t teach Cass’ size.

Winner: Enzo Amore & Big Cass

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

Kevin Pantoja: The women of NXT have yet deliver a bad match on a live special. Hell, they’ve yet to put on even a mediocre match. Becky Lynch is someone that I’ve been a fan of since her Rebecca Knox days in SHIMMER. Meanwhile, I firmly believe that there is no better all around female talent in the entire WWE than Sasha Banks. Her combination of ability to work, cut promos, nail her character and everything is just amazing. I think that these two steal the show here, but I cannot see Becky walk out as champion, nor should she. There are still legs under Sasha’s run, which is just over three months old. As much as I love Becky, the only acceptable answer to dethrone the Boss is Bayley

Winner: Sasha Banks

Wyatt Beougher: Watching this past week’s episode of NXT made me realize just how badly I want to see Sasha Banks vs. AJ, just to see Sasha do that springboard double knee in the corner to AJ. That said, NXT has done more to make me care about Becky Lynch in the last three weeks than WWE has any main roster Divas challenger not named Paige, AJ, or Nikki in the past three years, and if I said I wasn’t looking forward to this match, I would be lying. The Boss never disappoints, and Becky has proven to be more than game since her NXT debut, so this could be the dark horse for match of the night (which, given the history of the NXT live specials, shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone). It almost feels like a waste that they’ve built Becky up so much, just to have her lose, but I firmly believe that Bayley is going to be the one to dethrone Sasha, so I can’t pick against my favorite wrestler here.

Winner and STILL NXT Women’s Champion: Sasha Banks (Bank Statement)

Eric Palmer: I love these two. I really expect this match to be MOTN, or at least in the conversation. Sasha Banks is the best overall female performer in the WWE, and Becky Lynch has been improving steadily since she debuted. I’m excited to see this match, but I think the winner of this is pretty predictable.

Winner: Sasha Banks

Mike Hammerlock: Generally speaking, NXT champions get to enjoy a decent run with their belts. Part of the purpose of the promotion is to build up WWE-ready talents. The Boss is getting her turn in the run right now and you’ve got to think she’ll beat his former partner in crime in this match. Yet, more than that, these two very well could steal the show. Both of them can go in the ring and NXT doesn’t book its women like they were filler. The match deserves legitimate enthusiasm and high expectations.

Winner: Sasha Banks

#1 Contender’s Match: Finn Balor vs. Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze

Kevin Pantoja: It’s pretty tough to make a pick here. It all boils down to whether or not Hideo Itami is healthy. After starting a bit slow, Itami has hit his stride and has been locked in as of late. I totally expected Itami/Owens to be the next title program. Finn Balor has already faced Owens and with Tyler Breeze also being a heel, I don’t see that happening. However, if the reports are true and Itami can’t go for a few months, which they seem to be, then I have to change my pick to Finn Balor.

Winner: Finn Balor

Wyatt Beougher: It sucks that a lot of wrestling writers feel like we have to defend Breeze’s inclusion here with Balor and Itami just because he didn’t cut his teeth overseas or in the major US indies, but the truth of the matter is that Breeze is probably the most main roster-ready Superstar in NXT at the moment. He’s got the WWE style down pat, his character is 100% WWE (and he plays it with aplomb) – basically, he’s exactly the type of guy who gets called up and has a solid if unspectacular midcard career in the post-Brand Separation landscape of WWE. That said, I feel like this was Itami’s match to lose based on his WrestleMania weekend push, but the severity of his shoulder injury throws that completely in doubt. And the third man in the ring? Balor’s got unresolved issues with Kevin Owens, and a match between he and Sami Zayn would likely cause mass swooning in the Full Sail crowd. And then there’s the Samoa Joe wild card – if Itami can’t go, does Joe take his spot, and if he does, does he pick up the win that was likely Itami’s? While this match was likely to be very good from the time it was announced, all of the uncertainty now surrounding it has actually made me more excited to see just what happens. If the Itami story is true, then I look for Balor to get the win, but if he is healthy, I still think it’s Itami’s match to lose.

Winner: Finn Balor (double stomp from the top)

Eric Palmer: I don’t think Itami works the match, but I still think we get a three way with a mystery opponent. There’s been rumors, but nothing confirmed yet. If the rumors prove true, this match will be incredible. If we do end up with a singles match here, I’d love to see Breeze go over. The only problem with that is having a heel vs. heel program with Owens and Breeze, which I don’t think would work too well. Regardless, this match should be awesome.

Winner: Finn Balor

Mike Hammerlock: This is the best kind of match, the sort where anybody could win. Seriously, got no clue how this one will sort out. Balor still hasn’t challenged for the title at Network special event yet. He also might be on the fastest track to the main WWE roster, which would argue for pushing him sooner rather than later. Then again, his WWE timetable could be so advanced that it takes him out of NXT Championship consideration. Itami supposed has a shoulder injury. A week ago reports were he’d be out 6-8 months, but he’s still listed as being in this match. Maybe he works this match and then goes under the knife. Or maybe the WWE is playing with ways to work us. Breeze makes a lot sense for the win. He’s been in the NXT upper mid-card for nearly two years. A breakthrough would be in order.

Winner: Tyler Breeze

NXT Title Match: Champion Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

Kevin Pantoja: Two guys that always deliver when put together. The story for this has been brilliantly done and I’m so glad they didn’t try to insult their viewers by acting like they don’t have a past. I don’t see this being quite the beating that it was last time, but I also don’t see Sami Zayn becoming the first two-time NXT Champion. He could be moving to the main roster soon, but even if he doesn’t, I cannot see Owens’ reign ending this soon.

Winner: Kevin Owens

Wyatt Beougher: Speaking of a match filled with uncertainty, there are so many different ways this can go – Zayn goes nuts on Owens and gets himself disqualified, Zayn pulls off a hard-fought (or “hard-fart”, if you’re JBL) win to regain the title, Owens again dominates Zayn to the point where he can’t continue, Owens purposely gets himself disqualified to retain the title and add insult to injury…I think my personal favorite is the one we’ve seen time and time again from Zayn – his heart is willing, maybe a little too willing even, and his body pays the price for it. That’s how he ended up losing against Cesaro on more than one occasion, because he just kept raising the stakes because he was so obsessed with beating him, and that’s arguably why he lost against Owens, because he was so set on proving himself to Owens that he ended up hurting himself and giving Owens the opening he needed, which eventually led to the doctor stoppage. Sami Zayn’s time as a part of NXT has been fraught with losses, but each time he loses, he becomes more beloved by the fans, and those losses make his wins (especially the title win over Neville) feel so much more important. When you take that notion and add in the fact that Zayn/Owens has been going on in some way, shape, or form, for multiple years, so I don’t think we’ll see the blowoff (which rightfully should be Zayn picking up the win) just yet. And these guys are truly two sides of the same coin – Zayn is the extremely talented, driven, dedicated, ultra-polite guy who believes in himself so much that it ends up costing him matches (but that belief in himself is what ultimately won him the NXT title), while Owens (the character) is this unassuming chubby guy in a hand-me-down Kassius Ohno shirt and gym shorts who has no faith in himself and treats everyone like he thinks he’s better than them to hide that crushing insecurity. It might not sound like much on paper or if you’ve never seen it outside of the confines of WWE, but whenever these two get together, it’s magic. And I’m not quite ready for that magic to end yet, no matter how good Sami Zayn’s reaction, and match against John Cena, was last Monday night. For that reason, I’m going Owens here.

Winner and STILL NXT Champion: Kevin Owens (Lights Out pop-up powerbomb)

Eric Palmer: I guess the good news about this match happening is Zayn can’t be hurt TOO badly if they’re letting him work the show, but on the other hand, he’s a tough son of a bitch. I’m looking forward to this match, but I’m not really sure what to expect from it given the status of Zayn’s shoulder being up in the air.

Winner: Kevin Owens

Mike Hammerlock: Like Itami, Zayn is rumored to have a serious shoulder injury, yet he’s still working this card. So how injured is he? I’m willing to two completely different scenarios. 1) That Zayn is a tough SOB who will drag himself through this match. 2) That Zayn is brilliant at selling and this sets up the in-match drama when Owens attacks his “injured” shoulder. Could be a mix of both. Chance here for Owens to get some serious heat by doing something despicable to Zayn at the end of the match. He’s already a glowering heel champion. Next step is to pile fear and loathing on top of it.

Winner: Kevin Owens

Make sure to join 411 Wednesday night for our LIVE NXT Takeover: Unstoppable live coverage!