wrestling / Columns

Csonka’s NXT Takeover: Toronto II Preview

August 10, 2019 | Posted by Larry Csonka
NXT Takeover: Toronto II

WELCOME back to column time with Larry! Today, I am going to discuss and preview the NXT Takeover: Toronto II event. The show will feature NXT Champion Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano, the finals of the Breakout tournament, NXT Champion Velveteen Dream vs. Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong, and more. So today I will breakdown and preview the event. Feel free to make your picks in the comment section. 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.”

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Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae: When Kairi Sane lost her final match to Shayna Baszler, she also lost her chance to challenge for the NXT Women’s championship again, which led to her main roster promotion. This left Io alone and looking to get revenge for her friend. She made an ally in Candice, but also failed in beating Shayna Baszler. This led to Io sapping, turning heel and attacking Candice, which is why we are here. This match is also notable/important because it’s a rare second women’s match on a Takeover. And if you were going to add a second women’s match, it couldn’t be in better hands than with Io & Candice. I think that this will deliver, and that with Io just turning and the feeling that Yim will win the championship from Shayna Baszler, I see Io taking this one and being positioned for a likely program with Yim to culminate in a match at Survivor Series weekend. WINNER: Io Shirai

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NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler vs. Mia Yim: Throughout 2019, there have been many viable challengers to Baszler and her championship, but every time Baszler steps into the ring, she ends up retaining. In NXT, the only things that have been for sure are death, taxes, and a Shayna Baszler win at Takeover. There is a group of fans that feel Baszler has hurt the division and has been a bad champion, and many want to see her finally drop the championship. I think this may be the time. NXT looks invested in the Mia Yim push, which I am all for, and she and Baszler are friends so I think they will deliver. With Heyman in charge of Raw that he will want her on the brand to feud with Becky. The time is now for Baszler, she’s 38 an if they want to get a few good years out of her on the main roster, they need to pull the trigger on calling her up. Heyman won’t have Rousey, but he can create another badass with Baszler. The move to Yim in NXT would allow that and also likely set things up for Io vs. Mia for the championship. WINNER: Mia Yim

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NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream vs. Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong: This one has banger written all over it; Dream always delivers really good Takeover matches, Pete Dunne is excellent, and Strong has been one of the more consistent in-ring performers for the last 10-years. I loved the unexpected Dunne return and inclusion into the feud, as it plays well off of his history with Strong in NXT. Often times adding a third to a match or feud can take away from it, but when that third man is Pete Dunne, that is not the case here. Dream will bring the drama and character work, Dunne will bring the ruthless intensity, and Strong is the best pure wrestler in the match and together, I feel we will get greatness. I think we’re going with the Undisputed Era clean sweep here, which means Strong wins, and likely moves onto a feud with Dunne. I can also see this as part of the War Games set up with Undisputed Era facing some combination of Dream, Gargano, Dunne and the Street Profits in November. WINNER: Roderick Strong

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NXT Tag Team Champions The Street Profits vs. Undisputed Era: Prior to their tag title win, the Street Profits were off of NXT TV, but putting in time in EVOLVE, which really helped them grows as performers. They returned, and finally made it to the top and won the tag titles. The win got over huge, but I think their time as champions and in NXT are going to be short lived. They may stick around to war games, but they have been on Raw and Heyman is reportedly a big fan of theirs so it seems like the call up will be official soon. Fish & O’Reilly remain one of the best tag teams in wrestling, and are not only insanely consistent, but are absolutely top tier when it comes to delivering in big match situations, because they treat every Takeover match like it’s their last main event ever. I do think that the Undisputed Era run the table and take all the titles this weekend. Again, this will likely be part of the War Games set up with Undisputed Era facing some combination of Dream, Gargano, Dunne and the Street Profits in November. WINNER: Undisputed Era

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NXT Champion Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano: Gargano and Cole have had two excellent matches against each other in 2019, and will get the chance to deliver the hat trick in this rematch, a variation on the three stages of hell match. This match will get a lot of time due to the stipulation; Gargano picked a Street Fight (something he knows very well), Cole has picked a wrestling match (so that when he wins, Gargano can no longer call himself Johnny Wrestling) and if we need the third fall (and we will) William Regal will select that stipulation. And that’s the interesting thing here, because we’re going three falls. If I had to guess, I’d pick ladder match, last man standing, or even a loser leaves NXT final fall as they have heavily hyped that this is the final chapter in the feud. I fully expect this to deliver like their previous two matches, and think that Cole wins to do the Undisputed Era clean sweep of the men’s championships. Again, I think that Undisputed Era takes all of the gold, and that the show sets the table for War Games, and possibly Gargano’s exit from the NXT brand as Undisputed reigns supreme until a certain bald son of a bitch comes back for his precious goldy. WINNER: Adam Cole

JOIN 411 TONIGHT FOR OUR LIVE COVERAGE OF THE SHOW

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The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 41. On the show, the good brother, Jeremy Lambert, joins 411’s Larry Csonka and the guys will preview the big weekend shows. ROH Summer Supercard, NXT Takeover: Toronto II, and WWE Summerslam 2019. Finally, the guys catch up on NJPW G1 29 reviews. The show is approximately 135-minutes long.

* Intro
* NJPW G1 29 Night 12 Review: 2:25
* NJPW G1 29 Night 13 Review: 14:25
* NJPW G1 29 Night 14 Review: 24:45
* ROH Summer Supercard Preview: 43:45
* NXT Takeover: Toronto II Preview: 1:07:45
* WWE Summerslam 2019 Preview: 1:30:45

You can subscribe and listen to the 411 on Wrestling Podcast via the above player on Transistor, or on the following platforms:

* iTunes
* Spotify
* Stitcher
* Google Play

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.