Csonka’s NXT Takeover XXV Preview

WELCOME back to column time with Larry! Today, I am going to discuss and preview the NXT Takeover XXV event, which is the 25th event in the highly successful NXT Takeover series, and are continually the best major WWE events. I always hear people say something like “I’m not feeling this Takeover” or “this one will not deliver,” but there’s never been a bad NXT Takeover event and until there is I refuse to doubt a Takeover special. 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.”

Matt Riddle vs. Roderick Strong: Following Adam Cole’s loss at Takeover NYC, there were teases of issues within the Undisputed Era, specifically between Cole & Strong. Riddle had been causing issues for Cole & the gang, but when Strong attacked and took him out in the full Sail parking lot, all was well again in the Undisputed Era. And that’s how we got to this match, as Strong looks to prove himself, while Riddle is looking to rebound from his loss to Velveteen Dream and also get revenge on Strong. I absolutely love that we’re getting a Strong singles match on a takeover, he’s absolutely great and I think many forget that. Riddle is also great, and has been delivering on Takeovers, so pairing him with Strong looks like an absolute banger on paper. This also works stylistically as both guys like to strike and use submissions, I AM HYPE. I think that Cole wins the title later in the evening, and that Riddle will be his first challenger in August, so he wins here. Overall this may be a huge night for Undisputed Era, and if Roddy’s the one that fails, they could revisit the issues with Cole if need be. WINNER: Matt Riddle

Fatal Four-Way Vacant NXT Tag Team Championship LADDER Match: The Street Profits vs. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch vs. The Forgotten Sons vs. Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish: Before getting into this match, I want to say that I’m not thrilled with how they have handles the tag title situation. I fear that NXT may have taken a huge misstep, and while I get protecting the Viking Raiders on the way to Raw, the crowd was molten for the Street Profits to win the titles on NXT TV; they should have considered a multi-team match that night and pulled the change with someone other than the champions eating the loss. But with that being said, this is certainly a match with a ton of potential to deliver. The Street Profits are extremely over, and have greatly improved over the last year following their extra work in EVOLVE. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch are great and can adapt to any environment, and always deliver when given the chance. The Forgotten Sons area fine team and will be given the chance to impress, finally making a takeover. Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish are one of the best teams in the world, and never disappoint on a Takeover. For me this comes down to two teams, the Street Profits & Undisputed Era. I’d love a Street Profits win, but feel this night will be all about the Undisputed Era, and will go with them. My HOPE/WISH/DREAM is that Stokely Hathaway is revealed to be the Street Profits new manager/hype man and leads then to victory. WINNERS: Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish

NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream vs. Tyler Breeze: Triple H has talked many times about main roster talents being shifted to NXT when they do roster shakeup, and that has finally happened with Wolfe heading to NXT UK, and Dain & Breeze heading back to NXT. I like the moves as it bolters those rosters, and in all honesty. Those guys were doing both jack & shit on the main roster. I really love the Breeze move, because he’s shown that he still has a lot to offer and has shown that in his non-main roster appearances, and the NXT fans love the guy, treating him like a returning hero and not a main roster failure. I love this pairing, as it will not only allow for some fun character work, but Dream routinely puts on bangers at Takeover and that bodes well for Breeze, who will be motivated to deliver in his Takeover return. This could go either way, a Breeze win re-establishes him right away, and that also frees up Dream to possibly move up into the NXT Title picture, especially if Gargano loses. I could see either man winning, I think it’s most likely that Dream wins, but if Breeze pulls it off I won’t be shocked. WINNER: Velveteen Dream

NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler vs. Io Shirai: With Kairi Sane off to the main roster, and Bianca Belair preoccupied with Mia Yim, Io Shirai is the last woman standing to challenge champion Shayna Baszler. Shirai is one of the absolute best, and it feels like a nice run with the title is in her future and would freshen up the division. There are a lot of fns down on Shayna Baszler’s title run; some feel she’s no good and hurting the division, which I disagree with. While I feel her run on top of NXT is getting a bit long in the tooth and that a change would be welcomed, I have felt that way for the last few Takeovers and Baszler keeps retaining. As for the match, I think it has a ton of potential to deliver as back in 2017, these two had a fucking excellent ****½ match in STARDOM, which not only showed how great Shirai could be but also that Shayna Baszler had a ton of potential. That makes me excited to see what they can do here, as Shirai is still great and Baszler has gotten a lot better. Part of me thinks that Baszler escapes again with the championship, and I keep picking against her, only to be proven wrong. I may be wrong again here, but I’ll go with my heart and say Shirai wins the title here. WINNER: Io Shirai

NXT Champion Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole (BAY BAY): These two are coming off of an amazing MOTY contender at NXT Takeover: New York, and while I think that the rematch is coming a bit too soon, I won’t argue about a rematch of that effort between two guys that always deliver at Takeover events. Gargano was always Mr. Takeover, but was missing something until he finally climbed the mountain and over came the odds to win the NXT Title at Takeover: New York, becoming NXT’s first triple crown champion. There was a lot of speculation that Cole was winning in NYC, but to me it was all about giving Gargano his moment and paying off his journey. Now that he’s accomplished that, I can see him getting screwed here as we see the Undisputed Era look to take NXT over and running things by holding several championships. I think we’re in for a great match, but no quite in the same league as NYC. And it’s not that I don’t think they can do it again, they can, it’s just the fact that NYC was such a perfect storm, with two great performers, the guarantee of a new champion, and possibility of Gargano finally winning the championship led to an amazing atmosphere. Again, I think this will be a great match, and while I could easily see Gargano retaining, I think that the night could mean big things for the Undisputed Era, and will go with Cole here. WINNER: Adam Cole

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 24. On the show, the good brother, Jeremy Lambert, joins 411’s Larry Csonka; the guys will preview NXT Takeover 25, discuss Jon Moxley’s appearance on Talk is Jericho & the problems within WWE, Moxley’s upcoming debut with NJPW, and then play catch up with NJPW BOSJ reviews. The show is approximately 115-minutes long.

* Intro
* NXT Takeover 25 Preview: 5:15
* Jon Moxley on Talk is Jericho: 37:45
* Jon Moxley Heading to NJPW: 115:55
* NJPW BOSJ Day 10 Review: 129:05
* NJPW BOSJ Day 11 Review: 146:20

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

* iTunes
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