NXT Takeover: New Orleans Predictions
North America Championship
It was only two weeks ago that NXT General Manager William Regal announced that a brand new championship will be debuting on the roster, the North America Championship with six of the most promising stars competing to make history and become the first title holder. Newcomers EC3 and Richocet will be joined by Killian Dane, Adam Cole, Velveteen Dream, and Lars Sullivan in a must see ladder match for the brand new championship. The moment I heard the news of this match I honestly had a little mark out the moment I'm a touch ashamed of. Over the weekend we have some seriously fun and interesting matches sure to standout but this one is one that comes with great expectation amongst fans. The match consists of some big names currently on the roster most of which are extremely over and NXT fans are expecting a true special which hopefully will not disappoint. In terms of who walks out the victor, for me personally, I'll be rooting for the Velveteen Dream. I do believe that aside from Lars Sullivan and Killian Dane anyone could walk out with the win but based off of hardcore fan reactions and recent performances over the past few months its Dream who in my opinion should take the win. Another option is, of course, Adam Cole. I really do believe that this Saturday night will be a big one for The Undisputed era and Cole taking the victory in this ladder match makes all the sense the world. Ricochet will most likely be the single standout of the match while spots from Sullivan and Dane will have the crowd up on their feet also!Double the Win
This past episode of NXT saw the Undisputed Era attack both the Authors of Pain and Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong meaning that neither team was able to be crowned the winners of the twenty eighteen Dusty Rhodes tag team classic and therefore the three teams will compete in a triple threat tag team match for not only the NXT Tag team championships but to be crowned the winners of the Dusty Rhodes tag team classic. Of course, after Bobby Fish's injury it does look as though it will be Adam Cole and Kyle O'Riley defending the titles, however, personally, I do want to see them do something different. With Cole set to compete in two matches I'm expecting the leader of the Undisputed Era to wait until both opposing teams are in the ring and announce that he needs to prepare for his match later on in the night and instead he has someone to take his place in the tag team match which will be revealed as Kassius Ohno. Okay, so it is a touch far-fetched but I do strongly believe Kassius Ohno is need of something big and a heel run is exactly what will fit him right now not to mention the faction need a new face to keep the numbers up. Like I said, I feel as though Saturday will be an important and big not for the Undisputed era and could either be the rise or the fall. Cole could easily still compete and work both matches which will work as long as he stays on the outside for a great deal of the time. Who walks out with the titles? Again, it depends on the direction the WWE is going in with the Undisputed era on the night. Right now I feel as though they should be the ones to get the win especially considering Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong shouldn't even be together let alone in the match and AOP should be edging very close to their main roster call-up.Match of the night?
While we do have yet another very very strong card this Sunday heading into NXT Takeover I strongly believe that the match of the night will come from Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. A year in the making the story is something I cannot fault. I can honestly say I have really enjoyed the entire build, the way the story has been told and what we have seen from both superstars. We've seen these two tear it up working alongside each other as part of DIY as well as against one another back at the Cruiserweight Classic two years ago. The expectations are so high for this match and with such a strong build and story on top of the how hot the fans are for it this is sure to be one of the highlights not only of the weekend but of the year and I one hundred percent believe this could be another five-star rating for Gargano and the WWE. Who walks out the winner? To be honest there is a valid argument for both these guys to take the win. On the one side, we have Gargano who if he gets the win he'll find himself back on the roster while on the other hand, we have Ciampa who of course will be competing in his first match back and so picking a side is most certainly a difficult challenge this time around. However, keeping everything in mind I do believe that the best option will be Ciampa. I don't want to see him lose his first match back especially considering the build-up and the story that has been told. It would simply make no sense for him to fail to score the win. The best option will be for Tommaso to get the win, keep Gargano way from TV for a while and bring him back at a later date.Title Changes
When it comes to the NXT and NXT Women's championship I can see both titles changing hands this weekend. The build for the women's championship match has been far weaker than it should have been which is a real shame. Shayna is still very new to this world and the more we see of her and the more of a badass she comes across the better, however, we haven't seen her gain much if any momentum in the ring over the last few months building up to this rematch and we haven't seen enough interaction between the two women at all. A contract signing would have been perfect an exactly what they needed in this build and it does feel like a big missed opportunity. In terms of the actual match, I don't expect this to be much better than their last collision the fans are not going to be as invested as I'm sure the WWE would have liked. Ember should be close to a call-up but for Baszler to be taken seriously and keep momentum at a high she needs to walk out as champion this Saturday. A third match won't work and for anyone to really be interested in this bout we're going to need some good storytelling and a much better content than the first time around.And finally, the NXT Championship match between current title holder Andrade Cien Almas and Aleister Black. This is an interesting one. Now, I don't see Almas walking out with the title this Saturday what so ever. There is no doubt in my mind that Black will be crowned the brand new champion. Saying that I strongly believe the match will be one of the best of the entire weekend and yet another potential standout oft he entire year. The WWE have missed a lot when it comes to the build with this but I'm confident the two will work extremely well and deliver a fantastic contest to close the show.
And they are my NXT Takeover New Orleans predictions! Across the weekend I will have a two-part Wrestlemania prediction post so keep an eye out for that, however, for now, any recent blog posts will be linked below and you can tell me what your predictions for the show are by leaving a comment below or by tweeting me over at @TezangiVictoria.
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