Csonka’s NXT Takeover: New York Preview

WELCOME back to column time with Larry! Today, I am going to discuss and preview the NXT Takeover: New York, which is a sexy and stacked card on paper that I am greatly looking forward to. So today, I will break down and preview the show.. Thanks for reading! It’s wrestling, we love it and will disagree. The only rules are “have a take, be respectful, and don’t be a dick.”

NXT Women’s Championship Fatal 4 Way Match: Kairi Sane vs. Io Shirai vs. Bianca Belair vs. Champion Shayna Baszler: We start off with the NXT Women’s title match, wh9ich turned into a four-way when Champion Shayna Baszler claimed she had no challengers after choking out the three that would become her opponents. This has a ton of potential, Baszler has been great as champion, Sane’s NXT run has been strong in the ring, Shirai is one of the best in the world, and while Belair is still young and learning, she’s constantly improving and will only get better. With the rumors that Rousey is finishing up right after Mania, I think we get a title change here and Baszler moving up to the main roster sooner rather than later. I’d personally go wit Io Shirai to win, but I think if we get a change that thy pull the trigger and give Belair a chance. WINNER: Bianca Belair

NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Aleister Black & Ricochet vs. Champions The War Raiders: While many understandable want Black & Ricochet as singles stars, you cannot deny the fact that they have turned into a damn good tag team, delivering in multiple bangers in the month of March and winners of the Dusty Classic. The War Raiders area great big lads tag team that always steps up for big matches/Takeovers, so I have high hopes for this one. With Black & Ricochet heading to the main roster, a win for them in unlikely, so I see the champions retaining in what should be a great match. WINNER: The War Raiders

NXT North American Championship Match: Champion The Velveteen Dream vs. Matt Riddle: Last year at this time, there was a big call and speculation that was getting the call up. I think WWE made the right call to keep him in NXT as he’s kept improving over the last year and has grown as a performer. Riddle made the transition from MMA to pro wrestling, and took to his new career insanely fast. He trained at the Monster Factory and then really started making a name for himself in EVOLVE. Gabe Sapolsky did an absolutely fantastic job of booking Riddle, slowly bringing him along, first with short matches and slowly extending the match times, while smartly pairing him with grappling/mat wrestling heavy opponents. Riddle got really good really fast and put together an absolutely great portfolio of indie matches before finally being signed. With Dream’s improvement over the last year and Riddle’s skills, this is another match that has the potential to be absolutely great. They seem very serious with the Riddle push, he’s a great performer with a great look and charisma, and I think they keep his momentum rolling here with a title win. WINNER: Matt Riddle

NXT UK Championship Match: Champion Pete Dunne vs. WALTER: Next up we head to the NXT UK division, and another match with show stealing potential. Dunne enters a the dominant champion of well over 600 days, putting on a great collection of matches while doing a great job of establishing the championship. Dunne’s run has been great, but the questions have been who will beat him and when. WALTER is the big daddy, putting on an absolutely awesome collection of matches in EVOLVE, PWG, PROGRESS, wXw, and anywhere he works. He’s a big signing for the company, and is just an excellent big match performer, just like Dunne. This is also WALTER’s first really big match with WWE, and on the biggest weekend of the year, so he’ll be looking to impress. The questions have been who will beat him and when, and I think this show and WALTER is the right time and man for the job. A WALTER win will come off huge after Dunne’s long run, opens us up to a rematch, and then a ton of fresh to WWE fan matches with him as the champion. The big daddy takes this one and becomes the new champion. WINNER: WALTER

Vacant NXT Championship 2 out of 3 Falls Match: Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole: And now we come to the main event of the show, which was supposed to be Gargano vs. Ciampa. These plans were changed when Ciampa unfortunately suffered a neck injury that required fusion surgery. The decision was made to keep Gargano in the match, and crown a new contender in a multi-man match, which Adam Cole won. I don’t know why, but I saw some backlash over this and I have no idea why. Cole has been presented as a top act for his entire run, and has constantly delivered in big matches. You pair him with Gargano, who is Mr. Takeover, and that’s a recipe for success. While I could see them throwing a curveball here and having Cole win, I think that they go with the feel good story and have Gargano win the title and stay in NXT for a bit until Ciampa hopefully returns. WINNER: Johnny Gargano

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 8. On the show, 411’s Larry Csonka is joined by Steven Jefferson Douglas Cook. The guys will discuss the possibility of Smackdown going to three hours, thoughts on Scarlett’s Debut & Allie’s Death on Impact, and then break down WrestleMania 35. The show is approximately 85 minutes long

* Intro
* Smackdown to Three Hours?: 5:35
* Impact Thoughts on Scarlett’s Debut & Allie’s Death: 17:15
* WrestleMania 35 Preview: 26:40

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