WWE NXT Takeover: New York Predictions

This coming Friday fans will witness Wrestlemania weekend kick start with NXT Takeover: New York and what a night do we have coming up! Every single NXT championship including the WWE United Kingdom Championship will be on the line and an array of potential surprise new champions and match of the year candidates are sure to take place on the night also! I will, of course, be live tweeting throughout the show but in today’s blog post we are going to be looking at some of my personal predictions for one of the most anticipated shows of the year so far.

Pete Dunne vs WALTER

One of the matches I’m personally very interested in witnessing is the WWE United Kingdom Championship bout between current champ Pete Dunne and contender,  newcomer, WALTER. Since making his debut for the WWE back at the first NXT UK Takeover event earlier in the year WALTER has been a fan favourite to dethrone Dunne and kick start a new era on the NXT UK brand. Now, fans have witnessed Pete Dunne reign as champion for a very long time now and have become one of the longest reigning champions in recent WWE history but with Dunne achieving so much, facing so many opponents and raising the bar so high there is no doubt in my mind its time for a new champion. Many of the NXT universe are hoping to see more appearances from Dunne on the main roster and see what he can bring to the table without being champion and there truly is no better man to dethrone him than WALTER. The newcomer has been extremely dominant and promises to bring something completely new to NXT UK.

Aleister Black & Ricochet vs War Raiders

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t personally a big fan of Aleister Black and Ricochet winning the Dusty Rhodes tag team classic and I haven’t been keen on the idea of the pair teaming up together at all, however, this up and coming NXT Tag team match against the War Raiders is one that most certainly excites me! I believe this will be a standout contest for the War Raiders during their entire reign as champions and will allow them to become a far stronger talking point! In terms of the end result, I have no doubt that the War Raiders will pick up the huge win and this could end up being one of the last NXT showings for Ricochet and Black but what a way to go out!

Matt Riddle vs Velveteen Dream

I recently wrote a blog post (which will be linked below) where I looked at potential names who could dethrone and the velveteen Dream and on that list, Matt Riddle was indeed a name that featured. Now, I personally may not be interested in seeing Dream drop the title anytime soon but with Riddle possessing so much momentum and the WWE evidently high on him there most certainly is a great chance fans could see a new champion crowned. This is for sure one of the most unpredictable matches of the entire Wrestlemania weekend with fans sure to be divided but one thing that is for certain is this will be a massively standout match. We have seen Velveteen Dream work so many fantastic matches at Takeover events and I have no doubt this will not only be another favourite but one of the best performances we have seen from Riddle since he signed with the WWE. In my heart, I believe Riddle will take the win, but I just have to back the Dream here.

Bianca Belair vs Kairi Sane vs IO Shiari vs Shayna Baszler

The NXT women’s championship match this weekend is most certainly one that has me excited and very interested in! Another unpredictable encounter it's very difficult to pick out a clear winner but when looking deeper into this fatal four way its clear two women may just have the edge slightly more! This is the first time Baszler will defend her title without the numbers game on her side and where Jessamyn and Marina’s help may do more harm than good! This is the biggest test the dominant two-time champion has faced and with such tough competition, her chances are not looking very great! The match will be very interesting in terms of looking at what we see go down between IO and Kairi who have formed a tag team alliance in recent months and will now work in an every woman for herself situation. We are sure to get some great spots and moments from the pair when they clash in the ring. Bianca Belair is also a very interesting factor in this match. She too has a lot of momentum, history with every single woman in this match and a fantastic year behind her! Belair has gone down as my personal favourite and the woman I will be rooting for but with IO so high on momentum and make a huge impact since her arrival it’s a tough one to call. With rumours suggesting Sane is soon to move over to main roster and Baszler more than ready for the transition also, in my opinion, the end result will see a new champion crowned with Shari and Belair the favourites for the win.

Johnny Gargano vs Adam Cole (Two out of Three Falls)

My prediction for the match of the night and possibly one of the best if not the best match of Wrestlemania weekend as a whole is the two out of three falls match between Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole for the NXT Champion. This match will see a new champion crowned and being a fan of both superstars has meant I am very torn! Adam Cole has been on such a role, proven himself, reigned as North America champion and its more than clear the next best and necessary step is to finally crown him NXT Champion. However, on the flip side, I really do want to see Gargano finally win the big one! His story since he signed with the WWE has been so special and every single moment has led to this not to mention it feels as though this will be his last chance to get his hands on the title. This is a match that truly has me torn but come the end of the night I’m confident we will be calling this a match of the year candidate.

As always, I’m confident this will be a fantastic NXT Takeover event and will kick start Wrestlemania weekend on a massive high but will top this year's Mania PPV? Let me know who you are backing and what your predictions are down in the comments below or tweet me over at @TezangiVictoria.

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