5 bold predictions for NXT TakeOver: New Orleans

NXT TakeOver: New Orleans on Saturday is quite arguably the most anticipated TakeOver ever for several reasons. There will be two major debuts with EC3 and Ricochet competing in a 6-man ladder match for a brand new title, the NXT North American Championship.

In addition to those two reasons, there is an unsanctioned match in the best feud going in NXT today between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. Aleister Black gets his first chance at the NXT Championship and the finals of the Dusty Classic will be a triple threat.

NXT TakeOver always delivers with amazing moments, but there are also some shocking ones that occur as well such as the aforementioned Ciampa turning on Gargano in Chicago and Adam Cole debuting in Brooklyn just last year.

This article takes a look at five of my bold predictions that could shock the NXT Universe on Saturday evening on the eve of WrestleMania. These five predictions cover four of the five matches on the card and will definitely set social media on fire if they occur.

#5 Aleister Black defeats Andrade 'Cien' Almas in less than a minute

It's rare when the NXT Championship match at a TakeOver isn't the biggest match on the card. In all actuality, it very well could be third behind the NXT North American Championship Ladder Match and Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano's unsanctioned match.

Aleister Black defeated Killian Dain in a tremendous match to get a chance at Andrade 'Cien' Almas, and ever since then, Almas and his associate Zelina Vega have disrespected Black mentally and physically.

I'm calling it now that the bell is going to ring and Almas walks into a Black Mass kick to lose the championship in less than a minute. If this happens, it will be the shortest NXT Championship match in TakeOver history by far as the current shortest match is around 13 minutes.

#4 Chris Dijak joins The Undisputed Era and replaces Adam Cole in the NXT Tag Team Championship match

The Undisputed Era debuted at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III after Drew McIntyre won the NXT Championship from Bobby Roode. Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, and Bobby Fish all have one thing in common, they came from Ring of Honor straight to NXT.

The interesting part of the card for NXT TakeOver: New Orleans this Saturday is that Adam Cole is scheduled for two matches, the NXT North American Championship Ladder Match and the triple threat match for the NXT Tag Team Championships because of the knee injury to Bobby Fish.

If anyone can pull double duty, it's Adam Cole, but I think someone else joins The Undisputed Era to tag with O'Reilly, and it's Chris Dijak. The Ring of Honor ties are there and there really isn't a true "muscle" in the group, so this makes complete sense.

#3 Velveteen Dream shocks the NXT Universe by being the first NXT North American Champion

Many of the NXT Universe are penciling in the NXT North American Championship Ladder Match as the most anticipated contest on the card this Saturday. The reason being, the match is loaded with six talented superstars in Adam Cole, Lars Sullivan, Ricochet, EC3, Velveteen Dream, and Killian Dain.

The hands-on favorite for this match has to be Adam Cole, but many expect the title could be placed on two of the debuting talents of EC3 or Ricochet. In all honesty, it's not a stretch that Dain or Sullivan could win the title as well.

I'm going to go against the grain here and pick Velveteen Dream as the first ever NXT North American Championship. He made a name for himself in the Aleister Black feud and has continued to impress since then.

#2 Candice LeRae does the unthinkable and costs Johnny Gargano in his unsanctioned match with Tommaso Ciampa

It all started on 20 May 2017. The Authors of Pain defeated DIY for the NXT Tag Team Championships to close out NXT TakeOver: Chicago. What happened as the show came to a close shocked the NXT Universe, Tommaso Ciampa turned on Johnny Gargano and viciously beat him down.

Unfortunately for Ciampa he tore his ACL during the match and hasn't wrestled since, but he returned with a vengeance at the end of NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia in January to attack Gargano with a crutch and costing him a match with Almas to removed Gargano from the NXT roster setting up this unsanctioned match.

My bold prediction on this match is that Gargano's real-life wife does the unthinkable and turns on her husband to allow Ciampa to win. It could further elevate Ciampa as a top heel, and I honestly can't see both Gargano and Ciampa together in NXT after this unsanctioned match.

#1 Roderick Strong turns on Pete Dunne and joins The Undisputed Era

Due to the injury to Tyler Bate, Moustache Mountain couldn't compete in the Dusty Classic, and a new team was formed out of respect between the WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong.

They face the Authors of Pain and Undisputed Era for the NXT Tag Team Championships and the Dusty Cup. I fully expect the Undisputed Era to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships here because I wouldn't expect Dunne to hold two titles and AOP is going to get called up to the main roster.

The shocking part of this will be the heel turn of Roderick Strong. My final bold prediction is that Strong will turn on Dunne to assist The Undisputed Era in retaining the titles. He has the exact same Ring Of Honor ties as Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly, and Chris Dijak.

Expect The Undisputed Era to be stronger than ever after NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.

Edited by Raunak J